Whirlpool/Kenmore Frankenstein Machine

[hobarthero]

First hi to all my friends out there. I’ve been MIA for a while now. Life has been busy with the kids and we have our third on the way in June and it’s kept me away. So here’s my dilemma, I picked up several Whirlpool Power-clean/Kenmore Ultra Wash machines over the past couple years. I love the intense washing action they provide and they don’t take half the day to run a load of dishes. They are also in great supply and easy to work on. I had one black Kenmore Ultra wash machine that was beaten to death on the inside, was definitely in a home with hard water and I knew it didn’t work and the sump/pump area had been torn apart by the previous owner. I also have a few white Whirlpool machines. My dilemma is the wife wanted a black one, so last week I removed the door with the electrical panel off the black unit and swapped it on the white Whirlpool machine. I also kept the inner panel from the Whirlpool machine because we prefer the silverware baskets in the door. Everything looks great and I’m confident I installed everything correctly as it’s pretty basic reconnecting some wires underneath the unit after swapping the door. I installed the unit today and it immediately started a normal wash cycle by itself and would not respond to letting me cancel the wash. The wash ran perfectly fine and ended as normal but now I still can’t get the buttons on the panel to work. I’m not sure why it started by itself in the first place. Is there a way to manually reset the panel? I may just have a bad panel but I thought I’d check here before going crazy disassembling everything.
Thanks,
Shannon

 

[combo52]

Great dishwasher

Hi Shannon,

Unfortunately, you probably have a bad control panel, these are not repairable. Maybe you can do a highbred and have a white panel or a black fronted machine, or search online for one. They’re a little bit expensive if you can find a new one.

You can try heating up the face of the panel with a hairdryer a little bit sometimes that’ll make them work. You can also try cleaning the ribbon where it plugs into the board.

Other than these panels these were pretty bulletproof machines.

John

 

[hobarthero]

Dead control panel ….. Again

So my control panel has now burned out for the third time…. I’m assuming there is something going on with this machine that is causing an overdraw or a short. I love this machine but I can’t keep dealing with breakdowns. Any insight would be extremely helpful at this point. Every time the control panel has just gone dark mid cycle and the machine stops. No funny noises or issues with performance beforehand. Is this something that any of you have dealt with on power clean units like this?
-Shannon

 

[combo52]

Bad membrane control panels

Unfortunately, as these age, they have a high failure rate, your best long-term plan would be to get one with a mechanical timer to keep one of these great dishwashers working in your home.

I assume you don’t mean that the touch panel actually burned out, they just developed bad connections and bad ribbon connectors. The little bit newer versions of this machine seem to have less panel problems, other than that you can try to find a good used or NOS one for this particular dishwasher.

John

 

[hobarthero]

Swap unit.

I still have my NOS Potscrubber 1200 from 1989 or a variety of older KD machines. Maybe one of these would be better?

 

[jr2712]

Dishwasher going bad

Hi Shannon, if I were you, I would install the Potscrubber. The 1200 are some of the best GE dishwashers. Since yours is NOS, I would leave it as is with the original Shaded Pole motor, but I know that Mr. Jhon would tell you to install the PSC motor. In general terms, Potscrubbers are reliable and good performing machines.

Jesus R.

 

[hobarthero]

Motor Swap

What are the advantages of swapping the motor anyway? Other than noise?

 

[qsd-dan]

Efficiency

 

[hobarthero]

Maiden Voyage

Crazy to think this thing spent its whole life boxed up in storage for 35 years until today! I just removed the original wooden skids that it was screwed down to for shipping from the factory. The styrofoam is still on the racks as well as the owners manual and a trial bottle of Jet Dry! This is awesome, probably as close as I can get to going into a time machine. I’m excited for the first run!

 

[combo52]

Yay, a new GST 1200 dishwasher

Hi Shannon, this should be fun. Can’t wait to hear how this works out for you.

I would not change the new motor in this machine unless you decide to keep it long-term and would like to have a little bit quieter operation and a half a kilowatt load, electricity is probably not expensive where you are, however

Waiting for the review. I think you’ll probably like this. It was the best Dishwasher GE ever built up until this time, it has greater top rack capacity than the whirlpool machines and of course it falls off in the lower rack for capacity, but overall, I think you’ll like it put it to the test and waiting for the review.

John

 

[appnut]

Shannon , my beloved g s d twelve hundred. I'm there with you in spirit every time you do dishes. My love to the family.

 

[peteski50]

GE

Hi Shannon this is a great dishwasher
Best of Luck
Peter

 

[hobarthero]

Super racks

Does anyone by chance have a lead on a nice set of super racks for this dishwasher?

 

[hobarthero]

First run

So far so good. I’m running dishwasher cleaner through the first cycle since it’s been sitting for 35 years. The only thing I’ve noticed is there’s a little condensation on the inside of the cycle indicator lens where the rapid advance timer is. Let me know if there’s anything I should do to stop this or if it is a normal function of this machine. I took a picture so everyone can see what I’m talking about.

 

[kenmoreguy64]

Congrats Shannon!

I’m glad to see a new Potscrubber 1200! I think you will enjoy it and appreciate it.

In 1993 I purchased a new in box 1991 made 1200, and used it for ten years, to 2003. My favorite dishwasher ever. I had a GE GSD2200 for a couple years in a condo before that, and a WP midline 1987 DU-something, but the 1200 was hands down my favorite.

In 2003 I moved into my new house that had a GE tall tub machine that I simply disliked, mostly because it wasn’t my 1200. Fast forward to Sept 2011 and I installed a 1986 1200 from our wonderful John L and it is still here and still being used. I just unloaded it about an hour ago actually. By my count that’s more than 23 years experience using 1200s, and I do not want anything else.

Ironically I have a nib 2010 Kenmore like yours that was going to replace the GE tall tub until I got the current 1200.

I wish you great luck with the GE, and hope you truly like it!

Gordon

 

[combo52]

New GSD1200 GE dishwasher

Hi Shannon, reply number 12. What do you mean you Want a set of super racks for this dishwasher?

This dishwasher came with the best racks GE made at the time. I believe I have spare racks for this dishwasher, but I wouldn’t think there’s anything wrong with them on new machine.

The condensation in the cycle indicator window is not normal. Hopefully it will go away. If not, you can take the inner door panel out and check for leaks. It’s common for these machines to leak around the detergent dispenser as there’s not really a seal there.

John

 

[appnut]

Shannon, I had my 1200 from May 1987 until summer 2006 and the only reason why I replaced it was a member wanted to give me a new dishwasher as a thankyou for standing and supporting their family during difficult times and they wanted me to have a new dishwasher. I observed that condensation mostly during the cooler winter months and it never had an effect on the timer at all. It cleared up by the end of the dry cycle. And usually using thte Potscrubber cycle as that mainwash period was anywhere from 45 to 54 minutes long due to water heating.

 

[hobarthero]

Condensation gone!

I made a very minor adjustment on the door latch post on the dishwasher side. I saw that it adjusts in and out when you loosen the two screws, so I made it so the door closes a little bit tighter because it wasn’t very tight originally. I believe some condensation was making it around the seal and coming in the backside of the control panel and causing some condensation inside. It’s nice that there were some adjustments that could be made. I didn’t realize the 1200 actually came with the best racks. I was assuming that the super racks GE sold were an add-on item for all of the dishwashers, but it seems that they came standard on this model. There is a ton of space for stuff in this machine. I just have to figure out how to lay everything out the most effectively. But the first Wash was an outrageous success. Cleaned everything perfectly. The top rack is huge!

 

[appnut]

Shannon, the super racks came on the 1100 (which my sister in Dallas had at my recommendation) as well as the 2400 and 2800. The 2200 maybe, but not as deluxe as these racks.