Thread Number: 10751
Waste King |
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Post# 195705   3/8/2007 at 10:32 (6,230 days old) by bajaespuma (Connecticut)   |   | |
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Does anyone here own or have any information on Waste King dishwashers? I've never even noticed them mentioned on this site and before they were discontinued, I remember them as very well made, innovative machines. Toward the end of their run they were part of the Thermador appliance family and the Thermador dishwasher was a rebadged Waste King. They were fabricated out of all stainless-steel way before the European machines were ever sold here and I remember their racks were very heavy duty blue vinyl coated wire with curled tips to protect dishes and glasses. I saw one in a house for sale recently and was saddened to realize that it would probably go out to a dumpster as soon as the new owner moved in whether it was working or not. I asked the realtor if there was a way to retrieve old appliances from houses with no estate sale and, of course, she looked at me like I had three heads. Oh well, as usual, here in America we throw out only the best. |
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Post# 195731 , Reply# 2   3/8/2007 at 12:38 (6,230 days old) by peterh770 (Marietta, GA)   |   | |
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I have our original very early 1970's 4 cycle WK dw stored at my father's house in central NY if anyone wants it. Full Cycle, Rinse & Hold, Fine China, Pots & Pans. From what I remember, the Full Cycle was 2 rinses, wash, 2 rinses, heated final rinse and heated dry. P&P was the same without the heated dry. R&H was 2 rinses, and I don't think we ever once used the FC cycle. Two wash arms, on on a tower. "Goat eye" spray holes in the wash arms. Two silverware baskets. Stainless inside and out. No real food disposal to speak of. |
Post# 195767 , Reply# 3   3/8/2007 at 14:16 (6,230 days old) by gadgetgary (Bristol,CT)   |   | |
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Post# 195789 , Reply# 4   3/8/2007 at 15:01 (6,230 days old) by chachp (North Little Rock, AR)   |   | |
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There is a member of this site (he can identify himself if he wishes) who is not shy about knocking on the door to ask the new owners if they would remember him should they choose to replace one of their appliances. He has found a few finds that way. People really have called him months after the fact and told him to come and get the old machine if he wanted it. He didn't need to replace it with a new one although that's a great idea. It just depends how badly you want what is there and how patient you are.
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Post# 196009 , Reply# 6   3/8/2007 at 23:05 (6,230 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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Post# 196033 , Reply# 8   3/9/2007 at 00:41 (6,230 days old) by peteski50 (New York)   |   | |
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Post# 196084 , Reply# 9   3/9/2007 at 07:37 (6,229 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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Kelly, our 1958/59 model was most likely TOL. Three buttons (fully cycle, pots/pans, Rinse&Hold). Ours had a detergent dispenser with rotating cover so you had pre-wash detergent & main wash detergent. Otherwise, I would imagine your Aunt's & ours were pretty much the same. BTW, there is a single Waste King POD for both the disposal & DW as a Christmas present to the little woman. Gives a good shot of a loaded dishwasher too. I vaguely remember a time where Maytag/JennAir offer a SS tub briefly, most likely to "compete with WK. This was most likely around 1976 or 1977 when I was still in college.
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Post# 196095 , Reply# 10   3/9/2007 at 08:40 (6,229 days old) by bajaespuma (Connecticut)   |   | |
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I'm not that shy about asking but some things and some people aren't worth the trouble. I have one neighbor who has a COVETED 1961 GE filter-flo set that belonged to her mother sitting in a storage unit in our town. I've called her a dozen times begging her to either let me pay her or arrange a date to drive her to the unit to see them. She says she'll be glad to let me have the machines for free but getting her to commit to go the storage unit has been like pulling teeth. She's either too busy teaching or too busy driving to church on the weekends. She tells me now that she can do it once school is out for the summer vacation. I find that because people see this as an unusual avocation that they don't use usual rules of common courtesy or sense. I will kill the woman when she tells me that she got tired of paying for storage and subsequently threw everything out (exactly what my Mother would do). Patience is necessary for this collecting game, but honestly, you have to choose your battles, as most of you well know. The other thing I've learned is that I NEED a pick-up truck; I've missed more good stuff on the road for lack of a truck and a hand-truck. ...and thanks for the posting of the brochure. I fogot about those "goat-eye" water spouts. |
Post# 196108 , Reply# 12   3/9/2007 at 09:36 (6,229 days old) by chachp (North Little Rock, AR)   |   | |
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Post# 196226 , Reply# 13   3/9/2007 at 18:43 (6,229 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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Kelly, we had some friends that moved from Houston to Dallas spring/summer of 1965 (spent that Turkey Day with them and rode in my dad's new 1966 Impala SS). It was a new Fox & Jacobs subdivision (their more upscale models) and came with Waste King kitchens. It was a BOL model and had racks that were kind of "transition". The top rack was what became the norm for WK dishawshers (the brochure above--flat, not curved like Tomturbo described above. But the bottom rack was still arranged just like our 1958/59 and what Tom described above.
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Post# 196245 , Reply# 15   3/9/2007 at 21:02 (6,229 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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Kelly, no since this was 1965, the interior was plastinol. As Tom indicated above, they moved to plastinol probably for the 1959 model, which ours was. Waste King aws a good machine, albeit somewhat cheaply made. From what I have larned here, motors were vulnerable. They were a KA-wanna be. But had good features and a better capacity until the KD15 series. My Dad probably opted for the WK because it was so similar in design style to KA, without the better build. Our second WK was installed the day MLK was asssinated. Lasted until 1974 and was still going, but mom wanted somethihng new. It had the double wash arms as shown in the brochure above. Some friends in Houston, as well as friends in Sea Brook, both got the same SS Interior WK in about 1978 or 1979. It was a sSteam Machine. Had the same 4 cycle buttons but Steam Cycle supplanted our Cookware cycle. It also had a knob you pushed in to start rather than the timer "behind a plastic cover you saw through". That late 1970s machinie loaded just like our 1968, but it had SS interior. It was also slightly quieter than our old one. Oh, and Gary, THANK YOU for posting that brochure!! |
Post# 196250 , Reply# 16   3/9/2007 at 21:33 (6,229 days old) by westyslantfront ()   |   | |
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Not wishing to get off the topic, my parents had a stainless steel, 24 inch, drop in Waste King electric stove back in the 60's. Ross |
Post# 196252 , Reply# 17   3/9/2007 at 21:38 (6,229 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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Post# 196259 , Reply# 18   3/9/2007 at 22:06 (6,229 days old) by andrewinorlando ()   |   | |
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They certainly did Bob. Didn't they adopt the Chambers design for their gas cooktops? |
Post# 196265 , Reply# 19   3/9/2007 at 22:18 (6,229 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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Post# 196335 , Reply# 20   3/10/2007 at 07:00 (6,228 days old) by westyslantfront ()   |   | |
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When my parents sold their summer home in 1993, the Waste King stainless steel electric stove was still there. As it was a summer home, the stove had less use than usual. Ross |
Post# 196342 , Reply# 21   3/10/2007 at 08:15 (6,228 days old) by bajaespuma (Connecticut)   |   | |
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Post# 196362 , Reply# 22   3/10/2007 at 11:25 (6,228 days old) by varicyclevoice (Davenport, Iowa)   |   | |
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Hi Guys, I have some pictures of a Waste King dishwasher if you would like me to post. I also have acquired a Waste King use and care manual for the TOL dishwasher around 1979-80. It was for the "Steam Machine." I don't ever remember how I acquired the manual. I remember coming home from school one day and my Mom said it came in the mail. I must have written to the company for it, which I had done from time to time. Anyway, when I was growing up, my friend Bobby had a coppertone Waste King dishwasher in his kitchen. It was basically a portable model with a butcher block top but they had run plumbing to it from the floor so his mother didn't have to attach the hoses. I remember from time to time that she would run it when I was there and I thought it was one of the noisiest machines I'd ever heard. His mother told me once they they often would run it after they would all go upstairs to bed because of the noise it made in kitchen. When I was in high school, I used to take apart and repair dishwashers from time to time for fun (to learn) and also to make a little extra money. The very first dishwasher I brought home was a Waste King portable (sitting in front of a house in my hometown of Sterling, Illinois. I was riding my bike from my grandmother's house to my house and passed it on the way home. I remember begging my Dad to let me get it and work on it. I told him if I couldn't fix it that I would wheel it to the curb. He agreed and we got it. I spent a few Saturdays after that cleaning it up and working on it. Turns out the pump was clogged up and wouldn't drain. I fixed it and sold it at a rummage sale for $75.00. The Waste King machines didn't really have a filter if I remember. They had small holes around a pump in the bottom center. Once I had it running properly, my Mom and Dad would let me bring into the house and hook it up in the kitchen and we could run a load of dishes through it to make sure it worked before I sold it. --those were the days! This model, too, was very noisy! I don't know how people put up with it. Compared to KitchenAid, I felt like WK was inferior and their rack design too was very inadequate. Hope this thread isn't too long...I like sharing stories with you guys who might find an interest in it. I certainly love reading your stories. Oh and by the way, I will identify myself per chachp's request! It is I who has knocked on people's doors and inquired about their newly acquired vintage dishwashers. I acquired a beautiful near-mint KitchenAid KDC-17 dishwasher in this manner. She saved my number for 2 yrs and called me out of the blue one day. (I never thought she'd remember after all that time.) Todd |
Post# 196377 , Reply# 23   3/10/2007 at 12:29 (6,228 days old) by bajaespuma (Connecticut)   |   | |
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I'd love to see some more pictures of these machines. As I've said in other posts, I have some brochures packed away somewhere and as soon as I find them I'll share them. You've inspired me to go up to one of my neighbor's doors and knock. I'm going to be known locally as the weird appliance guy, but that's OK; most of my friends already refer to me as "Dr. Appliance" (among other nicknames).
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Post# 196406 , Reply# 24   3/10/2007 at 15:20 (6,228 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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Post# 196478 , Reply# 25   3/10/2007 at 21:15 (6,228 days old) by andrewinorlando ()   |   | |
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Gary, can you post that brochure to the site, or e-mail it directly to me? I would greatly appreciate it!! It brings back such memories. I loved my Waste King dishwasher...especially the sounds it made! |
Post# 196480 , Reply# 26   3/10/2007 at 21:26 (6,228 days old) by launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)   |   | |
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Post# 196494 , Reply# 27   3/10/2007 at 23:33 (6,228 days old) by neptunebob (Pittsburgh, PA)   |   | |
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I think WK may have been a regional brand of appliances sold mostly out west? I never saw one in Pgh but did see them on The Price is Right. Who owned the company? Varicyclechoice, I was kind of like you too with getting appliances out of the garbage. Most of the time I could not get anything big to work but I have never bought a vacuum cleaner new - all the ones I have are from the curb. I was also an appliance consultant in our neighborhood. It amazes me that people don't know what appliances they have even though they have to look at them every day. One person who wanted me to look at his dryer told me "It's no fun to use so I try not to look at it." Reason I think WK would have been owned by someone else is that I am not sure if people would want to buy or cook food on a range called Waste King. |
Post# 196571 , Reply# 28   3/11/2007 at 10:49 (6,227 days old) by bajaespuma (Connecticut)   |   | |
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It was owned by the same company that owned Thermador and, yes, they were based in the LA area. Waste King disposers are made today by a company called "Anaheim Manufacturing", so I suppose this is/was a divestiture of that parent company. Thermador dishwashers are now somebody else's rebadged but they were originally made by Waste King and virtually identical to them. If you remember TV shows well, family's like the Stevenses on Bewitched and others all had Waste King indoor gas barbecue grills (which I'd KILL for today) in their spiffy TV kitchens. They weren't as popular here in the East but occasionally you'd see them pictured in a high end kitchen designed by somebody like St. Charles or Mutschler. I hear that they were great at grilling but required a serious overhead hood as they were gas fired. My Aunt Sona had an early Waste King DW like the plastisol one described above. I do remember the cross patterned racking that was described. What I most remember about that machine was a pretty control panel with red and turquoise stripes and a big friendly black dial. Her machine was probably BOL but it worked well; it was noisy and I also remember it had nothing but a pathetic little plastic "trough" for detergent. You measured the detergent into it and it "fell" into the tank as you closed the door. Not exactly state of the art automatic. They were very happy to replace that Waste King with a KDC-17 in 1969. |
Post# 196581 , Reply# 31   3/11/2007 at 12:30 (6,227 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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Here's one of two pics posted by someone that had this dishwasher ina house in San Antonio. This was end of July, 2005. They were trying to see if anyone wanted it. No takers. It had some rust inside, but I don't think was terminal. Was purported to still be running. This is about a 1962 version of our 1959 model, just a slightly diffreent looking control panel.
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Post# 196582 , Reply# 32   3/11/2007 at 12:34 (6,227 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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Post# 196739 , Reply# 34   3/11/2007 at 22:27 (6,227 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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Post# 196752 , Reply# 35   3/11/2007 at 22:46 (6,227 days old) by bajaespuma (Connecticut)   |   | |
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Post# 196788 , Reply# 36   3/12/2007 at 07:06 (6,226 days old) by gadgetgary (Bristol,CT)   |   | |
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Post# 196790 , Reply# 37   3/12/2007 at 07:08 (6,226 days old) by gadgetgary (Bristol,CT)   |   | |
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Post# 196791 , Reply# 38   3/12/2007 at 07:13 (6,226 days old) by gadgetgary (Bristol,CT)   |   | |
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Post# 196792 , Reply# 39   3/12/2007 at 07:14 (6,226 days old) by gadgetgary (Bristol,CT)   |   | |
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Post# 196794 , Reply# 40   3/12/2007 at 07:17 (6,226 days old) by gadgetgary (Bristol,CT)   |   | |
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Post# 196795 , Reply# 41   3/12/2007 at 07:18 (6,226 days old) by gadgetgary (Bristol,CT)   |   | |
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Post# 196796 , Reply# 42   3/12/2007 at 07:21 (6,226 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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Post# 196808 , Reply# 43   3/12/2007 at 08:26 (6,226 days old) by bajaespuma (Connecticut)   |   | |
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Post# 196818 , Reply# 44   3/12/2007 at 09:51 (6,226 days old) by peterh770 (Marietta, GA)   |   | |
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Thanks, Gary. That was a year or two after the model I grew up with. Ours was the "250 series" but it had the eliptical graphic like the BOL, square buttons, and the two lights were situated one on each side of the buttons. The wash arms were the same as was the heating element. It is still available, if anyone wants it... |
Post# 196838 , Reply# 45   3/12/2007 at 11:55 (6,226 days old) by peteski50 (New York)   |   | |
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Post# 196868 , Reply# 46   3/12/2007 at 14:11 (6,226 days old) by gadgetgary (Bristol,CT)   |   | |
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Post# 196900 , Reply# 47   3/12/2007 at 15:53 (6,226 days old) by peterh770 (Marietta, GA)   |   | |
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Post# 196970 , Reply# 48   3/12/2007 at 19:21 (6,226 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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Post# 197011 , Reply# 50   3/12/2007 at 22:11 (6,226 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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I don't remember Richard Deacon donig that at all. Looks like Ward let him pursue a new career away from "the office". lol. Leslie, that same model was used in the late 1960s in my subdivision. What I found interesting on all 3 I was exposed to, none of them filled properly at each fill, so the pumping of water was "choppy" and pump straining.
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Post# 197381 , Reply# 51   3/14/2007 at 10:15 (6,224 days old) by tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)   |   | |
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Leslie, I remember Richard Deacon pushing the Thermador microwave ovens with the browning element. He was even featured on the cover of the cookbook I have seen in some second hand book stores. |
Post# 197452 , Reply# 52   3/14/2007 at 14:30 (6,224 days old) by bajaespuma (Connecticut)   |   | |
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I remember Richard Deacon now! He was the bald-headed character actor who played the producer on the Dick Van Dyke show, right? And I do remember him being promoted as an amateur home cook (wearing a Graham Kerr-style get-up that included the obligatory neck scarf with clasp)and promoting Thermador products. He played also Kaye Ballard's husband toward the end of "The Mother's In Law" show. Was he a big ol' girl in real life??? Now I'm even remembering him playing Talullah Bankhead's butler on "The Lucy & Desi Show".
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Post# 197539 , Reply# 53   3/14/2007 at 21:47 (6,224 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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