I picked up this KUDS21 at habitat yesterday for $25.  It was pretty filthy but I am working on cleaning it up.  I don't know what the previous owners did to this machine.  The inside appears as though in was run somewhere with awful water but the Water Inlet screen was clean.  I guess hard water doesn't' always mean clogged screen but I thought I would check it.

The machine seems to run perfectly except for the flow thru drying unit.  I can see it glowing red on the inside when it calls for heat but the fan does not seem to want to spin.  I have tried kick starting it a couple of times.  It will run for about 10 seconds and then stop.  I have been hitting cancel when it gets to the dry cycle for fear of doing more damage.  I wonder if that is why they got rid of it?

Here are some pics of the machine.  I will follow this with a link to a You Tube posting of the machine running.  The lower wash arm seems to move much slower than in my KDS17A.  Is that normal given it is feeding the upper was arm as well?  Just curious to know if the speed seems normal of if there are any other issues I should address.

Here are the issues I see with this machine.  Any help/advice is always appreciated:

• The soap dish works but is so badly stained I'd love to find a replacement if anyone has one they would like to part with.  I haven't found one on line unless I'm looking in the wrong place.
• I'm not sure yet about the rinse dispenser.  One thing at a time I guess.
• Not sure how to deal with the Flo Thru drying unit.  Should I take it apart or anything like that or is this a common occurrence and I should look for a replacement.
• The machine did not come with a bottom panel.  Not sure why someone would throw it out but they did so I'd love to find a bottom panel and then I would figure out a way to match the upper and lower panels once I have a replacement.  I am likely going to use this in my utility room so it doesn't have to be perfect.

On a side note I couldn't get my photos to reorder the way I wanted and it seems to want to show one less than I have uploaded.  As I am typing this I am wondering if that's one of the IE vs. Firefox issues.  I am using Firefox.  Anyone else have that issue?

Here is the machine running.  Does the speed of the two wash arms appear normal?  I am used to my KDS17a which does close to 50 RPMs.  It did fill longer than it does in the video I just had to shorten it.  I fills to exactly where is it supposed to so it appears to be getting enough water.

This pic shows in my list but is not displaying.

I hope someone knows.  I think early 90s maybe.

Love a good steale of a deal for 25 bucks.

And a great machine congrats it sounds and looks good.

Darren k

WP kept the Hobart pump design through the 22 series, but during the 21 series they switched to a better Emerson motor [ better built quality and fewer replacements during the 5 year parts warranty ]. The 23 machines were the last DWs that looked like a real KA but WP changed the tank base to accommodate a modified WP power-clean pump and motor assembly, this was the first really big improvement in KA DWs in a decade as it was the first KA DW ever that did not have a filter that had to be cleaned.

  I’ll get a better pic of the machine open with the Bottom rack pulled out.  I think it is the WP design because it is a wider design than my 17 series machine.  I was running a Rinse cycle so I will have to try a video again of the wash cycle.  This machine has only one rinse :o(.  I’m not sure how I feel about that but we’ll see how it goes.  I ran a full cycle last night with some really dirty dishes and they came out very well.

I doubt I will make this my daily driver because I really love my 17 series machine but this will be a great machine in the utility room for larger items that are awkward in the older machines with the single wash arm.

This one does have the real Soak n’ Scrub that actually, sprays, heats, and repeats a few times.  Some of the older ones seem to fill, spray, heat and drain which seems kind of pointless to me.