New never used Vintage 70s/80s General Electric dish washer

Plastisol was a tub-liner system used by GE for many years. It consists of a vinyl-type plastic bonded to steel. My understanding is that it was not used on Canadian models, but it sure as Hell was used here, for far too long.

The problem with Plastisol is that if there is any tiniest breach in the plastic layer, water gets through to the steel underneath, and pretty soon the plastic layer breaks out in nasty, lumpy patches - the rust forms bubbles underneath the plastic. Eventually, the rust can go all the way through the steel.

Plastisol liners were vulnerable to anything that breached the plastic layer - forks and knives poking through the bottom of the silverware basket were a common problem. Even the edges of Plastisol panels had issues - rust often formed at the edges of detergent dispensers, because the coating stopped pretty much at the edge of the hole in the panel where the dispenser was located. The lower edge of door panels and the front lower edge of tubs were other common problem areas.

This problem was so widespread that appliance parts places used to carry "repair kits" that consisted of a color-matched epoxy coating. You ground away the bubbled plastic and the rusty area underneath, then applied the coating. It only worked for a little while, just delaying the inevitable.

GEs were notorious for this problem for a long time; they eventually went to an all-plastic tub system called PermaTuf to improve their reputation for quality. PermaTuf did solve the problem with GE's liners.

My personal memories of trying to keep a GE with a Plastisol liner running are so painful that I would not even begin to consider another machine with one, not even the mintiest MIB find. I know from bitter experience that it wouldn't be minty long.


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Post# 751373 4/20/2014 at 06:19 (3,652 days old) by chachp (North Little Rock, AR)
Checkrate/Likes Condition: Great! This dishwasher has sat in storage for over 3 years so it needs to be cleaned. It has NEVER been used-there is no damage beneath the dust sitting on it. It was originally destined to go overseas but when that fell through it was sent into storage. The self standing wood table top can use light sanding to refresh the finish. The bottom cover is bent in and needs to be fixed. CLICK HERE TO GO TO chachp's LINK on eBay

Post# 751425 , Reply# 1 4/20/2014 at 09:56 (3,652 days old) by appnut (TX)
Checkrate/Likes Double drool!!!!!

Post# 751428 , Reply# 2 4/20/2014 at 10:10 (3,652 days old) by bajaespuma (Connecticut)
Checkrate/Likes This is not worth even 25 dollars. These were the worst machines GE produced.

Post# 751429 , Reply# 3 4/20/2014 at 10:14 (3,652 days old) by turquoisedude (.)
Checkrate/Likes This surfaced on craigslist, too. I sent the seller an email asking if they still had the lower motor access panel and received as a reply "What you see is what you get"... So, I'd say, run like hell from this one!

Post# 751492 , Reply# 4 4/20/2014 at 17:36 (3,652 days old) by jakeseacrest (Massachusetts)
Checkrate/Likes My Aunt had this machine, minus the light wash and drying options buttons, from 1974 to 2004. 30 years without a repair

Post# 751507 , Reply# 5 4/20/2014 at 18:59 (3,652 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)
Checkrate/Likes *Let's See Here....* ....NOS GE dishwasher with a Plastisol liner. Why, I bet you could get five - Hell, maybe even six - weeks out of it before rust starts. In other words: "Run, Toto, RUUUUUUUUNNN!"

Post# 751509 , Reply# 6 4/20/2014 at 19:05 (3,651 days old) by fisherpaykel (BC Canada)
Checkrate/Likes *late70's/early80's GE DW* I have to agree with jakeseacrest, while maybe not as good as a real Hobart Kitchenaid, and no filter they used enough water and sufficient water changes to perform well and in my and family experience easily had a 25-35 year lifetime at a lesser cost than a Kitchenaid. Missing bottom panel is too bad and at $250. might sound high but it has to be a longer lasting buy than todays new $250. DW, although maybe louder. Sandy, just read your post re rust, I am talking from Canadian experience with porcelain enamel tubs, when I replaced mine at about 30 years there were just a few rust spots near bottom sump, no rust through, no leaks, I am unfamiliar with a USA plastisol tub, maybe explain thanks. I don't know when GE in Canada switched to all plastic tubs but this era all Canadian GE made DW's,logos of GE,HOTPOINT after GE and GSW bought the Canadian Westinghouse factory and formed a joint venture CAMCO,MOFFAT,McCLARY had thick porcelain tubs, my Hotpoint was all white but the GE branded DWs had over top speckled enamel either in light green speckle followed later with light blue speckle and colour matched racking and baskets, these tubs were really durable even in soft water areas with just a bit of etching after 25 years-lets hope any appliance bought recently lasts as long. This post was last edited 04/20/2014 at 19:37

Post# 751517 , Reply# 7 4/20/2014 at 19:41 (3,651 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)
Checkrate/Likes The lower panel is inside the machine.

Post# 751523 , Reply# 8 4/20/2014 at 20:28 (3,651 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)
Checkrate/Likes *The Low-Down on Plastisol:* Plastisol was a tub-liner system used by GE for many years. It consists of a vinyl-type plastic bonded to steel. My understanding is that it was not used on Canadian models, but it sure as Hell was used here, for far too long. The problem with Plastisol is that if there is any tiniest breach in the plastic layer, water gets through to the steel underneath, and pretty soon the plastic layer breaks out in nasty, lumpy patches - the rust forms bubbles underneath the plastic. Eventually, the rust can go all the way through the steel. Plastisol liners were vulnerable to anything that breached the plastic layer - forks and knives poking through the bottom of the silverware basket were a common problem. Even the edges of Plastisol panels had issues - rust often formed at the edges of detergent dispensers, because the coating stopped pretty much at the edge of the hole in the panel where the dispenser was located. The lower edge of door panels and the front lower edge of tubs were other common problem areas. This problem was so widespread that appliance parts places used to carry "repair kits" that consisted of a color-matched epoxy coating. You ground away the bubbled plastic and the rusty area underneath, then applied the coating. It only worked for a little while, just delaying the inevitable. GEs were notorious for this problem for a long time; they eventually went to an all-plastic tub system called PermaTuf to improve their reputation for quality. PermaTuf did solve the problem with GE's liners. My personal memories of trying to keep a GE with a Plastisol liner running are so painful that I would not even begin to consider another machine with one, not even the mintiest MIB find. I know from bitter experience that it wouldn't be minty long.

Post# 751542 , Reply# 10 4/20/2014 at 21:59 (3,651 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas)
Checkrate/Likes And let's not forget that plastisol liners gave off a very unique odor when heated too.

Post# 751537 , Reply# 9 4/20/2014 at 21:32 (3,651 days old) by jamiel (Detroit, Michigan and Palm Springs, CA)
Checkrate/Likes Thanks for the explanation about Canadian GE dishwashers...they had a different design into the 90s than either US GE (perma-tuf) or US Hotpoint (porcelain) dishwashers.