I found this locally (within Connecticut) and it demonstrated a side-benefit of collecting these things: sometimes your travel takes you to interesting and very pretty places, in this case Barkhamstead CT and a small house within a state forest next to a gorgeous river and an even more spectacular reservoir. The seller was selling items from an estate sale and told me this belonged to a LOL. It's easy to believe because this machine has seen very little use. Most likely, she was given this dishwasher in 1963, used it a couple of times and decided, like so many women I have known, that it was just easier to wash the dishes by hand.

It looks like a typical KA top-loading portable from the Sixties and early Seventies, but it has some of the parts of the KD-2's. That pretty blue cast iron wash arm could be used as a murder weapon in an Alfred Hitchcock teleplay. It's also unusual in that the vinyl on the racks is off-white with blue speckling; I don't think that happened in subsequent model years.

I do love my top-loading portables. I promised myself that if this was in working condition I wasn't going to take it apart and render it useless; I ran the machine empty when I got it home and, unfortunately, like my Maytag WP-600, it went through the normal cycle filling itself over and over again without draining, until it overflowed. I don't know if that overflow switch is supposed to shut off the fill solenoid or active the drain solenoid, but it looks like it is most definitely the latter. Anyway, I bailed out most of the water, disconnected the fill and let it continue another whole cycle. While I was in the bedroom suddenly I heard the unmistakable SNAP of a solenoid and then the happy gushing sound of water draining into the sink. I guess the drain solenoid was a little sticky and benefited from some heat, vibration and some time. It works!

 That's beautiful, Ken.  Have fun getting the dishes done with a quick cycle and wall of water spray that no soil can hide from.  It would fun to see the results if you'd join in the AW Peanut Butter Test thread, the one-arm-wonder KitchenAids aren't faring well so far.  

One of the reasons my grandmother always used for not using her Mobile Maid was that she hated the thought of dirty dishes sitting inside it while waiting for a full load to accumulate.   It must have driven her (and others) crazy that the kitchen wasn't technically cleaned up if dirty dishes were still lingering about.  How times have changed, nobody much gives that a second thought now.  Even letting a "full load" accumulate in the sink (or the coffee table!) isn't even beyond the norm for many.

 Even letting a "full load" accumulate in the sink (or the coffee table!) isn't even beyond the norm for many.

That sounds just like my house right now lol!!!  The load of clean dishes hasn't been unloaded yet

Good Lord! I'm ashamed to report how many times my own hand washing fails the AW peanut butter test!

Thanks for the information, Eddie; now I'm going to lift and look under her skirt to see this drain pump. I would swear in court that I heard a snap, but maybe it was the pump kicking in after 50 years. I don't expect this machine to be a stellar cleaner like a Whirlpool/Kenmore or a Maytag. One Arm Wonder is a good description of what we got there; there's no power shower or constant rinse even, but I use these dishwashers to clean refrigerator shelves, wastebaskets, the nasty tools of the bathroom and appliance parts that don't want to fit in a front-loader and other things that I don't want in the same machine as the tableware I eat off of.

But now I'm all hot to waste 4 dollars and do an AW peanut-butter test!!!!! Has to be one of the most hydrophobic food things out there.

So here's my recipe for Chinese Peanut Sauce for noodles:

1/2 cup of Trader Joe's Natural Crunchy Salted Peanut Butter

1 clove garlic

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon fresh lime juice (if you're even thinking of using bottled juice (egad!), just omit this)

2 tablespoons cup light soy sauce (Kikkoman)

2 tablespoons rice vinegar or cider vinegar

1 tablespoon Chinese red chili oil, if you like some heat

1 tablespoon toasted Sesame Oil , the dark stuff, not the light stuff

Hot water for thinning (about 1/4 cup)

Fresh cilantro, chopped, for garnish

Fresh scallions, cut into coins, for garnish

Freshly toasted and chopped peanuts, also for garnish

Combine all ingredients, in order given, in a small food processor or blender, or if you want to be Asian-ghetto, use a mortar and pestle. Thin with hot water to a creamy consistency. Pour over noodles and garnish with the nuts and the green things. Wash plates in dishwasher of choice after eating to see if you bought the right appliance.

Wow, Ken, nice find!  I love the mix of styling - the Big Blue wash arm with the racks that lift up when the lid is opened.  I love my KD-2P but I find loading can be a challenge, even for me... LOL 

I hope the drain issues are now resolved - congratulations!!

Ok, I'm going to have to upend this girl and really take a good look up her dress, now I'm curious about this. Is this like the drain pump on the original Maytag top-loader that was discontinued a couple of years into production?

The other thing I'd like to know is if there's a way to remove the upper part of the top rack. It seems to be held on to the lid metal armature with a couple of nylon friction clips which, at this age, love to shatter if you mess with them. On the Mobile Maids, they pop out of the same kind of armature very easily. There's absolutely nothing in the KD-4 manual or the Service manual about removing the racks from the machine. The back top rack half just lifts out but without removing the top half it's very difficult to remove the bottom rack to get at the filter and the wash arm. There's a kind of lame handle on the bottom rack that you're supposed to use to flip the rack up against the back of the tank and balance it there while you do maintenance. And it is, for lack of any insulation, a fairly quiet machine for its vintage.

Thank you Eddie. I ran it through a complete cycle today and it performed well; every drain portion of the cycle occurred. I like machines with this kind of timer control: it runs continuously with no pauses between periods. A wash/rinse goes for about 1 3/4 minutes and then it goes right into drain, which seems to last anywhere from 30 to 45 seconds and almost before the drain pump stops, the inlet solenoid opens and there's a time fill that lasts until the next timer-turn interval. The problem I'm seeing is that there doesn't seem to be enough drainage and as the cycle progresses, the dishwasher overfills. There was one single period of leakage (about a quart) again during the latter portion of the cycle but I can't tell where or how. When I opened the lid to look, the water level was up to the bottom of the spray arm and at the end of the cycle, before the drying period, the tank had a little bit of water and suds at the bottom. I can most likely control this from the faucet but I shouldn't have to.  I am beginning to believe that the overflow switch isn't working properly and whatever job it's supposed to do it ain't doin' it. We'll see after I run another cycle.

Does anyone know how that round black rubber pad overflow switch that's on the bottom of the tub works? Does it stop the incoming water, does it activate the drain, both???

Hi Ken.

I'm sure stevet will being here soon.     Yes, I have found the exact same problem with this machine and the KD2-P.

The drain period doesn't seem long enough. Which leads me to think that there is too much water pressure and there should be a restrictor somewhere.

That Black Round Rubber thing is the Overflow Protection. ( Pressure Switch ) It works on the weight of the water in the tank. If you press it ever so gently, you will hear it click. It may need adjusting.  And now that I wrote that, if it were adjusted, I think it would limit the water hence the drain cycle would then be proper.

But stevet or John L should know.

@ Tom...

"That round rubber disc might have hardened over the decades and is not giving a true reading to the switch under it. If it were working properly, the machine should not have overfilled the first time. "

Did you have to remind us that we are "Decades" Old ? LOL

When I get back from my trip, I will make a decision on the fate of my KD4-P.

It may share a place in the Mausoleum along side of LaRegina.   So, parts may be available.  I also just acquired a spare Big Blue if anyone needs one. 

What I want to know is what is that overflow switch connected to; the drain-pump, the inlet solenoid, or possibly both?

and, btw, the new direction of this thread deserves one of these:

@ Tom...

As Lauren Hutton said on her show back in the mid 90s during a interview when asked if she would like to go back and be in her 20s again replied "Oh No. Only if I could take my 53 year old brain with me. I wouldn't trade all that wisdom ever".

Another quote of her's is "We have to be able to grow up. Our wrinkles are our medals of the passage of life. They are what we have been through and who we want to be. I don't think I will ever cut my face, because once I cut it, I'll never know where I've been."

@ Ken... Great Pic

@ Steve... Here ya go.  Well, for everyone...

I can't believe I had that diagram within reach. Miracles do happen... LOL