Thread Number: 30499
Vintage Kelvinator Portable Dishwasher seen at Salvation Army Store...
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Post# 461541   9/6/2010 at 01:58 (4,952 days old) by redcarpetdrew (Fairfield, CA)        

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This was sitting in the as is appliance section. Not bad looking...




Post# 461542 , Reply# 1   9/6/2010 at 01:59 (4,952 days old) by redcarpetdrew (Fairfield, CA)        

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Console left...

Post# 461543 , Reply# 2   9/6/2010 at 02:00 (4,952 days old) by redcarpetdrew (Fairfield, CA)        

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Console right...

Post# 461544 , Reply# 3   9/6/2010 at 02:02 (4,952 days old) by redcarpetdrew (Fairfield, CA)        

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The top is in good condition. A little sanding and oiling and it's good as new.

Post# 461545 , Reply# 4   9/6/2010 at 02:03 (4,952 days old) by redcarpetdrew (Fairfield, CA)        
Money shot...

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The interior is good. The racks are good as well.

Post# 461547 , Reply# 5   9/6/2010 at 02:07 (4,952 days old) by redcarpetdrew (Fairfield, CA)        

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The bottom of the tub is slightly discolored but may very well clean up. Look at the size of those jets in the wash arm. This thing must not only use a decent amount of water but be a little louder when running.

Post# 461548 , Reply# 6   9/6/2010 at 02:10 (4,952 days old) by redcarpetdrew (Fairfield, CA)        

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Shot of the door. True D&M all the way. Not sure of the age. Dishwashers aren't quite in my collection's focus so I didn't get it but thought it'd be neat to post.

RCD


Post# 461568 , Reply# 7   9/6/2010 at 06:39 (4,952 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        

That is exactly like the interior of the Norge dishwasher that was in a recently re-done kitchen of a house a friend bought in 1971. I told him to keep it set for hygenic or sani wash (I forget the exact name of the high temp wash) and it would clean most things. Someone tried using the regular wash cycle without the timer hold while it heated and it did not clean as well. It has big holes in the wash arm because it has no filter, but it handled soil without leaving stuff redeposited. The wash arm under the upper rack was great, especially with its own feed not interfering with the middle of the bottom rack. To the best of my knowledge, D&M had this first so credit is given where it is due.

Post# 461575 , Reply# 8   9/6/2010 at 07:44 (4,952 days old) by polkanut (Wausau, WI )        

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That whole interior set-up looks almost exactly like our current dishwasher, a 2001 Whirlpool Gold series. I guess everything old is new again at some point. lol Go ahead and get it Andrew, you know you want to.

Post# 461576 , Reply# 9   9/6/2010 at 07:44 (4,952 days old) by polkanut (Wausau, WI )        

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That whole interior set-up looks almost exactly like our current dishwasher, a 2001 Whirlpool Gold series. I guess everything old is new again at some point. lol Go ahead and get it Andrew, you know you want to.

Post# 461582 , Reply# 10   9/6/2010 at 09:02 (4,952 days old) by stevet (West Melbourne, FL)        
A First for the Industry?

I think we can agree that the upper arm in this machine was probably one of the first of its kind as not many others had used it yet. Was the "roto-rack" before this style or after and didn't Waste King already have the "H" arm set up already?

And it was not supplied by the wash pump but rather was supplied by the drain impeller pumping water to it. The pump had two outlets for the drain water..one was to the top arm when the motor turned in the wash direction and when it reversed to drain, it went out the other outlet to the drain. Pretty smart idea. The only down side of these machines was the lack of any filter which often caused items to get stuck inside the pump and would jam it up. I remember having people I knew who had these machines calling me to see what was wrong with their units only to find a piece of bone or a small pit or glass stuck in the pump housing jammed against the wash pump impeller. The macerators in there just could not handle all that was thrown in their way! And Yes, they were very noisy machines as well. But they sure sold alot of them!


Post# 461594 , Reply# 11   9/6/2010 at 09:57 (4,952 days old) by peteski50 (New York)        
Dishwasher!

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Real nice Dishwasher I wish we could read all the buttons. Does anyone know what the 2 right buttons are for?
This is definatly a keeper. I would say from the early 70's right?
Peter


Post# 461601 , Reply# 12   9/6/2010 at 10:54 (4,952 days old) by appnut (TX)        
guess everything old is new again at some point

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Tim, not really. There's not much you can do with a dishwasher interior arrangement. This has always been pretty standard since the mid to late 19600s. Exceptions were KitchenAid and GE/Hotpoint. Steve, as far as this being after the "roto-rack" style, no they were simultaneous or in tandem. Sears, and to a small extent Gaffers & Sattler, were the only D&M labeled brands with the roto-rack. Everyone else had slight variations of a top rack such as this. And Peter, as far as I can figure out, the most 2 right buttons were something like a hygenic single wash (the left of those two right buttons has a letter C aove it). The farthest right button, if anything like neighbors and friends with a comparable Magic Chef--Matic Chef called it total Magic Wash (and was red button instead of white) had heated delays in the main wash & final rinse. It could have also did a heat delay in the first pre-wash too. I cannot quite make out all the potential lettering on that farthest right button, but it looks like it could be Hygienic Combine Wash or Hygienic Complete Wash and I bet it had Letter A over it. From left to right, the buttons had starting points of A, A, A, B, C, and most likely A.

Post# 461648 , Reply# 13   9/6/2010 at 12:38 (4,952 days old) by kenmorekeith ()        

we had a kenmore back in the day that looked alot like this on the inside!! Were they made by the same company?

Post# 461651 , Reply# 14   9/6/2010 at 13:14 (4,952 days old) by appnut (TX)        
Were they made by the same company?

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Yes. D&M

Post# 461670 , Reply# 15   9/6/2010 at 15:54 (4,952 days old) by varicyclevoice (Davenport, Iowa)        
Cycles available:

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After studying the buttons, I think I have most of it.

A - Rinse & Hold
A - Wash & Hold
A - Double Wash
B - Hygienic Normal Wash
C - Hygienic (?) Dry
A - Hygienic Double Wash

That second to the last button, I just can't make out the middle word...it almost looks like "rinse" but to rinse and dry with sani-heat might seem unnessary without a wash in there somewhere.

When I was a kid, my mom's friend had a built-in model similar to this model. I wish someone would buy it...it is in very nice condition for its age, and you don't see older Kelvinator machines very often. I love the stainless / silver trim...what a beauty!!



Post# 461756 , Reply# 16   9/6/2010 at 20:50 (4,952 days old) by peteski50 (New York)        
Kelvinator Dishwasher!

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Anyone have any brochures?

Post# 461827 , Reply# 17   9/7/2010 at 01:54 (4,951 days old) by aldspinboy (Philadelphia, Pa)        

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Drew just blow ur pipe as well and the machines come rolling to you lol...
You should get this i never heard of a ...
WASH & HOLD i guess for stubborn soiled dishes and pans.
Had seen that wash arm many times in the 70's i use to go over this lady's house where she had a Lady k and u slide the control panel back and it lit up the dial and the row of push buttons she was nice and let me here it wash she had a roto-rack model.
Those holes are huge and you can hear them too !


Darren k.


Post# 461850 , Reply# 18   9/7/2010 at 07:49 (4,951 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        
Waste King H arm

Unlike this machine, the "H" arm was fed through the lower rack affecting the loading pattern. It was not a wash arm with an independent feed like in the D&M.

Post# 461856 , Reply# 19   9/7/2010 at 08:36 (4,951 days old) by toggleswitch (New York City, NY)        

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WOW

Remember the days of?
W-R-R-W-R-R-D?

Mother Toggle's Sears DW (by D&M) circa 1972/1973

had the above umber of water-fills as normal wash and R-W-R-R-D as "Light Wash"


Post# 461874 , Reply# 20   9/7/2010 at 11:01 (4,951 days old) by jons1077 (Vancouver, Washington, USA)        
Magic Chef

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Growing up I believe we had the same version of this machine in a Magic Chef brand and in harvest gold. Same letter coded timer knob that coincided with the buttons. Probably had the same cycles and some sort of lights indicating washing and drying, etc. I very much remember the last button was a red button and the rest were white i think. I always wondered what the red button was for and why it was red. It stood out like a sore thumb!



Post# 461897 , Reply# 21   9/7/2010 at 12:48 (4,951 days old) by rpms (ontario canada)        

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That is my mom's first built in dishwasher from the 70s. It was harvest gold and was an Admiral. The cycles were a bit different. Rinse and hold, pots and pans, double wash, double wash with sani, short sani wash and china and crystal. The short sani cycle was the B selection on the dial. It gave you a rinse, wash, rinse, hot rinse and dry. China and crystal was the C setting. It was very useless. One minute of wash, two minutes of rinse, plus a very hot dry. You better hope the dishes were clean before they went in. One the normal and short cycle, it washed very well. You would get a few bits on top of mugs, but nothing inside glasses.

Post# 461898 , Reply# 22   9/7/2010 at 12:52 (4,951 days old) by rpms (ontario canada)        

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If you blow thru the hole in the middle of the silverware basket, it whistles. Just saying.

Post# 461944 , Reply# 23   9/7/2010 at 17:11 (4,951 days old) by cuffs054 (MONTICELLO, GA)        

Anyone know what the first DM unit was/ looked like? I've had a number of them and they always cleaned very well.

Post# 461949 , Reply# 24   9/7/2010 at 18:01 (4,951 days old) by rollermatic (cincinnati)        
roto rack before or after?

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i remember seeing these d&m machines sold under the brand name of modern maid in the late 60's. at the same time kenmore still had their machines with the roto racks so i would say they were both being manufactured during the same periods.

i have a kelvinator that i got from matt in grand rapids mich last summer. very similiar to this one here. controls are almost identical. i have not even started to look at it yet although i do know it has the old cast iron drain pump housing
hope to pull it out and play with it next year!


Post# 461955 , Reply# 25   9/7/2010 at 18:22 (4,951 days old) by appnut (TX)        
the last button was a red button and the rest were white

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Jon, see my post from 10/6/2010 at 10:54 am and you will see what that red button was for.

Post# 461959 , Reply# 26   9/7/2010 at 18:28 (4,951 days old) by jons1077 (Vancouver, Washington, USA)        
appnut

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I have no idea how to find a post by date and time. :-(

Jon


Post# 461960 , Reply# 27   9/7/2010 at 18:28 (4,951 days old) by Jetcone (Schenectady-Home of Calrods,Monitor Tops,Toroid Transformers)        
with our soft water and

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as john says, pre detergent water, these D&M were great cleaners here! I had several portables and never a complaint!

Post# 461961 , Reply# 28   9/7/2010 at 18:36 (4,951 days old) by appnut (TX)        
What I called the "funky D&M rack arrangement D&Ms"

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Who remembers the strange arrangement (I know TomTurbomatic does because he's alluded to it several times over the years) that was a typical D&M dishwaher. BUT, it had a rising tower in the middle of the bottom rack and because there wasn't a spray arm under the top rack, the top rack was lowered some and a full-size spray arm was put on the top (similar to a Maytag reverse-rack arrangement so to speak). Plates (big and small) faced toward the center and there was a row of dishloops that went right down the center of the bottom rack (perpendicular to the large & small plates facing the center) (except for space for the pop-up tower). Those dishloops were intended for saucers and other small cereal bowls. As Tom has pointed out, a very inefficient racking system and wasted a lot of space. But I was fascinated by this unique arrangement. As best I can figure out, D&M had some units like this under Kenmore, Tappan, G&S, Caloric, and Magic Chef from like 1981 or very early 1982 through 1984-early 1985. I first saw this when visiting Dallas (and the Valley View Mall Sears store there), in like 1982. I saw a Tappan branded one that looked exactly like the above at a wedding reception in like 1984. Neighbors that got transferred to austin in 1984 bught a brand new home with the Caloric bransd. When I visited them, the guest room was a huge room over the garage on the other side of the house. I could lay in bed and listen through the pipes and walls the noise of this dishwasher as it went through the cycle). Nate had a Magic Chef of this iteration (albeit a BOL) that he found before he left Tuscon. The reason why Nate's was BO)L was it had the two full-size spray arms at the bottom & above the top rack, but no wash tower to "supplement" the upper ack. Nate said it was a fairly goood cleaner, it definitely left no yibblits on the tops of glasses, but you still had to be somewhat careful loading the bottom rack (ala Kitchenaid) not to block the water to the top rack.

Post# 461962 , Reply# 29   9/7/2010 at 18:40 (4,951 days old) by appnut (TX)        
I have no idea how to find a post by date and time. :-(

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Jon, scroll up and down this thread manually, you don't do a "search". It's post number 461601 in this thread.

Post# 461969 , Reply# 30   9/7/2010 at 19:18 (4,951 days old) by GadgetGary (Bristol,CT)        
10/6/2010

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?????


Post# 461975 , Reply# 31   9/7/2010 at 19:34 (4,951 days old) by jons1077 (Vancouver, Washington, USA)        
Got it!

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Thanks! I had a feeling that button might be for something like that. Of course as a kid I was intriqued by the outstanding red color. :-)

Jon


Post# 462041 , Reply# 32   9/7/2010 at 22:53 (4,951 days old) by peteski50 (New York)        
D & M

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These were very good dishwashers until they screwed up the design by adding a tower. Some units like sears and modern maid stayed the same. Another example of how companies screw up by making stupid changes.

Post# 462048 , Reply# 33   9/7/2010 at 23:28 (4,951 days old) by roto204 (Tucson, AZ)        

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*cough*, Bob :-)

Post# 462050 , Reply# 34   9/7/2010 at 23:35 (4,951 days old) by CircleW (NE Cincinnati OH area)        

Remember, the first Roto-Rack models were made by Avco American Kitchens/Crosley in the early 50's, which was the predecessor company to D&M.

Post# 462051 , Reply# 35   9/7/2010 at 23:36 (4,951 days old) by appnut (TX)        

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Nate, do I need to pat ya on the back to make sure you don't choke with that "cough"? :-) Remember, there's now tower, just a wash arm and the "typical" D&M bottom rack just like what's above in the Kelvinator. Friends in Dallas had one, like I said. I did try to "Maytag" load it with plates in the top rack, but some of their dinner plates got in the way of the wash arm lol.

Post# 462062 , Reply# 36   9/8/2010 at 00:27 (4,951 days old) by A440 ()        

Fantastic Machine in Great Shape!
Sad that someone took cleaner to the faceplate.
This would be a fun machine...and not to mention a very good cleaner!
Lot's of water use and water action!
I would get it in a heartbeat!


Post# 462077 , Reply# 37   9/8/2010 at 07:18 (4,950 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)        
D&M TOP WASH ARM MACHINES

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I think this was an attempt to use a MT idea and mix up thier feature lineup for the various brand names they supplied. The arm at the very top was poorly designed it was too low [ not recessed into the top like MTs ] and they just used the standard top rack so you couldn't really the advantage of having the arm there. [ notice this silly feature never showed up on the KM models ].

Post# 462229 , Reply# 38   9/8/2010 at 19:42 (4,950 days old) by appnut (TX)        
[ notice this silly feature never showed up on the KM model

appnut's profile picture
Oh yes it did John!!! That's where I saw it at the Sears store at Valley View Mall in Dallas while I was killing time on my way to go visit some friends in a couple of Dallas suburbs. They had a couple of models, but weren't in their lineup very long. Remember, this was long before Sears Brand Central arrived. It wasn't too soon after all this that the UltraWash dishwashers debuted. I think this design helped D&M evolve to the pop-up tower arrangement (and get rid of the spray arm under the top rack). When I began looking at hoses in fall of 1985 when I found out I was going to be transferred here, I looked at two houses brand new houses by two different buildeers (about 1/2 a mile from where I now live) and they both had Kenmore kitchens with the "GE-esque" botom rack with the pop-up tower and the arrangement for saucers behind the tower like n GEs. Surprised me, but I thought that ended up being better for capacity vs. the above top big-arm style.


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