Thanks to one of your posts, I just picked up this old beauty from a very nice gentleman near Trenton, NJ:

I've always wanted one of the 16 series and John LeFever said that there were certain parts (memory?) to this machine that were better than those used in the 17 series. The machine was very clean on the outside and what clinched the deal for me was that it came with a custom panel frame attached. Outside of the tank and the vital organs all looked quite new beneath a 40 year old veneer of dust:

The inside is another matter. Although the tank and the racks look OK for its age, everything is coated with a thick layer of weird greenish scale. I will enjoy, as usual, the cleaning challenge but I'm worried about the effects of the scale on the machine. When I can find the g(*)#E_PE#_+#J#EJ!!! correct adapter for the inlet solenoid, I'll be able to test the machine and will let you know.

Yes of all the single wash arm KAs [ and really all the real KA DWs ] this one has always been my favorite. The rust stains on the right wall and rear of the tank are not unique to KA and it is not a defect in KAs porcelain. These marks are caused by users washing steel cookie sheets etc in the DW and leaving a rust mark where they touched the tank and as Steve suggested they come off easily but they will never come back unless you wash steel or cast iron cookware in the DW LOL.

The green copper stains may slowly come off on there own as you start using the DW, I have most all the parts that you will ever need for this DW if you need anything. John.

Do any of you guys know about what year this is from? Any literature?

Were made from some time in 1968-1970 they were one of the shorter runs for KA. Darren yours looks to be in really good condition, you should service it and put it back into use for yourself or someone else. The minimum a DW like these needs is to disassemble and inspect [ probably replace the main pump seal and drain impeller ] the main pump and to rebuild or replace the inlet valve [ no it doesn't work to take it apart and just clean it, unless you replace the rubber valve diaphragms ]. It is also important to be sure that the overfill protection switch works and and inspect and replace any bad hoses and a drop of oil on both bearings for the little blower motor on the drying unit.

If these areas are in good condition you could get quite a few years of use out of one of these DWs, no it won't last 30 more years of once a day use, but then few of these DWs got that much use in their first life.

Love the wood-panel front on this KA, Ken!  What a great find!!

OK, so if I have a party I can only wash lightly, warm the vercocked plates or just cancel the whole thing. I'd love to have a conversation with the "Mary Margaret McMertz" Consumer Affairs Executive who came up with the cycle categories for Hobart.

I'm happy to report that after hosing the whole thing down, removing the panels and frames (which, unfortunately, were scarred with a lot of rust) I plugged the thing in and it purred to life, did a purge and then responded immediately to the CANCEL button. It's a little amusing/interesting to me that there is a cycle dial/cam down below the tank where the old 14 and 14 series had a knob. The little half-moon metal stem that would have held the white plastic knob is even there and it turns rapid advance speed when you hit the CANCEL button (on the PARTY side of the control panel, BTW).

So I went out this afternoon and bought some CLR and some Oxalic Acid crystals and I'm armed with all my clean up gear. Please say a prayer that I don't do what I usually do with some of these vintage machines which is to go hog wild and clean them so well I damage them. I'd like to get that soylent green scale off of it, but I'd rather have a machine that works. Thank the Lord that there were no mice-in-residence as there were with the two Asko's I brought home with the same haul. I can still smell mouse shookum in my front yard.

And here's the best thing that happened; don't you love it when the glue that holds the Electrical Schematic to the inside of the tank door is so old that it just releases its 45 year old hold with a small crackle and no damage (so I can lay it flat on the glass of my scanner)?