Thread Number: 49805
Need help with '52 Westinghouse dishwasher |
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Post# 719527 , Reply# 1   12/5/2013 at 23:38 (3,794 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)   |   | |
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Hi Kristy and welcome, I had the 1949 version of that machine installed in our kitchen for many years. It was great fun to use. See this thread
The downloadable service manual for this dishwasher is located here at the link below, Automatic Ephemera also has the owners manual... CLICK HERE TO GO TO Unimatic1140's LINK |
Post# 719549 , Reply# 2   12/6/2013 at 07:18 (3,794 days old) by turquoisedude (.)   |   | |
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Wow, Kitty, great kitchen (especially the dishwasher...LOL). There's lots of experience and expertise on restoring vintage dishwashers on this site, so don't hesitate to ask any questions you may have! That service manual that Robert has made available in the Automatic Ephemera library will be invaluable - doing a restore without documentation is always more challenging...
How is the interior of the machine? I will hazard a guess that this machine has not been used for some time - did the former owners of the house provide any clues about what it was (or was not) doing? Looking forward to seeing more pictures of this one!! |
Post# 719576 , Reply# 3   12/6/2013 at 10:35 (3,793 days old) by paulg (My sweet home... Chicago)   |   | |
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My dad (an engineer at Hotpoint) and I repaired many things together. That is why I am an engineer today.
This is a great project. It'll be a real point of pride when it is running - but that pales in comparison to the "on" time with your son and the cool stuff you'll learn (and probably learn a few swear words too LOL ! Keep the Band-Aids handy.) Last but not least it is obvious this is an original Westinghouse kitchen. Why not try to keep it original? |
Post# 719620 , Reply# 4   12/6/2013 at 15:34 (3,793 days old) by chachp (North Little Rock, AR)   |   | |
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Post# 719642 , Reply# 5   12/6/2013 at 17:28 (3,793 days old) by mikepaquette ()   |   | |
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Please keep us posted. |
Post# 719724 , Reply# 8   12/7/2013 at 08:43 (3,792 days old) by paulg (My sweet home... Chicago)   |   | |
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Is that fruit-and-bowl mosaic original to the house? It is very cool.
Owning vintage appliances is fun and totally worth the effort. It's great that most of your stuff works. However if you keep in touch with this gang... and maybe pick up some spare parts here and there along the way... you can have all your kitchen gear running for years to come. And when you need that special trick to get things running again, you'll learn them here as this site is loaded with experts. You certainly came to the right place. |
Post# 719731 , Reply# 9   12/7/2013 at 09:03 (3,792 days old) by christfr (st louis mo)   |   | |
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Post# 719732 , Reply# 10   12/7/2013 at 09:04 (3,792 days old) by christfr (st louis mo)   |   | |
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Post# 719733 , Reply# 11   12/7/2013 at 09:05 (3,792 days old) by christfr (st louis mo)   |   | |
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Post# 719735 , Reply# 12   12/7/2013 at 09:07 (3,792 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)   |   | |
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If something is truly broken, though, can you even GET spare parts?
Yes and no depending on what is broken. I had to retro-fit a new electric drain pump in mine. When you do need parts you'll have to let us know what you need. Most likely we will be able to tell you what a suitable modern replacement will be. Don't worry we will be here to help! |
Post# 719775 , Reply# 13   12/7/2013 at 12:35 (3,792 days old) by jetcone (Schenectady-Home of Calrods,Monitor Tops,Toroid Transformers)   |   | |
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Copper on those appliances , my favorite metal? That DW looks like it is in great shape low use as I can still see the tub reflecting the racks that means the enamel is in good shape.
I have never worked on this specific machine but I'll help anyway I can with 30 years of rebuilding underfoot this shouldn't be too daunting a project.
Jon
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Post# 719914 , Reply# 14   12/8/2013 at 10:28 (3,791 days old) by turquoisedude (.)   |   | |
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Wow - the interior looks great! It looks like one of those machines that only got used on big occasions!! The top tub seal looks good and if the tub is solid, that's more than half the battle. The drain pump was probably the weak point on these older Westinghouse models, but as Robert has stated (and done!) it's not a big deal to replace.
If you done so already, it may be time to pour a couple of buckets of very hot water into the machine. You'll see right away if there are any serious leaks - a few drips may be seen but this could be due to gaskets and seals having dried up. Most often, the hot water softens them again and the drips stop. If you're feeling really brave, try setting the machine to wash and see what happens. You'll see if the timer is advancing and if the drain pump does kick in! The water inlet valve might cause some grief - they often get 'stuck' after years of storage. You can clean out the original valve and in a worst-case scenario, a "modern" dishwasher water valve can be substituted. Looking forward to seeing how this progresses!! |
Post# 721354 , Reply# 16   12/15/2013 at 20:17 (3,784 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)   |   | |
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Post# 721370 , Reply# 17   12/15/2013 at 22:28 (3,784 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)   |   | |
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Your WH kitchen appliances are probably about three years newer than 1952.
It should be fairly easy to keep the cook-top and wall oven working well for many years to come, but as an appliance repairman and an appliance restorer myself you will face many challenges trying restore and use this DW as a daily driver. If as you mentioned you want to keep the neat vintage look of your kitchen appliances you might consider buying a NEW Kitchenaid DW equipped for full custom front panel and take the entire front and trim from your WH DW and install it on a new DW, I have seen this done and until you open the door no one will ever know. That said I will try to help answer questions about fixing the WH DW and keep in mind we have many good used parts for the cook-top and wall oven. John L. |
Post# 721378 , Reply# 19   12/15/2013 at 23:05 (3,784 days old) by knoble ()   |   | |
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My dishwasher hole is 24 wide, 25 deep, and 34 1/2 high |
Post# 721379 , Reply# 20   12/15/2013 at 23:54 (3,784 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)   |   | |
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Post# 721427 , Reply# 22   12/16/2013 at 10:02 (3,783 days old) by turquoisedude (.)   |   | |
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Post# 721813 , Reply# 24   12/18/2013 at 11:16 (3,781 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)   |   | |
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Post# 729546 , Reply# 26   1/22/2014 at 05:35 (3,747 days old) by turquoisedude (.)   |   | |
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I believe you can swap one of the more recent washing machine pumps in this style of dishwasher. Robert, our webmaster, did just that with a Westinghouse roll-out machine if I remember correctly. It should not be a difficult thing to do.
Congratulations on having a working timer! THAT is more than half the battle won already! |
Post# 729551 , Reply# 27   1/22/2014 at 06:35 (3,747 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)   |   | |
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Post# 729552 , Reply# 28   1/22/2014 at 06:37 (3,747 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)   |   | |
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Thanks for sharing the photo of your kitchen. What a blast from the past! My dad built a small house in the early 1950s and we had the same Westinghouse oven, cooktop and dishwasher. I was born in '59, and by the time I was a toddler, that poor dishwasher was getting started all the time.
Then I discovered our 1960 Model 80 Kenmore with its colorful pushbuttons and rhythmic, clickety-clacking rapid-advance timer. Much more fun to play with than the dishwasher, LOL. Best to you concerning the dishwasher restoration project! |
Post# 760185 , Reply# 29   5/29/2014 at 04:49 (3,620 days old) by chachp (North Little Rock, AR)   |   | |
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