Thread Number: 53307
Waste King will Make You a Queen in Your Kitchen
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Post# 756414   5/11/2014 at 22:37 (3,608 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        

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I saw a golden treasure in one of the estate sales posted at estatesales.net, so I stopped by on my way downtown Friday mid-day. Still there, $25 and looked very low-use so plunked my money down and picked it up today after a fun family filled weekend. Here she is, a 1972 Waste King Universal.




Post# 756415 , Reply# 1   5/11/2014 at 22:37 (3,608 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        

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Money shot 1

Post# 756417 , Reply# 2   5/11/2014 at 22:52 (3,608 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        

gansky1's profile picture
Even had the original manual inside.

Dry as a bone, the screen on the water valve was plugged tight and the hose washer was crumbling. Quick 2-tool fix and it ran through the Full Cycle (normal) wash perfectly.

A neighbor had this same portable when I was growing up, but I never saw it running. I picked one up behind lowes once but it was rode hard and the tank seams were rusted through so I threw that one back. I'll give it a run for a while and report back later, with post-detailing pics. I have to admit I can already see some quirks that live up to the brand's "Machine of Ill Repute" moniker. The first thing I noticed was there is no way to cancel a cycle. The timer must run it's 60 minute sequence back to off before another cycle can be started. The indicator dial is just an indicator behind a plastic window, no touching-no turning.



Post# 756419 , Reply# 3   5/11/2014 at 22:55 (3,608 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        

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As found in native habitat.

No, I didn't bring home the Electromatic percolator. Or the mixer. I have too many already,
Must be strong!


Post# 756420 , Reply# 4   5/11/2014 at 22:57 (3,608 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        

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First page of manual. Isn't she adorable with that verse?

Post# 756422 , Reply# 5   5/11/2014 at 23:38 (3,608 days old) by bigalsf (Salt Lake City)        
SS 911

Great find!! WasteKing's were definitely unique machines; I gave my sister this same machine back in 1988 when we were both living in San Francisco; she needed a portable dishwasher and this one fit the bill. She loved it!

You're very lucky; the "small items" covers for the silverware basket are still with the machine! Usually they are missing.

Have fun with it! Here are some pics of a WasteKing I picked up a few months ago



Post# 756423 , Reply# 6   5/11/2014 at 23:40 (3,608 days old) by bigalsf (Salt Lake City)        
Pic #2



Post# 756424 , Reply# 7   5/11/2014 at 23:42 (3,608 days old) by bigalsf (Salt Lake City)        
Pic #3

Love those big rectangular wash arms!!

Post# 756433 , Reply# 8   5/12/2014 at 01:09 (3,608 days old) by washer111 ()        
DROOL

Absolutely LOVE those turquoise, thick racks!!!

And the stainless interior really is GLEAMING for its age. Do you have soft water in your area, or was the machine un-used most of its life?


Post# 756453 , Reply# 9   5/12/2014 at 05:33 (3,608 days old) by appnut (TX)        
timer behind plastic window

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I've seen mentioned here a time or two that little plastic besel can be removed and one can advance the timer. DON'T DO IT!!! We had some sort of issue with ours and my dad turned the timer around before he placed the plastic besel back on. He got the timer out of "sequence" and the start button had to be held in for an entire timer increment until it advanced. It also didn't drain on its own at the end of rinse & HOLD. A simple explanation. There's like 5-10 second portion of the timer mechanism with the intent the timer is turned off (for R&H) as well ass final rinse thermostatic water heat hold. When the timer motor is activated again after being "held" it's about 3-5 or so seconds before the timer advances to the next increment. (I think you understand what I{'m trying to say).

Post# 756454 , Reply# 10   5/12/2014 at 05:36 (3,608 days old) by turquoisedude (.)        

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Great score, Greg!!  I was always captivated by the wash-arm design of the Waste-King machines.  It's funny to think that an all stainless machine would wind up being a less-than-stellar dishwasher!   Use it lightly and have fun with it!


Post# 756477 , Reply# 11   5/12/2014 at 09:14 (3,608 days old) by bajaespuma (Connecticut)        
Aferim (and may we assume that the dryer with the window

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is in your place?

Yeah, the inability to do a "Cancel-Drain" bothered me with my Waste-King, but in the 20 years + or more I watched my Mother use a dishwasher, I don't think she ever needed to stop a cycle once it had started. WK dealt with that a few years later.

What's the story with the detergent dispenser? I've never seen one on a WK/Thermador like that one.


Post# 756486 , Reply# 12   5/12/2014 at 10:11 (3,608 days old) by peteski50 (New York)        
Waste King!

peteski50's profile picture
Greg - Real cool machine. I never got the opporunity to load one of these animals.
It does seem like it may be hard to load but I could be wrong. I am surprised it didnt have a cancel button. Is it possible if you pushed a combo of buttons it would cancel?
Best Of Luck with it
Peter



Post# 756500 , Reply# 13   5/12/2014 at 11:23 (3,608 days old) by ovrphil (N.Atlanta / Georgia )        

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Congrats! - when I first read "Waste King" I thought of disposals ; didn't know they made dishwashers. It's really a good looking unit.

Post# 756505 , Reply# 14   5/12/2014 at 12:11 (3,608 days old) by A440 ()        

What a great find Greg! I have never seen one in such great shape. Usually when I find them (and it is getting rare) the tanks are about shot and racks are rusted through.
I have never seen a portable version of a WK.
How heavy is it compared to the Kitchenaid portables of this vintage? I have always thought the portables did not get much use because the housewives could not push them to the sink. They were so heavy emptied and weigh a ton when filled with dishes!


Post# 756519 , Reply# 15   5/12/2014 at 13:03 (3,608 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)        
"I can already see some quirks . . . "

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Indeed.  The biggest one will have you seeing spots before your eyes.  

 

These machines earned their reputation as documented by Nate and experienced by us both, but to their credit, they dry more thoroughly than any other machine I've ever owned.

 

They're beautiful and I loved the look of mine, but it only added insult to injury when, after removing my earplugs, I found a load of dishes that often needed to be washed again by hand.

 

Loading was always a challenge, as WK's rack design aimed at maintaining order was tough to defeat, and in hindsight that was done for good reason -- these machines needed all the help they could get.

 

Pictured below for those who haven't seen it before is a bit of cramming I achieved that finally broke down the WK barrier against amassing a BobLoad.  It can be done but they don't make it easy for you, particularly with that tower coming up through the middle. 

 

Greg, I'm sure you'll be captivated by your machine just like Nate and I were and you'll forgive its quirks and shortcomings for a while, but it would behoove you to keep your daily driver on deck.


Post# 756543 , Reply# 16   5/12/2014 at 15:38 (3,608 days old) by lightedcontrols ()        
Congratulations!

Greg, I had a machine just like this in my first apartment! I absolutely LOVED it. When I bought my first house, the old GE went to the curb, and a new THERMADOR steam machine was installed. While those dishwashers didn't have a filter in them, they still did a great job. I left the Thermador in the home when I sold it and wished many times that I had kept it. Who would have ever thought they would stop making them???? ... and that Thermador would be sold......

Post# 756566 , Reply# 17   5/12/2014 at 17:05 (3,608 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)        
WK DW

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Fun Find Greg, It does not hurt the timer if you advance manually, the service manual tells you that it can be advanced manually if you unlatch the door first to kill the power. We had several customers that left the silly plastic cover off so they could skip the heated dry cycle on models that did not have the energy saver dry option, and I am sure I manually advanced a few dozen of these when servicing them with no ill effect.

The best thing about your new DW is that it is a portable, so not only will you not waste time installing it but it will also be easy to push aside when you find out that it is not that great of a DW.


Post# 756602 , Reply# 18   5/12/2014 at 19:47 (3,607 days old) by NeptuneGuy27 (Baltimore,MD)        
Say Greg

Any chance you could do quick video of the machine running? It's one dishwasher I've never heard in action before. As a child my babysitters mom had one and she forbade it from ever being run due to the noise...which of course made it all the more intriguing to me. lol

Chris


Post# 756727 , Reply# 19   5/13/2014 at 11:54 (3,607 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        

Great find, Greg!

It is the same inside as the one I used at Kitchen Bazaar (although some naughty people called it "bizarre kitchens") when I worked there in the early 80s to pay for some work on the house. I cleaned up the store's demo kitchen and got it to pass inspection from the District's inspectors with the highest score ever. I had to clean things out of the holes in the wash arms, but on Saturdays when we had food demonstrations, I ran that thing several times. The Calphalon pans, which in the early 80s were spoken of only in terms of reverence, had grease cooked on the outside from poor washing. Instructions be damned, I ran that stuff through the smasher and got it looking like new. I seem to remember advancing the timer to hurry the throughput and it always ran fine on the next load. I don't remember it being all that loud.

Back then John said the definition of a Yuppi was someone with a commercial gas range in the kitchen with a couple of thousand dollars worth of Calphalon hanging over it and the only thing that was made for dinner was reservations.


Post# 756732 , Reply# 20   5/13/2014 at 12:13 (3,607 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        

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So is this what we have to do to get Big Al on the boards--find a Waste King "Supreme" ? I'm on the hunt! 

 

Greg, the next time you have a fun filled family weekend, I hope you carve a nice roast of ham, turkey, lamb, beef, pork, or kielbasa on that first-class carving board. It's huge and unused.

 

Al, I love the big squared-off arms, too.

 

Beautiful pix, Guys, and what a shock for me  to see Stainless Steel in a 72.  Honestly though it was one of "them new fangled thangs," available only lately,  as far as interiors go. 




This post was last edited 05/13/2014 at 12:32
Post# 757171 , Reply# 21   5/15/2014 at 13:50 (3,605 days old) by roto204 (Tucson, AZ)        
LOL

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"The best thing about your new DW is that it is a portable, so not only will you not waste time installing it but it will also be easy to push aside when you find out that it is not that great of a DW. "

Best. Line. Ever. :-)

My beef with ours wasn't the performance per se, and it sure wasn't with the handsome looks, which this shares. It was with the absolutely so-so wash performance on the regular cycle, which was non-steam (we had the Thermador version with steam generator). It wasn't bad. It wasn't great, either. It was meh.

If you ran even the shortest of the steam cycles, the performance was SPECTACULAR. I just didn't get why it couldn't handle run-of-the-mill loads that didn't need steam.

The top rack was awesome in that you could pull all the loops and dividers, and use it as one big, flat basket if you wanted to--which was ultra-helpful for baking loads. But the bottom rack was regimented beyond belief, and Ralph's cries of desperation were deftly illustrated by the picture of bowls climbing up over other items just to get them in there. The tines are so closely spaced, with the curlicues at the top, that you don't have much in the way of freedom.

Lord help you if you crammed something odd-sized and tall in the bottom rack, and forced the rack back in, lest the top arm and conduit snap off from the bottom.

I'll be eager to hear how this one does--it may be a great performer if it does not share our Thermador's cycle sequence that paused briefly during the steam segment if it wasn't selected, and thus allowed the water to do nothing and cool for a few minutes. I think that had a lot to do with its mediocrity.



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