Thread Number: 85188  /  Tag: Vintage Automatic Washers
THE HOLIDAYS ARE COMING - KDS15 VARICYCLE by HOBART
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Post# 1097054   11/14/2020 at 13:42 (859 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)        

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The holidays are coming - so the KDS15 is upstairs and ready!

 


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Post# 1097058 , Reply# 1   11/14/2020 at 14:10 (859 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)        
And with dishes

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As with all one-arm KA wonders, there is a real art to loading these - and it is neither intuitive nor straight forward.

Get it right and everything gets clean, clean, scrubbed clean.

Get it wrong and you discover how useless the KA filters are.

It's fun to listen to this beautiful machine running again! Been a few years.


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Post# 1097085 , Reply# 2   11/14/2020 at 21:56 (859 days old) by Cam2s (Nebraska)        

Looks fantastic! It’s always helpful to have a second machine during the holidays, especially one that can quickly turn around a load of dishes. I would love to to get the chance to use a one arm wonder someday...the loading challenge would be fun...like playing dishwasher Tetris!

Post# 1097099 , Reply# 3   11/14/2020 at 23:58 (859 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)        
Two rules

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TSP
Don't block the rear 6cm of the lower rack.
.


Post# 1097128 , Reply# 4   11/15/2020 at 10:15 (859 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)        
OK, after nearly 15 years...finally noticed it

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Dum-de-DUMB-DUMB.

Yes, dahlinks, that is a liquid rinse aid fill and dispense system.

Sigh.


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Post# 1097129 , Reply# 5   11/15/2020 at 10:19 (859 days old) by appnut (TX)        

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That's what's so fun about appliances. One can still find fun nuances about them even after having them around for a long time.

Puzzled about not blocking the rear 6 cm of the lower rack.


Post# 1097144 , Reply# 6   11/15/2020 at 13:01 (859 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)        
These only have one spray arm

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These only have one spray arm at the bottom - the classic, real Hobart (not Whirlpool trash) four arm, spins at 10000000rpm one.

Nothing for the top two racks.

Nothing at the very top for 'nibblets'.

So, the only water that gets to the upper rack or the very top (the inside lid is specially formed to distribute water) is to leave space at the very back. I just don't use the last 6x6cm grids all across the back and, usually, that's good enough for the water to do a very adequate job on the nibblets and really clean the top rack.

If our Potscrubber with multi-orbital arm is a 10 out of 10 and a Whirlpool made 'KitchenAid' piece of trash is a 1, then this is about a 15 for the bottom racks and a 6 or 7 for the top racks.


Post# 1097147 , Reply# 7   11/15/2020 at 13:13 (859 days old) by appnut (TX)        

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OK. Thank you. I understand. I've just always managed to find something that fits along the back, lowering the collapsable dinner plate pins at the very back to accommodate something like a 9 x 13" casserole or a servibg dish/bowl one can put on its side at the back. But that's with loading a KDS15, 16 or 17. I've only played with these topload portables at wash-in in 2005, 2007 & 2008. and I've noticed in literature the unusual shape of the lid's underside, guessing it was to help water diffusion showing back down.

Post# 1097149 , Reply# 8   11/15/2020 at 13:17 (859 days old) by Hippiedoll ( arizona )        
Question...

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So is this dishwasher like the GE mobile maid dishwashers?

And curious...
If there was a side by side comparison, which would do a better job at cleaning the dishes?


Post# 1097154 , Reply# 9   11/15/2020 at 13:32 (858 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)        
That's an easy one

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The mobile maid would do an enormously better job on anything in the upper rack and this would do a better job or at least as good of a job on anything in the bottom rack

Post# 1097155 , Reply# 10   11/15/2020 at 13:38 (858 days old) by appnut (TX)        

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Would that assessment apply it the MM was a bow-tie impeller?

Post# 1097166 , Reply# 11   11/15/2020 at 16:48 (858 days old) by spiralator60 (Los Angeles)        
Re: Two Rules

How does the KDS15 perform with the newer, non-phosphate detergents? Thanks!

Post# 1097170 , Reply# 12   11/15/2020 at 17:04 (858 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)        
Top Loading KA Portable DW

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I have the model before this one it is a KD-5, I think yours is Bassed on the 17 series.

 

I my kitchen this is the 3rd DW and it only gets used a few times a year as you are so correct it is challenging to load, most times it works great but I have had more than a few loads with lots of dirty stuff and the filters are a pain to clean.

 

PS I use it more since I put in its own hot water faucet.

 

It looks like your coarse strainer is in up-side-down, when it is inverted more crap falls off of it when you lift it out for cleaning.

 

John L.


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Post# 1097174 , Reply# 13   11/15/2020 at 17:27 (858 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)        
Yup, upside down

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This cleans the bottom rack at least as well as a bow tie mobile maid does. I think the mobile maid does a better job on the upper rack and niblets without all the theater about loading it precisely. All in all, though, the fast turnaround, the very hot water and just the solid feeling of the dishwasher makes me happy. As to how it works with modern phosphate free detergents, interestingly enough, it does a very good job with a tablespoon of TSP added.
This series still had the pre-wash, rinse, wash and double final rinse.


Post# 1097229 , Reply# 14   11/16/2020 at 09:25 (858 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)        
So, a KA-5A

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I got two different HOBART KitchenAids confused.

This is a 5A.

Astonishing, how serviceable these were built to be!

The schematic may prove of use to someone.


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Post# 1098407 , Reply# 15   11/26/2020 at 15:08 (847 days old) by mit634 (Sydney)        

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Awesome ! I find top-loading dishwashers quite fascinating.


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