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Thread Number: 88027
/ Tag: Vintage Dishwashers
Maytag portable dishwasher |
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| Post# 1126090 8/17/2021 at 23:39 (981 days old) by Opticalpopsicle (Rhode Island ) | ||
Check out my new vintage dishwasher that I just bought! It is a Maytag top-loading portable I believe from the ‘60’s. It had only one owner before me. I hooked it up today and ran a test load and it did not leak. Then I ran a load of dirty dishes and pots and it did really great even though I loaded it somewhat wrong. Aside from it being really pretty, I love several features on it, I love that it has handles! None of the other portables I’ve owned had handles and so pulling it out to use it was awful, this one glides around like it has power steering. I love that it’s so quick, done in 30 minutes. I love the loud swooshing sound that it makes. I wish it had a window so I could watch it!
I noticed food bits on the stainless steel trap on the bottom after the cycle. Does that mean that this dishwasher doesn’t have a food grinder/disposal thing? Should I wipe out the food bits after each load? It didn’t seem too easily accessible to get to the bottom to do that. The bottom rack doesn’t lift out. Anyway I just wanted to share my newest vintage appliance with you all! Any knowledge about this machine that any of you have that you would like to share would be appreciated. | ||
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Post# 1126093 , Reply# 1 8/18/2021 at 00:58 (981 days old) by appnut  (TX) |
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Post# 1126133 , Reply# 3 8/18/2021 at 11:21 (980 days old) by philcobendixduo (San Jose) |
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When Did Maytag.... | ||
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Post# 1126138 , Reply# 4 8/18/2021 at 12:32 (980 days old) by Combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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Cool Maytag Toploader portable dishwasher
This was the second generation Maytag top loading portable dishwasher, the first one looked identical but had a separate drain and circulation pump motors, all the built-in models use this combination motor that your machine has, it was more troublesome but worked the same as the other.
None of the Maytag reverse rack dishwashers had a food grinder, on these early ones you just had to pick up what was left on top of the stainless steel guard. Any small food bits were just simply pump down the drain but they were not ground up. Maytag moved away from the reverse rack design in 1991, and the sales of their dishwashers took off after that while the reverse rack was an interesting design and many liked it it was not well received in the marketplace, you either got used to it and loved it or you hated it so Maytag went with the flow and went with everybody else’s design where you put the glasses in the top rack etc. John | ||
| Post# 1126306 , Reply# 5 8/19/2021 at 22:24 (979 days old) by Opticalpopsicle (Rhode Island ) | ||
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Food grinder
Ahh, I was worried that it didn’t have the food grinder. In my experience, the ones without the food grinder don’t work as well and I really want this to be my daily driver because there is so much else that I love about it. Too bad. Maybe I’ll get used to it. It’s only been a couple of days but some silverware has been coming out dirty so I upped the soap pods from one to two to see if that helps the issue. My thinking is that maybe this one uses more water than my 1996 dishwasher and therefore needs more soap. Maybe I need to use different soap in this machine. I just really want this machine to succeed! I know that my 2006 dishwasher didn’t have the food grinder and nothing I did ever made it wash right. It was only good as a dish sterilizer, pretty much had to wash everything before it went in.
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| Post# 1126307 , Reply# 6 8/19/2021 at 22:44 (979 days old) by rollermatic (cincinnati) | ||
love it!
that's the one top loader i am still keeping my eye open for. don't have a maytag top loader from that era, or any other for that matter!
love the pics, i have a maytag front loader from a few years later and it looks like the same spray arms and pump system using that horizontal motor and pump. guess maytag never had any vertical pump models from what i have seen on the site here. anyway, great find, love everything about it from the blue interior to the full size spray arms to the timer dial and handles on the front cabinet! beautiful! if ya ever want to sell let me know! | ||
| Post# 1126364 , Reply# 7 8/20/2021 at 10:22 (978 days old) by Awooff (Peoria, Illinois) | ||
Silverware
Opticlepopsicle - ive found with my reverse rack that the flip down separated section of the silverware basket needs to be over the lower wash tower.
Additionally, all spoons get placed (handles down) in the seperated section with spoons facing center. Knives and forks in remainder sections (also handles down) - solved my unclean silver issue... | ||
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Post# 1126380 , Reply# 8 8/20/2021 at 12:00 (978 days old) by Combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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Maytag dishwasher reverse rack silverware basket placement
This was always a weak area on these dishwashers they just didn’t get enough water to the silverware basket also the silverware baskets held so much water that when you went to pull the rack out it sprinkled everything in the lower rack with water.
The reverse rack dishwashers were always very picky about loading you couldn’t have things packed together because Maytag had such a fine spray of water it wasn’t like a Whirlpool KitchenAid or GE or about anything else where things were just showered with water, the fine sprays also didn’t have enough force to actually move dishes and silverware slightly to allow particles of food to be flushed out thoroughly. However if you loaded them carefully they did a very good job. John | ||
| Post# 1126947 , Reply# 9 8/26/2021 at 20:52 (972 days old) by Opticalpopsicle (Rhode Island ) | ||
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Ok Rollermatic, I’ll keep you in mind if I ever want to sell it! Right now I’m just having fun trying to learn it’s quirks. My kids hate it lol. The loading thing is a challenge, I can see why the top loader thing was discontinued. I just had a large rubber gasket fall out while I was trying to detangle the cord from the hookup tube. So here I am on here trying to look up what this giant blue rubber gasket does. Other than this gasket issue, which I suspect has something to do with the cord or hook up tube, this thing is in really good condition. No rust anywhere.
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Post# 1126972 , Reply# 10 8/26/2021 at 23:16 (972 days old) by HobartHero (New York) |
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FB Marketplace | ||
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Post# 1127123 , Reply# 12 8/28/2021 at 20:48 (970 days old) by bajaespuma (Connecticut) |
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OK, I'll chime in.
When loaded correctly, these dishwashers held more stuff than any other on the market at the time (CU said so) and for a long while after their tenure. I'm dying to find one of the first generation that John mentioned with the separate pump and the interesting soap dispenser. I have one in my collection but it is succumbing to rust. Unfortunately the WP-600's did not have the porcelain enameled tubs that the built-ins and later portables were blessed with. The cabinet and the inner tub were the same piece of metal. The other thing I always liked about the RR Maytags was that with a little bit of legerdemain they made excellent pot and pan washers with quick cycles. I hope I can find another one for my future kitchen. I plan to build a cubby to house it and a dedicated faucet for the portable hook up. And they were Maytags.
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Post# 1127139 , Reply# 13 8/28/2021 at 23:12 (970 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD) |
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Their plastic detergent dispensers were fragile and the plastic did not last as long as those of manufacturers' who had better success with plastics. | ||
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Post# 1127148 , Reply# 14 8/29/2021 at 01:06 (970 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Welcome To My World
Have a General Electric Mobile Maid portable from about same era. Think yours is far nicer though, best of luck and congrats.
" I love that it’s so quick, done in 30 minutes." Portable nor built-in dishwashers of this era didn't mess around. Much like commercial dishwashers then and today they relied upon copious use of *Hot* water (usually minimum incoming tap temp of 140F was recommended) per cycle. Plus fact cycles weren't very long so water didn't have time to cool down much. GE and others had models with heating elements that kicked in during main wash, and or also to dry. Not all models had any sort of thermostat control of timer. Heater clicked on when portion of timer wash reached, then clicked off when timer told it to. This regardless of if water reached desired temp, or not, or was even above. If one resets my GE to perform main wash second time, heater will still come on even if water is > 140F. Makes for a nice sanitizing wash, but very high energy use. These dishwashers also took a page from commercial units then and today in that they relied upon highly caustic detergents loaded with chlorine bleach. Not a whiff of enzymes (that didn't come along until much later). Between high temps, powerful spray of water (my GE actually dances when running), and high pH muck was dissolved and blasted off things. From group archives: www.automaticwasher.org/c... Maytag Reverse Rack: www.automaticwasher.org/c... For comparison Whirlpool's lineup of top loading dishwashers... www.automaticwasher.org/c... | ||
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Post# 1127177 , Reply# 15 8/29/2021 at 12:10 (969 days old) by reactor (Oak Ridge, Tennessee-- ) |
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Nice machine!
Beautiful machine, Laura! I would love to find one of that model. I have had many of the wonderful reverse racks, but none of that early vintage.
In October, 1968 Consumer Reports tested that model, and it received a "Check-Rating" which is their indicator for an appliance that is exceptional in overall quality/performance. This Maytag also has special comment from CU stating that it was more effective at washing glassware than any of the other tested machines. Their one caveat was that the user could get a unintentional shower if, while the machine was running, if they opened the lid too quickly. Your machine is a different kind of animal, in many ways, that the reverse racks of a few years later. Using their knowledge of physics, Maytag engineers redesigned the wash arm and changed the pump mechanism. The new wash arm consisted of very small diameter (almost pinpoint) holes. The venturi effect causes an increase of water velocity, giving a jet effect, as the name Maytag "Jet-Clean" implies. You may notice this in an adjustable shower head, where a vey fine spray gives you a stinging effect on the skin. The same reason many sink sprayers use fine holes, to give a needle spray, for a scouring effect. These fine jets of water have a higher velocity and smaller diameter, so they can wash in small crevices and closely spaced dishware. Maytag, spaced these pinpoint holes very closely, to affect an increase in water mass, per area unit. You are getting close to the same mass of water (in a given area, say a square inch) as if you had a larger hole, but you are getting a higher velocity of spray with the ability to dislodge food, through a scouring effect, at the same time. A clever arrangement. The downside is it takes a much more efficient filtration system, so the holes don't clog. Therefore Maytag came up with the continuously self-cleaning (through backwashing) "micromesh" filter. The reverse rack system was a best seller for Maytag for approximately two decades. However, in the nineties, consumers were wanting lower prices over quality. Many people were just not willing to pay for premium machines such as the Maytag with the heavy steel frame, the steel tub, and the porcelain interiors. They just wanted a dishwasher. Most didn't care if it had a porcelain tub or a plastic tub. It's expensive to use heavy gauged steel, coat it with porcelain, and then fire-it in an oven...time consuming as well. And time is money on the assembly line. So Maytag, in the early nineties, downgraded their dishwashers, giving them a plastic tub and conventional racks. Maytag advertised their reverse rack as holding more dishware than any other dishwasher, and Consume Reports agreed. But the one thing the reverse rack couldn't do was hold very tall stock pots, or large cookie sheets, etc. So by conventionalizing their racks, they lost capacity but gained ability to hold extra large items. Consumers were now beginning to experimenting with gourmet cooking with the likes of the pre-Gordan Ramsey, Julia Child, et. al. TV food stars. They now wanted to use these fancy stock pots, etc. So...the end of the era. In the fifties and sixties consumers were willing to pay a MUCH higher percentage of their salary for appliances. That is why non-appliance corporations GM, Ford, RCA, Borg-Warner, Nash, Raytheon, et. al, got into the home appliance industry. Profits were large. Times changed and many of the corporations dropped out of the appliance industry as consumers wanted cheap appliances and many were not willing to pay for premium machines. Thankfully we have people, such as members of AW.org, who are willing to preserve appliances of the past and the days when premium quality machines, such as this Maytag dishwasher, were built to last. This post was last edited 08/29/2021 at 14:02 | ||
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