Thread Number: 88180  /  Tag: Vintage Dishwashers
Hobart/Kitchenaid KDI-58- how to build in? 		[Down to Last]

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Post# 1127570   9/2/2021 at 15:43 (960 days old) by valvashon (Seattle, U.S.A.)        

Just picked up a fairly tidy Hobart/Kitchenaid KDI-58 from FB Marketplace this past weekend for not too much $$. If you are interested they do fit in the back of a first generation MINI Cooper. As long as you don't mind hugging the steering wheel.
I've done some research on how to pull off the portable parts of this so that I can build it in but I'm not finding anything other than a vague reference to an instruction sheet. I have had a cursory look at it but other than pulling the butcher block top off and unscrewing one side of the chrome trim off of the front haven't really dug into how to pull it out of the surround. Looking underneath I do see that the wheels unscrew but does the lower metal "base" stay put? That seems to be what the leveling screws are attached to. That would be fine but it may pose a challenge to my build in plans. As you can see from that last picture I have a drain in the back part of the cabinet hole that the dishwasher goes into. Not sure if a fully square on the bottom dishwasher will fit in here- my current one has a notch in the lower back for just this sort of thing.
If somebody has taken their KDI-58 out please let me know how to do it and what comes off.
P.S.- perhaps a moderator can flip these pictures. No matter what I do they are flipped but correct on my computer.


Thanks-

Val

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Post# 1127575 , Reply# 1   9/2/2021 at 16:50 (960 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        
Congratulations!

 I did not pull the cabinet off mine. Are you going to install it on a wooden floor or somewhere that the connections are going to come up through the floor underneath the machine? If so, you do not have to cut into the cabinet to build it in. One thing that is very nice about the convertible series is that they fit very nicely at the end of cabinets or next to a sink cabinet and give you a finished end facing outward. If the connections are not going down through the floor, you cut a hole in the cabinet next to where the connections will be coming through, but if you do that it is no longer the beautiful machine you have now. When I moved, mine was lifted from its installed place, another KA convertible was installed with a chopping block top and I put the mobility kit back on my 58 and drove away.

Post# 1127699 , Reply# 2   9/4/2021 at 07:40 (958 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)        
Installing A convertible KA DW Permanently

combo52's profile picture

As Tom mentioned you can not remove the outer cabinet so you might have to cut holes through the sides to run water, drain and electrical lines to connect it, also keep in mind that with the cabinet these DWs are slightly larger than a regular 24" built-in DW, so it might not fit where a regular BI machine was installed.

 

John L.
Post# 1127715 , Reply# 3   9/4/2021 at 11:16 (958 days old) by steved (Guilderland, New York)        
Maybe this will help

 Here's the conversion instructions:

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Post# 1127717 , Reply# 4   9/4/2021 at 11:22 (958 days old) by steved (Guilderland, New York)        
And the actual installation directions

 You would need to follow up the conversion with these directions.
I'd try to find a different route for the drain, and remove/cap off that trap you show in the pic. Can you drain through the floor to the basement?
It looks like your dishwasher width is 24", but the depth with the case is 24 1/4".

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Post# 1127751 , Reply# 5   9/4/2021 at 19:11 (958 days old) by valvashon (Seattle, U.S.A.)        

So if you bought a built-in unit did it come in this metal surround also? It looks like if I actually took enough screws out the surround would come off but then you lose the cool chrome side things next to the door.
I have taken the butcher block top off and there may be enough room above the unit to run the hoses and electric to the under sink compartment next to where the dishwasher lives. I would have to cut an access hole at the top of that compartment which might be tricky given that there is a sink already there that can't be moved (tile over). Alternately I can cut where the instructions say to down at the bottom of the back.
Either way I have to remove the brass piping you see in the last picture and also find some way to string the electric you see over to the sink cabinet (it's a separate 15 amp breaker just for the DW.

My wife would love me to not be able to pull this off but I'm pretty determined.

Post# 1127755 , Reply# 6   9/4/2021 at 19:44 (958 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)        

dadoes's profile picture
 
Built-in models didn't have a outer shell.

Post# 1127765 , Reply# 7   9/4/2021 at 20:35 (957 days old) by bigalsf (Salt Lake City)        

This model (& later ones) was designed to be installed with the cabinet attached.  You remove the top, hoses, power cord, front wheels, toe kick trim and then cut out the access holes based on the conversion instructions.  The rear wheels and cabinet stay on as there is not tub support without it.  You slide the whole machine with cabinet into the opening. There are two leveling legs in the front which you back out of the frame until it keeps the front level.  Connections are then made as if it were a normal built-in and your through.  (this is just a summary; be sure to follow the conversion instructions provided above)

 

Because the cabinet remains attached it helps quiet operating noise pretty significantly. 

 

As mentioned the built-in models did not come with the side panels, but they could be ordered if the dishwasher was going to be at the open end of a cabinet run.  

 

Good luck with the installation.  Keep us posted. 

 
 

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