I've given up trying to repair my 12 year old dishwasher, and will be replacing it ASAP. I would like to have stainless steel inside, with a "regular" (not stainless) outside. Does anyone have any recommendations for dishwashers they are pleased with? More importantly, are there any I should avoid? Thanks for any suggestions.
Hilary
Don't know the model of the Kenmore we have but it is *very* quiet and cleans great.
In one home we had the Whirlpool Gold series--very very quiet, cleaned well, plastic tub and nothing negative to report in six years.
Before that in another house we had GE Profile--very very quiet, cleaned well, plastic tub and nothing negative to report in five years.
Whatever you do, spend an extra $200 and get the t> I've given up trying to repair my 12 year old dishwasher, and will be
Recommendation: Bad: Maytag.
Kitchen Aid is my choice. Next is Whirlpool, (they make some Kenmore models also)
Maytag used to be good, but I've been hearing some bad things about them recently. My local dealer no longer stocks Bosch because of too many service calls, but they do wash well.
You can get a lot of opinions at rec.food.equipment
Bosch are super quiet wash great BUT BREAK TOO OFTEN and parts cost a fortune:( interior stainless, consumer reports they are number one for needing repairs:(
I find the plastic "inside" is "gud enuf." SS costs quite a bit more.
All plastic or SS racks would be a good idea, however.
But the "TurboZone" feature on some Kenmore models (don't know whether it lives up to the claims made for it) doesn't seem to have an equivalent in any other brand.
But now that Whirlpool owns Maytag, . . . ?
Perce
I second the vote for Kitchen-Aid as well as Whirlpool. The insulation and panel that contact the floor in the front suppress most of the noise.
There was an 8 year old stainless steel tub Kitchenaid dishwasher in the house when we bought it, and it soldiered on for 10 more years. The plastic tub Kenmore only lasted for 11, and the racks had lots of damage and bent bits early on. I don't remember the Kitchenaid having stainless racks, but they were still in excellent condition when the unit died. Can you really get stainless racks for a dishwasher? That sounds like a great idea.
Hilary
Did it last 20 years BECAUSE of the SS tub?
The cost savings of the plastic tub are such that when there is excessive wear and tear on the mechanicals it's cost effective to just get a new machine rather than repair the old machine.
All the tub does is either LEAK or not LEAK. The only leak I ever had was with an "enamel" tub. They were definitely bad news.
Don't know. I think top of the line racks is now solid plactic. The plastic covered steel definitely is a PITA.
Often, the better tub goes hand in hand with better mechanicals. While a $900 machine does not always last twice that of a $450 machine, you do generally get better performance and more (sometimes useless) features.
The ideal machine would have everything wear out the same day. Right now, I have a car that runs very well, but after 15 years, other stuff is all going bad. I just hate to get rid of it with a good drive train, good tires, but it is not worth repairing all the other stuff. If I spent $1500 for repairs, it would have a book value of $850.
I have a four-year-old Bosch dishwasher that has worked out extremely well (no problems to report thus far). I opted for this particular brand for a couple of reasons. In practical terms, it was one of only I believe three makes that were (then) compatible with the Heartland line of appliances and since I wanted the door panel to match the other kitchen appliances, this effectively narrowed my choices to either Bosch, Miele and I think KitchenAid.
Next, I wanted an energy and water efficient model and this Bosch certainly fits the bill. I also appreciate the fact that, like the Miele, it's very quiet.
A stainless steel tub was actually a key selling feature for me. The obvious reasons are that it's easy to keep clean and that it won't stain or discolour like plastic (this could be an important consideration if you happen to live in an area that has hard water/high mineral content). But there's one other notable benefit -- it permits dishes to be dried by way of "condensation drying" as opposed to "air drying". That means there's no exposed heating element inside the tub and it won't vent hot steam into the kitchen (thus adding to your A/C load). It's also a little more sanitary in the sense that it's not sucking (relatively) dirty room air through the dishwasher in the process of performing this task.
Lastly, I bought this Bosch though Sears and it was heavily marked down in a clearance sale. As it turns out, it was a lot less expensive than the other two alternatives and about the same price as a comparable no-panel Kenmore.
Cheers, Paul
I haven't heard of "condensation drying."
I ASSume it means that "they" somehow cool the tub/shell and the warm dishes will evaporate the water onto the shell where the moisture will just go into the "well."
I suppose this scheme could be made to work with a plastic interior but I haven't seen it featured in anything I ever looked at.
Hi John,
You're close, however there's no active cooling involved; it's strictly passive. Here's one explanation I found on the web:
"Unlike other drying systems that use unclean air from the kitchen?s back wall, Bosch uses the residual heat from the warm water inside its tub. A sanitizing temperature of 161°F leaves residual heat in the tub, creating condensation along the cooler wall. The condensation is then drained so you?ll never have to release steam into the kitchen."
Source:
Cheers, Paul
Well, 160F water temperature is definitely on the really, really HOT side. OTOH your basic $10 coffee maker (plastic) clearly can take water that hot indefinitely.
The parts that are plastic AND get exposed to the 160F temps are specially selected to take the heat. That's basically the tube from the heater to the top of the basket and the spray nozzle system. The pot itself is almost always glass.
Iced Tea makers are basically the same product but they use a plastic pot. The instructions are quite clear, fill pot with ice or the pot will MELT!!!
Heated drying in a plastic interior dishwasher gets temps up this high and the liner and the plastic covered wire racks are fine with the heat, although they will discolor and warp over time.
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