Pros: Integrated face plate looks great, cleans perfectly if you stack correctly, lower temperatures
Cons: Instruction and installation books,plastic face plate,initial understanding, powder holder hold water
The Bottom Line: As this is our first diswasher and it has had bad press so we are treating it with respect and it has rewarded us perfectly in return. Worth every penny
bainf's Full Review: Fisher and Paykel DD603H W 24 in. Built-in Dishwas...
Lets get some of the facts out in the open.
This dishdrawer has copped a lot of bad press in the past about leaking etc and rightly so! But that was the past and all stemmed from the same problem. Unlike other dishwashers this one slides in and then a seal comes down mechanically from the top and seals everything in. Until about 2002 this model used some sort of blow-up bladder or balloon like arrangement to seal itself and worked fine but if you opened drawer when operating or had a stray vertical knife or fork it could too easily rip or tear etc and this caused a multitude of problems from leaks, steam, wet floors, bubbly benches through to electrical shorts and flood warnings as the water got into places in wasn’t supposed to. Many were probably human error and a percentage would have been bad workmanship. I am sure the blame was passed back and forward many a time over this problem. It really comes down to a poor design which has now been addressed. The NEW model 603 has an internal lid and a simple fridge door type seal arrangement which is much more durable and probably also clamps down better so if people are trying to open the door at the wrong time more they are more aware it is still operating as it will have more resistance. It just requires 2 seconds of patience after pushing the pause button to wait for the internal lid to rise before opening the drawer. It is a drawer arrangement so water will never rush out the front if you open it. So if you are thinking of buying one I would strongly suggest never buy a second hand one and read only reviews relating to this new model.
I will now only mention the things I do not love about this model (and let me tell you I love it lot) and mention stuff not really covered by other reviewers as most other things have been addressed such as the beauty of Two drawers, Installation, Reliablilty, How quiet and Price.
This is our first dishwasher and we had to read the instruction book, which I did not like. All the information was there but it was not in a logical sequence. It also did not give approximate times for each wash type (they are visible on LCD models) but we chose the Integrated model (603I). I installed it myself and it was not very hard but I also found the Installation instructions not in a logical sequence. Even more so for the Integrated model as it had an extra booklet for it, so information was split between booklets. It also came with a CD Rom which was I thought was really “Hi Tech”, it was set out webpage style with menus, flash, etc but yet again I did not think it was logically set out. But hey, you could spin the 3D version of the dishdrawer any way you wanted!!!
Such things as the FAST cycle which supposedly does not have a drying phase but a fan can clearly be heard humming away for up to an hour were not mentioned inn the instructions. I rang the help line to understand this feature and they were helpful. It does dry them but you can open the drawer at anytime without those terrible consequences mentioned previously. Which, now that I think about it is exactly how the FAST cycle should work.
TIP: Because it is quiet we set it up to run after we go to bed at a time when electricity is charged at an OFF PEAK rate to save money. Supposedly you can save up to $50 a year doing this.
When it comes to cleaning this is our fist dishwasher so I am unsure of expectations. It has small problems with items that have soil on the side facing up as water squirts from the bottom only, knives are a good example, unless they are perfectly vertical it often misses the top side as they lean as it must spray through the bottom of the very solid plastic utensil holder, though to be fair we rarely run it on anything but FAST or DELICATE. This is rarely an issue on NORMAL or HEAVY. On HEAVY cycle we had a frying pan that had burnt and we would normally have to use steel wool and some elbow grease to remove it. It almost managed to clean it. After the cycle I just had to wipe off a small amount of viscous black carbon which I thought was a good effort
The racks are excellent and can be arranged in several different combinations so you can have a dedicated drawer for plates and a dedicated drawer for say cups and glasses or maybe one for pots if everything is removed. It has the cute little extra shelves on each side to put cups or glasses which makes better use of space but most of our normal sized tumblers and mugs are too tall for this but they are still very good for small lids, large utensils and other oddities and you must be careful what you place underneath these little shelves otherwise the spraying water will often not reach them. To get everything clean, judicious packing is all that is required.
The area where the powder (powder only by the way) is placed is a poor design as it usually retains water so you must dry it with a sponge if you intend to run your dishwasher at a later time as the manual says not to get powder wet as it may not dispense properly.
We bought The Integrated model as we are expecting a new kitchen sometime in the future and no matter how old our dishwasher may look we can put a new front on to match our new kitchen and no one will be any wiser. I hate seeing people with brand new kitchens and appliances that are a few years old. They really stand out, Yuk! Or is that just me? The downside with the Integrated model you don’t get a digital readout of time left or cycle type and are reduced to a few coloured lights on the 3 button face plate (plus the standard buttons inside on all models). You would think it would make the unit cheaper, not dearer! It makes it a bit less user friendly with no count down timer or when initially changing default settings like the 6 beeps or amount of Rinse Aid. But once you know how you like you dishwasher settings, in a week or two it is really just close the door and press the start button. It has several optional face plates to match your kitchen (chrome, brass, satin and then oval shaped versions in the same). They are deceptively realistic but are just coated plastic and I hope they don't loose their metallic look in a couple of years. I like the fact they do not have Fisher and Paykel on the face plate. If all your appliances are Bosch for example and then you have one other brand in the kitchen it can stand out. Or is that just me?
So in summary, we love the convenience, the stacking options, the economy of it and the simplicity of use (after a while)
Final note: I always liked the dishdrawer concept and wondered why no one else was doing this. I was told that Fisher and Paykel have a Patent, so it stops others making it (great move) but I also heard it runs out soon. Maybe other companies have theirs ready to go as soon as the patent runs out. If this is the case I am certain single dishwashers will be thing of the past.
This unis display unit in excellent cosmetic condition please check pictures attached, it come full manufacture warranty. Fisher Paykel DD603 24" Doub...More at eBay
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