Out, dam*ed GE!! Kenmore's comin' home!
Written: Feb 10 '03 (Updated Apr 13 '03)
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Pros: Styling, features, cleaning effectiveness, oversize stainless tub, touch pad controls.
Cons: Door gasket.
The Bottom Line: Sometimes you do get what you pay for!
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| pick2's Full Review: Kenmore 15872 Dishwasher |
Blabber
Very often, good products are rare as hen's teeth. For you non-agrarian types, hens have fewer teeth than horses have toes. But that's not to say there aren't a few diamonds in the coal bucket . . . you just sometimes have to separate the wheat from the chaff. God I hate similes, or metaphors, or whatever those phrases are called!
Having suffered my share of GE appliance disappointments (insert "major" at your discretion), I should have kindly refused the "builder's quality" stuff that was de rigueur in our new home just a few years ago. But, nooooooo . . . I figured GE would already have imploded under the weight of massive consumer backlash if they hadn't finally learned how to build an appliance that lasted at least 17 minutes longer than the warranty.
But the Force was not with me. It was only a matter of time until mia cucina morphed into a mausoleum for moribund machinery (where does he get this stuff?). I stood helpless as the built-in microwave succumbed to total impotence, incapable of showering bountiful radiation on my Marie Calander du jour. I watched in dismay as the exhaust fan that had once ascended so silently and gracefully from the depths of the island cook top developed chronic agoraphobia. But, when it was clear that the dishwasher had become less inclined to wash dishes than me (and it was NEVER crazy about the idea), everything General instantly became landfill material, and the salesman at Sears drew a big, fat commission check!
First Impressions
The GE dish-wetter ('cause that's about all it ever did) found itself unceremoniously jerked from its mellowed oak cabinetry and replaced by a Kenmore Elite 16919 (two years later, they're still available) that would bring tears to the eyes of anyone who suffers dishwater aversion. It was truly a thing of beauty. Black as midnight (perfect compliment to that hulking mass of Kenmore side-by-side just across the room), its flawless stainless steel tub and sleek touchpad controls beckoned even the most jaded kitchen appliance critic.
A virtual clone of high-line KitchenAid dishwashers, it featured Ultra Wash (fully integrated back scrubber), Triple Filtration (for those errant bits of wine cork and dislodged dental work), and no fewer than 6 cycles and 4 options. Let's see - are the possible combinations 6 times 4, the square of 6 plus 4, or the sum of their respective squares?
Although some choices I've made in the past (spelled "investments" and "former wife") have proven to be misguided, this dishwasher turned out to be a keeper. We found it for $599 (regularly $699), and got an additional 10% off by using our Sears plastic.
Here's the down n' dirty on this bodacious machine, courtesy of Sears' website:
http://www.sears.com
Click "Dishwashers"
Click "Built-in"
Type in the search phrase "16919"
Sorry 'bout that, but for some reason, inserting the actual URL here screws up the page formatting.
That's a pretty comprehensive overview, so I'll limit my comments to those features that have impressed me most during two years of use.
Controls / Cycles / Options
With a single row of 12 soft-touch buttons plus a digital time-left indicator, and a second row of seven small LEDs, this dishwasher can be somewhat daunting at first glance. But everything is clearly labled in a straightforward manner, so making selections is realtively simple. There are even a few mind joggers printed on the inside of the door, for those whose memory is, like mine, shorter than their foot. As a matter of last resort, there's always the owner's manual.
The machine does its job so effectively that "Normal Wash" is all we usually need. For heavy duty grunge, we occasionally select "Pots and Pans" just to be sure. And "Quick Rinse" is useful for pre-cleaning a load that's too small to justify a full-blown wash. Sani-Rinse, Delay and Door Lock are just some of the others available, but we've never had the need to use them. Suffice it to say that there is ample flexibility built in.
One particularly nice item is its retained memory. The most recently completed wash cycle can be duplicated for the next load simply by pressing "Start." Selections also can be changed on the fly after a wash is started.
Features
Ultra Wash Sensor - According to the manual, this device "reads" the amount of soil on the dishes. It then selects the appropriate steps in the selected cycle and adjusts their duration in order to achieve the most effective cleaning. I DO NOT pretend to know how this works! But I swear that it has rarely failed to completely clean anything we have thrown at it - even baked-on pizza sauce.
Automatic Temperature Control - An integral part of the machine's programming, it adjusts the temperature of the wash/rinse water based upon readings by the Ultra Wash Sensor. Having said that, the manual still recommends allowing faucet water to become hot prior to starting the dishwasher.
Triple Filtration - Purges soil at various points during the wash and rinse cycles, discharging only a minimal amount of hot water in the process. It really does eliminate those undesirable crusties and floaters!
Quiet-Guard Plus - Simply, the quietest dishwasher I have ever owned! No more stinkin' wuh waaaaawww / wuh waaaaawww / wuh waaaaawww during The Drew Carey show!
Oversized Tub - Looks nearly big enough to hold another ordinary dishwasher. The large tub necessitates a larger than normal door that is hinged about three inches lower than other dishwashers. Although it swallows a helluva lot of dishes, installers grouse because it reduces the access space for making electrical and plumbing connections. Sorry, that's life in the big city!
Stainless Steel Tub Liner - I trust no one would argue that stainless is the most attractive and durable material used in major appliances, particularly those that consume a lot of water (washing machines and dishwashers). Aside from the added cost, however, stainless does eliminate the possibility of tub stains, cracks, chips and rust. To my way of thinking, that is a significant advantage over porcelain, painted steel and polymer materials.
Adjustable Rack Tines - Rows of tines, or fingers, in both the upper and lower racks can be lowered, independently, to make room for those space-challenging pasta pots and roasting pans.
2-Position Top Rack - Permits the upper rack to be lowered 2 inches to accommodate larger items. When is the last time you saw that in a dishwasher?
Folding Stemware Racks - There are two of these on each side of the upper rack. They contain notches to hold glassware stems, can be folded up if not needed, are height-adjustable, and permit shorter items like coffee mugs to be loaded below them while serving as a mini-shelf on which to set additional small pieces. If you ask me, these things are pretty ingenious!
Silverware Basket - Yep, there's one in there, all right. But this one can be separated into three sections, two of which have hinged covers. It's a great feature when maximum space is needed for non-flatware items. There are also two optional-use baskets for holding additional smaller items.
Five Water Spray Sources - At least, that's what Sears says. I've only found four, but I'm not always the brightest bulb in the lamp. There are two spray arms with typical holes that form the upward spray pattern. One is below the bottom rack, the other below the top rack (that's two). The upper arm also has a large center outlet that sprays water downward onto the lower rack (makes it three). A center outlet (the fourth source) mounted in the top of the tub sprays downward onto the top rack. Although I can't locate the fifth source, I have to believe that this bi-directional coverage for each rack provides much better water flow and gets dishes cleaner than more rudimentary dishwashers.
Adjustable Rinse Agent Dispenser - The amount of rinse agent released can be manually adjusted to correspond to the relative hardness of the water supply. This is sort of a trial an error process, but we've found the default setting of "2" to work just fine.
Rinse Agent Reminder - A green LED that glows when the reservoir is empty. There's also a see through site-glass on the inner side of the door. But I seldom even notice it, so the reminder light is really nice to have.
Clean Indicator - Another green LED that answers the burning question, "Is this stuff clean or dirty?" The light remains on until the door is closed and latched the next time.
Quibbles
This dishwasher only has two failings. Both relate to the door gasket, which lies in a metal track that forms the front edge of the tub. First, the design of the gasket seems to be flawed. For whatever reason, it occasionally adheres to the door, which, when opened, pulls the gasket out of its track. It then must be carefully fitted back into the track before the door can be closed again. I've found that applying a thin film of mineral oil to it once a month tends to mitigate that problem. Second, it's made of a rubber material that is somewhat weak, and it has already begun to split in a couple of places. Fortunately, that hasn't caused it to leak water . . . at least, for now.
Closing
The 16919 has been an incredibly efficient and trouble-free machine for two full years, and we haven't once regretted the somewhat steep $600 price tag. On the other hand, the Kenmore label makes it less expensive than virtually identical units sold as KitchenAid, and that makes its cost much easier to swallow.
If the Epinions system would just accept text formatting or HTML code, our reviews could be made almost as good as this dishwasher. If only!!
Update 02/12/2002
Disregard the foregoing paragraph. HTML is working again . . . or maybe I just figured out how to do it right!.
Update 04/13/2003
Ut-oh! It just bit the dust . . . dead as a doornail . . . just quit in the middle of a wash cycle.
But a little Internet research turned up a likely fix -
http://www.applianceaid.com/kadish2.html.
A $6.00 thermal fuse and about 45 minutes ought to solve the problem. Film at 11:00.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 539
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Epinions.com ID:
pick2
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Member: Dave
Location: Houston, TX
Reviews written: 18
Trusted by: 3 members
About Me:
Nothing in life is guaranteed. So, until further notice, I'm accepting empty promises.
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