New dishwasher?

October 19, 2009 10:04 AM

Should I replace my dishwasher?

I have a 3-year-old Kenmore dishwasher. Cost about $400. It used to do an adequate - but not remarkable - job of cleaning the dishes. Then about 3 months ago, it stopped working. A couple of frustrating phone calls convinced me that getting service would cost a couple of hundred bucks and involve a day of waiting for a technician. Google suggested that the fuse was blown; I got the fuse for $10, opened the whole thing up, replaced the fuse, and it worked again.

Then the little door for powder stopped opening; throwing a couple of the dishwashing pellets into the machine on their own seemed to do the trick. Now its stopped working again. I'm guessing its the fuse. Again.

So three questions - first, the objective one: could there be something in my electrical system that is causing the fuse to go out? Short circuit somewhere that is connecting somewhere?

Second, the subjective one: should I just scrap this dishwasher and get a new one? Or get another fuse and fix it again. Maybe try to figure out the trick behind the timing of the soap door. (Anyone?)

Third, the comparative one: if so, what should I get? The low-end Bosch ones go for about $600 at Lowes and sound pretty cool.

Thanks

posted by RandlePatrickMcMurphy to Home & Garden (3 answers total)

one - maybe. do you blow other fuses regularly? sounds more like an isolated dishwasher problem, but it's a possibility. If the fuse is in the dishwasher itself it means it's a short in the dishwasher not somewhere else.

two - I see it as a question of whether or not you have $600+ available to get a new dishwasher. If not, get a couple spare fuses but at some point the fuses are just a symptom of a bad motor which is drawing too much current for some reason (a short)

three - We used to have a Bosch and it was fantastic. We had it for several years without any issues at all. We moved and now we miss it.
posted by GuyZero at 10:55 AM on October 19, 2009

If the dishwasher keeps tripping the fuse, I'd certainly look into having that circuit checked before dropping more money on a new machine. Hopefully, the dishwasher may have simply been wired-in poorly.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:56 AM on October 19, 2009

I would first wonder if the dishwasher was grounded properly when it was installed. That would be a pain to check, however. Otherwise as GuyZero says it might just be a motor going bad over time. If other parts are failing as well, like the detergent dispenser, this model or unit might just be a lemon.

As far as new dishwashers go, there is a reason you hear people say, "Bosch to wash."
posted by aught at 12:23 PM on October 19, 2009 [1 favorite]