1971 Sears Kenmore Rotorack portable dishwasher

[vacuumlad1650]

Well if there is one chore I just struggle to get myself to do, it's the dishes. My kitchen just doesnt have a spit in the cabinets I could sacrifice to install a dishwasher, so a few weeks back I decided to purchase a portable one. That idea died off when I found out a new one would set me back 900 bucks, and used ones were scarce.
I made mention of this to my grandmother, and she offered me her portable. It made it home today.
We dug in grandpas old office and even found the original owners manual and parts catalog!
Sadly I'm struggling to find a replacement door seal (this one leaks at the bottom left corner) and I need to replace the unicouple, as it leaks water when the faucet is turned on.
The old girl washes away, though! I'll have to take some video once i get it fixed up and post it to the Tube of You.

 

[vacuumlad1650]

I'm not quite sure why my pictures always end up in backwards order!

 

[luxlife]

We had that as a built-in

It was made for Lady Kenmore by Modern Maid and it was impressive for its time.

 

[madman]

For the door seal, you would hopefully be able to improvise another machine's door seal.

Most dishwashers don't actually seal all the way around, like the bottom is usually open. They are usually designed so water just drips off the door back into the bottom. You might want to make sure the door gasket is the issue, and it's not leaking from somewhere else. Or, perhaps, the machine is not sitting level enough where you are using it.

 

[suckolux]

I thought the same thing about another model gasket, but also knowing that they don't actually seal at the bottom maybe the water level is too high?

 

[vacuumlad1650]

The bottom left corner of the gasket actually has a gap of .5" under it, when the bottom right is nice and tight against the body. I followed the water drips along the side of the machine.

The floors in this house are nowhere near level (its 100 years old) so I'll see if positioning it differently helps

 

[dysonman1]

What a wonderful dishwasher. The Roto Rack is amazing. We had one when I was growing up. We also had tupperware tumblers which always made a noise when they went over the upper rack's wash arm. Hope you get it fixed.

 

[human]

Nice dishwasher!

I've never actually used a portable dishwasher but that's certainly a good solution for your needs. Some friends of mine had one and actually left it in the middle of their kitchen as an island. Very cool that it's a family piece. I know it's in excellent hands and you'll have it working like new very soon.

 

[vacuumlad1650]

Well for the time being, I have been using it with towels under the machine. It doesnt leak much at the door, but I'd rather have them there to catch the drips.
Appliance Guru Hans Craig is trying to put me in contact with a friend of his who may have some original parts...
But until then the old Rotorack is happily whirling dishes clean in my kitchen as I type!