My Dishwasher Conundrum

[Magyar Kiwi]

Hi
Two comments:
1/ Looks like a very simple valve, have you checked that the solenoid that operates it is working correctly; correct resistance, correct current draw and operating force ?
2/ Hobart part 00-329241 Drain Valve Body, seems to be in stock in Canada
See link below:
https://avenue.hobart.ca/products/00-329241

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

I wonder if anyone has an old part you could buy or have and re-engineer it with better bushings or whatever to make it work better longer.

Maybe try to hook up a cable to the valve and just open and close it manually.

I just looked that baby up on the google. The cost of the part alone is obscene. If the hobart dealer had had a new part in stock, your repair bill would have been double.

I had a post about 3D printing but somehow it didn't post. But the Canada thing is obviously the easier answer.

[jyl]

I think I should order that part!

[jyl]

Yeah, I’m ordering that part.

[greglepore]

Hopefully they'll ship to the USA...keep us posted.

[LWJ]

Damn. The power of PPOT is never to be underestimated.

[jyl]

Hobart Canada will not ship to the US, not even to a US Hobart service center. The best they can do is ship to somewhere in Canada and I've have to go get it or have it privately mailed to me.

So, the options currently look like:

1. Give up and get a regular dishwasher . . . No, I can never go back.
2. MacGyver the old Hobart. . . I've tested the concept with an electric pump, it will keep the old Hobart functional until the next thing fails on this 1996 dishwasher with parts increasingly NLA.
3. Get a high end dishwasher that has a super fast cycle . . . No, investigation reveals the Miele won't replace the Hobart at all. And, $6,700 plus not in stock anywhere here.
4. Get a new Hobart . . . No, I just don't want to spend $10K..
5. Get a refurbished Hobart . . . Nothing has come up
6. Get a used Hobart pulled from a failed cafe . . . This is what I did.

Ran across a liquidator with four Hobart LXeR machines pulled from closing coffee shops, picked the newest one (2022), paid $3,200 with 2 days to return if DOA, hooked it up and it works flawlessly. The 2022 Hobart is quieter, more energy efficient, releases almost no steam, has many parameters and options, automatic deliming and chemical level monitoring, pot and pan cycle, etc. I love it.

Yes, I am the sad little man in love with my dishwasher.

The plan is to run this in my house for a few months, if it proves reliable then move it to the cafe and buy another late-model used LXeR for the house and as a spare. Cafe machine fails, I just haul the house one over and swap, machines on casters, back in business.

What to do with the old Hobart? It has been a trusty servant. I'm trying to think of a use for it. If I can't then may be time to donate it to the Hobart service center to be cannibalized, or scrap it.

[Zeke]

Knowing that the part is indeed available I'd value the old one and not scrap it. I'm sure one of out northern members would have shipped you the part.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I have been the go-between for many Pelicans shipping to Canada, Europe and Japan, and received packages and then shipped them to someone in the U.S.

I don't see anyone from our better half on this thread but maybe someone will be able to help out.

[greglepore]

Yeah, I was afraid there was some sort of contractual reason that would happen. But in the end it sounds like you got a great deal anyway.
I bet the old machine would make an awesome parts washer for someone. That hot water would make short work of grime with a good degreaser.

[herr_oberst]

I know a guy in Vancouver, if you still want to get the part.

[herr_oberst]

It's too bad you had to spend several hundred trying to make ol' Hobie do it's job, but it sounds like Hobbes II is probably the better alternative by multiples.

[Deschodt]

If you can fix yours, that's excellent... We throw away too much and don't repair enough.
If not, I'll just say that modern dishwashers have come a long way in terms of quiet in the past 5-7y, from experience...
My house (quake zone) is made of papier maché and popsicle sticks, and I could hear my old dishwasher from my damn bedroom, let alone while watching TV.. the new ones, yikes, household members have been caught accidentally opening it while it was running - because that is how quiet they are now.. Kinda worth it to me, the silence is golden.

[Jeff Alton]

Our Bosch dishwasher with the matching cabinet panel gets opened too often while running. It shines a red light on the floor when operating, but otherwise it looks like a cabinet door, and my wife seems to not notice the light..... It is basically silent, even when standing beside it. So, she puts a dishcloth through the handle when she turns it on as a second reminder.

Cheers

[jyl]

Here is the new Hobart.



Here is the chemical solution I came up with, since there isn’t room for gallon jugs of chemicals behind the machine. I need to order some rubber caps.

The last step is to commission, build, or buy a draining counter that sits on top of the Hobart, drains into the sink, and is sturdy enough for wet racks to get plonked down and slid off over and over.

[Alan A]

Originally Posted by Jeff Alton

Our Bosch dishwasher with the matching cabinet panel gets opened too often while running. It shines a red light on the floor when operating, but otherwise it looks like a cabinet door, and my wife seems to not notice the light..... handle when she turns it on as a second reminder.

Cheers

It’s not just your wife…