GE Spacemaker Dishwasher Problems

[SteveR]

First off I would like to warn everybody about GE appliances, JUNK!!! Don't waste your money on them, and GE will not honor warrentees or recalls on their appliances. I bought all new, everything from GE about 9 years ago, first went the washing machine and drier, then the refrigerator, now the microwave and dishwasher!!!

I fixed the refrigerator, seems the main "control board", is defective, and a recall was placed on them, my refrigerator was assembled in march, with the defective control board, but final assembly was not till October, and the recall was till August in the model I have, but GE refused to honor the recall, and I bought a "control board" from Amazon, for cheaper than the "deal" that GE gave me on the replacement board.

Anyway, now back to the dishwasher, I have hard water and get a lot of calcium build up, so I bought new arms for spraying the water on the upper and lower dish racks, cleaned up the filters and cleaned the drain, debris trap, and the water level shut off.
So, now I try it out, but it will not fill up with water when it firsts starts, if I prime it it will work and clean, heat, and drain.

I don't know what fills the base with water, it seems the pump is pulling water, but controls the the flow of the pump to fill the base and then, drain it?

Tia,
Steve

[Blaine]

Good luck....Seems like dealing with any of the manufactories is losing proposition these days....

[TedH]

You're doing good to get 5 or 6 years out of any dishwasher these days. That's the reasonable life expectancy according to Home Depot.

[Rusty]

Gee and I thought Maytag was the worst. I guess they all stink.

[Blaine]

You're doing good to get 5 or 6 years out of any dishwasher these days. That's the reasonable life expectancy according to Home Depot.

I won't have one. I've had them in every place I've lived, but won't use them....Take out the top rack, and it's good storage. Empty a box of Arm&Hammer in the bottom to cut down on swamp gas.

[AJMD429]

I won't have one. I've had them in every place I've lived, but won't use them....Take out the top rack, and it's good storage. Empty a box of Arm&Hammer in the bottom to cut down on swamp gas.

Had a friend who felt the same way. Took his out and replaced it with a kitchen base cabinet, and put it in his garage....to clean his black powder pistols...

[SteveR]

The refrigerator is what really upset me off, they say 17-20 years is the life expectancy of that appliance, it works fine as long as the "control board" is good.

There must be something I am missing, I can get it to work by priming it, but I need to find what makes it prime.

Steve

[Blaine]

I have a Maytag W&D that I bought in '96....No problems, or expensive noises yet, but I'm not holding my breath

If I "HAD" to, I could wash clothes in the bathtub (I did that in Korean off post housing all the time) but, I'd have to have a dryer...No negotiations on that one.

[SteveR]

Looks like the water inlet valve. What garbage GE makes. The parts are just cheap enough that you will get replacements instead of a new one. Looks like they want repair bills as much as not lasting worth a pelosi.

Steve

[Pete44ru]

.


aka: Planned obsolescence ..................



.

[RIHMFIRE]

Yup ...newer ge appliances are bunch of craaaaaaap
Oven just blew out the lower element....3 yrs old....
Wife called in due to warranty.....sent the wrong part...
repair man re-ordered.....and the part arrived looking like a pretzel...

Wife wants replace the 25 yr old refrig.....and the dang thing wont break....

[Rusty]

A friend of mine bought an LG fridge from Home Depot. They bought the extended warranty on it. When it was a year and a half old it stopped working. When he called LG they said they had had so much trouble with them they just stopped making parts for them. He ended up getting full credit towards the purchase of another fridge by a different mfg.

[DPris]

We have a GE dishwasher.

Worst one we've ever owned.
Doesn't clean well, no matter how we stack it.
Constant battle with plugged jets on the arms.

The one it replaced (different brand) was 10 years old & still worked better when it was dying than the GE did when it was new.

We're waiting for Uberti to introduce their new line of retro-classic dishwashers.....
Denis

[Blaine]

I've heard that Samsung is pretty good....I'm still not buying one, though....

[SteveR]

Anybody have a good appliance maker that they would like to recommend? I know within a few years I will be replacing the dishwasher, stove, and refrigerator.

Well here I am stuck waiting for overnight-guaranteed-next-day delivery, for the part I hope will fix it. I really hate how these things cost so much for parts, I am glad I don't need their "repairman" at 100 dollar an hour, to fix it. But if it makes my girl have a better and easier day, then i will fix the dishwasher.

Steve

[DPris]

Might try Philco.
The Philco fridge in my grandparents' home was still running after a solid 50 years of service when it was replaced by a new model.
Denis

[SteveR]

Might try Philco.
The Philco fridge in my grandparents' home was still running after a solid 50 years of service when it was replaced by a new model.
Denis

Wow, it's a shame things are not built like that anymore.

Steve

[SteveR]

OK, got it fixed. Wasn't too bad, it was a different shape than the original, but works fine.

The worse part was after I got water line and a rubber hose, I think its for telling the unit if it has pressure, then the power hooked up. Then I try the mounting screws, of course they don't fit the new part screw holes. Mind you that this is working under the washer in like 4 inches of space, so first thought is I go to my screw box and look for something that will fit, nope nothing. Then I decide to tap the new part mounting plate to fit the old screws. That worked out well, I see that they waste good steel on cheap parts, what a bitch to get it tapped. But, anyway I put it all back and power it on, no leaks!! And works almost as good a new.

I will never ever buy GE again.

Steve

[.45colt]

Glad You got it fixed Steve, very frustrating. I can offer this. we have a well (hard water) and I am the Guy that cleans out the strainer basket thing in the dishwasher. it was always pretty nasty and required a lot of scrubbing to get the whole thing clean. last year the Wife brought home some Oxi-Clean dishwasher detergent "power crystals". not only do the dishes come out nearly spotless but the strainer in the bottom is 90% cleaner that ever before. Had I not seen it for myself I wouldn't be leave it.

[SteveR]

Glad You got it fixed Steve, very frustrating. I can offer this. we have a well (hard water) and I am the Guy that cleans out the strainer basket thing in the dishwasher. it was always pretty nasty and required a lot of scrubbing to get the whole thing clean. last year the Wife brought home some Oxi-Clean dishwasher detergent "power crystals". not only do the dishes come out nearly spotless but the strainer in the bottom is 90% cleaner that ever before. Had I not seen it for myself I wouldn't be leave it.

Very nice, thank you for the tip. I will definitely try that Oxi-Clean. I don't want to have to keep cleaning this one every couple months, so that sounds like a great help!

I heard something about using "enzyme" type detergent, I wonder if the Oxi-Clean uses them also. My septic system would like Oxy_Clean instead of all the chlorine and bleach from the dishwasher and washing machine.

Steve

[cnjarvis]

I run a couple of tablespoons of Lemishine through a rinse cycle in mine from time to time to help keep lime buildup at bay.

I agree that GE appliances can be cr ap. My oven/range and dishwasher work fine but the microwave takes easily 50% longer to cook things than similar wattage units by other makers. We had one issue with the dishwasher but that was a plumbing problem. The appliance tech fixed it and added a larger vent (to allow steam to escape during drying) for good measure.

[mark08]

just a note about appliance's service life today compared to years ago. My son has my great grand mother's first fridge up in his hunting cabin. It still works!!!!! it is a 1932-1935 Servel gas n/lp that replaced the old ice box that my sister still has. I guess the ice box would work if she could find an ice man... Seval is out of business today. With such a good product i wonder why?

[Sixgun]

Steve,
That sucks...........anybody over the age of 50 remembers well when stuff was built to last. The OLD Maytags are great. Our dishwasher is every bit of 20 years old and up to now.....no issues. The VERY BEST dishwasher was the one I bought in 1972 and at 59 years old, that baby works GREAT......although she can get a bit cranky once in a while, especially when I walk in the door with an 1886 under my arm.

The worst are washing machines as they tend to cost 5-8 c notes or better. The best I could do was 3 or 4 years before something went broke and there are only 4 of us here....now only 2. The last washing machine went bust sometime around 2010 and I immediately jumped on Craigslist for old Maytags wringers. I found one in new condition.....a year or so later, found another in new condition. Then I found one slightly used....have them all and it's all I use anymore. I'm done buying new junk.

[Rimfire McNutjob]

I've got Bosch dishwashers ... rock solid. Though you do have to clean the filter now and again. Especially if you rely on your kids to load them. Kids seem to not understand the concept of pre-rinsing to get the bulk of the food or grease off.

All of my Thermadore appliances are junk ... range, hood, oven. All have been replaced or repaired more than once. Never again.

I have a GE Monogram freezer and a Monogram refrigerator. The freezer has been solid for 13 years .. even the ice maker. The fridge is junk. Which is odd ... but what they did was decided not to include a $3 defrost heater in the fridge. All of the newer ones have them. My evaporator freezes up every 6 months and I have to disassemble the lower internals of the fridge and defrost it with a hair dryer. I'm never buying GE again because these units were very expensive for what they are. Even the repair guy said they should have put a heater strip on the evaporator for the defrost cycle.

When I bought my last clothes washer and dryer I did something unusual. I went to a Sears outlet that is in the same building as the repair center. There's a lot of scratch and dent and discontinued stuff in there. But what makes it special is that a lot of the guys that man it are older repair techs ... guys that used to drive around in the Sears vans for many years. I found an older one and asked him to point out the most rock solid washer and dryer models in the building. He led me right over to them and I walked out with them. Not an issue with either in many years.

[SteveR]

just a note about appliance's service life today compared to years ago. My son has my great grand mother's first fridge up in his hunting cabin. It still works!!!!! it is a 1932-1935 Servel gas n/lp that replaced the old ice box that my sister still has. I guess the ice box would work if she could find an ice man... Seval is out of business today. With such a good product i wonder why?

Maybe Sevel (sp?), did the right thing, if they couldn't afford to produce a great product, then go out of business, rather than ruin their good name. I wish GE would go out of business!!!

Steve

[SteveR]

Steve,
That sucks...........anybody over the age of 50 remembers well when stuff was built to last. The OLD Maytags are great. Our dishwasher is every bit of 20 years old and up to now.....no issues. The VERY BEST dishwasher was the one I bought in 1972 and at 59 years old, that baby works GREAT......although she can get a bit cranky once in a while, especially when I walk in the door with an 1886 under my arm.

The worst are washing machines as they tend to cost 5-8 c notes or better. The best I could do was 3 or 4 years before something went broke and there are only 4 of us here....now only 2. The last washing machine went bust sometime around 2010 and I immediately jumped on Craigslist for old Maytags wringers. I found one in new condition.....a year or so later, found another in new condition. Then I found one slightly used....have them all and it's all I use anymore. I'm done buying new junk.

She sounds like an angel!! She must be putting up with you!! hahahaha just kidding

Steve

[SteveR]

I've got Bosch dishwashers ... rock solid. Though you do have to clean the filter now and again. Especially if you rely on your kids to load them. Kids seem to not understand the concept of pre-rinsing to get the bulk of the food or grease off.

All of my Thermadore appliances are junk ... range, hood, oven. All have been replaced or repaired more than once. Never again.

I have a GE Monogram freezer and a Monogram refrigerator. The freezer has been solid for 13 years .. even the ice maker. The fridge is junk. Which is odd ... but what they did was decided not to include a $3 defrost heater in the fridge. All of the newer ones have them. My evaporator freezes up every 6 months and I have to disassemble the lower internals of the fridge and defrost it with a hair dryer. I'm never buying GE again because these units were very expensive for what they are. Even the repair guy said they should have put a heater strip on the evaporator for the defrost cycle.

When I bought my last clothes washer and dryer I did something unusual. I went to a Sears outlet that is in the same building as the repair center. There's a lot of scratch and dent and discontinued stuff in there. But what makes it special is that a lot of the guys that man it are older repair techs ... guys that used to drive around in the Sears vans for many years. I found an older one and asked him to point out the most rock solid washer and dryer models in the building. He led me right over to them and I walked out with them. Not an issue with either in many years.

What brand? Or just Sears, I don't think Sears amkes anything, just rebrands other makers.

Thanks,
Steve

[Rimfire McNutjob]

What brand? Or just Sears, I don't think Sears amkes anything, just rebrands other makers.

Thanks,
Steve

They are Kenmore, but I'm unsure what that translates into ... perhaps Whirlpool. Washer is gear drive instead of belt drive ... that I know.

[stretch]

The VERY BEST dishwasher was the one I bought in 1972 and at 59 years old, that baby works GREAT......although she can get a bit cranky once in a while, especially when I walk in the door with an 1886 under my arm.

That there's funny!

My washer and dryer came from Craigslist - $200 the pair delivered.
If they croak, back to Craigslist.

Microwave came from the dump.

My dishwasher is a tiny, older GE I think. It takes forever to get
the dishes clean, and sounds like an old RF4C taking off. I ought to
replace it with a cabinet......

I agree - modern appliances are JUNK!
-Stretch

[Larkbill]

My Dad liked the Oxiclean, but didn't like the high price so he did a little digging. Turns out the active ingredient is BORAX! Good old 20 Mule Team is pretty cheap. My wife uses it in the washer and once in a while in the dishwasher, also cleaned out the stainless coffee pot when nothing else would touch it. Only problem is other folks have figured it out too, so if Wally World has multiple boxes on the shelf she always buys extra. Might not be there the next time.

[pdentrem]

Maybe it is karma, but the GE plant in Kentucky burned today. It was an appliance plant to boot!
Pierre

[SteveR]

Maybe it is karma, but the GE plant in Kentucky burned today. It was an appliance plant to boot!
Pierre

You don't know how warm and fuzzy that makes me inside!!!!!

Steve

[SteveR]

My Dad liked the Oxiclean, but didn't like the high price so he did a little digging. Turns out the active ingredient is BORAX! Good old 20 Mule Team is pretty cheap. My wife uses it in the washer and once in a while in the dishwasher, also cleaned out the stainless coffee pot when nothing else would touch it. Only problem is other folks have figured it out too, so if Wally World has multiple boxes on the shelf she always buys extra. Might not be there the next time.

Thanks, I have heard of Borax, time to stock up on some. Old Ironsights here talked about making laundry detergent form it.

Steve

[mohavesam]

Maybe it is karma, but the GE plant in Kentucky burned today. It was an appliance plant to boot!
Pierre

You don't know how warm and fuzzy that makes me inside!!!!!

Steve

- ? Revelling in 400 Americans out of work?
What was that quote about no single raindrop taking responsibility for the flood?

[mark08]

Hey Steve, I did a little research and SERVEL is not out of the gas refrigerator business. They merged with Dometic. They are now manufactured in Sweden. Need a refrigerator in the middle of nowhere off the grid. The Diamond brand is made in the USA by the Amish. WHO KNEW?

[SteveR]

Maybe it is karma, but the GE plant in Kentucky burned today. It was an appliance plant to boot!
Pierre

You don't know how warm and fuzzy that makes me inside!!!!!

Steve

- ? Revelling in 400 Americans out of work?
What was that quote about no single raindrop taking responsibility for the flood?

To be honest with you, yes, I am glad that they can no longer build garbage appliances. I hope those 400 people find jobs that are not building junk and taking hard earned money from other American's. Maybe since those 400 people can work for the Government, sound like they are already trained at it.

Steve

[SteveR]

Hey Steve, I did a little research and SERVEL is not out of the gas refrigerator business. They merged with Dometic. They are now manufactured in Sweden. Need a refrigerator in the middle of nowhere off the grid. The Diamond brand is made in the USA by the Amish. WHO KNEW?

That is interesting about Diamond brand, I didn't know the Amish were the builders. I will have a lookat Seveland Diamond to dee in the future if they sell electric refrigerators.

Thanks,
Steve

[mohavesam]

Sorry SteveR, I cannot take pleasure, like you, do in the face of such a tragedy. The employees didn't "deserve" such a fire destroying their workplace, regardless of your singular experience with a product.

You must really love it when a flood or tornado destroys hundreds of lives - guess they "had it coming", eh?

Not very impressed with this thread so far...

[SteveR]

Sorry SteveR, I cannot take pleasure, like you, do in the face of such a tragedy. The employees didn't "deserve" such a fire destroying their workplace, regardless of your singular experience with a product.

You must really love it when a flood or tornado destroys hundreds of lives - guess they "had it coming", eh?

Not very impressed with this thread so far...

If the thread does not impress you and you don't like my remarks to the GE Appliance division and such ironic loss of their warehouse, then don't read the thread. Nobody is forcing you to reply either, so if it bothers you go to a different thread.

Also a sad outlook on what is a tragedy, a warehouse that GE did not properly keep safe, and is responsible for the fire, or a real tragedy like a tornado that destroys innocent people who have done nothing to deserve the destruction. But you judge me?

Steve