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Post by voodoochikin04 on Sept 8, 2020 15:39:03 GMT -5
So I drove 12 hours round trip to Chuckies stomping grounds ( Kansas City) to pick up this gem yesterday. Been searching for a while and scoured the country for the last few weeks via craigslist, FB market, ebay and this was the ONLY KDS-58 to come up. Poorly advertised as well. The KDS-58 is a Kitchenaid KD-18 Superba model (S) and in a portable enclosure (58). It was produced prior to government water reduction regulations, has 3 full rinse cycles, heated dry, porcelain enamel tub, and a powerful motor. The 18 series was the first KA to include both upper and lower wash arms, as well it carries on with the very top constant rise arm. This unit also has a soft foods disposer in the pump. It does heat the water but is not thermostatically controlled, like some later models were. This particular unit does have some rusting issues BUT I found no evidence of leaking water on the bottom where those spots are.
My plan is to do a sympathetic restoration, kind of like my chambers project. Just fix, revive and clean it up.
Here is a very good video showcasing this beauty produced by a member of Automaticwasher.org
Here are some of the photos I took.
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Post by Chuckie on Sept 9, 2020 6:20:01 GMT -5
So I drove 12 hours round trip to Chuckies stomping grounds ( Kansas City) to pick up this gem yesterday. Been searching for a while and scoured the country for the last few weeks via craigslist, FB market, ebay and this was the ONLY KDS-58 to come up. Poorly advertised as well. The KDS-58 is a Kitchenaid KD-18 Superba model (S) and in a portable enclosure (58) It never "clicked" w/me when you were PM'ing me about this, until I saw your pictures. My MOM had one of these when I was a kid!! Or it's TWIN made by another company, but the colour, latching system, etc, was the same. The WHEELS brought back the memory. There were EIGHT of us kids, so it got a workout!!! And where it sat was about six feet or better from the sink, then you rolled it over to the sink. The water attachment just pulled up and slid over the kitchen faucet---turn on the hot side---and it had a self-retracting cord; you just pulled up the discharge hose, and placed it down in the sink itself to drain into. I THINK the ONLY reason we got rid of it was it wore the linoleum down to the original hardwood floors from all the rolling, and methinks Da decided to buy a built in before he replaced the linoleum so the floor wasn't being re-done every few years. As Bob Hope used to say " THANKS, for the memories...." CHEERS! Chuckie
UPDATE: I didn't notice the one pic was a VIDEO! I stand corrected, I FORGOT supply/discharge were on the same hose!! Been awhile...
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Post by voodoochikin04 on Sept 9, 2020 8:35:25 GMT -5
Haha, they are heavy and rolling them everyday over the same spot would definitely wear a path.
I'm excited to get this unit going in my kitchen. I think it'll look good with the Chambers.
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Post by pooka on Sept 9, 2020 10:52:14 GMT -5
We had a very similar one we got when we paid off the house in 77 or 78. We remodeled the kitchen & bathroom at the time. While our was very similar. I think it was a Kenmore brand from Sears, so I don't know who made it for them. Also. our was a built in model. It was also the same Harvest Gold color that was popular at the time. We had a matching stove & fridge. The fridge I remember was a huge Montgomery Ward three door side by side.
My brother just replaced ours last Christmas. I don't know what went wrong with it, but that's a pretty good lifespan of about forty years.
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Post by voodoochikin04 on Sept 9, 2020 12:58:09 GMT -5
Companies got wise that when you sell a product that lasts 50yrs...you lose out on profit I guess. That's the only conclusion that makes sense as to why appliances today have shorter life spans. Even high end luxury appliances are not lasting 40yrs.
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Post by pooka on Sept 9, 2020 14:01:10 GMT -5
It's a kind of math to them. They calculate how long people live in a home, & how often a kitchen is remodeled, plus a lot of other factors. Then there's a lot of math on how well to build the product for maximum profit margin. A lot of things get replaced just because you feel like it, & not because they wore out. Some people throw so much money away just because they feel like a change, & not out of need. So the cheaper the price, the more likely consumers will trash perfectly usable stuff just because they want the latest & greatest new one. It's a viscous cycle. That's fine if you've got lots of cash to throw away for no good reason. Not so good if you don't. But you get to a point where the products become so cheaply made that they fail & must be replace far sooner than they should. Plus when things are cheap, you treat them as if they are disposable, & tear them up by being careless, because, heck, I don't care. I'll just get another.
I've got a couple of toasters from the 30s that still work great. In fact, I've got lots of vintage stuff that no modern version can hold a candle to. My philosophy is get top quality in the first place if you can afford it. In the long run, it's cheaper. Home appliances shouldn't be a fashion statement that you change every few years just because you feel like it. In this country, we've become so wasteful because we could afford it. It became that "keeping up with the Jones" thing. It's left us all poorer in the process, except for the companies that make the products we consume. For them it's a boon. I's become more like the relationship between a drug pusher & a junkie. They play to our weaknesses. Always looking for that bigger & better high. They get richer in the process, & we're no better off really.
I was just looking at Facebook Marketplace the other night at range hoods. I found one that was being sold because they decided to get a bigger stove, so they were going to remodel, & get rid of their present stuff that was only two years old. It's madness!
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Post by voodoochikin04 on Sept 9, 2020 15:00:40 GMT -5
True, i forget how badly this country has been groomed to constantly consume & replace... I dont have the personal experiences of seeing how the rest of the world lives, but just following along via online video, allows me to see how spoiled the people in this country really have become. Myself included.
Being able to just drive a 12hr round trip on a whim to buy an old appliance is definitely a luxury that even most of my friends dont have. I feel lucky.
Pretty much everyone in my vicinity that I have shown the chambers stove to, says the same thing to me: "Why would you want that old junk, its going to blow up your house".... even my mother in law.
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Post by mach12 on Sept 9, 2020 17:36:25 GMT -5
People are afraid of what they don't understand so they put their faith in the marketing ploy that newer is better. The only thing where that's valid with a Chambers is the safety system for the oven on stoves before the mid-1950's when they started installing them.
I really like that dishwasher. When I was growing up it was pretty rare for anyone to even have a dishwasher, let alone one that was built in. My parents got one after I went in the Navy and it was a portable like that and my wife's parents had one like it as well. We got one in early 1972 with money my wife saved selling Tupperware and kept it until we bought our first built in one in 1980.When I remodeled our kitchen a couple of years ago we put it a new dishwasher and I was shocked the first time we ran it when the timer started counting down from the 2 hour mark. I'm tempted to buy an old one a restore it. If I hired someone to do a 30 minute job and they took 2 hours I'd fire them, too.
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Post by voodoochikin04 on Sept 9, 2020 18:06:12 GMT -5
LOL true! The shortest cycle on here is like 43 minutes I believe, and the longest pots & pans with heated dry is 1hr 45minutes. I'm going to attempt to run it tonight.
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Post by Chuckie on Sept 9, 2020 21:04:31 GMT -5
Companies got wise that when you sell a product that lasts 50yrs...you lose out on profit I guess. That's the only conclusion that makes sense as to why appliances today have shorter life spans. Even high end luxury appliances are not lasting 40yrs. I BELIEVE it was our " Resident-Wizard-Of-Just-About-EVERYTHING", pooka, who posted a (French?) youtube video entitled "Planned Obsolescence" or the likes. It had subtitles as I recall, and the practice started back in the early days of light bulbs IF memory serves me... Can you conjure it back UP, oh wise one? CHEERS! Chuckie
UPDATE: I found it meself on youtube, give me an ATTABOY!!
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Post by voodoochikin04 on Sept 9, 2020 23:44:14 GMT -5
haha good job. I have watched something about that meeting between the lightbulb manufactures way back when and they set a standard of acceptance to the lifespan of the product. something along those lines.
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Post by pooka on Sept 10, 2020 0:31:20 GMT -5
Here's the link. It's called "The Lightbulb Conspiracy - Planned Obsolescence".
I think one of the LED bulbs I bought a while back said it could last as long as twenty thee years.
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Post by voodoochikin04 on Sept 10, 2020 2:07:40 GMT -5
We are 3yrs on the LED bulbs in this house, had a couple due out but they are cheap units. My cat Millie was sure loving the additional heat and vibrations!
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Post by pooka on Sept 10, 2020 3:46:39 GMT -5
I've been buying the florescent lamp bulbs since before it became a thing. The first two I got at a flea market, & must have been for some industrial or commercial use. They had an outer glass that was as heavy as an old glass jelly jar. Those things lasted about five years. I didn't really switch for the energy savings, but because they last longer, so they're less work having to change them. I didn't jump on the band wagon for the LED ones right away, because they were pricey. I've bought some as the prices went down some. I've gotten a lot of my bulbs at the thrift stores. Some florescent, & some LED. once & a while, they'd get some from the local utility at bargain prices to encourage using less energy. I've got a box of various sizes & types I've collected over time. It's rare I have to buy bulbs retail, unless it's something very specific.
I rarely shop retail for much of anything, except for basic consumables. I end up spending pennies to the dollar on things I buy second hand. I've cut way back on my thrift store spending though. There are few things I need anymore, & only occasionally something I want. Thrifting is more of a recreation than anything else. It satisfies my primitive hunter, gatherers instinct. Sometimes it's an education when you find something you've never seen before. Most often, it's a lot of made in china nick knacks & do-dads. Lots of glass ware & dinner ware, & odd household stuff. Most of all, mountains of clothing. I don't even look at that anymore. I've got more of that than I'll ever need for any season. But I always buy high quality. About the only things I wear out are unmentionables, socks & work pants.
Truthfully, I need to do some de-cluttering. Perhaps sell or give away stuff I don't need.
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Post by voodoochikin04 on Sept 10, 2020 9:05:44 GMT -5
hahah, done that many times... just loaded up and gave my extra stuff away. I have noticed that the goodwills are always full of chinese made crap.
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Post by nana on Sept 10, 2020 19:13:56 GMT -5
Be careful with LED lights. Make sure you get the “warm” ones. When they first became more affordable my daughter got some for her kitchen and they were a bright, harsh, bluish white that made you feel like you were caught in one of those searchlights like in an old jailbreak movie. They were awful!
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Post by voodoochikin04 on Sept 14, 2020 10:37:07 GMT -5
So I found some corrosion in my upper rack. I used a wire wheel on a dremel to grind away the rock hard vinyl coating & rust. Then I applied liquid tape which is a strong coating dissolved in xylene and other hard core solvents. Has held up with no visible changes for 4 long washes & heated dry.
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