“From the comments it seems that the biggest drawback to this model is that the normal cycle takes in excess of 3 hours, which seems crazy to me. What is the company’s explanation/ defense of this feature and is there anyway around it?”
Answer This Question
1-3 of 3 Answers
K8rl, our dishwasher can average 2-3 hours per load, but uses nearly 40% less energy than older models. The average length of time for a normal cycle can be anywhere from 1 hour to 3 hours. As the dishwasher may be equipped with sensor technology, the very first cycle may run longer to calibrate the sensor. Please keep in mind that selected options add time to the cycle. Also, cooler water temperatures cause the dishwasher to run longer while heating the water. You can try running the nearest hot water faucet until it gets hot just before starting the dishwasher. Also, be sure the water heater in the home is set to 120 degrees F for best performance.
From my research before buying this dishwasher, after our 17 year old Kenmore died, I learned that all of the dishwashers on the market today take longer to run a cycle because they use less water. (I'm not sure how that works, but that's the explanation; maybe the water stays in the washer longer, rather than streaming in more water faster?) There is an Express Wash cycle but the booklet indicates that it uses "more energy and water" -- about 8 gallons of water compared to the 2.4 gallons for Normal wash. Express takes about an hour, whereas Normal takes 2 hrs to 3:10 hrs. If you want to save on water but make the cycle shorter, you can turn off the Heat Dry. Dishes may still be wet when the cycle ends, though. I've done this a few times overnight, but I think it would work better in the warm weather than in the winter. Another way to make the cycle shorter is to remove food particles before putting the dishes in the dishwasher. The sensor supposedly adjusts the amount of water needed by sensing "soil level." We use a plastic spatula to wipe off food particles, then rinse quickly with cold water before adding things to the dishwasher, since we don't run it every day and otherwise the food particles would harden overnight and take more water to clean. In general, we run our dishwasher after dinner whenever possible so everything is clean and dry in the morning. But even when we run it after breakfast or lunch, it's done by the next meal. And you can always take something out of the dishwasher and then resume the cycle if you really need a clean plate or utensil.
Verified Purchase
This seems on the long side from my experience. Much of that end time is drying, which you can interrupt to pull something out if you really need to. This is a very good and quiet machine and run time is not an issue. It’s very efficient and uses little water.