Kenmore dishwasher has a hole in the tub

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breckrider

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The tub is plastic. It's right under the heating element and it feels like
something corroded it. It crumbles when I run my finger over it. The Model
is 665.17032403. I've looked under the unit and there doesn't seem to be
any water under there on the floor.

1. Can I use something like silicone or some other filler to fill the hole?
2. Can the tub, or whatever it's called, be replaced or should I not worry about it?
3. Should I replace the unit. It's about 15 years old.
 

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The reason I said that is not because the hole can't be repaired, but in my 50 years of messing around fixing old stuff to get a little more life from it 99 times out of 100 if it is failing there it will shortly be failing someplace else. If you want to extend it a while clean the spot good and get some fiberglass cloth and clean the spot very good and epoxy a patch over the hole. It might hold on good or the heat and water might take it right off. It would be worth a try.
 
I've been watching some videos and reading about putting styrofoam in acetone and how it reverts to its original polystyrene. Would that harm the plastic in the dishwasher if I used the "melted" styrofoam?
 
I don't think it would harm it but not sure what the bond would be like. I'm learning in a different forum about repairing plastic canoes and kayaks and how hard it is to find compatible patching materials. It would really depend on what the part being patched is made from. If it is PVC then you could fix it with a flat piece of PVC cut from a PVC gutter part and PVC glue like you use on PVC pipe. Other plastics work well when roughened up to epoxy glue. I have some auto body filler that isn't bondo made from fiberglass called dura-glas and some called tiger-hair that I would mix up a glob and force it into the hole and smooth it off and that might work.
 
I don't know what the inside of the dishwasher is made of. I'm sure I can probably find out. I like the idea of the dura-glas or tiger-hair.

Thanks for your help!
 
Best I can tell, it's polypropylene. I mixed up some steel stick
and put it in the hole. So far, not water leaking.
 
Good to hear.



I have a friend that had a dishwasher leak and I took the front cover off and watched it for a cycle and saw the valve was leaking when it would shift dumping about a shot glass of water. I asked her how often did she run it and she said about every other day or less. I took a large cake pan and stuck under it and told her to let me know if she had water again. It has been a couple years and what leaks out evaporates before the next use.

Sometimes the simple fix works. Still not a bad idea to start saving up for a new one and figuring out what one you will want.
 
I'm saving. Lawdhammercy, they're expensive!
I wish you lived near me, I could make you a deal. I regret giving up good cabinet space and going through the installation hassle. The DW came in handy on holidays but the rest of the time she washed and I dried. Turns out that was quality time plus we had no spots on glassware or egg to scrape of dinnerware.
 
I wish you lived near me, I could make you a deal. I regret giving up good cabinet space and going through the installation hassle. The DW came in handy on holidays but the rest of the time she washed and I dried. Turns out that was quality time plus we had no spots on glassware or egg to scrape of dinnerware.
I grew up in the 50-60 and a dishwasher was unheard of. That’s what kids were for. The kitchen was also moms workplace and things were actually made there out of raw materials.



Someplace around 1970 dad sprung for a new kitchen with all the bells and whistles of the space age and mom got a dishwasher. It became the dry place to store cookies and crackers and bread. After a couple years of non use dad shut off the water and power to it so as to not accidentally getting turned on. It was a kitchen-aid. Mom sold her house about 35 years after the kitchen was put in having never used the dishwasher. About a month after she sold it I drove past the place and there on the curb was the kitchen-aid dishwasher. Still brand new never turned on. I almost stopped and loaded it up but wondered about rubber seals and such sitting that long. It was one heck of a good bread box though.

On the other hand we have one and like the TV ad, “We do it every night right after dinner.”
 
1. Can I use something like silicone or some other filler to fill the hole?
2. Can the tub, or whatever it's called, be replaced or should I not worry about it?
3. Should I replace the unit. It's about 15 years old.

FYI, I have used this on shower floor, screw holes when I removed shower doors, and even on the tank of a humidifier, and I have never had a problem with it. I'm not sure how it would fare near the heat element, but it dries hard. It might work as a stop-gap while you save. It's a two-part clay-like substance. You slice off the amount you'll need and squish-mix it with your fingers until blended, and then you mold it into the space you're working on. Easy peasy.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/J-B-WELD-WaterWeld-White-Epoxy-Adhesive/3389026
 
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If you do go the replacement route, consider a better one with a stainless steel tub. Seeing how cheap that plastic is, I’ve always spent a bit more for a metal tub.
 
FYI, I have used this on shower floor, screw holes when I removed shower doors, and even on the tank of a humidifier, and I have never had a problem with it. I'm not sure how it would fare near the heat element, but it dries hard. It might work as a stop-gap while you save. It's a two-part clay-like substance. You slice off the amount you'll need and squish-mix it with your fingers until blended, and then you mold it into the space you're working on. Easy peasy.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/J-B-WELD-WaterWeld-White-Epoxy-Adhesive/3389026
I used something very similar and so far no leaks.
 
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