From: John Joseph Bachir
Sent: Monday, September 18, 2006 11:43 PM
To: Danby Customer support
Subject: differences between countertop dishwashers
Hello. I have a question: what is the difference between the DDW396W and the DDW496W? The difference between energy and water usage is huge, but it seems like the capabilities and features are exactly the same.
Thanks,
John
Good Afternoon,
Thank you for your e-mail. The only difference, is they are manufactured by different companies, and the size from front to back is larger on the DDW496W. Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns. Thank you.
Aimee
Customer Service Representative
Danby Products Inc.
Web:WWW.Danby.com
I’m about to purchase a DDW496W. Is energy + water usage better or worse than 396??
The 496 is the newer model and is more efficient.
396
496
I purchased a brand new Danby 496.. anyways I load washer turn on cold water tap and turn on.. you can see water going in then when it starts, it goes SLOW!
it spins slow and very little pressure.. then I shut it off for 3 seconds and turn back on and its going good.. flowing FAST and strong.
I thought I had a defective unit, so I returneed it and got another.. well wouldnt u know same thing!
Whats the problem>?
Sorry, Aimee,
but are you correct? According to your company’s specs, the 496 is SMALLER not larger than the 396… Also, what is the company which manufactures the 496, if not Danby??
Chris, I just bought a brand new 496W and noticed the same behavior: slow movement of the sprayer arm and pressure so low that the tops of the silverware weren’t even being reached by the spray. I tried turning it off and then back on mid-cycle, as you did, and my results were mixed: the first time, it was nearly at the end of the normal cycle, with only about 2 minutes to go. The sprayer arm speed increased dramatically as did the pressure but only for the initial 5 seconds after I turned it back on, then it went back to slow. I watched it for a minute, and turned it off and back on again, and it maintained the faster speed and higher pressure. When the 2nd cycle started, it went back to low pressure and slow sprayer movement again. I turned the power off and then back on again 5 seconds later and, once again, the pressure and speed increased by at least twice as much. I hope this isn’t the normal behavior, as I don’t want to have to turn the dishwasher off and on mid-cycle every time I use it. I will post again after I’ve done another load or two, and will post the detailed notes I’ll take on the next wash.
I ran another load of dishes through, and had to turn the power off/on to increase the water pressure and sprayer arm speed 5 (yes 5) times for one of dishes. This isn’t acceptable to me, so I’m returning it. In addition, for those considering this dishwasher model (DDW496W): 1) it doesn’t have a removable rack so that you can do just a load of glassware; 2) it doesn’t have a detergent door, it only has an indent on the door which dumps the detergent into the bottom of the dishwasher, meaning that if you want to use the Normal cycle, you would have to stop it and put in more detergent at the beginning of the 2nd half of the cycle (i.e. the start of the Short cycle), which basically means that the entire “Short” cycle part of the “Normal” cycle is merely a set of 3 rinse cycles. For me, the removal of the rack to allow for glassware and the 2 cleaning cycles were decision-makers, so the lack of them ticked me off. Having to power it off and back on 5 times per load is clearly indicative of a design flaw or poor quality control. Apparently the customer service rep. mentioned above did not know the real differences between the 2 models. Personally, I’m going to check out other options.
I just bought a 496W… Well actually, this is my second one, the first one was defective. I turned it on the first time, and the motor ran but nothing happened; I also got “E4″ on the screen, and it wouldn’t let me choose a mode.
As for the (working) one I just bought, I can’t figure out how much detergent to put in it. Having never owned a dishwasher before, I’m inexperienced with this sort of thing. The instructions and door say to put 20 g, but the detergent cup that came with it is 20 mL. Also, I keep getting my dishes out with a white film over them. I assumed I was putting in too much detergent, so I’ve been using less. Still, when I open the door after the dishes are done, there are suds in the bottom of the machine and sometimes water that hasn’t drained.
Has anyone else heard of any such problems? Does anyone have advice for how much detergent to use? Thanks!
Rose,
The manual states that water left in the bottom of the machine is normal.
As for how much detergent, the manual states 1/2 “spoon” or 20g or 0.7 oz. I guess for me, I just put in enough to fill the indent in the door. Very little, its a small dishwasher.
As for white film? Could be hard water, try rinse agent. Also, manual states that if you have hard water you may have to use “more” detergent. And finally, if hard water is your problem, you should run the dishwasher once a week with no dishes and a bit of white vinegar. This should help remove scaly build up on the inside of the dishwasher and its internal components.
As for what detergent to use, I’ve heard that Danby reps have recommended Cascade Complete. If you use Cascade Complete, they say you don’t need to use rinse agent.
Well, good luck. I think you’ll have to do some trial and error until you get the sweet spot.
-Alex
Now I’m curious about another couple of things, wondering if anyone else has had this happen. First, when I fill up the rinse agent dispenser and then close the door, it starts dripping out the bottom! I’m not sure whether I should try to find the leak, or call a repair person, or what. Second, mine seems to stop randomly throughout the cycle and just sits for 10-20 minutes, before starting up again. It seems like a complete waste of time to have the cycle run for two hours when half that time it is just sitting there. Does anyone know what’s going on with this?
i wouldnt call a repair person id try to find the leak if i cant id just deal with it or buy a new one the dishwashers are so cheap that i wouldnt waste the money having it fixed unless i could fix it myself for me just wouldnt make sense to spend 50 to 100 bucks to fix something that new costs around 200
I purchased this countertop dishwasher as I like using my time more productively than hand washing dishes. I have used mine over a year and have loved it. When used right this dishwasher gets the job done.
When I first received mine a small coupler was missing. I phoned Danby (purchased mine through Walmart) and they were going through a flood at the time. They said they’d phone me back in a week after they had moved to a new location. They did, indeed, phone me in a week to let me know the part was already shipped. I have found their customer service to be above board and helpful when I had questions…in the beginning.
I recommend this dishwasher to anyone living alone, or having a cottage, or the like. I no longer have to hand wash all my dishes and they fit in the basket once you get the knack of it.
Kay
I have a Danby 399W for a little over 1 1/2 yrs. & have went thru 2 motors, 2 windows on the door assembly with the plastic piece & 2 connections that hook up to the facuet.
so i just got my DDW396W
and everything went fine until half way through the last cycle, it just stayed in the same place for about 25 min and i was not sure if i should leave it or not…..so i left it another 10 min and decided i needed to turn it myself and so i let it all drain and then opened it to find that everything was really dry and hot but had white film on it…..so i guess the real thing i would like to know is how would i fix the cycle dial (timer)?
Thank You
Tony