As part of [Erich Styger]’s recent kitchen overhaul with more power-efficient machines, he came across the ‘AutoDos’ feature of the new Miele G 27695-60 dishwasher. These are essentially overpriced containers of dishwashing powder that go into a special compartment of the machine, from which the dishwasher can then dispense the powder as needed. The high price tag and purported single-use of these containers led to the obvious question of whether they can be refilled.
With a cost of over $10 per PowerDisk container, each containing 400 grams of powder that suffice for ~20 cycles, it should be obvious that this is not a cheap system. Fortunately, each PowerDisk is just a foil-covered plastic container with no real special components. This meant that one hole and some funnel action later, [Erich] had refilled an empty PowerDisk with fresh powder, with the Miele dishwasher happily purring away and none the wiser that it wasn’t using Genuine Miele PowerDisk Dishwasher Powder™.
How well this system holds up long-term is uncertain, as the containers were not designed for constant reuse, but it offers the perspective of some creative 3D printing to create an (ABS-based?) container alternative. Having a automatic powder or liquid dosing system in a dishwasher is a pretty useful feature, but when it gets tied to what is clearly a cash grab, it rather ruins the deal.
(Thanks to [Christian] for sending this one in)
Thank you for the PSA about this dishwasher and its special soap cartridge. I don’t think I’ll be buying one.
Ditto
They seem to have a regular dispenser, so whatever.
The lids on the right definitely cover normal reservoirs for normal dishwashing powders/soaps/rinse-aid.
I’m certain the “AutoDos PowerDisks” (don’t remember that spam-ware from 25years ago…) are an optional feature, not a requirement (I hope hell freezes over when Miele does something awful like that).
Indeed it’s only optional. We recently installed a dishwasher with AutoDos. The two lids on the right side are for regular detergent and rinse-aid.
Having used the AutoDos for about 6 months it’s actually useful mainly because you don’t need to keep detergent close to the dishwasher saving some space and an extra step each time.
The AutoDos feature is optional. You still can use normal detergent powder or tabs. So you are not forced to use that automatic system.
I don’t recommend Miele dishwashers. They have gone the ultra-low-water use route, and along with some of their other European brethren don’t seem to get things clean.
To get the job done, one has to *rinse* items before being placed in the dishwasher, in the process quite likely using many times the water a traditional dishwasher would use.
Yet another one for the “measurable impact” vs. “real impact” pile.
(As to Miele’s competition, I’ve had nothing but headaches from South Korean brands. The only ones that purr along year after year without complaint are American brands. Go figure.)
Germany here, i generally buy the cheap ones as they are good enough, all they do is sprinkle hot soapy water on the dishes anyway and i don’t see what a 1000€ one should do better in that regards than a 200€ one. My current one is a Beko and it runs just fine.
Here in Canada the lower priced units do work perfectly fine. However, I have noticed that they tend to be very noisy as compared to the more expensive units. Our office dish washer is very noisy and so it is only run at night on the weekend… but does a good job cleaning…and has had zero issues in over 15 years. Our home unit was more $ … about 2x, but is whisper quiet and so it can be used anytime, as you can barely hear it running.
Just bought two high end 7366 models. They are SO LOUD we hear them at night in our bedroom with the door closed. They don’t clean as well as a GE Profile and cost over $2k American. So disappointed.
Beko user here, its quite noisy but works fine. I heard more expensive one’s use ‘dirt’ sensors to determine the amount of water applied, so rinsing you dishes could actually cause it to perform less well. This is purely anecdotal tho.
Look up Techmoan’s review of the Bob countertop dishwasher. Out of the blue the company sent him one and asked him to do a review. His channel likely turned up in their suggestions because of all the audio cassette formats he’s done videos on, and the Bob washer uses detergent and cleaning in “cassettes” they call Pop and Rock.
So he decided to try it and do a video on it. Why would he need a dishwasher? He washed the dishes in the sink after every meal. He discovered that not only did using the machine once a day to do dishes from three meals for two people save time, it used less water, and got everything cleaner, including getting the parts to his air fryer almost clean as new. He ended with hoping the company didn’t want it returned, but would buy one if he had to send it back.
The detergent and cleaning “cassettes” use commercial dish soap and washing machine cleaners. Extremely concentrated liquid you do not want to get on your skin. People have figured out how to refill them and reset the use counter chip.
Ufff, so much for using the rinse water in the garden. PersonallyI find the salt content of the domestic tabs ridiculously high – actually why is it there?, the commercial deterrents would definitely be worse if you can’t put in your skin. Honestly, hand washing with a scrub brush and a tiny dot of dish soap works for me, even the greasy ones. If not, review your diet. Weather the water goes on your garden or the ocean/river, why not care for it as if your drinking water came from it. Ummm, it does.
i don’t care how you do your dishes, anyone who doesn’t rinse off their plates when they are done with them is evil and should have to do the dishes. its amazing how easy-to-rinse-off food residue can turn into cement over the course of a few hours of sitting in a sink.
I don’t know about that. My parents have a 25-30 year old dishwasher from Bosch (or is it Siemens, I don’t remember now) that takes anything they throw at it. I don’t believe they ever rinse what they put in there and it all comes out clean.
It’s the “low water use” crap that forces dishwasher makers into cutting 2-3 liters of water flow overall, but that in turn causes users to make up for it by rinsing dishes and wasting far more water than that.
Stuhpid regulations at its finest.
Waking your dishes before you put them in the dishwasher is redundant. I scrape my dishes and put them in my Miele with DOS. They come out perfectly clean. I have owned Miele dishwashers in multiple homes for years. They clean there dishes and are quiet. Miele always recommends using powdered detergent. Also add salt with the proper harness selection fire your water and drying liquid. This combination allowed your dishwasher to perform at it’s best. Pods are expensive .
I have a 30 year old Maytag dishwasher, I scrap my dishes with a oxo dish scraper. I use 7th Generation detergent. Run it a couple of times a week. Everything comes out clean, no excess water use…we’ve had a drought for the last five years…sorry I disgust you.
I love mine , one of the best dishwashers I’ve ever had !!! And I’ve had some of the other expensive brands . I just wish there was a place to get a good deal on ordering the power disk .
That’s simply not true. They recommend you don’t rinse them, to save water. Yes, they use less water, but that’s a good thing – it saves both money and the environment. The AutoDos-feature dispenses more or less detergent depending on how dirty the water is, so it gets the dishes absolutely clean every single time.
You’ll get the same result from a machine for half the price from Bosch or Siemens, but Miele will last you twice as long at lead St, and are so quiet I keep having to check if it’s really on.
If Miele cared so much about the environment, what’s their argument for not making a refillable powder container?
They’re not interested. They want your money. it’s always! the same: you trade convenience for your data and/or pay much more for stuff you could buy in bulk…
At least they didn’t put RFID in, YET…
“With a cost of over $10 per PowerDisk container, each containing 400 grams of powder that suffice for ~20 cycles, it should be obvious that this is not a cheap system.”
Sounds like the soap version of a K-cup.
That’s 50c / wash, as opposed to maybe 30c/wash for a brand name tablet where I live. I’m guessing the power disks are cheaper in bulk. So pricy, but not totally absurd, IF you buy brand name tablets.
Good work refilling though; I’ve not seen much benefit in brand name tablets over cheap ones.
Looks like you can still use regular tabs alongside
Come on, don’t spoil them their outcry over the potential use a overpriced more convinient option.
It’s like all new mediums. Engineers are instructed to provide both, but make it a hassle to use the industry standard in order to funnel users into the more expensive medium. The general public is either receptive or they fight back. In this case, it will likely die off.
The same can be done with some plastic coffee pods. I had a coffee machine that used plastic pods closed with a very light ultrasound welding: you could just open them with a knife, refill them with new coffee powder and close them again, without any real need to weld them. Refilled in this way, they lasted around 20 cycles before they started to leak.
We have a Miele washing machine with a similar system. But it seems we have none of the problems mentioned above. The washing liquid containers last a long time, even in a 4 person household doing a whole lot of washing. And when they finally have to be replaced, the Miele containers are the same price as using generic washing liquid. Miele also offers user fillable containers in case you prefer to use their dosing system with other brand liquids. There are no cycle counters or other electronics involved. Needless to say is that I, doing most of the washing in our household, do like this system. It’s odd that there’s such a discrepancy between washing machines and dishwashers of the same brand.
The article is about dish washer, not washing machines ;)
Fantastic. A reading comprehension fail that leads to an accusation of reading comprehension fail. Love it.
Well we all know what is next for the RFID tag to enforce only genuine refills, for consumer protection, obviously.
Have a look at the picture above the article, Miele isn’t even enforcing use of the overpriced disks. They left the traditional dispenser in place, you’re free to use whatever tab or powder you like.
Fair enough. I await the next version that omits it and puts a chip with a use counter into the single use pods… cynical I know, but.
If you’re in the market for a Dishwasher Bosch makes a dandy!
Bosch here in Canada is actually not made by Bosch. Apparently Bosch sold the name to a so-so quality dish washer manufacturer. That said Bosch are not highly regarded along with LG. So far the best has been the old Sear’s Kenmore that simply works without issue and is whisper quiet… for 13 years now with zero issues.
Kenmore is also just a brand slapped on something manufactured by another company.
I own a Bosch built in America and it’s actually pretty nice. It does what it’s supposed to do without all the nonsense wifi bullcrap.
+1
I repaired a commercial dishwasher once. The detergent dispenser was really clever. It was a plastic tub with a compressed block of detergent. You put the container in upside down, to dispense the detergent there was simply a timer that sprayed a blast of water up into the block of detergent for a pre-set time. If you wanted more detergent you just changed the timer to spray the block longer. Simple, reliable, cost effective.
did it compensate for the decreasing size of the soap block with each use? (smaller surface area each wash).
I imagine that the block was only exposed to water from the bottom, and thus the surface area only changed once the water finally made the bottom surface reach the top surface, at which point the block is mostly gone anyway.
to be honest, ya dont even really need the doors, just squirt or sprinkle some powder over the dishes and shut the door… the first cycle is the wash cycle on every dishwasher i have ever owned. if ya dont believe me, shut that stupid door, turn it on, wait 30 seconds for it to fill with water, then open it, that door will be opened. literally no need for it at all.
The first cycle on every dishwasher I’ve ever used or repaired is a “drain” cycle to pump out any water left over from the last rinse or dumped in with the dirty dishes.
I cut the foil covering the retainer and use this funnel I designed:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5864487