Craig wrote:

I really didnt think that black element got that hot and when I
burned my hand like that I wondered if anything in the dishwasher
should ever get that hot, It wasnt on for more than a minute or two
when I opened the door to see if any water was in there.

Thanks again,
Craig

Sorry to hear you burnt your hand. The element gets hot to heat the
water (which should be there, but isn't in your case) and then it gets
hot again at the end to dry the dishes, though maybe it does this only
if your dw has a "power dry" cycle. You may be able to turn that on or
off. This is why some stuff is only "top rack" safe; plastics etc will
melt if they're too close to the element.

Some dishwashers don't have the element, they have a heater in-line in
the water inlet, and they have some other scheme like air circulation
to try to dry the dishes.

Chip C
Toronto