Garbage disposal

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daves87rs

daves87rs

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It's kinda starting to look like I need a new one! My current one, a sinkmaster bonecrusher 850, came with the house when we bought it. This week, it has started to leak, as I am thinking the motor is pretty much toast on this one.

I know nothing of these, and a google search doesn't help either. I'm not even sure when it was made! (I looked at it too) Would be cool to repair it, but not sure that is going to happen.

So, if I wanted a new one, what would I look for? I want something simple and cheap. We clean our plates pretty well here...
smile.gif


Any info would be great!
 
Do you have a septic, or town sewer? If I had a septic tank I'd remove the garbage disposal, unless if I knew for sure it wasn't the reason for frequent pumping of the tank. It puts a lot of stuff into the tank; a coworker has one, his wife won't let him get rid of it. Says he has to clean the filter on the outlet of the tank every 3 months, or something outrageous like that.

Beyond that, sorry, I'm of no help...
 
I had my garbage disposal replaced more than 10 years ago. I took a picture of the old one and found one exactly likes that at Costco for $30-40. Paid handy man $50-60 to replace it.

Costco doesn't carry it anymore, you should take some pictures of the old one then go to Lowes or Home Depot, they will be able to find one that matches it. If you are handy you can replace it in less than 1 hour.
 
If it is leaking out the bottom of the disposer the internal seals in the disposer are bad. The only way to fix it is to replace it, AFAIK the seals are not replaceable and even if they were replaceable the motor has now been sitting in water for maybe quite some time and should be replaced. I just had to replace my own disposer back in December. It was leaking very badly out the bottom of the unit. I bought an Insinkerator 1HP at Home Depot. It cost about $110.00 and works like a champ. It came with directions and a tool to tighten the disposer to the bottom of the sink drain. I found a Youtube video that showed how to remove the old one. It was an easy job and I was glad it did not cost too much. I would suggest getting the 1HP unit. The guy at HD was right when he told me the 3/4 HP is weak.
 
If its leaking where it mounts to the sink, they re-bed with plumbers putty. If its at the outlet/drain, probably loose.

If the unit itself is leaking, replace it.
 
Lot of times there is a simple rubber washer that goes between the sink and the disposal. Most of the disposals are simple twist on with some sort of locking mechanism. See if it's coming from there and replace or build your own, gasket.
 
I have a couple recommendations if it turns out it needs to be replaced.

Like a lot of things, only a couple companies make most of the units you can buy under various brands.

Waste King models have some good online reviews, but they're all made in China, if you care about that. You'll find Waste King models rebranded under some other brands.

Emerson's Insinkerator brand makes tons of models that are sold under many different brands. They're all made in the USA. The Emerson models range from the cheap Badger models to much more expensive models with lots of sound deadening, multiple grinding stages and stainless steel parts.

Our aged rebranded Badger died recently and I decided to go cheap and get another Badger to replace it. I kind of wish I had stepped up to a better model, but we don't use it a ton.

One of the better bargains I was considering is this Kenmore, which is a rebadged Emerson model. It has a good warranty, it's made in the USA and it has the nicer sound deadening and stainless grinding parts. It goes on sale sometimes, if memory serves.
http://www.sears.com/kenmore-3-4-hp-food...mp;blockType=G1
 
Ditch it and plumb the sink for a regular drain and pocket the savings. People put way too much stuff down the drain anyway. Either throw it in the waste bin and/or start a compost pile.

We used to have one... Replaced the one that came with the house against the advice of a former plumber coworker and also a Lowes employee who also used to be a plumber. When that one started leaking a few years later, we had enough... Replumbed the sink drain and haven't looked back. Honestly, I don't miss it one bit.
 
As noted, the first step is to figure out exactly where the leak is coming from. It may just be the gasket. If its anywhere on the unit itself, then its time to change it out.

I replaced our cheap insinkerator badger unit when it sprung a leak a few years ago. We upgraded in HP and sound deadening and both were noticeable. The new unit has way less vibration and is much, much quieter.

One of the easier home repalcement projects to do. Extremely simple.
 
If you end up replacing it, I recommend Waste King. Waste King, Whirlaway, and GE are all basically the same, but for some reason the Waste Kings seem to be generally more reasonably priced. I've had various ISE Badgers, and a Pro 333 myself, and they didn't last very long. Then I got a GE, and it's still going strong after more than 10 years. When it finally goes, I'll probably buy a Waste King Legend 8000 which has a lifetime in-home warranty.
 
Originally Posted By: The_Eric
Ditch it and plumb the sink for a regular drain and pocket the savings. People put way too much stuff down the drain anyway. Either throw it in the waste bin and/or start a compost pile.

We used to have one... Replaced the one that came with the house against the advice of a former plumber coworker and also a Lowes employee who also used to be a plumber. When that one started leaking a few years later, we had enough... Replumbed the sink drain and haven't looked back. Honestly, I don't miss it one bit.

+1,000 on what he said!

OP, over the topic but,
this winter, i had my drain froze (probably the leftovers formed a cap) and had 2 fun days until it melted/let the chemicals make some room.
we do not use the garbage disposal a lot, we do not let grease down the drain, but it still happen to us.
 
I vote for considering doing away with a garbage disposer and just plumb it with pipes. Most of my kitchen waste goes in the compost pile.
 
Depending on how old it is, replacing it may be more than a simple 10-minute job. My Kenmore from 2003 had an older style flange for the outlet. The 2012 Kenmore model I replaced it with used a different flange, so I had to go back to the hardware store to find the correct plumbing parts to hook it up to the existing plumbing.

So before you buy the new disposer, compare the outlet flanges to see if they're the different .. it'll save you a 2nd trip back to the store
 
happened to mine, bought the cheapest to match the current one, least amount of work,
all I had to do was loosen the old old, unplug it, take the wires off and put on the new one, tighten the new one.
Even I could do it :)
 
Originally Posted By: Kestas
I vote for considering doing away with a garbage disposer and just plumb it with pipes. Most of my kitchen waste goes in the compost pile.


This could be the best decision. The disposer that came with my house was a REALLY cheap piece of junk that squealed loudly (accompanied by actual smoke) and died after just three years. The replacement was a mid-priced ISE Badger 5. It lasted ten years. The one I have now is the low end of ISE's Evolution series and cost about $200. Many have stainless steel "blades," but a stainless steel turntable helps extend life. It is very interesting to me that most people do not really understand how a disposer actually grinds waste.

It really wouldn't be much more than changing habits to do away with the thing altogether.
 
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