We need to replace our garbage disposal. Can anyone point out any "gotchas?" I have pretty good mechanical skill, but have never replaced one before. It looks pretty simple, but any tips would be appreciated!
Thanks, Drew
It is simple, just read the directions. Be sure to turn off the power, if it's hardwired.
Its as easy as it seems... do it...
if you have a dishwasher...connect the discharge hose from the dishwasher into the side of the disposer... less noise from the water dumping into the sewer line and it catches any larger particles...
If you get the same brand, the odds are the sink mounting fixtures are the same and you won't have to pull out the old mounting ring. Just remove the old disposal and hang in the new one.
Charlie
The problem I've had is probably not one you've had. I find it difficult to hold the disposer up to the mounting ring to connect it. It's just too heavy for me to hold it up & manipulate the connection. I need to have a box or something to put the disposer on so it can be in the proper place for attachment.
I've put two disposers in now (not in the same location) with zero prior experience with anything close to that & it was easy. What wasn't easy was that the plumbing in our kitchen wasn't done correctly in the first place, so that set my schedule back. Just lay everything out and understand where the various connections will be made before you get started.
Oh yeah, and there's that whole read the instructions thing... or look at the pictures!
Will the mounting ring be a hurdle if we buy a different brand? We have a Kenmore and want an Incinkerator (sp?).
Thanks for all of your replies....Drew
Drew Dawg wrote:
It is a surprisingly simple task. I know it appears intimidating going in because of the involvement of electrical equipment and plumbing in the same area but it really is easy. Having said that, plumbing is never easy. What I mean by that is there are always surprises. It may be only that you need to run back to the hardware store for another gasket or that a fitting was different on the new disposal and doesn't match up to the old. It is always something. If you are really lucky it will all go together without a hitch. You will probably need some plumbers putty to seat the new disposal in the sink. Don't take it apart just before the big dinner expecting to surprise your wife. She will be surprised when she sees your feet still sticking out from under the sink around dinner time. Give yourself the whole afternoon with time to make a last minute run to the hardware store. I assume you have a good selection of tools? A pair of diagonal pliers with a wide jaw comes in handy. Don't forget to knock out the plug on the inlet for the dishwasher if you have one. They put a plug in the upper inlet because many people don't have a dishwasher. You have to knock it out with a screw driver for it to work. Otherwise it looks perfectly normal until you turn on your dishwasher and the water backs up because you didn't knock it out. Don't know why they don't make it more obvious. Must happen to a lot of folks. The wiring of the disposal is so simple it's hardly worth mentioning. Just hook the wires up color to color. Make sure the switch is off first. Other than that, good luck!
Doug
It probably also was an Insinkarator too!
In-Sink-Erator (ISE for short) is the leading maker of household food waste disposals in North America with ~80% market share. Many of the other major appliance manufacturers just rebrand ISE's products with their own names. You can see if ISE made your Kenmore model using the chart at the link below if you get the model number off your current one.
Dan O.
- Appliance411.com
Check out Consumer Reports for views on the better ones. There are some good, bad and middlin' out there. Previous posts here are pretty good tips for making it easy. Good luck.
Joe
Insinkerator has a very good website. I think it is
Stan
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Thanks again for all of the tips and replies!
Drew
Drew Dawg wrote:
It is pretty simple. I always say my plumbing job is not complete until I have made 3 trips to the hardware store, the first one for the parts I think I'm going to need and two more for parts I forgot or did'nt realize I needed. I replaced my disposal in 45 minutes, that included one 30 min trip to home depot. If you really want to keep it simple, pick one with similar mounting and leave the sink drain in tact on the old one and just fasten the new one onto it.
distance from the bottom of the sink to bottom of disposer, the distance from bottom of sink to middle of discharge pipe, and width of unit. And finally note how discharge pipe connects to disposer. There are two methods..one is large nut with compression ring inside and other is a ring with bolt that screws into side of disposer. Go to dealer where they will have a chart with the above dimensions listed for each disposer.(.they differ as size (HP) of unit increases) or measure display models. Cheaper units use galvanized shredders and insides and more expensive go to stainless steel for shredders , etc. Also more HP and sound insulation and longer warranty the more you pay. For what it's worth, I always bought the cheapest and planned on replacing every year or two. One note about the warranty..at least at Sears. Even though it may have a 7 yr warranty that says it will be repaired, Sears would rather you just bring in the none working one and it will be replaced during the warranty. Cheaper than sending a repairman out and better for the customer.
Wish I'd thought of that. Next time I put in or replace a disposer, I'm going to try this. My husband will think I'm a genius.
How do y'all get away with installing (and using) these things? The local authorities have banned the use as well as the replacement of existing units, and doesn't allow any new installations!
They are talking about doing that in this area too. They can't build a sewer system that works right, so instead they want to ban garbage disposals.
While we moving in the "how do you get away with that" direction, what do people think of garbage disposals in a house with a septic system? For all but a small part of my life I have lived in houses with septic systems. They have all had garbage disposals. Many people say this is asking for trouble, but none of the systems has ever failed. I just moved into a new house. The person who installed the septic system, conventional, said I should absolutely not install a garbage disposal. Meanwhile, my wife is whining constantly about how inconvenient it is to not have a disposal. Thoughts?
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