garbage disposer advice?

[james]

I'm replacing a 25 year old garbage disposer for my kitchen sink.

It looks like there are several different type of mounting and sink flange. Is there one type that's better?

I don't plan to keep the old sink flange; it's dirty anyway, so compatibility is not an issue. However the cabinet is small and I prefer not to have to move the pipes, so a compact unit is preferred (no taller than 13 inches, and diameter no more than 7-inches at the widest).

I saw the review in consumer reports as well. If you have other suggestions please let me know.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, ISE has twist lock type mounting. Very easy to do.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Get a good machine and it will have a good locking system. Kitchen Air, Whirlpool, ISE are all made by the same company and use the same twist lock. Simple to use.

[trader4]

Pay attention to the wring that goes inside the sink and is visible in the bottom of the sink. Some models have highly polished stainless that looks great. Others have grayer looking stainless ones that makes a $500 sink look like crap. I went with InSinkerator. About

5 years old now and no problems. The only think I don't like is that the previous one, think it was GE that was 20 years old had a removal throat part. That is the part that holds the rubber fingers that you see in the opening. The old one pulled out so you had a bigger opening, no rubber fingers in the way when you needed to get your hand in to retrieve something. With he InSinkerator I have med size hands and can barely slip it in to try to retrieve things.

Also pay attention to the plumbing constraints. Pull up a diagram online that shows the mins/maxs for the unit you are considering, especially with deep sinks.

[Art Todesco]

I just got a new ISE last year. It did have a removable rubber-finger-thing. Also, if I'm not mistaken, ISE makes the Kitchen Aid .... at least they did some number of years ago. Now, Whirlpool owns KA, so who knows.

[MLD]

As noted in other posts, I think that the ISE is one of the better brands. One of the tough parts about installing the disposal is holding it in place while you're trying to secure it to the locking ring on the sink. I finally came up with a method that worked out just great. I used an auto scissors jack to lift the disposal up in place and hold it against the locking ring. Just one caution--lift too much and you could start to buckle the sink--fine touch needed here. MLD

[DerbyDad03]

InSinkerator makes a Compact unit. It'll go by different names at the different Big Boxes, so you can't price match.

Look Here:

Very quiet, very easy to install. My favorite feature is that the sound baffle is removable, not like the the old Kenmore baffle that was sandwiched between the sink and flange.

After years of retrieving soap bars and other items from the disposer, the old baffle was pretty beat up but it meant removing the disposer to replace it.

The InSinkerator baffle lifts right out for easy access and will be easy to replace if it ever gets worn - although I don't see how it ever will, since it doesn't get any abuse.

[Oren]

Salvage the power cord from the old unit. I forget if the new units have a cord or not.

[mm]

Yeah. I can't tell if I was getting older or smarter. The first time or two I held it up with my hands, until I could twist it into the bayonet mount. The last time when I was 58, I had enough strength to do that IF it mated quickly, but it seemed to take 3 tries and I still hadn't got it. So I used a jack too, a floor jack I think. I had to set the rear wheels on a box outside of the cabinet. You still have to balance it on the jack, but it's a lot easier and time is not really an issue anymore.