My garbage disposal is leaking water. Help?

[jim evans]

My garbage disposal is leaking water. Does anybody know what's happening? If so, is this something I can fix by taking the disposal apart or should I just go buy a new one?

This is a picture of the bottom of my In-Sink-Erator garbage disposal.

The arrows indicate where water is dripping from.

I replaced this unit about 5-6 years ago.

jim ___ Have a home upkeep question? Try my help page. It's sort of an alt.home.repair FAQ.

[effi]

someone recently plugged the stainless grinding chamber insinkerator on this newsgroup, citing 10 years of service and still working, maybe you can get a few more years out of yours by repairing it (if it can be repaired)

someone else mentioned consumer reports #8 pick is the kenmore 1/2 hp model

6011 [mfr. model 9912]...looking at its specs, it has an abs plastic grinding chamber and galvanized steel grind elements, and is on sale till 1-8-05 for $64.99 (regularly $69.99)

the abs plastic sounds like a new design, have no idea how it stands up to stainless steel, the cheapie disposals used to have grind chambers made of some kind of cheap metal, maybe abs is better, have no idea how abs chambers (with galvanized blades) stands up to stainless steel

like insinkerator, sears also makes more costly models with stainless grinding chambers and stainless grind elements (and more than 1/2 hp motors)

for more data on sears stuff, go to

click on the particular model and when that page opens you can also click on the "Product specs" tab for data on grinding chamber/blade material used

[Roger Shoaf]

I would take it apart and look. You should have a lot more than 6 years life from a disposer, so you just might have a loose hose clamp or a bum o-ring or something.

[jim evans]

Thanks for your reply. SWMBO was on my case because we couldn't use the dishwasher. So, when I didn't get an answer here and then found a website that said if a disposal began leaking internally it was a goner, I bought another this morning and have already installed it.

I agree with you I should get a lot more than 6 years from a disposer, but I'm about to conclude In-Sink-Erators are junk sold to builders to put in cheap and let the homeowner replace them regularly. I say that because I've never had any other brand fail and I've had these fail repeatedly. The one before this rusted away at the neck and fell off. I've had 2 other brands in previous houses that had collective lives of 23-30 years without failure, while these In-Sink-Erators last about 6-10.

jim

[effi]

on garbage disposal lives:

some say running hot water through a garbage disposal while it is running prematurely ages it (heat is an enemy to electric motors), as the primary cooling force on a disposal in operation can be cold water running through it

some on this discussion group argue that can't be

thermodynamics seems to support the former

[jim evans]

Oh yes, I forgot to say, their customer support is atrocious. Their website is a sales site. When you call their 800 number you wait in the standard "All our customer service representatives are busy helping other customers. Due to unusually high call volume . . ." Actually as you will learn later the message should say "talk to other customers" as no helping is going on.

When you finally get a human on the line they have such a thick accent you can't understand much of what they are saying. When you begin to pick out the words you discover the answer to EVERY question is "One of out repairmen can come to your house and deal with that problem/question."

jim

[TCS]

Thermodynamics support that cold water and hot water aren't very different. Don't forget that temperatures aren't compared to 0F, but to 0K which is

-459F.

Unless your hot water is at the point of turning to steam, you have nothing to worry about.

Disposals simply don't get that hot for the temperature of the lubricating water to matter.

[jim evans]

In this case it doesn't matter -- we don't run hot water through it when it's running.

jim

[effi]

note to self: avoid purchasing insinkerator products

[Roger Shoaf]

OK I can understand keeping SWMBO happy, but have you taken the old one apart to see why it was leaking? I have never taken one apart but your photo did not suggest that the unit died of corosion.

[trader4]

I doubt it's worth taking apart if it's actually the unit and not one of the connections. The price charged for parts is outrageous, the time required is a factor, plus the distinct possiblility that it will still leak or fail soon anyway, just doesn't make it worthwhile.