Do Any garbage Disposals Have "Sharp blades"?

[jakeseacrest]

In my apartment building everyone has a single sink with a Badger 5. The first 2 months I was here I had to plunge the sink from a clog with potato peels. I asked my maintenance guy if I could buy my own disposal and he said yes. I got an Evolution Compact that I put everything down. No clogs or backups since February 2017. The maintenance guy frequently has coffee with us and commented that we're the only unit that never calls about their garbage disposal. I said we got a better unit than the Badger and we use common sense. Plus a few times a week we purge the kitchen sink with a sink of water that I've used to clean the kitchen with.

 

[circlew]

When I was a kid we used to have trouble with the sink drain clogging. At the time we had a Waste King that was installed in 1958, and the plumbing dated to 1952, when the house was constructed. The usual culprits were coffee grounds and potato peelings. The problem wasn't the disposer, but rather the long (about 40') horizontal drain line that was galvanized steel pipe. Eventually my parents had the line rerouted, and clogs were much less frequent. Occasionally it would still clog in the short horizontal section inside the wall, but that line rusted away and leaked, so was bypassed a few years later.

 

[mattl]

Given the option I will plumb in a disposer and sink with a 2" drainline. Failing that I use 1 1/2" PVC not the 1 1/2" thin wall crap in the plumbing isle. I like to "stack" the drain with the disposal going into a vertical T at the lowest point with the drain from the other sink, I always use a double bowl sink, feeding on top of the disposal output. Never had an issue with this setup.

 

[aunabreslun20]

Drain pipes

no one does it like that. period. they always do either 90 tailpipe (that comes with the disposer) or straight out into a T than a P trap, the separated pipe thing is the only part that makes sense. not the whole "pointing the disposer sideways" thing that literally doesn't affect anything. they literally flipped the label and reet button to the side on British made "Tweeny" models it's not like they can't have it sideways AND also properly excite the drainline aside it

 

[reactor]

????

Not quite sure what you are attempting to say, Auna. Especially, "nobody does it that way."

Yes, many many do turn the disposal sideways in order to direct the discharge into a disposal tailpipe. You must be misunderstanding something. See the attached picture.

You can't utilize a disposal tailpipe without turning the unit sideways. Not only are you forcing waste into an instant 90 degree in half the diameter of a pipe, but you are allowing noise from the unit to exit through the other sink drain, and sometimes suds and wastes as well....

 

[reactor]

proper installation

Here is a proper installation with the discharge to the rear, as manufacture has designed, with waste going into a separate trap for the disposal and a dedicated waste line for the disposal which enters the main line.

The only thing I do differently is to not have the two basins enter the main line directly across from each other. I use two wyes (Y's) with the disposal's wye entering the main line downstream of the other sink's wye. Then there is virtually never any interaction between the two.

 

[mattl]

That is a nice setup.

 

[sudsmaster]

I have a navel orange tree, and eat about one a day. Usually I send some of the peels down the disposer to help keep it minty fresh.

OTOH, I don't use the disposer a lot. Food waster either goes into the trash or the backyard compost pile. I don't quite see the point of sending turkey carcasses down the drain, unless the garbage service is very limited and there is no compost bin available. Usually I run the disposer if veggie peels and plate scrapings wind up in the sink rather than in the trash. I view a garbage disposer as a nice to have but not really essential for a well kept kitchen/yard.

 

[combo52]

The Ecological Advantage Of Grinding Food Waste

Things like turkey and chicken bones if ground up are quickly converted to compost that is used in landscaping in this area, If it is thrown in the trash it is hauled many miles by diesel trucks and buried it will never be of any use for 100+ years and it makes for stinky, leaky trash trucks and a very unpleasant job for sanitation workers.

 

Things that can be backyard composted are great if you can or want to do it, When I have large amounts of organic waste I walk it out to the brush pile.

 

By using the disposer and a trash compactor I literally go around 1 year without taking trash out of my kitchen, and when I do empty the compactor bin I just dump it in the counties super can there are no plastic bags [ or paper ] used at all. Any old grease cooking oils are saved in old glass jars and taken to restaurants to recycle with their old grease.

 

John L.

 

[tolivac]

Unpleasant job for sanitation workers-trash truck drives--the most disgusting and dangerous job is shoveling out the trash debris that accumulates behind packer blades.For front loaders they have to climb into the body-with the engine OFF and keys in the pocket-lockout sign at the drivers station.Then you have to shovel the stuff out from a port-small door at the front of the body.Usually done at the "dump".

 

[Marky_Mark]

<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Insinkerator says you can grind pretty much all food waste.  Grinding hard things like bones is no problem and is actually good for the disposer.  As for things you shouldn’t grind, Insinkerator says:</span>

<ul>
<li>Don’t pour fat or grease down the disposer or down any drain</li>
<li>Don’t grind clam or oyster shells</li>
<li>Don’t grind <span style="text-decoration: underline;">large</span> amounts of egg shells or fibrous foods like corn husks or artichokes</li>
</ul>
Other than that, you have a green light for grinding. I have found that the better ISE models can take any food waste with no problem and have never clogged or given me any trouble. But the BOL models seem now to have restricted drain ports that can sometimes clog when I have ground large amounts of onion skins. I have always been able to clear a clog with hot water and detergent. This is why I wouldn’t buy a BOL Insinkerator.  The MOL and TOL models are fantastic. 

In the UK some local councils used to give you a rebate for installing a disposal.  They have also apparently been encouraged in Sweden.  The food waste can be used and the biogas captured and used.  They are a convenient way of recycling your food waste. 80% of food waste is actually water anyway. Even if you compost, you can’t do that with everything. I like to cook and I do all my prep next to the sink so that I can put all the waste into the sink. I wouldn’t be without one. 

 

[thomasortega]

I can say I HAAAAAAATE my BOL ISE "Clogger"
That POS clogs even with ONE onion peel

Coincidentally, yesterday I finally installed the air switch ($18 on Amazon, whatever Chinese brand and it works great), but right at this moment I feel like I was hit by a truck because of the several minutes I spent "under the sink" undoing the direct wiring and hooking it up accordingly, plus installing a power outlet and 50 of the air switch installation (the switch itself i installed one day before Christmas when it arrived, just to close the hole that was there after I installed "THE" holy grail of the faucets that the only thing it doesn't do is sing. (And I'm still loving the novelty so much that after a few decades I did dishes by hand and happy)

Anyway, as soon as I can afford, I'm going to buy the super TOL ISE model and give it as a gift to my landlord. It will stay here if I move out someday, just because I want to have the pleasure of breaking the POS badger in as many pieces as I can so much I hate it.

 

[combo52]

Best Disposers

The reason cheaper disposers clog drains is Non SS grind components that wear very quickly and allow larger things like onion skins and potato peels to past through virtually whole.

 

Better models also have better designs and more cutting teeth.

 

Avoid cheap Chinese models such as the Moen,  & Fiigidaire junk, There is simply no reason to buy a non US built disposer when we build the worlds best disposer at competitive prices.

 

Hi Thomas, Keep you eye on places like Habitat for Humanity stores our non profit stores always have lots of TOL ISE disposers etc for $25-35, just inspect blade condition and serial number for age.

 

John L.

 

[ozzie908]

Eagerly awaiting the post next week

As my new Evolution 200 WD will be here on the 6th or there abouts...

Can't wait as we have actually stopped using this crappy Bol offering as it clogged up 2 days on the trot as a result we have to remove everything from under the sink and unblock it. I am going to alter the configuration when I plumb it in and do away with the sharp 90 degree pipework currently in use I will show pics when its done.

Austin

 

[sudsmaster]

Yes, of course ecologically it's better to compost food waste rather than dump it in the trash. But sending it down the drain isn't much better than putting in the trash, IMHO. That's because it has to be dealt with at the sewage treatment plant.

I'd say I bring about 1/2 or more of my food waste to one of the four square yard compost bins I have set up in my back yard. Into one to three go shredded yard trimmings and/or chipped. Into one or two go a layer of shredded yard trimmings, then food waste, then more shredded yard trimmings, etc. The bones can be an issue. I save them in the freezer and when I get enough I'll make bone broth, which softens them considerably. Then the bones go into to the compost pile.

When the compost it ready, I'll send it back through the shredder to chop up any remaining solids like bones. Then it all gets spread on the veggie patch and elsewhere, and if needed, rototilled in.

OK?

 

[thomasortega]

Talking about shitty disposers...

Tonight I just managed to clog the sink AGAIN.

To make my nightmare even worse, I could feel the clog isn't that serious, a plunger should work.... but it was the first clog since in had the air gap installed hot can it be ever possible to unclog a sink using a plunger with an air gap?

Well, I managed to somewhat seal the air gap using a plastic bag and Darryl holding it and the stopper in the disposer... only to hear the dishwasher gurgling while I worked with the plunger...

Calling the plumber AGAIN tomorrow to u clog that POS sink.

 

[combo52]

Disposers and Recycling and Composting Kitchen Waste

Hi Rich, It sounds like you have a great system for dealing with excess kitchen waste, Home composting or municipal collection are great systems where space and facilities are available.

 

Do consider that all waste water systems the world over  have to deal  with large amounts of human waste, toilet tissue etc, So it is really easier since all this infrastructure is already in place to size it properly and get the job done.

 

A well planned community would never have all these white buckets of  [ stinky ] waste sitting outside homes waiting for collection, The food waste could have been on its way to recycling days earlier, not sitting on countertops, under sinks, in cans outside, wasting plastic bags that are not recyclable Etc Etc.

 

John L.

 

[tolivac]

Vita Mix sells a countertop or undersink device that is an alternative to a disposer.It dries the waste-shreds it to a dry powder like material.Then you can sprinkle it on the yard or your garden,plant beds.The machine is slower than a disposer takes several hours per waste process cycle.Doesn't use water at all.It can't be used with bones or fats.

 

[reactor]

City Utilities and Disposals

John L.'s comments about disposals and municipal sewage systems are in full agreement with our City Utilities Director, in Oak Ridge, TN.

I attend evening adult classes at the local college and we had our Utilities Director as a guest speaker one evening. One of the questions directed to her was the impact of the loads imparted to our municipal waste treatment plant by residential disposers.

Her answer was "minimal" in comparison to the other wastes. She went on to indicate the type of material introduced by home disposers actually supported the growth of the bacteria they attempt to multiply at the plant to digest the sludge.

So she ended that the overall net impact of the residential disposal, although small, was a positive impact.

 

[ozzie908]

Evolution 200 waste disposer

Is now residing under my sink and can I say what a wonderfully quiet well engineered piece of equipment it is?

I had a Turkey carcass in the freezer and its bones are now history and so quickly and quietly its amazing I will never again have a cheap model installed its worth paying the extra.....

Austin