Questions about garbage disposers

[iheartmaytag]

I once cautioned someone on this forum about egg shells, here was my caveat that was skimmed or skipped when it was read.

"Have your lines checked for restrictions, or flush them down slowly with plenty of water."
I had a house that the double sink plumbing was shared with one trap and line. There was a half diameter restricter on the garbage disposal side, If egg shells, or actually anything was fed too quickly it would clog at this point necessitating you having to pull the drain to clean it out. Egg shells pack very tightly and almost like concrete in this situation and was difficult to tap out.

If your drain is full flowing, and your sewer can handle it, there isn't much that you can't feed a disposal. . . At least that's what Jeffery Dalmer once told me. <wink> <wink> (giggle)

 

[bwoods]

disposer tailpipes

Harley, those tailpipes that allow a disposer to be outleted to the other sink, in a double sink, are a common source of problems (as you know from experience.) Some manufacturer's warn against installing their disposers with one of these.

I brought this up in our last major discussion on disposers. I had a new house and also condo which had the disposals mounted this way. It's a quick and cheap way for plumbers to install a disposer. One of the first things I did was to repipe this poor-excuse for a plumbing job.

To use the disposer tailpipe, the installer has to turn the disposal so the front faces the side of the cabinet then shoots out the wastes straight into the other sink line. Not only is it likely to cause a clog, but it looks terribly unprofessional (a polite way of saying it looks like crap.) Disposers are designed to discharge from the rear, with the manufactuter's name and logo on the front, so you see them when you open the cabinet.

With the disposer tailpipe (aka, "the idiot's disposer installation device", the wastes from the disposer are forced to make an instant 90 degree turn in a space less than half the diameter of a pipe.

If you are putting a disposer, spend the couple of extra bucks and put in a separate trap and line, not only will you elimante cligs, but its also much quieter as with a disposal tailpipe the noise from the disposer comes right up the other sinks drain.