Questions about garbage disposers

[thomasortega]

Guys, I just installed a brand new garbage disposer and I have some questions:

Many years ago, I bought an InSinkErator disposer. It was the entry model I don't remember very well but it had a very weak motor and we never put hard things like chicken bones in it because we were afraid to damage it.
Here in Brail, almost nobody even knows what is a garbage disposer. Today it wasn't different.

The model I bought is InSinkErator Evolution Series Excel. According to the seller, it's the TOL insinkerator model available on market.

After lots of googling, i've found myself with even more questions.

Some websites and youtube videos say that it's ok to put small chicken bones in a disposer, but never big bones like T-bones or ribs. Others say that all kinds of bones can be put in it, except the very big bones.

What about corn husks? can I?
Let's say i broke a glass in the sink. Of course I'll try to remove most of the debris but, can small pieces or glass be disposed? I've never done that but I just saw a video where a guy disposed two long neck bottles. (I would never do that anyway)
What about soft foods like pasta or bread? My previous disposer was too small and too weak. Do the 1HP motor and the fancy grinding ring make a big difference?

ISE claims that this model can dispose many other things that cheaper models can't. they say this unit is tested with bigger bones and even hard seeds. The seller said that it can eliminate even an oyster shell sometimes. Is that really true or it's just marketing?

What can I dispose now that I couldn't dispose with my previous disposer?
With this disposer, will I finally get rid of the organic wastebasket I have in my kitchen?

The only improvements i noticed up to now (12 hours after installation) is that the sink doesn't vibrate anymore and it's really more silent than others. They say it's 60% quieter... It's really quiet but I didn't notice the 60%.. maybe 40, being generous. It has some kind of suspension system between the sink and the disposer and the disposer and the pipes.

Also, it came with a pneumatic switch. I know it makes the disposer much safer but, I didn't want to drill my cupboard because it's made of marble and I was afraid of breaking it. Is there any problem if I still using the old switch instead of the pneumatic one?

 

[arbilab]

There is muito contention about what can be put in a disposer. Some claim to accept anything. Others say nothing fibrous, not even paper.

Some have experienced clogs from rice. I have experienced clogs from potato peels.

Things I wouldn't put in a disposer, even if the salesman said it was OK:
Bones
Corn husks or cobs
Banana peels
Potato peels
Glass; even though it would shatter into very small pieces it would not readily transit the trap because unlike most food wastes glass is not the least bit buoyant.

BUT, I have never had a TOL disposer. For half of the 80s I didn't have a disposer at all, and I scarcely missed it.

 

[dustin92]

Ours clogs easily with a few pieces of lettuce.

 

[foxchapel]

The less you put down a garbage disposer, no matter which brand or quality level, the better off your sewer lines will be.

 

[tolivac]

Things to throw into the disposer---If your plumbing is clogging after the disposer tried to shred such things as potato peels and lettuce-the disposer is most likely old-cutters have eroded allowing such things to pass unshredded.chicken bones are OK-they help keep the disposer clean."Soft" disposer diets cause the shredder elements and inside the hopper to be covered with messy-possibly smelly-slime.
No paper items or glass--the disposer isn't a wastebasket,trash can or compactor.As one entry above states-shredded glass doesn't float and will clog the plumbing.The glass will erode the disposers shredders.shredded paper pulp can solidify later in your plumbing and cause a clog.And if you have a septic tank-defienate no-no.Disposers can grind many things-but can your plumbing or sewage comapny accept it--NO.Limit it to food waste.Another way to get rid of disposer slime from soft diets-is grind the stale ice cubes from your fridge.Just use plenty of water to flush the crushed ice down-or it will temporarily freeze in your plumbing.

 

[mattl]

Along with a good disposer, the cheap ones are crap, the second most significant issue is your plumbing. Too many twists and turns will cause issues as will old lines with crud built up in them.

Being that I can, I plumbed in my disposer with as few elbows as possible, some prefer the disposer to have its own trap, I didn't see the advantage nor did I have the space. I have a very good maytag tol model from many years ago. I've replaced the shredder ring a few times, but I put just about everything down it except big bones. It's rare to get a clog, only if I feed too much too fast do I have an issue.

 

[thomasortega]

Well guys, with my previous disposer i never had a clog AFTER it. it means that my pipes are ok, right?

The only time I remember I shredded glass was maybe more than a decade ago, when I broke a glass in the sink and one of the pieces (not big) fell in the disposer. I just thought "well, it's so small that won't do anything" and that's what happened.

Potato peels tended to clog my previous disposer. Not exactly a clog... I just had to let it running and wait for a few seconds. sooner or later, the water continued flowing.

I hadn't tried it yet with a significant amount of waste. only the scraps of two dishes (if put together, it wouldn't fill a cup) and a slice of dry bread. Vanished in less than 3 seconds.

To clean my previous disposer, i used to turn it on without opening the tap and put some ice cubes and a dishwasher tablet and then feed it with more ice cubes until it clogs, turn off. then wait a few minutes and run it again with water to melt the ice. After done, turn off the disposer, put the drain plug, fill the sink with water, turn the disposer on and pull the plug to rinse away any residues. Is it ok?

Also, every time I make pasta, i use the disposer's sink to drain the boiling water. (with the disposer off).

Also, the contractor said that my pipes are very well cared. It's normal to find some buildup in the pipes but after checking, the only thing found is that the pipes (which are white) are black inside. Both sinks drain fast. maybe one of the reasons is that the pipe is 40mm from the drain/disposer up to the wall, then continues 48mm diagonally for about 1 meter until reach the building's master pipe in the wall next to the stove, which is a huge 250mm pipe. This master pipe is only for the kitchens and go straight from the 17th floor to the -2 floor where is one of the parking lots. The engineer that designed my building said that every 10 meters there are two curves (two L joints put together) only to create a brief obstacle to reduce the impact of a free fall. also, the master pipe was built like a pyramid. the higher floors are 100mm and goes getting wider after every 5 floors. what reach the underground are three 250mm pipes. We never experienced a single clog in my building and it was built in 1997.

 

[thomasortega]

Thanks to all!

 

[laundromat]

awr

Working in restaurants and appliance stores,I always put all the garbage down the shoot.Bones of all kinds, cores from fruits and vegetables, and whatever was on the dirty items going through the dishwashers.  I would always show my appliance customers the closed hole whre they needed to punch out to connect the dishwasher drain hose. I would also show that to my dishwasher customers. That was because I had an early insodent where a customer replaced both units and brought back 3 of the same model dishwashers claiming they weren't draining the water. We finally sent a tech and she saw the customer just connected the drain hose without opening up the connection to the disposer.

 

All disposers from1/2 HP to2HP should be able to easily grind up any bones from pork to beef. I just purchased a 1HP Insinkerator and installed it for a friend here and we had spare ribs that night. I put them in 2 at a time and it ate them as though they were candy. The best thing I can't seam to emphisize enough is you have to let a disposer run!7

 

!! Don't just turn ig on a few seconds. The fats and bones as well as the ground up foods must openly flow completely oug of the drain. If not, thy harden and cause serious backup. The way I do it is turn it on, drop s

down the 

 

[laundromat]

food pieces to be trashed and let it stay on at least three minutes after the food is gone. Then, I pour a few drops of Dawn down after switching to hot water to keep any grease or fat to harden and cause backup. Customrs who came in saying theirs was blocked would be sent home to pour boiling hot water and Dawn down to clear the clog and would become permanent fixtures at my store.

 

[volsboy1]

I throw everything down my disposers because that is what it says it can grind this is from my 1971 Waste king SS 8000.

The Waste King disposers that are out today can't hold a candle to the old ones very few disposer's can.It tells you paper,plastic forks,any and all bones, cigarette butts,corn husks,anything that can go down the hole it can grind.I have about 30 or so disposers

from the 50s and up.They don't make things like they used to that is for sure.My sink will clog if I use a cheap disposer like a

Badger or Kenmore but, I have never had a clog with my Old 1972 Maytag or Wastekings ever.Wasteking priced themselves out

of the market.My 1971 Wasteking SS8000 had a priced tag on its box 299.00 bucks in 1971 dollars its a huge machine like my old Maytags.I have a I.S.E. Excel its a great machine and I have never had mine clog up or jam right now I am using a 1972 I.S.E. 77

and I love it it is fast as hell and nothing stops it.Here is a pic of my 1986 Waste king SS5000 grind chamber I love how it has blades in it...

 

[tolivac]

1986 WK-from the hopper shot--beautiful unit-SS flywheel and hammers-cast shredder ring.And a rind flipper in the middle of the rotating shredder wheel.From what you throw down your disposer-can't do that at my place-have to "baby" the crappy plumbing and septic tank.Only food waste for mine-rest goes in the trash.After all-gotta save some for "Baker" the garbage compactor at the dump!

 

[foxchapel]

Customrs who came in saying theirs was blocked would be sen

I haven't heard to use Dawn, but was told that Borax/20-Mule Team Borax would cut a lot of the greasy build-up. Once a month, if I remember, I fill the sink with HOT water and borax, then let it drain thru the disposer. The plumber cleared stuff that looked like Crisco out of our main sewer line, and told me HOT water was important, and lots of it.

 

[launderess]

Disposers & Plumbing

For years NYC code forbade installation of garbarge disposers in multi-family apartment buildings out of concern over plumbing problems. Given the average age of housing stock here that was no small concern. The other worry was the sewer and sewage treatment systems that would have to cope with all that "enriched" waste water.

However a few years ago out of concerns over reducing the amount of garbage placed on streets, rodents and other reasons the total ban was lifted but think it only applies to new construction. The kicker is NYC code makes it mandatory that a licensed plumber install the the things. Given that groups hourly rates it is enough to make some think twice.

 

[volsboy1]

How would they know if you put one in yourself?It's like when Raleigh tried to ban disposers lol,I would just go over to the

next county, not that I would ever run out of them anyways LOL.. Here is a pic of a crap disposer this is a new Whirlpool/Badger 

 disposer you can see how big the hole are in that cheap shredder.If I used something like that my sink would be clogged the

first time I used it but there is not much difference between this one and a Kenmore Elite 1H.P. save for the bigger impellers

You still have that terrible grind ring in it.

 

[launderess]

How would they know if you put one in yourself?

If it was a private home unless there was some sort of major sewage backup traced to one's townhouse/brownstone then it's not likely the City would know.

OTOH if one lived in a multi-family apartment,co-op or condo buildng then that is a different story. Most all NYC leases forbid tenants from making alterations to the landlord's property which includes plumbing. It might be possible to smuggle in a disposer and have the work done on the sly, but if other residents start complaining of plumbing problems and it is traced back to your unit, the jig is up and one could be liable. Condo and Co-ops the same thing though there one is required to submitt paperwork and have approval before contracting work is done. Without same again one could be in huge trouble should something happen.

 

[arbilab]

Grind ring? The cheap Insinkerators--which makes many rebadges--don't even have one to speak of. There are no sharp edges even when they're brand new. I've had 3 of them (2 rented, one purchased) and they were all crap as far as grinding. The loudest possible growly induction motor and zero noise isolation.

The best disposers I had were old GEs with the universal motor. Whined like a vacuum cleaner but not as noisy as a growler. They actually had sharp parts of stainless steel. Of course, you can't buy those any more.

 

[tolivac]

If I had to live in NYC-would just use the old container on the Vita-Mix-works well!

 

[volsboy1]

Oh, your talking about one of these G.E. 8000 R.P.M. disposer's.They don't even have a grind ring on them disposer's..

They have a grinding pad which is just a sharp spike on the side.They did not need a grind ring on them the speed of them

would eat anything and very fast.I have a 3/4 H.P. one of those you can still get them on ebay you just have to keep a eye out

I see them about once a month.Here is a pic of them...These are not mine but a good friend Jeff, disposers..That is a strainer

that you see it did not grind.I took mine out one time and flipped it over and sharpened it and it did nothing but stop up..LOL

 

[Iowegian]

Anything that won't make your trash stink too bad until the next pickup should go in the compost bin or in the trash bin, not down the disposer.

Years ago, we had a GE disposer. The recommended way to sharpen the blades was to run a glass soda bottle down it.

That was a parlor trick. We didn't do the sewer system or the treatment plant any favors by sending ground glass down the line. And I sure wouldn't do that if I had a septic system.

A conscientious person might save vegetable scraps/peelings in a freezer bag for making stock later instead of running them down the disposer.

I don't run stringy stuff down our disposer. But see above - stringy veggies won't rot enough until the next trash pickup to cause a stink problem anyway.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

I had a compost pile enclosed in a plastic deck storage box (w/ the bottom removed) after my real composting box got blown to bits by the wind!

Unfortunately I was forced to tear down my composting box & get rid of its walls & lid (and of course shovel up all that garbage!) due to rats in my neighborhood...

-- Dave

 

[volsboy1]

Good thing I am not a conscientious person..I don't have just one disposer. I have two installed in my house.

and I put EVERYTHING down my sink.I even have a commercial disposer that I have never used but, it is just a matter of

time before I do install it and find any excuse to be wasteful.

 

[tolivac]

Like Volsboy 1 I like seeing stuff get shredded and krushed.But my plumbing and septic system has to be babied.for the most part disposers are strong enough to shred most anything put down them-but is the plumbing system able to accept it?For folks shredding bottles and such maybe they need an Eidal shredder or an SSI shredder-vist their website and you can see various things shredded.Komar's website has some good shred&krush videos,too.Hours of entertainment for shredder,disposer,and krusher fans!Like in Volsboy 1's GE disposer pictures-the high speed GE don't have a shred ring as others do-but an impact plate-spike like thing on the lower side of the hopper.The slots around the flywheel are the sizing slots.the waste stays in the shred chamber until it is ground fine enough to drop or wash thru the slots.

 

[mikeklondon]

Plumping

How well it works is all down to how good the pluming is I have had a WD for a long long time and would not think of living with out it, just use plenty of water to flush it clean each time its used and wash daily with washing up liquid, bleach & very hot water

 

[bwoods]

We had a BIG discussion on disposals a year or two ago. Wes and I are probably among the most liberal when it comes to putting varied wastes down the drain.

I would say the disposers/disposals are more prone to wives tales than any other appliance. Ask three people what you can and can't put down a disposer and you'll probably get three totally different responses.

What amazes me is that most people I have talked to have never tried putting down their disposers, the very things that they say you can't. In other words, they listened to someone else and took their advice without even trying it for themselves. Such is how wives tales get spread.

Experiment. On the rare chance your drain stops up. Big deal, unclog it. Odds are you won't have to as you will most likely find almost anything that goes down the hole will be disposed off.

From what I have read disposers were created, initially, to reduce the spread of disease and vermin by getting organic wastes out of public trash systems and landfills where they decay and foster maggots, flies, and rodents. Other than large amounts of corn husks and heavy beef bones, I put virtually all food wastes down the disposer. I am anal about having a clean trash compactor and trash cans.

Beyond food wastes, I also put down dirty napkins and paper towels that have absorbed messes such as milk, bacon grease, that would putrify in the trash.

Like Arbilab, I have found the series wound General Electric disposals to be about the fastest at getting rid of most wastes. They definately outclass ISE and Annaheim made disposers on pork chop bones and corn cobs. Chicken bones are not even a remote challenge. The old GE series and GE induction (late 1970's and earlier)are among the few brands that don't bounce around fruit pits for a long time before getting rid of them.

The GE series wound has a single "cutter" mounted on the stainless steel hopper. The TOL series unit had the "Carboloy" cutter, which is the hardest steel made by man. As Wes said, the 8000 rpm motor of the series units liquifies many food wastes like a blender, even before the cutter gets a chance to work on it. The cutter slices hard wastes as opposed to most other units that have a shredder ring and have to abrade waste down.

The older Maytags, before ISE started making them, are also among my favorites as they do just about everything well, and are very quiet.

I have a pre-ISE Viking right now, which Viking made from Hobart's Kitchen-Aid design when Hobart sold them the rights. It was almost a $400 machine over ten years ago. It has a ton of torque, but even so, it bounces fruit pits around forever before they get ground up. But it's still a neat machine with automatic reversing and the "Wham-Jam" jam breaker. Despite it being built like a Mack truck with a heafty 1 hp motor, it is still slower than my series wound GE on disposing of pork chops bones and corn cobs.

This is saying a lot as it only has a 5.0 amp 1/2hp motor. It will eat up cobs almost as fast as you can feed them, but it you do this for too long, it will overheat and the shut itself down until it cools (after about four or five cobs). The Viking never overheats, I think you could feed it cobs all day and it would never break a sweat.

The old Universal Waste-Kings (not today's Annaheim buyilt units), that Wes speaks of, are legendary.

Anyway, I've gotten off the track. I think you will like your ISE Excel. You can rest assurd that it will take care of potato peelings, corn cobs and watermelon rinds with ease. I had bought the KA version of it, and used it for a few months, to try it out (I have since given it to my sister and brother in law) , and I liked it. The only problem I found was paper towels would sometimes hang up on the rind flipper and slightly throw the machine off balance, making it vibrate the sink. It eventually flies off, or other wastes will push it off, and then you are fine, though.

Enjoy it, you will be surprised at what you can now dispose of!!

 

[kb0nes]

Newspaper

When I was young I once witnessed a science project that involved the shredding of a large amount of newspaper in an old disposer. It was a backyard ordeal that likely had the neighbors kinda nervous, John and Jeff were known for such antics. The disposer seemed to handle it well, no idea what model it was but it was vintage. The pulp wouldn't be a good idea for your drain though... As I recall the pulp was dried and turned into insulation or something like that.

I've had good luck with running the disposer right before the dishwasher goes into the drain cycle. LOTS of hot water and plentiful after flow and I have never had a clog.

The ice trick mentioned up thread is great for cleaning (as well as keeping your ice fresh). I have never had any odor that wasn't due to gunk accumulating on the bottom of the rubber splash guard, keep it clean. If you have a cheap builder model with a non-removable splash guard its time for a new disposer!

Phil

 

[tolivac]

Shredding of strange things in disposers-Besides thew newspaper for the science project--yes the disposer should be able to grind the paper.In the Farm Show magazine they had an article about a person that had a small goat farm and need to grind some of the harder grain for his goats so it would be easier for them to eat.since it was a small farm he didn't want to buy a large and expensive grain grinder.Instead he went to an appliance place and got a used,"pull" ISE disposer for free.Instead of using the disposers motor-he took the motor casing off and used the rotor as a pulley with a flat belt-that way the farmer could power the device with another electric motor or his farm engine.the article mentioned the disposer shredded the grain just right for his goats.The disposer he got had the cast shred ring and swivel cast hammers on the rotating shredder.He grinds with the machine dry.

 

[thomasortega]

Thanks Guys for your answers..

Past a few days after the installation, i can say i'm 100% happy with my new disposer.

The only thing I haven't thrown in it was glass, metal scraps, and diamonds (maybe it wouldn't resist LOL)

I still shocked with it's speed. Maybe because I had a previous model that was too basic and also too old.

I started by the things that ISE videos show. Lemons, pineaple tops, corn, etc.. then I started feeding other "polemic"residues like pasta and cooked beans (always small amounts at once and slowly, with lots o water.

And guess what... absolutelly nothing happened!

Curiously only one thing made the safety switch pop out: WATER!

I filled the sink until it overflows, turned the disposer on and pulled the drain plug out.

the sink drained amazingly fast (no backup on the other sink) but when it was less than half inch to end draining, the disposer suddenly turned itself off but I just reset the button and it went to normal operation again.

If there's a disposer better than this, I don't know because ISE is the only brand available here and it's almost impossible to be found. (only in fancy kitchen furniture stores like Florense, next to $60.000 refrigerators and $8000 wall ovens that are usually sold to stupid bitches that don't even know how to prepare a Cup Noodles). But I can say I'm still amazed with it's power and I hope it lasts at least 50% of the years the previous one lasted (and still working)

The other brand available was Mr. Clean, by Franke. I'm not sure but it's design looks like the BOL Wasteking disposer and the power is the same as the old ISE and it was only less than 10 dollars cheaper so, why take the risk? At least ISE is a well known brand.

 

[sudsmaster]

My first experience with a garbage disposer was when I bought this house in '97. It had a vintage Waste King SS5000. Worked sort of ok for a while, but after a few years I noticed that it would pop out the reset button if it got anything more challenging than a string bean. I replaced it with a (gasp) Titan (Anaheim/new WK) 3/4 HP. I have to say the Titan works just fine - but I don't care for the more narrow throat on it. I kept the old WK around for a year - even offered it up for free here, but no takers. So it finally made it into the trash bin. But I kept the sink ring assembly.

The Titans are sold at Costco, periodically on discount for as little as $80 for a 1.25 HP model. Personally I think the extra HP is overkill, but it probably doesn't hurt sales.

Generally however I don't put much down the disposer anyway. Maybe something that will stink too much, or scraps that make their way into the sink and are too much bother to gather up and put in the trash can. And of course, the occasional hapless spider ;-). I am more cautious with the disposer because for a few years the drain line from the kitchen would back up into the shower stall - yeeech. It took me a while to correct that - I think there was something solid (shampoo bottle cap?) blocking the drain line. Worst part is the washer is on the same line and it would dump enough water into the shower to get the floor wet. Once I ran a 50 ft power auger through the drain, it finally cleared for good and there have been no more such backups. But I decided to keep the use of the disposer to a minimum on general principle.

What I've heard is not good for drains, even with a good disposer, in general, are things like egg shells (I'm guessing the calcium tends to collect in the pipe and cause clogs), and coffee grounds. I think putting stuff like glass or even plastic down a disposer is not bright, though.

I do keep an active compost pile but this generally only gets spoiled food from the fridge that I don't want to keep around until the next trash pickup, plus garden clippings/leaves/etc. It rarely stinks if the "hot" or "green" materials (protein rich) are layered with the "cold" or "brown" materials. And the temp can get hot enough to fry a mouse or rat.

 

[bwoods]

I wouldnt worry about eggshels, Rich. Trust me, they won't clog up ypur plumbing as neither will coffee grinds. Coffee grinds came up in our last major discussion on disposers, so it must be an enduring wives tale. Eggs shells are a new one on me.

You ask ten people about disposals and you'll get ten wives. And they'll be very adamant, saying,

"Oh, you can't put.....(fill in the blank by choosing one, "peas, corn cobs, bones, egg shells, bread crusts, potato peels, bananna peels, watermelon rinds, meat scraps, peach fuzz.") in a disposal.

Of course, if you ask them if they have ever tried to dispose of the item they say you can't you will get..

"No, but my... (choose one and fill in the blank, "uncle, wife, cousin, boyfriend, girlfriend, friend, lover, aunt, mortician") did and their plumbing was stopped up for a week, they had to call Roto Rooter and have a bulldozer dig up the main drain line in their....(choose one and fill in the blank, "front yard, back yard, street in front of their house, sewage plant ten miles down the road") and it costs them... (choose one and fill in the blank "fifty dollars, hundreds of dollars, thousands of dollars, nearly two months pay")!

HeHe. Ask if they have read their manufacturer's instruction manual and you will probaly get a deer-in-the-headlights stare.

Often times, if there is a clog, it's like Rich said it was something else in the drain line. Old build up, a bottle cap, a tampon, etc. They just happen to be using the disposal at the time when the constriction finally blocked completely. so whatever they were grinding at the time has now gotten the blame as that terrible substance that can't be put down a disposer, and voila, the birth of a new wives tale, which of course, will be spread around the next day at the office.