Replacing InSinkErator garbage disposal

[MillCreek]

My garbage disposal has sprung several leaks and I am tired of patching them.  It is an InSinkErator model that is 13 years old. 

Being on my back under the sink working on plumbing is about my least favorite thing to do, and I have done far too much of it.  So I called a local handyman service to replace the disposal.  They charge $ 138/hour and it will probably take one hour.  I told them that I would buy a new disposal and have it ready for them on Thursday.

I went to Lowe's today and bought a replacement disposal, although it was the next size up.  It uses the same mounting system as the old disposal.  The side of the box said it could be replaced just by unhooking the old connections, twisting the old disposal off the mount, wiring in the new pigtail, hooking up the plumbing, plug it in and you are done. 

Is that all it takes?  Because if it does, it sounds like a 15-20 minute job, and I can handle that.  When I had researched this on the net, it sounded like more of a 2-3 hour job for me, but that was installing the new sink drain and mounting system.  If I can just use what is already there, it sounds a lot simpler. 

So what says APS?  I don't want to pay someone to do what I can do, if it is easy and quick.

[wmenorr67]

Do it yourself or find a friend that is capable for a couple of beers and dinner.

[Lee]

It's not bad at all...even i did it.  It usually takes me 2 days and a few hundred dollars to change a light bulb.

[Brad Johnson]

Replaced a friend's disposal a few weeks ago.  Luckily it was exactly the same model.  Took all of about 20 minutes.

Getting the stupid locking ring off is the biggest pita.  Remember to knock out the plug in the dishwasher drain if you're using it.  Not doing so can be... suprising.

Brad

[MillCreek]

Do it yourself or find a friend that is capable for a couple of beers and dinner.

Usually, I am that person.  Which is why I have spent so much time on my back under the sink working on plumbing.  Other people's sinks.

[mtnbkr]

If you're replacing with the same model and in the same sink, it's pretty easy.  I replaced ours a few years ago, then had to reinstall it when we replaced our sink and counter-top.  The sink's drain orientation was a bit different, so I had to do a bit of plumbing to line things up properly.

Chris

[never_retreat]

I would do it my self either way. I'd rather pay a friend 50 bucks and spend the rest on beer or ammo.
They are not hard at all.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

http://www.fernco.com/plumbing/residential-plumbing/flexible-qwik-traps


many products that help avoid real pulmbing

[Perd Hapley]

  The side of the box said it could be replaced just by unhooking the old connections, twisting the old disposal off the mount, wiring in the new pigtail, hooking up the plumbing, plug it in and you are done. 

If by "pigtail" they mean the three wires coming out of the new disposal, yes. The hardest part is holding it up, while you crank on the mounting ring thing. It helps to stick a screwdriver in one of those curved-over gizmos around the edge of the ring, to gain some leverage.

And don't forget your dishwasher knockout plug.

[Jim147]

The only one that has every gave me a problem had been leaking at the flange for some time. The three screws that held the flange tight were rusted in place and had to cut out.

I've ran many a no drain on a dishwasher only to open the cabinet and see a new disposal. I pull the hose pop the knockout and collect my money.

jim

[MillCreek]

I have been devoting some thought to the holding it up while I align it with the mounting plate issue.  Cause I think that is going to be the major problem. 

I have a motorcycle scissor jack like this: http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11608621&whse=BC&Ne=5000000%204000000&eCat=BC|3960|51294&N=4015644%205000012&Mo=0&No=0&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US

I think I will pull out the jack and use the flatbed portion of the jack to raise up the disposal to the docking collar.  I will report back tomorrow about how all this works.  Ideally, this will not turn into a multi-hour, multi-trip to Home Depot/Lowe's, buy five more parts and three tools extravaganza.  Cause I have been there and done that, all to 'save money by doing it myself'.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

i lost use of my arm for a time  i put in a disposal by building a stack of 2 x 4's that held it up almost high enough then driving 2 felling wedges in the bottom of the stack to snug it up the last lil bit.  then turned locking collar with good hand

[GigaBuist]

I've done it twice.  Well, the mounting process.

The first was just to remove the existing disposal, try and find some kind of clog in it, then stuck it back in place.

The second was to install a 1.5HP version when I realized the existing one (0.5HP and 11-12 years old) just wasn't doing it anymore.  The 1.5HP version will eat through a bundle of celery in maybe 6 seconds with just gravity pushing it down.  Love it.

Anyway, I don't remember it being very difficult.  Maybe a 20 minute deal with half that being me reading the instructions and just making sure I didn't screw anything up.  I even backed the whole thing out after it was working to replace the collar when my wife said she liked the stainless steel look of the new one and didn't want the dingy old white one in there.

And I'm not very handy.  If I don't have to make a second trip to the hardware to store re-buy something I just broke mid-project I consider it a success.

[zxcvbob]

If you're replacing one with the same brand, DIY.  If it's a totally new installation, pay or bribe someone else to do it.  If you're replacing one with a different brand, I don't know, you're on your own deciding that one.

It's been 20 years since I messed with one.  Current house doesn't have a disposall and the kitchen drain line is prone to clogging anyway (when it gets to the basement and picks up the washing machine drain) so I won't put one in.

[Waitone]

What is you Personal Project Hassle Score? 

Are you the type who routinely sizes up and executes projects with minimal windshield time, or are you like me, someone who can waste an entire day on a simple task just because my karma is in a foul mood. 

[K Frame]

If it uses the same mounting system, yes it's that easy.

Or at least it should be.

I replaced mine about 5 years ago with a completely different brand/mounting type.

It took me well less than 2 hours, and a good amount of that time was just cleaning the crap out of the sink base cabinet.

[P5 Guy]

Biggest mistake I ever made was putting a garbage disposal in.

[KD5NRH]

I don't want to pay someone to do what I can do, if it is easy and quick.

If I could bend that far, I'd feel the same way...oh wait, you meant the garbage disposal...uh, get a dog...then get the dog to teach you to bend that far.  Two birds with one stone.

Of course, if you learn to bend that far, you're not going to care about the garbage.

[RaspberrySurprise]

Biggest mistake I ever made was putting a garbage disposal in.

Whaddaya mean I can't put a whole ham bone down the disposal? Isn't that what it's for?

[MillCreek]

I am pleased to report that the new disposal is installed and working perfectly without any leaks.  I am running a cycle of the dishwasher to make sure there are no leaks from the drain cycle.

It took me a total of 90 minutes, which included 45 minutes wasted on the power supply: a 20 minute trip to Lowe's to buy a power cord set after I spent about 25 minutes trying to remove and reuse the power pigtail from the old unit.  The old unit had some sort of snap-in plastic cable connector/strain relief that was impossible to remove and made it impossible to remove the pigtail from the old unit.  So I went and bought the new power cord. 

I also used the motorcycle scissor jack to lift up the unit so I could align and mount the locking ring.  I was able to lift it just fine, but it was too difficult for one person to try and align it with the sink drain by looking over into the sink and manipulate the disposal and locking ring with the other hand. 

If I had bought the power cord set from the outset, I bet the whole project would have taken only 30 minutes or so.  Since all the dimensions of the new unit were essentially the same as the old, all the plumbing hooked right back up with no adjustments necessary. 

So my concerns were groundless, and thanks for the information and opinions here which led me to do the replacement myself.

[K Frame]

Probably not legal anymore, by the people who built my house simply hardwired the unit. No box.

[never_retreat]

Probably not legal anymore, by the people who built my house simply hardwired the unit. No box.

Other way around, I believe they are supposed to be hard wired.
Not with romex though, You need to use mc cable. Under the sink is considered subject to damage so you can not use romex.

Personally all the ones I put in I installed the outlet in the cabinet and put a cord on the unit. Makes it way easer to install or service. I don't think they put much common sense into some electrical codes.

[MechAg94]

Replaced a friend's disposal a few weeks ago.  Luckily it was exactly the same model.  Took all of about 20 minutes.

Getting the stupid locking ring off is the biggest pita.  Remember to knock out the plug in the dishwasher drain if you're using it.  Not doing so can be... suprising.

Brad

Been there, forgot that.   

Nothing happened except I thought a new dishwasher wasn't working.

[Brad Johnson]

Been there, forgot that.   

Nothing happened except I thought a new dishwasher wasn't working.

If you had an old-fashioned sinktop mounted airgap you would have gotten a very wet reminder.  Nothing like a seeing a jet of water arcing all the way across the room to let you know something isn't right.

Brad

Brad