Garbage Disposal Rusted Again

[travelover]

And don't buy 1/4 horsepower models. I use 3/4 or 1 HP disposals, and they never, ever jam. Heck, I think I could put a tree branch into the disposal and our house would revolve around it.

I picked up a used disposal at the Habitat ReStore and use it to empty the black tank on my camping trailer. It purees everything and pumps it through a garden hose at about 5 PSI. A good garbage disposal can do a lot.

 

[ERD50]

OK, understood. I do use plenty of water whenever I use the disposer. Must be working out because I had the trap disassembled last spring and it was very clean. Not much sludge at all. I appreciate the answers.

I wouldn't expect the coffee grounds to cause a problem in the trap at all - there's plenty of water flow there, and some vertical head from at least the sink basin down (and more if the sink get filled higher once in a while, and drained fast). The water is moving relatively fast through a 1 1/2" pipe.

It's when those grounds hit the 4"~6" pipes that have just a little slope to them (1" in 8' is the code IIRC). Now that water is moving much slower, and those grounds have a chance to fall out and build up. A little at a time, day after day, until one day they cause a back up.

Might never happen, but I wouldn't want to chance it.

-ERD50

 

[audreyh1]

DH hates them. We made them remove it from our new house.

 

[badatmath]

I already decided next time mine rusts out and leaks that I will not replace it. I never use it and the water is very hard here. Plus more room under the sink.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I wouldn't expect the coffee grounds to cause a problem in the trap at all - there's plenty of water flow there, and some vertical head from at least the sink basin down (and more if the sink get filled higher once in a while, and drained fast). The water is moving relatively fast through a 1 1/2" pipe.

It's when those grounds hit the 4"~6" pipes that have just a little slope to them (1" in 8' is the code IIRC). Now that water is moving much slower, and those grounds have a chance to fall out and build up. A little at a time, day after day, until one day they cause a back up.

Might never happen, but I wouldn't want to chance it.

-ERD50

Thanks for the explanation. Makes sense to me.

I've lived in my house for 24 1/2 years. Last spring there was a back up. That's when I cleaned out the trap and found it clean. I had to call a sewer service company to power snake the clog out of the main pipes. The tech said it was quite a ways from the kitchen sink, more than 50 feet, about 10 feet of that is straight down to under the basement floor then gradual slope you mentioned away from the house on its way to the main sewer line the street.

Was it coffee grounds? Or coffee grounds and 24 years of other build up? Not sure, but I'm hoping I've got at least another 20 years before it clogs again.

I live on a hill and I do get some wickedly quick sink drainage action. Location is not so great during lightning storms, though.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Thanks to all for the really helpful information and opinions.
I have to admit there is a tiny little voice telling me to just replace the bad one with a stainless one and be done with it. Amazon has a Waste King L2600 for $70 and that will be probably be the easier/faster fix.
On the other hand if I eliminate the disposal, I'd want to remove both drains and start the entire plumbing job from scratch so the drains match and everything is new and shiny.
I'm female so these thing are important to me.
Decisions, decisions.

 

[pb4uski]

Yeah, I don’t even know why I have a garbage disposal. I never put anything down it. I only turn it on because it creates a whirlpool effect and the sink drains quicker. I guess it’s good to chew up some of the little scraps that do end up in the sink, but I doubt any of them would cause any issues with my plumbing.

Having said that, I think rather than replumb the sink, I’d replace the garbage disposal with a SS model. They’re kinda a standard appliance in a modern house. Of course if funds are tight, I’d be under there with pvc and be done with it. It’s basically a small puzzle and the materials are easy to work with.

+1 We have one in FL since we are on city sewer and use it perhaps one a month. In VT we have a septic system and it was recommended that we not have one (though some people do and its hard to see the harm of having one since solids will just end up in the septic tank)... in any event we have a strainer there.

 

[ncbill]

The original 1/4 HP Insinkerator (ISE) in my kitchen rusted through the side so I replaced it with a stainless steel Waste King since that model was substantially cheaper than a stainless steel ISE at the time...even used the old mount IIRC.

And I never put coffee grounds down the sink...just the occasional box of baking soda after it's done its duty in the fridge.

 

[MC Rider]

Replacing it will be easiest. You can probably keep the round piece that is at the sink.
What is that called? Anyway, that's what I did a while back, unbolt old GD, bolt up new, done.

 

[JoeWras]

We use the disposer only for tiny scraps. We compost all plant based matter besides the very tiny scraps. In a way, a disposer is better for the ecology because the scraps get digested through the sewer waste stream process. Those little scraps in your strainer should go in the compost pile, not garbage where they become part of the landfill methane problem. Landfill organic digestion is dangerous digestion, with many municipalities doing their best to obviate the problem.

BTW, I crave coffee grounds, send them to me. I produce quite a bit of compost every year. Great for the garden.

My city briefly made disposers illegal by a change to municipal code. It was extremely unpopular and our mayor (the mastermind behind this) was on shaky ground politically after this. The code was reversed after only a short time in effect.

The mayor wanted to promote composting, and this was part of the plan. He was complaining about grease in the sewers. The problem is, a household cannot effectively and safely compost grease. That's a commercial compost process. So, people still pour grease down regular drains even without a disposer.

The solution was a public service announcement campaign. The city also had a one-time compost-bin blitz where they sold them at a cheap price. That was handy. They will also pick up grease and oil during Thanksgiving and Christmas. We can take our grease/oil to the dump too. Better than going in the garbage or sewer.

 

[old medic]

Very easy to replace the sink basket and new trap. as long as you can lay on your back for a little. Never had, or will have a disposal unit. basket screen and goes in the compost.

 

[Koolau]

We only use the disposal if traces of food make it into the trap (99% of waste is taken out and placed in trash container.)

IF the unit will not start at some point, we have been able to free it by simply inserting a very long screw driver or crow bar and levering the unit loose. Takes 20 seconds. Never had to replace a previously (in our care) functioning disposal - only put in new upon replacing old sink that did not have one. A decent disposal unit should last for many years under the conditions we use. Our current one was used when we bought 12 years ago - still going strong. YMMV

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

W
IF the unit will not start at some point, we have been able to free it by simply inserting a very long screw driver or crow bar and levering the unit loose.

There is a 1/4" hex receptacle in the bottom of disposals that can be actuated using a 1/3" allen wrench or the special "z-shaped" wrench that came with your disposal.

 

[JoeWras]

If you have a disposal, hit the switch for 1 second per day. This will avoid most future jams.

It won't prevent string, pop tops (nevermind, don't have them anymore) or other foreign material from getting in and jamming the works.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

There is a 1/4" hex receptacle in the bottom of disposals that can be actuated using a 1/3" allen wrench or the special "z-shaped" wrench that came with your disposal.

Oops, fat-fingered that last night. Of course I meant to type 'using a 1/4" allen wrench.'

 

[rmcelwee]

We had the same disposal in our house for 20 years. We only used it once every four months or so and it was always frozen so we kept a long screwdriver under the sink to get the blades to turn. I figured I was being a good husband and replaced it last year. The new one lasted about 9 months before it started leaking so not only did I get rid of a "perfectly good, but with a screwdriver" disposal but I had to replace it TWICE. No good dead goes unpunished.

Now that I think of it, shouldn't I have had a warrantee on the broken disposal? Oh well, $100 bucks "down the drain"...

 

[RobbieB]

Hundred dollar disposer?

I have one of these. It's so quiet that the breaker tripped twice because the wife couldn't hear it running and it overheated.

The last one went 20 years with no jams and I replaced it because I didn't want to put the "dirty" into my fresh reno'ed kitchen -

 

[rmcelwee]

Hundred dollar disposer?

We are moving. No reason to go crazy on buying the new owner a fancy disposer. Already spent $10K or so on new appliances and counter tops (I don't want to look at my spreadsheet to see the actual number because it will depress me).

 

[RobbieB]

I agree. Get the good one for the new place -

I didn't even call the "home warranty" people (one year home warranty policy) when the first one went down because I knew they would replace it with the lowest end model they could.

Garbage grinders. Go Big or Go Home. Get a good one or none at all. Don't cheap out -

 

[ERhoosier]

Having faced the OP's issue multiple times in different homes (mine and relatives'), just replace the disposer. Not that expensive and often much cheaper (quicker) labor-wise than properly re-doing the under sink pipes.

 

[RobbieB]

This is true. When we did the kitchen, we did a big single sink instead of doubles. Had to redo all that too, start from the drain at the wall.

No way was I going to put a used disposer in all that "new" stuff -

 

[Dream Weaver]

We are moving. No reason to go crazy on buying the new owner a fancy disposer. Already spent $10K or so on new appliances and counter tops (I don't want to look at my spreadsheet to see the actual number because it will depress me).

My original rusted out and since I never used it much I replaced it with drain pipe. I did buy a new one identical to the cheapo original and have it and the original plumbing stored away for a quick swap for when I ever decide to sell the place. Potential buyers can flip the switch on the counter and hear the satisfying sound of something whirling instead of dead silence.

 

[2cheap2eat]

Yeah. Never had one rusted shut. Had drive shafts break, motors burn out, leaks, but no rust.

Same here, I use the standard ones from Home Depot, usually last for years with probably being used a few times a week. Never had one rust, only motor burning in a few years.

 

[Koolau]

Oops, fat-fingered that last night. Of course I meant to type 'using a 1/4" allen wrench.'

Heh, heh, we'll let it go this time.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Just to update, I finally removed the old plug in garbage disposal last week. My son came over and installed the new drain and new under sink plumbing (all the time complaining that this was a stupid idea) It took him less than 20 minutes and I'm really happy with the result, I've reclaimed my second sink that I rarely used.
Total cost less than $30 in parts, I found a great YouTube video that told me what I needed to buy.