Easiest way to replace 3-bolt garbage disposal

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My mom doesn't have a lot of money and is out of town. I recently learned her garbage disposal is leaking and would like to fix it for her before she gets back. She has a 3-bolt disposal now with a porcelain (or maybe ceramic) sink.

1) Can I just buy another 3-bolt disposal and replace it? Or are they not universally sized? Or does removing the old one loosen the existing putty, where I'd have to replace it anyway.

2) Should I just replace the whole thing with an easy install system, like the one waste king or GE has?

3) The disposal's electrical wires seem to go behind the cabinet and I guess up into the switch above the sink. Not really sure how this is setup. Anything special I should concern myself with? Am I safe to just reuse the existing wires?

Thanks,
Bradford
 

Terry

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I think the easiest replacement would be with Insinkerator.

Pick up some plumbers putty while you are at it.
You will have to wire nut the new disposer. There is a panel on the underside of the unit.
They come with pretty good instructions

If you have a dishwasher and it connects to the disposer near the top, there is a plug that will need knocking out. Otherwise, no, you leave that.

sink_dw_hot.jpg
 
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Jadnashua

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If the existing one is an Insinkerator, you don't need to even replace the piece attached to the sink. If you use some steel wool, and 30-seconds, you can get the old one to look new. You'd replace the rubber gasket with the new one since those tend to wear and look crappy. THe attachment method for those has remained the same for a long time, so swapping in a new one is super quick and easy. The height of the outlet may differ, and you may need to play with the drain line a little - it depends, they have many models.
 

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The old one is a Maytag L20. If I get a 3-bolt replacement, like the Insinkerator, would it work? If not, I would have to take apart the piece attached to the sink and redo it, right? If that's the case would something with an easy install be preferred, such as the wast king or GE? I see you guys seem to prefer the Insinkerator.
 
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hj

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The Maytag IS made by ISE so all you have to do is rotate the bayonet mounting to the left, drop the disposer, remove the dishwasher plug from the new one, if the dishwasher is connected to the disposer, then hold it up in place and rotate the mount to the right. Make sure you have all three "lugs' engaged on the sink piece. Then reconnect the drain pipe an dishwasher drain, then turn on the water.
 

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Sorry, one more question. She has a 1/3HP garbage disposal. Can I get a 1/2 HP and be fine? Or is the piping different (diameter wise) for each HP.
 

JohnjH2o1

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What's leaking? It may just be the piping and not requiring the replacement of the disposal to fix the leak.

John
 

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Seems to be dripping from the bottom of the garbage disposal when the dishwasher is on or water is going through the sink. Kind of hard to tell where it's coming from. Checked around the piping and it seems dry. Not there at the moment, though.
 

Terry

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A disposer typically lasts eight years.
Blades wear down, and they can rust through.
I don't feel bad replacing them at 8 year intervals.

badger-5-13-yo.jpg


This is a Badger 5 at thirteen years of age. The holes are rusted over, it no longer spins and no water drains. The homeowner was surprised because her husband had installed it not very long ago.

badger-with-rust-1.jpg


This one was more obvious than the one above.

removed-with-sawzal.jpg


This one was leaking badly.
 
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Jadnashua

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The outlet piping size of the things is the same, a bigger motor may be taller, and that MIGHT move where the outlet is, height-wise. Normally, there's enough adjustment in the tubular drain lines to accommodate it, but if it is TOO low, it COULD be a major problem...the outlet of the disposal MUST allow for downslope to the trap arm. IOW, that outlet must be higher than the arm going into the wall, since it must flow down and through the trap first.
 

hj

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The only difference between most disposer models is the diameter, so at the most, you may have to cut the outlet pipe off a bit. But, more than likely the new one you install will be EXACTLY the same size, even if it is 1/2 or 3/4 h.p.
 
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