InSinkErator COMPACT Evolution 3/4 HP Continuous Garbage Disposal

Update: It's 2024 and this same unit is still going strong. It even carried over through a kitchen remodel last year since it was in perfect working order. Other than getting a new baffle for very cheap all else is original. Great disposal.***Important Note!*** Don't do what I did and forget to knock out the dishwasher hookup plug before you get the whole thing mounted up under your sink. That is, of course, as long as you're using the dishwasher hookup. I was lucky enough to remember before I ran my dishwasher, but it was a pain to knock it out under the sink.The previously installed disposal in my kitchen was an Insinkerator Badger 5 of unknown age. It failed in typical fashion due to internal seals breaking down and eventually causing water to leak through the bottom of the case.The best thing about this new unit was that it went in place with no adjustments to the rest of the plumbing. It was an exact fit for the Badger. I replaced the sink flange with all the new mounting hardware, which was perfectly simple. The new unit is relatively quiet and seems effective at disposing what little waste I use it for. I will say that it seems substantially more quiet when actually grinding up food waste than the Badger was, and I'm sure it is due to the combination of sound-dampening and grinding efficiency design improvements over such models. In my opinion, nobody *needs* to spend hundreds more for a disposal quieter than this one for anything more than bragging rights. It's a machine designed to pulverize your food waste into a slurry to go down your drains, and, from what I can tell, the sound of water running in my sink is almost louder than the sound of this unit grinding up my week-old leftovers.I will speak to the rate of water draining through the rubber baffle, as I've seen some people complain about it. In my own experience, I've seen no issues with slow drainage. My sink faucet has an aerator as most down nowadays, which reduces water flow. However, I tested it without the aerator using full water flow from the tap, and still had no problems with water draining through the baffle. If I dump a huge pot of water into the sink, does it drain more slowly than a regular sink drain? Absolutely. That's to be expected. The baffle does have a smaller opening than my previous unit for sure, and I do often have to push food scraps through, but this doesn't bother me. The smaller opening does make the unit quieter by creating a barrier of water as stated in the literature, and it's also less prone to the garbage slurry splashing back out while operating, which did sometimes happen with my Badger.The only tricky part of install was getting the quick mount collar rotated far enough to fully latch. I ended up using a large screw driver slipped between one of the mounting screws and the throat of the flange as a lever to hold the sink flange in place while I rotated the quick-mount collar in the opposite direction with the jam-release tool. This is critical since I've read several reviews around the internet where people had their disposer fall off several weeks after installation. I'd bet it was because they didn't fully engage the collar until it reached the stops. This can be a simple thing to overlook. I nearly did it myself.My previous disposal was hard-wired to a switch inside the cabinet under the sink. Not exactly an ideal arrangement. I rewired the switch as a GFCI outlet and bought the power cord kit (InSinkErator CRD-00 Power Cord Kit) for the new disposal along with the InSinkErator STS-00 Dual Outlet SinkTop Switch. This was a great choice and now makes using the disposer much simpler than opening the cabinet, hunting for the switch, dumping food waste, hunting for the switch in the cabinet again, and shutting the door. I know, first-world problems.If I discount the time it took for the electrical work I had to do (about two hours), the disposal install itself took no more than an hour. I'm pretty handy, but if all someone is doing is a direct replacement for another Insinkerator, it should be a fairly simple job.My only minor complaint is that this unit didn't include a power cord, which is a separate purchase if one is not hard-wiring it. In my case I was moving from hard-wired to plug-in installation. Most installations of disposals seem to be going to plug-in judging by the modern homes I've seen over the past few years. I do realize the benefit of waste reduction however in not including the cord for those who would be hard-wiring. It would simply be another part headed for the landfill or squirreled away in a homeowner's miscellaneous junk drawer. Simply be sure you know which type of install you've got and buy the extra parts if needed.I spent a fair bit of time trying to decide between this Insinkerator and a couple units from Waste King which were less expensive. In the end I chose the Insinkerator for the benefit of a direct replacement for the Badger 5, and also seeing a good number of people complaining about failures of the Waste King EZ Mount system used to attach the disposal to the sink flange. There was a lot of talk of plastic parts failing, and I decided that the tried and true Insinkerator mounting system (all metal) seemed like a better choice in the long run. Time will tell if this disposal proves to be reliable and lasts an expected number of years.

It's a good product from a good company. American made and highly praised by experts. It's compact too, which makes it easier to install in tight spaces. I believe it is their most popular model. So they have a lot of incentive not to mess it up! I appreciate the recyclable box packaging. Kind of cheap, plastic sink stopper but I just use the one from the retired disposal. This one replaced an Insinkerator Evolution Spacesaver model that served for many years and ran quietly. This one is just as quiet as the one it replaced, yet more powerful. For me, it was a bit of a job since I chose to replace all the PVC piping underneath that was leaking at the seals for the joints. Here is one tip I wish was in the instructions but I found on a youtube video: use an automotive style compact jack (the kind you find in the trunk of your car) to support the weight of the disposal as you position it to have the ring twist on to attach to the sink. It will save your back in tight spaces. A second person to steady the new disposal as you position it can be helpful too. I also recommend you have the following tools for a DIY job: needle nose pliers, electrical tape, philips and flat-head screw-drivers, plumbers putty, a hack-saw (you may need to reduce the length of a pipe), sponges, paper-towels, a spray cleaner, a large bowl to catch nasty smelling liquids, a voltage tester, a wire stripper and scraper. Don't forget to turn off power before messing with the wires! And my last and most important tip: for those of you with dishwashers, don't forget to pop out the plastic blocker for the tube leading from the dishwasher. I think a lot of plumbers get a periodic chuckle and quick money from those DIY'ers who forget and are baffled by flooded dishwashers!

I purchased this disposer on Amazon in Sept. 2012 to replace an ailing General Electric model that looks like it may be older than I am. I was expecting the installation of this new disposer to occupy me for most of the evening, but I was happy to be mistaken. The instructions are very detailed, and from start to finish, including removing the old disposer and hooking up the electric and plumbing, this install took me 45 minutes. I was lucky enough that the pipes lined up perfectly, so there was no cutting of the tail pipe for me, which might have brought the installation time up to an hour.Some important things to note for the install:-Do not over-tighten the mounting screws on the sink flange. My first attempt at mounting the flange failed because I went too tight and the snap ring flew off the bottom of the flange. It sounded like something broke, but I was happy to see it was just the ring flying off.You need to supply :-plumbers putty for around the sink flange. Stainless Plumber's Putty, 14 oz-a 3/8" wire clamp to screw into the bottom of the unit. Halex 90512 Clamp Connector for Non-Metallic Cable-2 wire nuts.Gardner Bender 10-003 Wire Gard Orange Wire Connectors, 100-PackTools you may need:-Philips Screwdriver (for the mounting screws, and the wire clamp.)-Slotted Screwdriver (to pry the snap ring open on the sink flange, and to hit with the hammer to open the dishwasher inlet.)-Hammer (to break the seal for the dishwasher inlet.)-Channel Locks (I needed these to loosen the drain lines on the old disposer.)Now, on to my thoughts on the product itself. This disposer is the quietest disposer I have ever heard. Period. When I finished installation, I turned on the water and flipped the switch on the wall. I thought something was wrong, maybe I messed up the wiring -No, it's just that quiet. I actually had to throw a cucumber down the drain to make some noise, I couldn't tell if it was running otherwise.In addition to being ridiculously quiet, there is one major improvement I noticed on this unit over my old GE model. The connection to the sink, the connection to the drain, and the connection to the dishwasher are all rubber. This should help eliminate any vibration or noise from traveling out of the unit and into the sink / pipes.The quality of the unit seems to be pretty good, and I'll be sure to post with any updates as I get the unit more broken in.