Garbage Disposal Installation

I have one confession to make. The table saw is still not complete. I had all the intentions of finishing that this last weekend, but other things seemed to come up. Instead I did a garbage disposal replacement in the condo we have amongst other small things.

Saturday I went to the Depot and picked up a 1/2 HP Badger garbage disposal for about $80, plumber's putty, sink wrench and of course the power cord for the disposal. Don't forget the power cord. It's my personal opinion that, if you are replacing something that is older and has broken why use a critical piece for your new unit from the broken one. Anyway, the installation went really smooth. Last time I did a garbage disposal installation it was in a new sink about 8 or 9 years ago. The bracketing system that held that in place didn't seem that great at the time. The new unit came with the InSinkErator Quick Lock Mount. This thing is sweet. Once it's installed in the sink you just twist the garbage disposal into place.

Tools you might need:

• sink wrench
• plumbers' putty
• screwdriver (installation of power cord)
• channel lock pliers (just in case)
• hammer
  

Here are some highlights from the install:

• TURN THE POWER OFF and unplug the old unit from the wall
• Clean everything out of your working area. I made sure the cabinet was empty underneath sink. So much easier to work like that.
• Make sure you have plenty of towels to catch any water that leaks out of the pipes. It always happens.
• Disconnect the pluming. For me this included the drain hose from the dishwasher and the output from the disposal to the pipe going out of the house.
• Don't throw away the drain pipe from your existing disposal. If your like me I had to reuse that piece because the new disposal came with a drain pipe that would not fit the configuration of the pipes under the sink.
• Take out the old garbage disposal.
• Remove the drain originally attached to the old garbage using the sink wrench disposal if necessary. The one I was replacing still looked good and used the quick connect bracket like the new one.
• Clean the old plumbers' putty from the sink, apply new putty and assemble the new drain / connection bracket for the new disposal.
• Place a 1/4” bead of plumber’s putty around the drain opening in the sink.
• Drop the new sink flange into the drain opening and press it into place.
• From under the sink, slide the fiber gasket and backup ring onto the sleeve.
• Hold these pieces in place. Next slip on the mounting ring and snap ring.
• Install the new power cord on the replacement disposal. Make sure the ground is properly connected, use the wingnuts that come with the kit for the other wires.
  
• Connect the white wire from the disposer unit with the white wire from the power supply.
• Do the same for the black wire, and attach the ground to the green screw.
• If your hooking up a dishwasher like me, you'll need to use a screwdriver and hammer to pop out the knockout plug. [I'm just gonna say it. Yes you need to get it out of the disposal after you knock it out.]
• Align the disposer with the three mounting pieces on the mounting assembly. Hold the disposal in place, and turn the lower mounting ring until all three mounting ears are locked into the mounting assembly.
• Install the discharge tube and its gasket to the disposal. Make sure this is aligned properly.
• Connect the dishwasher tube to the disposal
• Lock the disposal to the sink mounting assembly using the special wrench that came with the unit.
• Plug it in and test it.

Bob's your uncle.