leaking disposal

[LCHIEN]

found a nasty wet mess under the kitchen sink.

Upon inspection there was what looks like a couple holes on the side of the disposal body opposite the entry of the diswasher drain pump line. I haven't taken the unit off yet but a small screwdriver blade went through and a flashlight on the side could put a lot of light into the disposal when viewed from the top.

The holes were about 1/8" in diamater, not perfectly round but jagged.
I suppose that the spraying action of the dishwasher drain pump eroded through the body combined with rust.

It allowed a small trickle when running water into the sink, and a spray when the disposal was run, and probably a lot when the diswasher pumped.

It's 17 years old. Is this common? I've never heard of it.

[cabinetman]

Rust through is fairly common in some of the kitchens I've renovated. Seventeen years is pretty good. Time for a new one. They are easy to change.
.

[Bruce Cohen]

Loring,

Any appliance that lives 17 years is a minor miracle, be glad it lasted that long.

Home Depot carries Insinkerator brand, their the best, and they all come with in-home warrantees of varing lengths, depending on the cost of the model.

Bruce

[cgallery]

Must be the day for leaks. Just purchased a new dishwasher today after noticing the old one piddling on the floor.

Got a Bosch. They have something like a $100 rebate if you buy a Bosch dishwasher and garbage disposal at the same time. I have no idea if you need a new dishwasher, or whether their disposals are any good.

[Jim Frye]

Bleeding disposal...

Not uncommon for sink pigs with dishwashers attached. Most dishwasher detergents contain lye and years of that getting discharged into the grind basket will eventually eat through the cast body of the disposal. Many years ago, my dad patched one with hydrolic cement and it lasted for a few years. When you replace the old one, make sure the new one has an epoxy coated or stainless steel grind chamber. That way, the lye will not eat it away. The one in our kitchen is nearly twenty years old and (knock wood) is still solid. It has an epoxy coated grind chamber.

[LCHIEN]

So, steel grind basket like the one I had that rusted/corroded through doesn't seem to be available anymore - not even epoxy coated.
Looks like sub $175 units have PVC grind chamber bodies and
$199 and up units have stainless steel chambers.

Will PVC last indefinately against everyday dishwasher discharge? Or does it have to be stainless?

[RayintheUK]

I fitted a batch-fed stainless at my previous home in 1989 and it's still going strong!

Ray

[Tom Slick]

I have the in-sink-erator "Evolution" base model and it's great. SS grind chamber and is very quiet. Cost about $170 at HD.

[Bruce Cohen]

Loring,

Don't even think about PVC, buy stainless. When I worked at HD, I sold them. Top model has a 10 Year in home warranty. It's worth the extra dollars.


Bruce