Disposers & Compactors: Taking Out the Trash

Whirlpool

In the information age, where consumers have the world at their fingertips, they expect their household appliances to work just as hard as their electronic devices do and be quick about it.

Food-waste disposers are no exception, but the industry’s two major manufacturers (each makes models for several brands) go about trying to accomplish this in different ways. One manufacturer—Waste King—believes that pure speed is the key to pulverizing food waste; the other—InSinkErator—believes that slow and steady wins the race. InSinkErator continues to tout multiple grinding stages as the key to a disposer’s success. But price could determine the winning features—and which way is right for you if you’re in the market for a new disposer.

SPEED CHASER. General Electric released a new line of disposers in 2010 that have grinding speeds that top out at 3,500 rpm. This represents the highest grinding speed of any model at press time and 700 rpm more than the previous industry high. GE’s models are made by Waste King.

Brian Brislin of GE says the extra grinding speed allows the disposers to pulverize food waste faster, which makes them more efficient at doing their job. Erlinda Nevarez of Waste King says the idea is for the disposer to hit its designated grinding speed at the flip of the switch. She adds that this results in less energy being used because of the faster grinding.

Although we found no independent data that backed up claims of energy efficiency, we spoke with 13 kitchen designers and installers of disposers, and they agree that the performance of a disposer generally improves as grinding speed increases and high-grinding-speed models tend to jam less frequently than do their low-speed counterparts.

But at what price? Numerous installers and kitchen designers with whom we spoke tell us that the higher the grinding speed, the more noise that the disposer produces. Of course, as you go up in price, high-speed disposers have more sound insulation, which typically consists of layers of foam that are between the shell of the disposer and its motor casing: the higher the price is, the more layers of insulation that a disposer has. Nevertheless, noise is never eliminated.

In contrast, InSinkErator makes disposers that top out at a mere 1,725 rpm. These models have at least two grinding stages—one model, the Evolution Excel, has three—to shear, shred and pulverize food waste.

During the first two grinding stages, food waste is smashed into small particles inside of the grind chamber by fixed and swivel lugs that cut food particles, which are then pushed through 40 tiny openings. The Evolution Excel’s third grinding stage consists of a unique disc that cuts the particles once more before the pieces go down the drain. InSinkErator says its system is ideal for chewing up stringy items, such as celery and cornhusks.

Besides the slower grinding speed, InSinkErator adds anti-vibration components that include rubber mountings where the disposer meets the sink drain and at the tailpipe to further deaden sound beyond layers of insulation and keep the sink from rattling. InSinkErator even includes a sink baffle that creates a “water dam,” which reduces the noise that emerges up through the sink, the company says.

DOWN THE DRAIN. Almost all of the kitchen designers and disposer installers with whom we spoke tell us that multistage disposers are more effective and quieter than are the models that rely solely on high speed. Bryan Stuckert, who is a plumber in Philadelphia, is concerned that if food waste is moved too fast, it won’t get as pulverized as it needs to be, because it spends too little time in the grind chamber. Kim Stranix of plumbing-supply house Ferguson in King of Prussia, Pa., agrees and further worries that some food waste even might be missed completely, which can result in a clogged drain.