You're scaring me...we just installed the Waste King from Costco last Friday. What is it doing? Ours is okay so far. Please follow up and let me know. Thanks! Kris

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Not sure -Does it grind when you do push it through the flange? Are you running water when it's on? is the chamber empty? Shut power and see if it is jammed with something I have the 1hp model as well - the good news is that it does have a lifetime warranty

Anita, I noticed the same thing, and assumed it was because that flange is stiff. I figured it would loosen up a bit.

Anita/Jejvtr: I have a Blanco super single and don't have a strainer for it. (I bought one, won't fit) Do you have two sinks, or one?

This is one of the reasons why I have a batch feed disposer (not the continuous feed style that the above posters have). I do not like the idea of having to push food into a running disposer. And I don't like sticking my hand past that wet flange either.

So, for anyone looking at this thread and in the process of choosing a disposer, think about the batch feed style instead. No flange, and it can only run with its cover on--the cover is the the thing that turns it on and off, so no need to put a switch in your backsplash. Best with kids, as it can't turn on without the cover over it.

BTW, I have the Waste King batch feed with the 3-bolt mounting. It's been great. But any of the other brands of batch feed disposers are good too (i.e. Insinkerator Cover Control or the Kitchenaid).

Here is a link that might be useful: Waste King Batch Feed

Kris, I thought it was the stiff flange at first too! But after 6 months I decided it probably wasn't the flange.

I have the blanco super single also, and its design might play a part in the problem since it is so flat across the bottom.

I wish I'd looked into the batch feed. But how does it work? With my disposal you have to have the water running. Do you not need the water for batch feed, or is it hooked up directly to a supply line?

Anita

Anita, in answer to your question, you use the faucet/water just the same as with your continuous feed disposer. Here's how the batch feed works: first, you drop your food in the disposer while it is not on. The chamber of a batch feed is larger than that of a continuous feed so it can hold quite a lot. Then you turn your faucet on. Then you take the disposer's stopper, and push it into the drain which turns on the machine. For me, everything grinds in less than 10-20 seconds, although people on this forum report they put bones and corncobs in theirs so I don't know how long something like that would take. Then you pull out the stopper and the machine turns off. The machine cannot run unless the stopper is in it, so no one could get their hands in there while it's running. Great with kids around.

Also, the stopper does double duty cause it is like a regular drain stopper when it is not pushed in, i.e. you can use it to stop up the drain to fill the sink with water, or you can strain stuff from going down the drain. And batch feeds have no flange, so you can see clearly into the drain which is great if you drop a spoon down there. Not having a flange is one less thing to keep clean too.

I hope I've been clear, but you can do a search on the Appliances forum for "batch feed" and come up with stuff to read.

Uh oh, I'm thinking I should return these 2 Waste King disposers to Costco. My mom has an Insinkerator and I just throw stuff down it, never have to push anything through. The reason I got a continuous feed as opposed to a batch feed is I don't like putting my hand in an icky drain.

Erkanh, I don't have to "put my hand in an icky drain" with my batch feed. I just drop the food down into the disposal. If something doesn't drop in, I just turn on the faucet. Since there's no flange, there's nothing obstructing anything from dropping into the drain. In fact, the "ick factor" should be less with the batch feed since there is no flange. If you have to pull something out of a continuous feed disposal, what's it like to push your hand into that flange and grope around not being able to see what's down there?

always, I had a batch feed disposer in an old apartment years ago. I didn't like having to reach through the junk in the sink (peelings, food scraps, etc.) every time I wanted to use the disposer. I prefer to just push a button or flip a switch. I don't like the idea of having to push stuff through the flange either. My mom's ISE seems to suck everything down.

You can use a continuous feed like a batch feed - just push the stuff into the disposer before you turn it on instead of while it's running - not a big deal.

Batch feed may be nice, but not if it won't pass code! B/c we have a septic system, we have to have a septic-specific GD...none of which (at least when we looked) were available w/batch feed.

Weissman is right, though, just push it all in ahead of time and then turn it on...that's what I've always done. One advantage is that if I have more than will fit at one time, I push all that will fit in and then while the water's running the rest of the stuff is washed down as the other stuff is ground up and disposed of...no opening it up, pushing more in, closing it again...it all goes at once. (It's rare that I have to push anything down it...)

Anita, that's too bad that your disposal isn't working as well as you'd like. I guess on the bright side, it has a great warranty, and as a percentage of your total kitchen re-do (SO gorgeous BTW!), it's not so much $$ invested.

In my home growing up, we had a batch feed disposal, and it was the only kind I knew until I moved out of the house. I had a rental apartment once with a continuous feed disposal. I never really got used to it, but it's hard to change habits that formed from childhood. In my home now, I have the Kitchenaid 1 hp batch feed, which is actually made by Insinkerator (in their factory in Wisconsin).

I think though, that the type of disposal someone prefers is personal taste and how s/he likes to work in a kitchen; there is no right or wrong choice. I agree with Buehl that one of the continuous feed's advantages is that you just feed the disposal continually which is convenient (although my disposal's chamber is so large, I rarely have to run it more than once). A disadvantage of a batch feed is that it takes up A LOT of room under the sink. Having said that, I do feel that the "ick factor"--and this is just MHO--is greater with the continuous feed style cause of the clammy flange. You are either having to push food through the flange with your hand or a utensil (I guess Waste King has a tool just for that purpose), or slide your wrist past its clammy surface to fish something out.

Regarding brand, I used to say that Waste King was really great, but I think they have changed recently. About 1-1/2 years ago Waste King moved their manufacturing from the U.S. to China. That likely enabled them to lower their costs significantly to be able to sell a disposal at Costco for $79 when that same model when made in the U.S. used to sell for $179. In that same vein, Waste King used to have an entire page on their website devoted to the fact that their disposals are septic-tank safe. That page is no longer on their website, perhaps because the China-made disposals can no longer do that. There are people on this forum who love their Waste Kings, but I bet they have the older ones that were made in the U.S.

Anita, my advice to you is that if your Waste King disposal is REALLY bothering you, switch it out for the Insinkerator Evolution Essential which is also a continuous feed style. Donate your Waste King to Habitat for Humanity, or sell it on Craig's List. I am saying this because you are going to be using the disposal every day, likely several times a day, and if you hate it, why ruin the experience of your lovely new kitchen with an irksome disposal. You already have the switch hook-up, so it wouldn't make sense to change to a batch feed style, and the Insinkerator is a well-made model, and quiet too. Just my $.02.

Here is a link that might be useful: Insinkerator Evolution Essential Disposal

I completely understand what you mean. My parents used to have a Sinkmaster disposer that was the same way. I believe that they are made by Waste King. The splash guard is so stiff that you had to jam the food into it. Most of the time the guard would get caught on the utensil and come out while the disposer was running. I was so happy when it died and they bought an ISE. Any food near the opening usually gets sucked in by the flow of water.