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.

I bought the Insinkerator Compact Food Waste Disposer to replace a leaky, poor-quality Gourmet King disposer that had been causing me problems ever since I moved into my place. The plumber told me that in order to replace my old one, he'd charge me $350 for labor and parts! When I finally asked what make and model of disposer he planned to replace my old one with, he said the Insinkerator Badger 5, which may be a good product, but I could've bought it for about $80 online, which meant the plumber was going to charge me close to $300 in labor!! So, after reading the reviews on Amazon, I decided to buy the Compact instead and try to install it myself. And sure enough, with some help from my boyfriend (who gets major kudos for this!), I was able to save over $150 by buying this one and installing it myself.As soon as you take it out of the box, you can tell that the Insinkerator Compact is a high-quality product. The materials feel strong and sturdy and it weighs quite a bit, so it definitely has a substantial motor. It's also good to know that Insinkerator offers a 4yr warranty, so be sure to register your prodcut once you install it. Moreover, there are plenty of online tutorials on how to install, so if you need a visual (not just the instructions in the package), go to YouTube and type in 'Insinkerator installation.' The company has it's own fool-proof video of how to install the disposer.The best part about this product is how quiet it is!! I sometimes wonder if it's really grinding stuff up because it's seriously half as loud as my old one, if not quieter! And it doesn't leak, which is also good. My old one had a major leakage problem and caused all sorts of water damage under my sink.Bottom line: If you're looking to replace your garbage disposal and want something quality, but don't want to spend a lot on a plumber or the super high-end Insinkerator, the Compact is just right as it's affordable, easy to install, looks and feels high-quality, and is great for small spaces. I would highly recommend!