With my assistance, Mike installed the new disposer in the farmhouse sink – not just once but four times. It began with hours and ended up being days. To tell you the truth, I was going to gloss over all the trouble we had, thinking it must be related to the aging process. And while that kicks in now and then, after talking to a few people and reading the reviews on this disposer – the InSinkErator Badger 900 – I decided that maybe it isn’t just us after all.
For some reason, we thought we wanted a hefty unit, so we bought the 900. The old unit had been an InSinkErator, and we
thought it would be easier to replace with the same brand. The Badger
900 is heavy, and it takes someone who works out regularly (or a glutton for
punishment) to lie flat on his back and lift it while the assistant guides the
placement. So – after much effort, when the first installation was in place, we
congratulated ourselves, but it leaked, so we dejectedly took it back out and applied more sealant. Once in place again, it
still leaked, apparently at the drain rim.
Well, I can’t keep track of all the ins and outs, but we finally thought it was good and we ran the dishwasher. Long story short, it didn’t pump out, and we naturally thought the worst – that the pump had failed. The dishwasher is 20 years old, after all.
That
brings me to Friday (May 20), when son Murray came for lunch. I was happy to
let him be first assistant for a while. With his assistance, Mike reinstalled
the disposer, and they disconnected the dishwasher and pushed it to the sunporch.
Mike’s plan was to remove the motor assembly for repair or replacement, but fortunately,
he didn’t have the right tool.
In the process of reading disposer tutorials on Saturday, I came across a helpful bit of info. “And note,” said the narrator, “if you are connecting a dishwasher to your disposer, you will need to knock out the plug where you connect the dishwasher drain.” We felt pretty stupid, but both son Milo and brother Chuck said, "I've done that."
So, Mike knocked out the plug and reinstalled the disposer. Then we pushed the dishwasher back into place and ran it with no problems. We congratulated ourselves that we were finally successful -- that is, until I used the disposer while preparing Sunday dinner. I just poured a little meat juice down the disposer and ran it, but it smoked! In discussion with an appliance repairman, he suggested we check connections – which Mike did – and just return it as faulty if everything looked okay. It did look okay – and we have now returned it.
So – we spent virtually all week coping with this problem, and it isn’t over yet. KW
[I took the pictures here on a hike with Bess on
Friday, May 20.]
5 comments:
The pictures are springlike. It looks as if the fields are planted. Maybe farmer Kyle will have a crop after all, even if he does nothing..
Good luck with the disposer saga.
Hi Chuck!
So true -- it's hard to tell what's planted and what isn't I suppose that's volunteer wheat coming up.
That big sprayer -- whatever they call it -- made deep ruts in the mud in June's field.
Oh my gracious!! What a nightmare. Putting those things in is never fun, but usually goes better than this. And I hate, hate being the "first assistant" as I'm always afraid I'll goof up and ending up maiming or killing Dan. Actually, Dan is not too keen on my using the disposal, so I usually end up tossing or composting the stuff that would go down. I guess it's a left-over from when we lived in Clarkston and had a septic tank. I hope your new one is a different brand and installs effortlessly or as close to it as could happen. Ah, as Gilda Radner said, there's always something!
Hi Chris!
You are so much better than I am -- putting Dan's welfare above your own. When I'm the assistant, I worry that I will be hurt!
Yes, we compost kitchen scraps and give Bess the plate scrapings. Very little goes down the disposer, and that's good!
So true -- always something! But after 15-20 years in a house, we have to expect that.
I have lived with and without a disposal and have come to prefer not having one. I don't like how they can smell and I don't like worrying if something has accidentally fallen down there. We ended up getting one during the kitchen remodel on account of details about having a dishwasher and needing an air gap mabobber if we didn't have a disposal.
Here's hoping the next installation goes well!
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