Garbage Disposal

Yep, this blog entry is about a garbage disposal.

Before leaving Hawaii in November I noticed a small leak under the sink. Added this to my To Do List that included calling a plumber. I even looked up the phone number, but secretly hoped that in the three intervening months the rust corroding the flange between the disposal and sink will somehow seal itself shut and dry. Of course things like that never happen.

Shortly after my arrival back in Hawaii I inspect the situation in the kitchen. Leaking a little bit more. Never having the experience of installing a disposal I took a shot at it. Installation? Not too difficult. Extracting an old rusty coupling, and snap ring? Ah, that was a different story.

With the help of a guy named Jim, a Lowes employee who had been a rocket scientist in a previous life, I located a new flange and sink drain housing. “Looks more complicated than I thought”, I told him. Not really he assured me. And explained the process in detail. The reason he did this was because he has sent his wife on some wild chases after things and wanted to be as helpful to me as he expects others to be toward his wife. A good Christian sort of thing.


Armed with bolt buster and plumber’s putty I left the store on a mission. After saturating the rusty coupling rings I began to whack away at the rust. I hadn’t seen that much oxidized metal since I left the harbor in Micronesia. The stuff fell off in chunks like stalactites from a cave’s ceiling. I never thought I would have enough muscle to get the two frozen pieces of metal apart. After a series of sprayings and whackings the disposal began to work its way off the coupling. But there was still a welded snap ring under the rust on the flange and sink drain. I would not have known it was there except I had the replacement part to compare and examine.

More spray and finally the rusted “Jesus ring” appeared. A whack or two later and it fell off. With a little bit more muscle the top coupling dropped off and the old sink drain was free. Rust and caked plumber putty everywhere. Neither tasted very good.

Since I tore everything apart I took little note of how the bottom coupling piece attached to the disposal housing. I concluded that the rusted bottom coupling came with the disposal and that needed to be cleaned as I didn't have a replacement part. While I didn’t get down to bear metal, a good bit of the corrosion was removed with a hammer and chisel. My finger nails were stained like I had a very bad nicotine habit.

During another trip to the hardware store to get a wire brush I discovered that I need the gasket in order to reattach the old bottom coupling to the disposal. This was just a lucky accident. Still it took some mock installations before I figured out how everything would go together. I still can't believe that the gasket holds this thirty pound piece of equipment to the coupling. But it does. Or at least it does in this installation.

Jim offered a last bit of advice. “After you put the putty in place and press down on the sink’s top flange, go have a beer. Let it set a bit before you tighten it all the way. It’s a hydraulic thing. In five minutes it will be ready to tighten up.”

“Takes me more than five minutes to drink a beer.” I haven’t ever drunk a beer.

“Good, you’ll be all set then.”

That was the easy part. To install the disposal I wedged myself completely under the sink and got my legs in place so I could lift and wedge it into position while Dad aligned the unit so I wouldn’t have to replumb anything. Some more hammering required, although directions said, “Simply turn into place.” Nothing like using a hammer on something other than a nail. It took some contortion to get out from behind the disposal and p-trap.

Now I got papaya seeds being ground to smithereens. No drips, no runs and no errors. Add another skill to the resume.