Pretty much all garbage disposals are made by Insinkerator or Waste King.

I believe that Kitchenaid garbage disposal that your appliance stores are recommending are made by Insinkerator.

The Insinkerator Evolution series garbage disposers are quieter than the Waste King units. The Evolution series is also made in the USA (at least the last time I checked). It is up to you to decide if the added cost is worth it to you.

The Waste King disposers work well though. But they're noiser and made in China.

My son is a plumber and he put in Insinkerator's 1 HP unit in my sink. He is not a big fan of Waste King.

I am not personally familiar with the unit linked so have no opinion other than the likelihood of it's being noisy as I note there is no insulation. Then, again, they're all inherently noisy....it's just a matter of degree.

However, both Waste King and ISE have offered "contractor special" el-cheapo units that still carry their otherwise-respected brand names for decades. They are almost literally junk. They're made and sold expressly for cost-conscious builders to save money but still display a brand-name on the installed item. They sell them by the pallet-load into that market. They almost always last long enough to get them beyond their own warranty period. The one I've encountered most often is the infamous "Badger" series by ISE.

Mid-to-upper level versions by both mfgrs are very capable long-lasting machines. Just be sure you know the difference instead of being fooled by a respected name on an inferior unit.

You might check Pexsupply.com for Evolution prices.

Also, $100 is high for an air switch. It is only slighly less than the price of a Waste King fiberoptic switch from an internet dealer.

kas

what's the advantage of the fiberoptic switch instead of an air switch? it still seems to be a hole in the counter?

is IS evolution the best then?

We bought our garbage disposer from Costco on special for 89.99. I found good reviews online for it. Its quieter than our last disposal and backed by Costcos guarantee we decided it was the way to go. We probably dont need to run our disposal for more than 30 seconds at a time and it devours everything we put in.

i ordered a waste king and my plumber was unimpressed when he came to install it. he hooked it up, cut the supply line on and the water rushed out everywhere. DW ran out to big box store and came back w/ ISE evolution.. whisper quiet and will handle all we throw at it.

"......my plumber was unimpressed when he came to install it. he hooked it up, cut the supply line on and the water rushed out everywhere."

With respect....this story is deceptively incomplete. You're making it sound as if the unit itself was absolutely responsible for your trouble. I don't know what happened but I can tell you that brand new disposals -- even the cheapest -- don't just spew water out everywhere when the supply-line is turned on. Unless, of course, your plumber didn't know what he was doing or, perhaps, had another agenda in-play.

I'm not there. I don't know. But your story doesn't pass the sniff-test.

Glad you like your ISE evolution (that's what I have) but I have zero doubt you've got the wrong idea about what happened with the other one.

uhm, well as i stood there watching water spew all into my new cabinet, so, yeah, my plumber (who i've used for years) and i were markedly unimpressed. his comments about the waste king dealt more with how loud they tended to be versus ISE.
and yes, he hooked it up properly..no agenda.
you are right about one thing..you weren't there(here) and i'm perfectly aware of what happened, as i watched it all from feet away.

"....i'm perfectly aware of what happened, as I watched it all from feet way."

OK, good. Can you say what happened, then? Properly hooked up disposers do not spontaneously spew water everywhere....unless something unusual happened. I am interested in learning what that may have been. Was it a blown connection, for example, that allowed the water to spew? A fractured enclosure, perhaps? Did your plumber friend tell you what happened? Did he identify the problem with the Waste King unit that caused it to spew water everywhere?

Not going to harp on it. Will not post again. Simply would like to know what happened -- if you know -- because of what I consider to be the unusualness of your description.

ok...
Bruce (my plumber of many years) came to install the dishwasher, Touch2o faucet and Waste King disposal in that order. Dishwasher connected, faucet installed, supply lines connected, disposal installed and connected. Supply lines turned on, and faucet tested..water leaked out from the housing.
The housing did not appear to be compromised in any way(no visible fractures)..all I know is (based on Bruce's explanation) that once water came out of the housing, in all likelihood the motor would be shot. I contacted the retailer where I purchased said disposal, and was told to send back the serial# plate and they issued credit. My spouse went to a big box store, purchased the ISE and Bruce came back and installed..no leaks.
that's what I know...

Oh good! This has turned into a flaming debate. Just what we need. I too have oened both a top of the line Waste King and an Insinkerator. My Waste king worked fine until the seal around the body began to leak. Tee only way to change it was to remove the nut on top of the imopllor plate. That proved to be no easy task and eventually I stripped the nut making it impossible. I went with a Sears InSinkerator the last time. It was a 1HP version and had good insulation and cost about $100 less thatn the ISE because they were running a loss leadet sale the day I walded in. I'd look ou where you can get the best deal on an ISE.

It sounds like chef dupre had a defective product. It does happen. To be fair, it's unlikely that every Waste King out of the box will be defective. The good news for cottonpenny is that the unit she linked has a lifetime in-home warranty. I believe every Waste King with at least a 1HP motor carries a lifetime in-home warranty.

I don't own a Waste King. Every GD I've owned thus far has been an ISE. But, last year when I was in the market for a new GD for my kitchen reno I was looking at the one cottonpenny linked. It was either recycle my old ISE batch feed or this Eco Waste King continuous model. In the end I didn't have room in my sink base, so I went with nothing. I still have my old ISE in the garage.

Sorry I'm not much help on the Waste King, but I just wanted to mention the warranty, because for me, that and the fact that it came through Costco, was a selling point and gave me some confidence had I purchased the GD.

"This has turned into a flaming debate"

Not at all. Question asked. Question answered. No flames.

I've had experience with many, many disposals installing, diagnosing, etc. In four decades, I've not had a single one do what chef dupre's did. Accordingly, I was very interested to learn specifics of the event described. He was kind enough to describe it in more detail.

Who knew garbage disposals would be so contentious? ;-)

Worst case scenario if I buy a Waste King and it doesn't work, I can return it to Costco easy peasy and get a new one. Even if it doesn't work in a few years I can do that. I have replaced a garbage disposal by myself once when the one I had started leaking (when I was a single, 20-something woman) so it's not that hard.

I think it's a risk I'm willing to take.

Fiberoptic switches seem cool but strike me as possibly not as child-safe as an air switch?

Off hand, I can't think of any safety difference. Even if the child pulled the unit apart and tried to damage his retina using the light, it wouldn't be more hazardous than poking his eye with the air line from the alternative switch. I think that the LED flashlights now gracing hardware store counters have higher intrinsic brightness (W/cm2/sr) than the light emitted from the fiber used for this control unit (assuming one pulled the fiber out of the switch after crawling into the base cabinet and somehow reaching the area under the switch). (I can barely do that myself without pulling the GD.)

kas

I've never seen anything but a regular 120V wall switch for a disposer. What are the advantages, or is is just something to use in an island installation? Any link would be appreciated.

I believe it is intended as a safety measure for switching devices in or near wet locations. For example, hot tubs and jacuzzi tubs typically have air-switches to turn their jets on and off. It avoids any chance of the person using the switch potentially becoming part of the circuit via conductivity of moisture. The actual make/break electrical contact can be kept remote from the switch itself.

atto:

An air or FO switch can be mounted into the counter where it can be more easily reached. Counter placement eliminates a wall switch, but adds a small device to the counter. Mine are next to the faucet controls.

kas

I guess I was thinking it would be easier to turn it on...just touching the button rather than having to press it down.

The FO buttun is not contact sensitive as for some range tops. There is a bit of a push required. Actual motion is probably of the order of a millimeter, working from memory.

kas

I installed a one HP KA about two years ago. I got it online at a good price with free shipping and no sales tax. It is activated by a simple wall switch on the backsplash, about 18 inches down from the sink. It is pretty quiet and works great. Very good motor. Having said that, I think you can't go wrong with Costco. They seem to sell good products and great prices and you can't beat the return policy, so if you like what they have I think that would be an excellent option.

I think the major question is what will you be putting down the disposal. If no corn husks or artichoke leaves and no bones other than chicken bones plus your ability to switch out a disposal if needed and Costco's great return policy equals a great dollar value. If like me you live where raccoons,dogs, and crows get into trash containers and you will grind most food waste then either Evolution Excel,Viking 1000 or for heavy bone grinding even an ISE LC50-light commercial rating-high list price but recently I see a few online around $500.,could be a more trouble free choice. My previous ISE 77,not777,worked 19 years before leaking. 3 years ago I read Volsboy's advice here on GardenWeb and since the Evolution Excel was not sold here in Canada then,it is now, I bought the Viking 1000-10 yr warranty,on sale,it is great but the EXCEL is probably the quietest disposal you can buy,try the in store demo.

I agree with the above poster that the top of the line for grinding most food waste would be insinkerator. You could do a comparison of both Waste King vs Insinkerator to see which one is better for your needs.

Here is a link that might be useful: Garbage Disposal Reviews