Cronological age means little. Use and power feed are more important for figuring replacement issues. We had an Insinkerator in our new house for 9 years---sold the house to a fellow I worked with----who told me everything that he had to fix---never mentioned the disposer. Moved into a mobile, installed an Insinkerator that lasted 12 years----and died from having the motor damaged by low voltage problems---makes the motor over heat. The replacement was a Badger---was 15 years old when we moved. Leave it.

We've always had a half horse power disposal, never realizing the difference because, well, I didn't know how to research back then. We had similar problems back when we had a SS sink....but our disposal literally rattled the sink wall, not just the sink. And loud.....if I was talking to someone standing next to me while I turned on disposal, I held my hand up, as in "Stop" so they could stop talking until I turned off the disposal otherwise I couldn't hear what they said. With this unplanned kitchen remodel, I figured I might as well get a larger disposal (six adults) so started searching. Boy, talk about sticker shock!!! Never realized there was so much to learn about disposals! I found many new disposals on Craigs List but after reviewing them here and other sites like Epinions, I decided against them. Then one day I was looking for a small iron shelving unit and didn't click the right search buttons I guess, and a garbage disposal came up in a Yard Sale Listing. I researched it and found a few negatives but not near as many as the other disposals I had reviewed. Disposal was still in the box, wrapped in original plastic with warranty still good. This disposal....actually the first time we ran it I thought it was broken...it was so quiet! And boy, does it gobble up the quap! I've cleaned it each week with a small chunk of a fresh lemon and so far, so good, no problems and performs wonderfully.

It's not a problem to redo the piping under the sink in order to accommodate a larger garbage disposal. Call a local plumber for a quote.

M Miller - Why did't I contact WasteKing? Honestly it never occurred to me. The garbage disposal had consistent issues with certain classes of waste. It chewed through anything hard and solid. That is where the power of the motor comes into play. The design of a garbage disposal is muck more than simply the motor. Just like a car and pretty much every other product. You can chose to believe me or not. Really does not matter to me. I am simply relating my experience with the 1hp Wasteking, Legend Series I got from Costco. My previous Insinkerator had its issue with raw chicken skin. I did not think to call and complain about that either. It was just a matter of using the correct tool for the job. I am glad that Wasteking works well for you. For me it did not. I was much happier with the Insinkerator and felt it was worth the additional cost. Not everyone will agree with me. That is fine. Competition is great for any industry so I am happy there are other options out there. aliceinwonderland_id - I have to disagree with you on the landfill. With the way Garbage is compacted many landfills have an issue with getting enough oxygen down to the organic waste to decompose it. If you run enough water in your disposal it will flush the waste all the way to the main pipes where additional water flow will keep it moving. At least that is my theory :) More and more cities are setup to handle the "solid" waste and make use of it. Not that I don't believe you but would you point me to a link discussing the issues with Garbage Disposals and pipes/Ph, etc?