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A food disposer takes the place of a sink basket and drain piece on one of the kitchen sink bowls. To install this appliance, consult the installation instructions that come with the unit, because the steps vary among brands. Here are the basic steps for installing any food disposer:
  1. Remove the sink basket (if one was installed).

  2. Send the sink sleeve (which replaces the sink basket and secures the disposer to the sink bowl) through the hole in the sink bottom and secure the sleeve to the bowl by using the gasket and mounting rings, following the unit’s installation instructions.

    The gaskets and mounting rings keep the sink sleeve from leaking when you run water. There are two mounting rings: the upper mounting ring and a backup mounting ring. There’s also a snap ring that goes into the groove on the backup mounting ring as extra security for keeping the unit in place.

  3. Lift the disposer and align the mounting lugs (small, rolled curls of metal attached to the mounting ring) and mounting ears (90-degree angled metal cliplike pieces also attached to the mounting ring near the lugs) with the mounting screws located between the upper and backup mounting rings.

    The mounting screws are threaded. The lugs and ears are located on the lower mounting ring, which is attached to the disposer housing (the main body of the unit).

    Turn the disposer clockwise until it’s supported on the mounting assembly (sleeve and mounting rings).

  4. Attach the discharge tube (a short, approximately 90-degree plastic elbow where the waste and water is discharged) to the discharge opening (the larger hole in the side of the housing).

    The tube uses a rubber gasket and metal flange to secure it and keep it from leaking.

  5. If you’re draining your dishwasher through the disposer, remove the plug in the smaller dishwasher nipple and attach the dishwasher drain hose to the nipple with a hose clamp.

    If you don’t have a dishwasher, do not remove the plug! If you remove the plug but don’t have a hose to connect to the nipple, the water will spew out the hole.

  6. Connect the drain line pipe from the sink drain setup to the disposer’s discharge tube with a slip nut and washer.

    You may need to cut either the discharge tube or the drain line pipe to fit.

  7. Lock the disposer in place by using the disposer wrench (included with the unit).

    Insert the wrench into one of the mounting lugs on the lower mounting ring and turn it clockwise until it locks.

A standard plug-end cord is the electrical power connection for most disposers. But you do need to connect the cord to the motor wires. Here’s how:
  1. Remove the disposer’s bottom plate.

  2. Strip off about 1/2 inch of insulation from each wire of the power cord.

  3. Connect like-color wires by using wire connectors.

  4. To ground the unit, attach the green ground wire from the power supply to the green ground screw that will be on the disposer housing.

    The screw is easy to spot, because it’s actually painted green.

  5. Gently push all the wires in and reinstall the bottom plate.

  6. Plug in the cord and you’re good to go!

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