How to Install or Replace a Garbage Disposal
A garbage disposal is mounted to the bottom of a sink drain with a mounting ring and can be replaced with some basic tools in about an hour. Installing or replacing a garbage disposal is necessary when the existing disposal wears out or becomes damaged. The old disposal can become bound up or clogged to the point that it no longer works properly. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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1
Shut off the circuit breaker to the garbage disposal at the breaker box before attempting to install or replace the disposal. Unfasten the drain pipe from the back of the existing garbage disposal with an adjustable wrench, and turn the lock ring on the top of the disposal to loosen it from the mounting ring.
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2
Place a plastic bucket underneath the garbage disposal, and rotate the disposal until it comes loose from the mounting ring. Turn the garbage disposal over, and drain any water from the unit into the bucket.
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3
Unfasten the screws that are securing the cover plate to the bottom of the disposal with a screwdriver, and set the plate out of the way. Pull the electrical wires out of the base so you can access them, and unfasten the wire nuts from the wires. Make a note of how the wires are connected inside the disposal.
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4
Remove the electrical wire from the side of the disposal and, with a screwdriver, unfasten the screws that secure the mounting ring to the bottom of the sink drain. Take the mounting ring off the drain, and remove the drain flange from the drain.
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5
Discard the old garbage disposal and remove any remaining putty or debris from the top of the sink drain with a putty knife and damp cloth. Slide a rubber flange onto the bottom of the new drain flange, and set the drain flange over the top of the sink drain.
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6
Place the rubber gasket over the bottom of the drain flange from underneath the sink and position the mounting ring over the bottom of the flange. Secure the mounting flange with screws until the flange is snug with the top of the sink drain, and place the snap ring over the bottom of the flange.
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7
Unfasten the screws on the bottom plate of the new garbage disposal with the screwdriver, and run the electrical wire from the power supply through the hole in the side of the new disposal. Fasten the electrical wires to the wires in the bottom of the disposal the same way they were originally attached, and twist the wires together with the wire nuts.
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8
Push the electrical wires back into the bottom of the new disposal, and reattach the cover plate to the bottom of the disposal. Place the new garbage disposal onto the mounting ring, and turn it until the drain hole is facing the drain pipe.
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9
Attach the drain pipe to the garbage disposal, and turn the disposal on the mounting ring until it is tight, rotating the lock ring to secure the disposal. Turn the circuit breaker for the disposal on at the breaker box.
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Tips & Warnings
To avoid electric shock, always shut off the circuit breaker to the garbage disposal at the breaker box before attempting to replace the disposal.
