In-Sink-Erator Badger Garbage Disposal

Deteriorating/Leaking

Strengths: None

Weakness: Short life.

I bought a Badger 5 a couple years ago and a hole deteriorated on the side of it, now it is leaking. I'm replacing it with anything but another Insinkerator product.

By rnrone - Feb 17, 2010

Stay Away

Strengths: Price, supposed name recognition.

Weakness: You get what you pay for, name was not what I thought it was.

I bought the 1/2 h.p. In-sink-erator Badger 5 disposal about 2-1/2 years ago, which came with a 2 year warranty. When I purchased it, I assumed the 2 year warranty was not going to be an issue because the previous In-sink-erator I was replacing was over 10 years old, and it seemed less solid than the Badger 5 I just purchased. Funny things happen when you assume, it turns you into the first 3...
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I bought the 1/2 h.p. In-sink-erator Badger 5 disposal about 2-1/2 years ago, which came with a 2 year warranty. When I purchased it, I assumed the 2 year warranty was not going to be an issue because the previous In-sink-erator I was replacing was over 10 years old, and it seemed less solid than the Badger 5 I just purchased. Funny things happen when you assume, it turns you into the first 3 letters of the word assume, I know this, and I broke the golden rule of assuming.

Now about 6 months after the warranty on my Badger 5 expired I now have water leaking from a crack in the unit. Several of the other on-line compliants I've researched with the Badger 5 point to a crack in the housing with this unit, which seem to come shortly after the warranty expires.

Considering my last In-sink-erator lasted over 10 years, I assumed I would get at least 5 from this one, joke's on me I guess. I didn't realize this disposal was made by Emerson Electronics, which is the same company that makes all those cheap televisions, dvd players, and stereos found on end displays in drug stores. Not sure if the last In-sink-erator 10-year-life was a fluke, or if it was a good product at one time, but no longer?

Anyway, I have noticed that most of the favorable reviews here come from folks who just installed the Badger 5 (I've never understood posting favorable comments about a product that you haven't had long enough to know if it's reliable), but I'm sure those favorable comments might be later revised when their disposals start leaking just after warranty.

VERY, VERY DISAPPOINTED!!!!!

By anonymous; - Jan 2, 2009

Insinkerator Badger 5 is a good buy

Strengths: Long service life, easy to install, good price, clear instructions

Weakness: None

All the work came 12 years ago when I replaced my old garbage disposer with a Badger 5. That installation probably took six hours because the old unit was nothing like the new one. When the unit started leaking recently, I simply purchased another Badger 5. The replacement took half an hour with a minimum of tools needed. There were no changes to this unit which had any impact on the...
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All the work came 12 years ago when I replaced my old garbage disposer with a Badger 5. That installation probably took six hours because the old unit was nothing like the new one. When the unit started leaking recently, I simply purchased another Badger 5. The replacement took half an hour with a minimum of tools needed. There were no changes to this unit which had any impact on the installation. Everything lined up perfectly. I am impressed with the service life of this model. If I had replaced it when the rubber ring which minimimizes splashback started to deteriorate or when it started making too much noise (about a year ago) I could have avoided a puddle on the kitchen floor and a rush to get to the store on a Sunday before it closed. On the other hand, our dinner guests got to see how easy it is to replace this unit and the second half of the football game was awful so I didn't miss anything.

By HankHomeowner - Dec 1, 2008

Great simple disposal

Strengths: easy to install, works fine

Weakness: a little loud

After I accidentally dropped something into my old disposal (a step down from this one) I thought I had to call a plumber and get a new disposal installed since I know nothing about this stuff. Luckily I did some quick research and realized I could replace this thing on my own. I found this model In-sink-erator on Amazon, slightly better than the one I had for around $70. Looked the same, and...
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After I accidentally dropped something into my old disposal (a step down from this one) I thought I had to call a plumber and get a new disposal installed since I know nothing about this stuff.

Luckily I did some quick research and realized I could replace this thing on my own. I found this model In-sink-erator on Amazon, slightly better than the one I had for around $70. Looked the same, and reviews suggested I wouldn't have to switch any of the other parts out.

The toughest thing was removing the old one since I didn't understand at first how to "unscrew" it off the mounting bracket. Figured it out and had the new one in there in 10 minutes. Glad I didn't call a plumber as this was quite easy. The previous insinkerator came with the house so it lasted almost 9 years.

The disposal itself works fine, I have it hooked into a switch near the sink. It's a little loud, but they have other more expensive models that more quiet... but not something I really cared about much.

By blackcapten - Jul 30, 2008

In-Sink-Erator Badger-V

Strengths: Durable, reliable, well built, good price point

Weakness: None on the old model. Housing on new model doesn't seem as strong.

Replaced my first Badger-V with another one. The first one lasted over 16 years without a single day of trouble. Because of this reliability I purchased another one. Didn't even look at any other models. The Badger-V is reasonable priced for the quality of the product.

By grandpamoose - Apr 30, 2008