Customer Reviews

Waste King L-3300 Legend Series 3/4 HP Continuous Feed Operation Waste Disposer

5 star:		(112)
4 star:		(37)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I bought this disposer because of the excellent review that it was given by Consumer Reports. I guess it was a good value and it works well enough but it's so small that you have to dispose of stuff in small batches. The opening into the sink is so small that if something small falls into it, that's not supposed to go in there, you can't get your fingers past your knuckles and have to fish it out with tongs or some other type of implement.

I purchased this garbage disposal as a gold-box deal. I had been shopping around and comparing prices, but had already picked the Waste King brand because of their great reviews and Consumer Reports recommendation. My previous garbage disposal was 1/3 horsepower and did not work at all. I was unsure of what motor speed I needed for my new model so when it came up on GB for a great price, I jumped at it. And I am so happy with the purchase.

It is my opinion that I would like too much power than not enough power and this was a good choice for my household. In my household, it is me and my husband and we do not put a lot down the disposal but do have remnants from dinner and the occasional potato or apple peels. This handles all our food without any problems. It is relatively quiet (for a garbage disposal), and was easy to install.

I am very happy with this product!

This is the second garbage disposal I have had to replace (in two houses) in the last ten years. The originally-installed disposals, as well as the first replacement model I purchased, were noisemakers, to be run only when you don't need to hear the TV sound in the next room. They also were not particularly effective, as I still got plugged drains from coarsely-ground food scraps. The Waste King L-3300 is much quieter and really pulverizes those scraps. Plus, the installation was much easier than the three-screw mounting system that seems to be the norm for other models. Make no mistake, this is a heavy unit and it is non-trivial to hold it up to the mounting flange while you twist the mounting collar to complete the installation, but it only takes a few minutes for that step, and a burly helpful neighbor or husband will suffice. That, or (hint) use your car's tire jack (scissor type) to hoist the unit into place while you tighten the ring.

I didn't realize how noisy my old disposal was until the first time I turned on my new WasteKing. I actually thought the new one was stalled and quickly turned it off. What a difference. It actually sounds smooth. Happy surprize!

The installation went well (4 hours). I ordered the kit that would make installation with the old disposer. Amazon cancelled the order because it was out of stock but I did not need it. I just followed the instructions for the new Easy Mount and did not have any problems. No leaks. The big problem with all disposers is the dishwasher connection hose(seems that a hose could made that is flexable and easy).

Just hope it lasts over the 10 years as they warranty it for.

If you are replacing an InSinkErator Badger 5 disposer with a Waste King 3300 disposer on a clay or cast iron sink requiring an extended flange, simply buy the Waste King 3300 disposer and the Waste King 3101 ISE Adapter Kit. That is all you need to get the job done. Actually, even with a regular sink install, to make the job easy and to not have to deal with removing the old flange if it is in good shape and seating a new flange with plumbers putty and all, the adapter kit would save you the trouble.

I replaced an 8 yr old InSinkErator Badger 5 disposer with a Waste King 3300 and am pleased. Although the Badger was a bit more quiet when running without food, the Waste King noise is not objectionable, although with all the foam padding surrounding the Waste King (that is why it looks so fat), it may be more quiet when grinding food and likely faster. Comparing the Badger 5 to the Waste King on the insides, the Badger seems to have a much larger hole in the grinding chamber through which the waste is discharged, which might explain why my drain kept getting clogged every 6-months or so (no pasta, veggies, rice, or bread; made that mistake years ago; just an occasional coffee ground left over in the hopper and eggshells (apparently eggshells don't dissolve with chemical drain cleaner as that is what I pulled back when routing out the clog about 60 feet down the pipe; rent the 75 ft. powered plumbers auger snake at Home Depot if you are handy. Cover it with a tarp when retracting the cable or you'll spray your kitchen with drain water from the spinning cable, learned that lesson). Ultimately I replaced the Badger due to the plastic case cracking and leaking which is a common occurrence per the other Badger reviews. I had sealed the obvious crack with JB Weld epoxy which bought me another year of life but started leaking somewhere else.

Now to the Waste King sink and flange issue. I have a Shaw clay farmer sink which required the use of an extended flange for the Badger ($100 for the standard brushed stainless steel flange), which used a 3-bolt plus rotating ring mount system (the flange is held on by the 3-bolt mount, and the disposer is held on by a rotating ring). Frankly, I had thought I had an EZ mount since it had the rotating ring; not. The EZ mount flange of the Waste King appeared in the photos to be longer and of a different design, so I was thinking that the included flange would work for my sink if it was not a direct replacement for the Badger mount. Wrong. If your sink needs or already has an extended flange, order the Waste King 3101 ISE Adapter Kit from Amazon for under nine dollars (best deal and 3-day delivery for five dollars), and your installation will be a snap. The included instructions for the adaptor kit are not clear as the assembled parts do not look like the sketches in the instructions. Go to the Waste King website and review the excellent video installation guide for the adaptor.

The included Waste King flange is a polished stainless steel sheet metal ring covering on a black plastic body. You can see the inside of the black plastic flange when looking into the drain. Not especially attractive if you have a brushed nickel faucet and a white clay sink. Polished stainless or chrome fixtures are so 70's and I would worry about scratches over time, but I'll never know. But since money is tight I was going to use it anyway, but couldn't. But now I have an old InSinkErator flange which looks like new (which is solid stainless but for $100 what do you expect) with a Waste King disposer, but at least brushed SS looks enough like brushed nickel that it blends in. After extensive search it appears that Waste King only offers an extended flange for their 3-bolt mount system which is not adaptable to the Waste King EZ mount system disposers.

Why not simply buy the 3-bolt Waste King disposer thinking that it will be a direct replacement for the Badger 3-bolt mount? Not. From the specification sheet, the Waste King 3-bolt mount doesn't look anything like the Badger 3-bolt rotating ring mount so it is not a direct fit. The Waste King 3-bolt mount system uses a hose clamp to attach the disposer to the flange, not a locking ring. Imagine tightening a hose clamp with a screw driver with one hand while holding a heavy disposer with the other hand. Forget it.

By the way, the drain discharge tube on the Waste King 3300 was the same length as on the Badger 5 so the drain plumbing connected perfectly without pipe cutting or replacing. I used the rubber dishwasher coupler and hose clamp that came with the dishwasher with the new Waste King. My coupler is simply a rubber hose that couples the rigid plastic dishwasher discharge hose to the Waste King dishwasher nipple. The Badger 5 and Waste King 3300 have the same nipple diameter (don't forget to knock out the white plug in the dishwasher nipple if you are connecting a dishwasher). You might want to check the coupler before the new disposer arrives in case it is showing it's age as it may need replacing. Besides what came in the box, I only needed plumbers putty since I tried to replace the drain flange. Otherwise, all you need to install the disposer is a flat head screw driver for assemblying the discharge elbow to the disposer and for loosening and tightening the Badger ring, assuming your drain pipe is plastic and can be loosened and tightened by hand.

Is all of this trouble worth buying the Waste King versus just getting another Badger at HD? I say yes, as the Waste King looks to be a superior disposer for the money with a 10-year in-home warranty. I don't know how they can afford to do that with an under $100 disposer.

About the product itself: Our previous garbage disposal was only 1/3 horsepower and was much louder than this one. It's so nice to have a brand new garbage disposal that is much quieter and more powerful. Of course, it's brand new, so I can't speak for its longevity, but thus far, we're very pleased. I'm stoked that it accepts bones, pits, and coffee grounds. With our old disposal, we had to throw these in the garbage.

About the install: Took me about 2 hours to install, not counting the time it took to run to the local hardware store to grab Plumber's Putty ($2) and a hacksaw ($5). (If you have a steel sink, you will use the rubber gasket that comes with this product, but if you have a ceramic sink, you will need Plumber's Putty). The only kink I ran into while installing it was that the elbow pipe that came with the unit was too long - I needed to saw off about 4 inches, which was incredibly easy with a simple, cheap hacksaw. I followed the directions meticulously and slowly - and all went well! Be sure to pay close attention to the diagrams so that you put all the pieces together precisely as indicated. If you can follow directions, you can self-install this disposal without a problem!

We purchased the Waste King about 2 weeks ago and it seems really worthwhile. Installation was not a problem and it seems to work without a hitch. We previously had an Insinkerator, however the Waste King is significantly quieter and cheaper! It does seem to use quite a bit of water to push the food waste through. We purchased the 3/4 horsepower version, being told by a Waste King rep that 1 hp was too much for a household and 1/2 hp would be sufficient for a single person or a couple. Overall, I'd recommend this product.

Consumer Reports Magazine rated the Waste King 3300 Series a positive buy in its August 2009 Kitchen issue.

And it is a solid performer in the sink.

The Waste King is quiet. It is well designed. It is built in the USA by the Anahiem Manufacturing Company on La Palma Avenue here in SoCal; so it's local too!

A ten year guarantee and an 800 area code phone number for customer service answered by Americans in North America back it up.

And it's worth every dime I paid for it.

The only flaw is the sink stopper that comes with it. That hard plastic part has a soft rubber ring that fell out after two months.

This is one great waste disposer! It weighs much less than our old 3/4 HP Insinkerator, so was easier to install. The blades turn about 1000 RPM faster, so it grinds waste quicker. It is much quieter. And most importantly, it has a 10 year in home warranty. How many companies provide anything close to that these days? Waste King must have a great deal of confindence in this product.