I've got an Insinkerator that has started leaking. It is hard wired, but I want to replace it with a Waste King, which has a cord. If I hard wire in the Waste King, what do I do with the cord - just cut it off and cap off the exposed wire ends somehow? Or does it unplug neatly from somewhere inside the housing? Maybe if I had one in my hands to look at, it would be obvious and I wouldn't need to ask the question, but alas...

 

Why not install an outlet in the junction box & use the plug?

 

Do you have 3/8" flex/armored cable coming from the switch? That situation is common around here.
If so, you should add a new handy box inside the sink base cabinet and install a receptacle as said above.

I would not recommend trying to hard wire a Waste King disposer. The wiring box at the bottom is very shallow and badly designed. It's a task just to get the cover off, let alone wire it.

ISE is easier to hard wire, but I wouldn't even recommend that. A cord and receptacle is the way to go.

 

The cable coming in is not armored, just as is and zip tied to the piping. I take it this is a no-no, shouldn't have been done? (Every repair, refresh, replacement I do in this house, I keep finding things that were done cheaply, incorrectly, backwards, half-assedly....really annoying.) OK, I won't go the hard wire route, I'll go with putting in an outlet. Never done it before, but seems straightforward enough. I've posted some pictures of the under sink area, and have some additional questions.

Best place to put the outlet? I guess out of the way and up high is better than low?

Do I need to enclose any exposed romex in armor?

Does it look like a Waste King 2600 would fit? It's an inch wider than the current Insinkerator, and the elbow going into the drain pipe is very short.

The current dishwasher is just to the left, and also hard wired, but on a different circuit. We're also going to replace the dishwasher, so can I get a corded model and bring the cord into the under sink cabinet and plug into the same outlet as the disposer? If so, I guess I would need to abandon the dishwasher circuit? Or would that be too many amps on one circuit, and I should either hard wire the new dishwasher or make a separate outlet on that circuit for it?

 

Where the hole in wall where wire comes out I would put a OLD WORK BOX. Unless new GD is exactly the same I would plan on changing your whole trap setup.