Garbage disposal

Does it look like I have room for a garbage disposal? I've never installed one and not sure about the drain line, will it be an issue if the existing drain line (where it goes into the wall) is higher than the bottom of the disposal. Where is the drain line usually located on the disposal? The tape measure is at the bottom of the sink.[ATTACH][/ATTACH]

 

The disposal drain outlet will not be at the bottom of the unit. It will be about halfway up the unit. Google "under sink disposals" and you'll see where the drain exits. You will most likely tap into the horizontal line or maybe the short vertical line before the trap.

 

Looks to me like you have plenty of room.

 

Just for curiosity sake, why did you decide you need a disposal? When we decided to remodel our kitchen, my wife wanted a disposal. If we used it a dozen times since, it's a lot. A disposal seems like the least need appliance. I see very little need for one.

 

Disposals are a great way to plug your drains. Flushing things down the drain that ought to go right in the garbage. But to each his own.

At any rate, I would definitely change that whole drain configuration if you add a disposal. I wouldn't want the tee laid horizontal. They tend to backflow. IMO its much better when the disposal can run horizontally then tee into a vertical section of pipe before it drops down to the trap.

 

I like the way you phrase things!

 

Thanks for all of your inputs, I didn't realize they can cause pipes to clog. I may have to talk my wife out of it, after all we have lived here without one for 19 years LOL

 

Not a plumber, nor a handyman, by trade anyway, but fairly handy and seemingly first or second call for a lot of family, friends, and neighbors, so a bit more experience than I sometimes prefer in regard to waste systems. I don't think there is a thing wrong with garbage disposers when kept in perspective, and perspective in the case of a residential unit means not becoming too reliant on or complacent with them. The list of no's is endless; no egg shells, no leaves, no stalks, no meat, no bones, no fat, etc. But a very handy place to rinse off the Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner plates after they have all been scraped into a trash bag. For the past 30+ years we've had a disposer, along with a septic system, and I honestly believe that our disposer has never contributed to a waste line problem. Meanwhile though, I've seen conclusive evidence of someone dumping a roaster or whatever down the drain and ending up with a congealed mangle of recurring problems in their lines. I guess my point is that some things are going to make it into the waste lines, simply by rinsing out bowls or whatever, and, personally, I feel better about helping to break them down a bit more than just laying there for a while to possibly stink up the drain. But, as far as making solids go away, no, that, in my opinion, is not the purpose of a residential disposer.