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vaxvms
ferroequine fan
Premium Member
join:2005-03-01
Polar Park

vaxvms

Premium Member

Food disposer water temperature

The instructions for my garbage disposer say
Don't use hot water when grinding food waste.

What's wrong with hot water? What about warm water?

dandelion
MVM
join:2003-04-29
Germantown, TN

dandelion

MVM

It has to do with the possibility of clogging the plumbing according to this: »www.usinspect.com/blog/g ··· ot-water
MrFixit1
join:1999-11-26
Madison, WI

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If you use hot water , grease will tend to emulsify and build up on the downstream pipes . If you use cold water , grease will tend to remain in chunks and flush down .
Also some brands have a plastic liner that can distort from really hot water ( anything you can put your hands in is OK )
Using warm water with a little detergent in it will help to clean out the disposer . Just turn on the disposer when you are draining out the dishwater will do .

cableties
Premium Member
join:2005-01-27

cableties to vaxvms

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said by vaxvms:

...
What's wrong with hot water? What about warm water?

Well, from EXPERIENCE, hot water is a no. Warm is ok but warm-cold is best.

*experience: the drain hose is just spring-clipped on the (eerily quiet) Badger than I have. The hot water caused expansion and it slid right off the disposal. Water flowed out the cabinet under the sink. I now have my mop bucket under there incase I do dumb again.

ArgMeMatey
join:2001-08-09
Milwaukee, WI

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I use hot water all the time. Not necessarily on purpose but because I'm often washing or rinsing stuff in the sink with hot water and just using that water to lube the grinder.

It's more important to avoid getting fats and hydrogenated oils in your plumbing. That stuff goes in the trash. I use a paper towel to wipe fat from pans and cool cooking liquids to solidify grease before straining from the water. Sure, a small amount still ends up in the sewer but the only way to avoid that is to wash the pans in the back yard.

I've got an ISE 333 1/2 HP that's been in use since the mid-90s, and it's not showing any signs of trouble. Maybe every five years I remove the trap and clean the black gunk from the horizontal PVC pipe that leads to the 2" galvanized steel riser in the wall. I have never had to clean the 2" riser pipe or the 4" cast iron main.

pike
Premium Member
join:2001-02-01
Washington, DC

1 edit

pike to cableties

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Oof. The bucket is a good idea but why not invest 25¢ in a proper hose clamp and have some peace of mind?
averagedude
join:2002-01-30
San Diego, CA

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I can not speak to the other posts about FOG fats oils and grease clogging the drain(s) but...
In my line of work commercial garbage disposers use the "cold" water to "cool" the grinder motor.

CylonRed
MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County
·Metronet

CylonRed

MVM

said by averagedude:

In my line of work commercial garbage disposers use the "cold" water to "cool" the grinder motor.

I always thought this was the reason cold water was used in home disposals.

ArgMeMatey
join:2001-08-09
Milwaukee, WI

ArgMeMatey

Member

said by CylonRed:

said by averagedude:

In my line of work commercial garbage disposers use the "cold" water to "cool" the grinder motor.

I always thought this was the reason cold water was used in home disposals.

That's a good point ... could be a factor in some situations. But given that mine is approaching 20 years, doesn't seem it's been a major factor here.

cableties
Premium Member
join:2005-01-27

cableties to pike

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said by pike:

Oof. The bucket is a good idea but why not invest 25¢ in a proper hose clamp and have some peace of mind?

Because THAT makes too much sense!

Re: water cooling the grinder, I don't run it that long.

lef2011
@comcast.net

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The reason you are supposed to run cold water while running the garbage disposal is that the cold water cools the motor. If you run hot water consistently with a garbage disposal you will burn the motor out eventually.

tp0d
yabbazooie
Premium Member
join:2001-02-13
Bulger, PA

3 edits

tp0d

Premium Member

Bull SHIT to all of you.. (cept Argh)

Cold water is used in some commercial installs because its cheaper than hot. I`ve done two large commercial 1.5hp 240v disposer installs, and both were called out as to be piped hot.

The motor is NOT water cooled, it is air cooled. Even 1hp+ commercial.

Hot water will heat up the grease/fats and cause them to not stick until they reach the large underfloor piping, where the pipe is 4", compared to 1.5/2" max.

Hot water will not damage a aluminum/stainless disposer, which all commercial are, and any better quality residental is stainless..

I recommend all my customers to use hot when rinsing dishes, as it breaks down all foods/sugars/fats much better than cold water. Separating fats before rinsing isnt a bad idea though

-j

CylonRed
MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County
·Metronet

CylonRed

MVM

"Cold water is used in some commercial installs because its cheaper than cold. "
OOOOk - the above makes no sense.

All of the commercial kitchens I have been in used cold water...

I don't think that any of us here is insisting the disposal is only cooled by water. But extended running of the disposal will make it quite hot and cold water helps keep it cooler than air. In fact I was always told to run the cold water after you turn it off to help it cool down faster. Several master plumbers have told me this...

tp0d
yabbazooie
Premium Member
join:2001-02-13
Bulger, PA

1 edit

tp0d

Premium Member

fixed my typo..

Dunno what master plumbers told you that, but they are mistaken.

Looks like ISE says to use cold, but I stand by using hot.

-j

mityfowl
Premium Member
join:2000-11-06
Dallas, TX

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I've used hot water on this disposer for over 18 years.
MrFixit1
join:1999-11-26
Madison, WI

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Seems like ISE is not the only one to call for cold water :
From
»66.39.51.245/wasteking/c ··· uide.pdf
"E. It is not recommended to use hot water while
running disposer. Cold water will keep waste and
fats solid so disposer can flush away particles."

From
»66.39.51.245/wasteking/c ··· 01_B.pdf
"At no time should hot water be connected directly to disposer or cone sink"

From
»shared.whirlpoolcorp.com ··· 8055.pdf
"Don't use hot water when grinding food waste. It is OK to drain hot water into the disposer between grinding periods."

From
»www.salvajor.com/pdf/DISPOS.PDF
"Connect COLDWATER ONLY to disposer."

From
»www.anaheimmarketing.com ··· .111.pdf
"It is not recommended to use hot water while running
disposer. Cold water will keep waste and fats solid so
disposer can flush away particles."

From
»my.hobartcorp.com/resour ··· %20B.PDF
"Connect disposer (1, Fig. 5) from a 3/4" IPS cold
water supply line."

Links are a mix of domestic and commercial , but all seem to recommend cold water .
One thing to keep in mind , water you can put your hands in is not really " hot " water .

vaxvms
ferroequine fan
Premium Member
join:2005-03-01
Polar Park

vaxvms to CylonRed

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said by CylonRed:

But extended running of the disposal will make it quite hot and cold water helps keep it cooler than air. In fact I was always told to run the cold water after you turn it off to help it cool down faster.

Why would a garbage disposer run hotter than drills and circular saws? They're air cooled. What's the benefit of cooling it down faster?
MrFixit1
join:1999-11-26
Madison, WI

1 edit

MrFixit1

Member

Most power tools have built in cooling fans to help keep them cool . Most domestic disposers do not ( some commercial disposers do ) .
Main reason for the recommendations by the manufacturers to run cool water after using the disposer is to ensure that the ground up waste is flushed out of the disposer and drain lines .

Should also add that there actually is a line of commercial disposers that is water cooled .
»www.salvajor.com/product ··· ers.aspx
As far as I know , there is no currently produced line of domestic water cooled disposers .

Boricua
Premium Member
join:2002-01-26
Sacramuerto

Boricua to mityfowl

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to mityfowl
said by mityfowl:

I've used hot water on this disposer for over 18 years.

+1, except for the past 6 years.