Appliances

EBEBRATT-Ed · April 1

Hooked up a dishwasher for my nephew. Maytag label on the front door. Paperwork says Whirlpool which is also Kitchin Aid.

The inside is a dead ringer for the Kitchen Aid I installed in our condo 3 years ago. Just different controls on the door.

While I was laying on my back under the kitchen sink hooking up the DW drain I noticed the cord on the Insinkerator 750 PRO disposal (about 4 years old) was falling out of the disposal. Well, guess I might as well fix that too.

Guess I have been away too long as all the disposals I ever wired had a little junction box with 3 wires in (or 2 with a ground screw) it and a knockout and you either used a cord or hardwired it and connected it with wire nuts.

No more.

This thing has a rinky dink plastic connector that plugs on to the motor terminals and then the field wires plug into the other side of the connector…..like backstabbing a receptacle. How do you plug stranded wire into a backstabbed receptacle type connector ???…..you don't.

I knew something wasn't right.

When I got home I looked it up on line. The connector that come with the disposal is for hardwired only so you can plug solid NM or AC cable into it.

If you want to use a cord you have to go to HD etc and for $17 you buy the "Insinkerator Eazy Connect factory cord" which come with a plastic connector on the end to fit the motor connections.

The guy that originally installed it just tried to push the stranded wire into the connector with the backstab type spring clips. Didn't work.

Insinkerator say this was done to "help" diy homeowners wire their disposals. ……………..Not if they can't read the instructions. And Neither did the plumber who got paid to install it.

EdTheHeaterMan · April 1

Instructions? We don't need no stinkin' instructions!

mattmia2 · April 1

you can backstab stranded wire if you tin it so it is one solid piece.

moen distributes waste king. i have a kitchenaid branded ise that is the all stainless model that is good but it is 10 years old. i wonder if they all have the questionable power connector or just the model that is sold so builders can say it has a disposal but was never intended to be used to grind up food.

i would expect whirlpool, kitchenaid, and maytag to all be the same model. they stopped making the hobart made kitchenaids 35-40 years ago.

i'd pick a bosch or miele if i were to buy a new dishwasher. whirlpool is probably ok if you pick the right model.

mattmia2 · April 1

nope they all look sketchy. could you just crimp some 1/4" qc connectors on the cord?

or wire nut some solid wire to it and jam it inside.

EBEBRATT-Ed · 12:31AM

Weather using a cord or hardwired its just a choice of one crappy connector over another. The motor connections do look like standard plug on connectors, not sure.

They are trying to help the homeowners who replace there own garbage disposal (and make an extra $17 in the process)

If you can't twist on a couple of wire nuts you shouldn't be doing it

mattmia2 · 12:58AM

have you ever run in to a jurisdiction that actually required them to be hardwired?

hot_rod · 6:28PM

A switched receptacle under the sink for the disposal is another method I have seen in new homes. We put cords on disposals when I was doing new construction plumbing. Johnstone Supply dold disposal cord kits with nuts snd. Ird vonnectir in the bag.

A hot receptacle under the kitchen sink is handy for a HW dispenser also

I have also seen dishwashers corded and plugged into receptacles

I’d add a receptacle behind the toilet if I were an electrician these days, bidet seats are becoming more popular.