Repairing a crack in our garbage disposal

[sirjonathan]

Hey guys! I’ve got a Badger 1/3 HP InSinkErator that came with a house we bought a year ago. About a week or so ago we noticed water spraying out when we would run the disposal. After investigating I discovered a crack in the housing which appears to have been repaired before.

Here’s a picture: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2v3q9hnp4w7x63s/2014-04-14%2007.08.39.jpg

I’m a relative rookie to repairs and wanting to make sure I approach it the right way. My plan is to replace the unit before we sell the house (It seems I can get a much better unit off Amazon for about $80). Until then, though, I’d like to see if I can keep this one working.

What do you suggest? How do I go about patching it?

[zolotiyeruki]

Personally, I'd go ahead and replace it now, so you at least get some use out of your $80. :)  The picture doesn't look like a repair, but rather leakage from whatever goo is going down the drain.

As for patching it, I'd say pull it out, clean the inside wall thoroughly, dry it thoroughly, scuff it up a bit, and apply some JB weld along the crack. Then get a big pipe clamp (or several) around the outside to try and keep it from splitting further.  I don't have much confidence that such a repair would last long, though.  Short of recasting the plastic, you'll just have to bite the bullet and shell out for a new one.

[Greg]

According to the little symbol and lettering near the outlet on the right, it's ABS plastic.  If you clean and dry it really well, you could solvent weld the crack using plastic model solvent or plumber's ABS cement.  The solvent type would wick into the crack and chemically weld it shut, while plumber's ABS cement would really only work on the surface.  the plumber's cement would work well to coat the inside if you can get it really clean and dry.  I'd definitely remove it to work on it.

If there's a hobby shop near where you live try the solvent for plastic model kits first.  It's handy for many different kinds of repairs, including car parts.

[Nords]

I'm with Zolo.  If you're going to crawl under the sink then it's a much better use of your time to just replace the whole disposal and enjoy its benefits.  It's also one less task to deal with when you sell the place.  If the sink drain is looking grimy or rusted then you could buy a new drain as well, or just mount the disposal off the old drain.  When you sell the house, the buyer's home inspector will definitely check for under-sink leaks. 

$80 might be high, especially if you can get an Easter/Memorial Day sale at a big-box hardware store. 

If your dishwasher drain is connected to the disposal, then when you install the new disposal you have to remove a little plastic plug from its dishwasher attachment.  I don't want to get into how I learned that factoid.

[Rube]

Replace it. It's going to fail soon on the bottom and leak out the breaker. I've got a relative who owns a plumbing business. He says they can catch fire. I would unplug it and use a strainer until replacement but that's just me.

[Joggernot]

Replace it. It's going to fail soon on the bottom and leak out the breaker. I've got a relative who owns a plumbing business. He says they can catch fire. I would unplug it and use a strainer until replacement but that's just me.

Replace it now so you can use the good one.  My wife always got mad when I finally fixed something so we could sell the house, and she had to "make do" with the old one.