Farmhouse sinks or apron front sinks with the space they offer are beneficial for those who spend significant time prepping meals and doing kitchen work. However, once you have installed a farmhouse sink, there is not much under-sink space left for your garbage disposal to fit in.
Proper measures should be taken to make sure the disposer fits. The disposer you get for your farmhouse sink should have the right size along with a good RPM, horsepower, and an efficient motor.
Can A Farmhouse Sink Have A Garbage Disposal?
Yes.
With a farmhouse sink, you might wonder, would a garbage disposer even fit here? Well, yes, space-efficient garbage disposers are designed to fit into all tight spaces, including under a farmhouse sink.
Having garbage disposal for your farmhouse sink ensures that everything runs smoothly.
If you have a farmhouse sink, it is most likely due to the excessive work that is done around the kitchen.
Garbage disposal is needed to grind a large amount of food scraps gathered in your farmhouse sink. It avoids clogging and jamming of the drainage system and keeps your kitchen from smelling foul.
Is Garbage Disposal Necessary for Farmhouse Sink?
Farmhouse sinks are rarely flooded with water. That is due to the spacious working space the sink offers. Even if some scraps are stuck, you can remove them before the sink floods with water.
Nonetheless, like other sinks, the farmhouse sink can also be clogged, and removing food scraps manually to throw into a garbage can is exhausting work.
So yes, the garbage disposal is necessary for a farmhouse sink. The removal of food scraps with the help of garbage disposal helps your kitchen smelling fresh and keeps your sink clean.
What to Note When Choosing Garbage Disposal for Farmhouse Sink?
Before you buying a garbage disposal, you need to know the following factor to look for when buying waste disposal:
Enough Space Available
The lack of under-sink space is a common issue when installing a garbage disposal for a farmhouse sink. As per the US standard measurements, a countertop height is 3 ft.
Whereas farmhouse sinks can take space up to 1 ft 15 inches, and when you factor in the additional space taken up by the countertop and sink thickness, you’re left with around 19-20 inches of space. Which is usually more than the standard size of compact garbage disposals.
Types of Waste in Sink
The type of food scraps that you can dispose of in your sink is determined by the garbage disposal you are using. If you have a garbage disposal with higher horsepower and a strong motor, then tough food can go down your sink.
You must know about the type of waste going down your farmhouse sink.
If your food scraps are typically soft and not tough, a garbage disposal that isn’t as powerful will suffice.
This is not the case if your drain is flooded with mainly food peels and even small bones.
What Horsepower do You Need?
Most garbage disposals have a range of 1/3- 1HP. Garbage disposals with 1/3 hp take up only soft food scraps such as fruit scraps.
½- ¾ hp garbage disposal can take up cooked meat, fruit pits, or small pieces of corn cobs.
Whereas 1 HP garbage disposal can take up almost everything including small bones.
Continuous or Batch Feed Disposals
Continuous feed garbage disposals run anytime the food scraps are thrown into. The batch feed, on the other hand, only runs when scraps are thrown into the chamber in a batch, locked, and then allowed to process.
While batch feed disposals are safe, the problem with running them for farmhouse sinks is that their grinding chamber is bigger. Hence, they consume more space and are advised to be used where small space is not the concern.
How Much Should You Spend?
How much you should spend depends entirely upon your requirements. If you require a disposer for tough food scraps, you’ll need one with a powerful motor or at least a high RPM, which can be more expensive than one with less horsepower.
Thus, it is recommended that you carefully review your criteria before making a purchasing decision.
Best Garbage Disposal for Farmhouse Sink
Check out the following 5 product and choose the right one for your farmhouse sink:
1. Budget-Friendly Garbage Disposal
InSinkErator Badger 5 (recommended for low budget)
The InSinkErator Badger 5 is one of the oldest garbage disposers manufactured by the company. But it is still available in the market? Wonder why? Because this garbage disposer is long-lasting, reliable, and easy on your budget. For your regular household purposes, this disposer is a suitable fit.
- What You Benefit from It
Easy to Install
The badger 5 has a compact size and dimensions. It has a height of about 11.5 inches which makes it suitable for a farmhouse sink as well. The small size and lightness of the model add to ease when installing in small spaces as well. Hence, it is a product suitable for your farmhouse sink.
Budget-friendly
The badger 5 comes at a reasonable price. Once the price is paid you do not have to fret about the additional maintenance costs. You might be wondering about the replacement of grinding blades, but there is no need for such a thing.
The grinding blades are made of galvanized steel parts that do not corrode easily. Hence the need to never replace such parts makes this product a budget-friendly disposer.
For Soft Food Scraps
If leftovers from your meals have soft fruit or vegetable piece or even chunks of soft food, then you can throw it into this disposer. As long as you are not looking for a product to grind up tough food leftovers for you then this one will work wonders with its efficient ½ HP motor.
- What Others Have to Say About It
“This disposer lasted 17 years for me! I can throw a plastic fork at it and it will literally grind that as well, no doubt about the quality”
“Smooth functioning. Vibration and operational sounds are almost negligible”
“I am very happy with this purchase. Quick-lock installation made the installing process easy for me.”
- You May Care For
- ½ horsepower.
- 1725 RPM to cut through soft food scraps.
- lightweight to make the installation easier.
- You May Prefer
- Galvanized steel components that avoid corrosion of grinding parts and make this product long-lasting.
- Suitable for moderate residential use.
- Quick lock to make installation easier.
- You May Dislike
- Does not have a safety stopper to stop the device from accidentally grinding something. Click here to see the solution.
2. Quiet and Compact Garbage Disposal
Waste King L-1001 (Recommended for light use)
This garbage disposer is cheap yet efficient. It operates well enough for the low price you pay. The compact motor is efficient to run and cut through soft food scraps. It operates quietly without causing any rumbles and improves the look of your kitchen.
- What You Benefit from It
Suitable Use
If you don’t spend much time in the kitchen cooking or often cook light meals, then this disposal would work for you. Its ½ HP motor powers the grinding blades just enough to cut down the leftover soft fruits and vegetables. It does not take up much space and is even quiet.
No Jamming
For most disposals with ½ HP motor, the problem is often the device jamming. For a disposal using ½ HP motor, this one grinds all soft food scraps quickly with continuous feed technology. This avoids the jamming of the device and hence prevents leakage too.
If you wanna learn more about how to unclog a jammed garbage disposal. Click here.
Value for Money
After installing an expensive farmhouse sink, you might be thinking of getting cheap disposal to cut down the budget. The good thing about this disposal is that it offers exceptional performance for the price you pay.
The installation is also easy, you do not need to pay extra money for plumbing or maintenance of the disposal.
- What Others Say About it?
“This product has good build quality. It has less vibration than my old one and is much quieter too.”
“I am definitely buying this exact model again. It is easy to install and operates quietly.”
“It is much quieter and more powerful than the previous disposals I had. It is also surprisingly cheap and easy to install.”
- You May Care For
- Permanent magnetic and powerful motor.
- Easy mounting.
- Splash guard can be removed and cleaned thoroughly.
- You May Prefer
- Galvanized steel parts to avoid corrosion and make the product last well enough.
- No vibration when grinding soft foods.
- Lightweight design to ease the installation process.
- You May Dislike
- For the price paid the disposer has good performance but does not last long.
3. Powerful and Reliable Garbage Disposal
Waste King Knight A1SPC (recommended for long term use)
This garbage disposal is as good as it gets for your farmhouse sink. For a farmhouse sink, where the amount of food scraps can be more than usual, this disposer will help you out.
Its powerful motor makes it quick and increases efficiency. The efficiency of stainless-steel parts does not wear out even after years of use.
- What You Benefit from It
Quality Build
This is one of those disposers that come with a lifetime promise. The stainless-steel grinding components will make sure the food scraps are ground entirely without compromise on efficiency.
The parts remain just as effective even after years of use and do not wear out on constant exposure to water. Additionally, for a 1 HP powerful motor, the device dimensions are compact, making it a suitable fit for your farmhouse sink.
Grinding Power
With 1 HP disposer all types of tough food scraps including small bones and other large chunks of leftover food can be thrown down the drain without a worry.
The 2800 RPM is so strong that no leftover food debris can stick to the device and create a mess. Furthermore, with this grinding power, you can expect no jamming of the device.
Super Quiet
This waste king despite being so powerful is super quiet. Of course, it is unrealistic to expect it to be mouse quiet since it runs at 1 HP. Nevertheless, for such power, the silencer technology does a great job at keeping it quiet. It does not cause any disturbance while operating in the kitchen.
- What Others Say About it?
“It has a very sturdy and compact design and size that fit under my sink easily. As compared to other disposers of 1 HP, it is very quiet. Couldn’t be happier with the purchase.”
“It is super quiet, quick, and easily chops up everything quickly. I highly recommend it”
“I have put everything down the sink and this unit has had no problems. I expect it to last more than 10 years.”
- You May Care For
- Multistage grinding to grind through even tough food scraps.
- Stainless steel grinding components that make this disposer last long.
- Continuous feed disposer.
- You May Prefer
- Sturdy and compact design.
- Sound insulation technology.
- Lifetime warranty.
- You May Dislike
- Installation can be tricky.
4. Powerful and Quiet as They Come
InSinkErator Evolution Excel (recommended for all time use)
This garbage disposal as described by customers’ words is “all that you need”. The 1 HP powerful motor, alloyed stainless steel grinding components, 3 stages grinding paired with ultra-quiet operation makes this product a perfect fit for your farmhouse sink. For such reasons, it is a customer’s favorite on the market as well.
- What You Benefit from It
Multigrind Technology
The grinding in this garbage disposer is wow. The multi-grind technology has 3 stages of grinding. As said by the manufacturers “with this disposer you can stop worrying about what to and what not to throw down the drain.”
The alloyed stainless steel grinding part can easily grind all tough foods, including fruit peels and now even small bones. That means no more garbage disposal clogging or jamming for you.
Auto Reverse Feature
The device comes with auto-reverse feature to make it not jam when you throw tough food into the drain. The auto reverse grinding technology, upon inspecting that a food piece is stuck immediately moves the grinding blades in opposite direction to remove and then grind the piece. With such a technology it is promised that device does not jam or leak.
Long-Lasting
This is one of those products that you have to spend on just once. Once you’ve installed a farmhouse sink in your kitchen, you’ll most likely need something to complement it that won’t cost you money to maintain.
The grinding chamber and stainless-steel alloyed grinding parts do not corrode or break down. The company’s 10-year warranty backs up this argument. As a result, even in the long term, this device is cost-effective.
- What Others Say About it?
“This is one of the most expensive models available. Buying class surely does not come cheap. Totally worth the price and I highly recommend it”
“This is everything you could need in a disposal. Quiet, powerful, and lasts long.”
“Oh man, it takes every tough food I have given to it. also, it is so quiet I don’t even remember it is on until I put something into it.”
- You May Care For
- Continuous feed disposal.
- Designed to be operated safely.
- Quick-lock installation.
- You May Prefer
- Jam sensor to work through any jams that occur.
- Auto-reverse grind technology to grind more efficiently.
- You May Dislike
- Quite expensive.
5. Easy to Install and Use
Moen GXS75C (recommended for small spaces)
Moen is a reputable brand known for providing quality products. And this garbage disposal is no less than a top-quality device. It has all the features that you look for when looking for a farmhouse sink. It is easy to install, powerful, and works efficiently to grind all types of food scraps you throw into it.
- What You Benefit from It
For Small Spaces
This garbage disposal fits into small spaces, making it space efficient. The compact size and shape of this model will work for a farmhouse sink where under-sink space is already an issue. The lightweight disposer is simple to mount in tight spaces, hence no more worrying about the disposer not fitting in.
Compatible
This is one of those garbage disposers that is an easy replacement. The parts of this disposer are made to the universal standard. It will pretty much fit the plumbing that you have done for your previous disposers. If this is your first one, it is safe to save when you get the next one, too much effort in installing will not be required.
Motor to Reduce Jamming
The ¾ hp strong motor powers the grinding components to rotate at a great rate of 2700 RPM. This power and speed help in grinding all tough food scraps effectively and quickly. When the disposer performs this quickly, no food scraps get stuck, and hence there is no jamming or clogging.
- What Others Say About it?
“The unit is well made. It is reasonably quiet. And it wholly devours every item that we feed to it.”
“This Moen installation went off without a hitch or a hiccup.”
“It is a beast. Grinds all types of food scraps you throw into. That too quickly.”
- You May Care For
- ¾ horsepower.
- Safe to use with septic tanks
- Flat design from one side makes the installation easy.
- Continuous feed.
- 10-year warranty.
- You May Prefer
- Sound shield insulation.
- Rubber splash guard makes this a safer garbage disposer.
- Compatible parts which make it easy to install.
- You May Dislike
- Reported to be not so quiet by some customers.
How Does A Garbage Disposal Connect to A Farmhouse Sink?
Fitting garbage disposal for a farmhouse sink is the same as fitting it to another common kitchen.
The opening for most sink strainers is 3 and ½ inches. The chances of that being different for any garbage disposer are very slim.
To connect the farmhouse sink to the garbage disposal, you simply need to put the flange into place and put the snap ring on it.
The snap ring is what holds your disposer and connects it to the flange.
FAQ
Do You Need A Special Farmhouse Sink for Garbage Disposal?
Except for fireclay sinks, all farmhouse sinks are pretty much the same. Fireclay sinks are heavier and require additional support to avoid cracking. You simply need to be certain of your needs before purchasing a garbage disposal.
Conclusion
To conclude it all; just because you have a farmhouse sink does not mean you cannot install a garbage disposal.
The compact garbage disposals are made keeping everyone’s requirements in mind. Because everyone needs one and operating a kitchen sink without a garbage disposal is a funny thought.
