Continuous Feed Vs Batch Feed Garbage Disposal

While there are many different types of garbage disposals, most units fall into one of two categories; Batch feed or Continuous feed. Many homes have continuous feed garbage disposals as they’re the most common ones. Surprisingly, most homeowners don’t know if they’re the best option for their households as they don’t understand the difference between continuous feed vs batch feed garbage disposal.

To help you avoid making the same mistake, this article will look at the key differences between these units. That way, you can easily determine which type of garbage disposal is best suited for your home’s food waste disposal needs! 

What is a continuous-feed garbage disposal? 

As already mentioned, continuous feed models are the most common type of garbage disposal. More importantly, these units operate with a button or switch, allowing users to continually feed food waste into the device as it grinds it up until the unit is turned off. As a result, the motor of these disposals runs constantly, provided they’re turned on, which allows them to chop up a greater amount of food waste in a short time. 

In addition, continuous-feed garbage disposals are usually easier to install and cheaper than their batch-feed counterparts. Unfortunately, these units are noisier and less safe than batch feed models. For instance, knives, forks, and other cutlery can easily fall into the unit’s motorized blades since the device is constantly running during use. 

Advantages of a continuous feed garbage disposal 

The main benefit of continuous feed garbage disposals is that there is a reduced risk of clogs in the kitchen drain. This is because the unit is always active, allowing it to efficiently grind small portions of food waste at a time. At the same time, continuous feed units that can handle more food waste usually have a larger food waste than batch feed models as they typically have a larger capacity. 

Moreover, continuous feed models provide a fast operation and are easy to use as you only need to turn them on and drop the food waste into the unit. Better yet, these units can be activated by a button or switch, allowing them to grind up food waste easily and quickly. 

Drawbacks of a continuous feed garbage disposal 

Despite their ability to grind food waste efficiently, continuous feed garbage disposals can be dangerous. For instance, if a piece of silverware falls into the drain, it can damage the grinding chamber since the motor is constantly running. Similarly, if your fingers are caught in the blades while the disposal is running, it creates a risk of injury. 

However, you can avoid this problem by keeping your knives, and forks out of the sink while doing the dishes. 

That aside, another drawback of continuous feed garbage disposals is that they have a noisy operation since they’re always on. Moreover, they use more water than their batch-feed counterparts since they are always running. 

Surprisingly, even with these drawbacks, continuous-feed garbage disposals are the most popular type of garburator. 

What is a batch-feed garbage disposal? 

Batch feed garbage disposals use a different approach from continuous feed units to dispose of food waste. Specifically, batch feed models focus on safety and controlled operation. They have a stopper or lid that must be secured over the hole before running the grinder. That way, you don’t have to throw the food waste down the garbage disposal while it’s running. 

Instead, you insert the food waste into the unit in a single batch (usually 3 – 5 cups at a time, based on the model). Then cover the opening, run the faucet, and push down or twist the cover to turn on the grinder. Moreover, this means that you don’t need a wall switch to run the device. This eliminates the need for extra electrical work after getting power to the disposal under the kitchen sink. 

Once the grinding is done, the cover/ stopper is lifted and the garbage disposal stops. And if you have more food waste, you’ve to repeat the cycle until you get rid of all the waste. 

Benefits of a batch feed garbage disposal 

• Safety 

As already mentioned, batch feed disposals have a cover/ stopper that must be inserted into place before the unit operates. This design offers an added layer of safety to reduce the risk of damage or accidental injury by preventing fingers and other items from being trapped in the blades. Even better, this makes a batch feed disposal a safe appliance if you’ve kids that use it in your home. 

• Quiet operation 

The cover of batch feed disposals reduces the amount of noise coming from the appliance during operation. In addition, these models usually have an added layer of sound insulation as they are higher-end garbage disposals. These factors ensure that batch feed units operate quieter than their continuous feed counterparts. 

• Simple Installation 

Unlike continuous feed disposals, you don’t have to wire batch feed models to a wall switch. This makes them easier and faster to install than continuous feed models. However, all the other installation steps are the same as continuous feed garbage disposals. You can either hard wire the appliance to a junction box or plug it into an outlet under the sink. 

• Less water usage

Another interesting thing about batch feed disposals is that they only run when the lid is in place. As a result, you’ll end up using less water to get rid of your food waste than with a continuous feed model. 

Drawbacks of batch feed garbage disposal

• Time-consuming 

As the name implies, batch-feed garbage disposals get rid of food waste in batches. Unfortunately, this will take more time to complete if you have more food waste. As a result, food waste disposal will turn out to be a very tedious process, especially if you have a large family. 

In addition, batch feed models usually have a smaller capacity and slower operation than continuous feed units. For that, they only process a small amount of food waste at a time, taking longer to grind up all the food scraps. 

• Takes up more space 

Batch-feed garbage disposals usually have a larger size than continuous-feed units. In addition, they have longer necks to accommodate the hopper that you fill with food waste. As a result, the unit is likely to take up more space underneath your kitchen cabinet, which may not be ideal if the under-sink space is small. 

• Inconvenience 

Losing a lid/ stopper of a batch feed disposal renders it useless since the unit cannot run without it. However, you can get a replacement stopper at a cost of about $20 to $30. 

Final Word

The main difference between a continuous feed vs batch feed garbage disposal is that batch feed models are only activated when the cover/ lid is put in place. On the other hand, continuous feed units are activated by a button or switch and are constantly running when grinding food waste. 

Overall, this makes batch-feed garbage disposals quieter and safer than their continuous-feed models. However, continuous feed disposals are still more popular due to their ease of use, affordability, and capacity to handle large waste volumes.