I think that the time has come to take a more in-depth look at two of the most popular food disposal brands on the market, a Badger 15ss vs 900’s garbage disposals. With so many options to choose from, it can be stressful sorting through reviews and comparisons to find which will work best in your home. Let’s first dive into the differences between them.
Badger 15SS ad Badger 900 have different warranties. Badger 15SS is covered under a 3-year warranty, whereas Badger 900 is covered by a 6-year warranty. While Badger 900 disposal is sold exclusively at HomeDepot stores, you can find Badger 15SS on any local hardware store.
Differences between Badger 15SS and Badger 900
I went through a few blog posts on this topic before writing this article. Those blog posts are clearly written by people who haven’t seen these disposals. I wish they at least spent some time reading the specification sheets of these two products.
One of these websites claims that Badger 15SS is more compact in size than Badger 900. Nothing is farther from the truth. If you check the specification sheets of these garbage disposals, both of them have the same dimensions. Both disposals have a height of 12.63 inches and a width of 6.75 inches.
Another difference they wrongly highlight is the quietness of the disposal. They say that Badger 900 is quieter than 15SS. Wrong again. Both garbage disposals are equally loud!
Please check the specifications here from the InSinkErator website; Badger 900, Badger 15SS.
Then what are the differences between these two disposals? Why are there different models if they are so similar?
Badger 900 is the HomeDepot version of Badger 15ss just like Badger 500 is the HomeDepot version of Badger 5 (here is Badger 5 review). So the only differences between them are;
Badger 900 has a longer warranty
Just like I mentioned at the start of this article, the warranty of Badger 900 is for 6-years while that of Badger 15ss is just 3-years. Why is there a difference in the warranty? The honest answer is ‘I don’t know’. Companies tend to change the warranty of their products based on many factors. Perhaps HomeDepot gives an incentive to get a longer warranty, or maybe they don’t.
Like I read somewhere, the warranty of a product is an indicator of its reliability. So a product with a longer warranty should be more reliable than one with a shorter warranty. Does that mean the version of the garbage disposal you buy from HomeDepot will last more than the other? I am confident that is not the case. The build quality of both garbage disposals is exactly the same, and so is everything else. So both garbage disposals will last for the same duration.
Speaking of warranty, both Badger 900 and 15ss are covered by in-home warranties that cover the costs of labor and parts. This means that the technician will come to your home for repairs and replacements. You won’t have to courier the disposal to the company, which is a huge relief for the average owner. In addition, the cost of labor and parts are covered too.
Badger 900 is sold exclusively at HomeDepot
Like I said above, Badger 900 is made only for HomeDepot. Why is it an exclusive product when the same one, but with a different sticker on it, can be purchased elsewhere? I am not an expert in this business, and I surely don’t hold a degree in Business Administration, so I will leave it to the experts.
But the one benefit I can point to is the pricing. These products are normally priced lower in HomeDepot, so you will save a few bucks if you live near one of their stores. The difference in their prices is only a few bucks, so it is definitely not worth your while if you have to drive farther.
Review of Badger 15ss ad 900
Badger 15ss and 900 belong to the reputed line of garbage disposals by InSinkErator. Badger series offers powerful but affordable disposals.
Performance
Both Badger 900 and 15ss come equipped with a 3/4 HP DuraDrive induction motor. They run at a speed of 1725 RPM just like all other InSinkErator disposal models. 3/4 horsepower is a pretty good spec for a garbage disposal. They can handle most household food wastes including cooked meat and small chicken bones. These food wastes are turned into pulp by the disposer and are sent down the drain pipes.
Here is how a garbage disposal work, if you already don’t know;
A garbage disposal unit is made up of a motor, impellers and blades. The motor runs at an astonishing speed and so do the impellers connected to it. It shears down the food waste into tiny pieces thus making it easier to pass through the pipes that lead to the sewage. The impellers generate more than enough power for small bones such as chicken bones. They do so by spinning rapidly in a cylindrical chamber at incredible speeds.
Both Badger 900 and 15ss are continuous feed-type disposals. A continuous feed type disposal is one to which you can add food wastes continuously. There is another type called batch feed where you will have to process food wastes in batches. A continuous feed disposal is more convenient to use than the other. (ref: continuous vs batch feed disposals).
Both badger 900 and 15ss use two impellers mounted on a rotating plate to cut down food wastes. These impellers can grind almost all foods. However, fibrous food items like celery are not apt for them. This is because these impellers cut the fibers in long sizes. These long fibers can cause clogs in the drainage pipes. Therefore, if you are buying any of these two garbage disposals, do not use it to grind fibrous food wastes.
Noise
Badger Series garbage disposals are made to be economical. Therefore, they do not come with any noise insulations. However, both Badger 900 and 15ss has a plastic shroud around its body. This shroud helps to muffle the sounds to some extend. So these disposals are quieter than a Badger 5XP.
Even though these two garbage disposals do not have insulations, they are not very loud either. The DuraDrive induction motors they use are pleasant to hear. Besides, the 3-bolt mounting assembly used to install these disposals helps reduce vibrations, thus reducing the overall noise from the disposals.
Compactness
Garbage disposals come in many sizes. Some are very tall, some wide, and some short. Among these, short garbage disposals are very popular since they won’t take up much space under the kitchen sink. They are suitable for deep sinks like farmhouse sinks.
There is no clear definition for short garbage disposal. However, most consider a disposal that is smaller than 13 inches in height as short and compact. By this definition, both Badger 900 and 15ss are compact garbage disposals. Both of them have only a height of 12.63 inches, a little short of the 13 inches height.
It is recommended to have around 10-inch of extra space under the kitchen sink after a disposal is installed. These two Badger garbage disposals are a perfect fit for your deep kitchen sinks provided they leave that much space.
Build quality
Build quality is important for any appliance. It is more important when the appliance is in constant contact with water. (By the way, a garbage disposal is not just an appliance, it is a plumbing appliance. ).
The best quality garbage disposals are made of stainless steel. But no garbage disposal is fully made of stainless steel, only the grinding chamber and grinding components are made so. (Here is a list of stainless steel garbage disposals).
The grinding components and the grinding chamber of both Badger 900 and 15ss are made of stainless steel. It is more durable against corrosion than any other commonly used metal. In addition, the 3-bolt mounting system they use, their sink flange and the stopper are all made of this metal.
This means that these Badger garbage disposals are of the best build quality. The other disposals in the Badger series are not as well made as these two. So these two dispsoals will last longer than any others.
Installation
Badger 900 and 15ss are installed via a 3-bolt assembly. This assembly mostly consists of 3-bolts, a snap ring, a sink flange, and collars. The installation is pretty easy and straightforward. A DIYer can get this installed without any difficulty.
These two disposals also come with a dishwasher connection. So if you have a dishwasher you can connect these disposals easily after removing the plug inside their dishwasher extension.
Here is a video showing the installation of a disposal using a 3-bolt mount;
Another type of mounting used is called EZ-mount. These are mostly used in Waste King disposals.
Can you replace a Badger 900 with a 15ss disposal?
One can easily replace Badger 900 with a 15ss disposal and vice versa. This is because both these models use the same mounting assembly, and the height of the drain pipe from the sink is the same. So you can swap them without even changing the plumbing.
Conclusion: Which disposal should you buy
Both Badger 900 and 15ss disposals are equal in all their aspects except the warranty and the convenience of buying them. My suggestion for you is to buy the Badger 900 as it comes with a longer warranty.
