(Updated for 2023 new models) For milenia, humans have used hooved animals to mill their grain and press their grapes - A mule or horse would be tied to a post and yoked to a large stone wheel, rolling over and crushing whatever was placed in the mill. Today, thankfully, we no longer need a horse in our kitchen to grind things for us, but we still measure our garbage disposals grinding ability in horsepower. The top of the line in-sink Insinkerator 444 garbage disposal provides nearly a whole horse's worth of power for all your waste disposal needs.
The Insinkerator 444 represents one of our absolute favourite garbage disposals on the Canadian market, but many people have been asking us if it is by far and away the best choice for one's home. Find out why below.
Choosing the Right Garbage Disposal
The sink is one of the most overlooked and useful inventions in the modern Canadian kitchen. It is almost impossible to imagine a kitchen space without a sink. The days where one had to find a place to dispose of their broken spaghetti pieces and scraps of garnish are over. If it is soft and it is unwanted, it can almost assuredly pass through the grind of the garbage disposal and into oblivion.
However, all these benefits instantly become woes if your garbage disposal breaks down. Now all of a sudden mechanical intervention is required in a device that is composed largely of spinning blades. The worse-case scenario is that your sink becomes unusable. The best possible solution is that you stick your hand into half-decayed food and a mouth of blades to dislodge that bone that the garbage disposal just cannot deal with.
Fortunately, all these problems can be avoided by purchasing the correct garbage disposal. If your disposal is up to snuff, you won't be stuck fixing it or praying that nobody bumps the on switch while your fingers are stuck down within it. It is for those looking for a quality garbage disposal in Canada that we put together this Insinkerator 444 review.
The Review Process
After scouring the internet for the best garbage disposal solutions available on today's market, we composed a short list of promising candidates. These candidates were then scored according to the following criteria: price, ease of use, assembly time, design quality, and warranty. We then compared these scores with those that the Insinkerator 444 received.
What Is the Insinkerator 444?
As its name cheekily implies, the Insinkerator 444 is a garbage disposal that is installed inside your sink. This is the standard type of garbage disposal like one's that you have either owned before or have encountered at your friend's home. Its general form is ubiquitous, but it's the amount of power that you get from the price that makes this one stand out from the crowd.
The Insinkerator 444 is more properly known as the Insinkerator 444 Three Quarters Horsepower Garbage Disposer. That's right, this tiny device packs the power of nearly a whole horse while still being able to fit in your under-sink cabinet. That means almost no type of food waste will stymie this garbage disposal. Onion skins, fish bones, and even peach pits are no problem for the Insinkerator 444.
The Insinkerator 444 is a continuous feed model, meaning that you don't have to fill it up and then grind and then wait to fill it up again. Simply run the sink and turn on the Insinkerator 444 and any spare bits of food will be disposed of as they run into the device.
Product Specs
The continuous feed model lets food and waste fall into a disposal area made with entirely stainless steel grind components. The steel ensures a long life to this product. The Insinkerator 444 even comes with all its mechanical mounting hardware included with your purchase. If you previously had an Insinkerator garbage disposal, you can easily swap out your old model for the Insinkerator 444 without hiring a plumber.
The Insinkerator 444 comes with a 6 year warranty in Canada. This is almost double the warranty offered by other Insinkerator models, and those from other manufacturers. You can rest assured with the Insinkerator 444 installed, you can depend on it for many years of faithful service.
This garbage disposal runs off 115 volts of AC power, which is single phase, and it uses a 60-hertz motor. One of our favorite features is that the Insinkerator 444 came with an outer shell that provides sound reduction insulation. In fact, many reviews on amazon indicate that they were not only happy with its grinding and disposal power, but they were also impressed at how quiet it was.
The Insinkerator 444 weighs 16.8 pounds and measures about 8 inches by 8 inches by thirteen inches. It will fit beneath most sinks, and you may even be able to install it yourself. If not, it's will not be a costly call to the plumber due to it's easy fit feature.
Pricing
The Insinkerator 444 can be purchased for around CA$295. You may be able to find cheaper garbage disposals out on the market, but rarely do they work as well as the Insinkerator 444 at this price point. If you are looking into one of the competitors we reviewed here, you can expect to pay for something around this price range.
We consider the Insinkerator 444's price point to represent the average for garbage disposals.
How It Compares
We picked a few similar products available on the market to see how they compare.
Ease of Use ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
If you have ever used a garbage disposal before, this process could not be easier as it is continuous feed.
Assembly Time ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Some people require professional installation, but many are able to install this product on their own.
Design Quality ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Many people report using this product for over a decade without incident.
Price ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Insinkerator 444 has a decent price to performance ratio.
Warranty ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This product comes with a six-year warranty.
Pros
Cons
No products found.
If 3/4 of a horse's power from the Insinkerator 444 isn't enough for your food waste disposal needs, then you will need the next level up - The Insinkerator Garbage Disposal Evolution Excel is one of the top of the line models. Boasting a full 1 horsepower, this beast can grind almost anything down to be washed away - what is amazing is that with all this power it claims to be the quietest disposal on the market.
This high-end garbage disposal is top of the line. Comes with 3 garbage processing chambers and made with stainless steel components. With over 6000 reviews on Amazon.ca and a solid 5 star out of 5 star rating, you can't go wrong - though there is a catch - be prepared to pay over CA$720 for this bad boy.
Ease of Use ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is a fairly easy disposal to use, with continuous feed and automatic 3 chamber processing.
Assembly Time ⭐⭐⭐⭐
For some sinks, installation is easy. However, due to its larger size, it may prove a little more challenging in tight sink cabinets.
Design Quality ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The stainless steel elements are well built, and is top of the line
Price ⭐⭐
Paying over CA$500 for a garbage disposal seems a little excessive, no matter the functionality.
Warranty ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Insinkerator Garbage Disposal Evolution Excel comes with an amazing decade long warranty.
Pros
Cons
No products found.
The Moen GX50C PRO 1/2 HP really represents the low price point in a series of the three garbage disposals worth taking a look at.
If you are willing to spend as little as possible for a garbage disposal and looking for a smart, modern and easy to install option, then for just CA$143 you can ger the Moen GX50C PRO that clocks in at 1/2 a horsepower. This is perfect if your food grinding needs are less, or if you don't plan to put bones or pits down the disposal.
Obviously the half horsepower model will underperform the Insinkerator 444 in most scenarios, and most users find that this half horsepower performance is not worth the additional savings due to jams being more frequent.
On the plus side is the Moen GX50C's permanent magnet grinding mechanism. The Moen GX50C uses vortex motor technology to quickly and powerfully macerate food scraps into disposable waste. We were quite impressed with how well this spinning magnet technology worked, but it does mean that a more expensive fix is down the line should the Moen GX50C Pro fail on you.
Ease of Use ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Moen GX50C 1/2 horsepower is easy enough to use as it is a continuous feed design. Their vortex systems may complicate repair, but they work great when they are new and running.
Assembly Time ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The drain elbow and mounting assembly make this one of the easier garbage disposals to install. Many who have purchased this product installed it themselves.
Design Quality ⭐⭐⭐
The vortex system, which utilizes magnets to grind up food, is quite impressive. However, the lower horsepower models do struggle with large volumes of food, or hard waste items such as bones or stone pits.
Warranty ⭐
The on warranty the Moen GX50C Pro is stated as "limited" with the number of years of coverage not specified.
Pros
Cons
Conclusion
When garbage disposals are working properly, they go unseen. Perhaps this is why so many people think there are not many differences between different models of garbage disposal. We were mystified to find that several models like the Moen GX50C and the Evolution Excel seemed to place an emphasis on their aesthetics over their actual performance, considering they are out of sight for most of the time.
Although others could compete with the Insinkerator 444's three quarter horsepower specs, none could out-compete it in terms of features and provisions for the user. Ultimately, the scores speak for themselves. The Insinkerator 444 is indeed the king of garbage disposals for its price point.
Last update on 2024-03-29 at 01:23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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