Start from the way you cook
All InSinkErator disposers do the same job: they reduce food leftovers to fine particles and send them down the drain with cold water. What changes is how well they handle tougher scraps, how much noise they make and how long the warranty lasts.
Before looking at the spec sheets, answer three questions: how many people live in your home, how often you cook and what usually ends up in the leftovers. Then there is a fourth, more practical one: how much space there is under the sink, and whether the kitchen opens onto the living area.
This guide goes through the criteria in the order we use them ourselves when we recommend a model to a customer.
1. What you will put in it: three groups of foods
The most important criterion is also the least obvious: not every model handles the same foods. In our list, every food is matched to the simplest model that handles it without trouble, and the foods fall into three groups.
The first group is everyday leftovers, which any model can handle, including the 460 SR. The second group is slightly tougher scraps that need at least two grinding stages: every model except the 460 SR. The third group is hard or very fibrous scraps, such as chicken bones, which need the 750 or 1000 models (EC and SR series) or the LC 50.
If your household often cooks meat on the bone or eats a lot of fibrous vegetables, it makes sense to start straight from the third-group models. To check a specific food, type it into our food list: the answer changes with the model you pick.
Some things do not go into a disposer with any model: cooking oil and fat, and anything that is not food. That is a rule of use, not a limit of one appliance.
2. Grinding stages
The range goes from one to four grinding stages. Each extra stage makes the grind finer: the 460 SR has one stage, the 550 and 700 models have two, the 750 models three and the 1000 models four. For models with the same name, the number of stages is the same in the EC and SR series.
A finer grind flows more easily through the drain and copes better with fibrous scraps. It is also the principle the Italian rule refers to: art. 107 of Legislative Decree 152/2006 speaks of food scraps reduced to fine particles.
3. Motor power
Domestic motors range from 0.55 HP (460 SR and the 550 models) to 0.75 HP (700 and 750 models) up to 1.0 HP on the 1000 models. More power means hard scraps and bigger loads are handled with less effort, and grinding stays steady even when the chamber is full.
Power alone does not tell the whole story, though: it works together with the grinding stages. A 700 and a 750 have the same motor, but the 750 has one more stage, and that is why it also handles third-group foods.
4. Noise level
If your kitchen is open to the living area, or you use the disposer in the evening while someone is resting, noise matters as much as performance.
The 460 SR is the simplest model in this respect too. The Premium models (550 and 700) have reduced noise. The Evolution Plus models (750 and 1000, both EC and SR) have SoundSeal technology, with sound insulation, an anti-vibration mount and a vented sound-reducing baffle: the 1000 models are the quietest in the range.
5. EC series or SR series
The 550, 700, 750 and 1000 models come in two series, EC and SR. Models with the same name are technically the same appliance: same motor, same number of stages, same noise level. So they handle the same foods.
The SR series has two practical differences. The first is the control on the worktop: the pneumatic button, included, comes in three finishes (chrome, brushed steel or matt black), while in the EC series it is chrome. The second is the warranty, which is longer: from 3+2 years on the 550 SR up to 6+2 on the 1000 SR.
SR models are sold on quotation: tell us about your kitchen and we will tell you which one is right and send you a quote.
6. When the LC 50 makes sense
The LC 50 is a different kind of appliance: it has a larger chamber (1,475 ml against 980 ml on the EC models), a motor that automatically reverses direction and a speed of 1,725 rpm. It is designed for small food businesses and very large households, where the disposer runs many times a day.
It is also bulkier, at around 36 cm high and 25 cm wide. For a home kitchen the domestic models are usually enough: the LC 50 makes sense when volumes are genuinely high.
7. The space under the sink
Before choosing, have a look inside the cabinet under the sink. The EC models and the 460 SR are around 31 cm high; the 460 SR is also the narrowest, at around 17 cm against roughly 21 cm for the others. You need room for the appliance, the trap and the dishwasher connection if there is one, plus a power supply inside the cabinet.
The sink needs a drain hole compatible with the disposer flange. For sinks with a square waste, an overflow or a particularly thick worktop, dedicated accessories are available. We carry out all these checks during the survey before installation, together with the feasibility check for your address.
8. Warranty
The warranty grows with the range. In the EC series it goes from 2+1 years (550 EC and 700 EC) to 3+1 on the 750 EC and 4+1 on the 1000 EC; the 460 SR has 2+1 years. In the SR series it goes from 3+2 years on the 550 SR to 4+2 on the 700 SR, 5+2 on the 750 SR and 6+2 on the 1000 SR. The LC 50 has 2 years.
The extra years are obtained by registering the product within 60 days of purchase. If you buy and install with us, we register it for you.
In short
To get started with everyday leftovers, in a home with few people, the 460 SR is the first step.
For a family that cooks every day, the 550 and 700 models offer two grinding stages, less noise and more foods handled; the 700 has a motor with extra headroom for kitchens that get a lot of use.
If you cook meat on the bone, if the kitchen is open to the living area or if you simply want the best, look at the 750 and 1000 models: they also handle third-group foods and are the quietest. In the SR series they also come with the longest warranty.
The LC 50 remains the choice for small food businesses and for anyone who uses the disposer many times a day. Still unsure? Tell us about your kitchen and we will recommend the right model.