Badger 5 Leaking Through Small hole

[wilso76666]

I have a leaking Badger 5 In Sink Erator - leaking from a small hole on the body just to the right of the waste exit plumbing. The hole is about 1/4 inch, at the top of the cylindrical body, not at or above the tapered part that meets the sink - water flows freely out of the hole when the water is on, or the unit is on.

Any Ideas?[V]

[HayZee518]

An epoxy patch seems in order. The metal is sort of a pot metal substance so putting in a larger screw with silicone sealant with it may not grab the side walls. Maybe a combination of screw with epoxy might do.

[wilso76666]

Hey HayZee - thanks for the reply and happy new year - the hole appears to be there on purpose, and I did not find a screw fallen out of it. Any idea on that - like why the hole? (This is a 10 year old beast.)

[LazyPup]

Be very careful an use a short fat screw,,or it will bind against the grinder.

As Hayzee already stated, the bodies of most disposals is made of potmetal. During normal operaton there is always a bit of residual waste clinging on those walls and as that waste decomposes it creates acids that react against the metal which eventually corrodes holes through the body. 7 to 10 years is about the expected life so you may have some success in patching but in all probability you may end up needing to replace the unit.

[wilso76666]

The hole appears to be a part of the construction, not a wear and tear situation - anybody know about that hole - looks to be about a quarter inch hole, can't tell if it has threads or not from my poor view through a mirror.

[LazyPup]

Some models have a weep hole from the upper bearing and seal section as well as a second weep hole on the bottom of the motor housing. If water is leaking out of the weep holes it indicates the upper bearing seal is bad.

It is not consider practical to replace the seal and normally the unit is replaced.

[wilso76666]

Thanks, although not so good news, I think that is the right diagnosis as I saw a lot of water coming out of the upper weep hole and some coming out of the bottom, where it looks like a small punched out 1/8th inch square piece at a 90 degree bend to the bottom.

Leaky seal, bummer...but I do appreciate the info, as I imagine it would only be a matter of time before something burned up in the motor if I plugged up the hole.

[HayZee518]

If there's hole and water is leaking through it, I doubt it's there intentionally. May be a manufacturing incident. Contact Badger and see what they say. Manufacturer processes are not infallible and quality control is not the means to an end.

[wilso76666]

Well, that would be an idea if this thing was not 12 years old, having worked for many, many years with not problems at all. Anywho, $66.10 including tax and I replaced the unit with a new one and that was that and all is well in sink erator land.

Thanks to all responents.

[8D]