Waste King L-8000 1 HP Garbage Disposal Review

The Waste King L-8000, with its 1-hp motor, looks big and strong. It is one of the biggest disposals we have tested, but isn’t quite the heaviest. It sports a gray plastic protective case padded with a generic acoustic foam layer. Its grinder assembly is nearly identical to that found on weaker models of the Legend series, except that it has an upgraded grater ring (or precutter).

Key Specs

Where to Buy Price at publication $111.07

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Compared to Other Garbage Disposals

6.9 Performance: Less Capable than Expected

In the Waste King Legend Series, the L-8000 Garbage Disposal is the strongest model. It does a great job dealing with many different types of common food, even in toppling amounts. But when it comes to uncooked animal scraps, specifically raw chicken scraps, the machine really hits a wall. 

Though it sounds bad, it’s not surprising to see affordable disposals struggle with such tough scraps. Still, it’s a little disappointing knowing that there are weaker models that perform better.

8.1 Scrap Mix

Scoring Components ↓

The Waste King L-8000 deals quickly with 90 ounces of assorted food scraps. Our test materials come from eleven different types of foods. In 2 minutes, it processed almost everything and left behind only 0.15 ounces of scraps. That amounts to less than 2% of the input. The leftovers were primarily pieces of fish backbone and a single piece of celery stalk; all were heavily shredded but not enough to travel through the grind chamber.

Judging by the two straining layers, the disposal did a fair job of turning the 90 ounces of scraps into a drain-safe mush. However, we still found several pieces of fish pin bones intact. Though this was not the best run we’ve seen out of this test, the L-8000 has one of the most satisfying results in our garbage disposal lineup.

6.7 Raw Fish Scraps

Scoring Components ↓

The Waste King Legend 8000 struggled with the many flexible and fibrous parts of our raw fish remains. The disposal was somewhat successful at breaking up and pulverizing chunks of the spines and tails, but it couldn’t finish the job in 3 minutes. All the leftover skin and vertebrae would have taken the disposal another minute or two plus lots more water. 

That said, everything that went through this Waste King 1-hp disposal came out better than we expected. Scraps that gathered in the two colanders were shredded well, even if imperfectly. The in-sink grinder also surprised us with how well it processed fish cartilage and thin bones. The results weren’t 100% drain-safe, but the L-8000 still did fine compared to its contemporaries.

4.6 Raw Chicken Scraps

Scoring Components ↓

The L-8000’s results in this test weren’t as good as we anticipated. With tough scraps such as these, we expect the disposal to take its time. But more than 12% of the input still remained after the entire run. It seemed that the chamber’s grind assembly couldn’t deal with the spongy and slippery pieces of raw cartilage and skin.

One thing the disposal did well was break up the bones. From what we could see in Layer 1 and 2, most of the bones were sufficiently crushed that they traveled right through the colanders. Only a few very small bits here and there got stuck in the mass of soft tissues.

9.2 Design: Bulkier than It Should Be

All models in the Waste King Legend Series land in the more affordable side of the market. They are built to provide quick and adequate help under the sink without carving too deeply into their owner’s bank account. Everything about the L-8000 reflects just that. 

The disposal doesn’t have the best craftsmanship and its chamber layout is arguably outdated for a 1-HP unit. However, its high-speed jamless motor is still very effective against simple food. Together with stainless steel grinding components, the disposal can easily last for a good few years.

In the Box

• Waste King L-8000 1-Horsepower Garbage Disposal
• EZ mount assembly 
• Removable splash guard
• Stopper
• Discharge tube
• Rubber gasket
• Flange and bolts
• Pre-installed power cord
• Documentation

The disposal comes with the mount assembly already on top and a pre-installed power cord. The box also contains several pieces of standard plumbing hardware along with a User Guide. All text is available in English, Spanish, and French.

Dimensions

The Waste King L-8000 1 HP is one of the largest disposal units we’ve tested and may well be the largest on the current market. If you’re replacing a weaker unit, the outlet of the L-8000 will likely hang an inch lower, give or take. The bottom is going to be deeper, too, so make sure there’s enough room. 

However, the disposal is surprisingly light considering its size. At 12.7 pounds, it’s not that much heavier than the much smaller, weaker InSinkErator Badger 1/2 Horsepower (which weighs a little more than 12 pounds).

Mount Assembly

• Support ring
• Mounting ring
• Cushion mount
• Fiber gasket
• Rubber gasket
• Sink flange
• Stopper 
• Removable splash guard

Most models in the Waste King Legend series work with EZ Mount assemblies. These assemblies have straightforward designs and their pieces are lightweight, so they’re very easy to work with. They also require no tools to install. All EZ systems have removable splash guards and they also have deep sink flanges which help with long scraps. But the opening of these flanges are considerably smaller than those found on 3-Bolt systems.

Power Cord

The standard version of the Waste King L-8000 has a pre-installed power cord.

Accessories: Discharge Set

In the box, alongside the machine and relevant documentation, you’ll find parts for a typical outlet setup: an elbow discharge tube, a rubber gasket, a metal flange, and two bolts. The bolts have slotted 3/8-inch hex heads. You can tighten them using either a flat-head screwdriver or a wrench.

8.5 Grind Chamber

This Waste King 1 HP has an identical holding chamber as its 3/4-horsepower cousin, the L3200. It has the same capacity, depth, and layout for the grinding assembly. The assembly is also very similar to that of the 1/2-horsepower models. The only difference is the grater ring: The stronger models have upgraded, stainless steel two-level rings with more cutters and thicker teeth.

10 Motor

The Waste King L-8000 enjoys a 1-hp permanent magnet motor. These motors are typically very powerful, and the stronger they are, the faster they rotate. According to official specs, the L-8000’s motor is supposed to be faster than the 3/4-hp and 1/2-hp models of the series. 

However, when we measured the speed of the flywheel (with no scraps in the chamber), this Waste King 1 HP had the lowest revolutions per minute (RPM) out of the bunch. Our working theory is that the motor’s power translates mostly into torque instead of speed. 

That is not to say the L-8000 is slow; at more than 4000 RPM, the risk of jamming is still minimal, especially when working with high torque. The motor also puts out very little waste heat as compared to the conventional induction motors.

9.0 Build Quality

The garbage disposal doesn’t have the best construction quality but it is reasonable for the price. Our immediate impression was that it could benefit from some finishing touches. We could also tell that the casing wasn’t quite as secure as it should be. Fortunately, the machine didn’t appear the worse for wear, even after all the handling and performance tests. 

The casing doesn’t have a decorative finish but is tinted instead; thanks to that, the disposal looks pretty unscathed despite lots of use. There are nicks on the casing, but they’re hard to make out without getting close. The L-8000 also has a layer of acoustic foam meant to reduce noise, though in our experience, it doesn’t work very well.

7.3 Usability: As Budget as It Gets

The Waste King L-8000 isn’t the best garbage disposal money can buy. It takes up lots of space under the sink and doesn’t make perfect use of that space. But it does have its own strengths and delivers on its price.

8.0 Ease of Use

When the food scraps are not too tough, there’s not much to complain about. The 30-ounce holding chamber paired with a high-speed, high-torque motor is enough to deal with food scraps in large amounts. The chamber’s generous depth is helpful, too, when you have long scraps to grind. 

When you need to speed up the process, you can remove the splash guard. That said, the EZ Mount system has a comparatively narrow drain even when there’s no splash guard. If you’re switching from a 3-Bolt model, it might feel a bit tight at first.

7.0 Installation

The Legend 8000 from Waste King is one of the largest food waste disposers we’ve seen. And even though it’s not as heavy as it looks, a 12.7-pound piece of machinery is not easy to handle if it’s your first time. It has a pre-installed power cord, though.

Currently, there’s no official version of the disposal without a power cord; you have to remove it if you’re planning on hardwiring. When installing the EZ assembly, make sure that all the pieces are dry, especially the mounting ring and the cushion mount. Slippery connections can cause the disposal to rotate on its own when it runs—especially given the device’s strong motor.

8.0 Smooth Operation

Apart from raw animal scraps and flexible thin bones, the biggest weakness of this in-sink grinder is how loud it can get during operation. Its layer of soundproofing barely makes a difference, especially when you’re grinding something hard and crunchy. Of course, you can’t really expect top-of-the-line soundproofing from something designed to be affordable.

0.0 Unjam Mechanics

Permanent-magnet garbage disposals like the L-8000 typically don’t come with external unjamming features because they rarely jam. If you have to, you can use a stick to reach into the chamber; just make sure that the machine’s power is completely off beforehand.