The real question...I now have a continuous feed garbage disposal. For my new kitchen, a batch feed has been recommended (safer).

Thoughts? And thank you!

A batch feed disposal is turned on and off by its cover, which also doubles as the sink strainer, or if you want to fill the sink with water, the cover acts as a sink stopper too. Because the disposal can only operate with the cover on, some consider it safer than a continuous feed disposal which is turned on by a separate switch. I remember a rental apartment I lived in where the undercabinet light switch and the disposal switch were next to each other, and you really had to think which one to flip to turn on the lights and not the disposal. If I had children who like to play with switches and the like, I would only get a batch feed disposal. Just MHO.

Because there's no switch, you don't have to worry about installing a switch on your pretty backsplash, or have to cut a hole in your counter (for an airswitch). Also, batch feed disposals don't need the rubber flange over the top that continuous feed disposals have. That means you can see clearly down into the disposal to retrieve spoons or whatever that have dropped down, and no need to slide your wrist past a slimy flange.

Some Insinkerator batch feed disposals use a magnetic mechanism in the cover to turn on and off the disposal, and it has been reported on this forum that some people feel this magnet may take fiddling. For that reason, I prefer the Waste Kings, which simply have a little mechanical notch just inside the drain that the disposal's cover trips to turn on and off the disposal. I much prefer that, and also the Waste Kings have larger chambers which I prefer too. The Insinkerators are quieter so that's the tradeoff.

One reason people don't like a batch feed disposal is that you put your scraps into it in "batches". I.e. fill it, turn it on with the stopper, pull out the stopper, fill it again until finished. A legitimate complaint, and you have to weigh that against the other pros of the batch feed and decide what you'd like. The Waste King batch feeds have larger chambers, so it take a lot to fill them, so you don't need to do as many batches. I rarely need to do more than one batch at a time, but the Insinkerator batch feeds are smaller so they made need more batches to complete disposal of scraps. Note that it is important to make sure you have room under your sink for the larger chambers of the batch feed disposal.

I prefer my new continuous feed with the fiber optic switch. The small round switch on the counter is unobtrusive, and it would be very difficult to turn it on by accident. I even made sure that my dog couldn't step on it during a bath and turn it on. It takes a finger, a paw won't work. Small kids would need to get on a stool and reach to the back corner of the sink in order to turn it on. Not that that couldn't happen, but it wouldn't be just an accident, unlike with those switches that look like light switches. You and I agree that those are really a hazard with kids around. Or strangers - how many times have I accidentally turned on the disposal at someone else's house.

And I didn't mean to suggest that continuous feed is safer than batch feed - batch feed is safer, since there is no physical way to engage it while your hand is down there. I just meant that if you want continuous feed for the convenience, the air/fiber switch is the safest kind of switch, just because it won't be mistaken for something else. And the old threads were pretty clear that it would be hard to hurt yourself even on a continuous feed unit.

I can say for sure that you need at least 3/4 HP, and 1 HP is better. I had only 1/2 HP in the old continuous feed, and it was awful. It was an Insinkerator Badger. My new one is Insinkerator Evolution Pro Compact. Much better. I looked at Waste Kings, and they are good too. They have an anti-jamming design.

Continuous feed and air switch for me this time around.