When I turn my garbage disposal on it just buzzes and sounds like it is locked up as if there was something jammed in there. However I did the broom handle trick and can easily turn the grinder around. I also can put an allen wrench in the bottom and the flywheel easily spins. What do I look for next?
Is there a clutch type mechanism between the motor and grinder? I thought they were direct drive, so if you can easily spin the top then the motor should spin as well.
Yeah exactly. I can spin the top with the dowel and can spin the bottom with the allen wrench. It seems to move free, but when I turn the motor on it just hums like it is jammed.
Weird, the only time I’ve seen something like this was with tactical environmental control units when the compressor motor would seize up, which was real obvious.
It probably just needs to be reset. To reset you spin the blade with the allen wrench to ensure it is clear. Then push the reset button which should be on the bottom. It should work then. When we moved into this house, my wife left the sink full of crap for 5 days which is unusual for her. I turned on the disposal and nothing. Then I remember this from my childhood. Our disposal always locked up because my parents were slobs and dumped all sorts of shit in the disposal, locking it up all the time.
Do not ever use drano in a disposal. It will cost the metal to heavily corrode and that will freeze it permanently.
If you buy a new one, be sure to punch out the hole so the dishwasher can drain. The idiot who installed my last disposal forgot to do that and it caused other issues. I won’t make the same mistake twice, I hope.
The allen wrench goes in the hole in the bottom to crank back and forth.
I had to replace mine yesterday as that stopped fixing it and the reset button would never pop out.
Took me a little over an hour to replace myself and I am no plumber so don’t be scared to replace yourself.
I replaced my in laws and helped my dad finally fix his after a couple years. I’m just giving him the quick tip.
Looks like I’m going to replace it today. It looks like water is dripping out from inside of the bottom of the case even though the outside is dry so something internally went haywire. Thanks for the reminder on the dishwasher hole. That would suck.
Project Disposal is complete. I just installed the new unit and it is running quite nicely. Also much quieter than the last one.
Our disposal went Tango-Uniform yesterday. It’s making the popular humming noise, but I can freely spin the flywheel from below and the disc from above. It’s also draining really really really slow too.
question for the more disposal savvy amongst us, the reset button feels like it’s popped out, I can press it up into the unit about a .25 inch, but it pops right back out. Should the button stay up when reset?
I literally just hit the reset button on our disposal which decided to get cranky of the holiday weekend. When pressed the reset button on mine does stay up and the machine now works again. That is the limit of my disposal knowledge though.
Thanks, I think mine is supposed to stay up as well. The fact it isn’t is signaling to me it’s time for a new unit. Luckily it’s still under warranty.
Reviving a thread from way back in 2014…
I need to replace my garbage disposal (entire unit). Are there any disposals sold where the wiring/cord is included/attached/hooked up?
My disposal plugged into an outlet. I don’t remember the brand. I got it at Lowes or Home Depot.
Is your disposal hardwired to the house?
Not hard wired. I’ve just never replaced one before and the models I’ve seen online all have some basic wiring involved. Thanks for the response - I’m heading to Home Depot tonight.
I just replaced one last week. I’ve only ever seen them hard wired, but it’s super simple to do. The instructions usually cover it pretty well. If you’re lucky, the new one will fit directly into the drain fittings for the old one. Don’t forget to knock out the plug if you’re attaching a dishwasher drain!
Should take well under an hour. Post or PM if you run into any trouble.