Please Help: Garbage Disposal Won't Turn

11 years ago

Hi,

My garbage disposal stopped working this week. When I turn it on, there's no humming noise, just silence. I know there's power going in because the kitchen light dims slightly when I turn on the disposal switch. I've already tried the following:

- Pushed the reset switch at the bottom.
- Unplugged and re-plugged the disposal into the outlet
- Cleared out stuff from disposal
- Turned the shredding/grinding plate by hand. It turns freely.
- Tried to use a 1/4 allen wrench to turn the bottom but I could not turn it (I used a good amount of force but didn't want to apply any more because I thought I might break it)

It is a In-Sink-Erator model 77-32B. Does anyone have any other ideas?

Thank your for reading. Any help or insight is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

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Comments (5)

doug_gb
11 years ago
" Tried to use a 1/4 allen wrench to turn the bottom but I could not turn it (I used a good amount of force but didn't want to apply any more because I thought I might break it) "

That's your problem - something is stopping it from rotating - try moving the wrench back and forth. You sure there's not a utensil down there?
weedmeister
11 years ago
"That's your problem - something is stopping it from rotating - try moving the wrench back and forth. You sure there's not a utensil down there?"

My friend's used to do this. His wife used to put change from her pocket on the window sill, which then would fall into the GD. This would jam it up. There was really no way to get it out beyond complete disassembly.

My advice is to replace it.

If the allen wrench won't turn it from below but you can move the 'plate' from above, something has broken and it won't be fixable.
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Chernoff
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you for the replies.

doug: I was turning really really hard and it still wouldn't move. There's nothing in there (at least none that I could see)
weedmeister: thanks. I may just have to replace it.

In terms of replacing the unit:

I looked under the sink and there are two hoses going connected to the disposal. The upper one is a flexible hose and it has plenty extra length. The second one is a metal pipe... if the new unit is a different size, do I have to get new pipes to replace the disposal? Does anyone know which InSinkErator model is closest to my current 77-32B? I was looking at the ones here and wasn't sure which to get. (I do recall coming some posts in this forum saying the Badger units are really bad)

Any tips on things I have to watch out for if I'm replacing the disposal myself? I can deal with bolting and unbolting things but I thinking cutting and refitting the pipe would be too much.

Thanks again. I really appreciate the help.
lee676
11 years ago
the least expensive of their Evolution series (i think the Compact) is their best value. It works well and is quiet and easy to install.
Chernoff
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks. I see the Evolution Compact is $166 at Home Depot and the Evolution Essential is $193. According to the specs, the diameter of the Compact is 8" and Essential is 8 3/4" and my original 77 is 8 1/2" so their sizes are pretty close. I do see from the reviews that some people complain of leaks.

If I replace the unit, should I just keep the old mounting hardware (flange, gasket, mounting ring) since it's the same brand or do you suggest installing the new mounting hardware?