This garbage disposal motors says it was installed in 2013 and is 3/4HP and it's in a kitchen sink and the motor won't run (it hums ever so slightly).
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I pressed the red button on the bottom but that didn't change anything. I only had time to snap a few pictures. Here's one.
Have you ever replaced one? I think all I have to do is something like: a. Disconnect power & water (if any) b. Unscrew the top (looks like Phillips or nut drivers) c. Put in the new motor and screw it back at the top d. Reconnect water (if any) and power
Does it take a goop (I see something brown at the top)?
What's a good but inexpensive brand and size to replace it with? She says she only uses it a little.
There isn't much room under the sink if that matters.
Why have a garbage disposal ? < serious question >
I've lived on this planet for 65 years, in numerous homes and apartments - none of which had any garbage disposal device at the sink. I can't say I've ever missed it ! ... seems like just-another repair / maintenance> headache to me .. What do you put in there and where does it go ? exactly .. Curious minds need to know .. John T.
My wife puts in all the "food" that is scraped off dishes.
Also banana peels, egg shells, onion skins, potato skins, apple cores, old stale bread, garlic skins, meat cuttings (mostly fat), chicken bones, etc.
Never had a problem with the mechanics of the garbage disposal unit though. So I can't offer the OP any advice other than they should last forever.
As for my wife, she thinks it all goes back into the ground all munched up and ready to be fertilizer and I can't disabuse her of that as we get the septic cleaned out every five years or so and she says she only sees stuff the kids threw into the toilet when they're pumping it all back out.
I've had septic on all 4 of my homes - the kitchen food wastes always went into the compost pail or the garbage. No big deal. When younger and living in city apartments - the major solid food waste went into the garbage - minor stuff went down the drain. again no big deal .. John T.
Got my first one in 2000. Contractor picked a low end model and in 2002 I had to replace it because it was leaking and rusted. I bought the same brand (Insinkerator) but went for an upper end model. Still working fine 20 years later.
They are heavy but otherwise easy to replace.
I believe there is more energy content in raw food and putting it down the drain actually helps break down the other waste.
Create a free account at imgur for photos. We'll get to see them for free with no registration. e.g.
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A 10 YO disposal from ACE hardware? I'd say it's time for new one.
Is there an 1/4" Allen wrench stored on the bottom of the unit? 10 years? Probably not. Get one and put it in hole on the bottom of the housing. Turn it back and forth and see if something is jammed inside.
Most disposals will come with their own mounting hardware including a new sink basket. They are pretty easy to install these days. Finding one that fits the existing hardware might not be as easy as you think.
That's probably the fiber washer. Most disposals use them.
Really? "good but inexpensive"? Two words that are very subjective.
All I can say is that In-Sink-Erator is my go-to brand, typically the Evolution Compact 3/4 or 5/8 HP, Continuous Feed. Very quiet, even in a steel sink. Almost silent in a big ole cast iron sink.
You can spend a little more money with a Evolution Select model and get even more noise reduction "technology".
If you want to go cheaper and put up with a little more noise, check out the In-Sink-Erator Badger series. Probably still quieter than that old ACE unit.
You may find slightly different models at different stores. e.g. the same model but 3/4HP at one store and 5/8HP at another store. It's a game to prevent price matching. No one is going to notice the difference of 1/8HP.
Stick with Continuous Feed. Batch Feed means you need to install a cover over the drain to turn the unit on. PITA, but safer, I guess.
Badgers are smaller than the Evolution series (less noise reduction "technology") but the ACE one that's in there looks pretty big, comparatively.
That's always been an allen wrench on the ones I've had. They give you one with the unit, but you can use any allen wrench that fits. If it's stuck it could be a one time thing due to something in there, which may need to be removed by hand. (make sure the power is off) Or it can be a sign that water has gotten into the bearings, they are rusting and it's starting to go. If that's the case, it will seize up again. Might be able to get more life out of it by using it regularly. When starting to go like that they can seize up if not used for a week, but work OK if you use it every other day.
I have municipal sewer and I put as little down as possible. The big stuff from peeling vegetables goes in the trash, the small stuff in the disposal. The local landfill generates electric from the trash, so there is some positive there, though it does also generate CO2. I wonder what the best CO2 strategy is there? Like the stuff that goes into the municipal sewer, where does it really wind up? I don't like putting more than necessary down the pipes because I figure more likely something will get clogged eventually.
When I moved into this house, 30+ years ago, there was no garbage disposal. I decided to surprise SWMBO with one for her birthday. As I started to take apart the galvanized drain pipes I was amazed that the sink even drained. I could not see through the 2" pipe, even through a section less than 2' long. There was so much gunk built up the pipe that there was less than a 1" spiraling hole through the sludge. I ended up replacing about 15' of the galvanized with PVC, from the sink to the main stack. We've had a GD ever since - first a Kenmore (what did I know? I was a rookie at the time) then an InSinkErator.
Last year I had issue with my main sewer. As part of the troubleshooting, I had my drains scoped from where the main stack exits the roof, all the way out to the street. I have the video. The drains are smooth and clean, with the only obstruction being the roots where the town screwed up a connection years ago. (They fixed that at no cost to me) I was recently disconnected the PVC drain while working on a project and it is perfectly clear also.
Bottom line: 30 years of no garbage disposal resulted in pipes that were almost full of sludge. 30+ year with a GD, and without being particularly cautious with what goes into it, I have had no ill effects. Did the PVC help? Of course. Did the GD hurt? Absolutely not.
I learned a lesson in my first house on a sewer line figuring I would dispose some stinky crab shells down the disposal there that I could jam the pipes.
I hear that there are municipal sewers in places like Greece where you are not even permitted to put down toilet paper there.
But of course that has nothing to do with the garbage disposal, just a bad decision on the user's part. InSinkErator addresses this sort of thing on their website. (Substitute eggshells for crab shells)
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"There is often the question of using a disposal for eggshells and coffee grounds. In fact, neither of these materials is harmful to a disposal, and will pass through it without a problem. However, problems can arise with household plumbing – especially if it is older, or has not been cleared in some time.
Both coffee grounds and eggshells are sedimentary in nature, if too much is placed in at one time, or if the plumbing is restricted, it can create a clog or a ‘slow drain’ situation. To help avoid any problems, feed these materials into the disposer gradually, and utilize a strong flow of cold water to help flush it through the pipes."
Later on that same page, is a chart that says small bones (with a picture of a fish) are OK. The same "small amounts, full flush" instructions apply.
I'm not saying that I put bones in my InSinkErator, but knowing that it can handle them gives me confidence that just about anything else I put in there (e.g. food scraps) will be ground up to such an extent that it won't cause an issue. 30+ years of problem free experience tells me that I am right.
The only thing that I have trouble with is stringy stuff like some fruit/vegetable skins that the grinder can't pulverize. In these cases, the item tends to stay in the GD and I can hear sound of it once the GD is otherwise empty. With the removable sink baffle that the InSinkErator uses, it's easy to get my hand into the unit and remove the offending debris.
Everything organic goes into the compost pile (or the greenwaste bin).
So long as they're burning trash derived from non-fossil sources, the CO2 emitted is a balanced part of the normal carbon cycle. Just like burning firewood where the carbon has only been locked up for a few decades at most.
Adding carbon to the atmosphere from 100 million years ago throws the balanced carbon cycle out of wack.
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