Garbage Disposal On The Blink

Time for a new one, IMO. Smoke is never a good thing. Unless it's me thats doing the smoking, of course.

You can buy more smoke, but to have it refilled is about the cost of a new unit. Buy new.

Greetings,

a) is there a string of some sort wrapped around the rotating bar? b) did you "dry-run" it? many garbage disposals will overheat if there is not water running through them while they are on

Hope this helps, William

PS: I purchased a new one from Wal*Mart for $25

It's the smoke that makes it work -- but the smoke has to be kept inside: once the smoke gets out the thing's no good any more.

Perce

On 12/27/04 05:35 pm snipped-for-privacy@comcast.net tossed the following ingredients into the ever-growing pot of cybersoup:

Just when I thought it was safe to put away my checkbook. :/

Is this a do-it-yourself kind of job for a moderately able handiman? If so, any suggestions on where to turn for a tutorial or instructions?

Many thanks for the input here. Here's to a prosperous new year for us all.

-Fleemo

Greetings,

You can do it. Instructions came in my box. If you have problems understanding them before you start spend the time to look further.

Hope this helps, William

Thanks for the additional info, MLD. Perhaps I'll wait until the wife is around to lend a hand. Out of curiosity, what's the danger of putting pressure on the bottom of the sink? Will it pop out of position?

-Fleemo

How old is it. Some have long guarantees. If it is beyond the warranty, buy a replacement at Sears. Kenmore gets good ratings. Check it out in Consumer Reports at the library.

Believe me--wife will not be of any help. Space is usually tight and it's hard to get two heads and four hands under the sink. Yup--too much force and the sink will pop up with a nice PLUNK. Fortunately, in my case, it PLUNKED right back when I lowered the jack a bit. After much frustration trying to lift by hand the jack method was a piece of cake. BTW, put a piece of wood between the jack and disposal to give you a more stable platform. MLD

Hey Art, I'm not sure how old the unit is. I moved into the house 4 years ago, so it's at least that. I did do some research on the Consumer Reports website. Unfortunately, their #3 rated model, the Kenmore 60554, doesn't seem to be available anymore. (Fairly typical, it seems, that CR's recommendations can't actually be bought anywhere.)

Their #8 pick, the Kenmore 6011, is available and is around $65. It's only a 1/2 horsepower model, but we don't do a lot of heavy grinding so perhaps it'll do the trick. MLD, I'll give your jack trick a shot. Thanks for the advice.

-Fleemo

I purchased these bargain jobs, probably three or four in a sequence. They each lasted about 2 to 4 years due to erosion or corrosion of the soft metal (aluminum?) grinding chamber which led to leakage. Gave up and bought a good GE. Lated about 15 years and irrepairably jammed. Replaced with an Insinkerator with a long warrantee and a stainless grinding chamber. Still like new after 10 years.

So, my experience is that, to some significant extent, this is one area where you get what you pay for.

SJF

was just looking at sears disposals online at