GE Disposall hums, doesn't budge

If there is no wrench socket & the wooden handle trick didn't work.........

2) replace with new disposal (I prefer Insinkerator 555 SS or better)

cheers Bob

Using the stick, rotate the disposal blades in the opposite direction...see if it helps.

Otherwise, replace the unit.

-- Oren

Do what Oren said. But, he said "blades", which is OK since that describes their function as we see it. The manual from my Insinkerator called them "hammers", a word they might've chosen so you wouldn't think these pivoting things are sharp. They're not. Reach into the disposal and feel each hammer. I'll bet you'll find that they're not all stuck. Some may swivel, so you'll have a sense of what should be happening. Find the one that does not swivel, and you may feel whatever foreign object has got that hammer wedged against the side of the cylinder.

Or, just replace it, like Bob said. Like tools and fishing tackle, these things should never be included in any written budget you may keep.

How do you know?

-- Oren

WHEN DISPOSALS ATTACK!!! Tonight at 9:00, 8:00 Central.

Look down in the hole with a flashlight. In the center of the rotator, there is a nut, 9/16", I believe. Take a socket with a long extension on it and try to put it on the nut and twist backwards. Sometimes, a very small piece can stop the rotator. The fact that it hums is a good sign. Look closer for an Allen head recession in the bottom of the unit. If yours does not have one, it's quite unusual. If the socket thing doesn't work, you may try a very large screwdriver, or anything you can get wedged in the blades down there to twist it backwards. Try to retrieve whatever it is that is causing this, as even if it gets freed up, the spinning can cause it to punch a hole through the side of the case. Don't ask me how I know.

Good luck.

Steve

You know it is a smallish 6 sided hole, not a square 1/4 or 3/8 inch hole, right?

on the bottom to get the mechanism moving.

GE machines were not same as Insinkerator and didn't have wrench port.

GE also made a number of different models, some good and some errrrr... not so good.

If you have one of the budget models made of carbon steel, it may not be repairable.

Look up the model # and Google that for info.

Jim

Oren wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

WORLD'S SCARIEST DISPOSAL VIDEOS 3

"Oren" wrote

I had one jam. I backed it up with a ratchet, and turned it on. It clattered a little, then just spun and purred like a kitten. Next day, wife says water under sink. I look, and found a hole in the outside casing from where the rotor had spun the offending piece of material out to the outer casing (plastic) and punched a dime size hole in it.

Point is, if I had looked in there and fished it out with a pair of forceps, I would have saved the cost of a new disposal.

So, even though it spins, you want to get out whatever has enough strength to stop an electric motor, because with the momentum, when it gets jammed in the right place, something's gotta give.

Steve

Don't force it or you will break it. I fixed one that acted just like yours. I took a flashlight and a pickup tool and took out a penney that had gotten in there and jammed the spinner against the side. Look for a tiny hard object. Look carefully all around the disk.

replying to Em, Dee Elder wrote: i can see previous responses

Mr407283L

Easy fix. Trash the GE crap and get an In-Sink-Erator

Can you turn it manually with the power off? I always kept a sawed off broom handle under the sink to unjam the disposal when I had one.

Or use an Allen wrench in the socket provided for that purpose. Or is that just an Insinkerator feature?

That is another reason to avoid GE That feature would add 25 cents to the manufacturing cost.

Dunno, I haven't had one for almost 40 years. I am sure the technology has advanced a bit since 1971 when the last one I had was made. I do know the stick works and you can get a tad more leverage than you would get with an allen wrench. I would guess if the OP doesn't know about the allen wrench trick, he threw it away years ago.

Two suggestions: "Baggie" and "magnet"

Insert Allen Wrench into plastic bag. Hold it against garbage disposal. Place magnet on bag to hold in place...