My garbage disposal is not working. When I spin it it will work for just a second and then it stops again. It keeps throwing the trip switch on the wall. Every once in a while, after I spin it, it will work long enough to get the food though it and then will stop working again. Is there a part that can be replaced or do I have to replace the entire garbage disposal?
Linda
Tom’s Answer:
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Tom: No, replace the whole thing. All it is is a motor. I mean it’s all it is, with a blade in it and water runs through it. It’s a very simple piece of equipment, but there’s not parts and pieces you replace. The motor’s binding, it’s burning up. It’s just tripping the breaker because it’s binding.
Charlie: We were talking earlier about is this a do-it-yourself thing about hot water heaters? Not so much, but there’s actually a video at homeshowradio.com that shows you how to do this.
Tom: That, and I’ve done stories on it. Here’s the trick. If you have an Insinkerator, buy an Insinkerator. If you have a Sears, buy a Sears, because all the attachment equipment on the sink is interchangeable. All you do is drop it down and screw the other one up, and you don’t have to mess with all the parts and pieces. Just buy the same brand, unless you just hate doing it, but it really makes it easy.
Charlie: I remember we replaced one one time. We called Abacus and had them come do all this, right, which would be how I would do mine, just so you know. I’d just pick up the…what do I use to make reservations? They came out and Alan O’Neal personally put it, in the very first home we got, and he said, “Now, Charlie, this one’s a three-quarter horse. This thing will crush, this thing will eat bone.” I said, “I don’t want to know why that’s important.”
Tom: You can put a whole turkey down it. Three-quarter’s the way to go. Most people have half. A third, don’t bother.