On Jul 15, 11:10 pm, "John Gilmer" wrote:
2 folks have said to turn it with the Allen wrench to unjam it, but
they didn't say to turn it *backward* to unjam it. Hopefully that will
free up whatever has it jammed. If it's humming, odds are the breaker
on the unit didn't pop, but it's worth checking anyway.

Indeed!

You usually "wiggle" it back and forth until it moves freely.

If it "jams" very soon again without obvious cause (you don't put another
spoon down it) you can get a flashlight and look inside for something that
should not be there. Use common sense and whatever is handy to remove it.

Another trick before replacment is to remove the outlet tube and see if
there is come kind of back up. Again, use common sense as to the best way
to remove "stuff."

As they age, they get "sloppy" inside and don't chop as well. The bigger
pieces tend to jam.

As things go, disposals are pretty cheap (if you don't get carried away) and
easy to replace. Find a model with the same dimensions and you can replace
it in a few minutes. You can leave the part what attaches to the sink.
You remove and attach the electric while the disposal is sitting down.
Then it's easier than changing, say, a worn out switch.



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Other than this part, I agree with this reply:

"You can leave the part what attaches to the sink."

My old Kenmore had a rubber shield that was sandwiched between the
sink and the chrome drain ring (the part you see when looking into the
sink.) After years of sticking our hands into the disposer to retrieve
plastic bottle caps, bars of soap, etc. half the shield was ripped
away. We definitely did not want to leave this in place when we
replaced the unit.

We went with the InSinkErator Evolution series which has a removable
shield that just drops into the drain opening. With this shield in
place the disposer is so quiet that there are times I don't realize
it's on until I turn the water off. In order to install this disposer
properly, everything from the old unit had to be replaced.