bigbrian wrote:

The waste disposal unit under my sink has packed up. Flick the wall
switch and all you get is a faint hum, but no grinding of gnashing of
teeth. It was working fine, then the next minute it wasn't. The onlt
thing that went it in between was some manky bits of cauliflower,
which I guess is going to rot if it doesn't come out soon.

Never having got involved in one of these before (it was in the house
when we bought it new about 11 years ago. I'm clueless as to how they
work or why it might not.. It looks to be, although its difficult to
read the labels exactly a Waste Maid 250 1/2hp, if that makes sense.
Is it something that I should leave to an expert, or is it likey to be
something that may be repairable for a half competent novice? Given
its age, should it be replaced anyway?

They basically consist of soemthing like a food processor down below
the sink through which the water and waste (like your cauliflower)
goes. There is a rotating blade of some sort to chop and mince the
waste so it can be washed away.

The 'hum' you are getting suggests that the motor isn't rotating the
blade, maybe the cauliflower was too much for it and has jammed it.
The obvious thing to check is to see if something has jammed the
blades and, if it has, unblock it.

If you do try and clear it out take great care that it's powered off
when you try and clear it, waste disposal units are made to crunch up
quite a lot so fingers are very vulnerable.

If the rotating parts can still rotate freely but aren't then I fear
the motore has failed in some way, more expenisve and not really
d-i-y.

--
Chris Green