plumbing

[bmb]

i have a badger 5 garbage disposal and it only hums and the blades dont rotate, it alos doesn't drain, what can i do to help it work..I tried the red button it doesn do anything

[LazyPup]

Something has jammed in the cutters that is preventing the motor from turning.

If you will look on the bottom of the motor housing in the center you will see a small hole into the motor housing. Inside that hole you will see a recessed hex opening. The recessed hex is on the bottom end of the motor shaft and is there so that a disposal service wrench or a hex wrench can be inserted to turn the motor to clear a jam.

Disposal service wrenches are supplied in the kit when you buy a disposal and normally have a small plastic pouch that the manufacturer recommends attaching to the disposal body or to the cabinet near the disposal. Look around and you may find it there.

If you do not find the disposal wrench you can use an allen wrench, or you can buy a replacement disposal wrench at most hardwares, Lowe's, Home Depot, etc.

Step one is to make sure the power is off to the disposal. For safety it is best to pull the power plug for the moment.

Insert the hex wrench into the rescessed hex slot and use the wrench to try to turn the motor. It may be rather difficult to turn, and you may have to push and pull the wrench repeatedly to rock the motor shaft until the obstruction is cleared. Continue rocking the wrench forward and back until you can turn the motor shaft freely.

Normally the water will have drained down by the time you can go out and get a wrench and return, or it should drain when the motor shaft loosens up.

For the next step you will need a flashlight and a pair of needle nose pliers.

Using the flashlight look down into the throat of the disposal to see if you can locate whatever was jamming the disposal. If you see any foreign object, reach in with the needle nose pliers and pull it out.

You may not see any foreign object as it may have gone down the drain during the rocking action with the wrench.

When you look into the disposal opening you will see the top of the flat rotary part of the cutter. There are two flat metal pieces attached to the top of the cutter wheel. There are often mistaken to be the cutters. The are not cutters, they are slingers that are intended to sling material against the inside of the disposal housing wall as the motor turns.

On the outer edge of the round flat cutter wheel you will see a series of half round slots cut into the outer edge of the wheel. Those slots are the actuall cutters and the grinding action normally takes place between the outside edge of the cutter wheel and the inside of the disposal housing. Examine the slot between the outer edge of the cutter wheel and the disposal housing to insure there is nothing else jammed in there.

If the motor will turn freely with the wrench and you cannot see any foreign object in the disposal you may now plug the disposal in, press the reset button, turn the water on and try to run the disposal in the normal manner. It should go.

If the motor shaft will turn free with the wrench but the motor only hums or hums and trips the overload protector, the problem is in the motor windings and will require changing the disposal.