I have a 3/4 PRO garbage disposal. It stopped working due to spoon caught between the blades. My husband was able to remove the spoon. He reset the button but nothing happens.. does this mean the grinder is gone for good? Money is tight nowadays, I hope somebody can tell me what to do.. thanks

Reset the breaker (or fuse) at the electrical panel... Let me know what happens.

MARK

There is a small reset button on the bottom of your Garbage Disposer. Get on your knees and look at the bottom. It is about 1/4" x 1/4" and it is red. Push it in. Your G/D should work now...

See the photo...

When you reset the reset button and turn on the disposer do you hear a humming coming from the disposer? If not use a hand mixer or something portable, unplug the disposer and plug in the mixer, now turn on the switch that runs the disposer and see if the mixer runs, if not you have a problem with the power getting to the plug, it could be in the switch or in the breaker panel.

Reset the breaker (or fuse) at the electrical panel....Let me know what happens.

MARK

Just learned of this site, yesterday. I signed on and read other related postings. I told my husband what to do. He removed more stuff and got it running.. :) but now it will not stop. For the meantime, he just turned breaker off... what to do next, help please

What model GD is it ? Do you have switch on the wall or you spin the plug to activate it ?

Hi Ailen:

Like Milo said... we need to know how you turn the disposal on... wall switch or by turning the cover.

Back to you.

MARK

What model GD is it ? Do you have switch on the wall or you spin the plug to activate it ?

It is 3/4HP PRO 17. It is turned on by turning the plug certain way. My husband turned the breaker off... to stop it from grinding... thus also turning off some switches that are in the same breaker as the GD. This happened before (the non-stop grinding, but w/o any metallic blockage) and my husband also turned the breaker off... and when he turned the breaker on, after a few days... the GD was functional again. We tried to turned it on, today, and still the GD is on continuous grinding.

Ok, there is a magnet buit into the neck of this garbage disposer. Plug inside the sink is the metal that makes that magnet move turning power to disposer ON and OFF.

It looks like you are not moving that magnet around with the plug inside the sink. Flip the breaker back ON and try to slowly turn the plug 360 degrees one way, then slowly he other way. You should be hearing clicks in one position which indicates movement of the magnet switch. Find the right position to turn it off. Also that plug should not be too high or pushed too deep into the drain. It sits like 1/4" above the bottom of the drain. Also, keep it leveled while turning...

Now FYI: you mentioned your electrical. Garbage disposer should be on dedicated, 20 AMP, circuit. That way, no other plugs are effected by it. :D

Let us know how you did...

Milo

Ok, there is a magnet buit into the neck of this garbage disposer. Plug inside the sink is the metal that makes that magnet move turning power to disposer ON and OFF.

It looks like you are not moving that magnet around with the plug inside the sink. Flip the breaker back ON and try to slowly turn the plug 360 degrees one way, then slowly he other way. You should be hearing clicks in one position which indicates movement of the magnet switch. Find the right position to turn it off. Also that plug should not be too high or pushed too deep into the drain. It sits like 1/4" above the bottom of the drain. Also, keep it leveled while turning...

Now FYI: you mentioned your electrical. Garbage disposer should be on dedicated, 20 AMP, circuit. That way, no other plugs are effected by it. :D

Let us know how you did....

Milo

My husband did what you said and nothing happened. A year ago, we went from 100 amp to 200 amp. The electrician who effected the change bundled the GD and some outlets together in one breaker. I asked my husband if he knew how to assign a dedicated breaker for the GD and he gives me this blank look... :( we will deal with this later on... my priority right now is to get that GD working... for the time being we turn the breaker on and off to dispose of stuff... Thanks for all the advices... I appreciate this... anymore advice ?

It looks like there is something wrong with the magnet switch. It is not your household electrical system that's causing this...

What you can do is: there is a elec. Cord connecting GD and elec. Wall outlet. You can utilize this outlet to turn it into air switch.

However, I would prefer that you call ISE hot line and ask them how to proceed with unfreezing the magnet switch...

I know this is a stupid question. :o but I will ask it anyway... What is ISE and where can I get their hotline number:D Since you said another option is to create an air switch.. does this mean the GD is not a goner? There is hope! :) Thanks

Ailen: ISE stands for In-Sink Erator, the brand name of the disposer. The toll free number is on silver sticker pasted on the body of the disposer.

This type of disposer doesn't use wall switch and is used mostly in kitchen islands.

I was suggesting air switch to spare you from getting new GD. But it may be a complicated approach. In any case: It appears that the original magnet switch is stuck in ON position. My suggestion was to take elec. Cord that feeds GD, make a plug out of it. Install elec. Pig tail on GD. Now take air switch, plug it into new outlet - and plug GD into it. Take air switch button, drill hole in cabinet or counter top, install air switch push button and you are done... Depending on how handy you are, you can easily do it yourself...

Hi all:

First thing I'm wondering is if you have the newer model pro17 (see first picture) or the older model pro17 (second picture).

If you have the newer model you will see a black collar (actually a magnatic switch) on the side of the unit underneath the cabinet (also in pic. Below)... this slides off. I'm thinking it can't hurt to slide this off, tap it a few times and then reinstall and test the unit. If you're lucky this will reset the magnetic switch.

Otherwise a quick call to ISE is a good idea... ;) (telephone number and model number on side like Milo said)... See what they think. Never know, depending on age of unit the unit could be under full warranty... ;) ISE has a great warranty program... includes labor!

Lastly, you could purchase and install the ISE AIR SWITCH (see last pictures) Milo recommended. This would definitely work if you have can remove the electrical from the disposal and install an electric outlet. Then the air switch unit simply plugs into the outlet and then you add a plug/pigtail end to the disposal and plug that into the air switch. You can then run the air switch button through the counter or simply mount it under the sink.

If your unit is super old, however, it may simply be time to replace it.

Let us know what happens...

MARK

Thanks for including pictures... :) We have the newer model. We bought this house in 2000 so it is almost nine years, the warranty is seven years.. so no luck:( I showed the pictures to my husband.. he said he can not see the black collar. He is not handy:D... and the air switch thing sure looks complicated. A new GD of same type will cost us almost 500 USD.. plus the installation... :rolleyes: too bad we already spent our tax refund... so turning the breaker on and off will be for now... Is this bad? Will this mess up our electricals if we do it for say 6 months or until we save enough to have a replacement? Thanks for all the advises, appreciate it.

ailen: it is possible that that black collar is misaligned . It has to be there, otherwise the unit would not run at all. Take a better look. It is right where sink and GD are connected. It may be behind, in the back, hidden from frontal view. The way it attaches is: it just snaps on mounting screws. Chances are that it got loose and slipped down the neck of the disposal... Please, take a better look.

Ailen..

Check out the picture below. It shows where the collar is.

Have your husband double check with a flashlight. As Milo pointed out, it could be at the rear or the side, but it should be there. If possible, once your husband finds it, see if shifting/snapping/adjusting helps to realign the magnet.

If not, I would not recommend using the breaker for 6 months... this could lead to issues with the breaker down the road and lead to even more costly repairs.

If you cannot fix this by readjusting the black collar then you should call ISE and see what they have to say about this. You haven't done that... right?

Check the collar... then I would call ISE next and then finally if they have a less than satisfactory answer I would call in a plumber with a good knowledge of electrical and see what they have to say on this. Do not rely soly on the breaker.. O.K.

Any really handy friends or relatives? :D Let us know...

MARK