Garburator problem
 

Garburator/ garbage disposal was just replaced before closing this April. First time I used the garburator yesterday I was putting Brussels sprouts in with water and the garburator stopped working. Too many sprouts at once. Now it is plugged. I had to go back north immediately for an emergency and now I’m worried about what to do. Any ideas?

I assume you are talking about the garbage disposal? If so, you need to do two things. Use the allen wrench that came with the disposal and insert it into the bottom of the disposal and turn it slowly counterclockwise to unclog the food. If you don't have the wrench, buy one at Lowes. You also need to press the red or black reset button near the bottom of the unit and check the circuit breaker in the electrical panel. If that doesn't work, call a plumber.

OK, here is what you can do. First go under the sink and unplug the garbage disposal. Then using tongs, pliers, your hand, etc., clean out as much of the brussel sprouts you can. There is a reset button, typically at the bottom of the disposal, press it, it should click. If you have the hex wrench that came with the unit, you should be able to manually turn the disposal the clear the jam.Remove the wrench (Note: if you do not have a wrench, you might be able to get one at Lowe's.) Be sure the switch is OFF, turn on the water, plug in the disposal, and then turn on the switch. The remaining brussel sprouts should grind up. then with lots of water running place the rest in slowly, one at a time.
Hope this helps.

Thank you, is it worth getting a stronger garbage disposal unit?

In my opinion, it would not. I would just be careful about what and how much stuff you put into it.

Is it a 2 Barrel or 4 Barrel Garburator?

Less stuff in at one time should do the trick once you get it unclogged. I removed ours. Don't care for them at all. My personal choice!

One other thing. A few years ago we put too many potato peels down the sink and the disposal chewed them up OK but the chunks got clogged inside the drain pipe. If you look under your sink, you will see the white plastic drain pipe coming out of the disposal and going into a "Y" connector that is in the pipe coming from the other sink and down to the floor for the drain. It turns out that there is a plate inside the "Y" connector that separates both sides of the incoming pipe. It reduces the size of the inside diameter of the "Y" connector to less than half of what it looks like it should be from the outside. You can see what it looks like if you go to the plastic plumbing aisle at Lowes or Home Depot.

Anyway, all the ground up garbage had collected there and couldn't get through the smaller sized opening to go down the drain. I had to take apart the plastic pipe around the "Y" connector and clean out the mess. Now, whenever we have a lot of stuff to go down the disposal, we add the items slowly so that it doesn't have too much all at once to go through that "Y" connector. Haven't had a problem since.

Not sure how many barrels. I can’t look at it right now as I had to fly back up north last night for emergency. I am concerned if I leave the garbage disposal plugged for 6 weeks then what will happen? Do I need to get a local plumber right away? Empty Nest house sitting would let them in.

I am going to be so much more careful how much food I add in the future.

I don't think you need a plumber. Disposals clog all the time, and the reset buttom will trip. Also, hopefully, the wall switch is in the off position. I would ask the house sitter to make sure the wall switch is off, so there is no power to the unit. I would just leave it plugged in and unclog it when you return.

:shrug: I think it is EFI..... Extra Food Injected. :ho:

:icon_wink: I think your Garburator/ garbage disposal may be like me and have a hard time digesting brussels sprouts. I can only imagine what your house is going to smell like in 6 weeks. :yuck:

Lot of "how to" videos on You Tube.

QUOTE from a a Plumber.

Garbage Disposal is a Plumbers best friend.

There are items that never should be put down a disposal. I'm thinking brussel sprouts may be one of them. Thinking you got good advice from others here on what to do.

Lessons learned.