Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut
My disposal actually says to occasionally put something like a bone in there. I had one that just stopped working so I decided to figure out how the damn things work.
Turns out that it isn't a spinning blade or anything in there but rather a couple of 'hammers' that spin around on a central shaft. The two hammers are on their own axis on a larger disk ('grinding plate'). As that disk spins, the hammers spin around independently and blast things towards the outside to be run over what amounts to cheese graters. Those graters are what do the cutting as the hammers move things out and press them into the grinders.
What will happen is that the disposal spends enough time wet that it will get a little corrosion or gunk built up around the base of the hammers. The hammers will then lock up and stop doing their jobs. So when you put a bone or something hard in there, it breaks them loose and keeps them spinning correctly (and the disposal working).
I had to take the one in my prep sink out, blast it was as much WD40 as I could find and start beating the hammers with a chisel and mallet to free them. If you put more hard stuff in there, they should never get that stuck. Alternatively, I've read that if one gets stuck, you can just fire it up and shove a broom handle in there. Uh...have fun with that. I ain't going that route. I'd suggest large blocks of ice instead.
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I throw a handfull of ice down mine about once a month to clean it