garbage disposal blade is stuck

[mzink]

have a problem with one of the two disposal blades not turning. Have tried to free it with ice, long screwdriver and with a quick hit of penetrating oil. Any ideas??

[kactuskid]

Your disposer should of come with an allen wrench that you can use to unjam it with. Here's a link that'll give you all the details of how to use it.

http://www.acmehowto.com/howto/homem...isposerfix.htm

[LazyPup]

I presume you are referring to the two little swing arms on the top of the cutter plate in the disposal. While they are often mistaken to be cutters, in fact, all they do is sling the material to the outside of the disposal housing.

If you examine the outer circumference of the round rotating part you will see a series of what looks like half circle indentations, they are the actual cutter mechanism. The inner side of the housing has raised ribs and the material is ground between the outside edge of the rotator and the inside of the housing in much the same way that a mill wheel grinds grain. (In fact, many country people get a new disposal, mount it on a box and use it to grind cornmeal.)

It is quiet common for the slingers to become corroded so that they will no longer rotate. I would not worry about them because that will have very little effect on the overall ability of the machine to grind the waste. R.Rinard -Journeyman Plumber