This article will explore the garbage disposal tripping breaker.
If your garbage disposal keeps tripping your breaker, you must act before the problem exacerbates. While troubleshooting is among the common ways to solve the problem, it’s worth identifying the root cause and how to prevent further occurrences.
Garbage Disposal Tripping Breaker
A garbage disposal is one of the few kitchen machines kept out of sight.
Still, it’s a practical tool to preserve debris and clog-free kitchen plumbing. It works well to chop leftover food and other kitchen scraps into tiny bits.
However, it can also go through the plumbing more efficiently than any other kitchen appliance.
Problems with your garbage disposal could arise from misuse and continuous use over time. These appliances show multiple indicators if they are about to break or are not working efficiently.
One of these indicators is to turn off the circuit breaker, and one is to trip the circuit breaker.
What Causes Garbage Disposal to Trip Beaker?
As stated earlier, you must determine why your garbage disposal trips your circuit breaker.
This will assist you in effectively resolving the problems and averting a similar incident. Your appliance might repeatedly trip the circuit breaker for several reasons.
A few problems include worn-out motor bearings, blocked shredding plates, and wiring problems in your house. An overload breaker, an aged device, and other factors are culprits.
For better comprehension, let’s go over these causes once again.
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Faulty Wiring
Generally, houses are constructed to comply with stringent norms and regulations covering electrical wiring, plumbing, and structural components.
This is to avoid fires and problems similar to what you’re going through. If there is a problem with the wiring in your house, the garbage disposal will trip the circuit breaker whenever it is turned on.
You’ll need to contact a qualified electrician and describe the situation so that you can fix it. Repairs are delicate and should only be done by specialists, so don’t try to do them yourself.
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Aging Unit
Waste disposals are not made to last a lifetime. They will age and eventually need to be replaced.
When the reset button comes out of the disposal after a few tries, that’s one indication that it’s getting old. The motors in garbage disposals weaken with time and trip the breakers more frequently.
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The cutting board is stuck.
If your shredding plate is stuck, it will likely trip off your breaker. To address this problem on your own, find a hole at the appliance’s bottom.
Use an Allen or disposal wrench measuring ¼ inches and rotate it clockwise and counterclockwise. Continue to waggle until the shredding plate seems to be moving freely.
Another solution for people whose disposal lacks a bottom opening is to fit a broom handle into the drain aperture. Gently wiggle the handle until you feel that the plate is turning freely.
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Overload
A circuit breaker is intended to support a particular load.
It will trip if it is too tiny to support the power needs of your device. Additionally, connecting multiple devices could overload the circuit breaker, causing it to trip.
Check the power requirements before installing your kitchen appliances. This will prevent the circuit breaker from being overloaded.
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Worn-Out Rollers In Motors
The impeller’s circular shredding motion is intended to throw the smaller food particles against the grinding chamber’s outside wall. After being rinsed through the openings, the food fragments are thrown into the trash.
The circuit breaker will trip if the shredding plate is severely worn out or clogs from food particles stuck to it. To prevent self-inflicted damage to the device, the breaker trips.
Fixing a Garbage Disposal Tripping Breaker
Having seen the potential reasons why garbage disposal could trip a circuit breaker, it’s critical to understand how to resolve the issues. Fortunately, there are a variety of easy fixes you can attempt.
First, see if there is a red reset button on the appliance. If so, press and hold the button for a little while. This will assist in fixing some issues. Try these fixes if it doesn’t resolve the problem:
Examine the outlet to which the circuit breaker is attached.
Make time to meet with an electrician to fix any problems with the wall wiring. Moreover, a tripping breaker may occur if the device runs out of stringy food, such as pasta and vegetables.
In this instance, you should carefully examine what you put in your kitchen sink. Avoiding throwing away stringy foods can prolong the life of your appliance.
Consider getting a new appliance if the old motors in your appliance are causing your circuit breaker to trip. Your appliance will become more efficient, and the breakers will no longer trip.
Take it off to see the electrical power wire cables. This will significantly improve the system’s longevity.
Identifying a Faulty Garbage Disposal
How can you tell whether your disposal is operating correctly? As a homeowner, you must understand how to spot a unit issue. This will assist you in promptly resolving the problem before it worsens.
If your garbage disposal won’t turn on, that’s one indication that it’s broken. If so, try pressing the rest button to see if that solves the issue. If it doesn’t react favorably, verify if the circuit breaker has tripped.
Another warning indicator is a buzzing sound or no spinning from the blades.
When the garbage disposal makes an unusual noise when it is turned on, there is a problem. It might make a ruckus and won’t spin because the blades got jammed.
If that’s the situation, carefully feel around the disposal drain’s interior. Remove anything and test the disposal to see if it’s there. If the drain is clear, the jam maybe somewhere else.
There are many more signs of faulty garbage disposals. These include an overpowering smell from the appliance, improper disposal, and draining.
Your garbage disposal may be tripping your circuit breaker, indicating several issues. As you can see above, there are several reasons why your breaker can trip.
If you’re having this issue, you can fix your appliance and get it back in working order by following the instructions above. If you need help completing the task, you should contact an expert.