Our Insinkerator is triggering the fuse containing the plugs

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Our Insinkerator is triggering the fuse containing the plugs - is it time for a new one?

turtleattacks

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#277397 13-Oct-2020 10:10

Hi guys,

Our Insinkerator is about ten years old and recently it has been triggering the house fuse that contains all the plugs. (i.e lights still operating)

Last time it did it, I had just flicked the fuse back and it was all fine but today the fuse would switch it self straight off unless I had unplugged the Insinkerator.

Is it time for a new one since this ten year old monster needs replacing?

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#2583478 13-Oct-2020 10:20

Yip, either get it serviced or replaced,

If it is tripping fuses it has some form of electrical fault,

that combined with flowing water and steel sinks and taps sounds like a combination of nasty just waiting to happen...

Jase2985

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#2583485 13-Oct-2020 10:34

i would be worried if its tripping the mains fuse, and not the circuit its connected to

Bung

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#2583486 13-Oct-2020 10:36

Fuse or circuit breaker?

The Insinkerator possibly is faulty because IIRC if it stalls because it is jammed there should be a cut out on the insinkerator. With it diconnected have you tried turning the motor with the spanner they provide to see if the motor turns freely? Have you counted teaspoons?

turtleattacks

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#2583487 13-Oct-2020 10:36

Jase2985:

i would be worried if its tripping the mains fuse, and not the circuit its connected to

Sorry I should have been more clear, it's tripping the fuse that's connected to the power plugs rather than the main one that contains everything.

Will change end edit my post.

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turtleattacks

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#2583489 13-Oct-2020 10:38

Bung: Fuse or circuit breaker?

The Insinkerator possibly is faulty because IIRC if it stalls because it is jammed there should be a cut out on the insinkerator. With it diconnected have you tried turning the motor with the spanner they provide to see if the motor turns freely? Have you counted teaspoons?

Not at home as I had to Facetime the wife on how to switch the fuse back on.

She has disconnected the unit for the time being and I'll take a careful look tonight.

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Jase2985

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#2583491 13-Oct-2020 10:43

switch the fuse? sounds like a circuit breaker not a fuse which is thin wire in a holder (generally speaking)

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turtleattacks

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#2583493 13-Oct-2020 10:45

Jase2985:

switch the fuse? sounds like a circuit breaker not a fuse which is thin wire in a holder (generally speaking)

Apologies for being a n00b.

We have a switch in the fuse box that gets flicked on the 'down' position when we try to use the disposal unit.

This fuse also turns off all the power to the power switches so the microwave, rice cooker (I'm Asian), etc all gets turned off as a result.

We had to unplug the food disposal unit this morning in order to be able to flick the fuse back, otherwise it would flick down straight away.

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#2583506 13-Oct-2020 10:58

That "switch" would be a circuit breaker, not a fuse. Get a new waste disposal unit, or at least get that one checked

Also, make sure you don't have too many high current devices running at once on the same circuit.

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

Keep calm, and carry on posting.

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Bung

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#2583507 13-Oct-2020 11:00

If the disposal unit wasn't running at the time maybe it was on but jammed. It shouldn't be loading the circuit while off/idle.

duckDecoy

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#2583512 13-Oct-2020 11:13

Ours did this recently and a quick google showed its common and basically not economical to repair given its age (ours was 14yrs old).

Make sure you google prices and then head into mitre10 to take advantage of the -15% price matching

eg https://appliancestar.co.nz/products/id66?variant=948865794075

https://www.mitre10.co.nz/shop/insinkerator-model-66-980ml-black/blue/p/280525

The new top of the range ones are noticably quieter than than the mid range ones, if that is of interest.

https://appliancestar.co.nz/collections/waste-disposer/products/evolution-100

https://www.mitre10.co.nz/shop/insinkerator-evolution-100-1005ml/p/115979

https://www.elitebathroomware.co.nz/products/evolution-100-insinkerator-75hp5yr-wty-air-switch

This is definitely an install you can do yourself too, the fittings are standard so you just unscrew the pipes and then unscrew the old unit leaving the old fittings there, then reverse to put the new one in.

turtleattacks

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#2583516 13-Oct-2020 11:16

duckDecoy:

Ours did this recently and a quick google showed its common and basically not economical to repair given its age (ours was 14yrs old).

Can I ask which one you got?

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duckDecoy

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#2583542 13-Oct-2020 12:06

turtleattacks:

duckDecoy:

Ours did this recently and a quick google showed its common and basically not economical to repair given its age (ours was 14yrs old).

Can I ask which one you got?

We purchased the 66 model, noise wasn't an issue for us.

BlueShift

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#2583654 13-Oct-2020 13:23

turtleattacks:

Jase2985:

switch the fuse? sounds like a circuit breaker not a fuse which is thin wire in a holder (generally speaking)

Apologies for being a n00b.

We have a switch in the fuse box that gets flicked on the 'down' position when we try to use the disposal unit.

This fuse also turns off all the power to the power switches so the microwave, rice cooker (I'm Asian), etc all gets turned off as a result.

We had to unplug the food disposal unit this morning in order to be able to flick the fuse back, otherwise it would flick down straight away.

Our disposal did the same thing, when it was about eight years old. I replaced it with a basically identical unit, which lasted another 8-9 years until it did the same again. So I replaced it again.

I figure that's not a bad run for a $250 device that gets a pretty rough life.

As someone else noted, the install is pretty easy, just note where everything goes while your undoing the old one and compare with the new one.

CokemonZ

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#2583658 13-Oct-2020 13:32

Had similar, Died every 5 or 6 years, but got fairly heavily used.

After getting fed up buying insinkerator brand and paying through the nose, got a westinghouse one from bunnings (I think) Cost a third of the price and I've found it just as good - about a year in.

Recommend checking out some cheaper options.

decibel

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#2583660 13-Oct-2020 13:45

Is this an ordinary circuit-breaker that is tripping or a RCD? (anything water related sounds suspicious)

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