Garbage Disposal is dead as a door knob?

[John B.]

Is the breaker (the little push-in button) tripping again when you flip the switch on? If so, it may just be jammed and tripping the breaker when it can't spin. The disposer at my previous house used to occasionally jam after periods of disuse...I think there was probably some slight corrosion that built up if it wasn't run regularly. Anyway, if that's the case, you can try to break it free with a hex key from the bottom of the unit, if there is a fitting to do that (it would be in the center bottom, the fitting is at the end of the shaft), or head to the hardware store for a disposer wrench which goes down into the drain opening to spin the impeller (if using either tool, make sure the power is disconnected first).

If you have to replace it, and do so with another model from the same manufacturer, the mounting hardware will probably match up and you will just need to disconnect the plumbing and drop it from the sink and reverse the process with the new unit.