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ON RETURNING WOULD NOT STOP RUNNING
REMOVE COMPACTOR DRAWER REMOVE SCREWS ON FACE PLATE REMOVE SCREW NUTS ON PART (SOCKET) SAVE HOLDING PLATE WITH SCREW NUTS TAKE PICTURE OF WIRE CONECTIONS (IN CASE OF POOR RECALL USE PLYERS TO PULL CONECTOR OFF OLD SWITCH REVERS INSTALL TOTAL 25 MINUTES
With nothing in the KitchenAid Instructions nor anything on the internet… I had to go it alone. Actually quite simple… I laid the unit over on its front and removed the 5 screws holding on the bottom plate. This exposed the motor and drive train which turns the two compacting screws on each side. The main drive gear was broken. Taking a wrench to the main drive… I was able to free up the jam… a piece of glass from a broken bottle.
I went to the internet and did a search on KitchenAid Trash Compactor Parts and discovered PartSelect.com… They had me enter the Model Number of my unit and a parts diagram and list came up… I found the gear I needed… ordered it and in two days it was here. Instructions came with the gear on replacement and in no time I was back in business.
I was impressed with the simplicity of KitchenAid’s Compactor, and the ease in which I was able to get my part from PartSelect.com!
2 of 3 crew connectors on old handle broke off, making pulling action of opening compactor wobbly, loose.
1. Loosen screws to remove old handle. 2. Insert new handle into position, align holes on steel backing with connectors on back of handle. 3. Screw on 3 screws, beginning with middle, then left & right. 4. Tighten to firmness. 5. Close & open to test for installation compketeness.
Removed drawer Pulled out from cabinet Unplugged power cord Removed top cover Removed front panel Put front on 2x4 block Unscrewed leveling legs Used 9/16" socket to remove old rollers Installed new rollers installed front panel installed top panel Plugged in electric cord slid back into cabinet inserted drawer tested Works as good as new
Super easy - removed the TOP three screws from behind the door. Wiggled the handle out pulling upwards. Slid the new handle in and screwed it back into place. More importantly I had my part the very next day - AWESOME. Thank you.
Once I discovered that the ram was down, I had to determine why. Opened up the bottom and discoverer the drive gear was broken. Ordered the parts kit and made the repair. Did not know what the other parts in the kit were for, but it works.
1)Pulled the unit out remove the top and bottom covers. 2)Disconnected the drive chain by removing the sproket from the motor. 3)Unscrewed the drive rod on the side that worked and removed the ram. 4)Reassembled and used the bin for trash while waiting for the part. 5)The nut came with clips included (this was not noted in the order but is vital) removed the stripped nut by breaking the old clips. 6)Installed the new nut, clips on the ram. 7)Installed the ram onto both drive screws. I had to hold the 'top sensor' switch up to reverse the screws to lower the ram. 8)Rinstalled the top and the appliance. 2 thru 4 dealing witht the chain, sproket and screw were fairly complicated operations.
Pushed button, made a buzzing noise, nothing happened.
Laid compactor over on its side. REMOVED 5 SCREWS holding cover plate to expose gear drive. Found that large drive broke in half. Used screwdriver to start split ring then pliers to pull it off the rest of the way.Take off the washer . Next I needed to losten the 4 nuts holding the drive motor. This allowed me to slip the rest of the drive gear off the drive shaft. It was then a simple matter to put the new gear back on the chain then slide the whole thing back on the drive shaft. Replace the washer then slip the split ring back in place and seat it home with the pliers. Retighten 4 nuts on motor support. Put cover back on with 5 screws 2 in front 3 in back Pushed button it worked.I must mention that this was a Sears compactor but when I went to their online parts they no longer supported it. I found Part select and they suggested I look at a Kitchenaid compactor and after checking out the picture it looked the same,Iordered the part and it was the same. Thanks I guess I'll come to you first now.
Emptied all garbage! Laid machine on its side. Removed cover. Removed left over gear parts by removing pin. Loosened chain by removing two top left corner screws. Place new plastic gear in position with chain. Returned screws to top left corners. Returned pin to gears. Make sure chain is taught. Replace cover. Lift back up from its side. Test.
The repair was simple as you can imagine. Thought I could buy these legs at any big box store or at least at the local hardware store. No such luck. Partselect had the right product---easy to order and easy to install. Things around here are great.
There were no instructions that came with the parts kit other than how to set the spacing for the gear lash. There were parts in the kit which I have no idea what they are (4 inch long plastic pipes?. Having 4 years experience with Sunbeam appliance repair was an asset. The old melted and broken gear came off easily with a few strikes of a hammer on a flat blade screwdriver. The replacement gear was a perfect match and the scroll pin was put in with a little gusto effort (tight fit as it should be). It would be great if just one gear or the other could be ordered....
Compactor ram was stuck in the down position and door would not open
After inspecting to make sure the actuator was functional and that power to the unit was not an issue I was able to find that one the drive gears cracked in half and made the compactor inoperable. It was easy to remove the bottom casing with a nut driver. This casing covered the drive gear which operated the ram. After slightly loosening the gear mounts and I was able to replace center gear and re-attach gear chain and re-tighten. Then replace bottom casing and the compactor was back in action. Huge savings!