Crushing beer cans ?

[ksor]

Here is my new project for a "beer can crusher" mounted on a exercise bike !

The bike is stripped and ready for the additional chruncing unit.

Now I have to make the chrunch unit - here is the plan:

http://kelds.weebly.com/daringseknuser.html

 

[Pete49]

well that should give you excercise at least  Over here (sth Australia) its 10 cents per can taken to the recycle depot...good tool money and you get the enjoyment of emptying the cans as well
Pete

[Lew_Merrick_PE]

Ksor,

OK, but who's going to load the crunching unit?  It seems to me that you need an orientation guide system along with an escapement feed and crunched unit ejection system.  Anything worth doing is worth overdoing, right?  ;-)

[ksor]

Ksor,

OK, but who's going to load the crunching unit?  It seems to me that you need an orientation guide system along with an escapement feed and crunched unit ejection system.  Anything worth doing is worth overdoing, right?  ;-)

I think gravity will take care of the crunched cans and the loading is done with a sort of box where the empty cans is organized so that they will automatically fall (by gravity) into the crunching camber - OK, I'll have to see if it works when I finished the welding and mounting - but I think it will work 

[andyf]

I find the most effective way to crush cans is to lay them on the floor and tread in the middle with my heel. Little pressure is required to flatten them, leaving the ends sloping inwards. I then fold the ends in and down with the soles of my feet. This requires less effort than crushing them axially.

The only problem is that the first stage (where the ends lean inwards) can leave the can clamped to my heel. But a mechanical "crush, then fold the ends down" version could use something with a better shape than my shoe to deal with the first stage.

Of course, you may want to expend more effort, to burn off the calories you took in when drinking the beer.

Andy

[philf]

The only problem is that the first stage (where the ends lean inwards) can leave the can clamped to my heel. But a mechanical "crush, then fold the ends down" version could use something with a better shape than my shoe to deal with the first stage.

I once rode over a can on my bike and the can clamped itself to my front wheel, caught on the stays of my mudguard which pulled the guard onto the tyre bringing me to rapid, undignified halt. Luckily I was only going slowly. I won't fall for that one again!

Given the size of our wheelie bin - we'd have to have a serious drink problem to have to worry about crushing cans.

Phil.

[andyf]

Same here, Phil. I only ever drink at home if I have visitors*. But looking at the link Ksor gave in his first post, he seems to entertain many friends, and to have no favourite brand of beer.

Andy

* However, my back gate leads to the local sports club, so the nearest bar is only 150m away.

[AdeV]

I once rode over a can on my bike and the can clamped itself to my front wheel, caught on the stays of my mudguard which pulled the guard onto the tyre bringing me to rapid, undignified halt. Luckily I was only going slowly. I won't fall for that one again!

Ah, that brings back some painful non-can related memories... as a youngster I recall cycling across our local park absolutely as fast as I could possibly wind my sturmey-archer geared "racing" bike up to - probably in the region of 20mph with a favourable tail wind... One afternoon, the stays which held the front mudguard up mysteriously detached from the mudgard, and proceded to wrap themselves around the wheel, eventually (for "eventually", read "about 5 nanoseconds later") buckling the wheel severely....

As far as I was concerned, the front of the bike did 2 things: It stopped instantly, which is always a disaster on a pushbike; but like a recalcitrant horse facing a fence, it also dipped its nose down, guaranteeing the erstwhile rider a flight of Wright Bros proportions. The style of pavement at this particular park was a tarmac central section, with a stones-in-cement style decorative edging. I can attest to the fact that you can achieve an excellent gravel rash from such a style of "kerbing".

The worst thing, after the bleeding had stopped and the pain receded to manageable levels, was the fact I couldn't even push the bike the remaining 1/2 mile home, it had to be carried.