Crushing Cans?

[mjarrels]

Need ideas on how to crush cans? Wife started a recycle program at the 36 hole golf course next door where she works, about every other day, she brings home a 60 gallon trash bag full of cans (12oz to 24oz). Recycle center, they must be crushed to reduce space. I have cans running out of my ears, one bay in the garage is full and about 12 bags in the driveway with more coming every other day. Tried using the tractor FEL but that didn't work well, tried using a heavy spltting maul on each can, works but it takes forever. Any suggestions without spending big dollars?

mark

 

[jinman]

Two words: Harbor Freight

 

[jwstewar]

When I used to recycle pop cans, I would lay a bag out in the yard and drive over them with the truck. A couple of times back and forth and most were flat. Then I realized between using gas smashing them, buying trash bags to store them, the gas to drive them in town, the bees that the sweet pop attracted it wasn't worth it for what little money I got from them, and started throwing them away.:confused2:

 

[Bird]

Two words: Harbor Freight

Down in the country, I had one like the first of those two mounted on the wall in the shop with a garbage bag below it to catch the cans. It took a long time for us to fill a 30 gallon garbage bag and when I got 2 of them filled, I took them to town and sold them. It worked very well, but might be a bit slow for what Mark needs.

And now, I no longer mess with crushing, saving, and selling cans. We just put them in the recycling bin that Waste Management picks up.

 

[chopped]

I tried making a machine with two rotating tires and drop the can in the middle. Might have worked but the tires turned to fast and it fell apart.
I then made a crusher but taking an old table and put a door hinge on it to lever a piece of decking down to crush it , Then had a hole cut in the table to push the can off the side and drop int he bucket worked well.

 

[jinman]

It worked very well, but might be a bit slow for what Mark needs.

Well, either one is better than sitting them on the driveway and stomping them with my size 11W.:laughing:

I just mounted one of the single can models in our garage and it is terrific. I figured Mark might build a hopper feed for the multi-crusher and get this down to a science. With all those tractors, surely he can figure how to use remote hydraulics to make this work. A log splitter could also be rigged to crush cans pretty easily.:thumbsup:

 

[mjarrels]

Thanks for the idea Jim, but Bird is correct... We are talking about a huge amount of cans. Yesterday, the City Chamber of Commerce had a golf outing, wife will probably show up today with two 60 gallon bags filled full. We are probably in the hundreds of pounds now.

mark

 

[jinman]

To quote Roy Jackson, "TANSTAAFL!"

EDIT: Here's another thought. . . Chipper-shredder? Hmm. . . .

 

[LD1]

I built one with a 2" air cylinder, and a lever type control valve. Added quick dump valves and mufflers to the cylinder to speed it up and make it quieter. I average about 45 cans per minute.

The box I keep in the house holds about 80 cans (~$2.00 worth) and I can crush them in jsut under 2 minutes and the air compressor only has to run for 35 sec to catch up. With a 15A motor @ 220 I figured it one time to be under 4cents to catch up.

I'll try to get a vid when I get home or some pics.

 

[Bird]

Mark, can't you find a place that will buy them without them being crushed? Of course it's been 20-30 years ago, but my parents lived in Port Aransas in a mobile home/RV park. One year, one of the other men in the park was saving cans for his grandson'e boy scout troup, so Dad was helping him. Of course these old men went fishing every day, drove around the fishing piers, the jetties, along the beach, etc. A lot of people throw empty cans down wherever they were, but there are also lot of trash barrels and a lot of people use them, too. So the men went through the trash barrels, too. They gathered lots of cans and it was so easy down there that after the boy scout program was done, Dad just kept picking up the cans, throwing them in the bed of his pickup, and then put them in garbage bags at the house. And he would periodically take a truck load to sell without them being crushed.