Homemade Electric Can Crusher

Homemade Electric Can Crusher FARM HOME Miscellaneous 21-4-38 I built an electric can crusher that holds 10 cans at a time. I built it because I'm a Pepsi drinker and have a lot of cans. It's powered by a 3/4 hp electric motor that drives a 50:1 right angle gear box on back of the machine. On the opposite side, there's a steel wheel and rod arm that rotates a piston made of 2-in. sq. tubing fitted with a catch on back to hold the cans, which enter the ma-chine through a rack. Ears welded on each side of the machine keep cans in alignment. Cans are contained in a 6-in. long compression chamber, where they're crushed down to 3/4-in. thick. The crusher is built on an angle iron frame and mounts on two wheels so it's portable. My can crusher compresses 50 to 60 cans per minute, and a friend of mine who owns a bar has used it to crush up to 5,000 cans. We save up the cans until my grandson Kyle comes to visit since he loves to watch it work. (Kenneth Evers, 12400 South Hausman Rd., San Antonio, Tex. 78249; ph 210 690-2600)

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