KitchenCraft Foot Operated Can Crusher, Heavy Duty Metal Design

EDIT:1): To completely flatten can on "both" ends: after crushing turn can around and crush it again. This will flatten the entire can it flatter than a trash compactor! And flatter than the pictures on this page show. That is how they look with one crush. Much flatter with two.2): There used to be only two of these on Amazon. Now there are lots of copies from other manufacturers. But how good are these copycats? The KitchenCraft one we have still works like new after 18 months of crushing multiple cans every single day.This will work on a standard size 303 cans. This is by far the most popular size can you see in the market that for instance a can of green beans or mixed vegetables comes in. Most crushers on Amazon have no chance to crush these steel cans. Only aluminum cans. But this Kitchencraft Floor Standing crusher flattens them very easily.It has a little swiveling latch on the side up front (the end away from the hinge) that holds the top arm down for storing the crusher. And a hardened metal pointed screw centered on the end near the hinge. And a ring up front on the right side for grabbing onto and picking up the crusher easily from the floor when you want to move the crusher somewhere else from where it is lying.To use:wear shoes or slippers with hard soleIts best to have the crusher on the floor, near the kitchen counter so you can balance yourself while you stand on the crusher. Balance by placing a few fingers on the kitchen counter.Run the pointed screw in about half way (not all the way) with your fingers. It turns very easily.tilt the can and slide it in under the pointed screw (tilt the can up towards the non hinge end and down toward the hinged end where the screw is. This allows the can to slide under the screw.Slice the can end under the screw.Stand on the crusher with perhaps a couple fingers on the kitchen counter to keep your balance.With both feet on the crusher, and yourself balanced so you don't fall, your entire body weight will crush the can.After finishing however many cans, unscrew the pointed screw a bit, not all the way removed and swing the top arm down and use the latch to hold the arm down.Store the crusher where you want to keep it.--If this sounds complicated, its is not. It's easy and very fast. If you have ten cans ready, they each will take about 10 seconds to crush.--We use this daily on a half dozen cans for a year now. It is as good as new and works perfectly. One of the best appliances ever purchased. I think it would easily last 20 years.

We had a wall mounted can crusher years ago and used it all the time but over the years and several moves it has become lost so my wife ordered this one and it is really heavy duty. It crushes everything! And using the foot makes it super simple, too. A very effective tool in reducing the number of garbage bags needed to take out the cans! Very pleased with my purchase.

As another reviewer mentioned, this does a great job crushing cat food cans: you just invert them over the little bumps and crush away.I suspect larger cans, like for dog food, would be more difficult, since you'd have to lay them down lengthwise.I find I have some difficulty crushing aluminum drink cans, which is interesting since they are easier to crush freehand (freefoot?). Because these days they're smooth and rounded, they tend to squirt out and often halfway over the bar that's supposed to hold them in place, resulting in a can that's kind of wrapped around a bar. Maybe I just need to work on my technique (i.e., slow down).As for storage, the little hook was annoying, and impossible with the crossbar inserted. But I found I could just lower the top and tuck the device under my kitchen cabinet, against the kickboard; it's out of the way and easy to pull out and use.All in all, a very useful gadget for my crushing needs.

I had been looking for a floor can crusher that worked for small can food cans (5.5 oz. size). With 4 inside cats and 3 outside feral cats, we are using between 8 and 10 cans daily. And since we have to bring our recyclables to a transfer station, the plastic bags mount fast.I have been using the Kitchencraft Floor Standing Foot Operated Can Crusher for about two weeks and it has been so satisfying crushing the cans in the morning and then again in the evening. The recycle bag fills up very slowly now that the cans are flattened when placed inside.The can crusher is well-made and I am hoping that it lasts for a long time. If you are looking to crush small cat food cans I would suggest this product.

The Good - the metal is strong and there are non-skid rubber feet to prevent the crusher from sliding when crushing cans. There is a 2 position adjustable pin to keep the can from shooting out when pressing down with your foot. The device feels beefy and looks like it will last.The Bad - there is a hook to hold the spring loaded top closed when not in use that does not reach the pin it's supposed to hook on when the cross bar rod is in the forward most position. In the rear position, the hook does work so this is really the only tenable position. The purpose of the rod is to prevent the can from shooting out if the pin doesn't hold the can in place. You must push down fast or this rod does nothing at all. There is a screw in pin that can go in either of 2 positions. If you screw the pin in all the way the crusher won't go all the way down. In general the crusher has multiple adjustments that just can't be fully utilized.Summary - it works well when you put the rod in the rear position and screw the pin out about half way. But forget about adjusting it for various can sizes.