Customer Reviews

Progressive International Can Crusher

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Just as a curiosity, I decided to look up the reviews on one of my favorite gifts of all times: the can crusher. And sure enough, here it is at Amazon.com.

I received this can crusher many, many years ago as a gift. It's exactly the same. All of the can crushers that look like this one are made in the same factory and branded under different names. And they are all about the same price. And you'll see them cheaper each year at brick and mortar stores around Christmas time.

But I was surprised to read all of the negative reviews. Come on guys, this is not a case-hardened steel product. It's a small nick-knack kind of extra convenience to mount on your garage wall like Clint Eastwood's character did in that astronaut movie. Yes, it's flimsy. What do you expect for under $15.00? Sheesh. The reason it's breaking is because you're putting too much power on the crusher. It doesn't need it.

I've had this very can crusher for many years now and have crushed hundreds, if not thousands of cans in it and it still works just as well as it did the day I put it on the wall. I recognized right away it's flimsiness and weak areas and every time I use it, I don't over torque it. I don't put all my weight on it. I don't rip it down in a brutal take-all-my-wrath-out-on-it-for-the-day motion. I ease the thing down because it works fine that way. It will crush cans just fine with a gentle touch as with gorilla brute force!

My only nit pick is that some of the cans want to slip out or jump out when being crushed. So I simply use a thumb toward the base of the can, being careful not to put it in harm's way, and the can stays in place and gets perfectly crushed.

So if you do buy this can crusher, just remember, it's not meant to be crushed itself. Ease the handle down in a calm, even motion and it will crush your can just fine. Respect your can crusher, and it will provide you with many years of can crushing enjoyment!

A can cusher is a great item to have if you have limited space to store your aluminum cans prior to recycle pick (or want to minimize the number of trips to the recycle center). I had this one, and it worked pretty well, but the handle fell apart after about six months, so it is unusable. Not a great design overall.

bought the same exact item from a "harbor freight" store. it was complete junk. see how flimsy the arms are going up to the handle? after three cans these bars started folding over. i would have to rebend them by hand to keep them straight, and after about twenty cans the metal was so flimsy i just unmounted it from the wall and tossed it in the trash. avoid this product and any with this flimsy design. its by no means "heavy duty."

We crushed about 5 cans and the "Heavy Gauge Steel With Soft Grip Handle" bent and no longer works. Buyer beware.

I bought one of these and it didn't last a year before it started falling apart. I would not recommend you purchase one unless you only need to crush a few cans every now and than (like a few cans per month).

This can crusher lasted about 3 hrs one Saturday afternoon. One of the bottom rivets pulled through and rendered the crusher useless.

Totally void of quality. Side arms attached by very loose rivets that catch on the base when trying to bring the handle back up to load another can. I had another one like this that was made with much higher quality. It also had a larger capacity - which this one failed to mention that it is the "small" size. I'm not saying don't buy it but you may have to return it for a better one.

This can crusher will serve you well until it bends. The metal that connects the handle to the crusher is made of very thin metal and once you put any side pushing on it or try multiple cans, it will bend the metal and make it just plain annoying to use.

The Handle for the crusher is not padded very well and tends to get worst with use. The customer service at Farm & Home Supply Center though was very good. They sent a replacement out right away.

It works good except for bigger cans for which it doesn't work at all.