You should also look at the Blum Servo-Drive. It is a small box that you plug into the wall behind your cabinet so it can operate electrically. This lets you open your trash bin with a hands-free nudge of the hip or quick press of the hand. It is not too expensive- around $300. For years of hands-free bliss, that's worth it to me. I am having it put in during our remodel. Check www.blum.com. There is also a fun video on youtube- look under Servo-Drive or Blum.

If you do a search (if the search funciton is operational today!), you should find at least a few threads devoted to foot pedal openers.

It's true, soft close and foot pedal openers can't coexist in the same cabinet (opposing functions). It is a (very) minor annoyance, having to use that little bit of "oomph" to close the trash cab door, but we very much like having the foot pedal opener, so it's a worthwhile trade-off for us. Ours is the "silver" pedal from Hafele/Hailo.

There is now a push-release type of opener that some here have used, as well as some sort of sensor system. I'm not familiar with how well they work, but i'm sure other GW'ers can advise on those.

I have one and we all love it! When hands are full it is easy to open and besides, it's a neat feature in the kitchen! you can also just pull on the handle.

I have the Blum Servo Drive and it is one of my FAVORITE parts of my new kitchen. So worth it over and over and over. Highly recommend it!

that looks great. i'd love it.

so would my dog. lol!

Here is a link that might be useful: Blum Servo Drive

I bet our dog really would figure it out. We are still waiting on our cabinet install (3 more weeks!!), but at my brother-in-law's home they just use their toes to pull the trash bin out.

thanks for posting this. I was going to build my own contraption. Any idea if it's powerful enough to one a 15"x30" pull out door with trash inside?

Hafele is one of the manufacturers of foot pedals (the only one a couple of years ago). For around $35 you can have a pedal that will be more difficult for a dog to use b/c you have to get under and then push in as opposed to just stepping on it like trash cans w/pedals (seriously, that's an issue in our house since our female standard poodle is very intelligent...she figured out the trash can quickly and she even figured out how to open a child gate!)

However, while we have the foot pedal, it hasn't been installed yet b/c my DH is resisting disabling the soft-close on that one cabinet!

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread: Foot Pedal for Trash Can

Servo-drive is wonderful!!! We just had ours installed and love it. One thing to consider, though- if you have inset cabinets, then there may not be enough room for two waste containers, since the servo-drive takes up room at the back of the cabinet and inset doors take up room at the front. We could only fit one waste container, but it's a big one.

how hard do you have to nudge it to trigger the servo drive?

Also you installed it but you are not using blum drawer units, correct?

There's this very cheap option. I'm thinking about it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Drawer kicker

Mereanne, how much space in back should we plan on alloting for a servo drive? They sound great!

The servo drive motor needs about 4 inches to stick out from where it mounts to the back wall including the little trigger that makes the cabinet slide out. I usually nudge it with my knee to open or close but you can give a little tug on the knob if you want. The first week or so I opened it accidentally a few times, but then got used to it. I guess I had a habit of pressing my knee into the cabinet while washing dishes! Good to know... That hasn't happened since. I don't have this on any other drawers, just one door of my under sink cabinet. You can get the exact specs on the Blum site.

I researched this and it would seem like it would work with blum or ikea or even non-ikea systems if you install carefully.

Is it noisy at all when it push the drawer open? Do you guys have an outlet inside your cabinet or is it in another cabinet to provide power with longer wiring.

Also I would like to know when the trash bin is full would it cause too much weight for the unit to push the drawer.

Here is what I found out. The servo drive unit has a 100lb capacity. That is powerful enough to push out drawer with a couple of cast iron dutch oven.

Also, the initial cost for a kit is around $300-$400 depending on where you look, but you do not need a kit for each drawer. You can add additional drive unit to the power supply from the kit. So I am looking at around $400 to motorize my 2 pullout units, one for recycle and one for trash.

I am still curious about the noise, and it only pushes out the drawer by a short distance, the rest might rely on momentum or you to pull it all the way out.

No noise except the noise opening any drawer manually would make hearing the slide. My drawer box has a trash bin in front and a matching recycle bin behind that. It comes out all the way gently. If I only need the trash, sometimes I'll use my knee to stop it from extending.

Hmmm, I've never thrown away any cast iron dutch ovens LOL!

Servo Drive looks great! When its installed, can you still pull open the drawer using the knob? Or do you have to tap it?

Faleash, what type of trash system do you have? I'm wondering about the dimensions and how you accomodated the double trash cans and the servo drive mechanism in the cabinet space.

The servo-drive is not very noisy at all. You just have to nudge it gently or pull on the handle and it comes all the way out on its own. Likewise to push it back in. There are two power settings and we have the unit set on the higher one. Before we installed the unit, I was nervous that it might knock over one of our toddlers... that was silly, there's no way it could knock over a kid!

I just measured and it looks like the drive takes up about 4" from the back wall of the cabinet. The drawer box is 19.25" from the back of the pullout box to the front face of the inset panel.

I didn't tell DH about the servo-drive initially because I thought he would be upset by the expense. It just so happens that it is one of his favorite features in the whole kitchen and worth every penny!

annesv- yes, you can still give a little tug and it will open easily

kitchen_angst- I'm not sure what you mean by system, but my cabinetmaker made a deep drawer box so the bins would be secure. The dimensions of that drawer box are 15.5" wide by 21" deep by 12"high. I really went to town (literally) looking for the best bins to use for maximum capacity. I wanted the highest with the widest "mouth" that still fit two. These are Rubbermaid model 2806. Funny it took longer to figure these bins out than my backsplash LOL!

faleash, is your cabinet as low to the ground as it looks? looks like not much room of toetick.

I am doing these cabinets which will sit about 1.5" off the floor so I am worried about accidentally hitting them open with my toes or something.. Otherwise I got the approval from the wife to get the parts for the install :)

poorowner- that's an optical illusion... I have standard 4 inch toekick space.

Oh forgot to ask, do you have blum drawers or are these added to your other brand of cabinets? It needs to install perfectly contacting to detect the "nudge" doesn't it?

Thanks for your help !

Blum - yes... It needs to hit it right to make contact and trigger it to open.

~bump~

I know, it won't get it back on the hitlist, but it might save the thread from disappearing again....

Hey there, what do you want to know? I have all hardware in my procession now.

There is a template for Blum tandem plus for either metal back (ikea) or wood blum drawers.

I will be installing it this weekend.

I really wish we had installed this on our "trash/recycling" door. The wood finish has worn away by the handle due to lots of messy hands and garbage.

Can this be installed later or does it need to be planned for before installation? It's not in my budget during the re-do but maybe for a Christmas gift?

You can install the Utrusta push opener, made I believe by Blum. It's a servo motor and you can install it anytime as long as you have an electrical outlet. You do need Blum drawer glides. Cost is only $139.- at Ikea = less than 1/2 price listed elsewhere. Doesn't interfere with softclose.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30238703/

Thank you. They will be custom with Blum glides. So I need to have the electrician put a plug back there before install and then I will be good to go?

beenzmail - I would think so. Blum offers various glides, and Ikea's Blum glides might differ just slightly from other Blum glides. I would buy this gadget from Ikea (you can return it if needed) and check if it's compatible to use with the glides your cabinet maker uses. If so -then yes - a plug is all you'll need.

Worth a try. Thanks!

the ikea one doesnt have good reviews . For those that have Blum, are you still happy with it years later? And does it fit into any cabinet?

sonalbatra - I thought that the Ikea Utrusta push opener is made by Blum. The only Ikea push-opener reviews I can find is for the "Besta" system on Amazon, and the reviews are good. Where do you see Ikea "Utrusta" reviews?

pippabean - thanks for making me take another look on google based on what you wrote :-) ....I now see utrusta is also their under cabinet lighting and that had so so reviews. i saw three stars but didn't see it was for the under cabinet lighting mixed in with the opener. So this is def a good alternative to the $300 servo-drive. thx.

Glad to have helped clearing that up for you :-)

I would like to put Utrusta in our waste/recycling drawer. The drawer is bottom-mount, not Blum, not Ikea. Are BLUM glides really needed or has anyone installed the servo with non-BLUM drawer glides?

I've created my own hands-free trash drawer and can opener, using the Ikea Blum push-opener and a bit of trial and error engineering/rigging to make the trashcan lid open and close along with the drawer. It works like a charm! :-)

I took a video, but Houzz only lets users upload from a URL- arrgh...

I'd love to see how you did it pippabean. The lid function is my holy grail. :)

Walt - I'll take some photos soon and post them. Holy grail, haha... yes, I agree.

You know, I actually grew up with a trashcan with self-opening/closing lid, but can't find any mention of these online, not even a picture. Yet, back in the day in Switzerland, just about all trashcans functioned like this. Now the available systems are expensive and complicated, and demand exacting dimensions to function, not something I could possibly duplicate.

The Swiss contraptions from the40s/50s and 60s relied on a very simple, adjustable and thus, foolproof idea. The trashcans sat in a holder on the inside of the under-sink cabinet door. When the door was opened, the can would swing out along with it, but the hinged lid was restrained by a thin adjustable chain from the back/top of the cab interior. The chain was attached so as to force the lid to rise up when opening and drop the lid shut again during closing. The chain length mattered, but could easily be adjusted.

I adapted the idea to my Ikea trash pullout under the sink. So far, my set up is just temporary (the can is held in place with masking tape etc). I will rebuild with more permanent materials as soon as I find some time. In the meantime, we're enjoying my hands-free trash pullout.

Hi Pippa, oh please post some pictures. I too, would like to see how you did this.

Do you really need Blum guides to be able to use the Servo-Drive? Will the Servo Drive work with other soft close glides?

HU - Not sure. Some self-close / soft-close seem to have a bit of resistance when opening. Not sure how much that would affect the Servo Drive's ability to open the pullout far enough.

My Ikea pullout is heavy, as it's 36" wide and chock full with cleaners and cleaning supplies. The Servo Drive pushes it out enough for the lid to open to a bit more than vertical position. That's about 14". It's a 17" sink pullout, so if I need it open to the max, I pull it by hand, typically to reach a cleaner at the back. Not often.

Thanks Pippa. Would have cabinet doors that is front mount (not recessed in to be flush with the cabinet) limit the use of the Servo Drive? Since the front face/door of the trash bins sit on the front outside of the cabinet frame there wouldn't be enough of a "push" to activate it?

HU, I'm not sure I understand your question.

I have Ikea doors, which are full overlay over frameless cabs, not inset. The Blum servo drive is European made, European cabinetry is 99% frameless with full overlay doors.

I don't think that having full overlay or inset will affect the servo drive's ability to open the door.

The utrusta is just a mechanical arm that pushes the drawer from behind. It comes with small spacers that are placed between the cabinet frame and drawer so that the drawer can be pushed in slightly and activate the arm pusher. It does NOT work with Rev-a-motion because there is not enough force from the pusher to overcome the rev-a-motion closing mechanism. I don't think the glides are that important--I have Grass glides and the utrusta still kicks the drawer out. Although rev-a-motion is too strong a closer, there is a need for a weaker soft-close mechanism otherwise the drawer won't close at all and the utrusta will just keep opening the drawer. Does anyone have suggestions for how to retrofit soft-close on Grass glides?

great Ideas thanks