Yes, the hip bump is from Lee Valley, it's plastic, around $5 or less. My cabinet installer thought that 2 of these gizmos would be necessary. It operates on the same principle as a ball point pen Bev

I found the Lee Valley website and the "Drawer Kicker" item that westsider40 was talking about. It looks interesting. I might have to check this out after my new build is complete.

try_hard

Here is a link that might be useful: Lee Valley Drawer Kicker

I'm not Westsider (who originally told me about this) but it was open so here it is: Lee Valley Drawer Kicker.

Thanks for the link plllog. Now I have another question: I think I've probably used drawers with this type of latch, and some of them were really frustrating to try to get closed. And just brushing up against them would cause them to open. Has that been an issue with the trash pullout, using these?

Dear Sail away, I apologize in advance for having limited info. Everything I know is second hand, gleaned from threads. But, there is a thread or two or three which describes the Drawer Kicker pretty well. Do a 'Lee Valley Drawer Kicker' search.
It is affixed to the rear of the drawer, and 'bangs' against the back of the cab.
One would be concerned that the trash cabinet would open hard and fast and bash your knee or other body part, but users have said that doesn't happen. They kind of stop the opening action with their toe/knee/leg, perhaps a blocking maneuver, and those who have this gizmo, love it. The opening is adequate, not too hard that it hurts, nor too soft that you have to use your gunky hands to finish opening the cab. It sounds great. A couple of weeks ago, my potential installer viewed my printout and commented that, perhaps, 2 of them wd be necessary. (I'll just be snotty here but he'd probably like them in stainless steel, made by Bill Gates, with testing reviews of psi force!).
I'd much prefer the hip bump v Haf foot pedal, less to clean, trip over, etc. If in the future the hip bumper fails, I'd hope that I cd then install the foot pedal, to trip over. But there are descriptive threads about the merits of each system.
I am working on a third system in my mind. Should it prove viable, and I don't need a patent, ha!, I'd certainly share it here, with tko's who'd appreciate it's value. ((Please don't ask my dh about systems in my mind- you'd hear an earful---) bev

Bev, No apologies necessary. You've already told me much more than I knew before I read this thread. I like your logic of trying the least invasive opener (drawer kicker) first. Let us know how it works out for you.

In the meantime, I'll do that search.

Thank you all!

I'll check out that Lee Valley unit. I also saw one at cabinetparts.com, and called to ask them about it. The rep said that it would only push the drawer out about 1 inch, which does not seem like enough. Maybe Lee Valley's is stronger, or maybe 2 is the way to go. I'll spend $5-10 on an experiment, but not $60-70 for a foot pedal!

I don't get it. IF the door is fully closed how can you get this thing to work by pushing on the door/drawer. Does it keep the door from fully closing within a fraction of an inch? I have the pull out drawer/door for my trash container as well. If it works, it would be great. I am sooo sick of cleaning that cabinet from the gunk off hands.

I guess for $5 it would be a try. It wouldn't be a big loss

It's a pressure latch. As Bev said, it works like a ballpoint pen. You've probably seen pressure latches elsewhere, like on a stereo cabinet. There's a spring inside. Press once and you compress the spring, creating tension, and the latch hooks on. Press again to loosen the latch and the tension in the spring releases, expanding the spring and pushing past the hook. In the pen, this pulls the nib back into the shaft. In the trash push out it pushes against the back of the assembly, thrusting it forward. According to the Lee Valley site, it opens a couple of inches, which should be enough to finish opening with the side of a hand, knee, toe, or other non-messy part :)

I see what you are saying, Debbie, and I wonder about that too. From the description, it does push in 1/16" in order to spring out, so I guess in a "closed" state, the drawer would be open a crack. That leave me uncertain how to close it without springing it open again, unless you close it very gently?

Wouldn't it be great if whoever has one could video it and post the video on YouTube for us to all see before we try?

try_hard

Yeah, try_hard, I'm getting silly and it's not even wine time yet. A youTube video. Imagine this...All dressed up in Victoria's Secret sheer sexy nightwear, with bumpety, bumpety music playing, and hip swaying into the cabinet...Stop me, stop me, I hear sirens,oooooooh

OK...all this talk about the hip motion (remember "The Bump"!?!)

If you have a foot pedal, how far out does the trash pullout open? Does it come shooting out at you? Or, does it also only open an inch or two?

I bought the toe kicker, but my cabinet guy decided to ignore it. Basically, he didn't want to do the custom work that was required for me to use it--even though I kept asking, "can we please make this toe kicker work?" I'm ticked about it!

I'm pretty sure it was designed for inset drawers. In that case, when the drawer/door is closed, it is closed all the way. In order to use it on an overlay unit, "closed" would indeed be about 1/16th of an inch. Also, the unit is a space hog behind the drawer (it is a couple inches long). I think this is why my cab guy didn't want to hassle with it. The trash box wasn't deep enough, and he would have needed to cut some of the back away...

It has a very tight spring to it. You have to push it hard to click it. But I think it only opens an inch or so. Then you use your foot to pull the cab open.

As it turns out, my cab opens so easily, I don't need the kicker. I can just use my pinky.

If my husband ever installs it, I'll try to video it.

Btw, the gizmo is about 5 bucks, but the shipping is more than that! Grrrr. I think it was about 12 bucks total. Maybe a bit more.

Francy

I have the pedal. You can control how far the pedal opens your trash by adjusting the length of the bungee. We have ours set up so that when you push the pedal, it opens to reveal the first can which we use for trash. If we have recycling, we pull it open manually to access the back trash. It does not come flying open, it just smoothly and efficiently opens; no shins or ankles get hit.

When I ordered my pedal from trashcansandmore.com, their return policy covered it. So if it didn't work, I'd be out a few dollars for shipping, but not the price of the whole pedal. I think they've switched the pedal to a special order item, so no returns are accepted.

The pedal system really is quite adaptable. If you have frameless cabinets, there is a really good chance you'll get it to work on your pullout.

Alku, do you have the Häfele foot pedal? Does anyone else make one (I haven't found any other)? We have framed cabinets, but I saved MeToo2's directions & pictures for adapting the Häfele to framed cabinets.

Your setup sounds perfect (as always!) We will also have 2 cans, one for trash & one for recycling (no sorting needed!)

Muscat, I don't mean to hijack your thread, but I thought this information would be useful for a true comparison of hip- vs foot-pedal.

I have the silver Hafele pedal. To my knowledge, only Hafele makes opener pedals.

I'd be leary of whether the spring allows the door to open the ample amount to toss things into the can. If it only opens 2-5 inches, what's the sense? You'll just have to widen the opening by pulling on the knob/pull with your hand anyway.

I'm curious to hear some user feedback about the item. If it does work well, I'll "spring" for the hip bump. It sounds like a great idea, if it works. Keep us posted if you try it.