Thread: Trash Can Trauma--Looking for a no compressor design

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Hello all,

I have been doing a Halloween display for 2 years now mostly basing it on an interactive Magic Mirror. Since the last two Halloweens were on a weekend, I pretty much kept things non-scary as most TOTs came in the daytime and were young children. THIS year, however, Halloween falls on a Monday, so most TOTS will be coming at night. So I am definitely going to ramp things up a bit by adding some scares (YES!...Finally).

Ok, one of the things I have always wanted to do was the Trash Can Trauma after being introduced to the design by no other than Carl Chetta himself.

Now as most of you know already, the TCT is based on a pneumatic ram design. Since I do not have pneumatic equipment (nor have a budget for it) I am wondering if the TCT could be pulled off in a totally mechanical design. I was thinking of perhaps with a motor or some kind of spring release system.

My background is mostly electronic and I have dabbled with Basic Stamps, so I can do some microcontroller programming if need be.

However, I am not as strong minded when it comes to mechanical things. While I grasp mechanical concepts easily, it is the engineering that eludes me. To put it in layman's terms, what I put together I DON'T want it to fall apart. I want it to be reliable too.

Another thing I had in mind of doing is adding a small graveyard to my display. I would like to put a grave jumper behind one of the tombstones. Again, this is normally an air driven prop and I would like to use similar non-pneumatic mechanical contraption for this.

So I am open to any ideas.

Thank You,

Geo

I would suggest a shaker or lid banger utilizing an electric drill motor. I have done a variation of this in a Monster In the Box prop.
Here's what you need:

Trash can and lid (Metal)
AC drill motor W/ variable speed control (plug in not battery powered) Used is good. can find cheap at G-sale etc.
Outdoor motion detector light
screw in plug adapter for light socket
Misc linkages and mounting hardware. (Home Depot)

You will use the motion detector set to Test for a trigger/relay
if you have a dual socket motion detector light, you can use one socket to power the drill and the other a colored light bulb. The socket adapter will allow you to plug the drill in directly.

Mounting and linkages will need to be left to your imagination and mechanical
know how.
It could be as simple as an off set piece of wood with a bolt. Chuck up the bolt in the drill and when it powers on , it will shake the can.
More difficult, but better effect would be to have a crank arm on the drill, and a rod to rapdliy open and close the lid when drill is activated.

To have the drill turn on at a preset speed, you can use a pipe clamp and adjust it to keep trigger on when plug is energized.

Pete

jukingeo: I was just talking to my wife today about a very similar subject (she thinks I'm nuts thinking about Halloween in June) Anyhow, I recently posted a vid of a Dracula portrait I did with moving eyes on a drop panel post. I'm thinking of converting my magic mirrir into a drop panel portrait this year. That will be a shocker for the TOTs for sure!

Now, as far as the airless trashcan prop...
I'd like to suggest using a sump pump hooked to a motion switch. Somewhere, I seen someone using a sump pump for a quick setup for the classic trashcan trauma. Here's how it works:
The pump has a piece of PVC pipe to the pump outlet. A slightly larger diameter pipe goes over that pipe with an end cap. The larger diameter pipe is affixed to the smaller pipe with either a lightweight chain (or, you can slot the inner pipe and add a screw). The idea is to keep the larger pipe from shooting completely off the end of the smaller one. When the pump turns on, you have an instant "jumper". Pump shuts off, water drains from around larger diameter pipe. All you need to do is dress the larger pipe in whatever creature style you choose.
Simple (if you have a spare pump) and effective. Just the way I like things.

That is a very cool idea. No pun intended. Plus you could have the prop spit water. I went on ebay and found a sump pump with a current bid of $19

Originally Posted by captpete

I would suggest a shaker or lid banger utilizing an electric drill motor. I have done a variation of this in a Monster In the Box prop.
Here's what you need:

Trash can and lid (Metal)
AC drill motor W/ variable speed control (plug in not battery powered) Used is good. can find cheap at G-sale etc.
Outdoor motion detector light
screw in plug adapter for light socket
Misc linkages and mounting hardware. (Home Depot)

You will use the motion detector set to Test for a trigger/relay
if you have a dual socket motion detector light, you can use one socket to power the drill and the other a colored light bulb. The socket adapter will allow you to plug the drill in directly.

Mounting and linkages will need to be left to your imagination and mechanical
know how.
It could be as simple as an off set piece of wood with a bolt. Chuck up the bolt in the drill and when it powers on , it will shake the can.
More difficult, but better effect would be to have a crank arm on the drill, and a rod to rapdliy open and close the lid when drill is activated.

To have the drill turn on at a preset speed, you can use a pipe clamp and adjust it to keep trigger on when plug is energized.

Pete

Hello Pete. I guess I could go with some kind of play on the a monster in a crate. But I did want the sudden opening of the lid much like with a pneumatic ram. I did even think of doing something with a windshield wiper motor with a limit switch (to prevent full rotation) but I think that kind of motor would operate too slowly. Now a DRILL...Ok that would be fast enough, but I think it might be too fast with too much torque. I don't want the thing shaking apart halfway through the night.

I know I could use a linear actuator, but that would be so expensive that it would blow my whole Halloween budget on one item. As it is the TCT is going to be an add on and not the 'star' attraction.

Originally Posted by NIL8r

jukingeo: I was just talking to my wife today about a very similar subject (she thinks I'm nuts thinking about Halloween in June)

Actually, I am sure my wife thinks the same way, but I remember my first year doing a Halloween event, I planned AND built within just the month of October. I based my event around an Imagineerieing Magic Mirror digital puppet. What I thought was simple build turned out to be much more involved than I thought. The build took me right to the night before Halloween and on that night I found out my lighting was all wrong. So right on Halloween morning I was correcting my lighting issue. Needless to say, I didn't want to box myself in a corner like that again.

Last year I did a pumpkin themed event in which I revamped the Magic Mirror to have a floating pumpkin instead. While the concept was the same, I changed the facade considerably. I also added singing pumpkins to the foray and that required considerable programming as well. So knowing this I did start the last week in August. The pace in getting things ready was brisk, but not frantic. I had much more time to think things through, prepare the lighting better, ensure the programming was right, and of course BREATHE!

This year we are going to have a NIGHT Halloween and it is going to be my first Halloween in which I am going to finally SCARE some people. The event is going to be larger once again adding to the Singing Pumpkins and Magic Mirror. I am going to move it into my backyard this time. So I knew that I am going need a much earlier planning time than last year. It is the last week in June and I figured now would be a good time to decide on what I want to do. July will be busy executing the plan and getting the materials in place...this way I can begin construction already in late September. With this much time, I am hoping to work a leisurely pace and REALLY think things through.

Anyhow, I recently posted a vid of a Dracula portrait I did with moving eyes on a drop panel post. I'm thinking of converting my magic mirrir into a drop panel portrait this year. That will be a shocker for the TOTs for sure!

I remember that you were one of the ones that helped me out when I did my first Magic Mirror. I am curious to hear how you are going to implement that into a drop panel.

I too am going to change up the Magic Mirror once again. I had thought about moving it out of the vestibule and in the backyard patio. There I was going to blow up the image on a screen via a video projector.

Now, as far as the airless trashcan prop...
I'd like to suggest using a sump pump hooked to a motion switch. Somewhere, I seen someone using a sump pump for a quick setup for the classic trashcan trauma. Here's how it works:
The pump has a piece of PVC pipe to the pump outlet. A slightly larger diameter pipe goes over that pipe with an end cap. The larger diameter pipe is affixed to the smaller pipe with either a lightweight chain (or, you can slot the inner pipe and add a screw). The idea is to keep the larger pipe from shooting completely off the end of the smaller one. When the pump turns on, you have an instant "jumper". Pump shuts off, water drains from around larger diameter pipe. All you need to do is dress the larger pipe in whatever creature style you choose.
Simple (if you have a spare pump) and effective. Just the way I like things.

Whew! That sounds like WAY too of an elaborate setup. In a way we are talking hydraulics now. The big problem here is that I am in no way adept with plumbing and I really don't want to have water shooting all over the place in the event something goes wrong. I am going to have quite a bit of electronic equipment on the patio and you know electric and H2O don't mix.

Originally Posted by spinman1949

That is a very cool idea. No pun intended. Plus you could have the prop spit water. I went on ebay and found a sump pump with a current bid of $19

I don't know about spitting water as I really don't want to 'wet' my guests. As it is I do get quite a few TOTS with face makeup and I am pretty sure they will be very upset if water accidentally sprays them in the face and ruins their makeup. Naw, I am going to pass on that. I do want to keep my attraction on a "No, one will touch you, please don't touch us" principal.

Well, thanx guys thusfar for all of your insight.

You know what? Like I did the first time around, I think I am going to take a few pictures of the space I am dealing with and we could move forward from there. I will put that in a different post on this thread so we can keep this one on topic.

Geo

Actually this is an easier prop to build than one might think.

If you like I will draw up the mechanism for you.

I'm not sure if a wiper motor in fast mode at 12VDC would do the job for a TCT, but there is a circuit available that allows two 180° turns (with an adjustable "pause" in between) before returning to the home position. It's triggered with a 1-2 sec 12VDC pulse, easily done with a BS2 and a relay. Let me know if you need more info on this option.

Originally Posted by spinman1949

Actually this is an easier prop to build than one might think.

If you like I will draw up the mechanism for you.

Although I haven'tdone it, I agree. It's one of the easiest ways I've seen to do the TCT, (I just wish I had the link to where I seen it so I could give proper credit).

The nice thing about it is the pipe length can be adjusted so that all the water stays in the can (with "spitting" you lose that advantage). It just shoots back down into the can and gets recycled.

Originally Posted by spinman1949

Actually this is an easier prop to build than one might think.

If you like I will draw up the mechanism for you.

Ok, I will give it a look see. Can't hurt right?

Originally Posted by Otaku

I'm not sure if a wiper motor in fast mode at 12VDC would do the job for a TCT, but there is a circuit available that allows two 180° turns (with an adjustable "pause" in between) before returning to the home position. It's triggered with a 1-2 sec 12VDC pulse, easily done with a BS2 and a relay. Let me know if you need more info on this option.

Sure, as I said above, I will take a look see .

Originally Posted by NIL8r

Although I haven'tdone it, I agree. It's one of the easiest ways I've seen to do the TCT, (I just wish I had the link to where I seen it so I could give proper credit).

The nice thing about it is the pipe length can be adjusted so that all the water stays in the can (with "spitting" you lose that advantage). It just shoots back down into the can and gets recycled.

Well, as I said earlier, I really don't care for the idea of intentionally getting my guests wet. But another thing is that I MIGHT run this years haunt for more than one day. So something that would recycle the water back would probably be better anyway.

Another question that pops into my mind is how much does one of these pumps cost?

Oh! BTW, I posted up my plans for the 2011 season. It is under the post (in this section) "Haunt 2011: First Year with scares, my canvas..."

I have pictures of the planned area up in that post. The planned spot of the TCT would be in the right most area (near the stoop & garden hose spigot) in picture #383. Overall it just 'looks' like a natural area for a garbage can with a 'surprise'.

Thanx,

Geo

I am sure with a controlled volume on the spitter you could hold enough water in the can to last the night. Like use a spray nozzle so it is just a spray not a stream.

I have drawn up the prop for anyone that wishes to try it. I for one am shopping for sump pumps now.