13 Creative DIY Projects Using Drink Cans
Run on several cans of energy drinks per day but don’t like to trash them? Does your household go through several cans of soda every week? You’re in good company if you answered yes to either question but don’t know what to do with the cans now piling up in your home. Don’t dispose of them yet: here are 13 genius ways to put drink cans to good use.
1. Beer Can Solar Space Heater
Got a stack of beer cans you’ve been holding onto with the aim of eventually taking them for recycling? Put them to good use by building a beer can solar space heater. And you will indeed need a stack because this project requires 128 full-size (500ml/16.9oz) beer cans. They’ll be part of a hot air chimney and will facilitate airflow. In addition to the cans, all the supplies you need are highlighted in theInstructables guide.
2. RC Concrete Mixer Truck With Cans
Always wanted a remote-controlled car but didn’t want to shell out for one? Build this RC concrete mixer truck using the cans in your recycling bin. The best part is that you don’t need special items or skills to make it.
It uses ice cream sticks for the chassis, the lower part of cans joined together for the wheels, and has cool-looking tires made from heat-shrinkable rubber. Bits of cans are also used to make the bodywork.
While simple, the results look so good that the beverage brand whose cans you’ve used will probably want you in their marketing team! Check out theInstructables projectfor supplies and instructions. Here are some moreawesome DIY toys you may make for kids easily at home.
3. Joule Thief From a Beer Can
A joule thief is a tiny voltage booster. With its ability to pull power from an almost dead battery, it can produce incredibly rapid voltage peaks, causing LEDs to flash impressively fast. Even better, it’s low cost and so easy to build. you may even use it to introduce your young one to the world of technical DIY projects. Read through thisInstructables guidefor a list of what you need in addition to the drink can.
4. Pen Organizer
Despise disorganized stationery? Turn those empty beer or energy drink cans into a pen organizer. Start by peeling off the labels to expose the aluminum, file off the top, and create cans with different heights, as shown in thisInstructables project.
5. Electric Water Turbine From Beverage Cans
Only partake in DIY projects that bring you immense value? The electric water turbine in thisInstructableis just the ideal project for you. Not only does it let you put your pile of cans to good use, but you also end up with a pretty capable turbine to generate electricity.
6. Soda Can Alarm
Tired of telling your siblings/roommates to stay away from your stuff? Build this Arduino-based alarm using the last can of soda you drank, and you’ll always get alerted whenever someone does as much as push your room’s door slightly ajar. Check out theHackster.io guidefor the circuit schematic, Arduino code, and the items you need.
7. Beer Can Flashlight
Bored with your kid(s) at home? Check out thisInstructables guidefor a fun, easy flashlight project. You’ll need an LED light and solar power source, so your best bet is to disassemble that garden light sitting in your garage; if you lack one, consider buying these two components. Other than that, the rest of the project is relatively straightforward as you only need to cut the bottom off two beer or soda cans (for the light reflector) and assemble it. it’s possible to add the final product to your collection ofDIY emergency lights.
8. Beer Can Wiring Signal Lamp
A signal lamp is a visual signaling device used for optical communication. The army originally used these lamps to communicate between commanders and their troops. Today, you could use it to signal to a friend or family member in another location, such as a garden shed. In this experimentalInstructables project, the lamp itself is made from cardboard and an old flashlight. The real innovation is using beer cans cut into long thin metal spirals for the low-voltage wiring.
9. Anthropologie-Inspired Lantern Garland
Have you got a dark corner in your home that you want to spice up but don’t want to use LED lights or invest in actual lighting? If you’ve got some beverage cans, thisInstructables projecthas instructions to turn cans into unique, anthro/bohemian-inspired lanterns perfect for any poorly lit nook in your house or a child’s playhouse. You don’t need a lot of cash for a chandelier! Here are some moreout-of-this-world DIY chandeliers you can build.
10. Ultimate Beer Wizard Staff
Need a cosplay wizard staff, or know someone who does? Build this beer can staff and they’ll thank you immensely. It requires a little extra work, as shown in theInstructables guide, but the results will be worth your while because it won’t fall apart like the last wizard staff you made at your frat party. In addition to this awesome beer can wizard staff, check out theseelectronics projects to enhance your cosplay.
11. Pop Can Piano
Want a piano but can’t afford one yet? Put the soda cans in your garage to good use by building a pop-can piano. It features an Arduino microcontroller board connected to the cans with 1MΩ resistors. The cans serve as a conductive material and respond to touch, triggering the board to play. Full instructions and Arduino code can be found on the project’sGitHubpage.
12. Monster Energy Can Light
Know someone who runs on energy drinks? Whether they do it because they always work late, play console games all night or simply need an extra boost to round off the day, an energy-drink-based gift will undoubtedly tickle their fancy. ThisInstructables projectfeatures just the perfect one: it turns a regular energy drink can into a functional light.
13. Crush Cans With an Arduino-Powered Arm
Have you got a pile of cans and other waste in your garage waiting for that recycling-center run? Build this Arduino-powered can crusher, as shown in theHackster.io guide, and crush the cans to create more space for other waste. It’ll also make transporting your pile of cans seamless after every month.
Final Thoughts
With so much waste making it to our environment annually, upcycling whatever trash you can is a good thing. So, if you are a regular canned-product user, using cans to create something useful instead of trashing them is a smart move. Feel free to recreate or improve on any of the 13 genius DIY projects above to put drink cans to good use.
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