I received the two Nine Stars Touchless Mountion Sensor trash cans, and was able to set them up pretty quickly. However there was a mistake in the Amazon product description that caused me to rush out to get new batteries. The description said that BOTH trash cans operate on D batteries, so I had those ready. However this is not so. The large Trash Can operates on three C batteries (see photo of the trash can lid upside down), and the small Trash Can operates on four D batteries.
I am attaching 5 photos that I will be referencing in this review.
LARGE TRASH CAN
Photo #1 shows the trash can open and closed.
The outside dimensions of the large trash can with the cover on are:
18" height x 16" width x 11" depth
The inside dimensions of the large trash can with the cover off:
22" height x 15.5" width x 10" depth
The tall can with the lid open is 37 inches
The big Trash Can operates on three "C" batteries. The battery compartment is under the cover. The battery compartment is easy to reach, and batteries are easy to change. The switch to turn on the Trash Can is also under the cover. Photo #2 of the Trash Can cover upside down.
The Trash Can automatic opening mechanism is rather sensitive but I am able to walk by it in my small kitchen without activating it. The cover operates smoothly and closes well preventing odors from escaping.
The two problems I encountered are related to the batteries.
(1) Wrong size specified in description as I mentioned earlier
(2) I normally prefer to use rechargeable AA batteries with jackets that convert them to C or D batteries as needed. However the construction of the large Trash Can is such that the batteries with jackets do not make proper contact in the compartment and are ejected. The regular "C" batteries work fine.
SMALL TRASH CAN
Photo #4 show the small Trash Can opened and closed.
The outside dimensions of the small trash can with the cover on are:
13" height x 10.5" width - 6" depth
The inside dimensions of the small trash can with the cover off:
11" height x 9" width x 5" depth
The small can with the lid open is 20 inches
The small Trash Can operates on four "D" batteries. The battery compartment is located on the bottom, under the waste basket. The battery compartment is a little awkward to reach since you need to have both hands into a fairly small tight tall area. Changing batteries of this Trash Can is harder than those of the large Trash Can. The switch that turns the Trash Can on is on the outside, in the back of the Trash Can.
The small Trash Can is little less sensitive than the large one, which I thought was okay since in the tight space of the bathroom it is better that it does not react all the time. It comes with a removable waste basket.
The small Trash Can has no ring to hold the garbage bag, and the fit between the removable waste basket and the Trash Can itself is very tight. I had trouble keeping the bag inside between the walls of the inside and outside container. I wound up using scotch tape to tape the sides of the bag to the can so it is not pushed up as I insert the basket back into the Trash Can. When I looked at the instructions, the instructions showed the use without the trash can liner. However, this is not practical as the inside of the bin is going to start smelling bad without the liner. When I closed the Can the trash bag taped to the basket was still bunching a bit at the lip level, and therefore the lid did not close tightly. This means some ordors will escape. Photo #5 show close up of the top the Can with lid open.
The three issues I encountered with the small Trash Can:
(1) The difficulty of inserting the trash bag. I can see that it will require fussing with it every time.
(2) The lid does not close tightly because trash liner is pushed up by bunched up liner
(3) I normally prefer to use rechargeable AA batteries with jackets that convert them to C or D batteries as needed. However the construction of the small Trash Can is such that the batteries with jackets do not make proper contact in the compartment and are ejected. The regular "D" batteries work fine.
As I was doing research on this product before the purchase, I found a comment by H.Campbell that described how to solve a problem when the lid does not fully open even after the battery has been changed. This comment was one of several comments and was easy to miss. I am including the solution in this review so it is easier to find as several people mentioned this problem.
Resetting the lid mechanism after the battery change:
PROBLEM: The lid only opens 1 inch even after a battery change.
SOLUTION: Manually push the lid into the fully open position and then forced the lid back a little bit more until you hear two clicks from the hinge area. Release the lid (it will go back into the closed position). From there on the automatic lid opener will works like new, going into the fully open position, as before.
After two weeks of using the trash cans I made the following two adjustments:
1) The tall trash can was opening more than I preferred. I have a small kitchen and often when I walked by it would opened and the trash odor escaped. I found that if I turn the trash can around to face the wall it is totally not sensitive when I walk by and it is still convenient to to use and not bad looking.
2) It is difficult to put the trash liner into a small can because the fit between the waste basket and the trash can is very tight. However fitting the liner is a bit easier if you flip the handle of the waste basket forward (or totally remove it).
I am enjoying the convenience of touch-less trash cans! It is like having a helpful hand whenever I need it. Recommend!
Overall I am pleased with the Trash Cans. The small issues I encountered with each are not deal breakers. The Trash Cans look good, and open and close well.
Update 7/7/2013 Both cans are still running on the original set of batteries (25 1/2 months)
Update 12/1/2013 The small trash can became slugging opening and closing, so finally I replaced the original battery (2 years and 6 months of daily use). The large can is still pretty snappy and is running on the original batteries.
Update 4/26/2014 The original batteries on the large trash can died this week. 2 years and 10 months of daily use. This is much better than I expected.
You can find these trash cans on Amazon by following this link.
Ali Julia review ★★★★★
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