Should You Buy an Under the Counter Electric Can Opener?

So, should you by an under the counter electric can opener?

If you’re not sure what one is, it’s just like your everyday electric can opener except it mounts under your cabinet.

This seems to be the perfect space saving solution if you have a small kitchen and you’re looking to offer yourself some extra counter space.

You’ll find several varieties on the market today, Black & Decker being the top manufacturer of the under the counter electric can openers. However, if you’ve surfed the web for one, you’re probably familiar with the fact that they are usually called Spacemakers.

Proctor Silex and Hamilton Beach also offer a product line of under the cabinet electric can openers, among a few other manufacturers.

But the question today isn’t who makes them and where you can get one, but more or less whether you should get one.

Well, let’s talk about a few things before you decide whether you should or not.

As you know, one major benefit to owning an under the counter electric can opener is that it saves you major space, but other things you might want to consider are…

is it possible to drill holes in your cabinet
can the can opener be placed near an outlet
and whether or not other consumers are happy with the product

In spite of the fact that electric can openers can be of great service if you have difficulty with arthritis or other similar disabilities, sometimes they can be unreliable.

Common difficulties range from the can dropping from the can opener to the blade not cutting through the can properly.

However, it is not impossible to find a good electric can opener, but as for the under the counter electric can openers, some problems people have had using them are…

The blades become dull and no longer open cans easily.
The can opener begins to drop cans (particularly larger cans). Consequently the cans must be held while being cut by the can opener, otherwise you risk the can opener dropping the can. Cans also must be tilted a certain way for the opener to work.
Food splatters when the magnet grabs a hold of the lid, once the lid has been cut open.

These common problems are frequently associated with the Black & Decker models. However, other manufacturers of under the counter electric can openers haven’t had enough consumer reviews to confirm whether they are worth the purchase.

All-in-all, currently I would not recommend the under the counter electric can opener because consumers reviews on other can openers are not substantial enough and the can openers that do have substantial reviews tend to be fairly negative. However, if you still decide to purchase one, I recommend you at least save your receipt so you can get your money back if it turns out you have trouble with it.

Personally speaking, I’ve always found that manual can openers last a lot longer and are a lot less of a hassle, but I understand you may not feel this way.
But at least if you get an electric can opener, try to steer away from the under the counter versions. Currently, I have none to recommend but I do have manual can openers that I think you’d appreciate. Consider the Swing Away wall mounted can opener instead.

Others have also said it can also be mounted to a cabinet, by the way.

It has a history of satisfied customers. They also make hand-helds if you don’t like the idea of the wall mounted model. One in particular is the hand-held egornomic can opener. I have no doubt that it’ll get the job done.

But to be on the safe side, you may want to purchase two different can openers.

Why would you want to do this?

Well to back yourself up for two very important reasons.

If you have an electric can opener, it will help to have a manual one in case the electric one fails to open certain lids. You’ll also have a can opener you can use if the electricity goes out.

The truth is, some can openers just don’t work well certain cans. So, purchasing two to handle specific types of lids would be a wise move on your part so it’ll be easy to open just about every type of can you encounter.

You can purchase a typical can opener and then a safety-cut can opener, whether you’re intending to buy an electric or manual one as your first choice.

A safety-cut can opener leaves no sharp edges so you don’t risk getting your fingers cut, whereas your typical can opener, such as the Swing Away, tends to leave sharp edges.

Two safety-cut can openers to consider are…

With the manual can openers you’ll have no problem storing them away. And of course with the Swing Away, once mounted you can swing it out of the way when it’s not in use.

As for the electrical can openers, there still remains to be the perfect solution for saving space. Under the counter electric can openers are a wonderful idea, but the functionality of the can openers is still poor.

Perhaps in a few years there will be an optimum choice.

In the meantime, I feel that manual can openers out-perform the electric can openers by far. At least they out-perform the under the counter versions.

Most are easy to use. No electricity is required. They’re easy to stow away. And they often last much longer.

In the end that adds up to great performance.

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