DIY parcelbox ideas

noth...@aolbin.com

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Mar 25, 2022, 7:45:36 AM3/25/22

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It's quite a long way from our gates to the house so I'd been thinking
of buying a parcelbox (like this one
https://www.smartparcelbox.co.uk/large-front-rear-access-red-smart-parcel-box.html),
but my thoughts are moving towards DIY using some dense blocks left over
from an earlier project.
Current thoughts are: build a hollow blockwork "column", clad it with
wood, heavy gauge hinged steel door at the back with bar and padlock.
The awkward bit is how to make a secure parcel entrance. I'd welcome
suggestions (especially for an off-the-shelf solution) but some ideas
thus far are:
- put a hinged sloping (thanks Colin) lid on the column and connect it
to a hinged internal plate (parcel goes onto plate, lid shuts and parcel
drops down below plate) - but that means the weight of the parcel will
tend to pull the lid down and may cause injury

- simply have a slot on the front, with a hinged cover, and make sure
the column is tall enough to prevent someone reaching in, perhaps some
small sprung flap to discourage attempts

- some sort of hinged hopper/bucket as are used in charity donation bins
... a bottom-hinged door is attached to a hopper/tray so that when the
door is open the hopper blocks access to the inside of the bin, when the
door shuts the contents of the hopper drop down - slightly tricky to
make, but may be the best answer.

All suggestions gratefully received.

Colin Bignell

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Mar 25, 2022, 10:36:54 AM3/25/22

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Easier than the complex moving shelf mechanism in the Smart Box.

>
> All suggestions gratefully received.

Take into account that, if a delivery driver can put a parcel somewhere
other than where you want them to, at least one of them will. Also, make
sure it can take the largest parcel you reasonably expect to receive and
don't forget that it rains. Either protect it from rain with a canopy or
make sure that any water that gets inside can drain out.

--
Colin Bignell

Andrew

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Mar 25, 2022, 3:00:17 PM3/25/22

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On 25/03/2022 11:45, noth...@aolbin.com wrote:

> - some sort of hinged hopper/bucket as are used in charity donation bins
> ... a bottom-hinged door is attached to a hopper/tray so that when the
> door is open the hopper blocks access to the inside of the bin, when the
> door shuts the contents of the hopper drop down - slightly tricky to
> make, but may be the best answer.

Scrotes might deposit all manner of stuff into it that you don't want :-(

ARW

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Mar 25, 2022, 4:20:37 PM3/25/22

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On 25/03/2022 11:45, noth...@aolbin.com wrote:

>

> - simply have a slot on the front, with a hinged cover, and make sure
> the column is tall enough to prevent someone reaching in, perhaps some
> small sprung flap to discourage attempts

Watch the SAW movies for really good suggestions. They will only try once.

> All suggestions gratefully received.

Apart from mine:-)

--

Adam

ARW

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Mar 25, 2022, 4:22:54 PM3/25/22

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOh2GKAJ9DM

Colin Bignell

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Mar 25, 2022, 5:51:40 PM3/25/22

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On 25/03/2022 11:45, noth...@aolbin.com wrote:

A sloping roller conveyor from the gate to the house? You don't need to
go to the gate to pick stuff up and it will be well out of reach by the
time it gets to the house.

--
Colin Bignell

noth...@aolbin.com

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Mar 25, 2022, 7:08:10 PM3/25/22

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A great idea, except it's about 100m and uphill ;-)

Colin Bignell

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Mar 26, 2022, 6:09:27 AM3/26/22

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Uphill is a bit of a problem with a gravity system.

--
Colin Bignell

Harry Bloomfield Esq

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Mar 26, 2022, 3:41:24 PM3/26/22

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Colin Bignell was thinking very hard :

> Uphill is a bit of a problem with a gravity system.

Solar powered conveyor?

Jock

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Mar 26, 2022, 5:39:55 PM3/26/22

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You would need a massive panel array to power that
and it wouldnt work with after dark deliveries either.

Peeler

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Mar 26, 2022, 6:31:30 PM3/26/22

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On Sun, 27 Mar 2022 08:39:47 +1100, Jock, better known as cantankerous
trolling senile geezer Rodent Speed, wrote:

<FLUSH the abnormal trolling senile cretin's latest trollshit unread>

--
Tim+ about trolling Rodent Speed:
He is by far the most persistent troll who seems to be able to get under the
skin of folk who really should know better. Since when did arguing with a
troll ever achieve anything (beyond giving the troll pleasure)?
MID: <1421057667.659518815.743...@news.individual.net>

Harry Bloomfield Esq

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Mar 27, 2022, 8:31:44 AM3/27/22

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Jock formulated the question :

> You would need a massive panel array to power that
> and it wouldnt work with after dark deliveries either.

Battery charged by solar, conveyor triggered by the parcel to run for a
set amount of time.

Richard

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Mar 27, 2022, 8:48:47 AM3/27/22

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Richard

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Mar 27, 2022, 10:34:07 AM3/27/22

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On 25/03/2022 11:45, noth...@aolbin.com wrote:

Here is a DIY design that could be easily adapted:
https://www.instructables.com/Parcel-Drop-Box-for-50/

Of course, it depends on how determined the potential thieves are.

noth...@aolbin.com

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Mar 27, 2022, 11:38:27 AM3/27/22

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Thanks, but I'd be thrown-out of the DIY designers and makers guild (!!)
if I made something that was as cr*p as that. I'm thinking of a steel
bezel (with a large hole in it) attached to a hollow, wooden clad, 11N
blockwork column. A faceplate to cover the hole and that is welded onto
a tray at about 170 degrees (perhaps bent if I can find someone with a
bender for 2mm steel), then 2 near semi-circular end cheeks welded to
faceplate and tray (to make a hopper). The whole thing pivoted off the
bezel so that when the faceplate is hinged down the tray can take the
parcels and prevents access to the column, when the faceplate is closed
the parcel slides off the tray.