Flexible "Let-Down" Gutter
Handyman Carl Perkins of Eden Prairie, Minn., doesn’t like climbing ladders to clean out gutters. That led him to invent this patented flexible “let-down” gutter. He displayed a small scale model at the recent Minnesota Inventors Congress in Redwood Falls, Minn.
“I can bring the gutter up to catch rain and let it down to drop leaves using an electric drill from the ground,” says Perkins.
The gutter consists of a 10-in. wide length of plastic that clamps onto a house’s fascia board. A shaft that runs behind the trim board is connected to a right angle gearbox fastened to one end of the fascia board. Short lengths of cable coil up onto the shaft every 3 ft. and are attached to the gutter’s outside edge.
To raise or lower the gutter, Perkins attaches a long metal rod with a hook at one end to an electric drill. Then he inserts the hook into a metal loop attached to the gearbox. Operating the drill in forward brings the gutter up and reversing it brings the gutter down.
“I have a handyman business in which I clean a lot of gutters. I came up with the idea because I don’t like heights, and I got tired of having to climb up and down ladders all day long using a hose to remove leaves from the gutter,” says Perkins. “When the gutter is brought down everything in it falls out so I never have to climb up and clean the gutter by hand. If anything is sticking to the gutter when it’s hanging straight, I can use a hose to spray it down. The gutter could also be made out of metal, which might last longer.”
He says people with metal roofs like the idea because formed gutters can easily be torn off by ice and snow sliding off the roof. “My let-down gutter is out of the way until you need it,” he says.
Perkins says he plans to make a full-size gutter out of plastic and metal to test the system out. He’s looking for a manufacturer.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Carl Perkins, 6600 West 175th Ave., Eden Prairie, Minn. 55346 (ph 952 456-2775; imhdick@gmail.com).
Click here to download page story appeared in.
Click here to read entire issue
Flexible Let-Down Gutter BUILDINGS Accessories Handyman Carl Perkins of Eden Prairie Minn doesn’t like climbing ladders to clean out gutters That led him to invent this patented flexible “let-down” gutter He displayed a small scale model at the recent Minnesota Inventors Congress in Redwood Falls Minn “I can bring the gutter up to catch rain and let it down to drop leaves using an electric drill from the ground ” says Perkins The gutter consists of a 10-in wide length of plastic that clamps onto a house’s fascia board A shaft that runs behind the trim board is connected to a right angle gearbox fastened to one end of the fascia board Short lengths of cable coil up onto the shaft every 3 ft and are attached to the gutter’s outside edge To raise or lower the gutter Perkins attaches a long metal rod with a hook at one end to an electric drill Then he inserts the hook into a metal loop attached to the gearbox Operating the drill in forward brings the gutter up and reversing it brings the gutter down “I have a handyman business in which I clean a lot of gutters I came up with the idea because I don’t like heights and I got tired of having to climb up and down ladders all day long using a hose to remove leaves from the gutter ” says Perkins “When the gutter is brought down everything in it falls out so I never have to climb up and clean the gutter by hand If anything is sticking to the gutter when it’s hanging straight I can use a hose to spray it down The gutter could also be made out of metal which might last longer ” He says people with metal roofs like the idea because formed gutters can easily be torn off by ice and snow sliding off the roof “My let-down gutter is out of the way until you need it ” he says Perkins says he plans to make a full-size gutter out of plastic and metal to test the system out He’s looking for a manufacturer Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Carl Perkins 6600 West 175th Ave Eden Prairie Minn 55346 ph 952 456-2775; imhdick@gmail com
To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click
here to register with your account number.
