My son and I threw together a quick firewood crate today. He even split up a few rounds of doug fir to put in it. They were cutoff’s from mill logs. It’s built on a 40x48 pallet. I have been looking at those metal tote cages, but they cost to dang much. I need about 150 crates, so $50 a tote adds up REAL fast! About $7,500 plus gas to get em. I can mill up boards and make em myself for about $100. I have the pallets already. The boards we used were mill scraps that we ripped down. We are using it as a test bed to see what needs to be changed to make them better and more durable/efficient. It shouldn’t be very hard to make a pile of them.
I get the expense for the ibc cages but I think you need to factor how long until these rot and what kind of abuse will they take? I'd probably build 25 or so this year and see how it goes before committing to all that you need.
This ^ ^ ^, I built some custom racks too...those pallets go away WAY too quickly! Soaking the bottom with some used oil would prolong things a bit, but only to a point, unless you are diligent about doing every year. (but best laid plans n all that...)
Agree with the poster that says wood pallets rot fast. Possibly plastic pallets could be incorporated into the design? But they have their own set of problems.
The wood I have been burning has been stacked in the woods on single layer of wood pallets since spring 2017. The pallets are still there, but they have been pushed into the ground and the bottoms of the wood stack is just about level with the ground. The firewood on the bottom is still good though, so they must keep it off the ground just enough. The pallets pretty much fall apart though once I try to pick them up after the firewood gets burned. I've been stacking on double pallets since spring 2019. It's been working fine for me. The first "layer" of pallets seem to get pushed almost level to the ground after 5 years or so, but this still leaves another pallet layer to provide airflow and space between the ground. Seems to be working great for me so far. I use ~4 pallets for every cord stacked. I get pallets for free. Every other way of stacking requires A LOT more $$$$$$. The beginning of -THIS- video shows the stuff from 2017 that I mentioned above.
where do you get the metal tags? ———————— I know the pallets won’t last a long time, but I already have them. I collect them for free when I find them. I got them for firewood in the first place, so I might as well use them rather than letting them rot.
Dumping the soda down the drain for the can seems like a waste. We don't drink soda and I will drink beer once in a awhile, hardly ever at home though.
As mentioned they degrade in constant sunlight. Can’t say they get all that brittle in cold. They’re pretty tough plastic. They aren’t as structural as wood pallets. Concentrated loads or an uneven base will twist them right out of shape. Also I’m not sure you could secure sides to a plastic pallet as you are doing with a wood pallet currently. Possibly the best way for you to utilize a plastic pallet would be to set your wood pallet on top of a plastic pallet to avoid wood to dirt contact.
The plastic ones I used weren't that strong. Sagged easily. Used on a gravel base they might be okay. Plus they cracked somewhat easily when cold or if you stepped on a weaker spot. Slipperier than wood especially when wet. Just my 2c worth from my limited experience with them. Since I often have access to reclaimed decking boards, I've started making my own pallets/bins in recent years.
Thanks My wood pallets break when stepped on causing falling hazard. I was aware of these limitations the plastic pallets in my circumstance, pallets are HD will be on back side (north side) of garage and under a leanto on gravand will be sprayed with bed liner to not be slippery. Just to stack 1 years wood on so it’s close to house This is a temporary plan only used until I get more IBC totes
