I'm looking to buy a kit for strapping my pallets of firewood. Looks like polyester is the right stuff for outdoor use and cheaper than steel banding. It needs to last outdoors through the seasoning process. Anyone used this? How strong should the strapping be, and should I seal it or buckle it? http://strapping.strapsolutions.com...hine-grade-and-hand-grade-polyester-strappi-2 Bonus points for a system that will be handy around the farm. Thanks, David
Great idea! Should prevent crumbling stacks. Your strapping may get lose as the wood dries/ shrinks? I wrap my pallets in stretch wrap.
Looks like a great idea. I would go with the buckle idea to be able to tighten as the wood dries and shrinks as Deacon mentioned. Are the buckle ones reusable as well?
You might also consider High tensile fence with reusable ratchets. I've used them before on stacks and thing and they work well. Thin piecs on edge distribute the load and most farm stores carry the stuff. Ratchets are about $3.00 but you'll never hurt them.
Poly with the clips is the way to go, the poly you seal is a PITA to work with. I use metal banding at work, and hate it. When banding on pallets make sure to crib the ends, or use 2x4's to help hold the square shape, other wise the stacks will just go egg shaped when you go to move them.
Crib the ends on the bottom too? I figured i would stack the top a little roundish on purpose just for that. David
Just the sides need cribbed or use the 2x4's to brace. One other thing to watch is not putting the band under the pallet, to keep from breaking the band, poly does not stand up to abrasion very well.
My concern with banding like that is as the wood shrinks you would have no way to tighten it since you need to crimp it to keep it tight. If you're only talking about a few skids I would think like 1" ratchet straps might be better..
I think the buckle type connectors can be retightened. Nylon strapping will not survive the UV exposure. Plus they would get expensive.
You could go with cheap horse wire and tighten it as it goes. If you search horse wire knots on Youtube, you can get some cost effective ideas. The ratchets that Kevin brought up are top notch, but it can be done without it if the price is a concern.
