Thanks for the detailed plans, clear instructions, and nice FAQ. What a great resource. You've gone to a lot of work -- It's appreciated. If I make any modifications, I'll post those back here. Thanks, again.
This is an amazing resource! I would love to feature you one my blog cookingwithmyfoodstorage.com, each Saturday I take a look at someone's food storage and this would be awesome. Send me an e-mail so we can chat about it. heather@teamshelfrealince.com
The basic idea is being prepared in case of emergency! If you live anywhere that experiences blizzards, tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, etc, it is good to have ample food and water on hand. How long the water lasts depends on the size of your family. The recommendation is 1 gallon of water per person, per day. So, let's say you want to store 2 weeks worth of water and have 4 people in your family - you would need to store 56 gallons of water.
What size are those barrels? They're pretty heavy filled with water. How well does this support their weight or did you do something special to the portion of the rack that would be needing to support such heavy weight? We have some 55 gallon water jugs and I swear they're like 400 lbs. or something like that when they're filled.
They are 55 gallon drums. You are correct that they weigh about 450 lbs when they are full. The primary construction of everything is 2x4's. Based on the fact that we're putting pressure against the grain (the notches for the supporting members are cut such that the grain of the wood is vertical), the load of a single barrel (the other rests on 2x4's supported by concrete) is well within fault tolerances for even really poor wood. Here's is the logic:
Generally, wood has a compression strength of upwards of 600PSI, depending on grade, etc. Assuming the weight of the barrel is relatively even (which is should be) amongst the 4 contact points of the notches, each notch should only need to support about 120 lbs (maximum), and given each notch has a surface area of about 2 square inches, that's 60 PSI per notch, or about 10% of the rated strength of typical wood. Thus - the weight is distributed in such a way as to easily support the barrels.
I hope you don't mind I shared your great idea and picture on our stake blog http://txsisters.blogspot.com/2012/03/shelf-plans.html Please let me know if that is a problem!!
I have been wanting to do something like this in my garage for ages, but haven't been able to find a pattern for it. Thank you so much for sharing this!
I was a little concerned by the weight issue as well. With 2 full drums per rack hitting upwards toward 900 plus lbs just for the water barrels not including the weight placed on shelves above the barrels. Also I am assuming the barrels must be installed on rack prior to being filled with water. How are you then filling the barrels when they are on their side? Thanks!
Great work on putting these plans together. I really like how the finished rack looks. I have been looking for ways to organize my supplies. The restaurant grade #10 can racks are sturdy but so expensive. I really like how you engineered the can storage and water storage in the same rack. This is very helpful. Thank you for posting this!
17 comments:
Thank You! I am getting ready to pull everything out of my pantry~ shelves, too! Now I finally have plans for the shelves I've needed all along!!!!
Glad these plans could help! If you make any improvements along the way, let me know!
Thanks for the detailed plans, clear instructions, and nice FAQ. What a great resource. You've gone to a lot of work -- It's appreciated. If I make any modifications, I'll post those back here. Thanks, again.
This is an amazing resource! I would love to feature you one my blog cookingwithmyfoodstorage.com, each Saturday I take a look at someone's food storage and this would be awesome. Send me an e-mail so we can chat about it. heather@teamshelfrealince.com
What is the source for the water barrels? Would love to make something similar!!!
We found our water barrels on craigslist.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! :D We are getting ready to build one today. ...so excited!
Corine :D
I'm kind of just wondering... what is this for? And how long does one barrel of water last?
The basic idea is being prepared in case of emergency!
If you live anywhere that experiences blizzards, tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, etc, it is good to have ample food and water on hand.
How long the water lasts depends on the size of your family. The recommendation is 1 gallon of water per person, per day.
So, let's say you want to store 2 weeks worth of water and have 4 people in your family - you would need to store 56 gallons of water.
What size are those barrels? They're pretty heavy filled with water. How well does this support their weight or did you do something special to the portion of the rack that would be needing to support such heavy weight? We have some 55 gallon water jugs and I swear they're like 400 lbs. or something like that when they're filled.
They are 55 gallon drums. You are correct that they weigh about 450 lbs when they are full.
The primary construction of everything is 2x4's. Based on the fact that we're putting pressure against the grain (the notches for the supporting members are cut such that the grain of the wood is vertical), the load of a single barrel (the other rests on 2x4's supported by concrete) is well within fault tolerances for even really poor wood. Here's is the logic:
Generally, wood has a compression strength of upwards of 600PSI, depending on grade, etc. Assuming the weight of the barrel is relatively even (which is should be) amongst the 4 contact points of the notches, each notch should only need to support about 120 lbs (maximum), and given each notch has a surface area of about 2 square inches, that's 60 PSI per notch, or about 10% of the rated strength of typical wood.
Thus - the weight is distributed in such a way as to easily support the barrels.
I hope you don't mind I shared your great idea and picture on our stake blog http://txsisters.blogspot.com/2012/03/shelf-plans.html
Please let me know if that is a problem!!
I have been wanting to do something like this in my garage for ages, but haven't been able to find a pattern for it. Thank you so much for sharing this!
Found you on Pinterest.
What do you store in your #10 Cans?
I was a little concerned by the weight issue as well. With 2 full drums per rack hitting upwards toward 900 plus lbs just for the water barrels not including the weight placed on shelves above the barrels.
Also I am assuming the barrels must be installed on rack prior to being filled with water. How are you then filling the barrels when they are on their side?
Thanks!
Great work on putting these plans together. I really like how the finished rack looks. I have been looking for ways to organize my supplies. The restaurant grade #10 can racks are sturdy but so expensive. I really like how you engineered the can storage and water storage in the same rack. This is very helpful. Thank you for posting this!
We recommend using Eco Pipes.
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