Pallet Styles for Chemical and drum shippers

Drums and bags

PHS Plastic's STK 207 is a 48 x 48 in stackable rated 4,000 lb dynamic and 30,000 lb static. Four full drums are a concentrated load on four points, so the dynamic rating and the way the sheet describes its test matter more than the static headline.

Fire and storage

A chemical store is also a fire question. The ICC Building Safety Journal explains that unlisted plastic pallets can raise the classification used for sprinkler design. Ask for the FM 4996 or UL 2335 listing for the exact model; the fire rated hub explains what to ask.

Questions for the maker

1. Static and dynamic load with four drums as the load.
2. Fire listing for the exact model.
3. Chemical resistance of the resin.
4. Footprint and entry type.

A stack worked out

Take a stackable rated 10,000 lb static. The bottom pallet carries the pallets above it, so with each loaded pallet weighing 2,200 lb it can hold 4 above, a stack of 5. With 6,242 lb per pallet it can hold 1 above. This is a ceiling on a flat floor for a still stack, not a promise for a stack that moves or waits.

Trailers for your volume

Suppose 4,340 empty pallets come back in a month. At the maker figures on file that is 4 trailers of Rehrig Pacific heavy-duty nestables (1,200 each), 2 of PHS Plastic's EXP 100 (2,340 each) or 9 of a rackable (540 each). The table runs the same sum for 6 volumes, from 4,340 to 22,800.

A note on this page

Spills decide the choice. A pallet with a closed deck and a raised rim contains a leaking drum better than a flat open deck, and a drum pallet that is easy to wash saves a hazard talk at every audit. Ask the safety officer, not just the buyer, which feature matters.

Words on this page

Cube utilisation

How well loaded freight fills the volume of a trailer or container. Taller or wider-than-floor pallets waste cube.

Nest ratio

How many empty pallets fit in the height of one: pallet height divided by nest increment.

Nest increment

The extra height each additional empty pallet adds to a nested stack, measured in inches. A small increment means a short stack.

CP9

A chemical industry pallet standard, 1140 by 1140 millimetres, about 45 by 45 inches.

Dynamic load

The weight a pallet holds while it is moved by a forklift, pallet jack or conveyor. It is lower than static because motion adds shock.

UL

Underwriters Laboratories, a safety testing body that publishes fire test standards, including one for storage pallets.

Pallet pooling

A rental model where a company owns the pallets and moves them between customers, instead of each customer buying its own.

Dunnage

Loose material used to support or secure cargo inside a trailer or container.