# Water Storage Racks



## Wags (Jun 2, 2002)

Came across this blog tonight and thought I'd share: http://waterstoragerack.blogspot.com/

They include the plans for a rack that is designed to hold 55 gallon drums as well as #10 cans. 

I wish I had the space to build something like this.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

That's pretty nice. Thanks for posting it.


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## JohnP (Sep 1, 2010)

Scary, I don't think I'd trust those 1x4s to hold 458 lbs (55gal X 8.34 lbs) of water. Give me some steel.


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## unregistered65598 (Oct 4, 2010)

Thats pretty cool, I book marked it. Maybe just the tanks on the bottom?


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

i have a rack for my van , holds 2 barrels , for watering the community garden , a few things to add that i found handy 

i used 2x3's length wise to hold the barrels the long way holding 400-440 pounds of water in a barrel by the front and back edges does in some barrels lead to the barrel bulging ,sagging or drooping in the middle i found that with the barrels supported lenght wise that they deformed around the supports a bit meaning as long as the edges weren't sharp the didn't need to be cut to contured to the barrel, but it stopped end to end sagging my supports 

so my technique is to lay the barrel on the front and back support then slide the 2x3's against the sides of the barrel an make pencil marks then remove the empty barrel, move the supports in about an 1/8 inch from each pencil line and screw in place this lets the empty barrel rest on them and gives it room to deform slightly around them without having it deform as much as would be needed to reach the supports when not moved in slightly. also my supposts come out past the barrel fromt by a half inch or so because that front ring of the barrel is one of the strongest parts of the barrel it only makes sence to support it . this horizontal placement of the barrels only allows for about 50 gallons of water to be put in , but it makes the need for a pump unnessacary , but you do need valves . remember to use some teflon tape on the valves 

as for the 1x6's i would sure trust a 2x6 much more i am not sure the exact load carrying capability of a 1x6 but your putting 200 pound on it for a 2 foot span , that will probably hold 200 pounds but is it cost effective 2x3 or 2x4 are cheap respectivly also are fur and not pine and are rated for a structural load , and i know a 2x4 will hold 200 pounds in a 2 foot span if properly fastened and for their relative price a 2x3 inside and out saves space and will hold double what a 1/6 pine will for weight aproximatly

looking at a table for lumber strenght a 2x4 placed so that the weigh is evenly distributed with the 2x4 the 4 inches virtical it sould hold 459 pounds , but if all the weight is placed in the center 115 pounds on a 4 foot span generaly these numbers indicate what is safe not what you can actulay get it to hold before breaking , but i don't know how things work at your house but my kids will some day find a way to climb the self looking for somthing on a high shelf add 90 pounds with a cross shear because the are hanging off the shelf not cool to have your shelves fall on the kids 

so i am distributing the weight some with my barrel supports , and doubling up the 2x4s and reducingt he span to 2 feet not 4 , so just figure i build things 2x as strong as the need to be after the lunber company has added 50% saftey to thier rating making it roughly 4x stronger than needed that is just my way


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## Arterius (Feb 25, 2011)

JohnP said:


> Scary, I don't think I'd trust those 1x4s to hold 458 lbs (55gal X 8.34 lbs) of water. Give me some steel.


Hi! Those are my plans. 

While steel would indeed be stronger, I don't have the tools to cut steel, and I'm quite familiar with wood and the strength properties of wood. I didn't use 1x4's anywhere but on the upper shelves as furrings. The primary construction of everything is 2x4's. Based on the fact that I'm 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 my 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.

I did recently repair one of the hose bibs on a bottom barrel, and pulled the barrel out in the process to inspect the upper barrel for bulging. I didn't see any. However, when next I rotate the upper barrels, I'll pull them out and add some support to ensure the barrels don't deform/warp.

Hopefully the plans/information are useful!


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

A 1x4 turned on edge is just as strong as a 2x4 turned on edge. You don't generally use 1x4s upright because they flex more in that position than a 2x4. That design looks plenty strong to me.


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## jtjf_1 (Nov 7, 2009)

Next thing to do would be to plumb all the barrels together so you could fill from one end and drain from the other. This would also allow for more storage volume in the lower barrels.


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