help planning a stand build

[sweetk30]

i have a friend with a waste oil heater in his shop . he has a 350gal tote for extra storage . but he has to pump the oil from the tote to the heater when needed .

he was thinking raise up the tote and let gravity do the work and flow from the bottom valve on the tote to the fill port on the heater tank . would be under 5ft tall .

so if oil is in the 7.5lb per gal range this is just around 2600 lbs of weight .

what size tubing should i use to make the stand ? thinking square tube .

i have some big welders and plasma to this wont be a problem . just the design is the major question . for safety and piece of mine .

thanks for any help guys .

 

[iajonesy]

I would think 3" square tube with 3/16" wall would be heavy enough. You would want to gusset the corners to keep it from "racking" on you. How high do they have to be? The higher they are the more unstable they will be. A simple square frame with one cross brace should work just fine. These are just my opinions and how I would do it if it were mine, but I'm not an engineer, just a metal worker.

Mike

 

[matt_i]

I would do 5 legs (one in the center). You didn't mention the height. You'll also need a plate for the tote to sit on. I like 1/4" thick.

I built risers for those before, but they were constantly loaded and unloaded by forklifts, hence the use of 4x4x1/4" box tube, and 1/2" x 4 flat to guide the tote into position. But that's overkill for a static load just sitting there with slow rise and fall of the fluid level.

As mentioned, reinforcing gussets and diagonal or X-bracing help pickup strength where you are in doubt. Imo, a 2x2x11ga tube is strong enough as a short column. Probably around 24" tall though, is where I would upsize either the OD or the wall. Tubes placed horizontally under the supporting plate, I'd go with 2x3 or 2x4.

I'd also do leveling mounts so all 5 feet can be placed in solid contact with the concrete if the fab shop is different from the installation location. Drill & tap 3/8" or 1/2" thick squares to weld on the bottom of the leg.

 

[OccupantRJ]

Put it on a stack of free pallets. Use a plastic one on the bottom if on the ground. (somebody had to say it!)

 

[sweetk30]

Put it on a stack of free pallets. Use a plastic one on the bottom if on the ground. (somebody had to say it!)

thats what he wants to do . but who trusts free pallets no one has taken back or picked up free yet . ?

and who wants a oh **** 350 gal oil spill in the shop to clean up

 

[sweetk30]

fixed it for you guys . sorry forgot the height .

should be under 5ft tall . thinking more like 4ft .

 

[930dreamer]

I stack two totes when used for firewood storage.

 

[bczygan]

Stack the full tote on a full or empty one.

Bill

 

[bullnerd]

Is it staying on the pallet/base that it sits on the floor with?

Match the 3 horizontal beams on the pallet with some steel tube, and add legs as needed.

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

Stack the full tote on a full or empty one.

Bill

this.

 

[sweetk30]

will be staying there till it die's .

kind of wanted space below to store stuff .

would that little cage around them hold that much weight ?

this is a extra tall tote at 350 gal . not the 275ish units .

 

[notso]

Load one with water out in the yard and stack it on another, if it fails you get your yard watered and you know you need something stronger.

 

[gahrajmahal]

Get your local unistrut shop to calculate a build. Then go with their material or your own similar cross section or to verify the capacity of the empty tote.

 

[Strouty]

I am doing this with my water tank (same type of tote), my plan is to use square tube to make the frame, I will connect the legs together at the bottom and the rear will get x braced. I plan on having a sink and storage for the water pump under it, this way it is a self contained unit. I ordered steel, but can't remember what size I purchased. It has been on my list of things to do for over a year now.

 

[racingtadpole]

Find some second hand pallet rack and put that under it.

 

[sweetk30]

can not be any bigger foot print than the tote size . its between to bays of the garage in the dead zone .

 

[BD1]

Do a goggle search and see what's available and duplicate. You'd be surprised on how cheesy stands are made.
You could use 3" schedule 40 pipe too for legs.