Is it safe to store coils in the middle of the coil bed? The answer is NO. That’s called a point load and a point loads can cause rack failure. The coil should always be supported by both the front and back beams of the steel coil storage racks system. Coil cradles are not designed to support the entire weight of the coil.
The picture on this page was sent to me by a long time customer and serves as a great example for steel coil storage safety. I had originally provided the coil rack to them but for a much bigger coil. Years later they has some smaller coils to store and decided to re-purposed the rack. I immediately told them that it would be a safety issue for them to keep storing smaller coils in larger coil cradles. In other words I told them to stop.
The coil width (front to back) can be a total of 6″ longer than depth of upright frame (allowing approx. 3″ overhang on each side), but the coil depth can NOT be smaller than the depth of the frame. When storing coils on a 60″ beam the coil diameter (based on a 48″ diameter coil) can range from 48″-51″.
The important thing to remember is that coil rack is designed around the size of the coil. The coil must have proper support. A coil must have a minimum of 18″ diameter and 20″ in width (or depth). That means that the side that the diameter (or the side that faces the aisle) must be 18″ or greater and the width (the side that goes into the rack) must be 20″ or greater.
The solution to storing smaller coils is two fold: 1. buy coil rack that is properly sized to fit the coil. 2. Buy double deep coil rack with interior beams that give you the flexibility to store both bigger and smaller coils. Double deep coil racks consist of two rows of coil rack lined up next to each other in a back to back row. The depth of the system included upright frame + row spacer + upright frame that gives narrow rack greater support.
You would be surprised at how many requests I get for coil racks to store slit coils. Coil racks are not designed to store slit coils. Slit coils are too tall & narrow to safely be stored in coil rack. If stored in coil rack they would have to be banded together with other like size slit coils. Slit coils can also be laid on their side (configured eye to the sky) on a pallet and stored in pallet rack. Slit coils should be stored at floor level in a slit coil storage rack.
