Gladiator recently came out with a new heavy duty shelving rack that can support up to 2,000 pounds of evenly distributed goods per shelf. It features a welded steel frame, four adjustable shelves, a patented tie-bar tool-free design, and dual slot profile for installing multiple units side-by-side.
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Features
- Model # GARS774SZG
- Dimensions: 72″ tall x 77″ wide x 24″
- 50 square feet of storage space (~51.3 ft^2)
- 8,000 lbs total load rating (2,000 lbs per shelf)
- Completely tool-free assembly
- Zinc-coated wire shelves
- Hammered-granite finish coating
- Corrosion resistant
- NSF certification for approved restaurant and home pantry dry food storage
- 146 lbs product weight, 165 lbs shipping weight
MSRP is $199. Freight shipping is $70 from Gladiator, and varies for other distributors. Some vendors offer free in-store pickup.
Available at: Gladiator | Home Depot | Lowes | Sears
First Impression
I have been a fan of Gladiator products for quite some time, going far beyond their adjustable-height workbench I reviewed earlier in the year. Not everything has been perfect, but overall I feel the brand is committed to producing exceptionally good home storage solutions.
This product was actually on my radar for the past few weeks, as I have been seeking to furnish my offsite storage space with a heavy duty shelving rack or two. I have numerous wire shelving units already in place, and ended up ordering a few more of those instead. I thought this shelving unit would be a superb solution, but needed something that could break down smaller for easier transport when we move to a new location in a year or so.
This shelving rack unit looks to be incredibly robust, and my experience with Gladiator suggests that when they say it can hold 2,000 lbs per shelf, they mean it. $199 seems reasonable for what you get.
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Kevin Smith
Looks a lot like the Edsal racking I have been using for several years. I have been using one I cut in half as a workbench for quite a while. If it’s made by Edsal, it’s good stuff and will hold every bit of that 2000lbs.
Stuart
It does look like Edsal racks, and I know there’s something similar under Home Depot’s Husky brand as well. Those brands’ racks have similar load ratings, but I like how the Gladiator version has horizontal supports every 1/4 length of each shelf.
The appeal of Edsal over this one in some cases, is how additional shelves and vertical supports can be purchased separately for a more highly customizable solution.
John S
I also saw that edsal has a mobile rack for 220 or so at HD with relatively solid load values… but this does look like some solid shelving for a decent price.
Steve R.
Stuart–No offense, but I don’t see how that shelving rack could sustain four tons of weight without collapsing; it doesn’t appear that sturdy. What gauge steel is used? Are there any mechanical fasteners on it (i.e., nuts and bolts); it sounds like there may not be any. How was that weight figure of 2,000 lbs. per shelf determined? While an individual rack might withstand that much weight, I don’t think the structure itself can support four tons. Did they put it together and then test it with calibration weights, or was this subjected to an increasing load until it failed in a test machine? Did they test it catastrophically (i.e., for instantaneous failure)? That would result in a higher strength, because you don’t build up stress over time. The photo above shows a very light loading of the structure. As close as the shelves are together, I doubt that you could load 2,000 pounds of tools or weight on each one. The top and second shelf are largely unsupported by the diagonal support rods to keep the unit from racking. Obviously, you’ll load any heavy items down by the floor, and I’d bolt the unit to the wall rather than leave it free-standing if it had that much weight on it. I get that it’s strong, but I suspect their advertising people are pushing the limits of what this unit can safely handle. I’d want to see more evidence (conducted by an independent test lab) of their claims; it sounds a little too good to be true.
Stuart
It is unclear how they test for load rating, but I imagine they use a standardized practice as with their workbenches and other garage storage products.
The thing is, 2,000 lbs per shelf would not typically be the failure point, or at least it shouldn’t. Responsible companies would rate their products with a 4-to-1 safety factor, meaning that a 2,000 lb load should correspond to an 8,000 lb failure load.
Let’s say you load up each shelf with full-length and full-width granite slabs. The shelving unit should be able to handle 2,000 lbs of the slabs per shelf without issue.
I don’t think that Gladiator is fudging the numbers.
I no longer have access to modeling software, otherwise it would be easy to at least simulate how the shelving rack would respond to different weights.
Here, you have steel C-channels with horizontal reinforcement to help spread the load. Seeing as how good quality consumer wire shelving units have load ratings of 500-600 lbs per shelf, I don’t doubt that these units can support up to 2000 lbs per shelf.
However, these units are intended for use by consumers in basements and garages. I don’t think they would be quite up to commercial rack standards in terms of rigidity.
I don’t mistrust the load rating, but would never load this unit to its full capacity. At 1,000 lbs or more per shelf, commercial racking would likely be stronger and longer lasting. Remember, this is a $200 shelving unit.
Looking at McMaster, medium duty commercial racks of similar size support 1700 lbs per shelves of this size, and heavy duty racks support 4000 lbs per shelf/level.
Travis M
This looks identical to the Costco Whalen shelves that are normally around $125 to $160 depending if they are on sale. I too would worry about the 2000lbs per shelve, but will never come close to testing that. The bang for the buck is amazing. If I had more room I would buy several of these. Due to the nature of the items I was going to be storing on this shelf, I cut pieces of wood to lay on top of the wire racks. Works great and even helps distribute the weight even more.
Ewilliams
Are these shelves compatible with the Edsal shelves sold set Lowes and homedepot?
mrlegoman
Judging by looks, it would seem the Husky, Edsal and Gladiator shelving parts would be interchangeable. Can someone confirm this?
DKirby
I’m not sure about Gladiator – plan to get a couple soon and will see. I have a Husky and Edsal and they are interchangeable. They appear to be the same manufacturer (both made in USA), and are simply packaged under different names.
Stuart
That’s not too surprising, as Edsal makes some other products for Husky, such as some of their tool cabinets.
RC WARD
Can’t go wrong with either Gladiator or Husky products. Husky is a better value though #TIA CREW