Question Steel tank rack material advice

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formernuke

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I'm thinking of remaking my tank storage rack this time from steel instead of wood.

I'm thinking square steel tubing which I will weld together and then paint.

My question is what size tubing and what wall thickness will be sufficient to support the weight of the tanks? Tanks will vary from HP100 to AL 6 with everything in between.
 
I'm thinking of remaking my tank storage rack this time from steel instead of wood.

I'm thinking square steel tubing which I will weld together and then paint.

My question is what size tubing and what wall thickness will be sufficient to support the weight of the tanks? Tanks will vary from HP100 to AL 6 with everything in between.
Depends on your design. If your verticals are actually vertical and you aren't spanning more than four tanks between them, 1" will be plenty adequate.
 
Depends on your design. If your verticals are actually vertical and you aren't spanning more than four tanks between them, 1" will be plenty adequate.

3 tank max.

1 inch with what wall thickness?
 
10 gauge would be plenty for three tanks between uprights. You won't make it tall enough to overcome the upright strength with it being guesseted horizontally every foot.
 
For reference this is my current wood one. My AL40 is out getting O2 cleaned, the second neutral bouyant AL80 is getting filled with 21/35. The 120 will not be on the rack and I will likely be selling the double 100's and the 2 AL80's. I don't think I'll but the double 50's on the rack but that is not certain.

20221118_225138.jpg
 
Steel might scratch the paint or metal surface of tanks. You may also wish to put some kind of coating or material between the steel and the tanks. Carpet, rubber, or a thick enough fabric perhaps?
 
There's a $100 rack with adjustable shelves carry a ton and a couple of $100 benches that hold a lot less

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Welding 1 inch steel my arse

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Here's where you might want to do some welding Chief
 
... I will weld together and then paint.
I HATE lifting steel tanks up . Maybe a little creative thinking is possible and you can weld it.
What about a 'lazy susan' rotating steel table, 2 level rack?{idea pict below}. You could store 2 same sized tanks in each "pie slice" section. The shape doesn't have to be round, it could still be square & rotate. The table would rotate on bearings so you could easily grab & go. The top level with a containment ring is for your light weight pony's and maybe hanging regs too. If you need a 2nd level for Aluminum tanks to lift up to, that would save floor space also. It's ScubaBoard..Why be normal when you can be better ??

tank-rotating-rack.jpg
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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