Talk:Pallet

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[edit] Opening Paragraph

Lumbercutter, what do you think of the opening paragraph? I have thought for a while that it needs rewriting, but could never settle on something that read well. Many of the facts it cites are missing real references, and other ones seem to me to be wrong. For example, what is a "standard black pallet?" GWheaton 9:33, October 2 2007 (EST)

Good point. I hadn't thought too critically before about the latter part of the lead. The lead starts out as a tight, appropriate lead, but then digresses into a wood-versus-plastic debate with too many {{fact}} tags. Now that I am paying attention to it, I think that that whole latter digression should be moved down, perhaps under "Materials Used". Somewhere down there, there could be a heading such as "Pros and cons of various materials (cost, environmental impact, etc.)" I would make the heading that explicit because it would tend to keep the writing focused. Anyway, that's my two cents! — Lumbercutter 19:41, 2 October 2007 (UTC)
Sounds like we are on the same page here. The opening paragraph was written by someone with a pro-plastic bias anyways (at least it seems that way to me), and I think it could easily be tightened up to simply say:
"Pallet (sometimes called a skid) is a flat transport structure designed to support a variety of goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by any mobile forklift, pallet jack, or other jacking device. The goods are placed on top of the pallet, and can be secured to it by straps or stretch-wrapped plastic film. While the majority of pallets are made of wood, pallets manufactured from plastic, metal, paper can also be found."
I think that everything after that can be moved down (or deleted). I also think the plastic-versus-wood pallet debate needs to framed appropriately in the context of reusable-versus-disposable pallets and how pallet purchasing decisions relate to the type of supply chain model utilized by a particular company, i.e. many companies with open-loop supply chains use wood pallets due to the high potential for loss of the transport packaging, while "closed-loop" supply chains with tight oversight (i.e. automobile manufacturers) tend to use plastic pallets due to the cost savings. I think it is frankly disingenuous to imply that people who use wood pallets are somehow ignorant about their environmental impact. When I first started editing this article I shredded most of the pro-plastic pallet bias in there, but always had trouble with the opening paragraph. GWheaton 11:08, October 3 2007 (EST)
I agree. As far as different supply chain models, it sounds like you know more about that than most, including me. Even if people decide to tweak the "Materials" section more, I don't think anyone could argue that the lead should be so frayed as it now is. I think I'll go remove those digressions. — Lumbercutter 02:41, 4 October 2007 (UTC)
I condensed many weasel-words, moved a paragraph about costs up to the overview, added military references, cross-checked the sizes with ISO containers and common door sizes (for a personal project), described steel and aluminum pallets, as well as perimiter base pallets, and researched the patent histories. Please check the changes. I am not a domain expert. Ray Van De Walker (talk) 11:06, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Re "slang for bed in southern U.S."

The comment about a pallet being slang for a bed in the southern states should be removed, for a few reasons, 1: There's no source. 2: It's not related to the subject. 3: It's a wee bit confusing.T.o.anon84 07:10, 28 July 2007 (UTC)

I agree that its time to remove the comment at the top about a pallet being used as a bed. At this juncture, would it be easier to simply have a disambiguation page, and put a disclaimer at the top of the page saying "This article is about the transport packaging commonly known as a "pallet" for other uses, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera." What do you think? - GWheaton —Preceding signed but undated comment was added at 14:04, 25 September 2007 (UTC)
Good idea. Done. — Lumbercutter 00:23, 27 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] There are more pallet models in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy

There are hundreds (if not thousands) of different pallet sizes out there. The article only lists the dimensions of widely-used pallets.GWheaton 16:26, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

Just wondering… has anybody ever seen or heard of pallets that are about 48"×24"? I work in retail, and I see these all the time. We appropriately call them “half-pallets”. Okay, you’ve probably seen ’em. But they’re oddly absent from the article. — NRen2k5 16:29, 1 May 2007 (UTC)

Half-size pallets are very common in the printing industry, because of the way paper is shipped. Sizes vary, but 25x38 and 26x40 are common. Sometimes two of these will be strapped together to make (approximately) a full-sized pallet, and they can be separated afterwards. These half-size pallets have many secondary uses around the plant (particularly in the bindery), but the quality varies widely, and some last longer than others. I don't think there are any standards for them, which is probably why they're not mentioned in the article. I've also seen even smaller pallets that are sized for a single 55-gallon drum.
There also seem to be two more-or-less standard widths of pallet jacks. I've seen pallets that have two stringers in the middle (for a total of four), and narrow pallet jacks won't fit under some of them. Conversely, wide jacks won't fit under some of the smallest pallets.

[edit] Market for used pallets

There is a market for used pallets, but only for the standard sizes, and 4-way pallets are worth a lot more than two-way pallets.Rbean 20:23, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Bye-bye Pokemon

Honestly! Are Pokemon references mandatory? Maybe a small text in the _lower_ end of the page? Gawkh, what does this do to the reputation of Wikipedia :P Sigmundur 21:02, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

Yes, I agree with you. The Pokemon disambiguation link seems much too prominent. When I saw it appear quite some time ago, I thought it should be moved, but I had no idea where. How about putting it at the bottom of the page, in the see also section? --AlainV 23:15, 26 January 2007 (UTC)
I agree. I just went ahead and removed the Pokemon reference. I doubt that people looking for Pokemon information will also be looking for information on pallets and vice versa. GWheaton 19:15, 12 February 2007 (UTC)GWheaton

[edit] Pros and cons of various materials for pallets

[edit] Why plastic better

I think the listing of reasons why plastic pallets are superior to wooden pallets is written from a non-NPOV standpoint and should be fixed. --76.176.98.81 21:47, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Ok the person above complains about it so I will put a nice and long story here FYI.

First the advantages:

    1)   Can be nested to gain volume units in small shipping space.
    2)   Extremely tough and durable for reuse many times.
    3)   Have a much longer service life than wooden pallets.
    4)   Are exceptionally light (18-20 Lbs).
    5)   Generates lower shipping cost (1200 per 40 feet container).
    6)   Ecology friendly as they are made of recyclable material.
    7)   Creates a safer work environment, no nails or broken pieces.
    8)   Can withstand severe temperatures (until 20 grades under zero).
    9)   Resistant to water, acids and other chemicals.
  10)   Impervious to insects, nematodes and diseases.
  11)   Under no export /import regulations.
  12)   Less expensive with the arrival of new technologies.
  13)   Requires less plastic wrap to stabilize product on pallet.
  14)   There is a cost for getting rid of wooden pallets once they are damaged.

Sources: EU Life project, UNEP, Seatrade, Coca Cola and a long list of entities that use them. Besides that they are also 4 way. But to continue why plastic is better. There is no need for fumigation and the transfer of diseases for food products is minimised in contradiction to wood.

These are all known fact so I will remove your "non-NPOV", it makes me to believe you work for the wood industry.

--SGS 16:48, 19 Dec 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Regarding aluminum and particle board pallets

Every now and then I encounter an aluminum pallet. And there are also cheap pallets made of particle board. I hate PB pallets!! They have 9 feet (like the plastic ones) and one corner foot always break off. Jigen III 04:27, 26 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Seeking help on material comparisons

I am writing an article on pros and cons of wood, metal and plastic pallets and I am new to Wiki. Would it be acceptable to include a link to sources that differentiate the kinds of pallets and articles about how to find free pallets and increasing ROI? I don't want to be considered a spammer.User:Durdanayousuf [undated]

[edit] Photos added

Today I added a picture of a pallet to the article. I use pallets at work all the time, and I own a digital camera. Thus, if anyone has a suggestion for how to improve the picture, I can easily oblige. --Dbenbenn 03:15, 12 Dec 2004 (UTC)

And here's a picture of a more typical wooden pallet. It's the ISO standard size, 100 by 120 by 12 cm. (I measured it!) The glove is there for scale. The plastic pallet is the same size, except it's 14 cm tall. --Dbenbenn 03:07, 16 Dec 2004 (UTC)

[edit] ISO number for pallet standardization?

Anybody know the ISO number for pallet standardization? Dbenbenn 18:35, 23 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Yes, it is ISO 6780. It lists six different pallet sizes. The 100 by 120 size is one of the most common ones in Europe, but it is also found elsewhere around the globe. There are other ISO standards relevant to pallets. See the list at http://www.unitload.vt.edu/palstand.htm --AlainV 01:08, 24 Dec 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Alternative uses for pallets in the construction industry

QU OF INFO: Im a construction student currently undertaking a dissertation on using timber pallets as a form of timber framing system. if anyone knows of any other schemes that have alternative uses for pallets in the construction industry i would be most interested. [unsigned]

Here's an interesting external link that I found by visiting pallet crafts. The construction shown is just by individuals, nothing "official" or ready for the ISO books. But still pretty neat! — Lumbercutter 00:30, 27 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Re pounds (£), not pounds (lb)

A wooden pallet costs anything from a few pounds per unit to ten times that number.

pounds??? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.213.220.186 (talk) 07:04, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

Yes, that's pounds as in British pounds, the currency (£), not "lb" as a unit of weight. — Lumbercutter 15:31, 16 September 2007 (UTC)
There's a valid point here in that the cost of wooden pallets is discussed in pounds while the cost of plastic pallets is in dollars - I think we need to pick one & stick to it, otherwise it's unnecessarily confusing (we can't expect a reader to judge whether a £5 wooden pallet is cheaper than a $10 plastic one) — iridescent (talk to me!) 15:39, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Image - tidy stack of pallets

Does the image "tidy stack of pallets" bother anyone else? It's not very tidy, especially as the warehouse photo above has a much more tidy stack of pallets. Maybe the caption should be changed to "idle pallet storage" as this is discussed in the adjacent fire hazard section. BeamerNZ (talk) 04:34, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

I don't know, but for being outside in harsh conditions and such, those pallets are stacked better than I might have done given the same conditions. That being said, one persons 'tidy' is another persons mess (xml for instance) -- I have no problem with the caption being changed. -- Carol 07:34, 23 November 2007 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by CarolSpears (talk • contribs)
Maybe "pallets on pallets" is better? -- Carol 07:39, 23 November 2007 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by CarolSpears (talk • contribs)
Keep it simple. "Stacked pallets" is good. Jigen III (talk) 11:54, 11 January 2008 (UTC)