How Do I Recognize Stow Pallet Racking by the Frame?

Knowing which pallet racking you have in your warehouse is crucial for safe use. The brand and type of racking form part of the record kept by the employee responsible for the safe working environment. Read more about this in the article on the PRSES (the employee responsible for the safety of pallet racking).

So how do you recognize that your racking is from Stow and which type you have in your warehouse?

First of all, it's important to note that color doesn't necessarily say much about your racking. Although Stow racking generally has light blue frames and orange beams, the beams are also supplied in other standard colors (RAL 1007, daffodil yellow, for example). The frames are also available in the most common RAL 5015, but also in light grey and galvanized.

Stow pallet racking is mainly recognized by the frames. Almost every pallet racking manufacturer has its own unique perforation pattern in the frames.

That perforation is the location where the racking's beams are hung in the frame. If you see the perforation as shown alongside, you immediately know you're dealing with a Stow frame.

So which Stow frame type do you have?

Stow has many different frames, each with a unique code/number. Stow's standard pallet racking frames typically begin, in terms of coding, with PNFB or PLFB followed by a number.

We distinguish the following, most common, frames, along with the upright dimensions and material thickness.

• PNFB 12 w x d x t = 85 x 65 x 1.75
• PNFB 13 w x d x t = 85 x 65 x 2.0
• PLFB 15 w x d x t = 100 x 65 x 2
• PLFB 155 w x d x t = 100 x 65 x 2.25
• PLFB 16 w x d x t = 100 x 65 x 2.5
• PLFB 17 w x d x t = 120 x 65 x 2
• PLFB 18 w x d x t = 120 x 65 x 2.5
• PLFB 29 w x d x t = 120 x 65 x 2.5 (the difference with type 18 is the steel grade)
• PLFB 30 w x d x t = 120 x 92 x 2.5
• PLFB 31 w x d x t = 120 x 92 x 3
• PLFB 32 w x d x t = 120 x 92 x 3.5

Check the upright for exact information instead of measuring yourself

As you can already tell from the table above, the differences between the various uprights that make up a frame are often small. This means there's a real risk of selecting the wrong frame. In particular, the difference between type 18 and type 28 cannot be measured or observed without special equipment.

Fortunately, the upright of the frame is stamped with the style/type that was used. The front generally clearly shows whether it concerns frame type 18, 28, 30 or any other frame. With that information, you can determine your frame type yourself.

What do the letters PLFB and PNFB mean on a Stow pallet racking frame?

The letters provide more information about the exact version of the frame:

• PL: The uprights have a hole pattern on the side
• PN: The uprights do not have a hole pattern on the side
• F: it concerns a frame
• B: it concerns a bolted frame (Bolted)
• Addition G: The letter G is sometimes added after the previous 4 letters. This means it is a galvanized frame.

Questions about your Stow frames? Feel free to ask, we're happy to answer them

You can view all our Stow uprights and frames here