Harbor Freight Castors, have you used the cast iron ones with rubber tire?

[Mr__Bill]

I have a hot tub sitting on my trailer and need to store in in a carport. I am thinking of using the HF castors Cast Iron/Molded Rubber Swivel Caster so that I can move it around. They are rated at 330 lb each and the price is right. I am wondering if any one has experience with these castors and if they held up. Will the cast iron rust out too quickly or break? Your thoughts are welcome.

bill
on the left coast

[LCHIEN]

i'd be worried if stored for a long time that the rubber will develop flat spots and eventually crack and break. Polyurethane is more durable and stable but probably costs more.

[cabinetman]

If it will be empty, what is it's weight?

.

[Mr__Bill]

i'd be worried if stored for a long time that the rubber will develop flat spots and eventually crack and break. Polyurethane is more durable and stable but probably costs more.

I expect it will be stored at least a year, but will be moved some as I work on the wood cabinet. I hadn't considered the degradation of the rubber, something new to consider. I was just worried about the castors with the sheet metal wheels bending over and playing dead when I try to move it and the castor does not rotate.

If it will be empty, what is it's weight?

.

Yeah, empty, full it's about 4500 lb and empty about 450 to 500 so I'm not trying for a portable hot tub full of water.

Bill on the left coast.
Hope everyone here from the east coast is ok

[Stytooner]

These might be a better deal for you.
Surplus Center.
I have bought about 12 used castors lately from them and they are high quality.
Price is right too.

These are the ones I bought, but they only have one left.

http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?item=1-3757&catname=wheels

[cwsmith]

I think I'd try to come up with a way to wedge up the hot top while in storage to kept the weight off the wheels, no matter which wheels I used.

Wheels of this sort would be fine for moving along a some-what smooth floor, but I think any wheel would be subject to weathering in one form or another as a foundation for "storage".

So, I'd have a wheeled "platform" of sorts to move the hot-tub into a storage position, then I'd have a fixed-block system to store it on for whatever time period required, and then re-position the wheels for movement again.

CWS

[cabinetman]

These might be a better deal for you.
Surplus Center.
I have bought about 12 used castors lately from them and they are high quality.
Price is right too.

These are the ones I bought, but they only have one left.
http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.as...catname=wheels

I had to make some decorative service carts, and found one of the qualities to look for is in the axle assembly. IOW, what kind of axle/bearing (if any) is used, the type of axle as to diameter, and type of material.

Nothing wrong with a cast iron wheel, other than it can crack and rust, and whether steel would be preferred. Then, the rolling surface should be considered to pick an appropriate type of rubber.

CW had a good suggestion to store elevated off the casters.

.

[Cochese]

When you get to that much weight the key is distribution. Poly wheels (like the very good ones from Peachtree) would probably be my choice.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

[Mr__Bill]

These might be a better deal for you.
Surplus Center.
I have bought about 12 used castors lately from them and they are high quality.
Price is right too.

These are the ones I bought, but they only have one left.
http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.as...catname=wheels

That's a good source, thanks for the link. I'm kind of stuck buying locally as I would like to do this this weekend weather permitting.

I think I'd try to come up with a way to wedge up the hot top while in storage to kept the weight off the wheels, no matter which wheels I used.

Wheels of this sort would be fine for moving along a some-what smooth floor, but I think any wheel would be subject to weathering in one form or another as a foundation for "storage".

So, I'd have a wheeled "platform" of sorts to move the hot-tub into a storage position, then I'd have a fixed-block system to store it on for whatever time period required, and then re-position the wheels for movement again.

CWS

That's my plan. I will have one corner in a corner and will be very hard to get to to put on blocks.

I had to make some decorative service carts, and found one of the qualities to look for is in the axle assembly. IOW, what kind of axle/bearing (if any) is used, the type of axle as to diameter, and type of material.

Nothing wrong with a cast iron wheel, other than it can crack and rust, and whether steel would be preferred. Then, the rolling surface should be considered to pick an appropriate type of rubber.

CW had a good suggestion to store elevated off the casters.

.

The blurb on the cast iron casters mentions that they are good on uneven floors, or words to that effect. That is what brought them to my attention in the first place.

While I would like to make use of them when no longer needed for moving the hot tub around, but at that price I'm not going to worry if they do fall apart. If I go with them I think I'll give the cast iron a coating of grease to protect them from water. It will depend too on just what HF had in stock when I get there too.

Bill
on the left coast

[cabinetman]

If I go with them I think I'll give the cast iron a coating of grease to protect them from water.

That's a good idea.

.

[cwsmith]

Whatever caster you decide to go with, make sure you lubricate/grease the axle pins on the wheels. Nothing like going through all the trouble to pick just the right wheels, supports, etc. and then finding the wheels are frozen with corrosion and you can't easily roll the thing back out of the storage space (one of the reason's NOT to store the thing on the casters).

CWS