Hands-On: We Put 946.5 lbs. on Husky’s X-Workhorse
By Chuck CageThe Test Rig
Believe it or not, it’s more difficult than you might think to come up with something that weighs 750 lbs that’ll a) fit on top of the X-Workshop and b) not require you to be too close to it when you load it in case it happens to fall. After some thinking it came to us: water. Lots of water.
To find out exactly how much we’d need, we turned to our trusty Machinery’s Handbook. (We wrote about the latest edition — the 27th — a while back. If you don’t have one of these, ask your family for one for Christmas. It rocks.) On page 422, we discovered that water’s density is equal to 1 kilogram per liter. This is, of course, affected by temperature as warmer water expands ever so slightly such that water weighs less by identical volume as temperature increases. However, the change is only about 0.29% from 39.1 (water’s most dense point) to 77 degrees (about the temp of the coldish water from our outdoor hose). Therefore we didn’t worry about trying to determine or maintain a specific temperature.
So, how much did we need? Google says 1 gallon = 3.7854118 liters and 1 kilogram = 2.20462262 lbs, so:
3.7854118 x 2.20462262 = 8.35 lbs / gallon
750 lbs / 8.35 = 89.8 gallons
That didn’t sound too bad, so we called around a bit and located two 55 gallon epoxy-lined steel barrels — you know, the same kind they ship chemicals in and make BBQ grills out of. After dragging them back to the shop, we used our trusty 125 lb. strain gauge — the same one we used for the AutoWrench tests — to weigh the barrels. Despite their size and durability, they each weighed only 14 lbs. Best yet, they fit perfectly on top of the X-Workhorse.
Adding together the 110 gallons of water plus the 28 lbs. of barrels, we were ready to place up to 946.5 lbs. on the unsuspecting little X-Workhorse. Now comes the fun part — loading ‘er up.
The Test
We placed the first barrel on the X-Workhorse, dropped the hose in and turned it on. It took quite a while to fill up the barrel, but we could measure progress easily by feeling the temperature of the side of the barrel. The water was cool while the barrel itself was warmer from sitting out in the sun while we got everything set up, so we just felt for the cool line to see where things stood.
The first barrel’s full and no problems. Looks like the X-Workhorse is good at least up to 473 lbs.
To get the second barrel to sit stably on top of the first we laid a couple of pieces of scrap 1″ square tubing on top. (The tubing weighed 3 lbs. total.) We had to use a step ladder to get the hose into the top barrel. At this point the rig started looking quite intimidating and we were began to wonder how bad the barrels would damage the concrete underneath should the X-Workhorse fail. Failure seemed like a realistic possibility considering that we intended to overload the table by at least 25%.
We decided to stay back as the second barrel began to fill. 900+ lbs. hurts when it falls on you.
After what seemed like forever, we saw water running out the top of the second barrel. Wow! Almost 200 lbs. over the 750 lb. advertised limit and the X-Workhorse is still holding strong.
We couldn’t help but wonder if maybe X-Workhorse relied too heavily on its shape (vs. material strength) to hold this massive weight, so we tried poking at it with a (very long) 2×4 to see if it’d crumple. No luck. Finally we even took a few good (6′+) swings at it. Nope. Solid as can be. It is possible to cause a bit of twisting motion by pushing hard on the X-Workhorse’s legs, but really this would be the equivalent of knocking it over, not causing the table to fail.
So, we gave in and (very carefully) siphoned out the water. Afterwards, the X-Workhorse was still as strong as before and ready for work. It even handled getting wet quite well as the aluminum doesn’t corrode easily and the plastic just wipes dry.
Read on to page 3 for our conclusions.
September 12th, 2006 at 12:55 pm
Come on guys… “xx” tall and xx” x xx” wide.” couldn’t be bothered to measure?
:D
September 12th, 2006 at 2:18 pm
Rick: You totally busted me. I decided to add the dimensions as I was adding photos to the post and then I forgot to go back and replace them. Doh! They’re in there now.
Good eye!
September 12th, 2006 at 2:36 pm
Nice review. Seems like a good product. If only you knew someone with a big hydraulic press to really destruction test it…
Peter
September 12th, 2006 at 3:16 pm
I’ve been looking for an excuse to get one or two of these but nothing has come up. Now I might just have to get them anyway. Nice review. I had to laugh when I read your testing technique, reminds me of an episode of Jackass.
September 12th, 2006 at 3:17 pm
I’ve been looking for an excuse to get one or two of these but nothing has come up. Now I might just have to get them anyway. Nice review. I had to laugh when I read your testing technique, you really are hurting for some of those ‘Doh!’ entries.
September 13th, 2006 at 1:18 pm
Loved the Article - it truly is a Superior product! Keter Plastic Ltd./Home Design Products is actually the manufacturer and designer of this product! We also produce and sell to The Home Depot other consumer plastic products like Garage Shelving, Cabinets, Totes, Tool Boxes, Outdoor products, etc. Hurry in to Home Depot and get your’s today! (Vice President Sales - HDP/Keter)
September 14th, 2006 at 12:36 am
This product looks like it will work okay on a solid level surface but what if the surface is sloped or uneven? Is there any kind of leveling adjustment built into the feet?
September 14th, 2006 at 12:40 am
PaulS: That’s a great question. Some of the other reviews we saw on the web mentioned that one of the feet adjusts to help level the table, but ours didn’t seem to want to move. We think they’re talking about the red part of the feel (visibile in one of the photos in the post above). They do rotate a little bit around their center mounts.
FWIW, it was pretty stable on our slightly-sloped shop floor, and we had pretty good luck with it in the yard — a good test considering that that’s where it might end up with building contractors using it. However, we’d be a little concerned about using it on a really unstable surface like big cobblestone or the like.
September 15th, 2006 at 12:50 pm
[…] Hands-On: We Put 946.5 lbs. on Husky’s X-Workhorse Believe it or not, we don’t really want to break things all the time. We do, however, question any plastic-y portable workbench that says it’ll hold 750 lbs. But rather than just wonder, we decided to find out by loading up the X-Workhorse — a cool little folding table designed to hold a miter saw or serve as a workbench on the jobsite — with lots more than even the advertised 750 lbs. In short: It held the load. It even held it when we whacked on it with a 2×4. Check out the post for pix. […]
September 30th, 2006 at 11:19 pm
Excellent review. Saw one of these at the Big Box and wondered if it lived up to the packagings claims.
June 24th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Can’t find this item anywhere! How can a person get one?!?!?!?
July 3rd, 2008 at 10:38 am
Hi William
Keter -fortools used to make them for a UK company called B&Q -a large diy chain.
I’ve been trying to get them too as I have a pair but they are getting a bit old. If you find them let me know!!