Supporting a drawer slide

[Tom Bender]

Was thinking about support for drawer slides. Decided that the vertical load is mostly at the front of the case so i add support there.

ex; If a loaded drawer weighs 20 pounds, the back of the slide will need to support only 5 pounds per side when the drawer is shut. At the front it will need to support 15 pounds per side when the drawer is open.

So if using a 100 pound rated slide (per pair) does the rating allow for the 50% increase in loading on the front or is the rating only good for a closed drawer?

[derek labian]

Was thinking about support for drawer slides. Decided that the vertical load is mostly at the front of the case so i add support there.

ex; If a loaded drawer weighs 20 pounds, the back of the slide will need to support only 5 pounds per side when the drawer is shut. At the front it will need to support 15 pounds per side when the drawer is open.

So if using a 100 pound rated slide (per pair) does the rating allow for the 50% increase in loading on the front or is the rating only good for a closed drawer?

What an interesting question. I'd love to know the answer myself.

[Bryan Lisowski]

Unless I’m just not understanding your question. I would say that if the weight capacity of the drawer slides are 100# per pair, the rating would be across the whole slide, whether shut or fully extended. If the cabinet is sturdy and attached to the wall you should be able to put full weight rating when fully extended. If not attached or sturdy then I could see it tipping over, but I doubt that is a failure of the slides. A manufacturer would have to disclose that when at certain points along its length what the weight rating is, and I have never seen that in any documentation.

[Lee Schierer]

As you have determined, the slides are under maximum bending load when fully extended, therefore, that is what they are rated for.

[Jamie Buxton]

As I understand it, the rating mostly is about lifetime. A 100# slide can survive 100,000 open/ close cycles, or some number like that. That is, the slide rating more has to do with the bearings Than the weight at which the arms bend.

[Tom Bender]

My assumption is that the rating is with the drawer loaded evenly, not at the side or front.

[Brian Runau]

These guides have bearings along the track, correct? So in the full open position there would be a download on the front bearings, but an upward load on the back bearings and maybe even load on the "middle" bearings. I think the load is evenly distributed over the bearings in the guide and the upward/download load varies depending on how open the drawer is, but the same amount of bearings are involved in carrying the load regardless of the position of the drawer. This should evenly distribute the load, correct? thanks Brian

[Steve Jenkins]

Why don’t you contact tech support for whatever manufacturer you’re interested in.

[Brian Runau]

Why don’t you contact tech support for whatever manufacturer you’re interested in.


What fun would that be trying to figure stuff out! Just kidding. brian

[Brian Tymchak]

Interesting question. So while having my lunch I googled this up from Accuride that describes their tesing. Down the page a piece are sections on dynamic testing and static testing, that I think may answer Tom's question, at least for Accuride slides. Or at least give some piece of mind.

https://www.accuride.com/en-us/blog/diy/how-to-install-drawer-slides/determine-load-rating-for-drawer-slide