Best Size Pelican Case for chip racks (2 Viewers)

I guess I'm on the opposite side of the coin. My resistance to the pelicans is the size. I don't need room to expand. I don't want something a foot deep. I just want a chip case I can carry by the handle and not worry about the handle or the latches breaking off. I guess the versa is the way to go, I just hate their laylur for 1000 chips, and the next smallest one isn't big enough.
Anything tat will hold 800 chips, won't break, and isn't huge or weird?

That's not weird at all. I want to find the smallest possible too that's going to hold everything I need. I can't believe I'm going to have a $130 poker chip case!

That being said...it looks like 1510 and 1520 are large enough for 3 racks deep and 5 racks wide. That's more than enough for me. I don't think the 1500 has enough depth.
 
Courage, which model case is this?

Mine is a Pelican 1510, got it on an amazon sale. Love it and I'd probably use the wheels for distance hauling. Sometimes I loan sets to a couple friends and it'll be great for that. The Member's Mark and other inexpensive knock-offs would be good options as well I think but if over 800 - 1000 chips it's nice to have the wheel option.
 
Pelican 1520. Just picked up my second one this morning. Absolutely love it. You could probably get away with a smaller one, but this gives you some room to expand...

Heavyball, Can you go 3 deep in the 1520? It seems like the chips might protrude up a bit but the top foam will keep them secure...

I'm leaning toward the 1520 due to cost, it being lighter, and it being a bit more shallow.
 
Yes, 3 racks deep. I have to shave off the bumps on the top foam piece, but it works great, very snug....
 
I finally have my 1520 :D and am working on how I want to arrange my 1000 chips / . I'm pretty sure I'm going to place the racks vertically in the case and only 2 racks deep.

I've noticed that almost all of you stack the racks side by side without any foam separation. Does this cause any difficulty removing the racks? especially the deeper ones? I've seen at least one person that removed notches in the foam to make room for a finger. Are the notches necessary?

Any tips / tricks are appreciated.
 
I've noticed that almost all of you stack the racks side by side without any foam separation. Does this cause any difficulty removing the racks? especially the deeper ones? I've seen at least one person that removed notches in the foam to make room for a finger. Are the notches necessary?

Any tips / tricks are appreciated.

I found with my first try that leaving a single row of foam between each rack provided little protection/support and just got mangled pretty easily when removing & placing the racks in & out of the case. The long skinny foam strip had no real support and tore loose the first time I pulled out a rack so I abandoned that idea. Maybe if you were leaving 2 rows of foam between racks but that would be wasting too much space IMO, others may have.

The notches aren't necessary but they make removing the lower layer racks much easier and don't seem to cause any lack of support. I want my racks to be snug. Also haven't had any trouble with the notches tearing out because they have support on 3 sides.

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I found with my first try that leaving a single row of foam between each rack provided little protection/support and just got mangled pretty easily when removing & placing the racks in & out of the case. The long skinny foam strip had no real support and tore loose the first time I pulled out a rack so I abandoned that idea. Maybe if you were leaving 2 rows of foam between racks but that would be wasting too much space IMO, others may have.

The notches aren't necessary but they make removing the lower layer racks much easier and don't seem to cause any lack of support. I want my racks to be snug. Also haven't had any trouble with the notches tearing out because they have support on 3 sides.

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That definitely helps. I knew there was a reason that a thin layer of foam wasn't left in any of the above cases. Makes sense. And I can always add notches at the end if I need to as long as I leave a space up at the top.

I had also thought about separating the cash and tourney set, 5 racks on one side and 5 on the other with an 8 block foam separation in between but I'd have to go 3 deep which isn't ideal if I don't have to.

We shall see what I end up with.
 
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I don't know how helpful this will be, but I think I figured out what the various possible configurations were with all chip boxes going in the same way before I purchased my Pelican case. I didn't calculate what would happen if you had some chips stored more than one way as there are so many possible variations. I didn't figure out what the maximum number of racks would be.

Pelican 1510 Inside dimensions (inches) = 19.75"x11"x7.6"
Boxes = 6.625x3.625x1.75 (inches)
2 (6.5" left) x 3 (.125" left) x 4 (.6" left) -- 24 boxes @ 52.9 lbs of 10 gram chips

Boxes = 3.625x1.75x6.625
5 (1.625" left) x 6 (.5" left) x 1 (.875" left) -- 30 boxes @ 66.14 lbs of 10 gram chips

Boxes = 1.75x3.625x6.625**
11 (.5" left) x 3 (.125" left) x 1 (.875" left) -- 33 boxes @ 72.8 lbs of 10 gram chips
** Note that this configuration has the boxes standing in the case and will require 2 cases to stand above the top of the case and thus extend into the lid area.


So you can compare, 10 boxes of 10 gram chips weighs just over 22 lbs. Ten 5x20 racks would weigh the same.

The 1510 will hold a lot of chips and still allow room for at least some padding. The weight, along with the approximately 20 lbs for the case, plus whatever you carry, becomes the issue. I thought of all three of these, and believe even though there might not be a lot of foam padding left, with the case itself, the chips in boxes would be well protected. Chips are not that fragile unless you are going to be throwing this around against hard surfaces and deliberately trying to damage them.

If you want to know how much your chips would weigh, just multiply the weight of your chips in comparison to 10 gram chips.

I thought of cutting foam for 1,000 chips, 1,200 chips; 1,400 chips; 1,500 chips; 1,600 chips; and 1,800 chips using the 4x25 boxes. I think if you don't leave .5" of room in the cut area or between your chips and the inside of the case, they would be difficult but not impossible to remove, especially the deeper ones. I cut for 1,000 because they met most of my carry needs, and I could supplement the number of chips with a range bag (800-1,600 chips) without too much trouble and still be able to roll it all.

Obviously there are a lot of ways to use not just the 1510, but any other Pelican (and similar) case. Figure out what you want and/or need, and plan accordingly.

Codeman, if you want a Pelican-type case, you don't have to get one that is a foot deep. Many will hold 1,000 chips. Certainly you can separate your cash and tournament chips if you want to. I don't think it requires a lot of padding to keep chips pretty safe and secure. Unlike sensitive equipment or a scoped rifle, some jostling around won't cause your chips to fail or even get damaged. The two questions I think you need to ask are whether you want to be able to roll them and what else do you need to carry? The further you need to take them, the more you will appreciate wheels. I'd love to see what you wind up with.
 
TexRex, I definitely already have the model 1520...I just haven't configured it yet. I went with that model based upon me only toting 1000 chips max + cards/accessories and that I don't see the need for the added case weight and wheels...at least for the foreseeable future. From what I read above, I can go 3 deep but I can't bury the top rack fully like in the 1510 because it's not as deep.

The scary part is that once I cut, im stuck with it!
 
Codeman, the great thing about Pelican cases is you can always get more foam. I though of getting a second foam and cutting for a different configuration, but I've just never really needed to. If I do take chips somewhere, I can't see a situation where I provide chips for more than 40 people because that's about the max of my chip sets.

I do like the boxes and think they are more secure, but racks work too.
 
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As @TexRex alluded, I think these covered chip boxes are THE way to go for chip transportation. I'd think with those, you don't really need any padding at all - you could just pack the boxes tightly in a smaller case.

The custom foam route is cool and fun, but it looks to me like its entire purpose is to keep open racks from moving around and spilling all over themselves.
 
I think I mentioned this previously regarding covered 4x25 racks vs. standard casino racks: Covered 4x25 racks are far more desirable than regular racks. Why? Because you can much more easily and safely vary the number of chips you carry.

For instance, if you have the case built out for, say, 1600 chips in regular racks, you always have to carry that many. Otherwise, on those occasions when you don't need as many chips and thus carry fewer, the open racks will slosh around in the unused space, spilling chips.

If, however, you use covered racks for the same 1600 chips, any time you want to carry fewer chips it is no problem--you just load up the extra empty racks to fill up the unneeded space. No spillage of chips.
 
If I have open racks of chips, is it best to leave the chips protruding above the foam or flush with the foam? If protruding, by how much? I will not be cutting the top foam.
 
NOTE: if you use the 1510 and want to go 5x3 racks, stay away from the side with the wheels - they tilt your racks ever so slightly and make it harder to get them in and out (which will, in turn, tilt you).
 
I have seen some cases where the chips protrude above the foam while others are flush. I assume that I want my chips to protrude a bit? What are the pros and cons of this and how far should the chips protrude if I'm not going to cut into the lid foam?

Update... Nevermind....I didn't realize that the foam was cut all the way down to the bottom, there's really not a choice.
 
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I have seen some cases where the chips protrude above the foam while others are flush. I assume that I want my chips to protrude a bit? What are the pros and cons of this and how far should the chips protrude if I'm not going to cut into the lid foam?

Update... Nevermind....I didn't realize that the foam was cut all the way down to the bottom, there's really not a choice.
Can make them as deep or shallow as you like with a little extra work. Cut out the block you want cut out, trim the block to whatever height you want it and reinsert it. It won't technically be "attached" but for all intents and purposes it doesn't matter.
 
Can make them as deep or shallow as you like with a little extra work. Cut out the block you want cut out, trim the block to whatever height you want it and reinsert it. It won't technically be "attached" but for all intents and purposes it doesn't matter.

Thanks Ronoh. It would have helped to read the instructions that came with box but I found them after I had already finished ;)

My new 1520 Pelican Box is complete! I'm happy with the way it turned out. It's 5 wide by 2 deep...and holds all of my decks of cards and 1050 chips. I don't have all of my Majestics yet but with half Majestics and half dice chips, it weights in at 35 lbs. Now I can finally carry everything in one case instead of 2 cases. One thing that I am dealing with is that the chips were too deep in the case with the entire foam cut out. Once I would pick up the case, the chips would move around. I solved this by cutting some 1/8" Volara foam and placing it under the lid foam and under the base foam to squeeze everything together more...this seems to have solved the issue for now. There's now more interference between the top foam and the chip cavity. If that doesn't work in the long run then I will carefully carve up 1/2" the foam that was removed and put it back into the cavity (as Ronoh) noted.

Thanks everyone!

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What?! After all of this we find out we are trying to help somebody with dice chips? ;)

Just kidding. That looks really good! I'm just guessing that's 23-24 lbs. of chips.

Do you find getting the chips out pretty easy? It looks like they are in there really tight.

If you do find that carrying it long distances is a pain, you can always get a little rolling cart or dolly.

It looks like it fits your needs nicely.
 
What?! After all of this we find out we are trying to help somebody with dice chips? ;)
Just kidding. That looks really good! I'm just guessing that's 23-24 lbs. of chips.
Do you find getting the chips out pretty easy? It looks like they are in there really tight.
If you do find that carrying it long distances is a pain, you can always get a little rolling cart or dolly.
It looks like it fits your needs nicely.

I'm hear because I'm proudly getting rid of my dice chips! :D Unfortunately a lot of them are on backorder.

It's not bad getting the chips in and out...it takes a bit of practice. I'm thinking about cutting out one "block" on the right side of the chips just so I can get under the chips with one finger. Once one rack is out, its easy to remove the other. Since we play a tournament before, cash, the top row will tourney and the bottom cash. They have to be tight otherwise they seem to come out of their case. I see some tweaking in my future but I'll have to use it a bit to see what works and what doesn't.
 
What?! After all of this we find out we are trying to help somebody with dice chips? ;)

Just kidding. That looks really good! I'm just guessing that's 23-24 lbs. of chips.

Do you find getting the chips out pretty easy? It looks like they are in there really tight.

If you do find that carrying it long distances is a pain, you can always get a little rolling cart or dolly.

It looks like it fits your needs nicely.

I'm also mildly concerned about the paper cards. There is work to be done here......
 
I'm also mildly concerned about the paper cards. There is work to be done here......
You guys are a tough crowd...:p

2/3 of my poker group is there for the social aspect. I started playing with cancelled casino cards (which I love) and they would ruin 2-3 decks a night with bad shuffles, spillage, and random card bends. I've never seen anything like it and I wasn't happy.. After that, I started charging everyone a card fee and we're playing with their paid for Bicycle cheap cards until things improve.
 
In case anyone wants to use the Pelican 1520 case for 1000 chips (10 racks), I started my cut all the way at the back of the case but leaving 1 "block" intact on BOTH the left and right sides. This was a perfect fit for 5 racks wide.

As far as depth goes, cutting the entire block depth out while leaving the lower foam leaves the chips too deep in the case to be contained securely with the lid closed. I ended up using a long filet knife and cutting about 3/4" off of the removed block. I used the 3M spray glue to secure that 3/4" wide chunk back in place in the bottom. This seems to work perfect. 10 trays of chips are now secure with the lid closed.

I have contemplated cutting a couple of blocks out on the right side so I can slide my finger down for the easy removal of the first racks and the insertion of the last racks. I haven't done this yet but I'll report back when I do. I'm afraid that any blocks removed that border the sides of the chips might cause those chips to not be secure. We'll see.
 
Or go to Michael's or Hobby Lobby and buy piece of 1" high density foam and cut to fit the opening. Put the racks on top. Perfect!
 

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