Dell Packing Method

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As I have access to good quantities of used Dell Computer shipping boxes through my work, when I moved to a larger apartment I was using several of them to pack things in. I noticed that the slots in the styrofoam packing inserts are just the right size for placing insulators in, after wrapping each insulator in a plastic bag. Dell's boxes also have handles, making them easier to maneuver when full of glass.

Dell boxes, each 21"x21"x12"

five inserts fit in each box (each box originally ships with just two, on either side of the computer)

two stacks of two styrofoam pieces, with a fifth one on its side in between the stacks

extra padding was around the middle insert (I used some 'air pad' strips I had on hand, but wads of more plastic sacks would work too)

one of the stacks of two inserts

five insulators fit in each insert (5 insulators per insert, 5 inserts per box, equals 25 insulators per box)

bottom view (a full insert can be picked up by grabbing where the middle tabs are, and the skirts of the insulators hold them in place)

one set of insulators unwrapped (smaller ones such as tolls and ponies fit best on the ends; and larger ones - 145, 154, 162, etc - fit best upside-down in the middle)

the domes of the middle three insulators stick out through the slot

what the empty styrofoam packing inserts look like

one way the styrofoam pieces can interlock

the other way they can interlock

If any other computer company ships with similar styrofoam inserts, this method or a variation thereof should work. I know some people purchase boxes with special cardboard dividers, but I found this to be a nice convenient alternative (particularly since I could get as many Dell boxes as I wanted for free, rather than buying the special insulator boxes).

I filled two boxes for a total of 50 insulators (I put the rest in extra space in other boxes, or carried them separately), and they all arrived without sustaining a single bit of damage.

 

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Contact: A.C. Walker