10 Best Pan Box Electrical – Tested By Expert

How to choose the best pan box electrical: Important features to consider

Materials: Polyethylene vs. polypropylene – Low-density polyethylene (stamped on the bottom as LDPE, recycling group number four) is more flexible than stiff, cheap polypropylene (recycling group five), so it won’t crack as easily if you drop a loaded bin on the garage floor. It also won’t become brittle at freezing temperatures the way polypropylene does.

Each material has some advantages. Polypropylene can be made see-through, and it’s much more heat resistant — all the way up to boiling temperatures. LDPE is always tougher, but it gets very soft at temperatures above 110 degrees Fahrenheit and melts in boiling water. Our testers have seen far more polypropylene bins fail in long-term storage, especially in cold climates, but in a baking-hot attic, you’d want to be very careful about how much weight is stacked on an LDPE bin.

Latching lids – A flip-up latch will hold your bin closed even if you over-stuff it, which is handy for things like bulky sweaters and puffy blankets. If you put too much strain on latches, though, they’re prone to pop out of the mounting holes. Those holes also mean an entry point for moisture and insects.

A waterproof seal – If you just need a bin to shed rain, almost any will do: with one exception, the lids we tested to cover the edge of the bin, which means water will roll off without getting inside. A totally sealed lid (like our top pick) will also keep out humidity, though damp items can mildew quickly if you’re not careful about what you put in the bin.

Stackable designs – Nearly any bin can stand on top of another, but some designs are able to neatly mix and match small and large bins while creating a topple-resistant tower.

Single-size lids – If you’re building a collection of storage containers to fully organize your life, it can be handy to have bins with same-size openings. This usually means you can stack and nest different sizes as well as share lids between them. Usually, there will be at least two sizes in a series of containers with a common lid and footprint size, with the difference in volume made up by height.

What to Look for in a Plastic Storage Bin

Capacity

“Pre-sort items you want to organize into categories for containment,” says Marci McAvoy, professional organizer and founder of Marci McAvoy Home Organization. After pre-sorting, consider the storage bin’s capacity. Measure what you need to store and the space where it will live.

“There’s nothing worse than buying a bunch of bins and getting home and realizing that your space is too narrow for the bin you chose, or maybe you didn’t realize that your shelves couldn’t be adjusted for height,” says McAvoy.

Plastic storage tubs list the capacity in quarts or gallons, and some may also include the weight limit. If you’re shopping online, you can get a sense of what a bin can hold by looking at both product photos and images posted by shoppers, which are often the most helpful.

Material and Design

Rigid plastic materials are less likely to buckle when filled with extremely heavy items. These are sometimes labeled as high-density bins. “A bin like this tends to be more expensive because it is really durable, keeps dust and critters out, and is airtight,” says McAvoy.

If you’re storing bins vertically, look for a stackable style (these usually have recessed lids), since this will help the bins stay stable and maximize your storage space from top to bottom. Note that some storage bins are narrower at the bottom and wider on top, so they can nest when they’re empty. This is a helpful feature, but if you are lining these up on shelves horizontally, you may have wasted space between them.

Lid Closure Type

Storage bin lids can be attached or removable. The attached lids might be on a single set of hinges, or they may split down the middle and interlock. When the lid is integrated into the design, you’re less likely to lose track of it, but McAvoy warns that sometimes these can break, rendering the entire bin unusable.

McAvoy prefers removable lids with side snaps and latches. If you live with small children, you might need to opt for more secure closures. If you love color-coding, consider lids that come in different colors. Others might opt for clear lids so they can easily see the contents.