I had access to a 2-part packing foam machine at a long ago job. You sprayed foam in the box, then put a piece of plastic over it and put the item to pack on top of that. Lay another piece of plastic over item, spray on more foam and wait. Foam took ~60 seconds to expand. Any extra that came up out of the box and you cut it off with a big bread knife...as I learned.
First time I used it on a silver face wooden case receiver I sold. I got everything in box as told and the guy who regularly used the machine tells me to leave the box open while the foam cooled. I told him I wanted it compress all around the unit. He said "Oooh Kaaaay...". Had the air stapler ready to go so as soon as the foam was in and stitched the double-box closed. As I was picking stuff up I heard multiple dull thuds coming from the box. We opened the box up and receiver literally pancaked; wooden case blown apart, front panel bent forward, tuner glass broken. Worked their 6 years, never lived it down.
First time I used it on a silver face wooden case receiver I sold. I got everything in box as told and the guy who regularly used the machine tells me to leave the box open while the foam cooled. I told him I wanted it compress all around the unit. He said "Oooh Kaaaay...". Had the air stapler ready to go so as soon as the foam was in and stitched the double-box closed. As I was picking stuff up I heard multiple dull thuds coming from the box. We opened the box up and receiver literally pancaked; wooden case blown apart, front panel bent forward, tuner glass broken. Worked their 6 years, never lived it down.
Foam-in-place is awesome. I've received several pieces of very heavy test equipment shipped that way and they've all arrived perfectly fine.
So my $0.02 CAD worth on this: I've shipped a couple of heavy amps, including two DG300B weighing in at about 17 kg, each. Definitely create a foam surround for connectors, switches, pots, and anything else that sticks out of the chassis. I would use either the pink insulation foam sheet for this or the high-density foam shown in Post #20. Tape this surround to the amp. Without it any drop of the box will cause the connectors to eat through the cushioning and smack into hard objects. That causes chassis panels to bend and switches to get broken.
When I shipped those DG300Bs I bought a large box from Staples and lined it with the pink insulation foam all the way around. This stuff:
I used two layers of 1" thick insulation. It's available at your local home improvement warehouse for not that much money. You can also buy styrofoam sheet there, but I think styrofoam will wear too much in transit. The corners of the amp will chew into it and you won't have much cushioning at the end of the trip.
I'm pretty sure I wrapped the amp in a couple of layers of bubble wrap so its finish wouldn't rub directly on the foam board. Then I placed it in the foam-lined box and added packing peanuts. I'm also pretty sure I shipped the tubes separately. The amps arrived in good condition.
Alternatively, see if you can find a place in your area that makes foam inserts for shipping products. Take the amps there and have them create a box insert or foam end caps for you. They'll know the box options and how much foam to use given the weight and size of the amp. It's usually not super expensive to have foam inserts made, even in low volume. I seem to recall getting ~25 sets of end caps for shipping my Modulus Chassis and they set me back around $15/set. So not cheap but not over the top either. There was no setup charge. With an order of just one set I'd expect to have to pay for someone to do the CAD work necessary to get the foam cut.
Of course, the same company will also cut foam to fit inside Pelican boxes. Ya know... In case you want to handcuff your friend to one so he can hand-carry the amp to you. That'll be fun at the airport...
Note that you can get cardboard boxes in 1.5x and 2x thickness. The normal size is 1/8" (3.2 mm). Next up is 3/16" and then 1/4". If the amp is as heavy as you say it is (I somehow doubt that) the 1/4" thickness would be worthwhile. I use 1/4" thickness boxes with the Modulus Chassis. Mostly to prevent the cardboard from being pierced by some pointed object, which seems to happen a bit too frequently.
You can put fragile stickers on the box but still pack it to survive the rough & tumble of UPS Van Life. I would not count on any labeling of FRAGILE to result in gentle treatment, though it doesn't hurt to put the labels on the box.
In my opinion shipping insurance is rarely worth the money. It might cover if the box gets pierced by a forklift, but I would expect any insurance claim to be denied unless there's significant damage to the box from the outside of the box. Even then you'll still have to fight with the insurer over the value of the contents, etc. "Oh? Obsolete electronic equipment? $0 for you!" But that's my opinion (and maybe cynicism).
Tom
So my $0.02 CAD worth on this: I've shipped a couple of heavy amps, including two DG300B weighing in at about 17 kg, each. Definitely create a foam surround for connectors, switches, pots, and anything else that sticks out of the chassis. I would use either the pink insulation foam sheet for this or the high-density foam shown in Post #20. Tape this surround to the amp. Without it any drop of the box will cause the connectors to eat through the cushioning and smack into hard objects. That causes chassis panels to bend and switches to get broken.
When I shipped those DG300Bs I bought a large box from Staples and lined it with the pink insulation foam all the way around. This stuff:
I used two layers of 1" thick insulation. It's available at your local home improvement warehouse for not that much money. You can also buy styrofoam sheet there, but I think styrofoam will wear too much in transit. The corners of the amp will chew into it and you won't have much cushioning at the end of the trip.
I'm pretty sure I wrapped the amp in a couple of layers of bubble wrap so its finish wouldn't rub directly on the foam board. Then I placed it in the foam-lined box and added packing peanuts. I'm also pretty sure I shipped the tubes separately. The amps arrived in good condition.
Alternatively, see if you can find a place in your area that makes foam inserts for shipping products. Take the amps there and have them create a box insert or foam end caps for you. They'll know the box options and how much foam to use given the weight and size of the amp. It's usually not super expensive to have foam inserts made, even in low volume. I seem to recall getting ~25 sets of end caps for shipping my Modulus Chassis and they set me back around $15/set. So not cheap but not over the top either. There was no setup charge. With an order of just one set I'd expect to have to pay for someone to do the CAD work necessary to get the foam cut.
Of course, the same company will also cut foam to fit inside Pelican boxes. Ya know... In case you want to handcuff your friend to one so he can hand-carry the amp to you. That'll be fun at the airport...
Note that you can get cardboard boxes in 1.5x and 2x thickness. The normal size is 1/8" (3.2 mm). Next up is 3/16" and then 1/4". If the amp is as heavy as you say it is (I somehow doubt that) the 1/4" thickness would be worthwhile. I use 1/4" thickness boxes with the Modulus Chassis. Mostly to prevent the cardboard from being pierced by some pointed object, which seems to happen a bit too frequently.
You can put fragile stickers on the box but still pack it to survive the rough & tumble of UPS Van Life. I would not count on any labeling of FRAGILE to result in gentle treatment, though it doesn't hurt to put the labels on the box.
In my opinion shipping insurance is rarely worth the money. It might cover if the box gets pierced by a forklift, but I would expect any insurance claim to be denied unless there's significant damage to the box from the outside of the box. Even then you'll still have to fight with the insurer over the value of the contents, etc. "Oh? Obsolete electronic equipment? $0 for you!" But that's my opinion (and maybe cynicism).
Tom
You'll want more than 2" of cushioning. I know 2" sounds like a lot but it goes quickly once you get the foam, peanuts, whatnot in there.
An office supply store like Staples is likely your best bet for a single box. UPS/FedEx might also be able to help. Or U-Line if you don't mind buying 10-15 boxes.
Tom
An office supply store like Staples is likely your best bet for a single box. UPS/FedEx might also be able to help. Or U-Line if you don't mind buying 10-15 boxes.
Tom
Lots of foam is a good thing. Foam and packing peanuts are cheap. Having the amp destroyed in transit is expensive.
And as mentioned earlier, get yourself a roll of strapping tape. This stuff for example:
It's the stuff with filaments in it that run along the length of the tape. That stuff also has stronger adhesive than your regular packing tape.
Tom
And as mentioned earlier, get yourself a roll of strapping tape. This stuff for example:
It's the stuff with filaments in it that run along the length of the tape. That stuff also has stronger adhesive than your regular packing tape.
Tom