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New Ikea storage unit great for LP's!

Desiring new racks for my LP’s, and hearing that the Ikea Kallax was popular with collectors, I went to the Ikea in my new city to check it out. I found the Kallax to have one enticing quality: very large capacity for very little money. Other than that, it didn’t fulfill my desires. At 15-3/4" deep, LP’s are too far from the front edge of the rack. Even worse, the rack is open on the backside, having no rear panel! It is meant to be a room divider, not an LP rack or bookcase. I’m guessing owners don’t mind, as the rack will usually be placed up against a wall, that wall then acting as a rear panel. But I want my LP’s to be inside an enclosed structure, not an open one, if for no other reason than to keep dust away from the LP cover opening. The lack of a rear panel is also at least partially responsible for another problem with the rack: it is not very structurally stiff and strong, being a little wobbly, able to move side-to-side. Ikea has other similar racks---the Bitrade, Valje, and Nornas, but they too fell short of my requirements.

So I kept looking. There are some fine LP racks out there, but I consider the prices ridiculous. Last night I went onto the Ikea website, again looking at their storage units. There was a brand new one named EKET pictured, and it looked like it might fit the bill, so today I went to Ikea to have a look. I do believe I have found my new LP racks! The EKET comes in several different sizes, from a single 13-3/4" cube to a 4-cubicle box. The 4-cubicle version measures 27-1/2" x 27-1/2" x 13-3/4" deep exterior, each cubicle having interior dimensions of 12-7/8" tall, 12-7/8" wide, and 13" deep, perfect for LP’s. Priced at only $50, the EKET 4-cube model provides over four linear feet of LP storage. And it has a back panel! It is also considerable more stiff than the Kallax, which gives me piece of mind. There are a couple of accessory options, including a set of four adjustable feet ($5!) and a 4" base platform, also height-adjustable ($15). Another is a set of screw-on clips which hold multiple units together if they are stacked one atop another. Three of the racks and a base platform end up being 86-1/2" (7’ 2-1/2") tall, perfect for me.

The Ikea EKET is best LP storage deal I have found, so if you have enough LP’s to make their storage an economic concern, check it out. It will leave you more dough for the LP’s themselves!

128x128bdp24
bdp24's avatar
bdp24 OP
9,803 posts
 

When you go to roll the Kallax on it’s casters, push near the bottom of it’s side, rather than the middle, or even worse, near it’s top. Perhaps because it has no back panel, the Kallax exhibits some "give" in the lateral direction. I pushed on the top corner at one end of both the 16-cubicle and 25-cubicle Kallax, and they weren’t completely stiff---the whole assembly became out of square. I did the same with the 4-cubicle Eket, and the box remained square, showing no sign of movement. Now that I have assembled my Ekets, I can attest to their structural strength and stiffness.

There have been reports of the larger (16 and 25 cube) Kallaxs collapsing when fully loaded with LP’s. When I was going to go with them, I was intending to get multiples of the 8-cubicle version, as many as necessary to hold all my LPs. I would lay the Kallax on it’s side---horizontally as Davey intends, rather than place it vertically, standing up. Adding a cross-member to the back of the Kallax, as some have done, is also an idea worth considering. The Kallax is definitely the best value around, the cost per LP very low. Just be gentle with them once they’re loaded!

By the way, the "beefiness" of the Kallax, if it is perceived that way because of the thickness of it’s outer panels, is illusionary. Those panels are made of lightweight pressed-fibreboard, that "hollow-core" stuff, as are those of the Eket. The Kallax’s thicker outer panels, in comparison the those of the Eket, provide no additional strength.

bdp24's avatar
bdp24 OP
9,803 posts
 

I assembled the six 4-cubicle EKET's I bought, in two stacks of three cabinets. Each group of three cabs are fastened together on the back, and screwed onto the 4" high, 4-legged base with adjustable feet (for leveling) that IKEA offers for the EKET. When the back panel is slid into place, the final (top) panel installed, and the little plugs inserted into the cabinets rear, the finished EKET is very structurally stiff and inflexible. When mounted onto the base, place against a wall, and fully loaded with the LP's, the stack is absolutely unmovable! It feels like it's part of the rooms structure, as if it's built in.

The six cabinets didn't provide as much LP storage as I require, so I went back and bought three more, and another base. I went up to the showroom to take another look at the KALLAX, particularly in terms of structural rigidity. After being surprised by just how stiff my stacks of EKET's are, I was now surprised by how wobbly the KALLAX is. I believe that rack can be considerably stiffened with the addition of cross supports on it's rear. Without them, I would not have enough confidence in the KALLAX to put my LP collection into one.

trytone
113 posts
 
I picked up what I think is an 8 cubicle Expedit shelf at an estate sale a few weeks back. Using it horizontally and did not have to assemble it. Currently full of vinyl. Works for me
has2be's avatar
has2be
555 posts
 
The Kallax and the earlier Expedit series would collapse from improper installation not by design. They need to be fixed to a back wall and that's just common sense.  The directions support it and the brackets are supplied. Knocking the product for not following the supplied advise and overloading shelves with the unit placed on its side, not on its base is the biggest problem.
I find it odd that the Eket is being lauded as sturdier over the Kallax or older Expedit series. The latter two can hold twice the weight per shelf as the Eket can which is only 15 lbs per shelf the others are 29 lbs per shelf. At 50 lps approximately per shelf , 15 lbs of max load is pushing it on the Eket. The dimensions are not the only supplied data of the on line description.
I have an eight cube Expedit , ( 2,  4 cube units  ) loaded with just with my Blue note and rare import lps, and unlike a unit in a showroom that is put together without load or fastening to a wall, by some kid,
these units are surprisingly strong and sturdy when put together and fastened properly. Probably a good reason why they were and are so popular. I have the majority of my other 8000 albums in shelving I made decades ago out of 3/4 Russian ply ( before it was as absurdly priced) , dado and glued in a dry basement room . Even given that overkill , I have no qualms or worries storing some of my most  irreplaceable gems in the Expedit in the living room. I made a couple wooden crates that I swap out every couple weeks or so from the basement storage to keep rotation with less room taken up in the livingroom. I do like the look of the Eket on those wood bases though, but I wouldn't load them as heavily as the Expedit and feel as sure of its 15 lb per shelf rating vs the 29 lb rating of the Kallax and Expedit. I think either is a good economic choice when used properly and within their limits. A little dab of carpenters glue on those dowel pins is what many do to "stiffen them up" and either a back or fastened to the wall ( especially if you have kids or grandkids visiting)  .  What ever works , and its for keeping vinyl spinning is great in my book...................









 



bdp24's avatar
bdp24 OP
9,803 posts
 

The maximum load capability of a shelf is partially determined by what constitutes a shelf. The EKET 4-cube model (the largest EKET) has only two approximately 13" cubicles per shelf wide. The Kallax in available in many different configurations, the most commonly used by LP collectors being the 8 (2 cubicles wide x 4 cubes tall, or 4 cubes wide x 2 cubes tall), 16 (4 x 4), and 25 (5 x 5) cube models. The 16 and 25 are the same side-to-side and top-to-bottom, and must support considerably more weight than the EKET. The 8-cubicle can be positioned upright---in which case a shelf is 2-cubes wide, or laying down---4 cubes wide. Laying the Kallax on it's side---if space allows---would seem to me to be preferable.

One may also secured an EKET to the rear wall, but it is sufficiently stiff and well-braced to not require doing so, unlike the wobbly Kallax. The Kallax is also backless---allowing dust access to the LP cover opening, and is a couple of inches deeper than I prefer, though that can be cured, as others have pointed out, with the addition of a spacer behind the LP’s. Whichever IKEA model unit one chooses, it will provide LP storage at the cheapest price per LP that I have found.

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