Customer Reviews

Calphalon 24-Inch Half Round Wall Rack

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This new and improved Calphalon 12x24-inch Anodized Aluminum Half Round Wall Rack is perfect for use in a small kitchen. I mounted it with a molly bolt into the kitchen drywall and a wood screw into a stud. I used a Zircon electronic studfinder to find the stud. (Usually wall studs are 16 inches apart, so you will probably only be able to mount the rack onto one stud. Because this pot rack only has two mounting holes, I used a molly bolt for the other hole.) The wall rack must be well secured to the wall because the Calphalon pots and pans are quite heavy. This rack comes with 4 hooks, but you'll probably want to order more. I use hooks on the wall rack to hold long serving spoons, both slotted and plain. I hang hard-to-store items on the rack, like my wok and french roaster and rack, as well as my most frequently used items, such as my omelette pans. I was surprised at how useful and attractive this rack was in my small kitchen. If you move often, you might want to take a polaroid picture of your stocked wall rack so that you can easily duplicate your arrangement in your next kitchen.

I just installed one of these for someone else. I do like the material (black anodized aluminum about 1/4" thick and 2" wide), the solid feel, and in general the way it's designed and built.

Some previous reviewers complained that the mounting holes didn't seem to be 16" apart to fit the studs. Actually they are, if you don't try to center the rack between studs. If you mount either the left corner or the right corner on a stud, there's another set of holes exactly 16" away that should line up with the next stud.

Beware of the installation instructions, though!

-- The instructions said I'd need a 7/16" wrench for the nuts but the nuts themselves turned out to be 10 mm. (I opted for a socket on a 1/4" drive ratchet wrench because there sometimes wasn't much room between obstacles to turn a wrench.)

-- The instructions said there were 8 carriage bolts included, all the same length. Actually there were 6 shorter and 2 longer. The longer ones go in the middle where they join three thicknesses of metal.

-- Step 2 of the instructions describes how to join the long flat bar to the curved bar. If you follow the instructions exactly, there's a 50% chance that when you get to Step 7 nothing will fit into place until you go back to Step 2, take the flat bar off again, and turn it end for end.

I strongly recommend turning all the screws only hand tight at first and ignoring the step that says to attach the rack to the wall. Instead, assemble the rest of the pieces and make sure they really do fit. Once they do, you're in luck; take the last couple of pieces off again (necessary for access), tighten the rest of the screws, attach the rack to the wall, and finish assembling it.

This device is quite useful, convenient, excellent space saver.
It is however very difficult to install because the bolts in the back are almost impossible to set and tie up. In addition the distance of the preset holes is greater than the regular studs distance, I had to drill new holes. You need a lot of patience and wrences of various types because of the angles and tight spaces.
In sumamry it is sturdy but the design is lacking. Just few more holes and a greter distance between the back bars would help a lot.
Calphalon could do much better with very little effort.

The rating is reflecting the installation: no stars!
I hated it during the installation, now afterwards I like it.

I have had this pot rack for about 10 years now. I LOVE it. It is incredibly sturdy if it is mounted properly. I had an apartment for a while where I couldn't mount it because the walls were flimsy and would not hold up the weight of the rack once you hung pots on it.

Parts didn't match up; mounting holes (anchor holes) should've been larger due to the size of the anchor needed for the weight that the pot rack itself holds (without any pots and pans).

I love that all my pots and pans are more accessible now. As far as the mounting, we live in a very old home. Studs are not 16 inches apart. We solved the problem by measuring the distance between the studs and cutting a length of 2" X 4" (stain it or paint it). We secured the 2X4 to the wall with long screws in pre-drilled holes and secured the pot rack to the 2x4. It works...and I love the connivence of the pot rack. No more bending and pulling out all my pots to get to one, then after using it, having to pull them all out again to put the pot away.

We asked our building superintendent to install this pot rack for us, so I can't comment on installation. But the quality is good, and it fits all of our pots/pans into a very small space (our kitchen is tiny--barely big enough for 1 person). We hung it on the wall so the pots and pans do not hit our heads, as we have to walk underneath it. I highly recommend this product.