A knock-down cylinder cage arrives as a stack of flat mesh panels and a roof, and is bolted together where it will stand. That is the whole point of the format. A welded cage has to be craned or manoeuvred into position as one rigid object, which rules it out of a great many yards, service corridors, basements and walled compounds. A knock-down cage goes in panel by panel through whatever opening you have and is assembled on the spot.
The Grenadier knock-down range covers two different builds and three footprints, and the differences between them matter more than the price list suggests.
Two mesh specifications, not one
The Grenadier Folding Cylinder Cages (GLC20Z painted, GLC30Z galvanised, plus GLC25Z and GLC35Z with a pallet base) are built from 50 x 50 mm mesh panels with a galvanised roof. The Knock Down Gas Cylinder Cages (GLC50Z, GLC60Z, GLC70Z, and GLC55Z/GLC65Z/GLC75Z with a floor grid panel) use 25 x 25 mm mesh panels that bolt together into a rigid frame, again under a galvanised roof.
That is a real difference and it should drive the choice. A 25 mm aperture is small enough that a hand cannot pass through it and a valve guard cannot be reached from outside. A 50 mm aperture is a heavier, more open grid — perfectly adequate where the cage sits inside a secured yard and the job is containment and ventilation rather than resisting a determined attempt at the cylinders. If the cage is going to stand against a public boundary, take the 25 mm build.
The three footprints, and why they are not proportional
| Model |
Width x Depth |
Floor grid |
| GLC50Z |
1007 x 1070 mm |
No |
| GLC55Z |
1007 x 1070 mm |
Yes |
| GLC60Z |
1954 x 1070 mm |
No |
| GLC65Z |
1954 x 1070 mm |
Yes |
| GLC70Z |
1954 x 2045 mm |
No |
| GLC75Z |
1954 x 2045 mm |
Yes |
Read those dimensions properly before ordering. The step from GLC50Z to GLC60Z doubles the width and leaves the depth alone — it gives you a longer run against a wall, not a bigger square. Only the step up to GLC70Z/GLC75Z doubles the depth as well. If your available space is a narrow strip along a boundary, the 1954 x 1070 unit is the one that fits; if it is a corner of a yard, the 1954 x 2045 is the better use of the ground.
The floor grid decision
The GLC55Z, GLC65Z and GLC75Z include a floor grid panel. This is not a cosmetic addition. Where a cage stands on a hardstanding slab you can generally do without one; where it stands on compacted ground, gravel, or a surface that puddles, the grid keeps cylinder bases off the ground, keeps the footing level as cylinders are rolled in and out, and stops the base of the enclosure silting up. Specify it at order — retro-fitting a floor into an assembled cage is awkward work.
Pallet bases and relocation
GLC25Z and GLC35Z are supplied with a pallet base incorporating fork lift pockets. If the cylinder store is likely to move — a site compound, a phased project, a yard being reorganised — that base is worth having, because it turns the whole cage into a single liftable unit rather than something that has to be dismantled to be moved. If the store is permanent, the plain painted or galvanised versions are the sensible buy.
Painted or galvanised
Both finishes are offered across the folding range: GLC20Z/GLC25Z painted, GLC30Z/GLC35Z galvanised. For an outdoor cylinder store that will be there for years, galvanising is the more durable answer, particularly on a coastal or exposed site. Our guide to galvanised versus powder-coated steel sets out how the two finishes behave over time.
Expanding later
The bolt-together range is easy to expand with additional panels, which is genuinely useful — a cylinder store that started with propane for a forklift fleet has a habit of acquiring oxygen, acetylene and argon. That said, expansion is easier to plan than to retro-fit around, so if you already know the cylinder inventory is growing, size the footprint for where it is going rather than where it is.
Two practical points before you order
-
A fork lift will be needed to unload these units. They arrive flat, but they arrive heavy. Have the means to take them off the vehicle.
-
The cages are supplied with a hasp and staple or a locking facility, but the padlock is not supplied. Add one to the order elsewhere — it is the most common thing left off.
A note on the term "knock-down cage"
Searching for "knock down cage" turns up as many small-animal and bird cages as it does industrial enclosures. To be unambiguous: everything on this page is a galvanised or painted steel mesh enclosure for compressed gas cylinders, built for outdoor industrial use, sized in metres and moved by forklift.
Where to go next
If you need a fixed, welded enclosure with cylinder retaining chains rather than a bolt-together one, see lock-up cylinder cages. For the full range including walk-in stores and wall-mounted brackets, see gas cylinder storage. For knock-down enclosures used for general stock rather than cylinders, see knock-down cages.
Before specifying, it is worth reading our guides to gas cylinder storage regulations in the UK and choosing a propane and cylinder cage, which cover separation distances, ventilation and signage — the requirements that usually decide where a cage can go before its specification decides which one you buy.
