Patent ID: 8678187

Claim:
A shipping and installation container for soft and/or foam tubing used as insulation for mechanical conduits such as cooling or heating conduits in industrial plants, said container including: a substantially cylindrical section having opposite end portions and fashioned for receiving a length of soft tubing therein having an external diameter similar to the internal diameter of the container; a pair of releasably mounted end caps each having a wall defining a chamber, said wall further defining a face having an opening for receiving an end portion of said container therein; and said end cap defining at least one flat stacking surface, each stacking surface being designed to engage a juxtaposed flat surface to facilitate stacking said containers for storage or shipment; wherein the said end caps define a plurality of tabs proximate said opening for receiving an end portion of said container, said tabs designed to be bent outwardly away from the end cap and overlay outside the adjacent end portion of the cylindrical section and serving to extend along the cylindrical container wall to facilitate joining said end cap to said container.