15500 Gallon Vertical Liquid Storage Tank: Complete Buyer's Guide
15,500-gallon white liquid storage tank built for agricultural chemical and fertilizer storage. Manufactured by Norwesco from virgin linear polyethylene (HDPE) rated to handle liquids up to 12.5 pounds per gallon. FDA approved for contact with potable water, ensuring safe storage for drinking water and food-grade liquids.
Specifications at a Glance
Every figure below is pulled straight from the live product record for this exact tank — the same data on the product page, so what you read here and what you buy never disagree.
Standards & Materials
- ASTM D1998 — Standard Specification for Polyethylene Upright Storage Tanks. Governs wall-thickness and hydrostatic design for vertical rotomolded poly tanks of this class.
- FDA 21 CFR 177.1520 — Olefin polymers. The food-contact regulation the FDA-grade resin in this tank is compounded to meet.
- Specific gravity rating 1.5 — the tank is engineered for liquids up to 1.5× the density of water (water is about 8.34 lb/gal). Confirm your fluid’s SG before storage.
Product Overview
The 15,500 Gallon Vertical Liquid Storage Tank pushes the tall-on-a-compact-base concept to its extreme: 244 inches — fully twenty feet — of height on a 141-inch base, packing fifteen and a half thousand gallons into the footprint of much smaller tanks. It is the maximum-density storage option for high-volume chemical operations on genuinely tight sites, where ground and containment area simply cannot be expanded.
Norwesco rotationally molds the shell in a single seamless piece of virgin linear polyethylene rated to 1.5 specific gravity, taking agricultural and industrial liquids up to 12.5 pounds per gallon. The translucent natural-white wall lets crews read inventory from ground level and bounces sunlight to keep the contents cooler, backed by compounded UV inhibitors and a 120 F / 48 C ceiling.
It weighs 4,114 pounds empty and reaches roughly 198,019 pounds full at 1.5 SG — nearly ninety-nine tons concentrated on the compact base by the extreme height. The 3-inch stainless-steel bolted fitting with a 3-inch by 5.5-inch siphon carries the full twenty-foot column and draws the tank down completely, and the 22-inch lid permits interior access. A 3-year manufacturing-defect warranty from Norwesco applies to the tank.
Technical Drawing
Official Norwesco technical drawing — 15500 Gallon Vertical Liquid Storage Tank
Key Features and Specifications
- 15,500-gallon capacity — sized for agricultural chemical and fertilizer storage
- Constructed from virgin linear polyethylene (HDPE) with 1.5 specific gravity rating — handles liquids up to 12.5 lbs/gal
- 244" tall x 141" diameter — compact vertical footprint
- 4114 lbs empty, approximately 198,019 lbs when full at rated specific gravity
- 3" Stainless Steel Bolted Fitting -with 3" x 5-1/2" siphon NPT outlet fitting — factory installed and leak-tested
- 22" lid opening for fill, venting, and interior access
- FDA approved for potable water and food-grade liquid contact
- 3 Year Warranty from Norwesco against manufacturing defects
- Translucent white walls allow visual level monitoring without opening the tank and reflect sunlight to keep contents cooler
- Rated for continuous service up to 120 F / 48 C
- Seamless one-piece rotational molding — no seams, no welds, no leak points
- Manufactured by Norwesco — a leading name in rotomolded polyethylene tanks
- Large tanks require professional installation. Ensure the pad is level within 1 inch across the full diameter and that all piping connections allow for thermal expansion
- Ships via dedicated freight carrier due to oversized dimensions — contact us for delivery timeline and site access requirements
Installation and Setup Guide
Nearly ninety-nine tons stacked twenty feet high on a 141-inch base is the most height-sensitive installation Norwesco offers. The extreme aspect ratio makes a precisely level, heavily engineered foundation absolutely non-negotiable.
Heavily Engineered, Precisely Level Foundation
A structural engineer must design a reinforced concrete slab for roughly 198,019 pounds over the 141-inch footprint, flat within one inch across the full diameter and built as substantial secondary containment. On a tank this tall and narrow for its volume, leveling tolerance is the single most critical specification — even a slight tilt at the base becomes a pronounced lean at twenty feet, overloading one side of the wall and the bolted fitting. Cure completely; grade comprehensively for spill capture.
Standing It and the Bolted Fitting
A twenty-foot, two-ton empty shell is a major oversized load needing a large crane to stand upright on the cured slab. The 3-inch stainless-steel bolted fitting bears the full hydrostatic load of a twenty-foot column, so install it with even torque and chemistry-compatible gaskets, plumb from it in schedule 80 PVC or stainless, and use the siphon for complete draw-down. Support all piping independently.
Venting
Fit a large pressure/vacuum relief vent in the 22-inch lid, rated for your chemical and sized to bulk transfer rates, and plan height-safe access to inspect it twenty feet up. A tank this tall and large is highly vulnerable to vacuum collapse if under-vented, so size the vent generously.
Maintenance and Long-Term Care
A 15,500-gallon tank at extreme height is monitored as critical infrastructure, with foundation and plumb checks of the highest priority and height-safe access for any wall or lid inspection.
Inspection
- Foundation and plumb: Inspect the heavy containment slab for cracks and settlement and confirm the tank stands true; on a twenty-foot tank, even a minor lean is a serious finding to correct before refilling.
- Stainless bolted fitting: Verify even torque and gasket integrity at the outlet bearing the full twenty-foot column load — the most safety-critical fitting on the tank.
- Wall: With safe elevated access, read the wall for bulging or stress whitening, focusing on the lower wall under maximum pressure and any swelling that signals a compatibility problem.
Product Changes
Take the tank offline, drain through the siphon, and clean the interior via the 22-inch lid under full confined-space and elevated-access procedures. Decontaminate per the incoming chemical's specification, verify the new product on a polyethylene compatibility chart, and confirm the bolted-fitting gaskets suit it. The vessel never serves potable water, so cleaning is purely about compatibility and carryover.
UV and Heat
The compounded UV package protects the tall wall through years of sun; inspect the accessible portions annually in high-UV regions. The reflective white finish moderates internal temperature and vapor pressure over a very large sun-exposed surface.
Alternatives and Comparisons
At 15,500 gallons on a 141-inch base, this is the most footprint-efficient large tank made, and that extreme height defines every comparison.
Maximum height vs. wider alternatives: This twenty-foot tank stores fifteen and a half thousand gallons on the footprint of tanks a fraction its volume — the only real option when site area cannot grow. The cost is an extreme center of gravity that demands a precisely level, heavily engineered foundation and serious height-access planning for service. A wider 15,000-gallon tank of similar volume is more stable and easier to maintain but needs far more ground and containment. Choose this tank only when footprint is the absolute binding constraint.
Other 15500-Gallon Options
Frequently Asked Questions
How long will the 15500 Gallon Vertical Liquid Storage Tank last?
On a heavily engineered, precisely level containment foundation and within its 1.5 SG and 120 F ratings, this tank readily serves 15 to 20 years. The seamless shell and compounded UV package are made for the duty, and the stainless bolted fitting lasts when its torque and gaskets are kept up. Keeping a twenty-foot tank plumb on a sound slab, with compatible chemistry, governs the rest.
What chemicals can I store in this tank?
The 1.5 specific-gravity rating handles most liquid fertilizers, crop-protection chemicals, and industrial solutions up to 12.5 pounds per gallon. Verify the chemical on a polyethylene compatibility chart and against the bolted-fitting gaskets; polyethylene tolerates many acids and bases but is attacked by some solvents and oxidizers. No fuels or flammables. It is chemical-storage equipment, never a drinking-water tank.
What kind of foundation does a 15500-gallon tank need?
A full 15,500-gallon tank weighs about 198,019 pounds at 1.5 SG — nearly ninety-nine tons on a compact 141-inch base, concentrated by the extreme height. That demands a heavily engineered, precisely level reinforced concrete slab built as substantial secondary containment. On a twenty-foot tank, the leveling tolerance is the most critical specification of the entire project.
Does this tank come with a warranty?
Yes. Norwesco's 3-year warranty addresses manufacturing defects in materials and workmanship under normal use; it does not cover incompatible-chemical attack, over-density, an inadequate or unlevel foundation, or impact. Keep complete documentation and photographs of the engineered foundation and crane installation.
Can I install this tank underground?
No. A twenty-foot vertical tank is made solely for above-ground duty and cannot take soil pressure; burying it would crush it and void the warranty. Below-grade storage of this magnitude requires purpose-engineered reinforced structures, not a poly tank.
Buying Considerations
Three major commitments come with this twenty-foot 15,500-gallon tank. First, the heavily engineered, precisely level containment foundation: a reinforced slab sized for ninety-nine tons, stamped by a structural professional, exceptionally true to level because the extreme height punishes any tilt, and curbed for containment. Second, oversized-load logistics and a large crane to stand the shell, plus height-safe service access. Third, compatibility of the chemical with both the polyethylene and the bolted-fitting gaskets, confirmed on a chart. Listed at $25,199.99 before freight, on a dedicated carrier to your ZIP.
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