160 Gallon 45 Degree Cone Bottom Tank: Complete Buyer's Guide
160-gallon white cone bottom tank built for full-drain mixing and batch processing. 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 160 Gallon 45 Degree Cone Bottom Tank is built around a steep, fast-clearing drain. Where a shallow cone is content to shed thin liquids, the 45-degree slope evacuates suspended solids, slurries, and viscous chemistry that would cling to a gentler bottom. In a 36-inch-diameter body it makes a compact, tall mixing vessel for dosing, settling, and small-batch process work.
It is rotationally molded in one piece from virgin linear polyethylene, with no seams or welds anywhere along the cone, and rated to 1.5 specific gravity for liquids up to 12.5 pounds per gallon. The resin carries molded-in UV protection and a 120 F / 48 C continuous-service ceiling. The translucent natural-white wall reads as a level gauge and lets you watch the high-stress cone shoulder without opening the tank.
The tank stands 52 inches tall, measures 36 inches across, and weighs 64 pounds empty and about 2,066 pounds full at 1.5 SG. That load rides through whatever stand supports it, so the cone must hang in a frame matched to its diameter. A factory 2-inch NPT outlet at the apex delivers complete drainage, and a 16-inch lid opens wide for filling, cleaning, and mounting a mixer or probe. It is backed by a 3-year Norwesco manufacturing-defect warranty.
Technical Drawing
Official Norwesco technical drawing — 160 Gallon 45 Degree Cone Bottom Tank
Key Features and Specifications
- 160-gallon capacity — sized for full-drain mixing and batch processing
- Constructed from virgin linear polyethylene (HDPE) with 1.5 specific gravity rating — handles liquids up to 12.5 lbs/gal
- 52" tall x 36" diameter — compact vertical footprint
- 64 lbs empty, approximately 2,066 lbs when full at rated specific gravity
- 2" NPT outlet fitting — factory installed and leak-tested
- 16" 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
- Must be installed on the manufacturer-supplied or compatible stand rated for the full loaded weight. Never rest a cone bottom tank directly on its apex
- Ships via LTL freight on a pallet — residential delivery with lift gate available
Installation and Setup Guide
A 45-degree cone is the workhorse drain angle for anything that wants to settle. At 160 gallons in a 36-inch-diameter body, this tank trades width for a steep, fast-clearing bottom that sheds slurries, suspended solids, and viscous chemistry far better than a shallow cone. That steepness comes at a price you pay during installation: the cone reaches well below the sidewall, so the stand has to lift the whole vessel high enough for the outlet to clear your plumbing.
Stand Height Drives Everything
This tank is 52 inches tall on its own, but the working number is the height once a stand raises the apex above the floor. Plan your stand so the 2-inch outlet and its valve sit at a comfortable, serviceable height with room for a drain line beneath. Buy or build a stand rated for the full wet load — about 2,066 pounds at the 1.5 SG rating — and confirm the conical seat matches a 36-inch tank so the cone beds fully.
Foundation
Two thousand pounds is light enough that a sound concrete floor handles it without a special pour, but the load still funnels through the stand legs into a few small contact points. Set the stand on a hard, flat, non-settling surface and shim it dead level before the tank goes in. A stand that rocks even slightly will wear a witness mark into the cone seat over time.
Outlet and Vent
The steep cone drives everything to the 2-inch NPT outlet at the tip, which makes this an excellent draw-down tank for dosing or transfer. Keep the discharge pipe short and independently supported, fit a full-port valve, and consider a strainer if you are pumping solids. The 16-inch lid gives generous access for filling, cleaning, and dropping in a mixer shaft or level probe; vent it appropriately for whatever you store.
Maintenance and Long-Term Care
The 45-degree cone is chosen precisely because it handles the messy, settling chemistries, so its maintenance routine centers on the cone tip and the outlet, where solids concentrate as the tank draws down.
Inspection Points
- Cone tip and outlet: This is the dirtiest, highest-concentration zone in the tank. Inspect the 2-inch fitting for weeping each quarter and confirm nothing is caking at the apex that would impede a full drain.
- Stand integrity: Check the legs and seat for movement, corrosion if the stand is steel, or stress whitening if it is poly. A 45-degree cone sits deep in its seat, and a shifted stand is immediately visible as a gap.
- Sidewall-to-cone shoulder: Backlight the natural-white wall and look at the transition where the cylinder meets the cone. That shoulder carries the steepest stress on a 45-degree part; milky banding there is your early warning.
Cleaning
The steep angle is a self-cleaning advantage: open the valve, let solids and liquid evacuate together, then rinse from the lid. Far less manual scraping than a flat or shallow-cone tank. When you change products, decontaminate to the new chemical's spec and verify polyethylene compatibility. This is process equipment for chemical batching, not a potable-water store, so cleaning targets carryover, not drinking-water sanitation.
UV Note
Resin-compounded UV inhibitors protect the wall outdoors, but a 36-inch tank often lives indoors near a process line where sun is irrelevant. If it does sit outside, inspect the sun-facing surface annually for chalking and shade it in extreme-UV regions to stretch service life.
Alternatives and Comparisons
The 45-degree angle is what sets this 160-gallon tank apart. Drain slope is the first specification to settle on with a cone tank, and 45 degrees is the most popular compromise between fast solids clearance and reasonable stand height.
45 degrees vs. shallower or steeper: A 45-degree cone evacuates settling and moderately viscous liquids that a 15- or 30-degree cone would leave clinging to the slope. Go steeper, to 60 degrees, only if you batch genuinely thick or fast-settling material and can accept the extra stand height. For thin, clean liquids that do not settle, a shallower cone or even a flat-bottom 160-gallon tank saves height and money.
Other 160-Gallon Options
Frequently Asked Questions
How long will the 160 Gallon 45 Degree Cone Bottom Tank last?
Within its 1.5 SG and 120 F ratings, plan on 15 to 20 years. A 45-degree cone tends to age well because it drains completely and never holds a settled heel that would attack the cone tip. The factors that shorten life are an inadequate stand, thermal cycling, and storing products outside the resin's compatibility range.
What chemicals can I store in this tank?
It suits the standard 1.5-SG band of agricultural and industrial chemistry, and the steep cone makes it especially good for settling or moderately viscous products: suspensions, slurries, and water-treatment solutions within that density. Check polyethylene compatibility before each new product. No fuels or solvents. As a cone-bottom process tank it is for chemical service, not potable water.
What kind of foundation does a 160-gallon tank need?
Full, it reaches about 2,066 pounds at 1.5 SG. A sound concrete floor carries that without a special pour, but the weight funnels through the stand legs, so the surface must be hard, flat, and non-settling, and the stand must be leveled and rated for the full load.
Does this tank come with a warranty?
Yes. Norwesco's manufacturing-defect warranty covers molded-in faults under normal use. It excludes stand failures, overloading beyond the rated SG, incompatible-chemical attack, and impact. Keep documentation and a photo of the seated installation.
Can I install this tank underground?
No. The deep 45-degree cone is built to hang in a stand above grade and cannot take soil pressure. Burying it would fail the cone and void coverage. Use our reinforced underground cistern or septic products for below-grade storage.
Buying Considerations
Before you order this 160-gallon, 45-degree cone, settle three things. First, the stand: it is the structural heart of the system and must be rated for the roughly 2,066-pound wet load and seated to a 36-inch cone — order it alongside the tank if you do not already have one. Second, total height once the stand lifts the apex clear of your drain line; the steep cone needs vertical room. Third, your chemistry, confirmed against a polyethylene compatibility chart, since this tank's natural calling is settling and viscous products that benefit from the aggressive drain. It palletizes for standard freight at this size.
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