The Bushman 500 Gallon Vertical Rainwater Harvesting Tank in Mocha is a polyethylene catchment tank built for residential and light-commercial rainwater systems, measuring 48" in diameter and 71" tall on a 48.0 x 48.0 footprint. It holds 500 gallons of collected rainwater, and the muted Mocha color is meant to sit quietly against a wall or fence line rather than announce itself. If you are building out a vertical tank for rainwater harvesting and want a unit that disappears into the landscaping, this is the size and shade most homeowners reach for.
Will it work for your site?
At 500 gallons, a full tank carries 4,170 lb of water - that is the water it holds, not the shipping weight. The tank ships empty, so the loaded pad has to be sized for the water plus the tank shell, not for two tons arriving on a truck. That full-water figure is still the single most important planning number, because a 48" x 48" footprint concentrates over two tons of water onto a small area, and an under-built base is the most common reason a harvesting tank tips or cracks at the outlet over time. Work the load through our Tank Sizing Calculator and read the concrete pad sizing guide built around the ACI 360R-10 framework before you set it.
What's on the tank, and what you plumb
Per the technical drawing on this page, this tank is configured for harvesting service with three fittings: a 9" x 9" flat fitting pad - a flat molded area you use to mount your own inlet or screen - a 3" outlet and overflow kit, and a 1" bulkhead fitting with a PP body and an EPDM gasket. Check the drawing for the exact fitting locations and elevations, and to confirm which hardware is pre-installed versus shipped loose, before you order your inlet plumbing. The EPDM gasket matters: EPDM is the right seal for water and rainwater, which is the same reason this is a water-service tank and not a chemical one.
Sizing it to your roof and rainfall
A 500 gallon tank is a starting point, not an automatic answer. How fast it fills - and how often it overflows - depends on your roof catchment area, your local rainfall pattern, and how much first-flush you divert before water ever reaches the tank. Our first-flush diverter sizing guide, built on the Texas Manual on Rainwater Harvesting (3rd Edition), walks through that math, and the state-by-state rainwater sizing guide ties capacity to regional rainfall and local rules. If this vertical tank is feeding rural fire reserve rather than irrigation, the fire-water reservoir design guide covers NFPA 22 sizing and freeze protection. Start with the Tank Sizing Guide if you are still deciding between sizes.
The mistake to avoid
This tank carries a 1.0 specific gravity rating, which means it is engineered for water and rainwater at a density of 1.0 - not for chemicals or heavier liquids. The 1.0-rated wall and the EPDM bulkhead seal both point the same direction: keep this unit on rainwater or fire reserve. Filling a 1.0-rated harvesting tank with anything denser than water pushes the wall and fittings past what they were designed to hold. If your contents are heavier than water, you need a chemical-rated tank with a 1.5 or 1.9 SG rating - call 866-418-1777 and we will match the tank to your liquid's specific gravity. Pair this Bushman with a properly poured pad and the right outlet plumbing and it holds up for the long haul.
This 500 gallon Bushman ships LTL freight from the Fairfield, Texas plant, quoted live to your ZIP code. A Texas-area address gets short, cheap LTL; a coastal buyer should run the numbers first - put your address through the Freight Cost Estimator for a real figure before you order. Questions on fitting layout, pad prep, or scheduling a delivery, call us at 866-418-1777 and we will walk it through with you.
