The Bushman 500 Gallon Vertical Water Storage Tank in dark green is a polyethylene vertical tank standing 71 inches tall on a compact 48-inch diameter footprint, with an 8-inch twist lid up top for filling, inspection, and cleanout access. Molded by Bushman and shipping from their Fairfield, Texas plant, it holds 500 gallons of water and reads cleanly off the spec table: full, it carries roughly 4,170 pounds of contents, which is the number you plan your pad and tie-downs around. It is built for the work people actually buy a 500 gallon water storage tank for - rural water supply, rainwater harvesting, irrigation buffering, and fire-water reservoir duty where a tight round footprint matters more than overall height.
Will this tank work for your water?
This is a vertical storage tank rated for water service at a specific gravity of 1.0 - meaning it is engineered to carry liquids up to the weight of water, and water sits right at that limit. At 500 gallons, full water weight is 4,170 pounds, so the surface underneath needs to be flat, level, and fully supporting the entire 48-inch diameter base. The tank is light enough to position by hand while empty, but once it is filled it cannot be moved or re-leveled - you only get to level the pad once, so get it right before first fill. Do not set a tank this size on uneven gravel or partial blocking; point-loading the floor of a poly tank is the most common way people crack an otherwise sound tank. Mind the height too: at 71 inches tall with the access lid on top, plan for roughly 71-plus inches of headroom plus ladder and fill clearance above the lid, since a tall vertical tucked under low eaves or in a short shed leaves you unable to reach the very port you fill from.
Fittings and plumbing
The drawing for this tank calls out the 8-inch twist lid up top, a 1-inch spin-weld fitting threaded FNPT for your supply or fill line, and a bulkhead fitting. Plan your connections in standard female pipe thread, and confirm the fitting positions on the technical drawing on this page line up with where your pump, float, or gravity feed wants to land. The bulkhead seals with its gasket against the tank wall, so verify your fitting and gasket match the bulkhead bore before you plumb it, and use FNPT-compatible thread sealant on the 1-inch spin-weld connection rather than relying on the gasket alone. If you are still weighing this 500-gallon vertical against another size or a horizontal layout, the Tank Sizing Calculator and our Tank Sizing Guide walk through capacity against footprint, and our guide on vertical vs horizontal water-storage tradeoffs covers when a tall round vertical is the right call.
Common applications and the mistake to avoid
A 500-gallon vertical is a workhorse for harvested rainwater, hauled potable supply, livestock and irrigation reserve, and rural fire protection. For rainwater systems, Bushman's own harvesting setup and first-flush sizing is covered in our Bushman rainwater harvesting and first-flush diverter guide; for private fire-water reservoirs and freeze protection in cold-climate service, see our fire-water reservoir design guide. If you are aggregating grey water, rainwater, or HVAC condensate, our industrial water reuse topology guide covers quality-banded storage. The mistake to avoid: this is a 1.0 specific gravity water tank - it is rated for water, not for heavier chemical solutions. For any liquid denser than water, do not press this tank into service - use our Tank Sizing Guide or call 866-418-1777 and we will spec a higher-SG-rated tank for the job.
This Bushman 500 gallon vertical water storage tank ships LTL freight from Fairfield, Texas, quoted live to your ZIP - get an exact number with our Freight Cost Estimator or call us at 866-418-1777. Have your delivery ZIP and any liftgate or limited-access details ready so we can lock in the right freight class on the first quote.
