The Chem-Tainer 1350 gallon open top batch storage tank (SKU TC8259AA) is a cylindrical, open-top polyethylene tank built for white batching, mixing, and bulk water storage where you need top access to add product, stir, or check levels. It stands 59 inches tall on an 82 x 82 inch footprint, molded in natural white polyethylene so you can read the liquid line through the wall. As an open top tank, it does not seal - that is what makes it easy to fill from above, ladle out, or drop in a mixer, but if your install is outdoors or needs to keep out debris, rain, or insects, plan for a separate cover up front. Rated to a 1.9 specific gravity, this storage tank carries a heavier density margin than a standard water-only tank.
Will it work for your storage job?
At 1,350 gallons nameplate capacity, a full charge of plain water weighs about 11,259 pounds, and the tank is built to carry contents up to 21,392 pounds at its 1.9 specific gravity ceiling. Put another way: water loads the wall to only about half its rated ceiling, so this tank is built to hold liquids nearly twice the density of water with room to spare. Water is well within range, and you have real, quantified headroom - roughly 10,000 pounds of additional capacity - for denser batches up to the rated SG. That density rating is the reason this tank costs more than a 1.0 or 1.5 SG water-only tank, and it is what justifies the spec if you are holding anything heavier than water. The 82 x 82 inch square footprint is what you plan your pad around: that is the load your slab and supports carry when the tank is full.
Sizing, siting, and fittings
Size the tank to your real draw and refill cycle, not just peak demand - our Tank Sizing Calculator and Tank Sizing Guide walk through working volume versus nameplate so you do not oversize or starve a batch line. Set the tank on a flat, fully supported pad: a partially supported polyethylene wall is a common cause of premature failure on large open-top storage. For above-ground installs, our guide on concrete pad sizing for above-ground polyethylene tanks lays out the ACI 360R-10 framework for a slab that handles that 11,000-plus-pound full-water load. If this tank feeds a reuse or aggregation train - grey water, rainwater, or HVAC condensate - our industrial water reuse tank topology guide covers quality-banded storage and staging. For rural fire-reservoir or freeze-protection service, our fire-water reservoir tank design guide covers NFPA 22 sizing and cold-climate detailing.
The mistake to avoid
Do not assume the 1.9 specific gravity rating turns this into a chemical tank, and do not assume it arrives plumbed. This is an open top batch storage tank sold for white water-service storage and mixing; the SG rating describes how dense a liquid the wall is built to hold, not chemical compatibility. It ships with no pre-installed outlets or bulkhead fittings - outlets and gaskets are specified and added per your plumbing plan. Before cutting any opening, confirm your fitting and gasket layout against the tank's open-top design and reference the technical drawing on this page for the wall section and dimensions rather than scaling off a photo. Cutting an outlet without checking the drawing is the fastest way to compromise a large storage tank.
This Chem-Tainer open top tank ships empty as LTL freight from the Chem-Tainer plant in Hummelstown, Pennsylvania, quoted live to your ZIP - so the freight number is for the empty tank, while the roughly 11,259 pound full-water load (up to about 21,392 pounds at rated SG) is what your pad and your forklift or crane plan have to handle on site. Get a real delivery number on our Freight Cost Estimator, or call 866-418-1777 and we will quote it and confirm the right tank for your batch storage or bulk water job.
