The Chem-Tainer 165 Gallon Open Top Batch Storage Tank (TC3156AA) is a cylindrical, open-top polyethylene tank built for batch mixing, water staging, and process storage where you need easy top access for filling, manual additions, or agitation. It holds 165 gallons in a compact 31-inch round footprint and stands 56 inches tall, so it fits through standard doorways and tucks into corners where a wider tank would not. Molded in natural white polyethylene, the translucent wall lets you eyeball your fill level without a sight gauge.
Will it work for your setup?
The reason to pick this open-top tank over a typical one is its 1.9 specific gravity rating. Most open-top poly tanks are rated around 1.5 SG; this wall is built to carry contents up to roughly 1.9 times the weight of water, putting its maximum rated contents weight at about 2,615 pounds. That extra structural headroom matters if you are storing a liquid denser than water. Filled with plain water, the tank and contents weigh about 1,376 pounds, so plan a level, fully supported pad rated for the load you actually intend to store. The footprint is 31.0 x 31.0 inches with 56 inches of overall height, which matters when you are siting it under a fill line or inside a containment area. This is a vented, atmospheric vessel, not a sealed pressure tank. Use the Tank Sizing Calculator and the Tank Sizing Guide to confirm this white open-top tank matches your batch volume and pad requirements.
The mistake to avoid
This tank ships as a bare open-top vessel: no pre-installed bulkhead fittings, no outlet, no lid. Outlets, bulkhead fittings, and their gaskets are added separately and must be spec'd to whatever you store. The common error is reading the 1.9 SG rating as a chemical clearance. It is not. The SG rating tells you the wall can structurally carry a heavy liquid; it says nothing about whether the polyethylene resin or your chosen gasket is compatible with that liquid. Because the fittings are not included, the gasket and fitting material spec is the compatibility decision for this tank, EPDM versus Viton versus PTFE, chosen against the manufacturer's chemical-resistance chart at your specific concentration and temperature. The same chart governs the resin, so confirm both before putting anything other than water in the tank. One more honest note: this is a flat-bottom open-top tank, so it will not gravity-drain completely, and a manual outlet near the floor still leaves a residual heel.
Freight and how to order
This tank ships LTL freight from West Babylon, New York, with the cost quoted live to your ZIP code rather than rolled into the list price. For a real number to your delivery address, run the Freight Cost Estimator or call us at 866-418-1777 and we will quote it by phone. If you are sizing a pad under a tank this heavy when full, our guide on concrete pad sizing for above-ground polyethylene tanks walks through the ACI framework, and if you are staging water for rural fire protection or industrial reuse, our guides on fire-water reservoir design and industrial water reuse tank topology cover the engineering. See the technical drawing on this page for the full dimensional layout before you order.
