The Chem-Tainer 260 Gallon Open Top Batch Storage Tank (SKU TC3660AA) is a 60-inch-tall cylindrical polyethylene tank on a compact 36 x 36 inch footprint, built for open-top batch mixing and bulk water storage where you add ingredients from above, monitor contents by eye, and draw the batch down between cycles. This is a water and batch-service tank whose heavy-duty 1.9 specific gravity wall also lets it carry water-based solutions heavier than plain water. The open top makes manual charging, sampling, and cleanout straightforward, and the natural white polyethylene wall lets you read the liquid level. If you have been searching for a white open-top tank or a straightforward open tank for batch work, this is the storage tank that fits that job.
Will it work for your batch?
Capacity is 260 gallons in a 60 x 36 x 36 inch envelope, so it slots onto a tight pad or into the corner of a process area without sprawling. The wall is molded from polyethylene and carries a 1.9 specific gravity rating - the heavy-duty tier, where most water and open-top tanks stop at 1.5 SG. Full of plain water the tank holds about 2,168 pounds of liquid, while the maximum rated contents weight at the 1.9 SG rating is 4,120 pounds. That extra headroom is the reason to buy this wall: choose it when your batch is a brine, slurry, or concentrate rather than just water. Size the pad and any structure beneath for the actual density of what you are storing, not just the gallon count. If you are not sure which size matches your draw-down and refill cycle, run the numbers through our Tank Sizing Calculator or read the Tank Sizing Guide first.
Getting the batch out: fittings and access
This listing ships with no pre-installed fittings - access is from the open top as it comes. If you need a bottom outlet for gravity draw-down, plan for a field-installed bulkhead fitting with a gasket, and call us at 866-418-1777 to confirm placement against the technical drawing before you cut the wall. One thing to keep in mind: any fitting you add introduces a gasket or seal whose material must be chemically compatible with your contents, not just the polyethylene wall - so the compatibility check covers the seal as well as the tank.
Pad, bearing, and the mistake to avoid
A flat-bottom cylindrical tank distributes its load across the full 36 x 36 footprint, so 4,120 pounds fully loaded works out to roughly 3.2 psi of bearing pressure - well within a sound concrete pad, but only if the base is flat, fully supported, and level. A tank that rocks or bridges a high spot stresses the wall over time. Our guide on concrete pad sizing using the ACI 360R-10 framework walks through getting the slab right the first time. The number that trips people up here is the 1.9 specific gravity rating itself: it tells you the tank can safely carry dense, heavy contents, but it is a weight rating, not a chemical rating. Confirm both the weight against the 4,120-pound figure and general material compatibility before you fill it. If your process water gets aggregated from grey-water, rainwater, or condensate streams, our write-up on industrial water reuse tank topology covers how to band quality and sequence storage so the right water lands in the right tank. Because the top is open, also plan for splash, evaporation, and debris if the tank lives outdoors.
This tank ships LTL freight from the Hummelstown, PA plant, with the rate quoted live to your ZIP code - get an exact number in seconds with our Freight Cost Estimator, or call us at 866-418-1777 and we will walk through sizing, the pad, fitting placement, and the freight together. Dimensions, the open-top profile, and wall details are shown in the technical drawing on this page.
