The Chem-Tainer 4500 gallon vertical liquid storage tank is a polyethylene bulk vessel built for high-volume above-ground water storage where a tall column and a large footprint make sense. It stands 156 inches on a 95 by 95 inch base, holding 4,500 gallons in a single vertical tank. If you are sizing a vertical storage tank for site water, process supply, or a rural reservoir, this sits at the top of what one vessel can do before you move to multiple tanks or engineered field-erected storage.
Will it work for your site
The tank carries a 1.5 specific gravity rating, so the polyethylene wall is built to hold contents up to 1.5 times the weight of water. Filled with plain water it carries roughly 37,530 pounds of liquid, and its wall rating allows contents up to about 56,295 pounds at the full 1.5 specific gravity. That headroom matters: most water and reuse streams sit at or near 1.0 specific gravity, so you have substantial structural margin for everyday service. Before you commit, run your dimensions and capacity through our Tank Sizing Calculator and review the Tank Sizing Guide to confirm the 95-inch footprint and 156-inch height clear your pad, doorways, and overhead. Fitting configuration on a tank this size is confirmed at order, so have your outlet, fill, and vent requirements ready when you call.
Foundation and placement
A vessel this size needs a proper foundation. Loaded to capacity with water you are setting nearly 19 tons onto the 95 by 95 inch base, which works out to about 4.2 psi (roughly 600 psf) bearing pressure full of water, and near 6.2 psi (about 900 psf) at the full 56,295 pound rated ceiling. Hand those numbers to your concrete contractor and use our guide on concrete pad sizing for above-ground polyethylene tanks to size the base flat and level with no point loading. For larger programs, the industrial water reuse tank topology guide shows how vertical tanks fit into grey-water, rainwater, and condensate aggregation trains. If you run a private fire-protection or cold-climate reservoir, our fire-water reservoir design guide covers freeze protection for an above-ground polyethylene column. Deciding between brands at this tier? The Snyder vs Norwesco vs Chem-Tainer comparison gives you the head-to-head on construction and spec.
The mistake to avoid
The most common error on a tank this large is treating the specific gravity rating as a free pass for any liquid. The 1.5 rating describes structural load capacity, not chemical compatibility. This is a water and liquid storage tank as listed, so if your application is anything other than water, confirm the contents are appropriate before filling. Remember that compatibility is governed by the full wetted path: confirm both the polyethylene shell and the fitting gaskets and seals against your liquid, because the gasket is often the limiting material. Match your actual liquid weight against the 56,295 pound rated ceiling, and never assume a heavier-than-water fluid is fine just because the number looks high.
This tank ships LTL freight from Hummelstown, PA, with freight quoted live to your ZIP. Get your quote with our Freight Cost Estimator, or call 866-418-1777 to talk through placement, pad requirements, fitting layout, and scheduling with our team.
