The Chem-Tainer 500 Gallon PE Cylindrical Open Top Tank (SKU TC5260AA) is a 500-gallon natural white polyethylene open top tank built for bulk water storage, batching, and transfer where you need top access for fill, mixing, or manual loading. It stands 60 inches tall on a round 52-inch-diameter footprint (52 x 52 in bounding box), and the 52-inch-wide open top gives full-width access for a drop-in mixer or hand loading. Full of water it carries roughly 4,170 lb, and the cylindrical body sits flat on its base for stable above-ground service.
Will this 500 gallon open top tank work for your job?
Open top means exactly that: an unrestricted 52-inch-diameter top opening for adding water, dropping in a mixer, or loading by hand. That makes this a practical 500 gallon open tank for water batching, settling, rinse stations, and process holding where a sealed dome would only get in the way. Check the technical drawing on this page for the exact body and rim dimensions before you set your stand or pad height. Plan your placement around the round 52-inch footprint, and remember that an open top is not a sealed system, so it is meant for open water service rather than pressurized or fully enclosed storage. If you need positive drainage and minimal residual heel for solids-laden water, compare this flat-bottom design against a cone-bottom in our cone-bottom drainage comparison before you decide.
Weight, sizing, and the specific gravity to watch
At 500 gallons of water this tank holds about 4,170 lb when full, and its supporting structure is rated to a maximum contents weight of 7,923 lb. That headroom comes from the tank's 1.9 specific gravity rating, meaning the body is engineered to carry liquids up to 1.9 times the weight of water. For plain water (SG 1.0) you are well inside that envelope. The point to watch: for any liquid heavier than water, your safe fill is limited by that 7,923 lb weight ceiling, not by the 500-gallon volume mark. If you are sizing a stand, pad, or floor, run your numbers against the full-water weight, not the empty weight, and use our Tank Sizing Calculator and Tank Sizing Guide to confirm capacity and loading before you commit. The most common mistake on an open top water tank is underbuilding the base: 4,170 lb of water plus the tank concentrated on a 52-inch-diameter circle needs a flat, fully supporting surface.
Where it ships from and how freight works
This tank ships LTL freight, quoted live to your ZIP. Chem-Tainer produces from several plants, and we ship from the location nearest you to keep freight down: Albertville, AL; Hanford, CA; Hummelstown, PA; or West Babylon, NY. Because a 500-gallon open top tank is large and light for its size, freight class and origin both matter, so get a real number before you buy.
Use the Freight Cost Estimator for a live LTL quote to your ZIP, or call 866-418-1777 and we will confirm the nearest shipping plant and lead time. Planning a larger water system or a pad for this tank? See our guides on concrete pad sizing for above-ground polyethylene tanks, industrial water reuse tank topology, and fire-water reservoir tank design for rural and remote sites.
