Norwesco 1200 Gallon Underground Water Storage Cistern Tank

Where a 1200 gallon cistern fits

This is the tank for a house on rainwater, a cabin on hauled water, a slow well that needs a buffer, or an irrigation reserve where nothing may show above ground. Its shape is the reason to pick it over the 1175 gallon tank: at 102 inches it is the shorter of the two by a wide margin, and it pays for that with a deeper excavation. Where the excavation runs between a foundation and a property line, or the trench is already cut, the shorter tank is the one that fits. Rainwater users size on roof area and the longest dry spell; our tank sizing calculator and tank sizing guide do that arithmetic. If the cistern feeds a reuse system, industrial water reuse tank topology shows how buried storage sits in a train; if it is a fire reserve for a remote property, read fire water reservoir tank design for rural and remote sites first.

Openings, risers and what to check before you buy

1. Access. A 20 inch manway cover on each of two manholes. Norwesco makes risers and extensions for them, ordered two at a time, one per manhole: a 6 inch extension (N-63832), a 15 inch extension (N-63833), a 24 inch extension (N-63834), a 23 inch riser with a 12 inch lid (N-63831) and a 36 inch riser with a 6 inch lid (N-63830). Pick the one that brings the lid to grade at your burial depth and put it on the same order.
2. Inlet, outlet and vent. No fittings come installed. Tell us where the inlet, the outlet and the vent go and what size, and we quote the bulkhead fittings with the tank, or your installer fits them on site. A buried tank still needs a vent above grade.
3. Burial. Follow Norwesco's installation instructions for the excavation, the bedding and the backfill. The universal rules: set the tank on a level bed with no rocks under it, fill it with water in stages as you backfill so the walls are supported from both sides, and keep vehicles off the area unless the installation was designed for traffic. Where groundwater is high, ask us before you order; an empty buried tank in saturated ground wants to float.
4. Drawing. Norwesco's drawing for this tank is linked under Technical Drawing on this page and shows the manhole positions and the rib layout.

Sizes nearby

The longer, shallower tank of nearly the same volume: the 1175 gallon underground cistern. One size up, with flat panels on the sides for a side inlet: the 1425 gallon underground cistern with side inlet flats. Each page carries its own dimensions; the choice between them is usually the hole you can dig rather than the gallons.

Shipping and receiving

The tank ships LTL, 373 lb and 102 by 60 by 63 inches, from the nearest of the eight Norwesco plants that build it: Griffin, Georgia; Hanford, California; Lancaster, Ohio; Owego, New York; Shawnee, Oklahoma; St. Bonifacius, Minnesota; Tooele, Utah; and Washougal, Washington. The listed price is before freight; the freight cost estimator gives the lane cost to your ZIP, or request a written quote for a job that needs paperwork. At the tailgate, check 41329 against the bill of lading and look along the ribs for transit damage before signing. Before it goes in the ground, fill it with water and check for leaks on the surface, where a problem is cheap to fix; our guide to hydrostatic testing for new tank acceptance gives the fill and hold routine.

Questions before you order? Call 866-418-1777.