Norwesco 45 Gallon Plastic Portable Flat Bottom Utility Tank in White

Where it goes

A flat bottom tank needs a flat surface and nothing else: the bed of a side by side, the deck of a small trailer, a shelf in a service truck, a bench in a shop. The 38 by 18 inch footprint is long and narrow, which is the shape that sits along a bed rail or a trailer tongue without taking the whole deck. Full of water it weighs about 375 lb, which is a load for the vehicle rather than for a person, so strap it down across the body, never over the lid, and give the outlet room so a hose does not kink against the wall. If the tank lives on a pad between jobs, it wants a flat, continuous surface under the whole floor; our guide to concrete pad sizing for above ground polyethylene tanks covers a permanent pad, though a tank this size is usually happy on a paver or a deck board.

What goes in it

Water, spray mixes, liquid fertilizer and the common chemicals that polyethylene handles. Check anything unusual against the material before you fill it, and ask us if the liquid is not one you have put in polyethylene before. White lets you see the level through the wall. A 45 gallon tank is a good fit for a job that empties it in a day or two; a small tank that sits half full in the sun grows algae faster than a big one. For water reuse and collection systems, our water reuse tank topology guide shows where a small day tank like this fits. For the volume, use the tank sizing calculator and tank sizing guide.

Openings and fittings

1. Outlet. A 1 inch polypropylene female NPT bulkhead fitting, factory installed. A 1 inch ball valve or a hose barb threads straight into it. That size feeds a small pump or a gravity hose well; it is not a fast drain.
2. Lid. A 5 inch threaded vented lid on top: wide enough to fill from a hose and to drop a small suction line through, not wide enough for a hand, so the tank is rinsed from the top with a wand. The vent lets air in as the pump draws down; keep it clear.
3. Drawing. Norwesco's drawing for this tank, linked under Technical Drawing on this page, shows the outlet position and the lid position.

Sizes nearby

One size down: the 35 gallon portable flat bottom utility tank. One size up, in the loaf shape with a bigger lid: the 50 gallon portable loaf utility tank.

Shipping and receiving

The tank ships by UPS at 23 lb in a 38 by 18 by 22 inch carton from the nearest of Norwesco's plants, which include Fairfield, Texas; Griffin, Georgia; Hanford, California; Lancaster, Ohio; Shawnee, Oklahoma; Sheldon, Iowa; and St. Bonifacius, Minnesota. The listed price is before freight; the freight cost estimator gives the cost to your ZIP, and a parcel to a home address needs no dock or forklift. When it arrives, check the part number against 43837, look at the outlet fitting for a cracked nut, and fill it with water the first time before it carries anything else.

Questions before you order? Call 866-418-1777, or request a written quote for several tanks on one order.