Norwesco 500 Gallon Black Vertical Storage Tank

Where a 500 gallon vertical tank goes

Five hundred gallons is the size where a tank stops being a container and starts being a reserve: a few days of household water on a well that cannot keep up, a rainwater store for a garden or a barn roof, a fill point for a sprayer, a stock water buffer, or the start of a fire reserve on a rural lot. At 48 inches across and 73 inches tall it stands beside a building without dominating it and still clears most shed roofs. Full of water it weighs 4170 lb, so it needs a flat, continuous, level base that will not settle unevenly: a concrete pad, a compacted gravel pad with a sand cap, or a sound slab. Our guide to bearing surfaces under polyethylene tanks says what the pad has to do and where an engineered slab becomes necessary. For roof water, fit a first flush diverter so the first water off the roof does not go into the tank, and if the tank is part of a fire plan, read reservoir sizing on remote sites and freeze protection before you decide that one tank is enough.

What goes in it

Water, liquid fertilizer and the treatment and cleaning chemicals that polyethylene handles are the normal loads. Check anything else in our chemical compatibility guide first, and ask us about anything that is not listed. Liquids heavier than 1.5 times water need the heavy duty version of this tank, listed below, and nothing hotter than 120 F belongs in it. The tank sizing calculator and tank sizing guide confirm the volume before you order.

Openings and fittings

1. Outlet. A 2 inch polypropylene female NPT bulkhead fitting, factory installed low in the side wall. A 2 inch valve, camlock or hose adapter threads straight into it. Fit the valve before the first fill and support it and the first length of pipe on their own so the fitting carries liquid, not hardware.
2. Manway. A 16 inch threaded vented manway on top, 73 inches up: wide enough to fill from a hose or a pump, to drop a float or a suction line through, and to reach inside to clean. The vent lets the tank breathe as the level changes. Plan a step to reach it.
3. Extra fittings. An overflow near the top, a return line or a second draw-off is a bulkhead fitting through the wall. Tell us before the order and we quote it with the tank. Dry-fit, then hand tight plus a quarter turn.
4. Drawing. Norwesco's drawing for this tank, linked under Technical Drawing on this page, gives the outlet height and the manway position for laying out the pipework.

Sizes nearby

The same tank in white, where you want to read the level through the wall: the 500 gallon white vertical tank. The same tank built for liquids up to 1.9 specific gravity, in black: the 500 gallon black heavy duty vertical tank, and a second 500 gallon heavy duty vertical tank. One step down, in a taller and narrower shape: the 310 gallon black vertical tank. One step up: the 525 gallon vertical tank. The colour swatches above the price switch between the versions of this tank.

Shipping and receiving

The tank ships LTL at freight class 300 from the nearest of Norwesco's plants, which include Fairfield, Texas; Griffin, Georgia; Hanford, California; St. Bonifacius, Minnesota; Owego, New York; Shawnee, Oklahoma; Tooele, Utah and Washougal, Washington. On the pallet it is 48 by 48 by 73 inches and 104 lb. The listed price is before freight; the freight cost estimator gives the lane cost to your ZIP. Two people can walk an empty tank this size off the truck. At the tailgate, check the part number against 40582 on the bill of lading, look over the wall and the fitting for transit damage, make sure the manway lid is on and turns freely, and fill the tank with water the first time so any problem shows up with something harmless in it.

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