Norwesco 550 Gallon Black Vertical Storage Tank

Where a short, wide 550 gallon tank goes

This is the low profile way to keep 550 gallons: 44 inches tall, with the manway at waist height, on a 67 inch footprint. It goes under a deck, under the eaves of a low roof, behind a fence line where a tall tank would show, in a low barn bay, or on a trailer deck where height is the limit. Rainwater collection is the common job, because a short tank sits under a gutter outlet without a pump; the others are stock water, a sprayer fill point, a garden reserve and a fire or drought reserve on a rural lot. Full of water it weighs 4587 lb spread over a 67 inch circle, so it needs a flat, continuous, level base that will not settle unevenly: a concrete pad, a sound slab, or a compacted gravel pad with a sand cap. Our guide to bearing surfaces under polyethylene tanks covers what the pad has to do. For roof water, the piece on sizing a first flush diverter explains why the first water off the roof should not go into the tank, and for a fire reserve, reservoir sizing on remote sites and freeze protection says how much water a plan needs before 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 a heavy duty tank, 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. On a tank this low the outlet sits close to the ground, so leave room for the valve handle and a hose bend, and support the valve on its own so the fitting carries liquid, not hardware.
2. Manway. A 16 inch threaded vented manway on top, within reach from the ground: 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.
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.

Sizes nearby

The same tank in white, where you want to read the level through the wall: the 550 gallon white vertical tank. One step down: the 525 gallon vertical tank. One step up: the 750 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 400 from the nearest of Norwesco's plants, which include Fairfield, Texas; Griffin, Georgia; Hanford, California; Sheldon, Iowa; St. Bonifacius, Minnesota; Owego, New York and Tooele, Utah. On the pallet it is 67 by 67 by 44 inches and 104 lb: light, but wide, which is why the class is higher than a tall tank of the same volume. 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. Two people can walk the empty tank off the truck. At the tailgate, check the part number against 40337 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.