Snyder Industries 5600 Gallon ASTM XLPE Vertical Storage Tank

Level concrete matters more on a wide tank than a tall one

Almost everything that goes wrong under a tank this shape goes wrong in the slab, so start there and spend the money there. The floor is a 142 inch circle and it is molded, which means it sits on every square inch of the concrete and follows it rather than bridging it; a quarter of the pad that sits low takes a large share of 46,704 pounds of water, or of as much as 70,056 pounds of contents at the rating this sheet gives, and it takes it as a bending load on the base rather than as an even bearing. Engineered, level, in full contact under the entire floor, per the concrete pad sizing guide. Above the slab this is the easiest tank in the family to site: 102 inches goes under ductwork and low steel, the wind has little wall to push on, and the lid is reachable from a short platform. It is also the lightest here at 1,150 pounds empty, which is exactly why the bands still go to anchors in the concrete before the first fill, because a light shell on a wide base is the one a gust moves while it is down to a heel. Grade away from the base, keep a hard surface under the connection, leave a walking gap for inspection, and put a berm sized to the tank around it wherever the liquid is regulated. Check 5,600 gallons against the feed rate and the delivery interval in the tank sizing calculator, and take the reserve and the thermal freeboard from the tank sizing guide.

The lighter wall in the 102 inch high shell

Against the 5250000N42 and the 5250000N48, both listed at 1,350 pounds, this tank is the one that does not make you pay for wall the liquid will never use: at 1.5 the rating on this sheet already covers process water, rinse water, wash water and the lighter solutions, and the lighter shell is easier to set and rides at class 400 rather than the heavier grades' class. The 5250000N46 is the same 1,150 pounds in black, rated as its own sheet says, so the choice between it and this row is colour and weathering rather than duty. Outside the shell, the 7000000N40 is the near-twin in volume at 5,500 gallons but it stands 132 inches on a 120 inch base, trading pad for height, and the 7000000C34 takes that tall footprint up to 6,000 gallons in black. Choose this one when the ceiling is low, the floor is available, and the liquid weighs about what water weighs.

Height or floor the limit? The table has both shapes; freight to your ZIP is quoted on each row, or call 866-418-1777 with the site.

A bare 10 in the outlet field, and the draw-off decision

• Outlet: the sheet lists the outlet as 10 and gives no fitting diameter, material, thread or gasket, so that is not a pipe size and we do not present it as one. The draw-off is specified at order: name the liquid and the pipe size and the bulkhead, gasket and bolting are matched to them.
• Access: 18 inch threaded, vented manway at 102 inches; the sheet lists ladder lugs, and at this height the lid is a step and a handrail rather than a climb.
• Structure: one flange line on the sheet. Fill through a dip tube to the floor to keep foam and static down.
• Service limit: 140 F / 60 C. Warranty: 3 year.

The one fitting decision that pays for itself on a short, wide tank is where the draw-off sits, and low is right: a bulkhead near the floor line leaves almost nothing behind, while one placed for the convenience of the pipe fitter leaves a heel across a very large floor area, and on a 142 inch circle a shallow heel is a lot of liquid. Plumb the pump below the fitting, because 102 inches is not much head and a pump above the outlet gives up its prime early, and keep the suction run short. Put a flexible connector between the bulkhead and hard pipe, carry the first valve on a stand off the pad, and fit a low-level float. A vented lid vents the tank rather than the fumes; if the liquid gives any off, run a vent line where they should go and size it for the delivery pump. Latch the lid between fills, read the level from a sender at the ground, and in freezing country protect the valve and the first pipe run instead of the shell.

Rinse water, process water, and light solutions at volume

This is the workhorse of the four: 5,600 gallons of rinse or wash water at a shop, a truck wash or a fleet yard; process water at a manufacturer that would otherwise run a row of totes; a light dosing solution at a small water or wastewater system; a soap, surfactant or mild acid at a food plant; and cooling or make-up water anywhere a low roof rules out a tall tank. A fire reserve is a different job with its own sizing discipline, and the fire-water reservoir design guide is the place to start on that rather than a rule of thumb about gallons. Whatever the liquid is, name it when you order, because the fitting and the gasket are chosen for it and the draw-off on this tank is not drilled at the plant.

Class 400 off the West Virginia lane

Freight on this one is class 400 as the sheet lists it, out of Philippi, West Virginia, and the class reflects what it is: 1,150 pounds occupying a very large cube, light freight for the space it takes. Price the lane to your ZIP in the freight cost estimator, and the listed price is before freight. At 142 inches across it is handled outside the trailer, so clear the turn into the yard and the path to the pad before delivery day, and unload with straps under the body or long forks under the base rather than a hook in the manway. Then water: fill to the manway, hold it a shift, and read the pad edge and the fitting you specified before the product goes in. One habit worth keeping on a wide tank is a chalk line around the base after the first fill, because the line tells you at a glance whether anything has moved since. The vent screen is the cheapest part on the tank and the one that saves it; look at it every time the manway opens.