Industrial Bulk Container Cleaning

[Fitz]

I've just been searching the archives for veg patch irrigation water storage solutions and found the following in a message a while back:

------------------------------------------- Yes - try an IBC (Industrial Bulk Container) these are 1000l / 220gal, just a 1m plastic cube in a galvanised frame on a pallet base. i.e.

great thing about these is they don't need a special base, are strong and can be stacked.

They often go for ~=A320, but do vary depending on cleanliness and previous contents. Farmers get liquid feeds and fertilizers in them, and they are often found at agricultural auctions.

---------------------------------------------

If I managed to get hold of one or more of these how easy would it be to clean them out? And the obvious answer is 'it depends on what was in them', so what I'm really after is some indication of substances stored in a former life which should be avoided at all costs and substances which can be cleaned up at home without too much bother.

e=2Eg. liquid feed - a quick squirt with a hose and some detergent will be ok. nasty pesticide - you'll never get it clean enough in a million years so don't touch it...

A bit open ended I know but there's so many people on here who love an opportunity to show off the bizzarre and eclectic knowledge gained over a lifetime that I'm sure someone can help!

:-)

I'm also guessing that I'll be wanting to borrow my neighbours trailer rather than stick it on the roofbars.

--=20 Steve F

[Andy Dingley]

Dead easy. They're pretty light when empty, easy enough to turn face-down for access and the lid is big enough to get a good dig in there with a pressure washer or stiff broom, although not to actually climb in yourself.

Generally the inner scunge layer is just a film of algae that grew in there after storage. They're rarely used for anything noxious.

[The Medway Handyman]

Actually the 'dilution effect' means you can clean even nasty deposits without to much trouble. Imagine a nasty residue of maybe a litre. 1000 -

1 dilution. Fill & empty the stillage. Now it's a 10,000 - 1 dilution, fill & empty again it's 100,000 - 1 etc. You get the idea.

[Chris Bacon]

The Medway Handyman wrote

[Ian Stirling]

Yes - it works. With caveats. Assuming that the old and new liquid mixes evenly, and there are no trapped volumes in the tank being one.

[The Medway Handyman]

Really. The figures are only an example, but this is commonly used in industry, rinse three times and any residue is so diluted it doesn't matter for practical purposes.

[Brian Sharrock]

Cue: homeopaths ... :)

[Chris Bacon]

1L of nasty stuff with 1,000L (for ease) of water. That's 1ml of nasty in 1L left after draining. Dilute with another 1,000L. What's the result? I was ipssed last night, now I'm hung over, but I can't see it's 10,000:1. Is it?

[Ian Stirling]

No, million to one. Anyway, the same problem arises. If there is 100ml of stuff dried onto the top of the tank, and only 10ml dissolves out into the first 1000l, then you've still got most of the chemical still there.

[Chris Bacon]

Thanks, that's what I thought.

[The Medway Handyman]

No. I was ipssed last night as well. The figures were just so people got the rough gist of things.

[Matt]

The same proceedure is used at Sellafield where it's worked without fail for 50 years :-)

[Fitz]

I like the fact that their own visitors center informs you that the Irish sea around Sellafiled is the most radioactive in the world. Quite where the boundary is I'm not sure.

Thanks for all the replies by the way. I didn't realise they had conking big openings you could fit a broom through. Should help fitting taps and nozzles and other good stuff.

I'm planning to clad it in black polythene then a timber 'coat' to make it a little more aesthetically pleasing.

Also I'm planning to raise it up off the floor to give a small head for watering the veggies. I'm no structural engineer but I'm thinking that a supporting frame made of 4"x4" fence posts will be enough to support it when full. Does that sound right? a vertical loading of 250kg per corner post? I suppose the main thing is to ensure it has lateral stability so it doesn't topple or lean.