Using a reconditioned IBC as a water tank

[Jim K..]

"Andrew Mawson" <andrew@please_remove_me.mawson.org.uk> Wrote in message:

The plastic presumably?

[Jim K..]

Looking at the link the op posted would indicate rot will not be an issue.

I have one. 6ft tall. Pain to transport; no tap; need a base to stand on, not sure re UV exposure long term.

[Jim K..]

Measured in decades before "failure" and some are galvanised.

Show us then ?

[Jim K..]

Get the black one for another tenner, cuts down on mould growth. Buy a tap to fit from the same supplier. Leave it in the cage.

[Jeff Layman]

Anyone got experience of using these? For example:

I'm thinking of getting one or two of these for storing rainwater for the garden. One problem is access - they'd have to be lifted over a fence. I'm also wondering if the plastic container could be removed and used on its own, rather than in the metal frame (if I got two, they'd be used side-by-side, not one stacked on top of the other, which I guess is what the metal frame is needed for).

[Andy Burns]

How UV stable are they long-term?

[tabbypurr]

no, the metal is there for a reason, to support the flimsy plastic.

NT

[Marland]

I have one on the allotment catching water from the shed. Two reasonably healthy people can manoeuvre one as they are not really that heavy, How high a fence ? 4ft would be more problem, 6ft might require some thought.

You have to be prepared that as they are transparent you will get green algae growth on the internal surfaces which may worry some. You could always wrap one in black plastic sheeting ,I don?t think the type of plastic would retain paint for long though bitumen may stick.

Don?t think they will last long without the frame , why do you want to remove it ? It doesn?t weigh much and makes it easy to hold on to.

You seem to have found a reasonable supplier for a reasonable cost, some are available much cheaper because the tank was used to transport something like resin for GRP production and will never be really clean That catches some out who think they got a bargain.

Something to look out for if you intend attaching an adapter to the outlet for something like a BIB tap is that there are two common threads in use a coarse one and a finer one. If you go down that road make sure which thread you are getting, your supplier appears to mention what type it is but others just supply at random.

GH

[Broadback]

I have one or very similar, fro several years, it is fine. It was a bit of of a struggle getting it over a 6ft fence, but ,now it is there it is fine. Of course I would net expect to be able to stack it without the frame, though one full of water it would be OK I would think.

[Broadback]

+1

[Roger Mills]

It's not *that* heavy - 57Kg, or just over a hundredweight in old money.

2 or 3 strong people should be able to lift that over a fence.

As others have said, the cage is almost certainly needed to stop it bulging when full - not just for stacking.

[newshound]

• another one.

I was given a couple of translucent ones which I use to collect water off a roof for equines. You can keep the algae down to a reasonable level using the tablets sold for non-plumbed-in garden swimming pools, you put one or two in a "float" which doses them for a couple of weeks. The final breakdown product is salt (and you give horses salt licks anyway, so there is no toxicity problem in this case).

But the black (and I think blue?) ones are much rarer and presumably fetch a premium.

I have actually cut a large removable panel in the top of mine for cleaning (in dry spells they get filled from a spring which caries a lot of silt) and removed some of the upper cage structure so that the container can just be lifted out. Then I tip it on its side and clean it with a pressure washer (but much less frequently since using the sterilising tablets).

You definitely need to keep the frame, if it's ever going to be a quarter full.

[tabbypurr]

Can they be painted with gloss topcoat?

NT

[Brian Gaff]

Are you sure? Water is very heavy! Brian

[harry]

The frame is vital, the tank is thin and with flat walls. (Square tanks take up less room than cylinders)

The frame will rust outdoors Better to get a cylindrical one. No frame needed. Probably cheaper too.

[Tim Lamb]

In message [e-mail]>, Jim K.. [e-mail] writes

IBC containers of my experience had wooden supporting pallets built into the frame. Convenience for handling as they are intended for multi-trip use. These rot readily on contact with garden soil. Current construction may have moved to plastic.

Large cylindrical plastic barrels used for shipping Orange juice etc. may be available.

>

[Jeff Layman]

Thanks for all the comments. Much food for thought.

It's also worth reading the delivery "small print". For example, the delivery info for the IBC in my OP states "This IBC is available on 2-3 working day pallet delivery service. This is a kerbside delivery using a tail lift vehicle and pallet truck, therefore no unloading equipment is required at the delivery address".

But if you look at another type of container such as this:

the delivery is free (or is it included in an inflated price?!), but it adds "It is the customer?s responsibility to safely unload the tank from the delivery vehicle. Unless agreed prior to delivery, the standard delivery vehicles do not have the facilities to unload your tank". Now that tank isn't particularly heavy at 35Kg, but I'll bet it is awkward to handle as it is smooth and round. And if it comes a metre off the ground on the back of a delivery lorry, would need two or three people to handle it and get it down to the ground. It is also MDPE, so is not as resilient as HDPE.

[Marland]

Ours has the base made from galvanised metal as part of the frame .

GH

[Andrew Mawson]

Beware of UV degradation. Mine went all crumbly on me after about three years :(

Andrew

[Peter]

Are you near to any Dairy Farms? At this time of the year, silage making time, Dairy Farmers use silage acids to aid fermentation in the silage crop. This acid comes in large 60 gallon plastic barrells that are ideal for storage of water once washed out. I used to have three of them. Wash them out, fit them with taps and away you go. Usually free as farmers are pleased to get rid of them. Petefj