best value water tanks?? - Page 4

 


Maybe, maybe not. The OP didn't say exactly what he/she wanted it for
or where he intended to locate it. But he did indicate that he lived in
the mountains.

I do know that after house fires there are usually two structures left
standing: the firebrick chimney, and the gal tank, and no one has
successfully seen out the loss of a house in a firestorm by taking refuge in
their chimney!


The OP never mentioned a yard, or a back yard, AFAIR so I made no assumptions.

When I was buying a tank 4 years ago, for the size we wanted we could get a
prefab concrete tank delivered ready to site on a lowloader with crane for
about the cost of a poly tank half its capacity. The concrete tank likewise
had a long life guarantee, and a guarantee that it would not be cracked
during install. I may be wrong, but I reckon that a cement tank should keep
the water cooler, in scorching summer heat, than does a PVC tank.

But I would agree that todays steel tanks are probably a mere shadow of the
quality of those that were manufactured 50 years ago. Though they must still
offer some advantage or they wouldn't be still being sold.  Fire resistance
or melting point may well be one.

I think it cost around $500 for our pressure pump; quite a robust unit and of
capacity more than required for 98% of the time but the tank was to be used
for house, laundry and 2 garden taps simultaneously at times.
--
John Savage                (my news address is not valid for email)

 



I high tank that gives gravity flow is also limited in volume by the
distance from the roof to the stand.


Mains pressure will be a big expensive pump.  Cheaper ones with less than
mains pressure are OK for the garden.


This is true.  You must make sure your plumbing is good, especially polypipe
joints are not as reliable as metal.  As well as wasting water and soaking
somewhere you don't want soaked a leak or tap left on may burn out the pump
motor if it runs dry.  My garden tank is turned off at the valve and the
motor switched off when not in use for this reason.

David

 


We haven't lost one yet to poly pipe but I know of producers who have had
thier animals die from eating the stuff.  The sodding things just love it
for some reason.  They also like to chew bones too.

 

On Thu, 25 Sep 2008 06:01:02 +0000, John Savage wrote:



Why not just sit it on the ground and buy a taller tank? Pressure is a
factor of the "head" (height of water above the tap), assuming you've
used at least 1/2" pipe and not a long run.


Reliable mains and bushfires do not go together.

 


Best to ask those who sit tanks on stands.  But a tank sitting on the
ground right outside your window can block a lot of view.  If yard space
is at a premium, a water tank on a high stand can still allow you to see
out, and it will not block cooling breeze from that direction. Security
would come into it, too, you may not want a tank to block your line of
sight to the garage, street, neighbours, etc., or to offer cover to some
one trying to break in.  Where the stand already exists, it might have a
garden or storage shed underneath. Some farm tanks have a gravity fed
shower underneath or alongside.

Filling a high tank from a well or an underground cement tank might be
preferred as a fire safety measure, offering a supply of low-pressure
water even should the electricity fail.


Which is why I didn't mention mains.
--
John Savage                (my news address is not valid for email)