S.S. tanks

[doitright]

We have talked about being prepared in case of what ever. Well I have been having trouble with the ability of storing water. I have thought that a inline holding tank would be the way to go. As to storing water here there changing out the water to keep it fresh. That just seamed like a waste of water and time.
Well I have found 3 - 55 gal. S.S. tanks and will be putting them in line with my city water for holding tanks. I would like to know if SS tanks are good to hold water without any problems. Also how best to clean them as they were used to hold grape juice.

[DezPrado]

The wine industry uses a citric acid mix to sterilise their stainless steel tanks, in addition to using a caustic soda mix to initially wash them out. Household bleach is a good steriliser too and a few drops per gallon added to your water storage also keeps water drinkable for months. You should be able work something out along these lines admirably.
As an aside, are your tanks squared/rectangular or round/barrel shaped?

[Shadow Catcher]

Stainless steel is certainly useful as a holding tanks and in the past I have encountered it in industrial settings. Sanitizing I have only observed using steam but suspect that chlorine used properly and used with UV might be the ticket. Chlorine however in the wrong proportion and form will attack SS http://www.bssa.org.uk/topics.php?article=38
My personal take on this is to use filters that will take out everything and make what ever water is available potable.

[jdaan]

Ditto on the caustic wash followed by an acid rinse. Another great product, also used in the wine industry and is replacing caustic (at least here in Oregon) is sodium percarbonate, also known as Proxycarb. It's typically the active ingredient in color safe bleach. It should get the color out and clean them out pretty well with good contact time. It's alkaline and should be followed with a citric solution. It looks like you can buy a small amount online here:

http://www.thebeveragepeople.com/product737.html

I think stainless would be great for storing water, and I like the idea of having them in-line with your house plumbing.

Justin

[mvperini]

Justin how is the teardrop build coming along?


Mike and Zel from lafayette,or.

[dh]

Do you plan to burry them? If you drain them underground they may collaps, or if it rains empty tanks can litterally float out of the ground. I worked for Snider Industries, the worlds largest roto-molder of tanks, including septic tanks. As QA manager at thier AR plant (the main septic plant) I saw about every failure you could imagine. We made a "water closit" which held 300 gal, and was placed in a closit in the upper story of the house and gravity fed the lower fixtures.

[eamarquardt]

We have talked about being prepared in case of what ever. Well I have been having trouble with the ability of storing water. I have thought that a inline holding tank would be the way to go. As to storing water here there changing out the water to keep it fresh. That just seamed like a waste of water and time.
Well I have found 3 - 55 gal. S.S. tanks and will be putting them in line with my city water for holding tanks. I would like to know if SS tanks are good to hold water without any problems. Also how best to clean them as they were used to hold grape juice.

You seem to be saying that you are planning to plumb them in series in line with your city water supply. This will allow you to store water and the constant flow through the tanks will keep em from becoming stale. Unless the tanks were designed to take city water pressure they might burst under pressure. I'd see how much pressure they're designed to take before installing them. Should one burst while your property is unattended you're gonna have one heck of a water bill and (depending on where you install them) perhaps a lot of water damage. A good idea but you've gotta sort out the details first.

Both my neighbors have swimming pools. Probably not good for you to live on for an extended period but I think it will do in a pinch.

Cheers,

Gus

[Jiminsav]

Stainless steel is very good for storing water, as long as you get the tanks clean as new..but, even stored water goes bad after awhile, so yeah, you might wanna flush and sterilize them once a season or so..

[48Rob]

Instead of installing them inline, which may not be safe for you or anyone else on the system that contaminants from your tanks may back feed to...

Consider simply installing a fill line with valve and backflow preventer, along with a 2 or 3 inch waste drain (also with backflow preventer) so that every six months, 1 year, or whatever interval you choose you can dump the contents, resterilize the tanks, and refill with minimal effort.
You will also need a dedicated vent line (system if tanks are interconnected) so that air will replace the water drawn to prevent collapsing the tanks.

In a city water system, you don't need vents, as water replaces water drawn...
If you choose to design the system so you can dump the tanks for sanitizing quickly, you'll need more than a 1/2" vent line.

A 2" drain for example, can only allow a volume of water equal to the diameter of its vent line to escape.
In other words, the drain and vent should be similarly sized for fast evacuation of the tanks.
55 gallons of water draining out of a 1/2" hose may be fine for drawing a glass of water to drink, but will take some time to empty the tank.

Isolating the tanks (your emergency water supply) from the public water supply may be quite important if the public supply becomes unsafe.
If constantly "inline" you would have to know ahead of time when the public water will go bad so you can keep the water in your tanks from becoming tainted.

Locating the tanks higher up than point of use in an area that allows gravity feed is wise, unless you have a way to pump it out.

If you have all three tanks close together, the weight of the water, tanks, and plumbing will approach a ton.
Placement in an area that can support such weight should be a consideration.
A base pan to handle any leaks in the tanks, which should drain to a point outside your home may be wise, as well as ensuring that your supply containers won't freeze and burst if your heat source fails.

...Just a few things to consider, but get it all solved, and you'll be in the top 5% of people who are actually prepared.

Rob

[GuitarPhotog]

If you have all three tanks close together, the weight of the water, tanks, and plumbing will approach a ton.

Hmm, I don't know what you use for water, but 55 gallons of water weighs 440 pounds (8lb / gal) X 3 = 1320 pounds, only about 2/3 of a ton.

Still enough weight to worry about, but far from a ton.

<Chas>

[Jiminsav]

lets not nit-pick about weight..

[eamarquardt]

lets not nit-pick about weight..

2/3 of a ton, in the context of this discussion is "approaching" a ton.

Fortunately Suzy has been on a perpetual diet from virtually the day we met (38 years ago). She says I'm lucky as otherwise she'd weigh 500#s which, in the context of her statement, is approaching a ton!

Cheers,

Gus

[48Rob]

Hi Charles,

Water at 8.34 pounds per gallon times 3-55 gallon containers =1376.1 pounds.

Then add the weight of three 55 gallon stainless steel containers (actual weight unknown) at around an estimated 120 pounds each = 360 pounds, added to the 1376=1736 pounds.
Then add some 3/4 to 1" plywood to spread the weight of the full tanks over a wider area, a drip pan and associated drain and pipe, plus the freshwater plumbing, valve, and backflow preventer, plus the vent line(s) and the drain lines, at roughly 100 pounds, and you get 1836 pounds.

I don't know how much the OP weighs when he's standing next to the tanks, but lets say an average 150 pounds.
Now were at 1986 pounds.
I'm not trying to be nit picky... but that is honestly approaching a ton

Rob

[GuitarPhotog]

I don't know how much the OP weighs when he's standing next to the tanks, but lets say an average 150 pounds.
Now were at 1986 pounds.
I'm not trying to be nit picky... Wink but that is honestly approaching a ton

OK point conceded

<Chas>

[eamarquardt]

I love a good bun fight, bicker, quibble, or nit pick! I'm still not clear as to the pressure that these drums are expected to withstand and if they'll take said pressure.

Cheers,

Gus