Building your own water tank

[asianflava]

For a 4"X4' pipe I only get 603 cubic inches. That translates to 2.6gal, that's not accounting for the wall thickness so it will actually hold less.

[fornesto]

Just to chime in with some figures 1 linear inch of 4" ABS pipe holds 0.054 gallons of water, or 7. 3 oz. of water, or 6.9 fl oz, so a 48" length holds 2.6 gallons. I think you might have inputed 4" for Radius, rather than 2".

Now, 6" pipe will give you 0.12 gallons per linear inch, or 5.8 gallons in a 4' section. Much better.

I was thinking of building two 6" tanks, one for waste and one for water and mounting them widthwise 30". That would give me 3.5 gallons each.

[jeffwholmes]

For what it is worth a 6’’ dia. x 48’’ L.

Is 1375 cubic inches witch equals 5.87 gal.

1 gallon of water equals 8.33 lbs.

The weight would be 48.9 lbs.

Hope this helps someone.

[Guy]

Brian, Asianflava is right . You used the diameter 4" for the radius 2". Therfore your calculation was four times greater. The cubic inches for a 4"x 4' pipe is 602.88 cubic inches

[BrianB]

I think you might have inputed 4" for Radius, rather than 2".

Yep, that's what was going on. If I have to use more than my fingers and toes, it probably won't be right.

[kartvines]

Someone asked about installing the water tank above the sink, well in my 65 Scad-A-Bout a 7 gallon water tank was installed above the sink and it was gravity fed. being it was flat it takes up very little space.

Mike

[SteveH]

If you want more water capacity, why don't you put a couple of 90's at one end and double it up....there's plenty of room under the tear to make a couple or even three passes.

[fornesto]

Haven't seen anyone else do it but I love my 5 gal water can mounted on the outside military style. If I see the need I will add one to the otherside.

Do you run a pump out of your jerry cans or just pull them off and pour? I might be into putting a couple cans but with a pump for easy use. One waste, one water...you'd have to balance the two....or one big pump drawing from both tanks equally....

[asianflava]

If you want more water capacity, why don't you put a couple of 90's at one end and double it up....there's plenty of room under the tear to make a couple or even three passes.

I've thought about this too. Unless you tilt the tubes, you will be hard pressed to drain them completely. In the end, I think 6gal should be enough. When we primitive camp, we only use 15 gallons for 7 or 8 guys.

[fornesto]

I would definitely make them removable, thereby limiting their usable length to 30" or less. That way you could drain them and fill them without a hose (one more thing to carry). I found a source for steel water cans if anyone is interested for side mounting like a gas can. They are at http://www.generatorjoe.net and cost $40 for a new 5 gallon tank. For that price you could get a rectangular unit from jc whitney that holds 6 gallons. Either way, I like the idea of a removable tank. I think the ABS tank would be easily undermounted and great for a waste tank since it could be a lot smaller. Plus you could pull the plug as you drive away and contribute to dust control....

[BrianB]

fornesto, Walmart has Ozark Trail water tanks just like those, except they're made specifically for storing potable water. And they're $10.

[Boodro]

Howdy all, has anyone ever tried to build a water tank with high pressure PVC & then pressurize the tank with an air compressor ? I was going to try it when ever I decide to put water in my Tear. As long as you can keep the pressure up you should not have to pump water. Maybe even put a hand air pump or one of those small DC compact compressor permanetly to pump up the pressure if needed ?? Just food for thought.

[Jiminsav]

well..it's my experience that if you use a compressor to pressureize a tank of water..you'll get oily water and water from inside the compressor..eww.
if you used a hand pump, you'll still get a oily taste because the diaphram in the pump is oiled to seal the rubber to the wall..now, if you listened to your momma and didn't smoke most of your life, you could blow into it..

[Guest]

Whup,
Now hold on there Jim, he didn't say what type of air comprssor.
I use an oilless compressor to feed an air helmet that I built for when I carve glass with sandblasters. That little unit would work fine, as far as putting pressure into the tank.
What is unknown to me is the amount of air to put in. I'd think too much air and the damned thing may just start spitting at you. It might work fine, as long as the level of the water is far enough above the outlet of the tank, but I've never tried it, so I don't know. A 12v pump would be my choice.

[SteveH]

Years ago lots of the trailer manufacturers used pressure water systems. I remember my Dad's first airstream had a pressure system with a compressor and an air fitting that you could air up at the gas station.

They were problematic, always leaking, and required an expensive metal tank that consumed a lot of room because of the shape. EVERYONE has gone to the demand system...much better.