1000 litre IBC tanks

[mark2]

Has anyone had much to do with the 1000 litre IBC chemical tanks? (the palletised type in the galvanised cages)

I've bought one for use as a water tank for a fire fighting unit (will be mounting it on the back of a rusty HJ45) and was particularly interested in how UV stable the plastic is, ie do they stand up to long term outdoor storage or do I need to find shed space for it?

Also are there adaptors available to convert the thread on the outlet to BSP or camlock etc?

[Gillie]

We have had two since 2002. They are stored outside the shed in direct sun and we have had no problems with them. One is blue and the other is grey. You can get any fitting you desire. We have Camlocks on ours. Hope this helps.

[Hymie]

I got thread adapters for mine from a Grain store.

[Fluids]

As far as UV stability goes ... it's plastic. The longer you can keep the plastic out of the sun the better. They are not poly water tanks (which should last 50yrs in direct sunlight).

Commonly refered to (here in NSW) as chemical shuttle tanks ... silly bloody non-standard thread & (on some) stupid valve .... we sell the adapter here at work. We carry the "stupid thread" x 2" FI BSP adapter ... but there's also 2" MI BSP, 2" Camlock, and one other variation that eludes me atm.

Cheap way of getting a 1000L tank. Don't trust the inbuilt valve (if it has one). Add a real 2" gate/ball valve after the adapter and only use the (if) fitted valve when you really have to.

Most pump & irrigation stores should be able to supply the required adapter.

Kev..

[mark2]

To keep the whole setup simple, I'm also thinking of just dropping the suction hose in the top of the tank when drawing from the tank, rather than using the outlet at the bottom of the tank which saves having to swap between the tank fitting and the suction hose when drawing from a dam etc. It would then just be a matter of pulling the suction hose out of the tank and dropping into the dam etc for filling the tank or pumping from another source. I realise it wouldnt prime as fast, but the pump is self priming in any case.

The plan is to use use a 1" pump outlet (with a ball valve) for the delivery hose and a second 1.5" pump outlet (also with with a ball valve) for filling the tank via poly pipe, also through the top.

Any comments, feedback on this setup would be welcome.

[Fluids]

Connect the tank outlet to a ball valve, which is then connected to a BSP "T" peice with a poly nipple. Off the branch off the "T" peice, connect another ball valve with a nipple and on the other side of that valve put a male camlock fitting. Now connect the remaining "T" outlet to the pump inlet.

Connect your suction hose by way of a female camlock to the branch line off the "T" peice and swap valve positions when you want to pump out of the dam.

Yes, a 1" fire hose is ideal, and larger hose for filling, pump connection & loose suction line (1.5" or 2"). The bigger the suction pipe the faster the water transfer when filling.

Kev..

[Bigbjorn]

We carry the "stupid thread" x 2" FI BSP adapter ... but there's also 2" MI BSP, 2" Camlock, and one other variation that eludes me atm.

OK, Fluids, what the hell are FI BSP and MI BSP? I make most of my living out of taps and dies and I have never heard of these. I stock BSPP and BSPT tools ( ISO R and ISO C as they are sometimes called).

Can you put a name to the "stupid thread". It might not be as uncommon or stupid in other industries and applications.

[Anders D]

.........was particularly interested in how UV stable the plastic is, ie do they stand up to long term outdoor storage or do I need to find shed space for it?

Yes they would last for a long time. Some of them should be marked with date of expire but I have seen many of them last for 8-10 years past expire date.

[flagg]

The plan is to use use a 1" pump outlet (with a ball valve) for the delivery hose

If its for fire fighting (ie not damping down or moping up) be aware of how quickly you will empty it. 1000lts will go through a 1" pipe much faster than you might expect...

[clubagreenie]

Might be refering to BSPP vs BSPT? Also never heard of MI/FI and I've been hydraulics for over 10 years.

Anyone wants decent ballvalves (stainless or brass) or other fittings for these I can help out, dozens. Even ship free since I can.

And for what it's worth the only stupid thread as far as I'm concerned NPT is the worst. Try adapting it to anything else.