Stainless steel transport tank

[mountain man maple]

Has anyone built a stainless transport tank? I'm planning to build a 700 gallon half round tank with a flat top on it. I think 20 gauge sheets for sides and top and 18 gauge for the ends. It will have a steel frame to support sides and ends. Will this configuration be strong enough?

[Bucket Head]

Probably not. 700 gallons of sap has a lot of weight to it, and its only amplified when its moving. I would'nt want "supports", legs, braces, etc. that could fail when sloshing back and forth, or when the guy on the cell phone pulls out in front of you and you have to do a "panic stop".

Why not fabricate a tank that would mimic the plastic ones that are available? There are no legs or framing to collapse- they set directly on the vehicle's bed. Some baffles would help it structuraly and keep the sap from moving around. Fire truck tankers, fuel truck and milk trucks don't have any external frame work. The vessel itself provides its own support being round.

What are you going to haul it with? A stainless tank will have a fair amount of weight to it empty. Is your truck or truck/trailer combo up to the task?

Steve

[mountain man maple]

I am good with 660 gallons have been using 2 330 cage tanks for the last 5 years. I am sick of the cleaning problems with the cage tanks. Also they never totally pump out. With a frame on a tank I could raise tank 6" off floor of trailer and put drain jn the bottom of tank. I thought about baffles but think I will not use them because cleaning would be a pain still then. Sloshing can be a issue but I usually haul a full tank and don't set speed records while hauling sap. I figure weight of tank and frame will come in between 300-500 pounds depending on design that puts total load at 6000 pounds.

[Mel]

We use 750 gallon horizontal round poly tanks. With the part of the outlet, that is inside of the tank, elbowed down - and parking on a slight uphill grade when unloading (or raising the dump up a bit if you've got a dump body), you can get almost all of the sap pumped out. We also built a bit of a frame around the middle of the tank, out of 4x4's. If you drive on anything rough, the tank will flex and over time can develop a split in the middle - been there with that one. I think it is actually recommended to use a frame/support with them. A cylinder is the strongest configuration, geometrically speaking, but a lot of it will come down to your situation, like what you haul with/on, and for how far over how rough a road. We have one on a F550 4x4, don't think I'd want a bigger one on it for our hauls. I would think that a flat top tank would develop quite a bit of up-lift against the top, from the sloshing.

[BreezyHill]

Spot on Mel!
I was a dealer for poly tanks when our mill sold trailer loads of liquid feed a week.

On our delivery truck we have a 325 leg tank. Same design as the 750 leg, horizontal round with three side legs for support. The recommended frame under them was a C channel steel structure that was under each leg and a band strap to secure it to the frame. I used 6" channel to build the frame and two straps. This tank has not failed and it is around 20 yrs in service.

There was a set way to tighten the metal straps to not void the warranty. I think it was tighten to a set lbs/in of torque and then fill with water and recheck. but best to check with your tanks manufacture.

I had one tank fail on a truck and it was a nasty mess. Paid for several car washes for people that got molasses on their cars. Luckily it was not far from the mill and I was able to get back and off load the tank quickly. It was a part load and a tourist stopped fast in the road to take a pic of leaves. I hit the brakes and swerved to avoid the car and then the opening door and a tank strap failed and the tank slide into the truck body. Small crack in the bottom. That was a 550 leg in a custom aluminum body. 24" doors on the back were not liquid tight and molasses would ooze out.

Personally I would look at a poly tank rather than a flat top. The power that sloshing sap will have will compromise a flat top pretty quickly. The round bottom will concentrate the force at the top where a full round contains the force within the tank as does the convex end design helps to direct the energy to counter act itself.

Figure your time and materials and check out used tanks.

If sanitation is a concern just use hydrogen peroxide as a cleaner. It will make a dirty tank look like new again. I used one that we water livestock with in the summer to haul the peroxide solution in the spring and it looks like it is new after the first load. 1/4 full and and a trip around the block with a few hard turns and stops and you will get every corner scrubed down very well. My block is 5 miles... with lots of turns and hills. It is a good way to learn what a part load will feel like for a new tank driver.

[mountain man maple]

I can build a tank that's round. Just not sure what gauge material to use. I really want a tank that fully drains. I don't have time to clean my hauling tank every day. As far as price goes I'm pretty sure I can build stainless tank for about the same price as a poly tank. That's not figuring my time in that's just with materials.

[PerryFamily]

I would love a stainless transport tank. Easy cleaning and fully draining. I think you would definitely need the top to be pretty rugged . I think I can be done for sure. I'm guessing with good support structure you could go fairly thin on the stainless.
I run a 1100 vertical poly on a f550 with a dumping flat body. Handles it with absolutly no issues. When half full, sure it sloshes the truck some but you have to drive with your head. You can haul a lot more than people think if you use your head.

[BreezyHill]

I will get you a pic of mine and mic the material in the am for ya.

ben

[dlclark_76]

I had a 3200 gal custom stainless tank made out of 11 gauge (1/8"). It has an sloped bottom for draining completely, also has four baffles and a 24" x 24" opening on top for each baffled section. Cleans very easily! It also is on a skid frame so I can winch on and off my truck. It was built by Gehman Ornamental Iron in Knoxville PA, sure they would be happy to give you a quote.