How to move a milk tank?

[TF Maple]

Can you jack up directly against the outer shell of the tank? I wasn't sure if the shell would support the weight of the tank.

Personally, I wouldn't jack against the tank side without a board between the jack and tank. Spreads the weight and pressure out a little and the jack won't scratch the tank. Plus it would be a little less likely to slip off.

[davey]

We have always pulled on the pallet/cribbing that we built. This prevents damage to the tank as then it is just a passenger and not being pulled upon directly. Any strapping to the tank should be just to ensure it stays on the framework you built.

[maple flats]

I have jacked with a board under the point of contact and jacked at the very front and rear where the end and bottom meet. It is strongest there. However I just do that to walk a tank into final position or for final leveling. When I am moving a tank I have always used nylon straps around the tank or around each leg to lift. I have never dented a tank. But realize, any minor denting will be cosmetic, the inner tank and outer shell are separated by insulation of some type. If you can lift with straps on the legs, do it, if you must lift from under, just pad it and lift, use a jack or even a plank and folcrum. Just spread the weight some and pick the strongest point to lift. I happen to have some sling loops made of 12,000lb rated nylon and also have 4, 27' ratchet binders that are the same weight straping that work too.

[maple flats]

danno, one other thing. I have jacked my complete evaporator with steel cables and a homemade winch system to pour concrete. I used a 1" pipe over the ceiling joists the full length of the rig with 1/4" cable attached in 3 places. I then put a tee on one end and a 30" pipe in each end of the tee for handles to wind the cable up. I had one of these on each side. To lift I wound one and used a board to hold the handle, then would the other a turn or 2 and held. I repeated this, winding one side then the other until the evaporator, brick and all, was up where I could work under it. Then for safety I nailed a 2x6 from the joist near each cable and nailed a cross support 2x4 from side to side. My joists are 2' on center and the long pipe laid on 5 joists for support, and I used a couple of conduit straps on each pipe to hold it from walking as I wound the cable.
You could lift the same way on the tank to get it into it's final location if needed. This might be a last resort but it will work if other methods don't pan out. It took some pipe and cable but only took a few minutes to install and use.

[afretired]

I had a 500 gallon Mueler gave to me and I went to pick it up this afternoon. It wasn't any big deal. Me and my son-in-law wrestled it around to get it in shape to put on the trailer. I tipped it up and he slipped the ramps in under the front two legs. I then took a come-a-long and drug it onto the trailer. The biggest problem is, it is so slick and smooth, you can't get a grip on it. If it had handles on it, four guys could load it on a trailer without any problem. The agitator had already been removed so that made it a little lighter. Anyway, I've got it home, just waiting on building my sugar shack in a few months.

Also went by a recycling center today on the way home and bought four 55 gallon plastic barrels for $5 each. Two of them had apple cider in them and the other to had soy sauce. Now I just need a tank to go on my truck to run the taps.

Dave

[CTSap4Maple]

I'm moving a storage-only 800 gal. dairy tank a couple hundred miles on a trailer (looks like an older Surge or Sunset). Should the tank be laid on its side on the trailer to avoid stress on the legs during transport?

[n8hutch]

I would think the legs should be fine, surely they have a lot more stress on them when they are filled vs empty on a trailer, o would just strap it down good and tight and haul it, that's how I transported my 600 gallon surge.

[maple flats]

I agree, the legs are designed to hold the tank right side up, they are not as strong in any other position.

[BreezyHill]

The tank came to the farm on its leg. Send it to the new home on its legs.

The covering over the insulation is not a strong as it looks it will wrinkle and bend under the stress of its own weight on a trailer. Even when put into a 8" wide cradle with chaffing material. Been there done that.

Ben

[maple flats]

My first milk tank was a Sunset 415 gal tank. 4 of us lifted it and loaded it on a trailer by hand. I used 2 nylon 2" wide straps, slung the tank and had a 2x6 on each side, going lengthwise along the side of the tank. The 2x6's were about 3-4' longer than the tank so about 1.5-2' stuck out each end. With the straps holding the 2x6's together with the straps slung under the tank we lifted and carried the tank. It had to be carried about 30', from under a shed roof out to where we could get the trailer to. If I was doing it again by hand I'd only change 1 thing. It would have helped if a 3rd strap had gone around the tank a ratcheted tight to better hold the 2 2x6's on edge and tight against the tank.
A 500 might weigh more but not likely 20% more, each has cooling parts in between the inner and outer tanks, while that component would be heavier not likely by 20%, so most of the extra weight would just be the extra SS.
Once I got that tank to my sugarhouse I used the loader bucket on my tractor to lift it up onto my elevated platform for use as a head tank. That tractor can only lift 800# at midpoint in the bucket and I lifted it out front with 2 legs on the edge of the bucket and a inventive way to extend the lift out over the tank by 4' to lift the outer edge. I'd have slung it under the bucket but couldn't lift that high.