1000 Gallon Propane Tanks stacked storage

[WoodWacker]

Has anyone stacked 1000 gallon tanks for pressurized storage?

CJ

 

[rpmm70]

I sure have. Stacked two 1000 anhydrous ammonia tanks.

 

[WoodWacker]

They are 36" diameter? Are they in the basement? I've got some height restrictions in my garage, so my stratification pipes will have to be super short. I'm worried about thermal expansion over a long run(1000 gal propane tank). The top will be hot, and bottom tank will be cold. I may have to make the stratification pipes come out the bottom end of the top and direct them into the top end of the lower tank.

 

[maple1]

They are 36" diameter? Are they in the basement? I've got some height restrictions in my garage, so my stratification pipes will have to be super short. I'm worried about thermal expansion over a long run(1000 gal propane tank). The top will be hot, and bottom tank will be cold. I may have to make the stratification pipes come out the bottom end of the top and direct them into the top end of the lower tank.

Not exactly sure what you mean, or what stratification pipes are. Stratification is a good thing, and mine flows from the bottom of the top tank into the top of the bottom tank. Then out the bottom. And in the top. Or vice-versa, depending if charging or heating. Works great.

 

[WoodWacker]

My original thoughts were to have large dia. pipes from top tank to bottom tank like stacked 500's. But in order to get two 1000 gal tanks stacked in an 8' room, I'm going to have to make these pipes shorter. ie, more connection pipe bending caused by expansion in the top tank during heat up. I'm leaning towards just one, (or two close together) large pipe(s) fishmouthed to the tanks directly in the center bottom of the top tank and the center top of the bottom tank. Sorry if my terminology was incorrect. I've seen the smaller tank setups, thermal expansion on steel does not seem to have effect on the shorter runs. I'd like to see if anyone has stacked the bigger tanks, and get some idea as far as pipework goes.

 

[huffdawg]

Use the search, many members have tanks stacked horizontally .. Stee is one I can remember off hand

 

[huffdawg]

Stee has a nice thread on his system build

 

[maple1]

I welded fittings on my tanks. They stick out horizontal. The top tank has one right at the bottom, and the bottom tank has one right at the top. I just ran 1 1/4" copper from one to the other. They holes are offset a bit from each other, so the pipe comes out of the top tanks, goes down & over a bit, then in to the bottom tank. I didn't bother trying to come up with some way of solidly connecting them by short vertical pipes - was easier for me to do it that way, I stakced them right outside my basement door then rolled them in. Some pics in my install thread.

 

[huffdawg]

Stee used pallet racks , it looks like another good option also.

 

[WoodWacker]

Stee's system is really nice. I'm still in search for stacked 1000 gal to equal 2000gal rather than stacked 500's.

 

[stee6043]

You guys are too kind. Thanks for the references.

Hey, woodwacker. The connections on your tanks don't have to be "massive" to function properly. My 500's are connected with 1-1/4 pipe. Many of us around here have similar setups. Usually propane tanks will be plumbed with a tap that comes off the top and one that connects through a dip tube to the bottom. You can find plumbing schematics all over this site. I think some have even done the job with a single access tube welded between the two tanks but this is less common and requires a very good welder.

Thermal expansion is not going to affect your pipes. Steel pipe will not substantially (measurably) expand in a system that fits into a normal house with the usual amount of fittings and direction changes. Same goes for copper.

For what its worth you likely will need to come up with a welded solution for your tank stacking. I don't think you're going to find commercially available pallet racking that will properly support a full 1000 gallon tank. I'm pushing the limits with mine and added additional bracing "just in case" even at just 500 gallons. And last, the 8 foot ceiling can be a challenge. Mine was tight when it came time to plumb the top of the top tank. I thought 1000 gallon tanks were a bit bigger so you may be "really" tight on 8 feet...or even beyond the realm of possible.

 

[velvetfoot]

How wide are these 500 and 1000 gallon tanks?
If I would ever to do something like this I'd have to fit it through a 36" door.

 

[BoiledOver]

Here's 2¢.

If you could stand going with 1,500 gallons instead (1-1,000 and 1-500), you would gain 4 inches for head room.

What I did with 2-500 stubbies (which are 41" diameter), was to mate them with 3 sections of 14" tubes cut from a 100 pound propane tank. With more headroom than you are dealing with, I cut them to fit with 5" between to allow access for welding. The only piping is out the top of the top tank and at existing bunges of the lower. The two tanks and mating pieces are essentially one tank with aproximately 1,011 gallons. This setup with the piping out the top is 8'-3". You could weld your pipe stubs horizontaly and keep the height lower to fit an eight foot ceiling.

2-1,000's would even fit an 8' ceiling if you get creative. Or, cut out your slab and go deeper.

 

[WoodWacker]

Good info stee..

As for the opening. I plan on building a new home this summer, so I'd hopefully have my tanks done by then. Set em in there after the foundation is cured. If they go in my garage, well then, they'd go through the garage door.

 

[stee6043]

How wide are these 500 and 1000 gallon tanks?
If I would ever to do something like this I'd have to fit it through a 36" door.

Ha. I had a similar restriction. Got my tanks around back and found that mine were 37" and not the generally accepted 36" for 500 g tanks. Removing a "non removable" slider was just another great experience from my install.

 

[velvetfoot]

Thanks. All I'd have is 36".

 

[NE WOOD BURNER]

tank dimensions:
420-lb. Upright 30" x 54"
120-Gallon24" x 68"
150-Gallon24" x 78"
250-Gallon30" x 78"
500-Gallon36" x 120"
500-Gallon30" x 156"
500-Gallon41" X 104"
1000-Gallon41" x 192"

 

[NE WOOD BURNER]

two 1000 gallon tanks full are close to 20,000 lbs since you are building I would think about footings and slab thickness and reinforcement under your tanks.

 

[BoilerMan]

If building new, why not make a 6" lower part of your slab so you don't have the tight welding? It will all get boxed in and filled with insulation. Call it a tank drop.

TS

 

[BoilerMan]

Oh and I'd want at least a foot of insulation above and below the tanks. Blue board or polyiso.

TS

 

[NE WOOD BURNER]

IMHO if you step the floor as boilerman suggests you can go vertical with 500 gallon tanks if you went deeper.

 

[WoodWacker]

Once my plans are done, I'll do an official heat loss calc. I want to size my storage to heat my two living floors and maintain my garage temp at 50-60 for whole day on a cold winters day. 2k gal is probably more than effective, however, everyone I've talked to wishes they have a bit more storage.

At least foot of insulation on the bottom of the tanks? Overkill or no?

 

[maple1]

I don't have much under mine - just a couple of layers of 1-1/2" stuffed underneath. I could likely benefit from more, no doubt, but I got up to 4 days between burnings doing my DHW this past off-season with my 660 gallons. I hope to improve on that with some plumbing changes.

 

[henfruit]

I know of two people that 1000 gallons stacked. It works well for them. You would need a minimum of a 80 kw boiler.

 

[huffdawg]

Once my plans are done, I'll do an official heat loss calc. I want to size my storage to heat my two living floors and maintain my garage temp at 50-60 for whole day on a cold winters day. 2k gal is probably more than effective, however, everyone I've talked to wishes they have a bit more storage.

At least foot of insulation on the bottom of the tanks? Overkill or no?

'
Spray your tanks with 4 to 6" of closed cell foam first then cover with a foot or so of cellulose or fibreglass.