Anyone tried a concrete tank??

[Der Fuirmeister]

Has anyone tried a concrete tank for storage?? They are used in both water and wastewater treatment plants all the time. Many of these outdoors exposed to harsh environments, but have been around for decades. You would need a seal at the joint between the walls and floor usually done with a rubber made for this. The walls would be sealed with a liquid sealer.

Potential advantages.....

Run PEX in tank bottom or walls vs. copper.

Longevity of tank.

Don't need to worry about poking a hole in it.

Insulate around the tank and you have added mass.

Long term cost might be lower (haven't put pencil to paper yet)

No need to worry about


Potential disadvantages....

Removal if required is more difficult.

Initial cost might be higher (haven't put pencil to paper yet)

 

[Fred61]

Back in the 50s when I was pumping gas, a motel was going up next door. A huge steel hot water tank was delivered and the next day a crew arrived, set the tank in place and proceeded to crawl through a small hatch and trowel a cementous material on the inside. Now these guys were skinny. They also couldn't have been claustrophobic. You would have never gotten me in that little hole. Anyway, this material must have been waterproof. It would not have protected the steel tank nor would it have insulated if it absorbed water.

 

[pybyr]

I know of at least 2 people in VT who had 1000 gallon concrete septic tanks put in their cellars as foundation work was being done on their old houses- for specific use as heat storage for a gasifier.

Last I knew, they each, at least as to the tank, were happy with how it worked out, although in at least one case, the guy was frustrated about how often he had to scrub the fire tubes on his Tarm- but that wasn't the tank's fault.

 

[pybyr]

one other thought- poured in place.

especially with ICFs- although you'd need some insulation between the tank's inner edges and the ICFs, as the styrene is not up to 180-200F sustained.

 

[captaintone]

Removal would be a sinch. Jack hammer and wheel barrel.

 

[TessiersFarm]

I do not have a basement and I was considering a 1000 gallon septic tank with 6" or so of ridgid insulation buried behind the garage. My other thought was a full foundation under the greenhouse, sealed for water storage. This would be in the neigborhood of 5000 gallons. at a 30 degree draw down thats 1.2 million BTU's if I do my math right. Thats enough heat so I could go a couple of days without firing the boiler if I had to. I am in the construction field and we pour a lot of concrete so I know its possible. We just poured a 45,000 gallon tank for wash water at a dairy farm.

 

[leaddog]

doable I think but concrete people I know say if it hasn't cracked it's going to. You have a lot of thermal stress going on and a crack leaks. Septic tanks don't use hot water.
leaddog

 

[timberr]

I have a friend who constructed a 1000 gal. concrete tank in his basement. He lined the inside with 2" of foam and then lined it with fiberglass. It has been at least 5 years now and he has had no problems.