one last comment for the evening now that I have put out some more photos to get fellow gear & metal-heads droolin'
I am not one to personally believe in any literal form of divine intervention- I think it'd be presumptuous for me to think that any higher power is focusing only on, or pulling strings for, me--
--but I do have to remark in gratitude at my incredible combination of seemingly too good to be true good fortune in how this thing managed to arrive.
First, the company that fabricated it for me, did so on a really and SUPER helpful and exceptionally decent basis, 'cause even though this was outside their norms (they usually do far larger projects), they seemed to think it was a worthwhile and interesting project.
then, after it was fully fabricated, they realized that it'd be prohibitively costly to ship something this heavy (about 1200 pounds on a 4 x 10 foot pallet) via normal means, halfway across the continent.
so that company helped me find a solution that made it, well, not cheap, but very fair and feasible
but then, to make that shipping option fly, it had to go to a commercial address, which isn't me, because I dwell in a glorified cubicle by day to pay the bills, and I do this other stuff by night and weekend to keep my sanity and indulge my secret desire to be a mad scientist &/or bad guy for a good cause-
So then, my friendly neighbor up the road, Steve the furniture builder-
www.asleepinthewoods.com stops by on his bicycle because he hears that I am installing a gasifier + storage, and he might want to do that too. And, long story a bit shorter, Steve offers to receive the shipment at his business.
Steve then trucks it down here on his 25 year old Dodge flatbed, but then we realize that since I lack a proper chain fall, it was going to be dicey to unload it all by hoisting the pallet using my commercial-grade come-along, at least without some risk of something letting go and landing on me. Anxiety and disappointment are rising for me.
And then my friend's 22 year old son and his friend stop by, out of the blue, to see how things are going on some apple cider wine that I'd been making for them with some cider made with his parents' antique cider press, from a bunch of apples from their old farm and my old farm. We back the flatbed up to my cellar hatch. these two big strong young guys, lacking my back trouble, make quick work of taking the tank, panel by panel, into my cellar- without breaking a sweat. I decant the 5 gallon jug of wine, which turned out nice, even though I've been paying little attention to it due to "boiler distraction" and the darn day job. They go on their way, happy as heck, with a big jug of wine, to go press this years apples...
Now that the tank pieces are down there in my cellar, it won't be hard to get to bolting them together, starting soon. The air wrench will be valued helper in spinning all those nuts!
And this thing-actually- won't end up costing me significantly more than an STSS liner-type one of the same gallonage, although that's partly also because, being the artful scrounger that I am, I already have a barn attic full of used-but clean 4 inch polyiso board to do the insulating around this stainless monster. And unlike any of the liner-type tanks where you're gambling above 170F, the Buna-N and Sikkens sealer at the seams can take 200+ continuous and temporary spikes of 240+, so I can "put the wood to it" as locals here say, and not wonder if I'll wake up to a blown liner.
Call it what you want, in terms of how all that came together, I'm sure counting my blessings
But we need to see pics of assembled. Also, i'm quite dense, as one knows if they know me. I looked at this post from the beginning. Knew it wasn't here in the last couple of days. Seen the pics(ones with young fellas in t-shirts) unloading panels. than in a few posts you and the damn thing together
