In need of water tanks!

[estelizo]

Hello,
I am replacing the water tanks in my MC 1928.
I am looking for top quality heavy-duty water tanks.
Thickness, etc
companies, makers in USA
websites where I can buy them on line?
I am from Costa Rica so I would love to order them in USA and have them ship to Costa Rica.

I found some sites but no idea if the quality is good or not.

I thank you in advance for all your help.
Esteban

 

[F350joe]

Hello,
I am replacing the water tanks in my MC 1928.
I am looking for top quality heavy-duty water tanks.
Thickness, etc
companies, makers in USA
websites where I can buy them on line?
I am from Costa Rica so I would love to order them in USA and have them ship to Costa Rica.

I found some sites but no idea if the quality is good or not.

I thank you in advance for all your help.
Esteban

check out marine tanks, should check all your boxes. Pura Vida. http://www.toddusa.com/water-holding-tanks.aspx

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

Choose rotationally moulded polyethylene tanks that are a minimum of 6mm wall thickness.
If you are handy with sheet metal and welding you could make your own mould to the exact dimensions you require and then have them moulded any thickness you want. They would also be suitable for diesel.
I recently made this 130L one.
They are "bullet proof" tough. No stone protection required.

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

 

[Madoxen]

What about baffles though

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

Why do you need baffles? They are possible by cutting and hot air welding, but mostly baffles are there to stop a surge damaging the tank. This is most unlikely with a decent rotoboulded tank.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

 

[REF]

There are several, I’ve ordered a few tanks directly from Ronco, reasonable prices, often less than what’s listed

https://ronco-plastics.com

Both of these don’t manufacture, but carry a wide selection

Water Tanks For Sale | Plastic Water Tanks | Tank Depot

Our premium water tanks come in all shapes and sizes to serve your water storage needs. Order now to get your water tank shipped directly to you.

www.tank-depot.com

Water Tanks | IBC Totes | Septics Tanks | Storage Tanks | Tank Depot

Tank-Depot offers a wide selection of plastic storage tanks including water tanks, steel tanks, poly tanks, septic tanks, and more! Shop online today.

www.plasticwatertanks.com

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

Another tip....
Choose the tank without consideration of where the fittings are. It is easy to spin weld threaded fittings into any position you choose at a later stage.
I can do up to 1 1/2" threads at home. Many plastic fabricators or the tank maker can do this.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

 

[515]

Hi Peter,

Very interesting mold making post. Could you share the metal thickness you used and who did the rotomolding for you?

Thanks,
Alan

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

Simple moulds are generally made from 2mm cold rolled bright steel. The 2 halves of the mould clamp together via bolts (about 300mm apart) around the edges made from 40 x 40 x 4mm angle iron. The shut off between the 2 halves needs to be pretty good, but not the standard of a machined surface.
The shrink rate of the polyethylene is relatively high at around 2-3%, so the sides of the mould can be square without draft as the part will shrink away from the mould. Makes it fairly simple and alterations can be made later if required.
I get a local sheet metal worker to cut and fold the various bits and the weld and finish the moulds myself.

The mould needs to have some mounting hardware fitted to suit the particular machine it will be moulded in.
My moulder in Adelaide (Oz) made me a couple of prototypes from each mould, but prefers to make about 10 at a time to spread the set up time, but that is just about how well you can negotiate.

Parts can be almost any wall thickness. For off road vehicle tanks, I like about 6-9mm for water and 10-12mm for diesel. Wall thickness will be quite even over the part but a bit thicker in the corners where they get some extra heat. They can also be made in a variety of colours, if that is important.
It is also possible to mould in brass inserts for smaller tapped holes and all sorts of other stuff if required.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

 

[Herbie]

Why do you need baffles?

To damp sloshing. For something like that 130L tank you posted, at 1/2 full that's almost 150lbs of water with plenty of room to move. Even on a big-boy truck, that kind of weight movement can be noticed, especially if you get an oscillation going.

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

Never notice it.
If it is full, it can't move. If it is half full it can move half way. Equivalent to a small person taking one step inside.
If it bothers you, baffles can be inserted, or a better solution is several smaller tanks.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

 

[515]

Hi Peter,

Thanks for the info on the mold making.

Very interesting.

 

[Alloy]

Never notice it.
If it is full, it can't move. If it is half full it can move half way. Equivalent to a small person taking one step inside.
If it bothers you, baffles can be inserted, or a better solution is several smaller tanks.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

+ it depends on the orientation in the vehicle.
+ mfg. fuel tanks don't have baffles.
+ recessed reinforcing ribs/notches in the top/bottom will act as baffles.

Nice work by the way!

 

[Alloy]

tanks that are a minimum of 6mm wall thickness.

I've seen 3mm last for year that sat on the floor and had 17mm plywood sides around it.
A 3mm tank shouldn't be wider than 300mm at the top or the top will stretch/sag.

Once the wall thickness is over 5mm there can be issues with tank gages that use Moda sensors. These are the ones that are stuck/tapped to outside of the tank.

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

Many high volume tanks are blow moulded rather than rotational moulded.
They are typically thinner and cheaper. The moulds cost lots more and the moulding process is much faster.
They also tend to be thinner in the corners and the corners will be more rounded to alleviate that problem.
They will typically look nicer, but are not necessarily better. Spin welding additional fittings can be problematic if the wall thickness is too low and failures are more common.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome