Large poly water storage tank question-

[elisagrace]

For thin person it may not be difficult to enter it and clean it but for person who is good built, this would be narrow to enter. In such case, while cleaning the tank only two options are available. Firstly either to take the services of the person who is thin built or to make the front of the tank somewhat broader, so that you can also enter it and clean it.

 

[CurlyDave]

I would not go in a tank without providing some kind of positive ventilation.

People have been known to die in that kind of situation.

 

[Wagtail]

I would not go in a tank without providing some kind of positive ventilation.

People have been known to die in that kind of situation.

THIS x infinity! Sorry to be so bold but it's a safety situation that's been hammered into me via my years in the Navy... you do NOT enter any enclosed space such as a poly tank (yes, even ventilated) without positively ventilating it and then gas-testing it. And that includes O2 levels.

Your local fire brigade will have gas-testing equipment & will be more than happy to come out.

Use a leaf blower to blow outside air into it as a quick method; wear a close fitting filter mask + goggles whilst doing it too.

PLEASE.

 

[rox]

I would not go in a tank without providing some kind of positive ventilation.

People have been known to die in that kind of situation.

You are right Dave. 2 people, I think it was in Greece just died cleaning out the big stainless steel storage tanks. Our oil storage vats can go up to 10,000 and 25,000 liters, over 20 ft tall. The employee was down inside the tank cleaning, got in trouble with no air, the owner jumped in to save him, he got in trouble, so two sons went in to save their father, finally a 5th person got the sons out but the employee and the father died.

When you go inside to clean and you breath in and consume all the oxygen, new oxygen will not enter the tank unless you have an outlet open on the bottom of the tank which provides air circulation.

We use 500 Liter Vats, and to clean them lay them on their side, we using boiling water and a brand new mop head and an extremely effective food grade solvent that literally melts the oil, what a great solvent that is, very pricey but works great.

You are right about that Dave, you need to be very careful about cleaning inside containers with a restricted opening and no opening on the bottom. It can literally kill you.

 

[TnAndy]

I just received a 5000 gallon poly tank this weekend. An average size guy could get through the hole IF the ladder was IN the tank and leaning against the inside wall.

IN the tank is the ticket exactly.

I use two 1500 gallon tanks for our mountain property, plumbed together for 3,000 gallon total. They are valved so either can be drained alone and cleaned as needed. I built a small, short custom wood ladder that fits the man opening, and goes down in the tank leaving the full opening to get in. I'm 6', 220lbs, and I can get in it without trouble. About once every 5 years I have to clean out a sediment build up from the tank bottom. You may, or may not, have to do this based on your spring.


I built A 10X20 block building back in a bank to hold our tanks, with a wood front wall that could be removed if I ever needed to pull/replace them (don't really think that is gonna happen). The spring is located about 100' horizontally and 20' elevation above the tanks, and constantly fills them. The overflow and supply lines are both piped down the mountain, and the overflow runs into my pond.

Tank building:

 

[EddieWalker]

Interesting. I never even thought about it, or that there might be a danger going into a tank. I don't have one yet, but have been pricing them out in the 1,500 gallon range to water my veggie garden.

 

[tractorshopper]

Very common problem with people dying from asphyxiation (sp?). There are federal guidelines on "confined space entry" and at our facility, there must be positive ventilation with constant fresh air supply, a block and tackle system for recovery already in place, the employee/s in the tank have to be hooked up already to the rope system with harnesses attached to their bodies, several 3-5 personnel outside the tank to remove those in the tank if anything should occur, and of course duplicate air monitor systems that measure oxygen content and many other things to ensure they will be safe before they go in and constant monitoring while they are in.

This is no joke. This can even happen to people down in a deep hole in the ground.

 

[IXLR8]

Were I worked we had about 10 large, 5000 gallon, tanks that needed cleaning yearly. Employee's were not allowed to enter unless they were wearing Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA). There also had to be an assistant outside the tank with their own SCBA, there also had to be a "spotter" outside the tank whose only job was to monitor the job and call for help if necessary.

 

[roadhunter]

I have OSHA confined space training for a job I was in charge of putting a liner in a piece of 48" concrete pipe that ran through the dam up in South Dakota. Pipe was 600 ft long and about 100 ft below ground in the center. We had all the air monitors, sign out sheets, extraction equipment, etc... Many of you have experience working with large tanks that are used in commercial and industrial applications which are also obviously dangerous because they are confined but also because of what's in them.

That being said I would not consider a plastic 1,000 water tank to be anywhere close to as dangerous as the situations mentioned above, especially if you use a little common sense. If it gets a little dirt in it and you want to clean it out I would not worry a bit about laying it on it's side and doing a quick clean out.

Many ranchers do the same thing with water tanks to feed thier cattle tanks. Typically they get up on a hill side and dig a hole for the tank to sit underground so it won't freeze. If you put something like this above ground in the mountains it will probably only work a few months a year. They they hook up a water line from a windmill to pump the water up to the tank and then the water gravity feeds to the stock tanks.

 

[hosspuller]

The little "common sense" is don't get into a situation that someone can't get you out of. Confined space is dangerous. Even a tank laying on the side will require someone to enter to get you. That puts them in jeopardy too. There are many things that can create a killing atmosphere. Yeast in a beer vat makes CO2, Enough to kill.

Here's man killed in the open ... Coroner: Gas fumes killed Wisconsin farmer; death accidental - WQOW TV: Eau Claire, WI NEWS18 News, Weather, and Sports