Well heres the deal ive got the oportunity to purchase two steel tanks that measure 10'3" x 24'3" w 3/8" walls ... my plans would be to put them in the ground for a shelter, but transporting them is the main issue, i can purchase the tanks for a cool g... your opinion is appriciated
Been there, done that... 1. If there was gas, diesel or heating oil in it before, forget it! You will never get them clean enough to get the odor out without spending a fortune. Believe me, you can steam clean them thoroughly with the toughest detergents and still suffer. 2. Check your ground water level, if it is below the tank you are burying, OK... if not, the tank will float right up out of the ground and you will have a mess, even if there is 3-4 feet of dirt on top. If you have drainage possibilities, rely only on gravity - pumps can and will fail. 3. Steel tanks will rust inside and out. Coat the outside with foundation tar, paint the inside with something that's waterproof and will not peel. The tanks will sweat on the inside (collect condensate from breath, etc.) - this will run down and pool in the bottom, so you will have to mop a bit. 4. If it is 10' in diameter you will need a lowboy to transport it, as well as an oversize permit. If it is a long way to transport that can add up to a lot of money. 5. The advantage of steel is that you can torchcut and weld a hatch and ladder to it, as well as ventillation pipes, etc-- the disadvantage as I said are sweating and rust. It will also be as cold as the surrounding earth it is buried in, unless you in$ulate it $omehow. I have 2 like that 8 x 20 now, but I am going to fill one with heating oil for tractor / generator fuel and as a barter commodity. The other I am now slowly filling with filtered reclaimed fry-oil from restaurants (griesel). I only use solar and wood to heat with. - Basey
thought bout that the tanks were used for fuel but have been empty and open since 1982, i planned on having the outside sprayed w foam insulation to combat the condensation... they need moved bout 20miles, luckly i have a relative in trucking...
That is what we made our root cellar out of and your deal sounds much like ours. It has worked well (for us) ... no smell or anything like that.
I am the Foreman for a company that builds tanks like the ones you are talking about. If they don't smell inside then they might work for what you want them for. Basecamp gave some good advice and it sounds like Andi is getting good use out of Hers/His?(Don't know the gender of the poster and don't want to offend.) 3/8" steel is good heavy construction for a single wall tank and it sounds to me like you are getting a great deal.
Supports Any info on how deep you plan to go? 3/8ths if plenty think but given the areas you discribed a little roof bracing and water shedding will help with condensation pebble stone around the outside and plastic-tar slanted and buried roof will keep it real dry. Anyways you may have already thought of all this but I hope it may help.
Local motorcycle club uses one for a club house - its been in use a couple of decades or three. Bullet proof.... photo here: http://jpgmag.com/photos/298476
