Friday, August 10, 2018

Setting up an IBC for water storage

The tank is on a concrete pad beneath an overhang.  The front of the tank is recessed back about a foot from the edge of the pad.

I invited the Captain over for a beer.  I wanted to pick his brains.  The Captain is very observant and is an extremely practical guy.

I asked for his thoughts regarding the placement and set-up for my IBC (Intermediate Bulk Container) I want to use for water storage.  I told him that I wanted it high enough to put a five gallon bucket beneath the spigot.  My plan is to have this water available when we have power-outages since our pump will be out of commission.

His suggestion was simple, stand the cinder blocks on end.  A standard cinder block is 8" tall and 16" long.

A side view.  The IBC is resting on 9 cinder blocks.  Wooden planks run across the top of the blocks to spread the load.  Also seen in this photo, the left side of the container is slightly lower than the right side as seen by the water level.
Raising up the tank also reduces the tank's exposure to flying rocks from lawnmowers, string damage from weed whackers, rain splash  and the occasional dog marking his territory.

That roof of the overhang has a footprint of 18' by 24' and a one inch rain should produce about 250 gallons.  My long-term plan is to put eve trough on the roof and use it to keep the container topped off.

I will cover the tank with a tarp to minimize algae growth and to reduce UV damage to the polyethylene of the tank.

1 comment:

  1. I use one for extra water for the plants. They do work!

    ReplyDelete

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