Water Tanks, Plastic Or Stainless Steel?

[Mudcrab]

My Thai wife and I ,snip.

You people have stayed on topic far too long. This is a clear violation of TV policy. To get us back on track I will ask: Why do people find it necessary to say "My Thai wife"? Isn't "wife" sufficient?

in some cases mentioning "Thai wife" or "non-Thai wife" should not be considered a "violation" , e.g. when the Thai wife helps out by translating or explaining whereas the non-Thai wife asks why are elderly people told to "pee" and why do you add "crap!" to some of your sentences?

Talking sh!t perhaps ???

[Mudcrab]

Our property in Australia (in the north wet and dry seasons similar to Thailand) has two 20,000 litre plastic tanks plus a 1000 litre roof collection tank to feed into the main tanks.

The tanks are spun plastic of the type I haven't yet seen in Thailand.

However what we do have, and this may be of interest, is first flow surge diverters. Simply put these are a vertical tube connected to the gutter run off for rain water collection . The tubes contain a ball in the tube arranged in such a way that when the first rain hits the roof, the water goes into the gutters and flows into the vertical tube. The tube has sufficient capacity ( 150mm by 4 m) to fill with water...and the crap that has washed off the roof.... then the ball floats up and blocks the flow. the remaining water the flows to the storage tanks. A small hole in the vertical pips allows the water to drain slowly from the pipe to allow the ball to drop for the cycle to start again during the next rain event.

Clean rainwater every time. we have been using this for years. Dunno about the alleged chemical migration for the plastic....most people can play the banjo around these parts pretty well!!!!!!

[ozyjon]

My brother in law works for a company hat imports stainless steel nuts and bolts used from construction to Harley Davidson parts and i asked him does stainless steel rust, and he replied sure it does ? yes i was puzzled so i asked him to please explain,, he told me there are many grades of stainless not just one grade,, the Chinese produce the lowest grade of stainless, when new looks shiny but after time it will tarnish and rust away,,, as with plastic, my sister who has 3 children aged 6yrs, 8 yrs and now a 13 year old all at school, has received a letter recommending that lunch boxes made of plastic only be used for storage and never to be used for microwave heating and not to re-fill plastic water bottles, now the children use metal water bottles that are about $8 usd each, i think in times to come more information about the bad health effects of plastic will be posted and announced in the media but i think it's early times at the moment. In our house we use a lot of glass products for drinking and storing food, also some cooking pots we use are made of toughened glass, could it be the future maybe i wonder?

[allexx]

I have a hand-dug well, 14 meter, and a 12.000 lit concrete tank underground.

Worked perfectly for 22 years.

[jackflash]

I have two 20,000 gal concrete tanks and one 10,000 gal fiber-glass tank.

I've discovered that both concrete tanks are fatally cracked, although they look to be in good condition.

Apparently my fault as I had left them empty for some years. Apparently a concrete tank needs the weight of water to stop the bottom rising in the center (all the weight is at the edge).

My fiber-glass tank is still fine. FWIW, it's lined with black material of some kind to prevent green algae build up.

Presumably this would help stop chemicals leaching.

Fiber glass tanks are now hard to get (in Oz), have been replaced with food grade polyethylene plastic.

Cheaper and safe for drinking water.

[corkythecat]

" I am only guessing so we need a metallurgist to answer this one ."

Interdendritic Segregation at the micro level, and Cottrell-Lomar locks under electron microscopy.

Corky, M.Sc. (Eng.) Chartered Engineer M.I.E.E.

[macinc]

May be I can clarify some of the misconceptions ref SS.

Metallurgically there are 3 types of SS classified by their metallurgical structure: - Austenitic; Ferritic; & Martensitic. Only Austenitic SS is non magnetic at normal ambient temps.

All SS corrode (rust) and the very the principle of corrossion resistant SS depends on it. The important element in the corrosion resistant grades is chromium. The minimum content to impart corrosion resistance is about 11%. This the chromium in the surface layer of the steel combines with oxygen to form chromium oxide Cr2O3 in other words it rusts. The surface layer of the SS therefor consists of a layer of chromium oxide which by forming a passive protective layer inhibits further corrosion. That is the basis for corrosion resistant SS and while it works very well it is not perfect. There are a number of catergories (8?) for different types of corrosive attack on SS the most obvious being physical damage to the surface layer. Whatever the form of the attack the protective layer then has to reform (re-rust) obviously this cannot go on forever. So repeated attack will eventually result in complete destruction.

[mike123ca]

Good Day, I live in Bermuda where for centuries now we collect water from our roofs and the water drains into a holding tank (usually) under that house. So most homes are built with the construction of a holding tank dug out of the lime stone. This holding tank can be of any size. One can do the calculation of how much water the tank can hold. The tank would be basically a below the ground room..a floor of 6 inches of concrete with re-bar or mesh wire. the the walls of 10 inch concrete block built to the height you want.(lets say 8 ft below the ground). the concrete block is then filled with rebar and concrete is poured into the block. the walls then are plastered with 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch of cement plaster and after a time then treated with a sealer. the roof of the tank is then concreted over with 6 inch of concrete. and then the house is built on top. but there are also tanks that are just built out into the yard with only the slab on top.

One can see that this is an expensive way to hold water but thats is what we do here. the water collects from the roof and any dust or whatever settles to the bottom of the tank. one can drink straight from the tap here with no filters.

In Thailand then one can pump water from your well into the tank but also catch from the roof. A pump then pumps the water into the home. Here we use pressure tanks to hold the pressure but you can use whatever you want. the pump is not submerged.

This system is expensive but you do not have to worry about the problems that arise with the other systems. The tanks can be cleaned out every 5-8 years depending on what is coming off the roof.

I also lived for 1 year in (Paget )Bermuda, near Elbow beach. Since moving to Asia, I never would have thought I

would hear from another Bermudian.

[vijer]

the plastic used for water tanks(and many other products)contains chemicals to prevent the plastic from

cracking under the influence of uv radiation(and also prevailing temps in Thailand). these "softeners"(don't know the genuine definition in English, as it's not my native language sorry)gradually "evaporate" out of the plastic and into the water.

Of course this process can be delayed by putting the tank under a roof etc; but you can't avoid

that these chemicals mix with the water. One can argue that there is a big dilution and nobody gonna die from'this instantly of course. But long term effects on health are evident and can be found on internet.

Stainless tanks that's a no brainer are substantial more expensive, but don't have this disadvantage and

last a lifetime.

Make the calculation: durability and no health hazards versus pricetag, limited lifetime and possible

health hazards.

I agree 100%. There are a lot of studies out there that have shown some evidence that plastic is causing neurological problems, birth defects and I even read an article that showed a correlation between the use of plastic and homosexuality. It is believed that the chemicals in the plastic leach out into the food when the plastic is heated and then these chemicals cause a change in hormones. Considering a majority of Thai's eat their food that has been held in bags for a prolonged period, and this food is hot when it is put in the bag, I think there is good causal evidence for the connection. After living in Thailand for almost two years I believe it. At the government school I teach at it is my opinion that a third or more of the boys are homosexuals or at least extremely effeminate.

PS. I don't care if anyone is a homosexual, I am just saying it is very strange how many homosexuals there are in Thailand. The more homosexuals the better, it leaves more P for me.

Edited April 27, 2013 by vijer

[vijer]

Good Day, I live in Bermuda where for centuries now we collect water from our roofs and the water drains into a holding tank (usually) under that house. So most homes are built with the construction of a holding tank dug out of the lime stone. This holding tank can be of any size. One can do the calculation of how much water the tank can hold. The tank would be basically a below the ground room..a floor of 6 inches of concrete with re-bar or mesh wire. the the walls of 10 inch concrete block built to the height you want.(lets say 8 ft below the ground). the concrete block is then filled with rebar and concrete is poured into the block. the walls then are plastered with 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch of cement plaster and after a time then treated with a sealer. the roof of the tank is then concreted over with 6 inch of concrete. and then the house is built on top. but there are also tanks that are just built out into the yard with only the slab on top.

One can see that this is an expensive way to hold water but thats is what we do here. the water collects from the roof and any dust or whatever settles to the bottom of the tank. one can drink straight from the tap here with no filters.

In Thailand then one can pump water from your well into the tank but also catch from the roof. A pump then pumps the water into the home. Here we use pressure tanks to hold the pressure but you can use whatever you want. the pump is not submerged.

This system is expensive but you do not have to worry about the problems that arise with the other systems. The tanks can be cleaned out every 5-8 years depending on what is coming off the roof.

Thai's don't know what concrete block is and most cement block manufactured in Thailand is very poorly fired so it crumbles and breaks easily. In any event I would never let a Thai pour concrete for me, they don't know how to do it properly.

[BradinAsia]

Good Day, I live in Bermuda where for centuries now we collect water from our roofs and the water drains into a holding tank (usually) under that house. So most homes are built with the construction of a holding tank dug out of the lime stone. This holding tank can be of any size. One can do the calculation of how much water the tank can hold. The tank would be basically a below the ground room..a floor of 6 inches of concrete with re-bar or mesh wire. the the walls of 10 inch concrete block built to the height you want.(lets say 8 ft below the ground). the concrete block is then filled with rebar and concrete is poured into the block. the walls then are plastered with 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch of cement plaster and after a time then treated with a sealer. the roof of the tank is then concreted over with 6 inch of concrete. and then the house is built on top. but there are also tanks that are just built out into the yard with only the slab on top.

One can see that this is an expensive way to hold water but thats is what we do here. the water collects from the roof and any dust or whatever settles to the bottom of the tank. one can drink straight from the tap here with no filters.

In Thailand then one can pump water from your well into the tank but also catch from the roof. A pump then pumps the water into the home. Here we use pressure tanks to hold the pressure but you can use whatever you want. the pump is not submerged.

This system is expensive but you do not have to worry about the problems that arise with the other systems. The tanks can be cleaned out every 5-8 years depending on what is coming off the roof.

Thai's don't know what concrete block is and most cement block manufactured in Thailand is very poorly fired so it crumbles and breaks easily. In any event I would never let a Thai pour concrete for me, they don't know how to do it properly.

So that means all the millions of ferro-concrete structures all around Thailand

have been built by western engineering firms with all western workers?

How amazing. An entire nation of people who cannot pour concrete properly.

[market trader]

My brother in law works for a company hat imports stainless steel nuts and bolts used from construction to Harley Davidson parts and i asked him does stainless steel rust, and he replied sure it does ? yes i was puzzled so i asked him to please explain,, he told me there are many grades of stainless not just one grade,, the Chinese produce the lowest grade of stainless, when new looks shiny but after time it will tarnish and rust away,,, as with plastic, my sister who has 3 children aged 6yrs, 8 yrs and now a 13 year old all at school, has received a letter recommending that lunch boxes made of plastic only be used for storage and never to be used for microwave heating and not to re-fill plastic water bottles, now the children use metal water bottles that are about $8 usd each, i think in times to come more information about the bad health effects of plastic will be posted and announced in the media but i think it's early times at the moment. In our house we use a lot of glass products for drinking and storing food, also some cooking pots we use are made of toughened glass, could it be the future maybe i wonder?

The Chinese produce the lowest grade of just about anything you can buy and that includes food.. You know things like watering down honey with sugar. Putting melamine in babies formula.

[vijer]

Good Day, I live in Bermuda where for centuries now we collect water from our roofs and the water drains into a holding tank (usually) under that house. So most homes are built with the construction of a holding tank dug out of the lime stone. This holding tank can be of any size. One can do the calculation of how much water the tank can hold. The tank would be basically a below the ground room..a floor of 6 inches of concrete with re-bar or mesh wire. the the walls of 10 inch concrete block built to the height you want.(lets say 8 ft below the ground). the concrete block is then filled with rebar and concrete is poured into the block. the walls then are plastered with 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch of cement plaster and after a time then treated with a sealer. the roof of the tank is then concreted over with 6 inch of concrete. and then the house is built on top. but there are also tanks that are just built out into the yard with only the slab on top.

One can see that this is an expensive way to hold water but thats is what we do here. the water collects from the roof and any dust or whatever settles to the bottom of the tank. one can drink straight from the tap here with no filters.

In Thailand then one can pump water from your well into the tank but also catch from the roof. A pump then pumps the water into the home. Here we use pressure tanks to hold the pressure but you can use whatever you want. the pump is not submerged.

This system is expensive but you do not have to worry about the problems that arise with the other systems. The tanks can be cleaned out every 5-8 years depending on what is coming off the roof.

Thai's don't know what concrete block is and most cement block manufactured in Thailand is very poorly fired so it crumbles and breaks easily. In any event I would never let a Thai pour concrete for me, they don't know how to do it properly.

So that means all the millions of ferro-concrete structures all around Thailand

have been built by western engineering firms with all western workers?

How amazing. An entire nation of people who cannot pour concrete properly.

No, not a single Western worker, it's illegal. Yes, quite amazing. You might want to look at the work sometime as you are traveling around Thailand, I do. They don't know how to pour concrete.

[capt_canada42]

the plastic used for water tanks(and many other products)contains chemicals to prevent the plastic from

cracking under the influence of uv radiation(and also prevailing temps in Thailand). these "softeners"(don't know the genuine definition in English, as it's not my native language sorry)gradually "evaporate" out of the plastic and into the water.

Of course this process can be delayed by putting the tank under a roof etc; but you can't avoid

that these chemicals mix with the water. One can argue that there is a big dilution and nobody gonna die from'this instantly of course. But long term effects on health are evident and can be found on internet.

Stainless tanks that's a no brainer are substantial more expensive, but don't have this disadvantage and

last a lifetime.

Make the calculation: durability and no health hazards versus pricetag, limited lifetime and possible

health hazards.

Yah and my mother had hemorrhoids .. listen most time you are using the water so fast this doesn't matter .. its not like its sitting for ever ...

[bealus]

the plastic used for water tanks(and many other products)contains chemicals to prevent the plastic from

cracking under the influence of uv radiation(and also prevailing temps in Thailand). these "softeners"(don't know the genuine definition in English, as it's not my native language sorry)gradually "evaporate" out of the plastic and into the water.

Of course this process can be delayed by putting the tank under a roof etc; but you can't avoid

that these chemicals mix with the water. One can argue that there is a big dilution and nobody gonna die from'this instantly of course. But long term effects on health are evident and can be found on internet.

Stainless tanks that's a no brainer are substantial more expensive, but don't have this disadvantage and

last a lifetime.

Make the calculation: durability and no health hazards versus pricetag, limited lifetime and possible

health hazards.

Great first post

Thanks, encourage me to post more often

[jacko45k]

I would temper the fear of the chemicals in plastic with the way you use the water. Do you drink any of it? I personally do not, buying in all my drinking water.

[s3it]

Stainless tanks are only protected against corrosion, if the surrounding water is rich in oxygen, Stale water slime on tank walls, wrong welding elektrodes,

Will make tank corrosion.

That is the reason you can not build a boat of stainless steel, it will corrode away.

That is why stainless propeller shafts have pitting corrosion.

The protection is only there if the surface layer of the stainless steel is oxygenated, that is often not the case in watertanks, with low water circulation

On ships steel tanks is lined with cement, which is a good combination.

Clay tanks is very good, made of cement, or if you can find the old type where water can seep through and cool the contents you would also have cool water,

Clay tanks in the size of 10-20 liters, that "sweats" is common in India, but seem to be a forgotten technology in Thailand. If anyone know a supplier please let us know.

s3it

[Newguy70]

My Thai wife and I live with her parents in the central provinces. When we added an addition to the house, we built the following rather simple rain water collection system. We collect rain water from the roof into 3 large above ground concrete "cisterns". From there, we pipe the water using gravity through a 2 stage filtration system into the house for use in drinking and cooking. We have never had a problem; you simply have to use some common sense on when to clean the system and start collecting your annual supply of rain water.

Would love to see some pictures ?

[Naam]

Stainless tanks are only protected against corrosion, if the surrounding water is rich in oxygen, Stale water slime on tank walls, wrong welding elektrodes,

Will make tank corrosion.

That is the reason you can not build a boat of stainless steel, it will corrode away.

That is why stainless propeller shafts have pitting corrosion.

The protection is only there if the surface layer of the stainless steel is oxygenated, that is often not the case in watertanks, with low water circulation

On ships steel tanks is lined with cement, which is a good combination.

Clay tanks is very good, made of cement, or if you can find the old type where water can seep through and cool the contents you would also have cool water,

Clay tanks in the size of 10-20 liters, that "sweats" is common in India, but seem to be a forgotten technology in Thailand. If anyone know a supplier please let us know.

s3it

clay tanks made of cement?

[ozzydom]

Good Day, I live in Bermuda where for centuries now we collect water from our roofs and the water drains into a holding tank (usually) under that house. So most homes are built with the construction of a holding tank dug out of the lime stone. This holding tank can be of any size. One can do the calculation of how much water the tank can hold. The tank would be basically a below the ground room..a floor of 6 inches of concrete with re-bar or mesh wire. the the walls of 10 inch concrete block built to the height you want.(lets say 8 ft below the ground). the concrete block is then filled with rebar and concrete is poured into the block. the walls then are plastered with 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch of cement plaster and after a time then treated with a sealer. the roof of the tank is then concreted over with 6 inch of concrete. and then the house is built on top. but there are also tanks that are just built out into the yard with only the slab on top.

One can see that this is an expensive way to hold water but thats is what we do here. the water collects from the roof and any dust or whatever settles to the bottom of the tank. one can drink straight from the tap here with no filters.

In Thailand then one can pump water from your well into the tank but also catch from the roof. A pump then pumps the water into the home. Here we use pressure tanks to hold the pressure but you can use whatever you want. the pump is not submerged.

This system is expensive but you do not have to worry about the problems that arise with the other systems. The tanks can be cleaned out every 5-8 years depending on what is coming off the roof.

Thai's don't know what concrete block is and most cement block manufactured in Thailand is very poorly fired so it crumbles and breaks easily. In any event I would never let a Thai pour concrete for me, they don't know how to do it properly.

Concrete blocks are air dried not fired.

[bushwacker]

I have always been concerned about the maintenance of the filtering systems used by the companies that sell us the water in the big carboy jugs. Thais do not seem to be great when it comes to hard work or maintenance .... especially when no body is looking!!!!

[finnomick1]

I have always been concerned about the maintenance of the filtering systems used by the companies that sell us the water in the big carboy jugs. Thais do not seem to be great when it comes to hard work or maintenance .... especially when no body is looking!!!!

Bushwacker, you are correct in your misgivings of the water delivery companies. Where we live near Buriram, I go to the water company and collect my ' bottles ' or carboys. When we lived in Jomtien there was/is an area of wasteland to the back of the Soi 7 market before Sukhumvit Road where every day you would see several water delivery guys just filling up the bottles from the ponds there. Hate to think of the quality of that water because it certainly wasn't clean.

[finnomick1]

I have 20 concrete ongs each holding 1,700 litres of water but only about 1,500 litres is usable due to the outlet valve height.

30,000 litres sounds a lot but we have 5 or 6 people living on site and if you add up the toilet, shower and cooking use it is a lot of water per day. Looking back we are using perhaps 2,000 litres a day on average so I have between 2 and 3 weeks storage at any one time. I have 5 rows of 4 tanks interconnected and when one row is empty I turn the next row on and refill the first row. No problrms at all except that now we have a drought we have had no government water for 7 weeks and because we are at the bottom of the hill there is rock which would be incredibly expensive to drill through.

Fortunately we get water delivered every so often by the fire engine from the local Tessaban and although it is free the second load I gave the crew 6 beers and the third load I gave the 2 guys 50 baht each as it was 7 pm before they had finished.

I have 2 x 3,000 litre stainless steel tanks for drinking water which we get from the roof a few days into the heavy rain season so that all the bird crap etc is washed off the roof first.

Normal water storage.JPG

Fresh water storage.JPG

As already posted Billd766, a very impressive setup. Did yoy buy your ' ongs ' or do you rent them from the guys who have them on the trucks ? If so, how much to buy or rent ? Naam, the walls of these ' ongs ' are wafer-thin but I cannot advise you from what material they are made. I know someone who tried to move one that was half in the ground. He ended up smashing it so they seem to be fairly fragile.

[xen]

I have 20 concrete ongs each holding 1,700 litres of water but only about 1,500 litres is usable due to the outlet valve height.

30,000 litres sounds a lot but we have 5 or 6 people living on site and if you add up the toilet, shower and cooking use it is a lot of water per day. Looking back we are using perhaps 2,000 litres a day on average so I have between 2 and 3 weeks storage at any one time. I have 5 rows of 4 tanks interconnected and when one row is empty I turn the next row on and refill the first row. No problrms at all except that now we have a drought we have had no government water for 7 weeks and because we are at the bottom of the hill there is rock which would be incredibly expensive to drill through.

Fortunately we get water delivered every so often by the fire engine from the local Tessaban and although it is free the second load I gave the crew 6 beers and the third load I gave the 2 guys 50 baht each as it was 7 pm before they had finished.

I have 2 x 3,000 litre stainless steel tanks for drinking water which we get from the roof a few days into the heavy rain season so that all the bird crap etc is washed off the roof first.

Normal water storage.JPG

Fresh water storage.JPG

As already posted Billd766, a very impressive setup. Did yoy buy your ' ongs ' or do you rent them from the guys who have them on the trucks ? If so, how much to buy or rent ? Naam, the walls of these ' ongs ' are wafer-thin but I cannot advise you from what material they are made. I know someone who tried to move one that was half in the ground. He ended up smashing it so they seem to be fairly fragile.

I always thought "ongs" were known as klong jars in english-thai or thai-english. Learn something new everyday. But the ones i have seen are quite thick and heavy but they will still break, and they with a very thin fired glaze that seems to restrict rather than prevent porosity for cooling. Every household used to have a couple plus one in the bathroom with a plastic saucepan for your showers. Very water efficient for washing/showering .

[finnomick1]

The first three properties in our village all have ponds/reservoirs and they sell what the Thais call ' sweet water '. Some people use this for drinking water, others for washing etc. It goes out on trucks with a variety of water tanks though none are stainless steel. Most of the delivery guys use galvanised tanks, and a couple of the guys use what are known as ' octabins ' . For those of you who don't know what an octabin is, it's a plastic container that can hold 1,000 litres and is contained within a metal frame with a built in pallet. They can be bought just about anywhere for 2,500 to 3,000 baht. They are very light, and already have a tap fitted. Big problem is at this price, theses tanks are second hand and most people are unaware of what's been in them. Back in the ' good old days ', I used to truck them around Europe and have carried a variety of products contained therein from wallpaper paste to chemicals -- read acid. Long term storage of water in octabins where exposed to sunlight will also get a buildup of algae which isn't poisonous but isn't that good. Back to the plot. The galvanised tanks do rust eventually and the guys often weld them up which in itself creates more rust, hence my mentioning in my previous post about buying my drinking water direct and at source from the local water company which has an impressive filtration system ( though this in itself doesn't prove the quality of the water -- I just know it tastes fine ).

We also collect our rain water from the roof, but because I've never heard of the ' first flow surge diverters ' mentioned by Mubcrab, I included a t-piece and tap into the downpipe so I can close the tap and let the first few minutes of water, dust and bird kee run off before opening the tap and filling our containers which are blue fibre-glass ( very expensive at about 6,000 baht each ) and hold 2,200 litres. We pump some of this water into a 750 litre tank which is in the roof of our house so we can have showers etc when the village supply errr, doesn't supply.

A couple of days ago, I was discussing the water problem with a Canadian friend of mine who lives right out in the sticks. On their ' plot ', they have three houses and several other buildings, about seven in all such as rice houses, cow shed, pigsty etc. Apart from his house, the rain from all the other buildings just runs off onto the ground. We concluded that a good but expensive idea would be to install gutters and downpipes and collect the water in concrete pots ( about 600 baht each ) so the animals have a water supply at the building. This would be a lot more expensive than what is done right now, and that's to run a long hose and turn on the bore pump. I guess you have to think which way would be more satisfying. What I did suggest and this echoes Xylophone's posting, was to construct an underground concrete tank to store water. Anybody who lives in London will be well aquainted with this system of water storage -- and these tanks are huge. Obviously they need to be constructed near the house, preferably at the time of construction. As a suggestion, you could have a tank say 3 meters x 4 x 2 metres deep -- 24,000 litres of cool water. You'd need an inspection hatch obviously, and above the tank you could construct a ' sala ' so you'd be sitting on your water storage.

If you're not all asleep by now, I hope this post has been of some use and information. If not -- sorry.

[Glumpy]

My experience of 'SS' tanks is not good. Here in the NE we have a 50mtr bore hole which supplied two 1600Ltr 'SS' tanks via a Master Filter system . I fitted them just over three years ago in a 3.5m x 3.5m 'pump house' . After six months one tank began to leak through holes the size of a pinhead . The flow was stemmed with tape. I Emailed the company......... no relpy. More pin holes appeared in this tank but not the other. The tank was shut off and the second tank used. Over the next 18 months the second tank sprung leaks which were too many to control with duck tape etc. I removed both tanks and fitted a 2000 Ltr plastic/fibreglass tank.

The SS cover around the Master Filter body showed signs of corrosion !! . This is a heavier guage SS than that used for the SS tanks. I also noticed rust on the chains of the block & tackle and other steel items in the pump house. Our swimming pool chemicals were stored in the pump house !!!!

These chemicals are now stored 60 mtrs away. At first I thought that the well water contained some corrosive elements but am now convinced that 'fumes' from the chlorine, sulphuric acid and soda stored in the pumphouse were to blame. All the containers had secure lids. Or was the salt dispenser of the Master Filter system to blame ?

If you decide on a plastic/fibreglass tank do check the base which is not very thick. These tanks get pushed around the builder merchant's yard many times and the underside becomes scored and the strands of fibre are exposed. Any doubt reject the tank....... as I did after it was delivered.

[billd766]

billd766:

I have 5 rows of 4 tanks interconnected and when one row is empty I turn the next row on and refill the first row.

an impressive setup!

Thank you kind sir.

I started out with four 10 years ago and decided I needed more and got laughed at until the first drought in 2005 I think and now I get envied.

what's the empty weight of these "ongs" and their wall thickness? reinforced or plain concrete? did you have to replace some because of cracks?

I have no idea of the weight of them but probably between 2 and 300 kg and they are usually delivered 6 on a truck with a driver and 2 mates. They get them off the truck. The ongs are a little over 2 metres widw at the widest point and about 1.7 metres high. Fortunately I have never had a cracked one yet.

I had a concrete slab about 10 x 12 laid, reinforced and around 15 to 20cm thick made to support the weight. Full whish is 1,700 litres but only about 1,500 useable I figured on about 2 tons each.

I marked out the slab with a gap between each column and row of perhaps a 50 cm gap between them for access and lined the 1/2 inch exit holes up for the piping.

There are 5 rows of 4 ongs each and connected them together and each row of 4 are connected to a single pipe down to the water pump.

The water input is much the same connections but in each ong I put a U pipe down to the bottom and the open end has a toilet valve with a ballcock to shut the water off individually.

In retrospect if I had to do it again i would make the slab larger and the gaps bigger to allow for expansion (of me as I get older and less agile) and make sure that there is concrete laid down at an angle below the edge of the slabs and guttering so that there is less chance of heavy rain washing the dirt from under the slabs.

I will try to look up my drawings or perhaps do another if anyone is interested.

[billd766]

I have 20 concrete ongs each holding 1,700 litres of water but only about 1,500 litres is usable due to the outlet valve height.

30,000 litres sounds a lot but we have 5 or 6 people living on site and if you add up the toilet, shower and cooking use it is a lot of water per day. Looking back we are using perhaps 2,000 litres a day on average so I have between 2 and 3 weeks storage at any one time. I have 5 rows of 4 tanks interconnected and when one row is empty I turn the next row on and refill the first row. No problrms at all except that now we have a drought we have had no government water for 7 weeks and because we are at the bottom of the hill there is rock which would be incredibly expensive to drill through.

Fortunately we get water delivered every so often by the fire engine from the local Tessaban and although it is free the second load I gave the crew 6 beers and the third load I gave the 2 guys 50 baht each as it was 7 pm before they had finished.

I have 2 x 3,000 litre stainless steel tanks for drinking water which we get from the roof a few days into the heavy rain season so that all the bird crap etc is washed off the roof first.

Normal water storage.JPG

Fresh water storage.JPG

As already posted Billd766, a very impressive setup. Did yoy buy your ' ongs ' or do you rent them from the guys who have them on the trucks ? If so, how much to buy or rent ? Naam, the walls of these ' ongs ' are wafer-thin but I cannot advise you from what material they are made. I know someone who tried to move one that was half in the ground. He ended up smashing it so they seem to be fairly fragile.

AFAIR the last couple I bought were about 900 baht with a concrete lid. I HAVE moved six of mine from the old shop to the house but they were on the surface and the ground was fairly soft to roll them on. Moving them on the concrete slab is easy for 2 or 3 guys and some grunt power.

When you fill them from new only fill 1/4 at a time and let them stand a day so that water soaks into the inner walls. The 1/2 inch outlet is just a blue plastic female part stuck in with concrete and it can come loose and leak but you can seal it with mastic.

[billd766]

The first three properties in our village all have ponds/reservoirs and they sell what the Thais call ' sweet water '. Some people use this for drinking water, others for washing etc. It goes out on trucks with a variety of water tanks though none are stainless steel. Most of the delivery guys use galvanised tanks, and a couple of the guys use what are known as ' octabins ' . For those of you who don't know what an octabin is, it's a plastic container that can hold 1,000 litres and is contained within a metal frame with a built in pallet. They can be bought just about anywhere for 2,500 to 3,000 baht. They are very light, and already have a tap fitted. Big problem is at this price, theses tanks are second hand and most people are unaware of what's been in them. Back in the ' good old days ', I used to truck them around Europe and have carried a variety of products contained therein from wallpaper paste to chemicals -- read acid. Long term storage of water in octabins where exposed to sunlight will also get a buildup of algae which isn't poisonous but isn't that good. Back to the plot. The galvanised tanks do rust eventually and the guys often weld them up which in itself creates more rust, hence my mentioning in my previous post about buying my drinking water direct and at source from the local water company which has an impressive filtration system ( though this in itself doesn't prove the quality of the water -- I just know it tastes fine ).

We also collect our rain water from the roof, but because I've never heard of the ' first flow surge diverters ' mentioned by Mubcrab, I included a t-piece and tap into the downpipe so I can close the tap and let the first few minutes of water, dust and bird kee run off before opening the tap and filling our containers which are blue fibre-glass ( very expensive at about 6,000 baht each ) and hold 2,200 litres. We pump some of this water into a 750 litre tank which is in the roof of our house so we can have showers etc when the village supply errr, doesn't supply.

A couple of days ago, I was discussing the water problem with a Canadian friend of mine who lives right out in the sticks. On their ' plot ', they have three houses and several other buildings, about seven in all such as rice houses, cow shed, pigsty etc. Apart from his house, the rain from all the other buildings just runs off onto the ground. We concluded that a good but expensive idea would be to install gutters and downpipes and collect the water in concrete pots ( about 600 baht each ) so the animals have a water supply at the building. This would be a lot more expensive than what is done right now, and that's to run a long hose and turn on the bore pump. I guess you have to think which way would be more satisfying. What I did suggest and this echoes Xylophone's posting, was to construct an underground concrete tank to store water. Anybody who lives in London will be well aquainted with this system of water storage -- and these tanks are huge. Obviously they need to be constructed near the house, preferably at the time of construction. As a suggestion, you could have a tank say 3 meters x 4 x 2 metres deep -- 24,000 litres of cool water. You'd need an inspection hatch obviously, and above the tank you could construct a ' sala ' so you'd be sitting on your water storage.

If you're not all asleep by now, I hope this post has been of some use and information. If not -- sorry.

I would love to do the underground storage but sadly there is rock about 1 metre or so below ground so mine would have to be semi underground.

I would make 2 tanks side by side interconnected by 3 or 4 inch pipes close to the bottom and I would look at each tank as 8 x 4 x 2 metres giving me a maximum of 64,000 litres or twice what I have now.. We have had no government supplied water for 2 months now but we have had around 18 ongs worth say 25,000 litres delivered by the local fire truck and most of my tanks are close to full but they were full before the tap was turned off.

[12alh34]

Good Day, I live in Bermuda where for centuries now we collect water from our roofs and the water drains into a holding tank (usually) under that house. So most homes are built with the construction of a holding tank dug out of the lime stone. This holding tank can be of any size. One can do the calculation of how much water the tank can hold. The tank would be basically a below the ground room..a floor of 6 inches of concrete with re-bar or mesh wire. the the walls of 10 inch concrete block built to the height you want.(lets say 8 ft below the ground). the concrete block is then filled with rebar and concrete is poured into the block. the walls then are plastered with 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch of cement plaster and after a time then treated with a sealer. the roof of the tank is then concreted over with 6 inch of concrete. and then the house is built on top. but there are also tanks that are just built out into the yard with only the slab on top.

One can see that this is an expensive way to hold water but thats is what we do here. the water collects from the roof and any dust or whatever settles to the bottom of the tank. one can drink straight from the tap here with no filters.

In Thailand then one can pump water from your well into the tank but also catch from the roof. A pump then pumps the water into the home. Here we use pressure tanks to hold the pressure but you can use whatever you want. the pump is not submerged.

This system is expensive but you do not have to worry about the problems that arise with the other systems. The tanks can be cleaned out every 5-8 years depending on what is coming off the roof.

I also lived for 1 year in (Paget )Bermuda, near Elbow beach. Since moving to Asia, I never would have thought I

would hear from another Bermudian.

So you understand the system that i tried to explain above. i work at the museum at the west end. we have below the ground water tanks that were built in the 1820,s. they hold 140,000 gallons (525,000 litr). we have a big water catch though. yes, once in a while i will hear the bda accent at the airports, so we get around.