waste tanks

[rampeyboy]

Guys, I will be soon taking delivery of Scenic 227. I am doing a simple conversion on it. I am wondering about waste water tanks. I have access to some 50 ish gallon plastic drums. They formerly held a cleaning soap for cleaning cars. They are designed to be stored upright. I would like to secure them on their sides, and use them for waste water tanks.
My concerns about this are: will the tanks be strong enough structurally to store on their sides? will the lack of baffling be a problem? how do I install a drain in the tanks? maybe the minimal cost of standard tanks is worth the insurance? Thanks!

Boyce

[DMoedave]

Congrats on getting a Scenicruiser! where are you and where did you get it? There are several good articles on building your own tanks. I just bought my second 50 gal waste tank from tank depot. If you can keep it under 50-55 gals they ship ups but you have to look thru their selection and make sure. If it goes truck cost goes way up! After glassing in my wheel wells i decieded i did not want to make my own tanks! Mine was $315. with  shipping. 219 for tank, 30. for 4 female thread fittings (2 three inch, 1 inch and a half and 1 one inch) 42 for shipping and 25 for tax. They have a decent selection on sizes and types. You can save alot doing your own! I picked mine for size in the bay.Good luck with your bus cant wait to see pictures.

[rampeyboy]

I'm in Columbia, SC. The Scenic is the one that Kyle and Tom had for sale in Georgia. There's a video of it on youtube running. It needs a lot of work, but I think I can get it all figured out in short order!
I read an article about making your own tanks. I'm not too crazy about fiberglass work either! I will probably either make use of these free tanks, or maybe some salvage RV tanks. I don't think I will need much capacity as we are not full timers.
I looked into tank depot, they have some interesting stuff there. I could use the uniseal fittings with my tanks. Might just work! Thanks!

Boyce

[DMoedave]

When in Florida this past winter i did find some rv tanks in and under some wrecks. trust me you dont want to go there!!! They rarely are empty! Good luck with the bus hope to see it in Arcadia new years.

[bevans6]

given the potential downside of a leak, tanks are one place I would do it right, best practice possible, install and forget.  I've been just about to go out and start working on a problem I have to fix with my waste tank for, oh, two months now...  Not a job I look forward to.  Install and forget is my motto!

Brian

[BG6]

Any barrel strong enough to ship a liquid in will be way stronger than you will ever have to worry about.

[Dreamscape]

If they are what I'm thinking, they should have a regular size bung and a smaller one for venting. The barrel is one piece, top molded with the rest of the container. If they are like that, the thickness of the plastic is pretty stout. You should have no problem. I'm not sure of the size of the bung, but you might fit it for your dishcharge. dunno

[Len Silva]

The only problem with barrels is wasted space.  If a typical 55 gallon drum (24" x 35") was a rectangular tank of the same dimensions, it would be 87 gallons.  That's 58% if my math is right.

[JohnEd]

That's 58% if my math is right.

Classic!


Thanks,

John

[NewbeeMC9]

Congrats and welcome to the madness.


I have seen a couple Buses over the years that had used plastic drums for tanks. Round into square bays definitely is a space waster.    Recommend laying out  your bay before you decide.  Also size your tank for extra so you don't have to dump during a week stay at a campground without sewer at the site(and them some).  You'll have to move the bus or get one of those little blue tanks on wheels.  

With the bus, opportunities and Ideas of things to do that you haven't thought of yet will come around, you want to plan accordingly.

Plan for use and then add another 25% or so.  you don't want it to fill or run over

Not a job you will ever want to redo if you can help it.


So you may have one for black and 2 for gray water.   Three barrels take up a lot of space compared to one or 2 rectangular tanks.



Don't forget about vents too.

[robertglines1]

use the tanks(barrels)you have..we mostly (95%) are hooked up in camp grounds with full hook ups and don't need the capacity for the once a year time we have a little blue cart..the curves are a good place to store long things:sewer hoses ,washing brush on a pole,and any thing else you can think of..there is no right or wrong design (except safety concerns) with buses that's what makes this a neat hobby..ask ? and learn from others mistakes. I used what I have or can get a bargin on..I found new tanks on for $1 a gallon in Elkhart..

[rampeyboy]

Thanks for all the replies guys. They are made of very thick plastic, and do have two openings as mentioned. I may just give them a try. I'll grab them up, and have them ready, and if I change my mind, they'll make great trash cans for the shop with the tops cut off. Thanks again!

Boyce

[BobBoyce]

I have some of those blue plastic drums as well, considered using a couple of them plumbed together for greywater tanks. At the time I bought them, the supplier also had some white food grade 60 gallon drums that were originally used for Coca Cola syrup. I bought and used one of those as my spring water sump for my house.

Bob

[Slow Rider]

While they are stainless steel, Ace has round tanks on his bus and so far it has not imploded,  exploded or gotten arrested for writing bad checks.

As long as it is not a serious safety issue......why not.  We will never learn if we don't try odd or unusual things.  If it doesn't work then back to the drawing board.  If it does......  then you did it your way and as long as you are happy case closed. 

Just be aware when you try the untested that you must be more diligent in your inspection/safety/awareness than when using tried and true methods.

Who knows you might start a trend or at least become infamous.

Frank

[belfert]

I've seen photos of other buses using 55 gallon drums for tanks.  It isn't like this is untested.  The biggest isssue I see is loss of space, but like someone said, you can place cargo around the tanks.