Tank Wars: Convenience Or Customization?

Living in suburb with an erratic supply of mains water can be daunting. Installing a metal water storage tank within your compound is one of the best ways ensure that your taps never run dry. Stainless steel is perhaps the most common metal used to fabricate water tanks. A new steel tank can be welded and assembled on-site (within your compound) or you can buy a pre-manufactured 'stock' tank from your nearest tank dealer. Considering that the 'on-site' tank and its pre-manufactured equivalent are made of the same material, how is one type of tank advantageous over the other?

The Convenient Alternative

It's often tempting to seek the most convenient way out of various life situations. In addition to being less strenuous, the most convenient option often doubles up as the most affordable. You could walk into several tank stores, look at what each has on offer, compare what's on offer with what you need, compare prices, and make an order for your preferred tank to be delivered and have it installed. All this can be done in a day or two. It's a convenient, affordable, and relatively quick alternative. However, the convenient option is not necessarily the best option. And why would you be in a hurry to buy something that should serve you for a lifetime?

The Custom-Welded Option

Alternatively, you could ring up a welding service provider and make the request for a custom-welded steel tank. You'll provide specifications of the tank (capacity, shape, depth etc.) and the welder will examine the tank's intended area of installation. The welder will proceed to design the tank in accordance with your specifications and the challenges associated with the intended area of installation. As you'll have scheduled, he or she will arrive on-site with all equipment required to weld/assemble the tank from scratch. In this case, you'll probably have to wait for more than a day or two before 'tank installation day' comes. If your suburb is located within an area that receives a heavy snow load for example, the roof pitch on your steel tank would need to be much steeper than that of regular tanks. A steeper pitch will encourage snow to slide off the top of the tank, thereby preventing its accumulation.

A custom-welded tank could be fabricated to virtually any size. One reason why these tanks are welded on-site is that their required sizes are often too large for the factory setting. A custom-welded tank could be fabricated to hold more water than can be held by the largest pre-manufactured tank you can buy. It all starts with a call to the welding service provider.