I use PVC pipe and PVC pipe couplings to make large steel tanks for my N scale layout. Back in the old days I used spray can lids; here is an example of that: The picture above is an old one. The exterior styrene was coming unglued and peeling, so I needed new tanks for the Busy Bee Oil Company. Here are the two PVC couplings that I selected: You can see the protrusions on the couplings. I did sand them off, but i was never able to get the surface of the couplings as smooth as a section of plain PVC pipe. I need for the outside of the coupling to be smooth so I can scribe the weld seams in the outer surface. Here are two large diameter pipes I used for storage tanks on my N scale layout. The tanks are about 4-5 inches high. I don't know if you can tell, but the outside surface is very smooth. More later today.
When I find myself in a hardware store I usually wander past the bins of pvc fittings. It's amazing the different size and shapes of couplings, end caps, reducing bushings, etc that look like they could be used for different sized tanks and drums. I now have quite a collection of fittings, just need some motivation to turn them into a final product. Regards Ed .
So, to make the outer surface smooth, I wrapped it with .015 inch sheet styrene. I cut a piece of styrene the size of the outer surface of the tank and wrapped it around the coupling. I temporarily held the styrene in place with a rubber band at the top and bottom of the coupling and then glued the styrene together along the overlapping seam. Then I removed the rubber bands and glued the remaining seam together at the top and bottom. The resulting styrene sleeve makes the outside smooth. Here is a picture with the coupling partially removed from the sleeve: You can't completely remove the coupling. If you do, the styrene will not hold it's circular shape because it is not thick or sturdy enough. Here are the two wrapped tanks before completion: I forgot to add the "tops." The top or roof is just more sheet styrene. I traced the styrene wrapped tank on a sheet of styrene, cut it out, and glued it to the top. Easy-peasy. It will still have to be sanded on the edges. BTW, what about this big, gross overlapping seam along one side the tank??! Well, I just turn that away from the aisle so visitors can't see it. That is the easy solution. With .015 inch or .010 inch styrene, I am afraid to sand it much; I am afraid it would weaken it.
Here are two H0 scale tanks I made using the same technique. (This construction method is very quick.) The white styrene tank on the right was made from .010 inch styrene sheet. I removed the PVC coupling and substituted a .020 inch styrene ring at the bottom. This allowed the tank to retain it's circular shape and still be very light. This white tank weighs about two-tenths of an ounce (5.67 grams).
I've been goofing around with ABS caps found at the Home Deopt. This pic was taken a while ago (still haven't finished the project). These were the black type of plastic pipe caps. I didn't like the writing that was molded into the tops so I just sanded them off with a power sander, then drilled a hole in the tops that would recieve a carriage bolt to cover up the flat spot that I didn't want to show. A couple coats of white from a spray bomb and then some ladder and walkway details. Still havent weathered or decaled them. Yet another project. Brian
Brian: They really look good! I like the brass details. What kind of black pipe? Electrical conduit? Metal or plastic? I didn't think that electrical conduit had caps? I also did not realize it was this large...about two inches in diameter? Thanks.
Black ABS pipe is used for sewer lines. Roughly 2" outside diameter is at the small end of the scale for what's available. There's also the white PVC pipe used for fresh water that has smaller sizes available. Go browse the plumbing section - heck, browse the whole store! There's a small Ace hardware near me that has all sorts of neat stuff - including tiny metal tubing that sells for 3X as much at the hobby shop a few doors down! I must agree that these tanks look really good. :thumbs_up:
Richard320 hit the nail on the head. Black ABS plastic is used mainly for sewer pipes. The caps I used were 4" OD. I tried to do a feeble attempt at modeling a loading platform as you can see. This was before Traincat came out with his excelent design in brass. Brian
Added styrene details on the roof and Gold Medal Model brass ladders on the side. All sprayed with a rattle can and in place. I still need to spray them with a flat coat. They need weathering and maybe a Busy Bee Oil Company sign. The tan tank is too close to the same color as the burm...I forgot about that. The PVC sleeve still inside the tanks slides out very easily. I didn't expect this at all. I will hold it in place with a drop of CA glue.
Me, too. I also recycle lots of containers into tanks on my layout. AMOCO Tank Farm tanks were made from a variety of PVC caps. The 2 gray tanks at the right edge of the picture are plastic containers that Dremel cutting disks came in. Koch Nitrogen on the far side of the mainline also has some smaller tanks made from a glass test tube, a plastic vial for holding water at the base of a cut flower stem, and 2 spools from my wife's weaving threads. The grain elevator/silo at the right edge of the picture is one of two dried onion rings containers. Flash, I like how you added the pipes, ladders, and maintenance doors. Those are details that will really improve my AMOCO tank farm tanks. I captured this Clark Oil logo from the Internet, printed, and glued it to the side of a (PVC cap) tank for a Clark distributership.
Dave: I like the Clark sign. I should create some kind of company label for my tanks. At least I have my old black tanks replaced now. Here is some chalk streaking on the tanks.
Flash: Nice job on the weathering/chalking/rusting. Does anyone have proto pics showing the berms/retaining walls around tanks in the 1970s or 1980s? Was the use of berms/retaining walls related to the type of material stored in the tanks (the more flammable or toxic the material, the more elaborate the safety berm)? Were there standard heights, widths, distances from the tanks, profiles for berms/retaining walls? Grass-covered or all dirt? One kit I saw has a 4 to 6 foot high brick wall surrounding and separating 2 tanks...is this brick wall containment method a common prototype arrangement in the 1970s/1980s era USA, or was dirt preferred in the 1970s? In the 70s/80s, for a 12 to 16 tank farm, would several tanks be contained in the same protected space or would each tank have its own berm/retaining wall (so one leaking or ignited tank won't be so likely to endanger a second tank)? How about maintenance roads for access to multiple tanks in a tank farm? Is it common to have a gravel or concrete fire-break road between each tank (like four lines of a tic-tac-toe design separating 9 tanks or lines of a checkerboard separating 64 with only one tank between each pair of roads/lines, or would there be several tanks between "aisles" (e.g., perhaps only 2 roads/fire-breaks separating 9 tanks into 3 trios of tanks)?
Brilliant!! I've seen many tanks that look exactly like a giant test tube turned upside-down. Note to self: Raid the R&D lab first thing Monday morning This thread has me inspired. I have a bunch of "thingees" that I've saved up for tanks. Like Ed, I just need to get busy.
I'm no expert by any means, but I did spend my whole career in the construction of refineries. While most of my work was centered around the process units, I have had some opportunities to do work out in the tank farms. I should have paid more attention. So take the following answers as just one data point, based on the tank farms I have seen, and subject to my poor memory. Most of the really toxic stuff is in petrochemical or chemical plants. Based on what I've seen, most of the stuff the refineries store gets generally the same berm treatment. I have seen a few chemicals (ethylene glycol comes to mind) where the entire retaining area was inside a concrete wall and paved with concrete, as they were very concerned with 100% capture. Other than the regs concerning sizing of the bermed area, most details of berm construction were based on the individual refinery standards. I've seen all sorts of arrangements, heights, profiles, etc even within the same refinery. Standards change over time and they didn't necessarily rebuild diked areas (other than adding new safety items). The most common dike (berm) construction is the plain dirt fill, usually trapezoidal in cross section, with a narrow flat area on top. While I've seen a few that were not surfaced (i.e. plain dirt with no covering) that was less common because of concerns about erosion. Common surfacing methods include grass (high maintenance because you need to keep it cut), crushed shell, crushed stone, and tar. You also need to think about providing worker access into each diked area by means of a stile (short stair section following the contour of the dike on both sides, with a short flat section over the top of the dike). May exist somewhere, but I never saw a brick retaining wall for liquids in the refineries I worked in. I would doubt that it would be sufficiently watertight. Now concrete walls, yes. They are a lot more expensive that dirt fill dikes, but you run into them where space was at a premium, including occasions where new regs required greater retention and there was not sufficient space to expand the original dirt fill dike. Again, depends on the individual refinery (or refiner's) standards, so unless you're modeling a specific refinery you have a lot of liberty to decide what you want to do. Based on what I've seen (or remember), really large tanks usually get their own diked area. Smaller tanks are more likely to be grouped inside a common dike than large ones. Again, based on what I've run into, the refineries try to minimize non-productive costs where possible. That means they are likely to try to use common dike walls between tanks as opposed to each tank having a unique dike. Likewise, having an access road between each tank unduly increases dike requirements, real estate requirements, and road construction requirements. But you generally need an access road on at least one side of each diked area. Large tanks would typically be grouped in 4 (although 6 wouldn't be uncommon) with an access road around the perimeter. I have to run to a dentist appointment now. Hopes this helps some. If you have more questions, ask away. I can guess at more answers. Regards Ed .
I used to live in El Segundo, CA near the big Chevron refinery there. There were tank farms along the beach that had berm catch basins that covered a larger area than the tank, unlike my model tanks above. These bermed areas were covered with tar and would fill with water during the rainy season and had to be pumped out. They did indeed have the stair access and a road along side the big open area. There were small pipes and drains in the bottom of the flat area, but I didn't really pay much attention to exactly what that was. They were always dirty and filling up with trash that had to be removed.
Ed, Flash: Thank you for the information...It will be very helpful. The 1970s era AMOCO tank farm I am modeling disappeared in the late 1980s or early 1990s and I never did get enough pics to guide my detailing. Aside from the "Flammable. No Smoking" signs, Oil Company logo, tank numbers, and Private Property signs, what other signage might be frequently seen in or around a petroleum tank farm? In the 1970s/80s, were the loading/unloading facilities for rails essentially the same as loading/unloading facilities for tanker trucks (with adjustments for height)?... or were they typically kept separated because the needs for each are different? With a slight modification to the back of loading/unloading facilities kits, it would seem that tank cars could be serviced from one side, and trucks from the other. Is this, indeed, a prototype practice in major oil company tank farms?
