Water tank stands – steel or timber?

In South Africa, the two commonly encountered types of water tank stands are made from either steel or timber; which should you choose?

Water tanks and tank stands often go hand-in-hand – water tank stands provide a level solid base for water tanks and enable water to be stored at an elevation to make use of gravity for water pressure.  As the size (and weight) of the water tank increases, the structure of a water tank stand becomes more critical.  A timber tank stand can be built fairly cheaply for smaller water tanks of 2500 litres and less but as tank size increases to 5000 litres and 10000 litres, the size of the timber poles makes the project more expensive.  Critically, can the timber structure reliably support 5 tonnes of water in the case of 5000 litre tanks or 10 tonnes in the case of 10000 litre tanks?  Timber poles should be well-treated with preservatives and insect-repellent chemicals to ensure that structural integrity is maintained.  Overflowing water tanks often cause water to soak into timber platforms resulting in rot (even very well-treated timber is susceptible to constant wet conditions).

We recommend that steel tank stands be chosen of timber tanks stands, especially for water tanks of 5000 litres and bigger.  Furthermore, choose steel tank stands that have been properly designed and built with appropriate measures to handle winds and harsh environmental conditions.  While a timber tank stand may be satisfactory for a smallish water tank at a home, in the case of public and commercial sites, a high quality steel water tank stand is strongly recommended so that public safety is maintained.  Steel water tank stands must also be properly installed according to the manufacturer’s installation guidelines – a tank stand that is not level, resulting in uneven pressure distribution is a potentially dangerous structure.  Also ensure that steel tank stands are either galvanised or coated with a high quality, rust-inhibiting paint (an uncoated steel tank stand will rust through very quickly in damp or salty environments).

Steel tank stands are relatively expensive but can last for decades if properly installed and regularly coated (taking care to remove any surface rust before re-painting).

In South Africa, we recommend steel water tank stands and steel silo tank stands supplied by JoJo Tanks.  JoJo steel tank stands are designed and manufactured by a registered structural engineer and are available for 5000 litre vertical water tanks and 10000 litre vertical water tanks and can be ordered in the following heights: 1.5 metres, 3 metres, 4.5 metres, 6 metres and 9 metres.

JoJo Tanks South Africa offer a wide range of products such as plastic water tanks and chemical tanks to suit every household, business or agricultural need, including silo tanks and silo tank stands as well as other high quality JoJo Tanks products.  See JoJo Tanks’ VERTICAL TANKS, HORIZONTAL TANKS (transporter tanks), STEEL TANK STANDS and OTHER JOJO PRODUCTS and see JoJo Tanks’ NEW 6000 LITRE UNDERGROUND TANKS. Also see our FAQ and WATER TANK PRICES.