A: B.H. Tank's primary service area is the Western United States. However, we provide products and services throughout the United States and Baja California, Mexico. B.H. Tank Works, Inc. is a California based corporation and licensed contractor. B.H. Tank provides water tank and other liquid storage solution services to homeowners, utilities, contractors, national distributors.

Q: Why should we buy a B.H. Tank?

A: BH Tank has been in business for over 65 years. With thousands of satisfied customers and the industry's first ten year warranty on all the products we manufacture, you can count on our experience and the fact we stand behind everything we sell. We build tanks to last!

Q: What kind of services do you normally provide?

A: Buyers, such as, water utilities, homeowner associations, engineering firms, contractors and individuals, rely on BH Tank for:

• Storage consultation and specifications
  
• Tank and foundation engineering and design
  
• Piping, valves and system controls
  
• Turn-key new tank installation and tank replacement
  
• Manufacturing services. Making others designs into reality.
  
• Tank maintenance and inspection services
  
• Temporary and permanent storage solutions

Q: What information should be provided by purchaser?

A: Besides standard contact and order information, it is recommended the purchaser consider the following factors:

1. What is the required (or desired) storage capacity. Are there any current of future additional reserves needed?
   
2. Preferred diameter and height. Are there restrictions to size? Measure the area available for tank installation.
   
3. Specific project or delivery location information and instructions.
   
4. Desired time of delivery or completion.
   
5. Pipe sizes. Inlet, Outlet, Overflow and drain. and location.
   
6. Additional accessories. It's always more cost effective to purchase accessories at the same time as ordering the tank. Consider tank access manways and ladders, level indicators and controls, and safety devices such as railings, platforms and anti-fall devices.
   
7. Seismic zone, snow loading or special wind conditions.
   
8. For foundation design (anchored tanks), soil bearing loads are required. A geotechnical report can save time and assist in providing a more economical foundation. For unanchored tanks, BH Tank can assume a 1000 PSF soil bearing load.
   
9. Check with your local building department for permit requirements. If a permit is required, a plot plan indicating exact location of installation will be required.
   

Q. What about plastic tanks?

A. For small capacity (under 1000 gallons), non-flammable liquid chemical storage, plastic tanks are very economical. They are especially effective for storing caustics and acid solutions.
Plastic water tanks are also used for residential drinking water systems. They are inexpensive and convenient to install due to their light weight and they can be installed on almost any surface. Plastic are mass produced and abundant.

Q. Are polyethylene tanks approved for drinking water?

A. The materials used to manufacture poly (plastic) water tanks are approved for contact with potable water but NSF does not test the storage system. Factors such as poly tanks propensity to facilitate algae and bacterial growth, affects of sunlight and temperature on leaching of phthalates and other possible carcinogens, remain unknown.

Q. Are plastic tanks approved for use in fire protection systems?

A. Some local jurisdictional authorities allow the use of plastic tanks for fire protection, especially under hard access conditions. Plastic is a flammable material that loses structural integrity when exposed to heat. NFPA does not recognize polyethylene as a suitable material for fire protection storage. BH Tank recommends that every effort be made to use an approved material for fire protection. If a purchaser insists on plastic tanks for economical or access reasons, a letter of approval from the local fire marshal is recommended. Insurance companies may not pay for loses incurred due to fire if non-approved materials are used in fire protection systems.

Q. Plastic may have it's problems but "Steel Tanks Rust?"

A. A Steel tank will eventually rust but unlike a poly tank, they will not outright fail. Without maintenance, as a steel tanks ages, a typical corrosion cycle begins. Small pockets of rust may develop and weep, seep, reseal themselves, weep, seep then finally leak. Sometimes they can be repaired. They rarely fail. A Properly manufactured, installed and maintained steel water tank can last up to 50 years or more.

Q. What's the difference between a riveted corrugated galvanized steel tank and a welded galvanized steel tank?

A. .Shop manufactured welded mill-galvanized steel tanks are typically "butt" welded and rely on a single weld bead for structural integrity. Welding is more economical than riveting but the process removes the mill galvanizing and produces hazardous gases. Certifying the structural quality and penetration of the weld is not economically feasible for this type of tank construction. Corrugated steel has nine (9) times the tensile bearing strength of flat steel and is superior in resistance to compressive loads. Corrugated steel is especially resistant to the buckling and "mushrooming" that can affect flat metal tanks during an earthquake. Corrugated tank seams are overlapped and hand-riveted with solid steel rivets forming a double thickness of steel that further enhances the lateral and vertical strength of the tank. This process requires more labor and special skills but it does not harm the original galvanized surfaces. In addition, water never comes in contact with a riveted seam. All corrugated water tanks submerged surfaces are completely coated and sealed with materials approved for contact with water.

Q. What's the difference between a riveted corrugated steel tank and a bolted flat steel tank?

A. Aside from inherent structural and aesthetic differences, the functional differences are primarily in capacity. Riveted corrugated steel tanks are available in sizes up to 144,000 gallon capacity. Bolted steel tank sizes range up to 2,000,000 gallons in capacity. Generally, corrugated tanks are more economical and have a "hand-crafted" aesthetic appeal. Bolted tanks have the benefit of National Standard recognition, including AWWA and Factory Mutual Insurance approval for fire protection systems. They have an "industrial" look but are more "quaint" in aesthetic comparison to welded steel reservoirs.

Q. What's the difference between bolted and welded steel reservoirs?

A. Bolted steel tanks are only available in standard diameters and are limited to maximum capacities of 2,000,000 gallons (Bolted water tanks). Welded steel reservoirs can be designed in various configurations with water tank capacities in excess of 10,000,000.
Generally, bolted tanks under 500,000 gallon capacities are more economical and have superior life cycle costs.

The primary advantages of bolted tanks are in the factory applied coating systems. Bolted tanks are easier and faster to erect and avoid the delays and expensive labor costs associated with welding and field applied coatings.