Is flat tank ok to be strapped down

[JohnDoeWindows]

You can't afford NOT to bolt your tank down safely

 

[James102]

Why not give zero DS a call. He actually comes to you. Windowcleaner88 used him and said he was really good. I`m going to give him a bell once I get my next van.

I did £600

 

[Iron Giant]

I would prefer to bolt it down but no where local does it I'm thinking ask welders to make me a frame up

Going off what I was quoted locally by a fabricator it will be just as expensive as PureFreedom pretty sure I was quoted £900 but I deleted their email after he spat his dummy.

There is this fella Log in to Facebook he has fitted systems for lads and I was in talks with him and he gave me an estimate of £250 but some personal stuff came up so I had to cancel his coming to have a look when he was in my area, he is based in Yorkshire and does travel about, but you will need a frame similar to the one I linked previously at The Cleaning Warehouse and possibly have to source the high tensile bolts and spreader plates.

 

[ched999uk]

Not sure if this is any help but Squeeky Clean Dave has just made a tank frame here: It's not the best frame but it's better than no frame as unistrut does have reasonable load ratings. Just need to find a friendly mechanic with a ramp to bolt it in.

 

[James102]

Not sure if this is any help but Squeeky Clean Dave has just made a tank frame here: It's not the best frame but it's better than no frame as unistrut does have reasonable load ratings. Just need to find a friendly mechanic with a ramp to bolt it in.

How would infind him?

 

[ched999uk]

How would infind him?

I wasn't suggesting you contact Squeeky Clean Dave more that if you are OK with DIY you could make the same frame for your tank and get a local mechanic to fit it for you.

 

[spruce]

I wasn't suggesting you contact Squeeky Clean Dave more that if you are OK with DIY you could make the same frame for your tank and get a local mechanic to fit it for you.

Not sure I would rely on that frame to hold a 650 litre tank full of water securely.

I know there was a poster in here (not any more) who believed using unistrut was fine, but I wouldn't.

Did he even use high tensile bolts? Squeaky clean Dave had put out some interesting videos over the years, but imho this isn't one of them.

 

[Pjj]

Not sure I would rely on that frame to hold a 650 litre tank full of water securely.

I know there was a poster in here (not any more) who believed using unistrut was fine, but I wouldn't.

Did he even use high tensile bolts? Squeaky clean Dave had put out some interesting videos over the years, but imho this isn't one of them.

Quite agree any untested frame welded by who ever there is no guarantee of it’s safety in an accident it need testing to an approved standard, welds are x rayed to check they are ok on anything structural when made by any reputable company , making something in Your garage is ok but could give you a false sense of security in the event of an accident have seen this many times especially with farm equipment

 

[Iron Giant]

Not sure I would rely on that frame to hold a 650 litre tank full of water securely.

I know there was a poster in here (not any more) who believed using unistrut was fine, but I wouldn't.

Did he even use high tensile bolts? Squeaky clean Dave had put out some interesting videos over the years, but imho this isn't one of them.

Dave has always come across as switched on person to me, but what has always struck me in the past is him strapping his tanks in, but now he is not only making a frame to hold the tank in the video but he is also doing the same for another tank to put in a 20 year old Ambulance that he is converting,

He must be making good money window cleaning plus the add on's he does so why not get two tanks and crash tested cages from Purefreedom for example and pay someone to fit them.

 

[Iron Giant]

I wasn't suggesting you contact Squeeky Clean Dave more that if you are OK with DIY you could make the same frame for your tank and get a local mechanic to fit it for you.

The trouble is that some potentially don't have a clue, before I had mine fitted at my local the owner asked me to go around with my van to take a look and see what brackets and bolts I had this is a garage I've used for years which has an excellent reputation,

I also contacted another garage who I know fitted a tank for some one I had to have a 3 way conversation over the phone between the owner and some one on the phone who I had no clue who he was I wasn't asked anything about my van or tank etc he said he could do the job on a certain day and if I wanted it doing just to drop my van off outside first thing and put my keys through the letterbox,

When my garage ran into an issue the owner had a discussion with his employees and a local fabricator and ultimately got steel and welding done and supplied extra bolts etc which were required.

I don't think anyone who with respect doesn't know much should upon reflection go to any garage, because as we know fitting a tank into a car derived van isn't straight forward at all.

 

[ched999uk]

Not sure I would rely on that frame to hold a 650 litre tank full of water securely.

I know there was a poster in here (not any more) who believed using unistrut was fine, but I wouldn't.

Did he even use high tensile bolts? Squeaky clean Dave had put out some interesting videos over the years, but imho this isn't one of them.

I agree to a point, unistrut does have reasonable load ratings BUT it depends on how many bolts are holding it down and at what pitches. Although it's not that thick steel it's sort of a box section especially where the zebedees and jointing plates are used.
As you say, a 650 litre tank would be pushing it but a 400lts tank I would say a unistrut frame is better than just strapping it in and better than some of the thin angle iron frames I have seen being sold.

Yes there are safer frames out there that have been crash tested and in an ideal world we should all use those.

 

[spruce]

I agree to a point, unistrut does have reasonable load ratings BUT it depends on how many bolts are holding it down and at what pitches. Although it's not that thick steel it's sort of a box section especially where the zebedees and jointing plates are used.
As you say, a 650 litre tank would be pushing it but a 400lts tank I would say a unistrut frame is better than just strapping it in and better than some of the thin angle iron frames I have seen being sold.

Yes there are safer frames out there that have been crash tested and in an ideal world we should all use those.

Yes there are safer frames out there that have been crash tested and in an ideal world we should all use those.

I totally agree.

The trouble is that the Unistrut angles are held together at the top only. To me, that's not good enough. The other thing is that the main 'strength' is dependent on the top lip section. When welding a box section, it has to be welded all the way around for strength.

The predominant use of the Unistrut support system is helping with lightweight construction within building projects. As they can be easily made into a variety of shapes, Unistruts will be used to hold things like pipes, wiring, and mechanical systems in place. They will also be used to construct supports for medical equipment and solar panels. I just don't believe they make a suitable restraint for window cleaning tanks. It is maybe OK for day to day tank securing, but will it hold together when it's needed most - in an accident?

I have always felt when it comes to safety, it's better to overengineer a product. This is just my opinion.