I received the ball valve and the thread adapters for installing the water tank, so it was time to move it in place and start to fill it. I had managed to get the tank out of Timmy the Titan by myself, so I thought I’d take a shot at moving it myself. It only weighs about 200 pounds but it’s pretty big (about 60” diameter and 80” high) and smooth, so it’s hard to get purchase. A hand truck lashed to the tank failed. I did find that I could brace my back against the tank and push, but it’s uphill and in gravel so I’d only gain a couple of inches with each push, and then I’d have to clear the gravel that was piling up in the path of the tank. It would take a long time.
For some reason, an image of Egyptian slaves moving massive stone building blocks came to my mind, and with it a recollection that they probably rolled those stones on logs. I cut a couple of lengths of scrap 2” PVC conduit and lifted the leading edge of the tank and placed one under it. It was magical, and I could easily move the tank by myself. I do wish I’d had a way to get video of taking the tank out of the truck and then moving it.
The Hand showed up about then, which made the job a lot easier as there wasn’t enough room to squeeze between the tank and either the garage wall or the berm, so things went a lot faster with someone on either side so we could just hand the rollers off as we rolled off them.
In place, I could get on top of the tank from the berm and peer inside:
Now that it was installed, I was able to run a long garden hose to it and fill it about ⅔ of the way up in about two hours.
I still don’t have the catchment gutters and downspout installed, so naturally once I’d filled it (and applied the final coat of paint to the hot tub deck) it started to rain.
Still, laundry water and hot tubbing are likely just days away.
—2p