I want a SCUBA laundry machine.

[CuzzA]

A whirlpool tub with jets would work great. But, If you wanted to do this pretty cheap and just as effective with the ability to move it around you could get a large stock tank and pick up a polypropylene dolly. Secure the tank to the dolly. Install a 3/4" threaded bulkhead and a garden hose with a ball valve so you can easily drain the tank. Get a couple aquarium powerheads or even return pumps and place them on either side of the tank. Fill the tank with fresh water and your gear, turn the pumps on for a mild agitation and then drain and rinse with your water source. Hang to dry. The minimal amount of salt in your gear won't effect your grass. Perhaps you could even secure some sort of bar over the tank that is attached to the dolly so the tank catches all off the dripping.

 

[kr2y5]

Thanks. I looked at a few of those stock tanks, and they were so handsome, I could not resist buying one. Here's s 100-gallon one standing in my garage. Isn't she a beauty! I got myself a cheap utility pump to extract water out of it, too. The only weak part of this plan is what happens with all the mud and seaweed that the pump won't be able to pick up. Unlike a sink, a stock tank doesn't drain completely. Having to drag it outside to hose it inside out, or having to pre-rinse stuff before putting it in, is a fine temporary workaround, but would be a PITA long-term. Maybe that's where the neighborhood kid comes into the picture? I'm tempted to drill a hole in the bottom to make a proper drain, but I suspect sealing it will be nontrivial. The tank is made from a structural foam. I considered zinc-coated ones, but opted against them, because I assumed they will rust easily.

 

[kwinter]

That looks identical to my Rubbermaid horse trough except for the lower price. Best rinse tank there is.


iPhone. iTypo. iApologize.

 

[CuzzA]

Kry2y5, as I sugested earlier you can simply install a bulkhead on the bottom with a hose and ball valve. These tank are commonly used for marine aquarium systems. The gasket on the bulkhead will seal the water out. The other benefit of using the dolly is it will give you the clearance for an elbow under the tank.

 

[kr2y5]

Ok, so there's a dolly now. So much better! I don't have to bend my back so much to reach inside. The edge of the tank comes up to just about my waist, which seems just about optimal. There's a little over a foot of clearance underneath for a possible drain.

You mention 3/4" threaded bulkhead. How does that compare to installing a regular sink strainer, what are the pros and cons of each? The ease of installation? Quality of seal? Something else?

Also, are there any tricks to working with structural foam that this tank is made of? Do you just drill a hole on it, put a rubber washer on each side, screw it tight, and top it off with some glue? Or, is there more to it? Thanks!

 

[CuzzA]

No, you want a bulkhead designed for tanks.

Yep, just drill the correct size hole for the nipple of the bulkhead. Your hole location should be a flat surface within the tank so the gasket and flange mate the tank. Don't use glue or silicone. The gasket will seal water out. Hand tighten the nut and then just a 1/4 turn with a wrench. Overtightening will deform the gasket and potentially cause a leak. I would buy a sch80 bulkhead since it will likely be exposed to excessive abuse from your gear. Also, I would buy one that is slip on the flange side and female NPT on the nipple. Any fittings like elbows, etc. must be threaded into the bulkhead. The external male threads are for the retaining nut only. If you want to add a strainer you can. Just be sure it's a slip fitting.

Here's a couple products that would work. Personally I don't think the strainer is necessary unless it was hooked to your homes sewer which then would create the possibility of a small piece of equipment going down the drain. If you're just dumping in the yard you could easily just retrieve whatever went down the drain.

Bulkhead
Strainer

 

[kwinter]

The Rubbermaid one you have is already set up for a boiler drain. It's just like the hose bib on the outside of a house except that it is threaded. I used a pvc one with a ball valve. Attach a garden hose directly to it. The only disadvantage of using the bulkhead that it has is that it is about an inch or so above the bottom so there is always some water left after draining. But it is easy to just tip it up and dump it out.

 

[kr2y5]

Right, the issue I have with this fish tank bulkhead design is that it seems to protrude quite a bit, and because of that, it's unclear how much value it really adds over the existing bulkhead that's already installed in the tank (as kwinter points out, there's one a couple of inches or less over the bottom, you can see it in the picture right in the front). I was rather thinking of something like the sink drain that doesn't stick out at all, but rather sinks below the surface, and that allows all the water, mud, and seaweed get sucked in effortlessly into a drain, like it does in a shower cabin. I think I won't bother punching another hole unless it does the job. I guess it's probably indeed easier to just tip the tank over as it stands on the dolly to drain it into a bucket. Maybe I will add some rubber pads to prevent the bottom edge of the tank from getting crushed (a bunch of online reviews seemed to suggest that's when the cracks often start to appear in this type of tank after a prolonged use).

 

[CuzzA]

I hear you about the sch80 bulkheads. If you decide to do it you could use the ABS bulkheads. They sit less than a 1/4" above the surface, but won't take excessive abuse.

 

[kr2y5]

Does anyone have a good idea how to securely hang tanks? I want to suspend them from a frame like the one that's emerging on the picture below. I prefer to suspend them because putting them into a tank and taking them out of it is hurting my body, and if it's hurting my body now, it will hurt it even more as I get older. My first thought was to use some variation over the contraption shown in the second picture, but I'm not really in love with it. Anyone has better ideas? I assume if I hang tanks by bands, the bands will slip a bit by bit, and that hanging by manifold is going to cause damage to it. Thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks!