Reference
20' Tank
Cylindrical vessel in a frame. Full internal dimensions, door opening, capacity and weights below.
- Inside length
- 6.058 m
- Inside width
- 2.438 m
- Inside height
- 2.438 m
- Door width
- Not applicable
- Door height
- Not applicable
- Capacity
- Not applicable
- Tare weight
- 4190 kg
- Max cargo weight
- 26290 kg
The length, width and height below are the ISO frame envelope, not the barrel. A tank’s usable capacity is its rated volume in litres, which is quoted by the operator per unit.
About the 20' Tank
A cylindrical stainless steel vessel mounted inside a twenty-foot frame, carrying liquids, gases and flowable powders in bulk.
Rated capacity is quoted in litres rather than cubic metres, and no door dimensions apply. Regulations set both a minimum and a maximum fill level: overfilling leaves no room for thermal expansion, while underfilling lets the cargo surge inside the barrel as the unit moves.
What a given tank may carry depends on its certification and on the last product it held. A cleaning certificate proving the previous cargo is normally required, and dangerous goods carriage is governed by the tank's own approval.
What it carries
How it is built
- A cylindrical stainless steel pressure vessel mounted inside a 20' ISO frame, so the assembly handles as a standard container.
- Insulation around the barrel, and on many units steam or electric heating to keep viscous cargo pumpable.
- A manlid, valves and pressure relief on top, with a discharge valve and often a bottom outlet at one end.
- Baffles inside some designs to limit the cargo surging as the vessel moves.
- Fill limits are strict in both directions: at least 80 per cent full so the liquid cannot surge dangerously in transit, and as a rule no more than 95 per cent so there is ullage for thermal expansion.
- Generally designed for a working pressure of up to 3 bar above atmospheric, and tested at 4.5 bar.
- Tanks approved for food use are marked 'Potable Liquids only'.
- Some dangerous goods must travel in tanks with no inlet or outlet below the surface of the liquid.
- Insulation, heating and temperature sensors can be fitted where the cargo has to be carried warm or under close temperature control.
Why it is used
- Carries bulk liquid without drums or IBCs, cutting both packaging cost and the labour of decanting.
- Cleanable and reusable across different cargoes, with a cleaning certificate proving the last product carried.
- Payload per unit is far higher than the equivalent volume of packaged liquid.
What to check before booking
- Regulations set both a minimum and a maximum fill level; an underfilled tank lets the cargo surge dangerously.
- Rated capacity is quoted in litres rather than cubic metres, and no door dimensions apply.
- Carriage of dangerous goods depends on the individual tank's certification and its last-cargo history.
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