Stainless process tanks: volume alone is not a sale description

A jacket surrounds part of a vessel so another medium can heat or cool the contents. The vessel interior and jacket can have different design conditions, which need separate records.

Suncombe's jacketed mixing-vessel description gives a concrete example: an atmospheric inner vessel with a pressurised heating jacket. It also distinguishes internal material from external fittings and lists available construction documentation. Those details demonstrate why "stainless jacketed tank" is incomplete.

Do not copy that example's ratings or materials into another tank description. Obtain the actual plate data and manufacturer drawings, and ask a competent vessel specialist to explain unclear information. A stated jacket pressure should never become a claim about the vessel interior.

Keep the evidence in a folder indexed to the tank's asset number.

• Photograph the manufacturer's plate, serial number and other accessible identifiers.
• Record the stated capacity and whether the document calls it gross, nominal or working volume.
• Include construction drawings and documented materials for the relevant parts.
• Record separate vessel and jacket design information where applicable.
• Identify nozzles, outlets, valves, access covers and instruments from the drawings or a competent survey.
• List attached equipment and decide what is included.
• Add known prior contents, cleaning records and history gaps.
• Record repairs, alterations and relevant specialist examination information.
• Provide external dimensions, site photographs and access constraints for the contractor's survey.

Use the factory document register where the drawings have several revisions. A drawing should be linked to evidence that it describes the tank as it stands, particularly after an additional nozzle or mixer has been fitted.

A top-mounted drive and shaft may belong to a mixer system that needs its own description. A transfer pump on the same frame also has separate identity, seal and condition questions.

List each included component rather than using "complete with all fittings" unless that scope has been checked. Identify anything hired, retained for another line or attached to shared factory services.

Suppose a tank is offered with its agitator but without the factory heating source. State that boundary clearly. The buyer can assess the offered equipment without assuming the original site's services will accompany it.

Record the products and other substances known to have contacted the tank. Include cleaning agents or specialist treatment records where relevant. Use the previous-contents declaration to distinguish documented history from an operator's recollection.

Ask a suitable specialist what evidence and preparation are needed before inspection or movement. Avoid calling a tank "decontaminated" without a specific, applicable record explaining the work and its limits.

HSE's confined-space guidance explains risks from tanks, vessels and residues. For work in Great Britain, inspection planning must address the actual hazards. Do not enter a tank to take sale photographs or check a dimension; arrange any necessary internal assessment through competent specialists.

Ask what access, dimensions, support details and available lifting information the contractor needs to assess removal. Record which pipework and building connections fall within the scope, who will prepare the equipment and who owns any reinstatement work.

The dossier is information for that assessment. It is not a lifting plan, pressure-test procedure or confirmation that the tank is ready to move.

Send UK Auction Group the dossier index, photographs and proposed inclusions when discussing a sale. A documented tank can be assessed on its actual construction and history, rather than a volume estimate and a shiny photograph.

The manufacturing and process-equipment guide covers related pumps, mixers and heat-transfer equipment.