Foundation and site for a cryogenic tank: a checklist before installation

The most common reason installation slips is not the equipment but the site. Here is what to prepare so the crew works instead of waiting.

Equipment usually arrives on time. What holds a project up is concrete that has not cured, a gate a low-loader cannot pass, or a missing power supply. Everything below can be prepared in parallel with manufacturing, so installation starts the day the tank arrives.

Foundation

• A reinforced concrete slab designed for the weight of the filled tank. For a 30 m³ CO₂ vessel that is roughly forty tonnes together with the product.
• The loads and the support layout come from the supplier with the quotation. Do not pour concrete before you have that drawing — the anchor spacing is not universal.
• Concrete needs time to reach strength. Plan three to four weeks between pouring and installation.

Access and space

• A tanker must reach the filling point within hose distance, normally fifteen to twenty metres, and be able to turn around.
• The area is fenced, with safety distances to buildings, windows and sources of ignition defined by the project and applicable rules.
• Space for the vaporizer next to the tank. Remember that it ices up and drips during defrosting, so no walkway underneath.

Utilities

• Power, if the vaporizer is electric, and for automation and lighting.
• Earthing.
• The pipeline route to the consumer. The shorter and simpler it is, the lower the pressure drop and heat gain.

Documents

Pressure vessels are subject to registration, and installation is carried out by an organisation holding the corresponding permit. Agree in advance who prepares the paperwork — you or the contractor. This is worth settling at the contract stage, because collecting documents afterwards takes longer than the installation itself.

Checklist before the crew arrives

• Foundation poured, cured, dimensions and anchors match the drawing.
• Access road clear, gate width and turning radius checked against the low-loader.
• Crane access and a hard standing for outriggers.
• Power supply brought to the site, earthing loop ready.
• Pipeline route agreed, penetrations through walls made.
• Responsible person on site who can sign for the work.

How long preparation takes

• Layout and load drawing from the supplier — issued with the quotation.
• Design and approvals — from two weeks, depending on the site and who does it.
• Foundation: excavation, reinforcement, pouring — about a week of work.
• Concrete curing — three to four weeks, and this is the part that cannot be compressed.
• Installation and piping — one to two weeks. Commissioning — a few days.

Who is responsible for what

The usual split: the customer prepares the foundation, access, power and the room for the pipeline route; the contractor supplies the equipment, installs it, does the piping, pressure-tests and commissions. Problems start where the boundary is not written down — most often the power supply to the vaporizer and the wall penetrations. Fix both in the contract.

We supply the load diagram and layout together with the commercial proposal, so preparation can start before the contract is signed.