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Containers that get dropped, dragged and left in the mud.
Contractors and municipal yards are the least fussy and most practical customers we have. They do not care what colour the bottle is or whether the cage is scuffed. They care whether it holds a thousand gallons of water, survives a forklift driver in a hurry, and costs little enough that losing one is not a crisis.
Short answer
Buy grade C on steel cages. Fill brine and de-icer to weight, not to the line. We fabricate dust skids, wash bays and spray assemblies to order and take everything back at project end.
- Typical grade
- C
- Cage
- All-steel
- Brine fill
- ~238 gal
- Builds
- To order
Form 01 · Spec request
Price a jobsite package.
Tell us the count, the duty and whether you need anything fabricated. Project-end collection can be quoted at the same time so the containers do not become somebody's problem in six months.
Applications
What sites and yards use them for.
| Application | Grade | Configuration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jobsite potable-adjacent water | Food grade | Any base | If crews drink from it, buy documented stock |
| General site water | Used C | Steel cage preferred | Cheapest workable option |
| Dust suppression | Used C | Skid with pump and spray bar | Fabricated to order |
| Concrete and equipment wash | Used C | Stand with wand and sediment trap | Capture runoff |
| Brine and liquid de-icer | Used B | Steel cage, insulated or traced | Fill to weight; 9.9 lb/gal |
| Ballast and barriers | Used C | Any | Filled with water on site |
| Fuel-adjacent storage | Reconditioned | Viton gaskets | Check local regulation before storing fuel |
| Erosion and sediment control water | Used C | Any | Often paired with pumps |
Fabrication
What the cage shop builds
- Dust suppression skids with pump, hose reel and spray bar
- Wash bays with wand, sediment trap and greywater capture
- Insulated and heat-traced brine stations with metered draw-off
- Welded stands and elevated frames for gravity feed
- Forkable and strappable skid assemblies for frequent relocation
- Storage cages from frames with the bottle removed
More examples on the upcycled builds page.
Site practice
What makes them last a season
- Level, compacted standing — a full tote is over a ton and mud moves
- Steel cages anywhere a forklift or loader operates
- Drained below the outlet before a hard freeze, or heat traced
- Spare valves and caps in the site container; they are what goes missing
- Dedicated containers per fluid rather than rotating them between duties
- Collection arranged at project end rather than left to the demobilisation rush
Questions
Construction and municipal, answered.
01Which grade suits a jobsite?
Grade C, almost always. A container that will be dragged, dropped and left in a mud lot gains nothing from cosmetic condition. Spend the saving on a steel cage instead.
02Why specify a steel cage?
Because jobsite handling is rough. All-steel bases and frames tolerate fork strikes, uneven ground and being moved by whatever equipment happens to be free, in a way composite bases do not.
03Can you build dust suppression and wash-bay units?
Yes. We fabricate skids, stands, spray bars, hose-reel assemblies and sediment traps in the cage shop, or supply the parts loose if your crew would rather build them.
04How do you handle brine and de-icer storage?
Brine at 9.9 pounds per gallon exceeds a 2,500 pound rating at about 238 gallons, so fill to weight. For winter service, insulated or heat-traced units on steel frames are the practical configuration.
05Do you take containers back at the end of a project?
Yes, and it is usually the right end to a project. We collect, pay for what has value and reclaim the rest, with a diversion statement if the contract requires one.
Jobsite specification
What survives a site, and what does not.
Construction and municipal containers are handled by whoever is free, on uneven ground, often in the cold. Specify for that.
| Element | Specify | Avoid | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grade | C | A | Cosmetics have no value; save the money |
| Base | All-steel | All-plastic in winter | Plastic gets brittle and takes fork strikes badly |
| Cage | Steel, straight bars | Anything bowed | It will be moved by tractor and loader forks |
| Bottle | Black UV-stabilised | Natural in full sun | Algae and long-term embrittlement |
| Valve | Full-port ball | Butterfly for slurry | Solids will not pass a disc |
| Gasket | EPDM | Viton unless fuel | Brine and water are EPDM territory |
| Cap | Vented for storage | Solid on a warm fill | Prevents bottle collapse |
| Fitting | Camlock | Bare buttress | Fast connect with gloves on |
| Fluid | Density | 275 gal max | 330 gal max | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | 8.34 lb/gal | 275 gal | 330 gal | Full in both |
| Brine, 23% NaCl | 9.9 lb/gal | 238 gal | 286 gal | Mark the level on the cage |
| Magnesium chloride solution | 10.4 lb/gal | 226 gal | 273 gal | Fill to weight |
| Calcium chloride, 32% | 11.1 lb/gal | 212 gal | 255 gal | Fill to weight |
| Dust suppressant concentrate | 9.2 lb/gal | 256 gal | 308 gal | Check compatibility |
| Diesel fuel | 7.1 lb/gal | 275 gal | 330 gal | Check local storage rules |
Winter operations
The failure that fills our spring intake.
Every April we buy containers from municipal yards that were fine in November. All of them were full of something when the temperature dropped.
- 01
Drain before the freeze
To below the outlet. Water expands, the bottle takes a permanent set and the cage bows outward at the mid-height bars. The container often still holds water and is no longer stackable or square.
Costs nothing - 02
Open the valve
Draining to below the outlet leaves water in the valve body, which freezes and can crack the housing or seize the disc. Thirty seconds, and it is the difference between a working valve in March and a replacement.
Thirty seconds - 03
Insulate or trace if live
For stations that must stay in service, insulate the tank, heat trace the manifold and keep water moving. A jacket alone slows freezing rather than preventing it.
Modest cost - 04
Inspect in spring
Check the cage is still square, the feet are true and the container sits level. Ten minutes at the end of the season keeps the same units working for a decade.
Ten minutes
| Application | Grade | Base | Extra requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crew drinking water | Food grade | Plastic or steel | Documented prior contents, no exceptions |
| General site water | Used C | Steel preferred | None |
| Dust suppression | Used C | Steel | Pump, hose reel, spray bar |
| Concrete and equipment wash | Used C | Steel | Sediment trap, runoff capture |
| Brine and liquid de-icer | Used B | Steel | Insulated or heat traced; fill to weight |
| Ballast and barriers | Used C | Any | Filled on site |
| Erosion and sediment control | Used C | Any | Often paired with pumps |
| Fuel-adjacent storage | Reconditioned | Steel | Viton gaskets; check local regulation |
Extended FAQ · 6 questions
More questions, answered
01Which grade suits a jobsite?
Grade C, almost always. A container that will be dragged, dropped and left in a mud lot gains nothing from cosmetic condition. Spend the saving on a steel cage instead.
02Why specify a steel cage and base?
Because jobsite handling is rough and cold weather makes plastic brittle. All-steel bases and frames tolerate fork strikes, uneven ground and being moved by whatever equipment happens to be free.
03Can you build dust suppression and wash-bay units?
Yes. We fabricate skids, stands, spray bars, hose-reel assemblies and sediment traps in the cage shop, or supply the parts loose if your crew would rather build them.
04How do we store brine over winter?
Steel cage, level load-rated standing, insulation or heat tracing if the station stays live, and fill to weight — brine at 9.9 pounds per gallon caps a 2,500 pound container at about 238 gallons.
05Do you take containers back at the end of a project?
Yes, and it is usually the right end to a project. Book the collection at the same time as the delivery and containers left at demobilisation become a payment instead of a disposal cost.
06Is a used container safe for crew drinking water?
Only documented food-grade stock. On every other jobsite duty grade C is the correct and honest answer, and we will say so — but not for anything anybody drinks.
Next step
Quote the collection with the delivery.
Containers left behind at demobilisation become somebody's disposal cost. Book the pickup at the same time as the drop and it becomes a payment instead.