These guidelines and instructions are given in very general terms due to the wide variety of tanks that can be lined. Read instructions completely before you begin. If you need further clarification, call New World Mfg. Inc. toll free at 1-800-523-8853 and ask to speak to an installer or someone familiar with installation procedures.

PVC liners are made oversized to allow for long term shrinkage. They need to be installed with wrinkles and gathers in the material spread evenly throughout. CSPE (chlorosulphonated polyethylene) aka Hypaloon, XR-5, etc. do not shrink and, consequently, are manufactured with closer tolerances. They will be installed with a tighter fit.

The guideline example is for an installation of a PVC liner in a round wooden tank with notations relating to square or rectangular shapes and CSPE lined tanks. Separate instructions are printed on this website for liner installation in metal and concrete tanks. Not every example is covered.

A little forethought on supplies needed during installation can save many hours of climbing in and out of the tank. Organize your tools and supplies. In addition to the liner and/or underlayment, you may need some of the following: 1) Drop light or strong flashlight needed in enclosed tanks. Lights will burn through some liner materials very quickly. Do not allow lights to lay on liner material when turned on. 2) Step ladder or full height ladder plus padding to be used beneath the ladder to protect the liner. 3) Extension cord 4) Drill 5) Staple gun 6) Double headed nails (removeable type) for temporary attachments into wood. 7) Stainless steel ring shank nails 8) Predrilled stainless steel bar. HDPE attaching bars can be used but may warp over time due to fluctuations in temperature; stainless steel is recommended. 9) Tank nipple sets, flanges, shroud kits, etc. needed for each inlet or outlet. 10) Pipe wrenches 11) Hammer 12) Measuring tape 13) Permanent marking pen, fine or medium point 14) Scissors and/or utility knife 15) Vinyl repair kit for PVC liners 16) CSPE solution, Industrial Cleaner and Simple Green for CSPE liners and/or CSPE repair patch., 17) Hot air gun for CSPE liners. 18) Gloves, clean rags and duct tape 19) Rectorseal 20) Silicone 21) Ground Fault Interrupter (GFI) 22) Rubber soled shoes 23) Five gallon bucket with rope for transporting supplies into the tank. 24) Two way radio or other means of communicating with person on outside of tank. 25) Hacksaw with metal cutting blade for cutting stainless steel bar if adjustment needs to be made in the length of any bar.

Drain tank. Remove any sediment and debris from bottom and rinse or sweep clean. High pressure washers, if used, should be used with extreme caution. Damage can be accelerated in some tanks. In small tanks, it works well just to rinse the walls with a bucket of water and sweep with a new plastic bristle broom, a push broom or a 2'-3' wide squeegee; or use a hose with an on-off adapter and running water. 1) Remove pointed end of nails, splinters or other sharp objects that may extend outward from the tank wall or floor. *Note: Rust stains inside the tank are often signs that a nail or screw may be in the wood; 2) Repair broken screen and roofs that are in poor condition; 3) Repair broken or rotted roof supports; 4) Screen overflow on the outside of the tank in order to keep creatures from crawling in or birds from nesting inside the tank; 5) Remove acorns, other nuts or seeds embedded in the wooden staves. Fill holes with silicone and install a fine, plastic coated mesh screen over the upper part of the tank wall as a deterrent to birds; 6) Tighten hoops and make sure they are fairly level around the perimeter of the tank. May need to add conduit hangers or short nails beneath the hoops to keep them level.

Place two ladders in tank. Feet of ladders need to be padded and base of ladders should should always be supported by a second person when anyone is on a ladder. If possible, ladders should be tied on top or outside of the tank for safety reasons. Disconnect all plumbing from tank walls. Plumbing that inputs over the top of the tank or very near to top of wall or stave may sometime be left as is. Most wood tanks will have a bung hole in the bottom for draining. New World recommends that it not be reused and instead covered with HDPE plastic plate with beveled edges or other acceptable method. A bottom drain can be added using using a tank nipple kit with elbow and gate valve several inches up from the floor on the tank wall. When the liner has been manufactured from supported material such as CSPE, aka Hypalon, all steel washers from tank nipple kits must be installed against the inside of the tank wall before the liner is installed. Supported material will not stretch. With PVC liners, because material is stretchable, this step can be done after liner is installed and permanently affixed to the tank. Underlayment is recommended for added protection. Underlayment can be attached using nails approximately ever three feet and one inch to two inches above where the liner is to be attached. Where ever plumbing enters the tank remove underlayment one inch beyond the placement location of the hard washer from the tank nipple kit. If your hard washer is two inches wide, remove three inches from around the plumbing location.

After the underlayment is attached, place liner in tank. Mark your tank wall in quarters and number the markings #1, #2, #3 and #4 for round tanks. Unfold the liner and do the same with the liner with your starting mark #1 to begin at a vertical seam in the liner. This will assure even gather around the top perimeter during the installation procedure eliminating guesswork. For square or rectangular tanks, mark corners of the liner, if needed, especially if there are no corner seams in the liner.

The bottom seam of the liner should be located at the edge or slightly up the wall instead of against the tank floor. The seam should have an even distance all the ar around the perimeter. CAUTION: Pay particular attention to the corners and around the bottom circumference of the tank since the tank will continue to be the supporting structure. Some liners may need a weight or PVC bracing, etc. to help keep the liner tight against the tank especially tanks with a high degree of taper.

Locate the vertical side seam of the liner that you marked #1, your starting point. Hoist liner up and align liner seam to the beginning quarter mark of you tank also marked #1. Using a plumb mark align vertical side seam of liner to the top and bottom of the tank. If you begin in alignment you should continue to stay in alignment throughout the entire procedure.

The following step is one of the most critical in the installation procedure. Locate and plumb the bottom drain and/or outlet. Use the inside of the pipe as a guide for cutting the hole in the liner. Press liner tight over the pipe and cut hole in liner. When cutting holes in the liner for outlets or drains, make sure there is no pull on the bottom seam of the liner. The bottom seam should be located at least one to two inches up the tank wall. This is more important with PVC liners than CSPE liners simply because PVC will shrink over a period of years. You want to avoid having the liner shrink away from the tank and the seam carry the weight of the water since that could eventually result in a leak. If inlet/outlet is in good condition and pipe threads of nipple extend into the tank sufficiently to attach the gasket, hard washer and nut (generally this is not the case) it will not be necessary to replace if. If necessary to replace, follow instructions in STEP #7. If inlet/outlet is an unthreaded pipe in good condition and extends into the tank at least 3" or more, follow STEP #8 for installation of a shroud kit.

Temporarily nail the sidewall of the PVC or CSPE liner to the top of tank wall using double headed nails (removable type). Damage to the liner may occur after it is filled with water if there are air pockets behind the liner seams since it would allow the seam to stretch and be stressed. PVC liners should be installed in a relaxed fashion with a small amount of "blousing" all around the bottom. "Blousing" is the name for the folds that are created as a result of liner being manufactured slightly oversized. CSPE liners are manufacture with a tighter fit and, consequently, there would be little or no blousing. After you have completed the temporary attachment of the sidewall at the vertical seam (your starting point), go directly across tank and raise the wall for the second temporary attachment. Your #3 mark on the tank wall and liner should be aligned. When you have an even amount of wall draped behind you, make the second attachment as previously described. Make two more temporary attachments at the quarter mark #2 and #4. Even amounts of liner materials should be temporarily attached around the entire perimeter.

Permanently secure liner to top of tank using predrilled stainless steel bar or some other suitable bar type material and ring shank nails. Stainless steel is recommended because it provides a tighter pinch to the tank, does not warp or degrade over time. Nail through each predrilled section of the bar, through the liner, underlayment and into the wood. Disconnect the temporary attachments as you make the permanent attachments. Trim excess liner and underlayment above the stainless steel bar for a more professional, finished appearance. No instructions are given for installing flanges or stainless steel ring kits only tank nipple kits and shroud kits since they are the most common. Call for further instruction if needed.

Cut a hole in the liner to the inside of the tank nipple (cut in a round configuration, no straight lines since they could tear) to assure a nice fit. It sometimes is easier to start the cut with a knife and finish the cut with scissors. Old plumbing should have already been removed. Install new plumbing. The tank nipple set has the placement of all the washers and nuts exactly as they will be installed., On the outside of the tank will be a hard washer and nut. To the inside of the tank, behind the liner, will be a hard washer (against the inside tank wall) and gasket; then the liner, gasket, hard washer and nut, in that order. The liner will be sandwiched between two gaskets. Leave one hard washer and nut on the tank nipple and insert from the outside the tank with hard washer and nut against the outside tank wall. From the inside of the tank, gently slip one hard washer through the hole in the PVC liner and place against the tank wall. If CSPE liner, the hard washer should have been installed before the liner was installed. If not, you can elongate the hole and very carefully, at an angle, slowly rotate the hard washer through the hole. Follow with gasket, just bend it in half and slip it through the hole. Slip liner over tank nipple and up against the gasket. Place the remaining gasket over tank nipple and against the liner. Install hard washer over the gasket. Before adding pipe nut, seal the threads of the nipple with Rectorseal. Add pipe nut. On the outside of the tank you should already have in place one hard washer against the tank plus the pipe nut. Tighten the pipe nut on outside of tank using caution not to over tighten. Do not allow pipe to turn while tightening nut. You may need to have someone on the outside of the tank holding tank nipple so it does not turn. If it turns, it will cause the liner to twist on the inside of the tank and a leak may result. After tightening, seal with Rectorseal around the top of the nut where it meets the threads and around the bottom of the nut where it is against the hard washer. Water can travel down the pipe threads allowing leaks to occur to the outside of the tank if this procedure is not completed correctly.

A shroud is also sometime called a pipe boot or sleeve. Shrouds can be pre-welded to the liner, facing in or out. Eact location and type of pipe needs to be given at the time the liner is ordered. Shroud kits are also available and can be glued to the liner during installation. The kit includes shroud, two soft rubber gaskets, a stainless steel hose clamp and glue.

For overflow repeat plumbing installation. Overflow pipe should be located several inches below top of liner and at least one pipe size larger than the inlet. Relocating overflow pipe may be necessary in some cases.

************************************************************** If you have any questions or run into a problem during installation, we encourage you to call our factory and speak with someone familiar with installation procedures. Our toll free number is 1-800-523-8853.