Dip Tank Substitute?

I had been out of screen printing for about 15 years and am starting a shop back up this spring/summer so the dip tank is new since I have been out.

I am thinking of buying a large plastic trash can at Lowes or Home Depot to use as a dip tank. They run anywhere from $30 to $40. Does anyone know any reason they that would not work as long as it is wide and deep enough for the screens. The dip tanks I see are $200-$400. Any reason why the large trash can would not work?

Location: 
United States

Good point. Would hate to come in and find 30 gallons of solution on the floor after it eats through the sidewalk of a can!

Streeter Clow
Printhouse Graphics
Mansfield, Ohio
printhousegraphics.com
419-631-5783

SkyLinePrints's picture

here is the option i went with. not as much as an advertised "dip tank" and it works well.

http://www.tank-depot.com/productdetails.aspx?part=R123030A

Ink, you are correct. The chemical compounds of some of these solutions might just eat through a trash can. potentially a lot of money to see flowing across the floor.

Have a great day! :)

Nathan Harrison
Skyline Prints Embroidery and Screen Printing
4982 Bill Gardner Pkwy
Locust Grove, GA 30248
(770) 914-1558
www.SkyLinePrints.com
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i just got one made from stainless. granted it was a buddy of mine that di it for me, but some of the larger dip tanks are very $$$ and we got one made for far less... something to check into.

I checked with my solution manufacturer to make sure stainless was ok, so i would check with your company before doing so if you go that route.

You actually use way less chemical with a tank. You dip the screens for 2 minutes.... I then pull them out and have a shelf they sit on at an angle and let the fluid that is dripping off drip back into my tank. I then hit them with a pressure washer and take them over to dehaze. I have had my tank for about 1.5 months.... done 100's of screens and I don't think the fluid has dropped at all. I know I have not needed to add to it yet. I used to take about 10-15 minutes per screen by hand. Now I do 4 screens at a time in about 4 minutes. I would never go back to doing it by hand. It was the single best money spent so far this year.

Streeter Clow
Printhouse Graphics
Mansfield, Ohio
printhousegraphics.com
419-631-5783

I went to Kmart and bought one of those storage bins that slides under a bed. I can fit 3 20x24 screens in at a time. I use 1 gallon of solution, the rest water. Been using it for over a year and haven't noticed any corroding. Cost: ~10 bucks.

Something similar to this: Click

Hey skyline prints -- your tank looks like a reasonably priced one. How many 20 x 24 screens can you do at a time in it?

SkyLinePrints wrote:
here is the option i went with. not as much as an advertised "dip tank" and it works well.

http://www.tank-depot.com/productdetails.aspx?part=R123030A

Ink, you are correct. The chemical compounds of some of these solutions might just eat through a trash can. potentially a lot of money to see flowing across the floor.

Nathan, do you use automatic sized frames with that sized tank? What frame size are you using?

www.inkscreens.com - Screen Printing & Custom Finishing > Relabeling & Tagless Neck Labels > All Over Printing > Toll Free 1-800-724-0577

The issue is that it would take a lot of fluid to make it work. The dip tanks are very slim so when the screens are inserted they displace just enough fluid to cover the screens. With the overall girth of a trash can you would have to have triple to fluid to make it work. There have been at least 3-4 dip tanks on here in the last week between the price of $60 - $150. It is worth it to purchase one.

Streeter Clow
Printhouse Graphics
Mansfield, Ohio
printhousegraphics.com
419-631-5783

That did feel good! Put it like this.... I used to hand scrub 20 screens in about 4 hours.... yesterday afternoon I reclaimed 40 screens from last week in less then 1 hour 15 minutes.

Streeter Clow
Printhouse Graphics
Mansfield, Ohio
printhousegraphics.com
419-631-5783

StampedTees's picture

This is the only container I could find that would fit my 18x20ID newmans ..
http://www.amazon.com/RCP354060GY-Slim-Receptacle-Venting-Channels/dp/B003JXF25S/ref=pd_sbs_op_2

what do you guys think? Commercial grade, I don't think chemicals would be an issue but I'd keep it in the garage to be sure ..

Top quality screen printing with fast turn arounds and almost annoying amounts of communication StampedTees.com .. Facebook.com/Stamped.Tees ..

Thanks ! Phil Resmer // Phil@StampedTees.com

Sulp's picture

Dip Tanks are terrible IMO. I can't believe anyone really likes or uses them. I switch to a 3 step from ICC and I would never, ever go back. My screens have never been cleaner. They coat much better, better adhesion, and my washout sinks are clean as a whistle. And not to mention it's a lot cheaper, safer, faster, and smells great to boot. We do 70-100 screens a week and I can't believe I let our dip tanks hang around as long as I did. I never really did like soaking my mesh in a filthy solution over and over. It's just not the correct or best way to reclaim...In fact it's about the worst. But yet I know a ton of printers that use them and love them. And that's great...But for me, I was never so happy to get them out of my reclaim room.

Tagless Threads's picture

SkyLinePrints wrote:
here is the option i went with. not as much as an advertised "dip tank" and it works well.

http://www.tank-depot.com/productdetails.aspx?part=R123030A

Ink, you are correct. The chemical compounds of some of these solutions might just eat through a trash can. potentially a lot of money to see flowing across the floor.

Good call on that dip tank. We already have one but I'm thinking this would be good for us to place our screens into after production before going in our regular dip tank. Since we mostly use water based ink I would just fill it up with water and ideally it would take all the excess ink off. Maybe save time having to use our pressure washer so much.