Cistern Liner Types

If anyone has any good links to share as well that would be greatly appreciated ? 

Posted by: @littlemisssunrise

Hello ? 

      Please share what type of liner you like best for your cistern system and why. Also what company you ordered and installed with or if you found doing it yourself was manageable ?

My cisterns both have vinyl liners. They're pretty thick and I've never had issues with leakage. I have no idea who installed them. AquaTek does them but he's almost impossible to pin down.

We get over 150 earthquakes a month in the VI and, although most are very small, all that shaking eventually takes it toll on concrete cisterns. You can coat your cistern all you want, but, a crack is a crack.

Vinyl liners are a great way to mitigate this problem.

@vicanucktha Thank you for the company name~even if they are different to track down a referral is always appreciated ? I did read there are several earthquakes that occur causing them to crack. Since I have not owned a place and only rented before that had cistern I was curious what the best route to line them with is. Out of curiosity what is the longest a liner has lasted you? I’m sure depending on the earth movements and where you are maybe located on island can differ. Just trying to figure how to budget setting aside “x” amount for this and that for maintenance as time passes. 

@littlemisssunrise

I've owned the house for 12 years. The vinyl liners were there when I bought it. They show no signs of wear and I doubt they'll ever need to be replaced. They're probably a 1/4" thick!

Anyone ever cost these out?  I may switch in the future as I noticed a small crack on the outside of the wall, but no leakage.  Another cat 5 shaking the house could change that.

@daveb722

I've always been glad that I had them. I would hate the thought of having to recoat the cisterns every so many years. What a hassle.

If anyone has any good links to cost of liners that you view providing your dimensions that would be great! I don’t know the cost to install or how they are installed so if anyone has any info on that also ?

@vicanuck that is great you have owned for 12 years and haven’t had any issues so far. I wonder on average how the longevity of one could potentially last if properly maintained and no earth movements cause it damage ?

@littlemisssunrise

We have never done any "maintenance" on the vinyl liners. After all these years, there still isn't even enough sediment on the bottom to bother with cleaning the cisterns.

I imagine they could last for a lifetime.

@vicanuck especially since it is not exposed to sunlight, really no reason to break down.  Definitely something to think about when the time comes to recoat mine.

I am so happy to see this post. Coating the cistern is a major pain, does not stop the sippage and the whole process is so technologically outdated. I was thinking about the liner option. Thats how they build an inground swimming pools in the earthquake prone areas. 
i was searching the internet for relevant information but the market for concrete cisterns is quite limited perhaps to carribian only. I presume the liner has to be custom designed for the opening. Any idea who installs it in STT? 

I have also been searching the internet and having a difficult time finding info for concrete cistern liners. I was hoping I would find a place either on island that is a distributer of them or a website of a place that they can be ordered from but not having much luck. Hopefully someone reading these posts will be able to provide some information (fingers and toes crossed).

If I had to guess I'd expect the liners need to be fabricated on site using roll sheet material and glued together, perhaps using EPDM rubber or some potable-grade sheet, same process as fabricating a custom pond liner.

I'm also looking at the recoat or liner decision.

Here's one link I've found that will give you a cost and shipping weight for various custom liners they fabricate. You need to know your cistern dimensions:

https://www.dlmplastics.com/quote

If you do go with a liner, make sure it's NSF-61 approved for portable water (theirs are).

I also found this link on installation (in case you are considering doing it yourself):

https://www.water-storage-tank.com/installation-of-cistern-liners.html

Please update the thread with what (and who) you go with when you decide along with how it went. It seems like several of us are in similar situations.

@rewired

Wow...great links Rewired! Thanks for posting!

We used DLM Plastics in Ohio who makes liners for various applications including NSF-61 for pond, cistern, etc. You need exact dimensions of cistern as they custom fabricate. They ship to USVI.  You need someone to drain & clean your cistern, then assemble/install the liner in your cistern. It solved the problem of slow leaks from the cistern onto our lower outside deck.

Jumbie 

@Jumbie

Thanks! 

We're leaning that direction (DLM Plastics) ourselves. Did you do the install yourself or your someone? If you hired it out, would you share who did the work (assuming you were happy with the job they did)?

rewired

@rewired

1. We hired out the work to a guy named Jeff Elvins but that’s was back in 2009/2010. He does not do that anymore. Kevin Moran on STX is the guy to call. He’s on Facebook 
2. ClearWater Roof & Cistern has been servicing St. Croix since 1996. We offer full service ... physical work. PM me or Kevin D. Moran or call Kevin @ 340-643-7903 ...