Unbeknownst to me, a friend from overseas was setting up an aircraft washing machine that could wash aircraft on the ramp. He had a shed to store his equipment, but realized that washing aircraft outside would require him to be far from any water outlets. He needed a large water tank to wash these aircraft. So he asked me “Approximately how big a water tank did it take to wash these aircraft?” We’ll get to the bottom of this.
You can see that our franchisees who cleaned aircraft at different airports used different sizes of water tanks to rig their machines. For example, a person who was cleaning small aircraft might only use a 250 gallon tank. Others who were washing multiple aircraft per week might use a larger 450 gallon tank. If you use 4 gallons per hour and spend less than 20 min spraying, you’ll only need 80 gallons. You need to take a break after cleaning at least three or four airplanes.
Because of this, I can answer the question “various sizes depending a job, airport and mix aircraft types.” For cleaning corporate jets, a 500-gallon tank should suffice. A 1000-gallon tank is required if you intend to clean more heavy stuff. The worst thing you can do is run out of water. You will have to stop mid-job, refill your tank, and then go back. You lose efficiency and the washing process is slowed down.
A giant water tank that is large enough to handle all your different tasks is a mistake. Water weighs 8 lbs per gallon. If you have a pickup truck that weighs 1 ton, 2000 pounds will be your weight. You will become four times heavier if you have a 8000 lb. The truck has a full water tank, so you could end up breaking something.