Strategic material choices and drain valves protect the containers from water spills during the sampling process.
Our customer needed two insulated 40′ DC shipping containers to use as an equipment space for their soil sampling processes.
Due to the significant rise of prices for new container units, the containers chosen for this project were used A+ class 40′ DC containers that were readily available on our depot. In this case, the containers were already equipped with electricity and 40mm PIR insulation, making them the perfect starting point for this container project.
A+ class means that the container is practically new but it has gone out for a rental period less than 6 months in duration. Even a short rental period like this decreases the price of the unit significantly while having a minimal impact on the appearance of the container. In a nutshell: choosing containers in the A+ class resulted in a lower price tag and opting for already insulated containers made the delivery time shorter.
Naturally, the possibility to pick a used A+ container as the basis for a special container project is restricted by the availability of such units, and the fact that they might have some unwanted modifications. For example here in this project, one of the containers had a couple of partition walls that needed to be removed, and any holes caused by the removal process had to be patched up. Also, the heaters attached to the partition walls were relocated to their new place.
After these measures, we were ready to move on to the rest of the modifications. The customer will be using water inside the containers during the soil sampling process. Consequently, it was essential to take into consideration that the inside surfaces of the container are splash-proof, and that there is a possibility to direct any spilled water out of the containers.
The outside surface of the insulation elements is made of white steel plates, which makes the ceilings and walls moisture-resistant. The standard plywood floor in both containers was covered with a 3mm thick coin mat made of rubber. This rubber material was glued in its place and the edges were raised 100mm onto the walls in order to direct any spilled water away from the walls. The rubber floor prevents water from accessing the original plywood floor and the insulation elements from the ground up.
One way to direct spilled water out of the containers is through the double doors. We also installed drain valves to both containers to make it possible to get the water out even when the double doors are closed. The floor drains were installed straight through the container floor because more complicated piping wasn’t considered necessary in this project.
If details such as the exact location of equipment like heaters are not vital to your plans, an A+ insulated container might be a good fit for your project (if there is one available in your desired size). Fill out the form below and let’s work out a plan to make your container idea into reality.
Project details
- Two A+ class 40′ DC insulated containers with electricity as the base for this project.
- A 3mm thick rubber mat was glued on top of the existing standard plywood floors and the mat edges were raised onto the walls, ca 100mm above the floor level.
- 200mm wide drain valve installed to the container floor.
