Choosing Between API 620...

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419-826-4816

Choosing Between API 620 and 650 for

Your Storage Tank
Posted by Ken Brakefield

Topics: Swanton Welding, Custom Fabrication

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The American
Petroleum Industry
(API) has established

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 Choosing Between API 620... Page 2

standards for the

design, fabrication
and construction of
welded steel storage
tanks for storing oil.
The most popular
tanks available on the
market today are the
620 and 650 models,
but which is right for you? The answer depends on what you require out of the
product.API 620 regulates the design and manufacture of large steel low-
pressure storage tanks, usually larger than 300 feet in diameter. By contrast,
API Standard 650 is typically used for carbon, stainless steel and aluminium
tanks located in terminals, refineries, pipelines and other process facilities. Both
have different pressure and temperature parameters as well. Your choice of
model will depend on you and/or your client’s particular needs.

Actual Standards
If you require the complete API Standard 620, 10th Edition, February 2002, click
here. For the complete API Standard 650, 10th Edition, March 2007, click here.

API 620
The design configuration of API 620 requires that you have an elevated or flat
bottom on which to store it. The tank has a single, vertical, centered axis of
revolution with a minimum material thickness of 3/16 inch. Other attributes of
API 620 include:

• It is constructed from carbon steel, austenitic stainless steel and nickel

alloys (low temperature only).
• A Welding Certification is stipulated by American Society of Mechanical
Engineers (ASME), Section 10.
• There is a required inspection, no third party.
• The inspection cost is the cost of the non-destructive inspection (NDE)

Benefits of API 620 are:

1. It is used for products which have high internal pressure such as liquefied
natural gas (LNG) and cryogenic tanks.

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2. It can store contents at a higher pressure (maximum 15 pounds per

square inch (PSI) of gas or vapor storage) and lower temperature (-325
degrees F to 250 degrees F) than API 650.
3. It can store any liquid.

API 650
API 650 sets minimum
requirements for the design,
material, construction, and
testing for aboveground, open
and closed-top, cylindrical steel
storage tanks in different
capacities and sizes, roughly
equating to the pressure of the
atmosphere (not greater than the
weight of the roof plates). If
additional requirements are met,
higher internal pressures are allowed. API 650 only covers tanks that support
the whole bottom evenly and tanks in non-refrigerated service that have a
maximum design temperature of 200 degrees F. It requires that you have a
minimum material thickness of 3/16 inch. Other attributes of API 650 are:

• It is constructed from carbon steel, austenitic duplex stainless steel, and

aluminium
• A Welding Certification is stipulated by American Society of Mechanical
Engineers (ASME), Section 10.
• There is a required inspection, no third party.
• The inspection cost is the cost of the NDE.

Benefits of API 650 include:

1. It can store oil, gas, chemical, water and biofuel for some of the most
common tanks in the oil industry.
2. It can store contents at a lower pressure (maximum of 2 ½ PSI) but at
much higher temperature (-40 degrees F to 500 degrees F) than the
standards of API 620.
3. It can be any tank size.

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Hopefully, this article provides some clarification for those of you in the metal
fabrication industry regarding the key differences between API Standards 620
and 650 for storage tanks. To quickly summarize, API 620 can store contents at
a lower temperature and higher pressure whereas API 650 permits a lower
amount of pressure at a higher temperature. Given that, and knowing your
specific pressure and temperature requirements, you can see that choosing
your standard carefully is critical. If you need help, contact the experts at
Swanton Welding today.

Topics: Swanton Welding, Custom Fabrication

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