IBC Cistern Plumbing

Hey Folks,

Working on an above-ground cistern consisting of 6 IBC totes and looking for the cheapest/easiest way to connect these to standard 2” PVC. I found some 2” camlock to NPT adapters online, but I’m looking at about $75 CAD for 6 of them and I’m wondering if maybe I can do this cheaper with something else I haven’t come across yet? I don’t need this to come apart easily, it’ll be a permanent fixture in my garage once complete.

All help appreciated! I’m in Canada, so domestic sources strongly preferred.

Picture of my valve type.

There isn’t an always cheap way—it depends on finding a deal on the fittings. The screw on fittings are hard to seal so the cam locks are the better option. They will still leak if you don’t get that foil seal area smooth—either all the foil still there or completely removed.

I mostly use a two inch rubber coupling for IBC tote connections. The NPT adapters I've tried seem to crack after a couple of years.

Farm supply stores are a good local source for all kinds of tank fittings. Plumbing supply stores as well, the ones that cater to the trades rather than the retail customer.

How badly do you want a bottom valve? The valve on an IBC tank screws off and the poly tank itself has molded threads. I'm not sure if they are a standard thread (I have had no luck but my tank is ancient). However if you take the valve in to the stores I mentioned they might have a direct screw-on connector that fits.

A flexible pipe coupling sized for 2" , should accommodate the IBC valve on one end and your PVC pipe on the other:


It's not food safe, but neither is the PVC pipe.
You can filter out the chemicals before drinking.