After the well tank in his basement started leaking water, Tom Hicswa, Hammonton, N.J., decided to make his own tank out of a stainless steel beer keg.

"I did it because my galvanized steel well tank was 17 years old and leaking badly," says Hicswa. "All the new well tanks have hard rubber air bags inside them, but I don't like them because if the air pressure inside the bag gets too high and it breaks you can't repair it. A new air bag is expensive and costs almost as much as the tank itself. I tried to find a well tank without an air bag but I couldn't. My beer keg tank is built to last -- I doubt I'll have to replace it for quite a while, if ever," says Hicswa." If the air pressure inside the keg ever gets too high, there's no bag to break."

He started with a 25-gal. keg. He made a filler valve by welding a reducing bushing to the fitting on top of the keg and attaching a 1-in. copper T line to it. He connected one end of the T line to the pump and the other end to the water line in his house. A pressure valve on top of the tank controls pressure in the tank. The last step was to set the keg up on cinderblocks in his basement.

"I set it up 2 1/2 years ago and it has been trouble-free," says Hicswa. "Air pressure pushes the water down through the tank and into the house. By adjusting a pair of screws I can set the air pressure at which the pump goes on and off.