A Professional Engineer's Insight on the Magnemount Magnetic Mounting System Over Traditional Welded Tank Mounts

Why Water Tank Owners Are Rethinking Welded Mounts

For decades, the default method for attaching antennas, cable trays, and other equipment to water storage tanks has been welding. It works — but it comes with real costs. Welding damages internal and external coatings, requires taking tanks offline for repair, and creates permanent attachment points that complicate future rehabilitation projects.

The Magnemount magnetic mounting system offers a compelling alternative. In a formal evaluation conducted by Sami F. Sarrouh, P.E., a licensed professional engineer with nineteen years of applied research and design experience — including fifteen years at the Cleveland Division of Water and more than $18 million in tank rehabilitation work — the product earned a strong recommendation.

Here's what the engineering review found.

What Is the Magnemount System?

Magnemount is a non-penetrating, magnetic mounting solution designed to secure antennas and related equipment to steel water tanks without welding. Instead of fusing metal to the tank shell, it uses high-strength magnets housed in an aluminum frame to hold equipment firmly in place — while leaving the tank's protective coating fully intact.

6 Engineering-Backed Benefits of the Magnemount System

1. Significant Cost Savings on Installation and Coating Repair

Welding damages both internal and external tank coatings, which then require costly repair. Because Magnemount installs without welding, those coating repairs are eliminated entirely. This is especially valuable when a tank already has cable trays from its original construction or a prior antenna installation — the existing infrastructure can be reused. Perhaps most importantly, avoiding internal coating repair means the tank doesn't have to be taken out of service, which Sarrouh notes is paramount for utility operations.

2. More Than Adequate Holding Force

Independent breakaway-force testing conducted by Stork Materials Technology confirmed that the magnets provide more than sufficient holding strength for typical installations. The mount also includes built-in flexibility that allows for magnet deflection and normal movement, ensuring proper magnet-to-steel contact on virtually any tank — including curved surfaces, which were demonstrated successfully at Metal & Cable's facility.

3. A Superior — and Safer — Failure Mode

This is arguably the most important finding in the report. In extreme, unforeseen load conditions, a Magnemount disengages from the tank rather than failing catastrophically. The mount topples to its most aerodynamically neutral orientation and is retained by its securing cable. By contrast, welded mounts under extreme loads can fail outright or tear the tank itself, causing local structural damage.

For engineers, this means less conservative structural analysis is required, and repairs — should they ever be needed — are faster and cheaper.

4. No Damage to Tank Coatings

A primary concern with any magnetic mount is whether the metallic shell could scratch or degrade a tank's protective epoxy coating. The evaluation tested this directly using five metal plates coated with five different epoxies commonly used on tanks. A magnet was repeatedly slid across each coated surface.

The result: no damage to the coating when the magnet was fitted with the recommended adhesive protective film. The film is held in place by the magnetic attraction itself, and additional testing confirmed its durability under harsh conditions:

• Hot water immersion: 30 minutes at ~109°F, followed by cold-water rinse

• Rapid sliding test: 20 cycles of six-inch back-and-forth motion

• Sustained cold-water flow: 75 gallons per minute at ~45°F for two full hours

• Repeat sliding test: Another 20 cycles after water exposure

  
  

In every scenario, the film remained intact and the coating was undamaged. An interesting secondary finding: wetness actually creates a thin shear film between the magnet and steel, which may further reduce friction.

5. Built-In Corrosion Resistance

The mount's aluminum frame won't cause rust staining on the tank. The magnets themselves are plated and powder-coated, nearly eliminating corrosion risk, and the powder coating is shielded from UV degradation by the aluminum base above it. Together, these design choices address the long-term durability concerns that utility owners typically raise.

6. No Water Accumulation, No Seal Welding Required

Magnemount attaches with a small intentional gap between its plate and the tank surface. This gap allows water to drain freely and prevents accumulation beneath the mount — which means there is no need for seal welding or caulking around the perimeter. That requirement only applies to permanently attached plates, which block access to the tank surface for coating maintenance.

Because the Magnemount can be easily removed and reinstalled, tank rehabilitation projects become dramatically simpler. Crews can pull mounts, coat the entire tank surface without antennas in the way, and reinstall everything afterward — introducing yet another layer of cost savings.

An Option for Conservative Tank Owners

For owners who want extra assurance, Sarrouh recommends pairing the system with one of several modern tank coatings engineered for high scratch resistance. These coatings can withstand magnet sliding even without the adhesive film, and they also protect against the everyday damage caused by foot traffic, boots, tools, and equipment during maintenance.

With proper color matching, only the relevant areas need the specialty coating — making it an economical option with a longer service life. Combined with the installation savings from the magnetic mount, total project costs drop considerably.

The Bottom Line: A Professional Engineer's Recommendation

After evaluating cost, breakaway force, failure mode, coating protection, corrosion resistance, and installation practicality, Sarrouh's conclusion is direct: the Magnemount offers many benefits, and its disengagement-based failure mode is especially attractive from a safety and structural-design standpoint. He highly recommends it as an alternative to welded-in-place mounts.

For water utilities, tower operators, and engineers responsible for tank rehabilitation, Magnemount represents a genuine rethink of a long-standing problem — one that protects tank integrity, shortens project timelines, and keeps tanks in service.

Learn More

To discuss whether the Magnemount system is right for your tank or project, contact the Magnemount team today.

This blog post is based on an independent engineering evaluation by Sami F. Sarrouh, P.E., of Premier Engineering Technologies (Lakewood, OH), dated March 5, 2005 for Metal & Cable Corp, Inc. (now Schmidt Industrial Services LLC). Mr. Sarrouh has 19+ years of experience in mechanical and process systems, fluid dynamics, and water tank rehabilitation, has managed over $40 million in engineering projects, and teaches senior-level engineering courses at Cleveland State University.