The tank used by Dave Diamond
The tank used by Dave Diamond was specially made by master craftsman Richard Sherry in Calgary, Canada. Richard is famed for making water torture cells. The cell used by Dave is called the 21st century water torture cell. The cell is only one of a handful in the world that can used in full view of the audience and the only one in the UK.
The cell was made to measure and stands 1.6m tall and is 45cm square. Making it a tight fit to turn, when Dave has to right himself from being upside down inside the tank. The tank is not made of glass but a type of persplex that is shatterproof. The persplex is about an inch thick and is glued together. The silver metal strips down the sides is partly to protect the corners of the tank in transport and it also provides decoration.
The tank is heavy before you put water in it, around 140kg. We cannot place it in the back on a van but have to have a lorry with a tail lift to transport it. As a consequence of it's weight it is difficult to carry upstairs. To avoid this we have had to lift it through an upstairs window using a fork lift truck at one venue.
The tank takes 600 litres water and takes about 75 minutes to fill from a normal tap. Tap water varies in the UK, it can be as cold as 8 degrees but in some locations in the summer the water can be as warm as 25 degrees. The difference is due to where the water is sitting before we pump it into the tank, it can be in pipes or it is being stored underground. At the end of show the water is pumped out. Two pumps are used and this takes 90 minutes.
When full with water the tank weighs roughly 0.9 tonne, the trolley used to push the tank on stage is of an industrial construction.
