EPDM vs Santired

I vote for neither.


(PVC or. Pressurized)

WireNut said:

I would love to...maybe some day...but I can't fit much into my basement through the door, and my project budget is already on shoe-strings.

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Check with American Solartechnics (Seen here at Tom in Maine), they will make custom sized PVC liners. They're good for 180 deg continuous/200 deg intermittent.

http://www.americansolartechnics.com/customliners.html

I have his tank as well which I think is well made.

K

Kopeck hit the nail on the head. I built mine with EPDM, which is rated for 170-175degF max. My forced air heat only works well down to 140degF, which gives me usable storage of 30deg. I sized the tank large at 1250 gallon to store 312,000 BTU (1250 x 8.34 x 30deg) . Adding an extra 20 degrees of working temperature range with the vinyl would increase the storage to 520,000 BTU. Its just like having a tank that's 66% bigger! Unfortunately, I wasn't aware of Tom in Maine's high temperature vinyl before I built mine! (Most vinyls are only rated for 140deg).

I don't see anything about temperature ratings on the Sanitred website. I'd stay away from that stuff unless you have some concrete temperature rating on it.

Good luck.

WireNut said:

I'm planning to build the standard rectangular 8x4x4 box out of plywood,
...

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From the Jetstream boiler manual I have drawings and instructions for constructing your own wood framed storage.
They could be posted for you.

Having done some inadvertent product testing awhile back, I would go with PVC from someone who knows how to handle it and has the equipment to weld it properly. Given the potential damage from a leak and the hassle factor inevitably in the middle of heating season, give Tom a call and do yourself a favor.