Economical thermal storage tank

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The small cable I have is repurposed from an old clothes line I removed from a rental property years ago. I bet there is something out there to buy.
 
Somebody around this part of the continent used to make and sell rigs years ago that you put in top of your chimney, with a pulley on top over the hole and a small cable that ran down to the cleanout. Sounds like same setup NE is talking about or similar. Brush had hooks on each end, you pull it up then pull it down. I'm not sure on the finer details like where the side/run of the cable that didn't have the brush in it ran - but I thought it was all in the chimney. Which would make for a tight squeeze trying to get your hands on the cable to pull it, if you didn't have a bottom cleanout with some space under it.
 
yeah, I went low tech for years top rung of ladder for top pulley and a piece of all thread @ lower cleanout.
I just realized that I've heated my place for 21 years with a $500 wood stove and 6-8 cords a year. lot of luggen wood down the basement. so nice to have heat and a way to make soup and coffee when the powers out!
 
that is one of those rare things about us back woods people. the power goes out and we can still live.
 
hobbyheater said:
I don't know if you considered building your own soft tank? These are the plans from the Jetstream manual . It has been recommended to use stainless steel fasteners , pressure treated lumber ,and buy your liner from Tom http://www.americansolartechnics.com/.
Big cost of this setup , copper coils and the liner .
Click to expand...
I built this tank and used it for 17 years. The difficult part is installing the EDPM rubber liner. The first liner lasted 10 years and the second one 7. There was no way I was going to install a third so I excavated and built a concrete attachment to my basement, lined it with 4" Styrofoam, plywood and high heat resin fiberglass. I has a 1200 gal capacity with about 1000 gallons. Built a new heat exchanger as per the Jetstream manual and hung my 2 DHW coils. It's been working great for 5 years.
 
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JETSTREAMER said:
I built this tank and used it for 17 years. The difficult part is installing the EDPM rubber liner. The first liner lasted 10 years and the second one 7. There was no way I was going to install a third so I excavated and built a concrete attachment to my basement, lined it with 4" Styrofoam, plywood and high heat resin fiberglass. I has a 1200 gal capacity with about 1000 gallons. Built a new heat exchanger as per the Jetstream manual and hung my 2 DHW coils. It's been working great for 5 years.
Click to expand...


Welcome to the forum! Canadian EH?
How long have you had your Jetstream? Which blower are you using ?

The EDPM liners were a problem.There is much better material now available , not that it will help you this is a link to a company that sells the new ones .

http://www.americansolartechnics.com/
 
I went and visited Tarm the other day and picked up a few parts i needed for my boiler. They have some nice stuff. I picked up a catalog and a price list. Some of their stuff really isn't that expensive. It looks like i could get an 80% efficient gassifier for about $6000. If i come across that kind of money that should pay for itself in a couple years.
 
Carl Webber said:
I went and visited Tarm the other day and picked up a few parts i needed for my boiler. They have some nice stuff. I picked up a catalog and a price list. Some of their stuff really isn't that expensive. It looks like i could get an 80% efficient gassifier for about $6000. If i come across that kind of money that should pay for itself in a couple years.
Click to expand...
I met Chris at the Hanover Show I got busted trying to scratch the Froling there so it could be sold cheaper. Wealth of straight up Knowledge and a certainly a willingness to share with this DIY guy. The plumbing schematics that the company shares are a great benefit to the industry!
 
hobbyheater said:
Welcome to the forum! Canadian EH?
How long have you had your Jetstream? Which blower are you using ?

The EDPM liners were a problem.There is much better material now available , not that it will help you this is a link to a company that sells the new ones .

http://www.americansolartechnics.com/
Click to expand...
I've had it since 1979. It was serial #32 (before CSA approval). I've since then replaced the boiler once and the base twice. I bought Kerr's prototype blower and now on my second one. My house is 3200sqft and heated only by the Jetstream. If I ever sell my house I'll take it with me. We fire it up once a week in the summer to keep the DHW hot.
 
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JETSTREAMER said:
I bought Kerr's prototype blower and now on my second one. .
Click to expand...


Is this the blower that you use ? The bearings are standard that can be bought at any automotive shop , but the blower blades I,ve not been able to find replacements.
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imgp2753.jpg
 
I am a little late responding, but regarding the hassles associated with cleaning your chimneys; There is a fellow here in Vermont that manufactures The Chimney Scrubber, I just found his website, it should explain everything. Basically you mount cast iron hardware on top of the flue, there is a pulley with a small stainless steel chain that is attached to a brush. The chain and the brush live in the chimney full time, the brush near the cleanout door. I don't have much personal experience with these brushes, but from my perspective it seems that if you do a thorough cleaning with regular or even flat wire brushes when you install the product, it will be able to handle maintenance cleanings fairly easily. I cleaned a customers chimney this fall, it was a real hassle. I had to set up staging around the chimney, and drill a hole through the bluestone cap in order to get my rods in there, then, visibility was limited so it was difficult to see what I was doing. While I was staged up, we installed this product to avoid this process yearly. I will be able to check up on how it performs in the future. I imagine that if you use it often, it will work just fine. www.chimneyscrubber.com
 
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