STSS storage tank recommendation sought

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gorsuchmill

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Mar 14, 2008
105
Central MD
I'm awaiting delivery of a Solo 40 and am considering 1000 gal. of storage. My boiler will be placed in a walk-in basement/mechanical room, adjacent to a 5' crawl space with a concrete floor. Pressurized is out of the question, unless I buy a couple of the New Horizon tanks, which would be expensive. For space reasons I'd like to put the storage in the crawl space. Given the limited height, I'd have to use plate hx because, I believe, I wouldn't be able to install coils with only 12" of clearance above the tank. I realize the STSS tanks aren't cheap ($2200 for 1000 gal.), but given the hassle of working in a 5' crawl space, the 4' height of the STSS tank and significant list of other projects around the house, I'm thinking of biting the bullet and purchasing one. It also appears, from the website, the lid and tank penetrations are snug, and thus would result in minimal evaporation. My questions are as follows:

- are the STSS tanks well constructed?
- can I expect the tank to hold up for 20 years or so?
- do the lids fit snugly?
- if you own one, would you but it again?
- if you built your own, would you have bought a ready made tank given the cost difference?

I feel confident I could build my own tank, but it seems the materials cost is $1000 or so, there would be a fair amount of effort involved and the abundance of epdm in corners would make a tight lid fit somewhat challenging. For the extra $1000, and given the savings I envision on fuel costs, I'm starting to think I could use one less obligation in my life.

Thanks, in advance.

Lee
 
The beauty of the STSS tank is that you put it in place and your done. They are warrantied. I put extra insulation on the top of mine , although the tank feels cool to the touch I was amazed at how much heat was trapped in between the insulation I added. overall its a good product , make sure you get the appropriate size coils. You can also buy directly from them and save some money.
 
Can you actually buy direct from them? I called them up and tried, and made the mistake of telling them I had a TARM, whereupon they immediately refused to give me any pricing information.

If I was going to buy one, I'd be happy to buy from Tarm if it was price competitive, on the other hand, I don't need to pay a huge markup just to have them pass my order thru...

Any idea how much cheaper they are when purchased direct?
 
gorsuchmill said:
I'm awaiting delivery of a Solo 40 and am considering 1000 gal. of storage. My boiler will be placed in a walk-in basement/mechanical room, adjacent to a 5' crawl space with a concrete floor. Pressurized is out of the question, unless I buy a couple of the New Horizon tanks, which would be expensive. For space reasons I'd like to put the storage in the crawl space. Given the limited height, I'd have to use plate hx because, I believe, I wouldn't be able to install coils with only 12" of clearance above the tank. I realize the STSS tanks aren't cheap ($2200 for 1000 gal.), but given the hassle of working in a 5' crawl space, the 4' height of the STSS tank and significant list of other projects around the house, I'm thinking of biting the bullet and purchasing one. It also appears, from the website, the lid and tank penetrations are snug, and thus would result in minimal evaporation. My questions are as follows:

- are the STSS tanks well constructed?
- can I expect the tank to hold up for 20 years or so?
- do the lids fit snugly?
- if you own one, would you but it again?
- if you built your own, would you have bought a ready made tank given the cost difference?

I feel confident I could build my own tank, but it seems the materials cost is $1000 or so, there would be a fair amount of effort involved and the abundance of epdm in corners would make a tight lid fit somewhat challenging. For the extra $1000, and given the savings I envision on fuel costs, I'm starting to think I could use one less obligation in my life.

Thanks, in advance.

Lee
Click to expand...


Lee, I bought and installed a 512 gallon STSS system. It was nice because I only had a narrow stairway to get it down and it was no problem. I am pretty impressed with mine as far as holding heat. Mine is always cool to the touch and will hold 130 degree water for quite a while.(that is the temp. that the circulating pump shuts off) Anyway to answer some of your questions, yes the lid fits tight. Mine was actually really tight and I had all I could do to get it on. After usuing mine for a winter, I wish that I bought a larger one. 1000 gal. would be a lot nicer. But like you said they are expensive. I paid 3000+ for mine, and I had two coils made for heating the water and domestic. Don't know exactly what I'm going to do for additional storage. Don't like the idea of propane tanks in my yard and don't have the money to buy another one. Anyway, I like the one I got and it seems to be constructed quite well. Hope it will hold up for 20 years. Don't see why it wouldn't as long as you keep the PH balance of the water what it should be. Hope this helps
 
I'll bet if you get creative you could find a way for the crawl space to work. I say build the tank yourself and hire a handyman to do all those other chores.

I have a rather large crawl space in which I am building 2000+ gallon storage tank for my Tarm 60. Three walls are concrete and one wall is mostly dirt and pressure treated lumber. I anticipate it costing 1000 for the tank. I am going to use pex for the HX.
 
Gopher - Thanks for the input. I presume your 3000+ cost included the hx because the 1000 gal tank is approx. 2200. I'm thinking of plate hx given space constraints.

NH - I'm sure I could get it built, but if I hire a handyman to take care of my other chores I'll end up paying the difference in cost to him. Either way, I'm spending the same money. If the STSS system performs well and is as easy as unfolding a box, I'll leave the creative aspect of my woodburning odyssey to getting my gasifier up and running efficiently.
 
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