Using waterbed for more storage

Well It's been bothering me for along time to think I was using elect. to keep my bed warm. So the last couple of days I've changed over to wood heat.
It was very simple to do. I took 1/2 pex and made two raps around the bed under the liner. It lays nicely on the outside at the bottem under the leak liner so it souldn't cause ware to bed liner. I drilled two holes at the corner at an angle so it wouldn't crimp the pex. I then drilled two holes in the floor which goes down into the basement right where my return lines go back to my tanks.
I had put in two valves in closely placed tee's in the return lines for this purpose when I had installed it. I put a zone valve in one and hooked and connected the pex. ( If you do this put in a bleed valve as it will make it easier to bleed). My elect heater control is 120v and I just unpluged the connecter to the heater from the control, made a plug to plug into it and ran that to a 24v transformer. That runs the zone valve.
I don't know how much I'll save but I know it had to cost to keep that waterbed at 85* and I hate to have my meter run. Since I run my boiler year round to heat my DHW and hottub I might as well heat my bed to.
leaddog

stee6043 said:

People still have waterbeds? ha. Neat idea....right up until you want to move the bed! ha.

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Ya we really like ours. It's nice to get in a warm bed and with my aches and pains it helps. Alot of people didn't like them cause they didn't put enough water or to much. That's the secret to making them comfortable. Moving won;t be any harder cause you still have to drain. Also people always said they cost to much to run and I just solved that.
Now if the pex springs a leak that might be another problem. HA HA
leaddog

taxidermist said:

Hey Stee I bet if Les looks hard enough I am sure he has a spare around his house he will make you a deal on. LOL


Ha Ha only you Les would think of this. Way to go, next your donkeys will have a heated pasture.

Rob

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Sorry I don't have a spare bed. I do think I have a spare waterbed heater though and there might be a extra frame there somewhere.

Not a heated pasture but they do get heated water from the overheat pipe in my eko.

I do tend to collect alot of stuff but It really made me mad when I had to buy that 24v transformer as I sold about 10 of them this summer along with some other elect stuff. Cost me $30 and I sold all of them for less than that with the other stuff. But I guess I make up for it in other stuff.
leaddog
leaddog

Gooserider said:

Mildly confused on how you are getting enough flow through the bed loop if you are tying into the main loop w/ close space tees, and are using a zone valve for control??? I thought if using close spaced tees, you needed to have a pump? (although probably a really small one for this app)

Gooserider

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It works great. As soon as the valve opens the hot water starts to flow. Within 20sec it's made the loop.
The main line is directly under the floor so it rises about 18in. The main line is the return line to the tanks from my house zone so water is being pumped back to the tank but I think it would still termasyphon because of the difference in temp.
leaddog