Insulating 2, 300 gallon tanks, options??

[Bad LP]

Did a search because I know this has been kicked around but came up empty.

I have two vertical 300 gallon tanks that I will be framing 2.5 walls around (It's in a jog corner of basement) plus a top. They have the usual taps of 1.25 supply and return both boiler and load as well as drains and vents plus a temp and pressure gauge, aquastat and a pump.

The basement walls already have 2" blue rigid foam panels. I will use 3" blue on the floors as best as possible around the tanks that sit up on solid concrete blocks. At 70 bucks a sheet for the 3" it seems silly to keep going that route. I'm now thinking Roxul or fiberglass but roxul can be bought in sheets being easy to work with, not sure of rigid FG but I hate to itch and work with it anyway.

Obviously with all the plumbing going on I need to maintain some sort of easy access so having the wall panels be removable is necessary. That makes dumping a few bags of blown in a non-starter. Spray foaming closed cell is crazy expensive even for the DIY kits.

I guess I'm asking if some of you have any better ideas? I'm kind of a neat freak and final looks do count.

 

[maple1]

I just 2x4'd a frame around mine & stuffed it with fiberglass batts. (The framework, and the space inside). You can finish the framework however you like. If you bolt the walls together at the corners you can unbolt them to get back inside. That shouldn't happen very often so it should be OK if it takes more than a few seconds to get back in.

I still haven't 'finished' mine, the stud work is still bare. But the end of mine is just a couple of sandwiched 1.5" foam boards held in place by friction, and tuck tape on one edge (my tanks are stacked horizontal) - I can swing it open like a door & access the ends of my tanks (after pulling a couple batts out of the way) or let heat out if I want to warm my basement up some.

 

[Bad LP]

I just 2x4'd a frame around mine & stuffed it with fiberglass batts. (The framework, and the space inside). You can finish the framework however you like. If you bolt the walls together at the corners you can unbolt them to get back inside. That shouldn't happen very often so it should be OK if it takes more than a few seconds to get back in.

I still haven't 'finished' mine, the stud work is still bare. But the end of mine is just a couple of sandwiched 1.5" foam boards held in place by friction, and tuck tape on one edge (my tanks are stacked horizontal) - I can swing it open like a door & access the ends of my tanks (after pulling a couple batts out of the way) or let heat out if I want to warm my basement up some.

Can you estimate how much loss you have with the foam panels?
I was poking around the web and found some tank wrap options. One being from Owens Corning. Did not obtain any pricing but it was more rigid than traditional FG and had a paper sort of exterior.
As for heating the basement I have a Modine ceiling hung unit that is also the powered dump zone and I expect some loss thru the boiler jacket.

I'm not looking for heat loss from my storage tanks.

 

[maple1]

Can you estimate how much loss you have with the foam panels?
I was poking around the web and found some tank wrap options. One being from Owens Corning. Did not obtain any pricing but it was more rigid than traditional FG and had a paper sort of exterior.
As for heating the basement I have a Modine ceiling hung unit that is also the powered dump zone and I expect some loss thru the boiler jacket.

I'm not looking for heat loss from my storage tanks.

Only roughly speaking from fuzzy memory.

I have 2 x 330 gallon tanks. If I fully charge them (I call 180 fully charged but sometimes go a bit further) and do not draw heat from them they lose maybe 8-9° per day at first. As the temp drops, they lose a bit less per day. I think at around the 120° when I would need to charge again, maybe 6° per day. I can go 7 days between burns if I want to heat DHW in the summer with wood.

That's not just foam board, there is also fiberglass batts stuffed in behind them around the tanks, I just stuffed it in all the empty spaces I could. Certainly nothing fancy and mostly just using leftovers of everything I had laying around from building the house 20 odd years ago. I didn't see any reason to get any fancier than the cheapest simplest thing, which was stuffing batts into a box, basically. Then you can fancy up the box on the outside if worried about looks. Also don't think you need to worry much about air sealing compared to if insulating a house - the outside temps of the box don't get any cooler than ambient basement temp, and it's not exposed to wind.

 

[Bad LP]

Just what I wanted to read. Thanks

 

[nhtreehouse]

Have you checked these guys out:

http://www.greeninsulationgroup.com/

They reputably have insulation at 50% to 75% off new prices.

 

[Bad LP]

Have you checked these guys out:

http://www.greeninsulationgroup.com/

They reputably have insulation at 50% to 75% off new prices.

I did not know about them but I will give them a call.

Scored on the monthly special. Foiled Polyiso 2" sheets, New factory seconds.

Thank you very much for that lead.

 

[Marshy]

Have you considered spray foam? I have a co-worker that owns a side business doing spray-on closed cell foam. I believe it's R7 per inch thickness. They can put that stuff anywhere and it seals tight.

 

[Bad LP]

I did think about a DIY foam kit and also thought about pourable closed cell foam used in hulls of boats. All very expensive options.

Finding the rigid foam recycle outfit that was posted was a great option. My wooden panels will be removable if needed and I can keep an eye on fittings, pump, keep up with draining the sediment from the bottom, gauges and thermostats. I also have a place to rehang the cabinets that were on the wall where the tanks were installed.