Insulated Box:
I did not catalog this install as well as I should have. I got wrapped up into project and forgot to take pics when I was insulating and making box. The tank has several layers of insulation. Under the tank there is 3.5" Roxul R 15. I put it on the floor because it is moisture resistant and that end of the cellar may get a bit of water in the spring. Salesman says Roxul will totally dry out by itself, not lose r value and not mold. The tank then has R-12 batts installed perpendicular to tank, they reach the floor and offer a barrier between the back wall and polyiso inside box.. Back concrete wall has 2"" polyiso. Box is made of 2x4 with R-12 in the stud bays. 1" reflective polyiso. inside box. R-16 rolled insulation on the top and sides, inside the box. The cover is reflective 1" polyiso. covered with plywood. I figure the box is roughly R-35, more on the sides because of the insulation in the 2x4 walls. I do not detect much escaping the box.
Piping:
Piping layout was simple. I was already tied into the system from previous home made tank. Piping is designed with reverse flow. I have a very unique piping lay out to achieve reverse flow. I have never seen any lay out in this forum like mine. I had help with the original tank piping from Chris Holley ( Garn Dealer in Maine, also one heck of a system designer). The design is a whole thread by itself so I am not going into it deeply now. I have tried to draw it in the past for discussion but I have never got around to finishing the drawing. In a nut shell, I do not use a circ pump on my wood boiler. All heat zones and the tank have their own circ pump. If there is no call for heat, the tank circ pump kicks in when the wood boiler reaches set point. I have made the whole system automatic with 3 aquastats, 2 zone valves, and 1 relay. Anyway, the tank piping simply has a supply on one end of the tank which has an air bleeder and the connection point for the expansion tank. There is a 30# pop off piped out of the box to the floor. As mentioned in other threads it is not a necessity since the tank is not making heat but it just makes me feel better knowing I have multiple safeties in the system. The return on the other end of the tank has a dip tube which goes to the bottom of the tank. The supply and return were tied into the old pex coil (HEX) connections that were in my home made tank.
Expanion tank:
I installed an Extrol SXHT 160. We know from previous threads this is undersized. Because money is so tight for me this year I decided to try it. I also have a small exp. tank on the oil boiler. Between the two I have an acceptance volume of roughly 50 gallons. I figure my tank is roughly 1200 gallons based on a volume calculator for round tanks. I am right on the hairy edge but it works. When the tank reaches 210* on top and the return temp is 200* from tank , the system pressure is very close to 30#. The first time I heated the tank, I released about 5 gallons from the system and I have not had any pop offs activate since. I have charged the tank about 30 - 50 times.
Tank Temp. readings.
This part of my system is severely lacking. I have one gauge at the top of the tank near the return end. I don't think it is very accurate. I charge the tank based on the temp gauge in the return line piping. When the return temp hits 180* I make sure the boiler has at least a half load. This will bring return temp to 200 - 210*. Its crude but it works. Right now I am building 1 fire a day. I usually run 1 or 1.5 loads to recharge the tank to max. I will integrate a system like Jebatty someday with 9 sensors and digital read out.
Cost:
Some of the cost was absorbed when I did the first tank I.E. piping. circ pump, controls, re-used insulation and plywood.
Tank = 200 (what a deal).
Box and insulation materials = 300
Expansion tank and additional plumbing = 600
Rebuild concrete bulk head = 100
Total = $1200 If I were to guess on previous costs from first tank that were used in this project, I would guess $300. So a rough total estimate of cost = $1500 - not bad!
Musing:
I think it is possible the tank short circuits from supply to return. I will not know for sure until I have 9 sensors. But when I get return temps 200-210* I wonder if there is not a current from supply directly to return. I will not know for sure until I have 3 sensors on the bottom of the tank. I am confident tank is stratifying to some extent. I sure wish I could have put the tank in vertical.
Final Thoughts:
Although I have some tweaks to make, I am very pleased with the tank. It performs much better then the homemade tank. It takes less wood to charge 400 gallons more then the old tank. As I said before I am building 1 fire a day with 1 to 1.5 loads of wood. Roughly I well rounded normal size wheelbarrow. I am heating 2400 sq ft. Not the greatest insulation and 25 year old Anderson Windows. Roughly 5 showers a day and laundry + dishwasher. This year has been mild so far with temps during the day running in the 20's and night temps in the high teens. I think the tank will hold 5 to 7 days when I just need domestic. When everyone is home, temps are kept at 72-74 in living room and 68-70 in the rest of the house.
Over all I consider the project a major success : )
Pictures:
2 pages and each pic is click-able. I have captions on some of them that you don't see unless pic is full size.
http://s126.photobucket.com/albums/p83/sparkie68/tank2/
I did not catalog this install as well as I should have. I got wrapped up into project and forgot to take pics when I was insulating and making box. The tank has several layers of insulation. Under the tank there is 3.5" Roxul R 15. I put it on the floor because it is moisture resistant and that end of the cellar may get a bit of water in the spring. Salesman says Roxul will totally dry out by itself, not lose r value and not mold. The tank then has R-12 batts installed perpendicular to tank, they reach the floor and offer a barrier between the back wall and polyiso inside box.. Back concrete wall has 2"" polyiso. Box is made of 2x4 with R-12 in the stud bays. 1" reflective polyiso. inside box. R-16 rolled insulation on the top and sides, inside the box. The cover is reflective 1" polyiso. covered with plywood. I figure the box is roughly R-35, more on the sides because of the insulation in the 2x4 walls. I do not detect much escaping the box.
Piping:
Piping layout was simple. I was already tied into the system from previous home made tank. Piping is designed with reverse flow. I have a very unique piping lay out to achieve reverse flow. I have never seen any lay out in this forum like mine. I had help with the original tank piping from Chris Holley ( Garn Dealer in Maine, also one heck of a system designer). The design is a whole thread by itself so I am not going into it deeply now. I have tried to draw it in the past for discussion but I have never got around to finishing the drawing. In a nut shell, I do not use a circ pump on my wood boiler. All heat zones and the tank have their own circ pump. If there is no call for heat, the tank circ pump kicks in when the wood boiler reaches set point. I have made the whole system automatic with 3 aquastats, 2 zone valves, and 1 relay. Anyway, the tank piping simply has a supply on one end of the tank which has an air bleeder and the connection point for the expansion tank. There is a 30# pop off piped out of the box to the floor. As mentioned in other threads it is not a necessity since the tank is not making heat but it just makes me feel better knowing I have multiple safeties in the system. The return on the other end of the tank has a dip tube which goes to the bottom of the tank. The supply and return were tied into the old pex coil (HEX) connections that were in my home made tank.
Expanion tank:
I installed an Extrol SXHT 160. We know from previous threads this is undersized. Because money is so tight for me this year I decided to try it. I also have a small exp. tank on the oil boiler. Between the two I have an acceptance volume of roughly 50 gallons. I figure my tank is roughly 1200 gallons based on a volume calculator for round tanks. I am right on the hairy edge but it works. When the tank reaches 210* on top and the return temp is 200* from tank , the system pressure is very close to 30#. The first time I heated the tank, I released about 5 gallons from the system and I have not had any pop offs activate since. I have charged the tank about 30 - 50 times.
Tank Temp. readings.
This part of my system is severely lacking. I have one gauge at the top of the tank near the return end. I don't think it is very accurate. I charge the tank based on the temp gauge in the return line piping. When the return temp hits 180* I make sure the boiler has at least a half load. This will bring return temp to 200 - 210*. Its crude but it works. Right now I am building 1 fire a day. I usually run 1 or 1.5 loads to recharge the tank to max. I will integrate a system like Jebatty someday with 9 sensors and digital read out.
Cost:
Some of the cost was absorbed when I did the first tank I.E. piping. circ pump, controls, re-used insulation and plywood.
Tank = 200 (what a deal).
Box and insulation materials = 300
Expansion tank and additional plumbing = 600
Rebuild concrete bulk head = 100
Total = $1200 If I were to guess on previous costs from first tank that were used in this project, I would guess $300. So a rough total estimate of cost = $1500 - not bad!
Musing:
I think it is possible the tank short circuits from supply to return. I will not know for sure until I have 9 sensors. But when I get return temps 200-210* I wonder if there is not a current from supply directly to return. I will not know for sure until I have 3 sensors on the bottom of the tank. I am confident tank is stratifying to some extent. I sure wish I could have put the tank in vertical.
Final Thoughts:
Although I have some tweaks to make, I am very pleased with the tank. It performs much better then the homemade tank. It takes less wood to charge 400 gallons more then the old tank. As I said before I am building 1 fire a day with 1 to 1.5 loads of wood. Roughly I well rounded normal size wheelbarrow. I am heating 2400 sq ft. Not the greatest insulation and 25 year old Anderson Windows. Roughly 5 showers a day and laundry + dishwasher. This year has been mild so far with temps during the day running in the 20's and night temps in the high teens. I think the tank will hold 5 to 7 days when I just need domestic. When everyone is home, temps are kept at 72-74 in living room and 68-70 in the rest of the house.
Over all I consider the project a major success : )
Pictures:
2 pages and each pic is click-able. I have captions on some of them that you don't see unless pic is full size.
http://s126.photobucket.com/albums/p83/sparkie68/tank2/
