flyingcow said:i think Maple1 might be on to something.
i know someone who heats his tank to keep the bacteria happy thru the winter.BHetrick10 said:I have been known to think out side of the "Box" sometimes a little to far.
I was just thinking the other day about putting a HX in my actual septic tank when the boiler temp drops. Have a loop on a aquastat that when the storage gets so cold if a fire hasn't been made to circulate water through the actual septic tank. For obvious reasons I would want a loop going from a heat exchanger in the tank to another one that the boiler water would go through so if is does leak or erode it wont contaminate the boiler water or drain you system into the septic. Septic tanks seem to be nice and toasty between the warn water and other things that go into them plus the bacterial reaction.
:cheese: How far out of the box is that?
airplanes20 said:Yes my boiler is outside. I ran inch and a quarter lines to the house, its about 75 feet from the shed to the house, i put 4 inches of blue board styrafoam insulation around the pipe. In the morning when i go out to the boiler the boiler temp is around 140-150, when the tanks are down to 110-120. Last night it was up to temp (180) around 10 pm, it stayed 30 degrees overnight and its now 8 am and the tanks are at 150. So they hold the heat well as long as the temp is about around 20. But once the temps dip down then thats when the tanks dont last long (overnight). Durning the daytime I leave for work at 6:30 am and again the tanks are up to temp (180), i get home around 4 pm and start the tanks aroud 5pm, at that time the tanks are running around 130-140. I have noticed the snow on the ground around the house is melted about 2 feet from the foundation. Im thinking mabye thats where im loosing some heat, don't have any insulation on the outside of foundation. Again i think the system works great, just on really cold nights it doesn't last as long as i would like thats why I wanted to add storage. Is it possible to build a building outside with the boiler and put tanks outside, with the 2 tanks in the basement?? How would that work because i thought the tanks had to be tied into each other?
airplanes20 said:Yes my boiler is outside. I ran inch and a quarter lines to the house, its about 75 feet from the shed to the house, i put 4 inches of blue board styrafoam insulation around the pipe. In the morning when i go out to the boiler the boiler temp is around 140-150, when the tanks are down to 110-120. Last night it was up to temp (180) around 10 pm, it stayed 30 degrees overnight and its now 8 am and the tanks are at 150. So they hold the heat well as long as the temp is about around 20. But once the temps dip down then thats when the tanks dont last long (overnight). Durning the daytime I leave for work at 6:30 am and again the tanks are up to temp (180), i get home around 4 pm and start the tanks aroud 5pm, at that time the tanks are running around 130-140. I have noticed the snow on the ground around the house is melted about 2 feet from the foundation. Im thinking mabye thats where im loosing some heat, don't have any insulation on the outside of foundation. Again i think the system works great, just on really cold nights it doesn't last as long as i would like thats why I wanted to add storage. Is it possible to build a building outside with the boiler and put tanks outside, with the 2 tanks in the basement?? How would that work because i thought the tanks had to be tied into each other?
stefan66 said:I am currently using a concrete septic tank for storage.
Installed aprox. 120 feet of 3/4 inch copper as heat exchanger.
Works allright for me.
Mind you there is nothing but water in the tank.
airplanes20 said:stefan66 said:I am currently using a concrete septic tank for storage.
Installed aprox. 120 feet of 3/4 inch copper as heat exchanger.
Works allright for me.
Mind you there is nothing but water in the tank.
Thats what i was thinking about doing, but most everyone on here has told me its a bad idea.
stefan66 said:airplanes20 said:stefan66 said:I am currently using a concrete septic tank for storage.
Installed aprox. 120 feet of 3/4 inch copper as heat exchanger.
Works allright for me.
Mind you there is nothing but water in the tank.
Thats what i was thinking about doing, but most everyone on here has told me its a bad idea.
My storage is under the slab--- 4inches green rigid styrofoam on sides
---2 inches underneath--- 6 inches on top
---weeping tile 2 feet under tank
Storage losses are around 2 degrees per day in fall with no heating demand
maple1 said:I would maintain, though, that the possibility of in ground storage working out or not is mostly dependant on local site specific conditions like soil type, grade, and water table height. No matter how much you insulate, if you're in a place with a high water table and poorly draining soil types, in ground storage is likely not a good idea.
Tennman said:Airplane, this thread has been so entertaining because it's been like bungee jumping, about the time it was going in one direction, we got jerked in another. Great fun... from poop to foam. But for me personally, in your original post, you said you've seen others use septic tanks for storage and sure enough stefan66 chimed in saying it was working for him. In my 3 years of hanging out here this is the first discussion I've seen about septic tank storage. My response back on the 6th, "Horrible idea. Coefficient of thermal conductivity of generic concrete = .7, rigid polyurethane foam = .018-.02. Concrete transfers heat about 40 times faster than a foam insulated vessel." I was not imagining foaming a septic tank or insulating it, just concrete against the dirt, i.e. a standard tank install (where the laws of physics still stand). Which in my mind would be far more complex and painful than just buying another propane tank and foaming it. My point is the energy integrity of a thermal battery is all about the quality of the insulation, not how the liquid's being contained. Been fun! Cheers
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