Another storage tank option

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Burn-1

Burn-1

Feeling the Heat
Hearth Supporter
Jul 13, 2006
446
Lakes Region, NH
While checking out the Herlt boiler site I noticed their storage system which looks like a big foil bag in a sort of spindly looking wire cage, and sheep's wool insulation. Given the rather low tech look of this setup I can't imagine it would be terribly costly and may be able to serve as some inspiration for the DIY and experimental crowd here.

I was trying to find any importers of the Herlt line in North America and (broken link removed) but it's from 2004 so I'm not sure if that Canadian company is importing them. The same company appears to also have been a dsitributor for Atmos boilers. I threw a couple emails out there and I'll see what comes back.
 
Burn-1 said:
While checking out the Herlt boiler site I noticed their storage system which looks like a big foil bag in a sort of spindly looking wire cage, and sheep's wool insulation. Given the rather low tech look of this setup I can't imagine it would be terribly costly and may be able to serve as some inspiration for the DIY and experimental crowd here.

I was trying to find any importers of the Herlt line in North America and (broken link removed to http://www.lumbermenonline.com/viewnews.cfm?newsID=30) but it's from 2004 so I'm not sure if that Canadian company is importing them. The same company appears to also have been a dsitributor for Atmos boilers. I threw a couple emails out there and I'll see what comes back.
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I like it! Especially the "decomposable steel grating".

It does seem like a great design to take better advantage of indoor space. The Tarm style 'inground swimming pools' seem to be limited to about 4' - big waste of space.
 
I like it! Especially the "decomposable steel grating".
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I think that and the rest of the page is written in the German equivalent of 'Finnbonics' Eric was talking about a few weeks ago.

Edit: After a second look, it does seem a bit more substantial with much more support at the bottom of the tank. The wire wrap almost looks logarithmic in its placement as it ascends the tank walls.
 
Are you the guy who built his own tank, pb? I'd like to dig up that link and put it in our reference sticky, or get the details again and post it in there.
 
cool link burn 1
 
Tarm discouraged the taller tanks due to stratification issues since their supplier only makes coils sized for a 4' tank. However, previous disscussions have demonstrated that stratification can be used to ones advantage. My twin 500 gallon propane tanks do require a lot of floor space. I intend to cover with an insulated wooden platform, and at least make use of the space above the tanks for storage. I'll leave small hinged panels on opposite sides (one top, one bottom), allow heating of the basement in the winter.
 
Tuo, I have a single 500 gal tank as well, I have two more Id like to connect. How did you connect yours together? Are you feeding your house directly from the tank?
 
barnartist said:
Tuo, I have a single 500 gal tank as well, I have two more Id like to connect. How did you connect yours together? Are you feeding your house directly from the tank?
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I wish I could answer that question! Right now the heat piping is is design phase. Meanwhile, I've been plumbing the distribution and finishing up my electrical rough in to get ready for insulation. I will post my piping diagrams on this forum when completed to obtain the constructive criticism of the group. In my plan, the tanks are piped in series as a tee off the primary loop.
 
I'll bet you could easily stack two 500 gallon tanks. The metal seems heavy enough to be structural??

Before I found a 500 gallon LP to use as my buffer, I had a 185 gallon LP tank. I stood it up on it's end in a carved out foam base, about 6" thick. then I bolted the mounting feet to the wall for extra tip protection.

Her is a unique tank manufacturer I spotted in Germany.

www.ichbin2.de

hr
 
master of sparks said:
Here is a unique tank manufacturer I spotted in Germany.

www.ichbin2.de hr
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That is a pretty neat system for oil tanks but I don't think the fiberglass/polytanks are spec'd for heat
 
I didn't think you could lump in fiber with poly. I don't speak German, but that is fiberglass. I know we covered this in another thread. I am eager to see if any german speakers on here could find the system specs on pressure and heat.
 
They show those tanks for solar and pellet boilers, I'd guess they could take 180- 200F.

I haven't found any HDPE tanks rated above 140- 150F. And I have tried HDPE pallet tanks.... don't bother they get very "fluid" around 150F ;)

hr
 
master of sparks said:
They show those tanks for solar and pellet boilers, I'd guess they could take 180- 200F.

I haven't found any HDPE tanks rated above 140- 150F. And I have tried HDPE pallet tanks.... don't bother they get very "fluid" around 150F ;)

hr
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I don't read german but it looked like the use for the pellet burner was a tank for the pellets. In another thread sledmack shows his tank and it is made from fiberglass. Those are neat tanks, I wonder what the cost is. Just another example where we are behind.
leaddog
 
You can translate the page with babelfish. Having taken a quick look it appears they make tanks of of glass fiber reinforced plastic and they are used for heat accumulators, fuel oil, gas, radioactive waste, photo chemicals up to 240,000 liters in size.
Did not see any spec list other than sizes and no pricing. The roll up heat storage units look very nice and they even show the internal exchanger piping in the photos of the unit. Might be worth contacting them to see if they are available in the US or Canada.
 
FYI can also just click on the British flag as they also use english.
 
Didn't give me english when I clicked it..
 
cool thanks, anybody get limits on pressure???

It sounds like it can take some real heat
 
These guys make assemble on site high temperature fiber tanks. These have been successfully used in many solar applications.


(broken link removed to http://www.designtanks.com/UserFiles/File/Domestic_Water_Supply_Brochure.pdf)
 
Burn-1 said:
While checking out the Herlt boiler site I noticed their storage system which looks like a big foil bag in a sort of spindly looking wire cage, and sheep's wool insulation. Given the rather low tech look of this setup I can't imagine it would be terribly costly and may be able to serve as some inspiration for the DIY and experimental crowd here.

I was trying to find any importers of the Herlt line in North America and (broken link removed to http://www.lumbermenonline.com/viewnews.cfm?newsID=30) but it's from 2004 so I'm not sure if that Canadian company is importing them. The same company appears to also have been a dsitributor for Atmos boilers. I threw a couple emails out there and I'll see what comes back.
Click to expand...

I looked at this tank a long time ago and can't find anything around my area. I did speak with Rey last year and they don't seem to carry this anymore. They have fibreglass tanks that are to be bolted together in side.
I did however start looking in to the materials used here. The "webbing looks like the steel "hog panels" that are quite common in the mid-west and around here to make older style hog penning from, made from 1/4 " steel wire, this is available in 20 ft lenths and black or galvanized.
The liner is a bigger question. They call it "synthetic leather" this leads me to believe it is PU and not very temperature resistant ( upto 155F constant, 220 F sthort term). The orange layer looks to be a vinyl tarp material, judging by the grommets and general look.
Last week I went to see a local industrial tarp supplier and he believes the 18 Oz vinyl is suitable for tank liner considering they use it to cover loads of asphalt in the summer are product temps of 400F and in the full sun exposure. I tried some samples this weekend in a pot of boiling water for an hour and found no change, didn't go soft or stretched at all. This material can be welded and gives less waste for that reason.
He believes he can weld it to not have any leaks, the liner would be easy to install and cost competitive.
This product is available in a few weights from 18 oz and up.

Maybe there is some experience with this already, please let me know.

Henk.
 
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