How do you seal a homemade tank?

[fototek1]

Okay I am sure I am going to buy some kind of wood gasification system but I am trying to figure out the whole system before I make the purchase. I was thinking I would buy the Tarm solo 40. I was thinking I would build my own tank but I really don't understand how it is supposed to work and how you seal it so it is moisture proof when you put the top on.

I have a room in my basement measuring 40'x5' that has 10" thick concrete walls. I figured I would build a 7'x5'x3.5' high tank (should hold about 735 gallons to the 3' mark). I was going to line the base and side walls with poly foam then install a rubber bladder. One wall is going to be steel framed and lagged to the concrete. My big issue is how do you seal the top of the tank and keep the moisture and condensation inside the tank? I don't want or need extra humidity or mold.





I have a 2500 square foot house that was built in 2000.

 

[free75degrees]

Aside from the tank lid sealed against the top walls of the tank, my understanding is that you can toss some paraffin in the tank. Once it gets up to temp the paraffin will melt and form a thin layer on top of the water and will inhibit evaporation. I have not actually done this (my tank is in construction, lid still not built) but I think some folks on this site have done this.

 

[fototek1]

Thanks for that tip. How much paraffin would I need for a 7'x5 tank? Would that really work? So is the whole 700 gallons from this tank going to run through the circulator and boiler to keep the tank warm? Where can I read about all I need to do to get this system up and running and also maintain? I live in New Hampshire and want to plan a trip to the Tarm USA facility to get all of my answers. I just hope I don't end up with some newbie who gives me the wrong info and advice.

Should my tank just have the one circulator pump? Should I also make a copper coil for hot water heating? This is easy enough with soft coppper. Can pex be used for this also or is the heat transfer not good enough?

Thanks again,
Scott

 

[WoodNotOil]

Thanks for that tip. How much paraffin would I need for a 7'x5 tank? Would that really work? So is the whole 700 gallons from this tank going to run through the circulator and boiler to keep the tank warm?

There are two different kinds of storage: pressurized and non-pressurized. Pressurized is what people are using propane tanks for and yes that water does circ through the boiler. Non-pressurized is what you described above and the water is heated by exchange not by circulating it through the boiler. Large copper coils are usually used for this, however I am experimenting with using a flat plate hx.

Where can I read about all I need to do to get this system up and running and also maintain? I live in New Hampshire and want to plan a trip to the Tarm USA facility to get all of my answers. I just hope I don't end up with some newbie who gives me the wrong info and advice.

Take a look at my site in my signature and look through the linked sites as well (Nofossil's is included there too). Tarm will want to sell you the STSS one they have, but seeing one in action might answer some of your questions.

Should my tank just have the one circulator pump? Should I also make a copper coil for hot water heating? This is easy enough with soft coppper. Can pex be used for this also or is the heat transfer not good enough?

Number of circs depends on your layout. Yes, you should have a DHW coil. I will have one even with the flat plate system.