Welded steel storage tank

[BOOO]

Have been reading for several months, Leaddog turned me on to this forurm. The information just keeps coming.
The steel holding tank is something I been thinking about. Would like round,vertical and pressuried. Have no idea of thickness
of metal should use. Would have it precut then weld it in place. Could this be a workable project?

 

[Eric Johnson]

Welcome to the Boiler Room, BOOO. I'm really pleased to have a Wood Gun owner around here.

I can't answer your tank questions, but I do have a question for you: Does the cyclone on the Wood Gun collect all the ashes, or do you also have an ash pit that needs cleaning periodically. And, do you have to clean your heat exchanger tubes (if that's the design) by hand and if so, how often?

 

[wdc1160]

Yah, I got no information for you either, but I have a ton of questions.

If you have a minute to spare can you post about your experience with your woodgun?

 

[leaddog]

Have been reading for several months, Leaddog turned me on to this forurm. The information just keeps coming.
The steel holding tank is something I been thinking about. Would like round,vertical and pressuried. Have no idea of thickness
of metal should use. Would have it precut then weld it in place. Could this be a workable project?

Good to see that you have finally posted. You are going to be bombarded with questions about the wood gun as you are the first.
I think that if you want a pressurized tank you should try and find a used propane tank. They are pressure tested and safe. You can stand them on end by welding legs on them. I think it will really help you with the short cycleing. once again welcome.
leaddog

 

[steam man]

I have researched possibly having a custom tank made. There's nothing time and money can't solve. I did find one tank manufacturer that makes the "pieces" in various sizes for a custom tank, i.e., end covers, shells, etc. However it just doesn't seem practical expense and liability-wise. Any modified pressure vessel could be asking for trouble located in a dwelling. I am sure your insurance carrier would think so. I have come across ASME certified commercial ones but they were too difficult to remove and transport. A foundry/welding shop that is has certified welders for pressure vessels could custom make something also. The economics are hard to justify. Anybody ever hear of a low pressure vessel catasrophe? That is a lot of hot water. There are a lot of good ideas on this forum for a low pressure vessel which should suit your needs. The only other idea that comes to mind which I see for commercial installs is to use a number of smaller tanks and have a "cascade" sort of heating arrangement. I use a preheat tank and then circulate to my main tank when the temperature is high enough. I guess you could add any number of tanks in this arrangement.

About that wood gun......................

 

[wtom24]

Remember that this is for low pressure hot water. If limited to less than 15# using a reliable relief valve, the damage that could be done is limited to water damage from the leak. Used propane tanks are ideal, because they are rated for 240#, even though they have been scrapped and are no longer an "ASME" stamped tank. Most tanks in this category have had a hole cut in them so they cannot be used as propane tanks anymore, but are perfectly useable for hot water storage. If you have a space problem a used tank could be cut down in size and rewelded into any configuration you may need. My system has 2-1000 gallon used propane tanks welded together one on top of the other using pieces of 8" pipe. I welded an old axle onto one end and put a hitch on the other and used a Jeep Cherokee in granny gear to back the assembly down the ramp into the basement and to the far end of the basement. Cut the axle and hitch off and placed the tank assembly on treated 6x6 sleepers 2 points on each end. This has been in place since 1990 and is still in use. Another way to limit the pressure is to use an open tank at the top of the system for pressure using only gravity fill. Many old systems were done this way.

 

[solarguy]

That can be done, cut a tank down & reweld it in place. That is done quite often in the commercial sector. Just make sure whoever is doing the welding is certified & have him cut the tank to save you a buch of grief.

 

[BOOO]

Nice to hear from you all. This is the fourth year of running my woodgun. It is in the pole barn which circulates to the house 120ft. Have spent hours
watching this burner work, This winter along with this web site am finally getting it fine tuned. Changed the chimney which made it a entirely different
burner. I clean the lower chambers maybe once a month depending on use, maybe 10 to 15 mins by hand. The cyclone is emptied every 4 or 5 day,
roughly a milk jug. After the chimney change the cyclone went to all fly ash. Keep the damper cracked just a little and it seems to work great. Stack
temp 18ins off the cyclone runs between 250 and 325 depending on the load. Also have noticed less wood is needed.
Pressure at the boiler is about 10 lbs in the basement 15lbs. Need to figure storage for summer runs. The talk of propane tanks might be the easiest.
I get dizzy looking at all the prints on this forum.

 

[Perfect Heat]

Booo,
I have a 140 Wood gun that I am in the process of installing. How did you change your chimney? Also would you be able to post some pictures of your boiler. Nice to have another Wood gun owner to compare notes with. Terry

 

[BOOO]

Terry, it is nice to hear from some one with a woodgun. If this forum was around when I put my burner jn ....
My original chimney was vertical off the cyclone 18in with a tee, horizontal 10ft, thru the wall another tee,
vertical 12.5ft. That horizontal was killing me and didn't know it.
At present vertical 2.5ft off cyclone, a 90, 10ft run horizontal ,out window and adjustable 90 for weather.
This is black 22ga pipe. The due point is usually reached a little before window so from there is slightly angled
down. Leaddog was a big help.
Would like to replace as vertical as possible, with maybe 30 degree angle kit. Jeff at Alternative Heating said you
might get fly ash out chimney if to vertical. Am anixious to see what it is when I get real chimney up.

 

[Perfect Heat]

Booo, Thanks for the reply. I agree this forum is a wealth of knowledge. Was the problem with your chimney insufficient draft? You mentioned you changed the tees to 90 degree elbows and this helped. Can you clarify what you meant by your horizontal was killing you. Thank you appreciate your feedback. Terry

 

[BOOO]

Terry the chimney I have now is temporary. There is a 90 just to get it out the window. When the real chimney goes up there will be one tee at base for clean out purpose.
The fan on the woodgun did push it out enough I thought until the black pipe was hooked up. There is much more draft now. Yes that horizontal run did choke
the draft down. It seemed like there is formulas for the amount of restriction on different angles and horizontals runs but have not seen them. Maybe some one
can enlighten us?

 

[Perfect Heat]

Thanks Booo, Let me know how your new set up works when you are completed. Terry