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Water heating without presurized water tank, an idea. Please shoot!

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  • Water heating without presurized water tank, an idea. Please shoot!

    Hi all,

    my first post here, I have been searching the www and I think I have the basics covered... But I am always looking for ways to simplify or cut expenses (or both). The current design (nothing built yet) is very simple. I have a house with two stages of roof.
    - On the lower stage, I will make as many collector panels as I can, design not relevant at this point.
    - Underneath the higher stage, I will make locate the system which will be syphon fed. Gravity will assist, no electrics, only maybe for some gauges. I will make a non return valve in the system to be sure I won't loose any heat.

    The system currently is designed with a 200 litre water tank, under full pressure of the water supply, with a heat exchanger in it fed by the syphoning collector system. This will heat the water, warm water is fed through my water heater which only adds the required energy on bad days, and does nothing on good days. But the 200 litre stainless steel well isolated tank with heat exchanger is very expensive, and few second hand ones come available so far.

    So, back to the drawing board. I would like to change the system around. I will make a large (non stainless) tank, filled with the same liquid as the collector system. For this I can use an old air compressor tank. No air will be in the system, the liquid will have an anti-corrosive component. It will most likely be engine cooling liquid. A header tank with a level sensor will make sure no air gets into the system.
    Outside of the tank I will of course insulate. This way all heat generated by the collectors is gathered in the tank and most will stay there.
    Inside the tank I will fit a small heat exchanger, which is fed the cold incoming water from the main supply. The exchanger uses the energy stored in the tank to instantly heat the water flowing throught the exchanger. OK, I need a mighty fine exchanger, but I have some ideas about that. It is all a matter of conduction.

    Why bother? Well, as I started I am looking for a way around using:
    A) A pressurised tank.
    B) A stainless tank.
    Hence, an expensive tank.

    Please feel free to comment constructively,
    Cheers,

    Hugo

  • #2
    Originally posted by HugoW View Post
    ... Well, as I started I am looking for a way around using:
    A) A pressurised tank.
    B) A stainless tank.
    Hence, an expensive tank.
    Why would you think that a pressurized tank was needed?

    Why would you think that a stainless steel tank is needed?



    Currently, I heat my home with a wood stove. My woodstove heats water, that circulates through a 200-gallon thermal-bank, that then circulates through our radiant flooring. I intend to add a Solar-Thermal array into this system as a secondary loop.

    My system only has 2psi in it. My system does not have any stainless steel tanks.
    4400w, Midnite Classic 150 charge-controller.

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    • #3
      Hi organic farmer,

      thanks for your reply. I would like to heat tap water. The heating system in the house does not allow any other input. So as you use your wood stove, probably because it is cold, you also need the floor heating to function.
      In my case, the tapwater enters the house at 2 to 3 bar pressure. So if I want to store and heat tap water, I need a vessel resisting the 3 bar pressure. And as I am holding tap water which could end up in my mouth, I feel a stainless vessel is required. I meanwhile found a cheap stainless steel oil-drum like vessel. That cannot hold pressure, but I can use it in my above described system.

      Cheers,

      Hugo

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by HugoW View Post
        Hi organic farmer,

        thanks for your reply. I would like to heat tap water. The heating system in the house does not allow any other input. So as you use your wood stove, probably because it is cold, you also need the floor heating to function.
        In my case, the tapwater enters the house at 2 to 3 bar pressure. So if I want to store and heat tap water, I need a vessel resisting the 3 bar pressure. And as I am holding tap water which could end up in my mouth, I feel a stainless vessel is required. I meanwhile found a cheap stainless steel oil-drum like vessel. That cannot hold pressure, but I can use it in my above described system.

        Cheers,

        Hugo
        Water-heaters die. When they die they are replaced and people want to get rid of the dead ones. I collected four dead water-heaters [40 to 60 gallons units / 150 liter to 225 liter]. I had to flush them, as each of them had collected sand inside them.

        Water-heaters are cheap, mass-produced, and common. A steel tank that is glass-lined to make them both pressure-vessels and food-grade.

        I plumbed these four dead water heaters in series, that forms my thermal-bank.
        4400w, Midnite Classic 150 charge-controller.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by organic farmer View Post
          Water-heaters die. When they die they are replaced and people want to get rid of the dead ones. I collected four dead water-heaters [40 to 60 gallons units / 150 liter to 225 liter]. I had to flush them, as each of them had collected sand inside them.

          Water-heaters are cheap, mass-produced, and common. A steel tank that is glass-lined to make them both pressure-vessels and food-grade.

          I plumbed these four dead water heaters in series, that forms my thermal-bank.
          Organic Farmer, The Dutch are one of the biggest producers of SS water heaters and SS is way more common over in Europe. There are few if any glass lined tanks like we have.

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