Bien le bonjour à votre épouse! "Be careful with playing with French words, the Le car did not go over well with the French gov:-)" I don't get it... please explain.
Yes I have looked at www.builditsolar.com. That is where I got the idea of a wooden tank. I like your idea of building one single tank with a baffle to separate the DHW storage tank from the main heating tank. However, the problem will be to fit all this in my technical room. From a previous post, I see that I need a bigger tank (at least 2 tanks 4 x 4 x 8 ft) plus the dhw heat storage tank. My technical room is about 12 x 14 ft but one full wall is occupied by the heating system valves and boiler, the second is occupied by heat exchanger, pressure tank and electric breaker box, third one has central vacuum and dhw electric tank. That leaves me a portion of third wall maybe just about 8 ft long and about 6 foot long on fourth wall on the other side of door. It seems like if I want a bigger tank, I need to make it taller than 4 ft high. Considering that space issue, I prefer square tank to round ones. I will have to check code for distance to breaker box.
So far, the pool is the least of my preoccupations. We got it for free except for the labor of removing it. I envision it more like a dump load for summer.
MartinEau, soleil, le vent[ Parent ]
70's American Motors (AMC) imported a Renault vehicle they called "le car" for little car. I remember hearing the French gov did not like this name, if I got this right "The French do not like the butchering of the language like the Americans do"... What can I say I thought it was funny.
Taller tank looks like it will work for you. The weight of the tank is huge, make sure the slab its on can handle the weight without breaking.
I mentioned earlier do you have a porch without a basement under it? Great place for a large tank. Digging the hole by hand is not too bad. I have done the foundations for a home only took a couple days.
Solar collectors sized by the heat needed by the pool, everything else will be taken care of.
Have fun, Scott.[ Parent ]
About the slab. Does anyone know how heavy a 4 inch thick slab reinforced with wire mesh can withstand?
I do have a porch but it is only 4 x 8 ft. I doubt it is worth the trouble of digging and making a hole in the basement wall, more difficulty to insulate the tank
If I split the tanks in 2 (within my technical room), I wonder how I could place the inlet and outlet vs heat exchanger coil... Connection between the two tank I guess should be at the bottom. Martin Eau, soleil, le vent[ Parent ]
If the slab was properly done, you should have no worries putting a water tank on top. Tap on the concrete to see if you can detect any hollow areas, if any are present then you have some worries.
Location of a pipe for balancing the water level isn't critical. Water seeks it's own level. Personally, I'd build one large tank with an insulation barrier between them. You create less exterior surface area that way and a lower need for heavy exterior insulation. The top is probably the most critical for insulation, as heat rises. That would save you from any additional heat load in your house in the summer.
Heat exchangers should be placed near the top for heating applications, (pool, DHW) and at the bottom for solar panels. In other words you want to utilize the hottest part for your heating applications and heat the coolest part. Of course if you go drainback, that is inconsequential, pickup at the bottom, and return at the top. [ Parent ]
