Advice Needed to install car radiator to hot water tank

[SPYDERLK]

I have tried heat tape but there is to much pipe and the tank is large. To cover it all with the heat tape power consumption is greater than the air heaters I already have.

HOW much pipe! More than 40'?? A hundred feet of the heat tape im talking about only uses about 500W. I figure 4 wraps around the tank and a 6" pitch spiral around pipes, all thermally coupled with heat conductive compound then pipe overwrapped with about 1" insulation [4" on tank] will do it.
larry

 

[alltoys]

HOW much pipe! More than 40'?? A hundred feet of the heat tape im talking about only uses about 500W. I figure 4 wraps around the tank and a 6" pitch spiral around pipes, all thermally coupled with heat conductive compound then pipe overwrapped with about 1" insulation [4" on tank] will do it.
larry

Can the tap be bought in 100 foot lengths? Your right that would do it. Longest I can find here is about 10 feet. Stringing a whole bunch of cords is not feasible, one would work perfectly.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Can the tap be bought in 100 foot lengths? Your right that would do it. Longest I can find here is about 10 feet. Stringing a whole bunch of cords is not feasible, one would work perfectly.

Please take a look back at post 18. If you can access the McMaster Carr site
McMaster-Carr
you should be able to bring up that stock number. It is the 100' one. They have different lengths. It may be that 2 shorter ones are better for you. They also have a heat conducting putty to assure intimate contact and increase contact area of tape to the surface you want heated. To me the trouble is that it hardens and you may not be able to take it off easy if you want to. I use a gooey clay type stuff that I call gorilla snot. Its a stable sticky mastic that forms well and stays put but doesnt harden. Product AK-22
Protective Coatings :: HBM measurement
I find it very useful.
Insulation -- maybe a tight wrap of Saran Wrap/or pallet wrap then fiberglass over it. If its a wet sweaty environment in the summer it may need an outer impermeable wrap. But I think letting the fiberglass breathe to gradually dry as the season cools may be best instead of perhaps trapping condensation that is bound to get in.
larry

 

[turnkey4099]

Why not solve the problem permanently without heat. Move the pressure tank and pump controls into a heated portion (or basement) of your house. Then a bunc of easily removeable insulation in the pump house.

I have never understood why people put pressure tanks into well houses.

Harry K

 

[ampsucker]

we moved ours out to the pump house to make more room in the laundry room.

of course, if you're building your own house on site, you can plan for it to be inside or in an area you are going to heat anyway.

that's why we did it, though.

also, our well driller told us he usually gets better performance from having the tank close to the well, although i'm pretty sure this is just a design issue that can be solved with the correct pipe size and selection.

one other comment is that we live in zone 6/7 so freezing is not an issue and in the summer on a hot day its hard to beat the nice cool water coming from out in the cool pump house as opposed to warmer room temp water that would be coming from a tank indoors ;=)

amp

 

[SPYDERLK]

Why not solve the problem permanently without heat. Move the pressure tank and pump controls into a heated portion (or basement) of your house. Then a bunc of easily removeable insulation in the pump house.

I have never understood why people put pressure tanks into well houses.

Harry K

It is to limit the length of the column of water that must start and stop quickly as the pump cycles. Its easier on the pump, footvalve, motor,and piping when this is shorter.
larry

 

[alltoys]

Please take a look back at post 18. If you can access the McMaster Carr site
McMaster-Carr
you should be able to bring up that stock number. It is the 100' one. They have different lengths. It may be that 2 shorter ones are better for you. They also have a heat conducting putty to assure intimate contact and increase contact area of tape to the surface you want heated. To me the trouble is that it hardens and you may not be able to take it off easy if you want to. I use a gooey clay type stuff that I call gorilla snot. Its a stable sticky mastic that forms well and stays put but doesnt harden. Product AK-22
Protective Coatings :: HBM measurement
I find it very useful.
Insulation -- maybe a tight wrap of Saran Wrap/or pallet wrap then fiberglass over it. If its a wet sweaty environment in the summer it may need an outer impermeable wrap. But I think letting the fiberglass breathe to gradually dry as the season cools may be best instead of perhaps trapping condensation that is bound to get in.
larry

Thank you Larry for your help I will see what I can find here. The products described should be accessible here I like the idea of the Gorilla Snot you mention. excellent graphic description. 500W consumption is a lot better for 100 feet than using 4000W to heat the area.

 

[keeney]

I would have to agree that putting in hot water heat in a small out-building is asking to have it get frozen up and all destroyed when something goes wrong like a control failing, power outage, or even a slow leak (the thermo-siphon would stop circulating)

The pressure tank should be in the main building in that climate. Then your heat could just be some heat-tape directly on the pipes.

The pump house could be more of a man-hole built below grade with the floor down below the frost line and insulated on all sides except the bottom so as to capture the heat from the ground Then you theoretically won't need any heat to keep it from freezing.

-Rick

 

[alltoys]

I would have to agree that putting in hot water heat in a small out-building is asking to have it get frozen up and all destroyed when something goes wrong like a control failing, power outage, or even a slow leak (the thermo-siphon would stop circulating)

The pressure tank should be in the main building in that climate. Then your heat could just be some heat-tape directly on the pipes.

The pump house could be more of a man-hole built below grade with the floor down below the frost line and insulated on all sides except the bottom so as to capture the heat from the ground Then you theoretically won't need any heat to keep it from freezing.

-Rick

If I had the hot water tank with a gravity feed to the radiator there wouldn't be a need for the pump. Only problem would be the pilot light going out or the thermostat not working properly. Doesn't need power except for the fan to blow warm air. But then I could have the same problem with heat tape as well no power. If it is out longer than a day then I will use a generator not a problem.

Your idea of dropping the entire system below frost line is not feasible for me. Below 10 feet is a long way down, not going to happen. Within the next 2 years I am going to build a new place all this stuff will indoors so no problem with freezing then. I just need something in the mean time. So far the long heat tape with insulation seems to work the best.

 

[DavidVT]

The pump house could be more of a man-hole built below grade with the floor down below the frost line and insulated on all sides except the bottom so as to capture the heat from the ground Then you theoretically won't need any heat to keep it from freezing.

-Rick

Below grade 'pump house' solutions can work here (northern vermont), has anyone had success with this in Alberta?