Keeping Water Tank Cool??

[2fs2ns]

So our well pressure tank is in our garage, which in the summer gets HOT, it faces west and the doors are dark brown. I'm adding insulation to get the temp down in there, but I imagine it will still get pretty warm in there. This is TX afterall. So the downside is the cold water in our tap isn't terribly cold, like 76 degree's or so after it's been heating in the garage all day. Anyone have any suggestions to keep the tank cool? I've thought about wrapping it in in insulation like we used to in the winter when the tank was outside, but I was afraid of the condensation that might build up between the tank/insulation?

Thanks!

Dan

 

[Mendonsy]

You could get around the condensation by building an insulated box around it that was just big enough so it didn't touch the tank anywhere. Foam insulation would work better than fiberglass.

 

[zzvyb6]

I put a venting cupola in the garage roof a few weeks ago and the airflow is pretty strong. It's a copper roofed architechtural feature of the garage now. Net effect is a cooler garage. You could add a powered fan to it to increase its effectiveness. If the garage doors are not insulated, then do it. What about putting the tank down in a below-ground pit ? Heck, put it inside a yard sale refridgerator !

 

[boggen]

1/2" foil back hard board insulation with some "foil tape", foil / foil tape on the outside.
--the foil should help reflect the heat, and help hold inside temps down.

you might get some roll insulation. and warp around everything, and then put the foil back hard board insulation around it all.
--primary goal = reduce how fast heat transfers from tank to the outside. the rolled insulation, just brings up the R value, and attempt to stretch how fast things heat up / cool down.

if you moved the entire tank outside, and buried a few feet underground. say digging a hole and lining it with concrete blocks. fill bottom of pit with gravel. (kinda mini french drain) to let rain water / moisture drain out. insulated top, some sort of water proof top such as metal sheet for metal buildings or like. a piece of plywood to give it some structure strength, and maybe 1" hard board insulation.
--primary goal. earth / ground once you get so many feet down, the ground naturally stays 54F degrees. for those that need to deal with "frost heaving" / "frost line depth". normally getting below that = good stable 54F. but with texas and not having one i don't have a clue. i would guess simply getting a pit say 4 feet deep, with concrete blocks a couple inches above ground (to keep rain water from going down into pit) would be good enough.

 

[Billrog]

As mentioned a plywood box lined with 2" blue or pink Styrofoam would do the trick . Condensation becomes a problem with high humidity and running cold water through the line steady eg. sprinkling.

 

[JerryK]

Like the above suggestion, well pit. They direct bury pressure tanks too. Just like they direct bury propane tanks these days.... More garage room equals more toy room, too....

 

[2fs2ns]

I like the direct bury idea, I hadn't seen one of them before. We don't have a bladder style tank, it uses the air pressure/relief valve. I'm going to insulate the garage doors tonight. The above attic space has a ridge vent with intakes around the soffits, but no direct vent from garage space into above attic. Also no intake for air into the garage if the doors are lowered so it wouldn't move air too well. Could add some vents to the garage door panels I suppose.

 

[boggen]

www.koiphen.com -> pond and construction forum = is were you will find a lot of "pond filters" that are buried into the ground. and you might gain some extra ideas for burying the well tank.

along with burying valves and like into the ground, with just access to a handle or like at the surface. all of it pretty much DIY.

 

[skipmarcy]

I like the direct bury idea, I hadn't seen one of them before. We don't have a bladder style tank, it uses the air pressure/relief valve. I'm going to insulate the garage doors tonight. The above attic space has a ridge vent with intakes around the soffits, but no direct vent from garage space into above attic. Also no intake for air into the garage if the doors are lowered so it wouldn't move air too well. Could add some vents to the garage door panels I suppose.

I used a dryer vent in the wall of the garage here near the woodstove for fresh air intake. I took the flap out of it so it's wide open all the time and installed a fine mesh screen over the hole to keep critters out. Really helped a lot on flashback when opening the woodstove - my house is pretty tight, and it helps the bathroom exhaust fan work better too. My garage is attached and open to the house all the time like a big utility/rec room. Anyway, the dryer vent is inexpensive and hooded from rain well.

 

[TheGoose]

Groundwater temp in Tx is 67-72*F year round. My suggestion is to figure out some way to use a little water during the day to replenish the water in the tank every 2-3 hours. Even on a really hot day, say 95* or hotter it would take a lot of heat to get that water from 70* to 85*. Maybe set a timer on a sprinkler that waters something ever 4 hours during the day.

Here's a good map:
Average Shallow GroundWater Temperatures | Ecosystems Research | US EPA