Non Pressurized Storage...

[Kristen]

On the floor there will be two water sensors, if they get wet, the pump will go on and empty the tank

I have a trench-drain,with grill, in the floor of my boiler room (suggested by insurance company, rather than required by them). In the event of a flood it won't stop the room flooding, but it will allow it to drain reasonably quickly and thus collateral damage should be limited (in duration at least!)

 

[GENECOP]

Thanks all, yes my tank does have penetrations with bulkhead fittings, also if you look back over some of the photos I have some support systems mounted on the inside of the tank, these conditions make a full liner my second choice. Regarding coating, Pond Pro 2000 Concrete has a buildable coating with a service temp of 200Deg F. It's one option, also the company Smooth On has a number of silicone a rubber coatings that might work, they have a distributor near me, I will be stopping by this week...

 

[GENECOP]

Thanks all, yes my tank does have penetrations with bulkhead fittings, also if you look back over some of the photos I have some support systems mounted on the inside of the tank, these conditions make a full liner my second choice. Regarding coating, Pond Pro 2000 Concrete has a buildable coating with a service temp of 200Deg F. It's one option, also the company Smooth On has a number of silicone a rubber coatings that might work, they have a distributor near me, I will be stopping by this week...

 

[Nofossil]

I had to open my unpressurized storage this fall after 10 years. It's a stainless tank with silicone caulking to protect bulkhead pass-through welds. It has copper coils inside. I caulked a sheet of heavy-gauge polyethylene to the top rim, and laid a sheet of EPDM over that, followed by a foot-thick lid of polyiso sheets. The water in the storage tank had a bit of bromine in it to inhibit bacterial growth.

After 10 years, I noted the following:

1. The silicone caulk held up well, especially where I had taken time to sandblast the stainless.
2. The polyethylene had completely deteriorated into crumbly black/brown flakes.
3. The EPDM had stretched out a bit, but was in good shape
4. The stainless was perfect, and the water was crystal clear
5. The bromine had created a layer of black oxide on all the copper pipe.
6. Black oxide is a b*^^%tch to clean off well enough to get solder to flow.
7. The polyiso sheets had bowed downwards a bit and had some cracks on the bottom layer.

 

[GENECOP]

Thanks NF, that's good info, I also used silicone for the bulkheads..had a good meeting yesterday at "Reinforced Plastics" they are a distributor for Smoothon and a number of other interesting products...so they recommended a Brushable Polyurethane Compound...it's very thick has a high build multi coat ability and is tough and flexable, I am doing a few tests , during those tests I will submerge in water at 200 Deg F, cycle , cool and reheat...after seeing and handling the dry product, I feel pretty good...I also piped and installed the emergency pump. The water sensor came today, it will be wired into the Argo, I have a few extra spots, the Argo will energize an outlet instead of a circ pump, the outlet will have the emergency pump plugged into it..stay tuned.

 

[GENECOP]

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[GENECOP]

This is the coating I am running some tests on, it builds very thick....

 

[GENECOP]

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[GENECOP]

Coated a collander, will be filling with 200 Deg water , letting sit filled for a few days, just want to see how the product deals with temp...I am a concrete fabricator, decorative stuff, cast fireplaces , countertops etc, I also decided to cast a resin piece in concrete, this is the same product serving as a mold...

 

[GENECOP]

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[GENECOP]

Finally, up and running, cover is on, system is just about balanced out after aall the work we did yesterday..

 

[GENECOP]

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[GENECOP]

Still lots to do, but tonight I will run off storage and see how far I get, it's not to cold here, but the info will be useful.

 

[GENECOP]

Changed out to the NRF 33, definite improvement, got the tank up to 135, the Super Store and the new tank at some point balance out and both achieve the same temp...discovered a siphoning issue, the large tank was pushing the heat back to the small Super Store, I will add a Swing check valve and solve that. Now starting to insulate up and close in.

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[GENECOP]

Wrapped the two exposed sides in 1-1/2" rigid ..then R-13 on top of that, tank dropped about 7 degrees today with a couple of zones running here and there...

 

[GENECOP]

Just wanted to update the thread, Storage tank has been working great, but it had challenges, ended up building a vinyle liner, the original cementuous material did not hold...The additional 450 gallons is really appreciated this time of the year..Even thought it's warm today I will build a fire and store up some heat for tonight..

 

[tom in maine]

Let share a tale of woe.
About seven years ago, we changed from our tried and true liner material of 30 years to polyurethane.
This was not brush on, it was sheet material.
It was rated for 200F, was used in fuel cells and came with all kinds of promises of durability and being the next great thing.

We tested it in a tank in our shop for 6 months, boiling it every day.
We then made the change to the urethane.

And then less than a year later, the liners started to let go.
At first I was in denial and suspected incompatability with tape and adhesives we had used.
After another year, we started replacing every urethane liner out in the field.
I have to tell you, it sucked. It cost a LOT of money and damaged our reputation, except that we did and do
stand behind the product. We went back to what we know works and has worked for over 30 years now.

I have read with great interest the use of brush on coatings here and elsewhere on line.
And have made replacement liners for some of them.

My suggestion is this: ask about warranty. The urethane manufacturer threw us under the bus when things went bad.
You are likely only making one tank for yourself, but make sure the material cures and it is THICK.
I would want to see at least 40 mils and more is not a bad thing. You are applying this in the field. It is going to move and sag and
likely not be an even layer of coating. Do not believe anyone who says 10-15 mils in a field applied installation is enough.

 

[GENECOP]

Wow Tom, sorry to hear about your struggles, guess I am in good company...the history of my tank is long and expensive...Being in construction for 30 years and working in concrete and steel the last 10 years the structure of my tank is solid with some unique features...The waterproofing however is / was a long frustrating process..started with a field applied cementuous product, then on to a brush on rubber...I really wanted a NEAT coating, the idea of installing an oversized sloppy rubber liner was not something I wanted to do..My last attempt was a Vinyle sheet good from BILLBOARD Tarps......40 mil....I cut and glued up a custom liner using HH 66 contact cement....at 150 Deg I developed a pinhole leak somewhere...frustrated I poured in a liquid leak stopper, now I am 5 weeks in, all dry....hopefully the future of my basement floor will be dry....

 

[GENECOP]

Changed out the copper also....swapped out my home made exchanger....currently 100 ft coil charging tank, 50 ft coil taking heat off and into floor radiant..1"