pressurized storage

[Hoval Boiler]

I have a old hoval wood boiler I have been using for years I am thinking about adding storage I have access to a 550 gallon diesel tank I know It is not a tank rated for pressure but it should only see about 20 psi do you guys think it will hold

 

[maple1]

Don't use it.

 

[DaveBP]

Take your tape measure and guesstimate the overall area of the outside of the tank.

A 1000 gallon propane tank has an outside surface of about 100 square feet. So say yours is 60 square feet. One square foot is 144 square inches. 60 X 144 = 8640 square inches
8640 X 20 Pounds per square inch is 172800 pounds of force on the inside of the tank trying to turn your tank into a rubber balloon.

Are you feeling lucky today?

 

[stee6043]

Not a chance....if "you know it's not rated for pressure" why even ask the question? Seems silly. Not to mention you'd never get the diesel out of that thing...

 

[woodywoodchucker]

Yah, if its not a pressure vissel dont even think about it.

 

[bioman]

maybe you should try it, when it dumps 550 gal of hot water where ever ask that same question ! if it's not a pressure vessel, beware.

 

[huffdawg]

Try it out in your back yard . fill it with 35 psi air which is the boiler safety release pressure and see what happens to the tank. But I would hide in my front yard though.

 

[taxidermist]

I was leak testing one for the guy next door and I put 18 psi of air to it and it blew apart. So my vote is no!



Rob

 

[hobbyheater]

I have a old hoval wood boiler I have been using for years I am thinking about adding storage I have access to a 550 gallon diesel tank I know It is not a tank rated for pressure but it should only see about 20 psi do you guys think it will hold

That tank will not stand up to closed pressure. If you have the space higher up in the building, one floor above your storage, use a open ended expansion tank - 20 to 25 gallons. This will give you around 3 1/2 lbs pressure at your boiler; just enough to prevent boiling. If you have two floors above your storage, this will be too much pressure for that tank. To give the storage tank a little more strength from bulging, rent a hand banding machine and put steel banding at 12-16 inch centers around the tank. For a similar project, the local building supply lent me the banding machine. I just had to pay for the banding and the clips. With regards to the diesel smell with a opened system, the odor just drifts off into space over time, so the expansion tank has to be vented outside.
A neighbor used a tank similar to the one you are looking at. His boiler at the time was a oldie, a cast iron sectional known as a Viking Junior. The neighbor's system worked good, but the tank was not approved for this purpose. The Junior was not approved for burning wood so the local authorities forced him to remove both.
It can work but it is iffy!