Water storage maintenance

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
  • Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
Status
Not open for further replies.

mouchey

Member
Hearth Supporter
May 13, 2008
16
Chester, Vermont
I have an EKO25 with 500 gal water storage. Now just using my backup munchkin for hot water. How do I best maintain the water storage? It's my 1st season. Thanks, MJ
 
If the storage is pressurized - you should be good to go as it shouldn't get any O2 if you don't have to add any water. Unpressurized I would once a month or so just check the PH levels and maintain the chemicals you are using now. I'll fire my circ once in a while just to make sure it stays free and I know it will work when the next heating season starts.
 
I believe I have pressurized storage as it is a 500gal propane tank. I know this may sound stupid but how do you run the cirulators without firing up the wood boiler to get heat and I have not used any chemicals at all in my system? Thanks so far for the info.
MJ
 
Just for the record, our liners, which are not EPDM, do not require any water testing.
If the water goes in at the proper pH, it stays that way.
The only time we have used treatment is when we ran tank water through the boiler directly.

EPDM does break down over time and the byproducts will attack copper.

I have been into 25 year old tanks that are the same as the day they went in.

We have been tempted to think about using EPDM (it is cheaper), but have only used it for testing.
 
you may want to get some water treatment chemicals, if they don't require them for your boiler it would be a good idea since you are wondering about shut down. My CB uses a water treatment that will limit rust on the steel in the water tanks, a CB dealer could sell you some if you are concerned about rust. If your storage is pressurized the water should be low in oxegen anyway so rust should be low anyway, just like an oil boiler system.
 
mouchey said:
I believe I have pressurized storage as it is a 500gal propane tank. I know this may sound stupid but how do you run the cirulators without firing up the wood boiler to get heat and I have not used any chemicals at all in my system? Thanks so far for the info.
MJ

Run the power wire directly into a electrical outlet. With the power off, you can take off the cover to the circ and disconnect the power wires and replace them with a wire with a plug on it. Plug it directly into an outlet and let it run for a few minutes. I'm going to run it a few minutes only because I already have the wire with a plug on it, if I didn't and it was hard wired, I probably wouldn't waste my time. Being pressurized, you should be fine just shutting down.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.