Solar Space Heating Storage Tank Size [RE-wrenches]

[Jeff Yago]

We designed and installed many residential solar space heating systems
in the 1970's using a site built storage tank.  Tank was made from 2x4
construction just like building a 3 foot high wall, with 1/2" plywood
treated plywood interior and 2" hard foam insulation board lining
interior sides and bottom.  Tanks had "odd" dimension widths and
heights as this allowed using a standard width EPDM rubber roofing
material for liner (wood cheaper than the rubber).

Tanks were built in garage and served as a work bench since 3 foot
height was perfect height and keep water pressure on tank sides from
being too great.  Top was in 2 separate sections, larger one was
nailed down to sides after lining, smaller one could be lifted off for
interior access.   Top and interior was lined with EPDM rubber with NO
seams.  We used single sheet for each and folded down the corners like
making a bed.  All piping entered from fixed top so no penetrations of
rubber liner.

We used two separate standard coils of 3/4" soft copper piped in
parallel. I believe the coils were standard 60 feet each.  The coils
were just expanded a little and left the same coil diameter and were
placed on several cinder blocks inside the tanks to get them at height
needed.  Not very pretty, but easy to adjust for the height needed
inside tank and not damaged by hot water.

I was always amazed how I could run ground temperature water into this
coil at full pipe flow out with scalding hot temperatures out the
other end for as long as the tank was hot.  We NEVER used finned coils
or expensive heat exchangers as this simple solution worked just fine.
Some coils were used to heat the tanks from hydronic fireplaces, and
some tanks were heated by solar panels using the actual tank water (no
heat exchanger required).  For these applications the water in a
second coil was piped to either a heat exchanger in an air handling
unit or under floor radiation.

My advice - keep it simple.

Jeff Yago
Dunimis Technology Inc.

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