4300 Gallon Plywood Build (3600+ Take 2)

Something big is being missed in your calculations because the amount of heat that you're projecting his tank to require would be double what I use to heat a 3,000 sq. ft. house.

I am assuming pete has central air living in NO, could be wrong. If so, we didn't even figure that into the equation, but then again maybe not.
 
Not using tankless of any kind.

Ok, maybe I missed a page or two of posts, I thought your design was using an on-demand hot water heater (also called tankless). Can you show me what water heater your going to use?

Also, what was your target water temp to ambient air temp?

Agree completely. It's not going to take anywhere near what he said to heat the tank.

It will take every bit as I have posted to "heat" the tank. Maintaining it is what is questionable, and I admitted that as I don't know all the variables.
 
Something big is being missed in your calculations because the amount of heat that you're projecting his tank to require would be double what I use to heat a 3,000 sq. ft. house.

It takes .018btu to raise one cubic foot of air 1 degree Fahrenheit. Unless your house is filled with water your not comparing apples to apples, the math is spot on, research it yourself.
 
Not questioning your math competency, only the premise. Heating it up and keeping it warm as you said are two very different things. Obviously there has to be energy expended to temper the incoming water to the desired operating temperature. The big unknown, even if you do read every post in this thread, is still going to depend largely on the tank and subsequent building heat loss. I'm putting up a new super insulated building that based on an updated Manual "J" evaluation should require less than a 20,000 BTU heat source for a two story structure of just under 3,000 sq. ft.

The issue of air to water comparisons isn't really all that valid since air holds less heat and looses it much more quickly. Again, regardless of the thermal battery composition, whether it be a room full of concrete or a room full of helium, the wrapping is critical to any calculation of input requirements. The tank and building's overall resistance to thermal transfer is key.

If we're talking about a glass house with an "R" value of (1) vs. a Styrofoam box with 2' thick walls the required heat inputs are going to be worlds apart. Obviously Pete's got something somewhere in between. My only concern with his heating concept is the same that I'm facing with my new building which is that I don't want the tanks to end up heating the building and the building's radiant system to never feel a need to call for heat. The only way that I've come up with to remedy the problem is to insulate the crap out of my tanks. I'll have a lot more water spread out over a much larger area so my heat loss from tanks to building interior is potentially a lot greater than Pete's because his water is all concentrated in one large space. It's sort of the difference between figuring heat loss for two different buildings that are both 900 sq. ft. , but are shaped differently. The loses thru the top and bottom remain the same due to the identical square footage, but one building is 90' long and 10' wide while the other is 30' X 30' square. The 1st has 200 linear feet of perimeter wall whereas the 2nd has only 120'. All other things being equal the second building is going to require 40% lower heat input to maintain the relative temperature. Then we go back to the rate of heat transfer as it is effected by ever narrowing temperature differentials and a gradual slowing in the rate of heat transfer from one body to the other.

Pete's probably already got it worked out and he's just sittin' there gigglin' while everybody gets whipped up tryin' to reinvent the wheel here. :D
 
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At some point before that post is how long it's been since I decided against using a THWH. Considering that's back in December, you have a lot of reading to catch up on.

The room is insulated, so it's going to hold heat fairly well. The initial fill is going to be slow to be sure everything is looking good along the way. I'll probably only fill it about 1/10th of the way (430 gallons) at a time over the course of a week. During the fills, I'll have the hot and cold on full blast, so the water temp won't be 60. It'll likely be closer to 75-80 if not warmer. I'll adjust the temp accordingly.

Maintaining temp at 80 degrees with water constantly circulating and the top covered will not take much effort. Two 100' Pex heater coils in the settling tanks and the recirculating system in place controlled by the tank thermostat opening the normally-closed solenoid valve will cost very little to heat the tank.

The tank takes up 760 cubic ft. of about 1600 cubic ft. total area in the room. Since I'm also having a heat pump/AC/dehumidifier in the fish room, I doubt it'll be difficult to find a happy medium of maintaining 80 degrees.
 
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At some point before that post is how long it's been since I decided against using a THWH. Considering that's back in December, you have a lot of reading to catch up on.

I have been reading your posts pretty consistantly, but I digress, I must have missed a page or two and not realized it......easy to do in a thread this long (no offense). I will have to go back and study your new heating concept, but I am glad you decided against tankless, I don't think that would have worked well.

I see you plan on maintainind tank temp at 80 degress, what is your target temp for room temperature? Or are you going to just dehumidify and have an 80 degree room?
 
I don't have a target temp for the room. Since we're so humid here as is, it's going to be a battle to keep it maintained at a reasonable level. The fact that we're so humid here as it is may work to my advantage though as everything is used to the moisture. My biggest concern is the wall next to the French doors. If that gives me trouble, I'm going to remove them and either reverse them to open outward, most likely, or retrofit a roll up garage door.
 
It would be interesting to see the tank brought up to temp (80 F) and then let sit for a period of time with no heat applied to see the rate in which the temperatures fell in relation to room temperature....just a thought.
 
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