"The Daring Dufas" wrote in message
...
On 8/18/2010 7:11 AM, jamesgangnc wrote:
On Aug 18, 1:12 am, The Daring
wrote:
On 8/17/2010 2:03 PM, JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
"Bob wrote in message
...
On Aug 17, 11:39 am, Jules Richardson
wrote:
One of our bathroom toilet tanks 'sweats' badly at this time of year -
the outside of the tank is covered in condensation and it puddles on
the
floor beneath. I was thinking of retro-fitting some insulation to the
inside of the tank (I don't want to mess with adding a warm-water
feed,
and the tank's a nice old decorative one, so I'd rather not replace it
with a modern one that has a double wall or built-in insulation)
Questions:
1) how thick does the insulation need to be? Is 1/4" probably enough?
(that's perhaps something of a "how long is a piece of string"
question;
I think I'm dealing with a max temperature differential between water
and
air of 35 degrees)
2) What adhesive to use? Needs to be water-resistant, obviously, but
also
something that's suitable for styrofoam and won't destroy it...
(alternately, I could just buy a kit, I suppose - they seem to be
about
$30 online. Not sure if HD etc. carry them...)
cheers
Jules
The toilet I have (Mansfield) has styrofoam attached with silicone.
They only last a few years and start to sweat again!
Next, I'm going with the Sloan system (with the internal pressure
tank).
==========
I had the same problem with an insulated tank in my prior home.
I've always wondered if someone made some sort of holding tank that
could be
installed in the basement. Big enough to hold water for 2-3 flushes.
All it
would need to do is "park" some water long enough for it to come closer
to
room temperature. Even if the basement's not as warm as the upstairs,
it
would usually still be warmer than the coldest groundwater.
It's called a "tempering tank" which is usually used to help the
efficiency of a water heater by absorbing heat from the surrounding
environment to warm the water supplying the heater. I've seen old
water heaters with the insulation removed used for the purpose but
I'm sure a plumbing supply house could supply you with a new tank
that is uninsulated. You might be able to get hold of a used tank
made for well pumps and use it without the bladder pressurized for
a tempering tank to supply the toilets. Here's a link to a tank
manufacturer:
http://www.westank.com/index.php
TDD- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
Regular well tanks don't do anything to insure that the water is
forced to pass through the tank. And old hot water heater would do a
better job. The idea about a section of 3 or 4" pvc is probably the
best. An aquarium heater is a bad idea as they are not properly
designed to be in contact with your water supply safety wise.
I would not expect the pressurized bladder toilets to solve it
either. The bladder still sits against the porcelan.
If you can find a 50' coil of 3/4" copper pipe at a good price, it can
be attached to a basement ceiling or wall, perhaps near a floor drain
to handle any condensation. The cold supply water flowing through such
a coil should be up to room temperature after a trip through the pipe.
TDD
Of course, that copper pipe will sweat just like the toilet tank did, so
allowances should be made to catch the drip. :-)