In the loft today i noticed loads of dampness on a metal water tank.

At first i suspected a leak,
but now i guess it's condensation.

There used to be sawdust under it -
was that to absorb the moisture
until weather conditions changed and it evapourated again?

Theres black mould on the ceiling underneath

How can I improve things?

would a plastic tank be a lot better?

even then i guess there would be condensation
which will drip onto the ceiling and create more black mould...

how is this solved?

or have i got some theory wrong?

[george]

george (dicegeorge) wrote:
In the loft today i noticed loads of dampness on a metal water tank.

At first i suspected a leak,
but now i guess it's condensation.

There used to be sawdust under it -
was that to absorb the moisture
until weather conditions changed and it evapourated again?

Highly likely someone has put the sawdust there to do just that....pathetic
at best, but I have visions of it being someone old and frail who had no
money.


Theres black mould on the ceiling underneath

How can I improve things?

Water doesn't condense on a warm surface, only a cold one and metal is one
of the worst


would a plastic tank be a lot better?

slightly but not a lot.


even then i guess there would be condensation
which will drip onto the ceiling and create more black mould...

how is this solved?

wrap the tank in something, either a proper tank jacket, held on with string
or failing that, just wrap some loft insulation around it....the moisture
won't get through to condense

--
Phil L
RSRL Tipster Of The Year 2008

george (dicegeorge) wrote:
In the loft today i noticed loads of dampness on a metal water tank.

At first i suspected a leak,
but now i guess it's condensation.

There used to be sawdust under it -
was that to absorb the moisture
until weather conditions changed and it evapourated again?

Theres black mould on the ceiling underneath

How can I improve things?

would a plastic tank be a lot better?

even then i guess there would be condensation
which will drip onto the ceiling and create more black mould...

how is this solved?

or have i got some theory wrong?


??? It does have insulation? Metal or plastic makes little difference to
the amount of condensation but plastic does not corrode. The black mould on
the ceiling will be due to the condensation dripping onto the plaster. There
should be no insulation under the tank so that heat rises to aid the tank
contents not to freeze. Does it have a cover?

Your comment about sawdust reminds me that that was the situation in my
father's house. Hell, it might still be like that but fortunately I've not
seen any mould below. The property is on the coast and therefore does not
suffer the extremes of temperature that we might experience inland.

Phil L wrote:
george (dicegeorge) wrote:
In the loft today i noticed loads of dampness on a metal water tank.

At first i suspected a leak,
but now i guess it's condensation.

There used to be sawdust under it -
was that to absorb the moisture
until weather conditions changed and it evapourated again?

Highly likely someone has put the sawdust there to do just
that....pathetic at best, but I have visions of it being someone old
and frail who had no money.



I'm not sure that you are right about this. I recall going into my parents
and both grandparents lofts as a child and being aware that there was
sawdust under the water tanks. All three houses were in the same area of the
country and it could have been a local convention - read other post about
location, though one house was approx. 1900, another 1920 and my folks built
partly by my father 1950.

There used to be sawdust under it

I was boarding our loft recently, and there was a load of sawdust
under where the tank used to be (which had been removed long before I
bought the house 20 years ago)

Colin Wilson wrote:
There used to be sawdust under it

I was boarding our loft recently, and there was a load of sawdust
under where the tank used to be (which had been removed long before I
bought the house 20 years ago)

If I might be so rude as to enquire, when was the house built and what area
of the country? As you might appreciate from my other posts, I've just
become curious about this!

Clot wrote:
Colin Wilson wrote:
There used to be sawdust under it
I was boarding our loft recently, and there was a load of sawdust
under where the tank used to be (which had been removed long before I
bought the house 20 years ago)

If I might be so rude as to enquire, when was the house built and what area
of the country? As you might appreciate from my other posts, I've just
become curious about this!



built 1880ish
herefordshire..

there's sawdust under some of the floorboards too
perhaps as insulation
but it scares me cos its so flammable

[g]

george (dicegeorge) wrote:
Clot wrote:
Colin Wilson wrote:
There used to be sawdust under it
I was boarding our loft recently, and there was a load of sawdust
under where the tank used to be (which had been removed long before
I bought the house 20 years ago)

If I might be so rude as to enquire, when was the house built and
what area of the country? As you might appreciate from my other
posts, I've just become curious about this!



built 1880ish
herefordshire..

there's sawdust under some of the floorboards too
perhaps as insulation
but it scares me cos its so flammable


Thanks for the reply. I appreciate the concern about flammability!
Interesting in a historical sense. When was the tank installed?
Herefordshire was not a county that had mains water early on. Though if
close to Hereford, a supply was laid on about the turn of 1900s, I think.
Spent some cold winter nights there in a portacabin in the 1970s when the
sewage works was being rebuilt.

Hell, this takes me back.

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate the concern about flammability!
Interesting in a historical sense. When was the tank installed?
Herefordshire was not a county that had mains water early on. Though if
close to Hereford, a supply was laid on about the turn of 1900s, I think.
Spent some cold winter nights there in a portacabin in the 1970s when the
sewage works was being rebuilt.

Hell, this takes me back.


there was a wheel or a ram in the stream
which pumped water to the top of a water tower...

the condensing tank is a header tank for the hot water system
I dont know if it's original or not...

[g]

www.hatfieldcourt.com
under development!

In article ,
"Phil L" writes:
wrap the tank in something, either a proper tank jacket, held on with string
or failing that, just wrap some loft insulation around it....the moisture
won't get through to condense

It will -- you need insulation which is moisture sealed,
such as encased in plastic wrapping.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
"Phil L" writes:
wrap the tank in something, either a proper tank jacket, held on with string
or failing that, just wrap some loft insulation around it....the moisture
won't get through to condense

It will -- you need insulation which is moisture sealed,
such as encased in plastic wrapping.


so i could build a box out of kingspan
around and on top of but not underneath
and seal the joints with aluminium tape

[g]

In article ,
"george (dicegeorge)" writes:


Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
"Phil L" writes:
wrap the tank in something, either a proper tank jacket, held on with string
or failing that, just wrap some loft insulation around it....the moisture
won't get through to condense

It will -- you need insulation which is moisture sealed,
such as encased in plastic wrapping.


so i could build a box out of kingspan
around and on top of but not underneath
and seal the joints with aluminium tape

Just checked in the BES catalogue as I have it within arm's reach,
and proper tank jackets cost from £2.24 for an expansion tank,
through to £8.08 for a 50 gallon header tank (+ VAT + delivery, etc)
Hardly seems worth trying to make one.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

Just checked in the BES catalogue as I have it within arm's reach,
and proper tank jackets cost from £2.24 for an expansion tank,
through to £8.08 for a 50 gallon header tank (+ VAT + delivery, etc)
Hardly seems worth trying to make one.

so its worth getting the old metal tank out -
it wont be a standard size,
and has rust etc at the bottom which blocks pipes...

i got a plastic tank off freecycle some months ago..

[g]

I was boarding our loft recently, and there was a load of sawdust
under where the tank used to be (which had been removed long before I
bought the house 20 years ago)
If I might be so rude as to enquire, when was the house built and what area
of the country? As you might appreciate from my other posts, I've just
become curious about this!

Liverpool, built ~1936-1937 by the council