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rugercpl
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# Posted: 14 Jul 2014 06:04pm
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I have a task...it may be impossible. I have 400' of 1.5" poly tubing gravity feeding a 500 gallon cistern from a stream. I'm wondering if its possible to winterize it. I dont imagine I'll winterize the 400' tube but I wonder if I can winterize the cistern when it's full. I dont want to bury the tank. It sits upright under my deck. Is there some kind of heater i can use to keep enough of the water thawed to use for general sink and toilet use? I can heat tape the pex plumbing lines but I dont know what to do about the cistern. I dont have a lot of electricity either. Would trickling into the cistern constantly work? With overflow directed away from the cabin? 400' seems like a whole lotta oppurtunity for freeze-ups. I can't bury the tubing either. I can get water deliveries or pump up from the stream with a submersible to refill and top-off the cistern. The cabin is in the Catskills in New York.
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bldginsp
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# Posted: 14 Jul 2014 06:27pm
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You could run heat tape along the base of the cistern, and put insulation over the heat tape. Maybe the heat tape is on a thermostat so it isn't heating when it's over 35 outside. I insulated my 2500 gal poly tank with r13 fiberglass but I have no elec for a heat source and it still freezes up, at least the upper 2/3 or so. The earth provides enough heat to keep the bottom from freezing, but not the top
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razmichael
Member
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# Posted: 14 Jul 2014 06:54pm
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Are you in a position to use solar? I keep my horses water troughs thawed using mostly passive solar heating sort of like this
Solar Tank
In my setup I have two troughs and run a small pump powered by a solar panel (small) and small battery to circulate the water from one to the other trough to distribute the heat collected. Although I have never really tested it, I suspect the circulation from the pump also helps prevent freeze up.
I only recently added the battery and had pretty good luck with the pump only running when the sun was out.
next step might be a slightly more advanced solar water heating system that runs the cistern water through a solar heater setup. The same site has a number of options for these from very complex to much more simple. I was considering something like this for the troughs but I only have a freeze problem when the temperature gets really cold for extended time (or no sun) and, as this setup is at home, I have electric trough heaters as well if I need them.
Anyway - food for thought.
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creeky
Member
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# Posted: 14 Jul 2014 08:31pm
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wow. raz. you're in a pretty cold area no?
so. a bit of insulation. some passive solar. and a little water movement.
i'm looking to this coming winter for my shower water. thx for the link. cree.
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rugercpl
Member
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# Posted: 14 Jul 2014 08:47pm
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the stock tank heater concept may work but only when I run my generator. I only have 300W's of solar and 300ah of batteries. Most stock tank heaters are about 1500 watts. Maybe a 250W heater and a small recirculatory pump would be ample? Tough to know
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PatrickH
Member
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# Posted: 14 Jul 2014 10:20pm
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this might help URL
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skootamattaschmidty
Member
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# Posted: 15 Jul 2014 12:34am
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Although not an above ground cistern, I have a small fish pond in my backyard at home. To keep it from freezing during the winter I use a small pump to circulate the water below the surface. I will get freeze up on top but the water below the surface does not freeze with the circulation. I live in South Western Ontario and this past winter was extremely cold and the pond did not freeze. A small circulating pump running off a battery with your 300 watts should be fine without draining the battery and may work for you.
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creeky
Member
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# Posted: 15 Jul 2014 07:46pm
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nice tip skoot. I have a 1000 litre tank I will wrap in insulation for the winter ... now to find a small recirc pump.
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razmichael
Member
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# Posted: 15 Jul 2014 08:22pm - Edited by: razmichael
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Quoting: creeky now to find a small recirc pump.
I just use a bilge pump. Something like this (although not exactly)
Pump
Fairly cheap and has lasted a long time. Depends a bit on how much draw you can tolerate (the one in the link is about 1.3 amps).
My use case as I described above is different but I just drop it in one tank with a hose running through the larger connecting hose into the second water trough.
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creeky
Member
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# Posted: 17 Jul 2014 07:59am
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Thx. Off to visit wally.
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