Cooling down my water tank

[Andrew Dwyer]

I like that “Future Board” for cheap shade...

Yes I was thinking about the polycarbonate sheets sold in Homepro etc, as it’s a box section I could slit it one side and it would fold easily to make an upright “ L “ or even a “ U “ shape .
I have an off cut I might experiment with !!

[mogandave]

Yes I was thinking about the polycarbonate sheets sold in Homepro etc, as it’s a box section I could slit it one side and it would fold easily to make an upright “ L “ or even a “ U “ shape .
I have an off cut I might experiment with !!

Nice for blanking off windows that aren’t used as well.

[Estrada]

Please note that the idea of a curtain will not help because you have a problem that the heat from your aircon blows out to the sloping roof where it is deflected down towards  the water tank. You would need to move the aircon heat exchanger. The water tank is fed from the mains water supply which is also hot. My shower comes straight from the mains and is quite hot these days. Get yourself a plastic dustbin and keep it full of water in your shower room it will give you cool water. 

[royalmice]

Might be easier and a lot cheaper to just use the green or black garden shadow netting and hang a curtain around the tank so it is always in the shade.

 

[Artisi]

10 hours ago, anderstse said:

anyone know of electric showers that cool the water,

they all just heat that I have seen. but surely there is one that could cool the water as it comes out of the shower head.

 

or anyone come across any ice bath type cryo genics bath or stand in baths?

It's called a pre shower refrigeration unit ❄️❄️❄️????

Coupled with shielding the tank from direct sunlight, re-route the pipework from the tank to the house a couple of metres below ground level or configure a buried heat exchange unit of PVC pipe - the longer the pipe length the greater the heat loss. 

Edited May 4, 2019 by Artisi

[CGW]

I have been wondering if spraying my stainless tank matt black was a wise move, been a tad warm these past couple of weeks! hot this year, tank has been like that for 5 years now and never been an issue before.

[Lacessit]

11 minutes ago, CGW said:

I have been wondering if spraying my stainless tank matt black was a wise move, been a tad warm these past couple of weeks! hot this year, tank has been like that for 5 years now and never been an issue before.

Read up on Stefan-Boltzmann constants. Black absorbs and radiates heat better than any other color. Aluminium ( silver ) paint would be far better at reflecting heat.

[tandor]

 

 

 

 

 

 

5

17 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Wish it was that easy.

From the photo you can see it’s protected from rain but during the morning the sun comes from the right ( which is not a great problem as it only hits a bit of it ) .

The main issue is from 3.00/3.30 pm the sun is hitting it from where i took this photo and continues as the sun drops down heating it from top to bottom !!

...i sympathize with you OP...one thing i do quite regularly is to turn my floor fan onto 3 and aim it at me under the shower..its surprising how cool the air gets on the surface of your body...then when you've turned off the shower, just stand there a few minutes and let your self drip dry..it works for me...this method also works when you want to try to sleep..shower and still wet lay a towel on your bed or floor and with the fan on is quite pleasant.

 

[Dumbastheycome]

16 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Thanks, yes that is exactly the thing I’m thinking of !!
As it’s relatively cheap I can buy some and give it a go.

I think it comes in different thicknesses so will take a look at my local Home Mart to see what’s available .

The reflective  foil is  very good. I would suggest that on the  sun strike side/s also add some sheets of styrene before  wrapping  in foil. Easiest place to  buy styrene is  at any shop thats sells stuff  for school students who I think use it as mounting boards for  classroom displays. It is  cheap enough. I used it once to slide into a lean-to ceiling. It  cut the transferred heat level by 50% at least.

[connda]

Buy at 200 liter can, dump a pack of ice in it, fill it 2/3 full of water, get in.

Bob's your uncle! 

[Tony45]

Paint with this. Works well.

[tweedledee2]

1 hour ago, Estrada said:

Please note that the idea of a curtain will not help because you have a problem that the heat from your aircon blows out to the sloping roof where it is deflected down towards  the water tank. You would need to move the aircon heat exchanger. The water tank is fed from the mains water supply which is also hot. My shower comes straight from the mains and is quite hot these days. Get yourself a plastic dustbin and keep it full of water in your shower room it will give you cool water. 

The hot air exhaust from the extractor will have no effect as the exhaust heat will be absorbed by the ambient air well before it has time to heat the tank.  There have been several suggestions made on how to reduce the effect of direct sunlight heating the water tank. Wrapping it with insulation would block out the radiant heat, but then the water inside may be too cool. Myself, I would choose to use a sunblocking screen shade that could be lowered to reduce radiant heat or raised during the cooler weather to warm the water. 

[CGW]

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

Read up on Stefan-Boltzmann constants. Black absorbs and radiates heat better than any other color. Aluminium ( silver ) paint would be far better at reflecting heat.

Yes, that was why I painted it black, to absorb the heat, has "worked" well in heating up the water for years, but this past few weeks got a lot warmer than usual, helps a lot during the Isaan winters.

[Fruit Trader]

ผ้าใบกันสาด

 

Inexpensive roll up blinds often sold off the back of trucks or can be ordered to measure. Up in cool season down in hot.

 

[Andrew Dwyer]

The hot air exhaust from the extractor will have no effect as the exhaust heat will be absorbed by the ambient air well before it has time to heat the tank.  There have been several suggestions made on how to reduce the effect of direct sunlight heating the water tank. Wrapping it with insulation would block out the radiant heat, but then the water inside may be too cool. Myself, I would choose to use a sunblocking screen shade that could be lowered to reduce radiant heat or raised during the cooler weather to warm the water. 

Yes, plus I only have the air con between 10 pm and 7 am .

I doubt if the water would get too cool, don’t really get much of a winter down here in Ayutthaya.
I don’t have hot water in the showers , it’s on my list but way down !!
There’s probably only a handful of days during the year that the water is actually cold enough to make me wish I had bought a heater.

Most likely gonna go with the silver foil insulation.

[Andrew Dwyer]

ผ้าใบกันสาด
 
Inexpensive roll up blinds often sold off the back of trucks or can be ordered to measure. Up in cool season down in hot.
 

I have a blackout blind I bought from IKEA, it’s actually very good but only 2 m wide x 2 m long . ( I replaced it with a 4 x 3 tarp) .
I could probably use it if necessary but gonna give the silver foil insulation a try first.

[DUNROAMIN]

Roller blind, you have the perfect roof to install, people driving around all selling these blinds. not expensive, measure the width and drop and order, install for next to nothing. problem solved.

[xtrnuno41]

you could use just household alu folie and glue it ot the tank, it reflects sun, heat

 

you could put up a transportable screen in front (metal, white or shiny) roof plate in a frame.

Metal frame on wheels, which hold the sheet. Or put a solar panel in front of it in a frame, maybe you can use some power? Well that cost more. 

 

Or connect the sheet to the wall and the wooden tank frame, then you can fill space between tank and sheet with glass(stone) wool again. They are the best for insulation, but can also put an old mattress in between. 

 

Or, it is somehow/where (BK) in Thailand , order a sandwich panel or panels to make a closed area around your tank, of course UV resistant or aluminum on outside, on the inside is polyurethaan, which insulates.

 

you could wrap the tank with glass or stone wool, though space is limited there.

 

you could have from a an old car the radiator and fan and lead water through it to cool. That will cost some more effort and time to realise and cost you more power, aswell pressure loss.

 

you could also stop the inlet of water and keep level low before that time (3 pm) and afterwards (3:30 )

fill it with fresh water. Fill it before taking shower. This doesnt cost much. Of course some reflecting material on the tank would be nice, so making a combination.

 

Also shielding the inlet pipe is effective.

I see a big blue pipe in the sun at the back, water inlet? It heats up asswell and comes in your tank.

 

Many ways to go. 

[sirineou]

10 hours ago, CharlieH said:

Just use a blind or curtain dropped from the eave of the roof to inside the wall.

 

The blind woukd be about 1500 baht, (like shops drop)

 

The home made way is use the black type material farmers use to shade crops etc, that would be around 500 baht. Both would shade and remove direct heat.

 

^^ Excellent Idea. Symply roll it down when the sun is there rollitup the rest of the day to let the day. 

[thailand49]

11 hours ago, Denim said:

In our bathroom we keep a large plastic bucket with a ladle and a lid.

Very cheap and most Thais have the same thing. You get a nice cool cascade of water regardless of outside temperature.

Cheap and efficient low tech solution.

Exactly!  But I guess there are some that have to live exactly the way they did at home?

Get yourself a bucket like in your photo, also need to clean that shower curtain shower area. Get a spray bottle some bleach and water of course there is nothing like a bit of elbow grease?

 

Also, not sure of the system all you got to do is turn the dial down.

[Andrew Dwyer]

you could use just household alu folie and glue it ot the tank, it reflects sun, heat
 
you could put up a transportable screen in front (metal, white or shiny) roof plate in a frame.
Metal frame on wheels, which hold the sheet. Or put a solar panel in front of it in a frame, maybe you can use some power? Well that cost more. 
 
Or connect the sheet to the wall and the wooden tank frame, then you can fill space between tank and sheet with glass(stone) wool again. They are the best for insulation, but can also put an old mattress in between. 
 
Or, it is somehow/where (BK) in Thailand , order a sandwich panel or panels to make a closed area around your tank, of course UV resistant or aluminum on outside, on the inside is polyurethaan, which insulates.
 
you could wrap the tank with glass or stone wool, though space is limited there.
 
you could have from a an old car the radiator and fan and lead water through it to cool. That will cost some more effort and time to realise and cost you more power, aswell pressure loss.
 
you could also stop the inlet of water and keep level low before that time (3 pm) and afterwards (3:30 )
fill it with fresh water. Fill it before taking shower. This doesnt cost much. Of course some reflecting material on the tank would be nice, so making a combination.
 
Also shielding the inlet pipe is effective.
I see a big blue pipe in the sun at the back, water inlet? It heats up asswell and comes in your tank.
 
Many ways to go. 

Thanks, plenty to think about there !!

The big blue pipe is a drainpipe for rain water at the back of the house.

[Andrew Dwyer]

Exactly!  But I guess there are some that have to live exactly the way they did at home?
Get yourself a bucket like in your photo, also need to clean that shower curtain shower area. Get a spray bottle some bleach and water of course there is nothing like a bit of elbow grease?
 
Also, not sure of the system all you got to do is turn the dial down.

See posts #18 and #45 .

[hansnl]

Give the poor tank a coat.

Wool, or heavy cotton, rather thick,  all around.

As long as it retains water.

Then fabricate a dripping thingy that keeps the coat wet.

The tank and contents will get rather cool through evaporation of the water in the coat and draws heat from the tank by doing that.

Works like a trick, old army trick.

[mogandave]

The water is pretty warm when it comes out of the ground. No insulation will get it below the ambient temperature.

[Andrew Dwyer]

The water is pretty warm when it comes out of the ground. No insulation will get it below the ambient temperature.

Yup, by the time I get something sorted, clean the aircon first, the ( extremely) hot spell will have finished, rainy season will have started and I won’t know whether it’s doing anything or not [emoji849]

[p414]

You can buy asbestos sheets 2x1 meter for app 200 baht..I have used these to build a corner that keeps my water tank cool all the time.

Up to you if you are not happy to use asbestos.I undercoated mine both sides and edges.and wore a mask plus a fan blowing away from me when drilling.

been there for app 12 years now

[DJ54]

How best would radiant barrier film work on my house or suggestions. See picture 

 

at the bas if the roof/ceiling or under the roof itself., looking for a cost effective and something relatively easy to install. 

[VocalNeal]

23 minutes ago, p414 said:

You can buy asbestos sheets 2x1 meter for app 200 baht..I

Nobody has made "asbestos" sheets for years and I used to make them. Well not personally but,,

 

We know what you mean though. Fibre reinforced cement sheets. 

[Gold Star]

15 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

In your use case I strongly recommend either the cheapest, it has brown paper on one side silver on the other, if you a not going to let it get wet and it should be silver side out. It is about 1,200 for 72M it may well be the best for the job

 

Or if it will get wet then the double sided silver version as I think that may be better if rained on.

 

Whatever you buy do not get anything with foam in it as that will stop or reduce any heat transfer from tank to air.

 

I disagree that the foil/paper product is best. The best stuff I found IS in fact the foil bonded to the 4 mm foam, used on the bottom of metal corrugated roofing metal.  Installed shiny side outwards and foam inwards, you do in fact want as much insulation as you can around the outside of the tank to reduce heat transfer from sun and the warm ambient air to the cooler tank.  I see your air conditioner heat pump is installed directly above it, and if it is running all day, will also heat your tank.  Cover the top of the tank as well. As for the foil/paper stuff, it is not as rigid, and the paper on the other side will rot and degrade, where the foam will not maintaining it's form. In fact, I also bond this stuff to the inside tops of my motorcycle top cases to keep it a lot cooler inside for water, groceries, and things. Good luck!

[Andrew Dwyer]

I disagree that the foil/paper product is best. The best stuff I found IS in fact the foil bonded to the 4 mm foam, used on the bottom of metal corrugated roofing metal.  Installed shiny side outwards and foam inwards, you do in fact want as much insulation as you can around the outside of the tank to reduce heat transfer from sun and the warm ambient air to the cooler tank.  I see your air conditioner heat pump is installed directly above it, and if it is running all day, will also heat your tank.  Cover the top of the tank as well. As for the foil/paper stuff, it is not as rigid, and the paper on the other side will rot and degrade, where the foam will not maintaining it's form. In fact, I also bond this stuff to the inside tops of my motorcycle top cases to keep it a lot cooler inside for water, groceries, and things. Good luck!

Thanks for the info.

My aircon is never on during the day so shouldn’t be an issue.