Remote hot watertank for Dickinson stove?
Remote hot watertank for Dickinson stove?
I was wondering if anyone has installed a remote pressure tank for water heating coils in the dickinson stove. After a small explosion of a prototype tank and a wet bunk I am trying to find an alternative 10-15 gal tank. any help or suggestions is appreciated.
Re: Remote hot watertank for Dickinson stove?
It is ancient history now but I ran an older salmon tender back in the late 70s that had a coil and remote hot water tank. I am guessing now that it was about a 30-gallon galvanized round tank like the type that used to be fairly common for heating water off stoves in houses. It worked great as long as you were using the hot water for galley dishes and taking showers but the tank would get 'noisy' if it got too hot. To cool it off we would run off some hot water.
I didn't do the original plumbing but had to replace the tank once. The cold water input went into the lower section of the tank - the output to the coil was from roughly the same area of the tank. The return from the coil went back into the tank approximately halfway up the tank and the output to the hotwater taps was on the top with a short tube extending down into the liquid.
From your experience with an "explosion" it sounds like your tank either didn't have an adequate overflow out of the highest part of the unit or you may have had a blockage which would have allowed pressure to build in the system. Unlike an electric water heater that is controlled by a thermostat a stove coil tank will get pretty hot from the constant contact of even low heat on the coils and a 10-15 gallon tank without much of any draw-down after a few hours will get hotter than a pistol! The overflow built into the tank on this system went right through the deck and down into the bilge. (I always thought it should go right back into the fresh water tank.)
I was on another boat that had a coil in the remote expansion tank of a genset. This system didn't get anywhere near as hot as the stove coil and served the purpose pretty well seeing as the genset was running most of the time the boat was away from the dock
I didn't do the original plumbing but had to replace the tank once. The cold water input went into the lower section of the tank - the output to the coil was from roughly the same area of the tank. The return from the coil went back into the tank approximately halfway up the tank and the output to the hotwater taps was on the top with a short tube extending down into the liquid.
From your experience with an "explosion" it sounds like your tank either didn't have an adequate overflow out of the highest part of the unit or you may have had a blockage which would have allowed pressure to build in the system. Unlike an electric water heater that is controlled by a thermostat a stove coil tank will get pretty hot from the constant contact of even low heat on the coils and a 10-15 gallon tank without much of any draw-down after a few hours will get hotter than a pistol! The overflow built into the tank on this system went right through the deck and down into the bilge. (I always thought it should go right back into the fresh water tank.)
I was on another boat that had a coil in the remote expansion tank of a genset. This system didn't get anywhere near as hot as the stove coil and served the purpose pretty well seeing as the genset was running most of the time the boat was away from the dock
Re: Remote hot watertank for Dickinson stove?
Thanks for the info , I ended up getting a kuuma 11 gal water heater with expansion port that will connect to the coil on the stove and can run on 120v while at the dock.
As for the explosion I built a rectangular tank and welded the hell out of it and tested it with air and had no leaks. I am using a jabsco par max pump for the fresh water and apparently they can make a heck of a lot of pressure and the rectangular shape of the tank caused it to bulge like a football which flexed the cap welds and ended up ripping the welds on the top of the tank. I suppose thats why most pressure tanks are round like propane bottles. Oh well live and learn and keep a bucket and some sponges handy.
As for the explosion I built a rectangular tank and welded the hell out of it and tested it with air and had no leaks. I am using a jabsco par max pump for the fresh water and apparently they can make a heck of a lot of pressure and the rectangular shape of the tank caused it to bulge like a football which flexed the cap welds and ended up ripping the welds on the top of the tank. I suppose thats why most pressure tanks are round like propane bottles. Oh well live and learn and keep a bucket and some sponges handy.
Re: Remote hot watertank for Dickinson stove?
I got to thinking after I had posted that there are some excellent info sources on water heating coils in stoves in periodicals on living in and/or constructing log buildings and associated alternative life-style projects. Anyway it sounds like you have a plan. . .best of luck. 