How to Prevent a Water Catchment Tank from Freezing
okapi222
| Posted in General Questions on
We are in the process of renovating a small cabin in climate zone 5 that will be used as a second home year round. We plan to use rain water harvesting as a water source. What is the best way to keep an 1000 gallon water catchment tank (and the distribution line) from freezing in the winter?
– There is no basement/cellar and space is very tight in the cabin itself.
– The cabin sits on bed rock and digging in this area is very expensive and complicated.
My thought right now is to insulation the tank with an insulation blanket and have an internal heater that prevents the water temp from dipping below freezing. Any thoughts or advice?
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
Search and download construction details
Replies
Bedrock tends to be warmer than soil, check that all you might need is to couple the tank to the bedrock and insulate around the outside. Otherwise heating the tank will work.
I have tried a smaller 270gal tote for cottage. Even with ultra low flow this and that, it lasts only about 1 week with four people. Bite the bullet and get a well drilled. This also avoids having to deal with misquote larvae in the tank.
Daniel,
The lines are a bigger problem that the tank, which will only freeze in prolonged cold snaps. If you go to a mechanical solution, I wonder if a small compressor and bubbler would work as well as a heater?