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Gravity hot water system

Steve Cornwell
Steve Cornwell Member Posts: 1
in THE MAIN WALL
The contractor tells me there is no way to repipe this house without gutting it and starting over which is not an option. So we want to maintain the gravity piping and radiation which seems to work ok. The boiler has some age on it and needs to be replaced.
I have a hair brained idea and would like to run it past some experts in the field. Has anyone ever tried pumping a low mass boiler in and out of a storage tank and using that thermal mass to provide the gravity flow through the house? I can have a storage tank built with openings to match the pipe size of the existing Bryant boiler. That should give the system flow characteristics similar to the larger mass boiler and pickup the system efficiency available with the low mass boiler.
Any opinions on this one?
Thanks,
Steve

Comments

  • chapchap70
    chapchap70 Member Posts: 139
    Go to

    www.oiltechtalk.com. Click "Discuss" & go down to to the gravity heat discussion. Should be of help. Their discussion applies to gas too.
  • Mike T., Swampeast MO
    Mike T., Swampeast MO Member Posts: 6,928
    Why the objection to a circulator?

    One-pipe system? (You can tell if BOTH lines from a radiator lead to the SAME main pipe.)

    "Off the grid" electric power?

    If neither of these apply a circulator can most likely be added quite simply. There is a slight chance of problems with heat balance when doing this, but such shouldn't be too difficult to overcome IF they occur.

This discussion has been closed.

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