Drums of water in the basement as a buffer

jrv8984 said:

eh, they are going to have the caps screwed on

Plastic is not an oxygen barrier. So you will have water, darkness, and oxygen. That is a breeding ground for all kinds of fun stuff.

KC_Jones said:

jrv8984 said:

eh, they are going to have the caps screwed on

Plastic is not an oxygen barrier.

Ok Burt Gummer.

I would be very surprise if your basement fluctuated in temperature much. Unless you are actively moving heat in an out of the barrels with heat exchangers and pumps, I don't see what you will accomplish.
Your basement is a high mass structure that likely stays pretty close to ground temp unless it is getting waste heat from the boiler and piping. What does adding more mass to this space accomplish?
Storing active or passive solar energy to distribute at night in an insulated water tank works well. I don't see any benefit to just storing a bunch of cold water in your basement.

What are you hoping to accomplish with the stored water?
Old drafty homes usually need air sealing and insulation, not thermal mass at room temp. I just don't understand what this additional mass at room temp will accomplish.

Hi, You May want to search “Steve Baer drum wall”. He came up with the idea in the late sixties/ early seventies and made it work. He stacked drums behind south facing glass and had an insulated door outside that could be closed at night. I’m agreeing with others that finding and fixing air leaks is probably the low hanging fruit here.
Yours, Larry

I read that the North Pond Hermit here in Maine reportedly buried water jugs in the floor of his greenhouse and was able to grow veggies even through the cold Maine winters. No doubt there is some Gain to be had, however like others have stated you are better off properly insulating, better to hold the heat in than make more of it, kind of like leaving the door open and turning up the thermostat if you ask me.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/04/north-pond-hermit-maine-knight-stranger-woods-finkel/

The old timers in my area talked of putting containers of water (probably the wash tubs) into the "root cellar" to prevent freezing of their food stored there. These cellars were about 1/2 underground and then had a thick layer of earth for the roof.
I believe the btu's stored in the water were given up as the temp dropped. Then more btu's released as the phase change of water to ice took place. This was just enough heat to keep the potatoes etc. from freezing.

Common in fruit orchards today, run the sprinklers as the air temp hit freezing.

The jugs of water mentioned in the greenhouse may have been very helpful. As the sun heated the water storing heat, the water would have circulated thru the jug as more of it heated.
Trying to store heat in static dirt would not have been as effective as the more fluid water. IMO

If your basement was near freezing then this all may be helpful.

Tighten up the basement seems more logical.

Most any material can capture and store heat. It will always come down to…

Is the juice worth the squeeze?

that outage ^ was eight days in winter

not for eight days. Warm water would for a while

A wood stove or generator might be a better option. Hard to cook or do much else with barrels of luke warm water. A small generator can power a boiler and other basic necessities.

Well, water is one of the best storage mediums, safe, inexpensive, readily available. It just takes a lot of it to store for extended periods.

"The stars may lie, but the numbers never do". All the heat energy storage and exchange rates have been well documented.

Generations of folks like us have been on this same quest. Better insulation, some phase change materials have made some advances, but at a $$. There is no "free" energy, and the more you have to manipulate, store, exchange it, the more it slips away.

Move to the sunny SW and build a passive home😎

50 gallons of water from 65° to 140° = 31,275 btu.

Add up the number of barrels, see where you end up

To put your answer in perspective, a gallon of fuel oil nets about 100,000 BTU and costs about $3.50. And in most places is the most expensive way of getting heat.

jesmed1 Member Posts: 1,0434:36PM

Or build to the Passive House standard even in cold climates and heat it with the BTU output of a hair dryer.

• I'm planning on exceeding… Yes plus extra small on heat system sizing need. I plan to design a domicile with 50F balance point (let's say 10F), zero additional heat inputs needed I can't make w solar panels or other solar on site. Electric service becomes back up for a monthly service charge.

Hi, You may remember the Zomehouse Steve and Holly Baer built. Much of its heat came from stacked 55 gallon drums, fulled with water, painted black, behind South glazing. At night they had to raise an insulated exterior panel to keep the heat in. Might be worth looking at to see if it has any ideas you can use. I've been in the house and it's comfortable.
Yours, Larry

IIRC, the Zomeworks house also had the water barrels set up so that a water bed could used to cover them. The bed would heat up with the barrels.

Warm bed on cold desert nights.