|
|
|
|
New Member
|
|
Mar 4, 2010, 04:41 PM
|
|
We're designing a DIY super-insulated hot water tank heated sauna.
We want to design a sauna using a normal hot water heater as the sole heat source.
We have a super-insulated tank that requires n BTU/hr. to maintain an interior temp of 150deg.F (at an arbitrary but defined level in the tank) within a room at an ambient temp of 60deg.F.
The idea is to simply expand the tank's insulating envelope to 7' X 7' X 7' &, w/o increasing the energy requirements by more than, say, 1 BTU/hr. to heat the room to approximately 150degF.
We are toying with R-65 walls & perhaps R-100 ceiling, but are not sure about the floor. Although we're playing with some heat transfer/loss formulae, we'd like the proper formulae & considerations to use here. We're happy to switch to metric, if you like.
|
|
|
Home Repair & Remodeling Expert
|
|
Mar 4, 2010, 04:44 PM
|
|
Lets start with a question, what do you think is the max. temp setting for any water heater?
|
|
|
New Member
|
|
Mar 4, 2010, 05:08 PM
|
|
Hi,
Thanks for getting back to me, I think. Looking at your question in the best possible light I would respond that we live back in the VT woods, heat our house & water with wood & solar, cook with wood, have a composting toilet & the house, it's plumbing, electrical & HVAC, is designed & installed by myself with help from others. I majored in physics & biology & am a computer systems engineer with 45 yrs. Experience in the field. All that by way of saying that I'm an opinionated old bastard sometimes thought by others to be pig-headed. However, my wife & I are very comfortable here - except we crave a sauna. (Our hot tub is a 150gal. Plastic stock tank... )
Last year I built a proof-of-concept "sauna" box hoist-able by block & tackle that collected & trapped heat from a downstairs woodstove (it had manifolded air passages whose outputs I gathered up sent up an auto exhaust pipe with a couple of PC box fans - which also allowed for water to be squirted down it for steam) & had a bench setting w/in. We heated it, lifted it, got onto the bench, lowered it - no leaky door required. However, I learned the hard way how important R value is when asking to maintain such a steep temp gradient.
Our solar & masonry stove hot water supply is essentially inexhaustible. I control all pressures & temps & relief valves, etc. Not asking for OSHA-approved advice. No bldg. codes at all out here. But I'm leary of sinking $1600 of EPS into this thing w/o at least asking for some guidance.
Back to your question: 110 - 160, avg. 140. I use a mixing valve on mine for safety.
Regards, Gerg (aka Greg)
|
|
|
Home Repair & Remodeling Expert
|
|
Mar 4, 2010, 08:30 PM
|
|
Ok sounds like you know your way around things. I asked because residential water heaters don't go over 120 degrees but you are planning on using exhaust gasses. Keep us informed as this project moves forward, I was going to give you the code/safety angle but ypou are well into cobbling concept projects
|
|
|
New Member
|
|
Mar 4, 2010, 08:36 PM
|
|
Do you, or someone else, have anything to offer re: BTU heat loss through the walls given those temp gradients? Or, perhaps, the best floor treatment that would allow for rinsing it out w/o losing too much heat?
I'm leaning toward EPS because its manufacture isn't so harmful & its disposal is relatively benign, but am open to other ideas...
Thanks, Gerg
|
|
|
Home Repair & Remodeling Expert
|
|
Mar 4, 2010, 08:49 PM
|
|
I am not very familiar with your climate, Chicago is bad enough for me. I think you best band for the buck is this stuff http://www.dow.com/PublishedLiteratu...romPage=GetDoc You can layer it as thick as you want, even on the floor, it is moisture resistant and will not rot.
|
|
Question Tools |
Search this Question |
|
|
Add your answer here.
Check out some similar questions!
Hot Water Tank: Early AM behavior - no hot water.
[ 1 Answers ]
I have a gas hot water tank (apx. 40 gallons). The tank works great, though I'm perplexed with one behavior. No hot water early in the mornings.
If the hot water was not used recently (say a day or two) it takes only a short few moments for the water to reach any of the taps - works so well it...
Super Heated Steam
[ 1 Answers ]
Whay are the practile working limits of Super Heated Steam in power generation?
ENIGMA Cold vs Hot Furnace heated water?
[ 3 Answers ]
When I turn on the cold water it's piping hot for a few minutes then gradually turns, at most, to ambient temp, hot water is plentiful. Previous owner set up water heater like so: written on the cold water in line "Close in winter", when I did this it solved the problem as I had truly cold water,...
View more questions
Search
|