Well, menaus2 is planning to use air for his transfer medium. It does have certain advantages, one of which is that if it leaks, it doesn't wreck everything.
So, he could store heat in a rock bin. It would take more space, but it has been shown to work, and it is highly reliable.
Something that may not be obvious is that if a rock bin is used, the preferred method is to circulate the air DOWN through the bin rather than up, because if circulating up, warm paths will become the channels of least resistance and the hot air will self-select those warm channels, thus reducing efficiency & capacity. If circulated down, the bin will self-select cooler paths through the rock bin and thus self-select even warming.
As I recall, fist-sized rocks are the preferred size for maximum capacity of daily heat storage and heat release.
Good luck, menaus2!
-AC_Hacker
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I'm not an HVAC technician. In fact, I'm barely even a hacker...
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