I can supply a 360 gallon, 540 gallon, or larger solar mass storage tanks that you can get through a 24" door, or down stairs, that is designed for potable hot water, and they are less expensive than standard DHW tanks. I was getting lots of calls for retrofit solar heating using 10-12 collectors, that required at least 500 gallons, but the tank had to get inside the building. Our big German solar tanks do not often go into retrofit building.

http://www.solar-hot-water.ca/images...anks-48btc.jpg

PM me with some additional info and we can see if it'll work out.

roughly what does one of those cost? Very slick solution if you've got that kind of space in the basement.

Yes, these Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic "FRP" tanks are made for potable hot water up to 180F, are food grade inside like a sink, and have stood up water-tight for 20 years in Canada.

Cost for 360 USG tank is $1198, and for the 540 USG is $1798 (2045 liter / 450 Imp. gal.)

Heat loss is not generally understood in solar. German scientists show with 10m2 collectors, insulated pipe heat loss cancels 2 m2 and tank heat loss another 2.5 m2, which is nearly half the heat input. By comparison, uninsulated pipes is triple the figure, making the system lose 8.5 of 10 heat units.

That is far less than adding up a row of 4.5 120 gallon tanks, and has 83% less side and top surface area to radiate heat loss, more like 100% taking into account heat loss with manifold pipes on multiple tanks. (540 USG tank vol=72 ft3, so 120 USG = 4.5 tanks to make 72 ft3, with side and top area of 156.7 ft2 vs. 85.6 ft2 = 1.83:1 )

They ship "cupped" to reduce space and expense. Each section is a manageable 54 pounds.

We have an enginneer drawing at the bottom of this page:
Solaris Manufacturing - Products

I started preparing the spot where the hot water tank is going to go. To do this, I needed to bust out a concrete pad that was in the basement. This will get the tank an additional 12-13" lower and help the drainback system work better.

This is the location of the tank and the pad that is in the way.
http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/solar001.JPG



I started smashing the poured center of the concrete pad.
http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/solar002.JPG



Quickly enough the bricks on the outside became loose and I was able to pull them away.
http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/solar003.JPG

I continued on removing the concrete to find that the floor does not extend under the raised platform. So, it looks like I'm going to have to pour a floor in where ever I chip out. Not a big deal, but it needs to be done.

However, this brings up another issue I have with the house, and that is a damp basement. For a while now I've been wanting to fix the problem. The best solution would be to entirely remove the floor of the house, dig down a bit, lay down some rock and add drain tile around the edges going to the sump croc, and then repour the floor. That is a whole heck of a lot of work. So, I may just chip around the exterior of the basement, lay down drain tile and repour that area... more work, great!

Anyway, here is a pic. Its hard to tell, but the shovel is below the grade of the floor.

http://ecorenovator.org/pictures/solar004.JPG

It looks like there is no vapor barrier under the cement also? That would help some with the moisture. If you're going that far you might as well add insulation under there instead though.

Thanks for the suggestions, I just started a new thread about the water issues.

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/renova...-basement.html

Have you considered using a galvanized livestock water tank instead of building one?
I know if you build one you can make it any size you want but they come in different sizes, you could also use 2 or 3 of them.
This one holds 300gal>Oval Galvanized Stock Tank, 3 ft. W x 8 ft. L x 2 ft. H, 300 gal. Capacity - 2177285 | Tractor Supply Company

Not sure if this is usable for what you want, just tossing around ideas.

Thats not a bad idea. However, I do have a limited space and with the wood tank I can build it to fit my exact needs. I'm thinking I might have to go with a shorter but wider tank to get the water level low enough for the drain back on top of chipping the platform out.