insulating toilet tanks

One of our bathroom toilet tanks 'sweats' badly at this time of year - the outside of the tank is covered in condensation and it puddles on the floor beneath. I was thinking of retro-fitting some insulation to the inside of the tank (I don't want to mess with adding a warm-water feed, and the tank's a nice old decorative one, so I'd rather not replace it with a modern one that has a double wall or built-in insulation)

Questions:

1) how thick does the insulation need to be? Is 1/4" probably enough? (that's perhaps something of a "how long is a piece of string" question; I think I'm dealing with a max temperature differential between water and air of 35 degrees)

2) What adhesive to use? Needs to be water-resistant, obviously, but also something that's suitable for styrofoam and won't destroy it...

(alternately, I could just buy a kit, I suppose - they seem to be about $30 online. Not sure if HD etc. carry them...)

cheers

Jules

Reply to
Jules Richardson
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The toilet I have (Mansfield) has styrofoam attached with silicone. They only last a few years and start to sweat again! Next, I'm going with the Sloan system (with the internal pressure tank).

Reply to
Bob Villa

The toilet I have (Mansfield) has styrofoam attached with silicone. They only last a few years and start to sweat again! Next, I'm going with the Sloan system (with the internal pressure tank).

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I had the same problem with an insulated tank in my prior home.

I've always wondered if someone made some sort of holding tank that could be installed in the basement. Big enough to hold water for 2-3 flushes. All it would need to do is "park" some water long enough for it to come closer to room temperature. Even if the basement's not as warm as the upstairs, it would usually still be warmer than the coldest groundwater.

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

I also have to assume you live in an area with high humidity, correct? If this sweating/dripping problem doesn't last too long in your season, might a small tropical acquarium heater decrease the temp differential in the tank water if you don't flush too often? Jes a thought.

nb

Reply to
notbob

I had the equivalent of that when I was on well water. A 20 gallon tank of water in the basement that, during summer, sat in a puddle for months. Unfortunately, it didn't warm the water fast enough as the toilet tank still sweated until I put central air in the house, then both the toilet and the pump pressure tank immediately stopped sweating.

Reply to
EXT

:

That's thinking out of the box - a great idea.

Reply to
hrhofmann

the trick is to lower the humidity in the house. And as a by-product of such action, the house will be a lot more comfortable to live in also. Try running the a/c.

Reply to
Steve Barker

The problem is that most people want their cold water cold. To do what you suggest would require a separate feed for the toilets which would add cost. Really better to take the toilet supply from the hot side - problem solved.

Reply to
Robert Neville

Jules Richardson wrote the following:

Like others have mentioned, I too had styrofoam lining the inside of the tank. It was from a kit that I bought. I think the lining was 3/8" thick. I was on well water, so the water entering the tank was about 60 degrees F. I then got central AC so the lining wasn't necessary anymore. I had a b***h of a time removing the glued on styrofoam lining from the tank.

Reply to
willshak

That's a pretty absolute statement, even though it's not true in all cases. In my home (a ranch), the toilet, tub and sink each have separate supply pipes coming up from the basement. It would cost nothing extra to insert a tank in the line for the toilet.

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

:

everyone's ignoring your great suggestion

Reply to
hrhofmann

"willshak" wrote

Why would you remove it? It won't hurt anything left in there.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

I'd heard one time about using a 10 ft length of 3 inch or 4 inch PVC hung from the rafters, then reduce each end to the 1/2 or 3/4 inch waterline size. The idea was to have that in the line leading to the water heater to let a few gallons of water warm to inside temp before entering the heater, reducing the amount of time and energy needed to heat it. Same idea would probably work for the feed to the toilet.

Reply to
NGDirect

It's called a "tempering tank" which is usually used to help the efficiency of a water heater by absorbing heat from the surrounding environment to warm the water supplying the heater. I've seen old water heaters with the insulation removed used for the purpose but I'm sure a plumbing supply house could supply you with a new tank that is uninsulated. You might be able to get hold of a used tank made for well pumps and use it without the bladder pressurized for a tempering tank to supply the toilets. Here's a link to a tank manufacturer:

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TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

Regular well tanks don't do anything to insure that the water is forced to pass through the tank. And old hot water heater would do a better job. The idea about a section of 3 or 4" pvc is probably the best. An aquarium heater is a bad idea as they are not properly designed to be in contact with your water supply safety wise.

I would not expect the pressurized bladder toilets to solve it either. The bladder still sits against the porcelan.

Reply to
jamesgangnc

If you can find a 50' coil of 3/4" copper pipe at a good price, it can be attached to a basement ceiling or wall, perhaps near a floor drain to handle any condensation. The cold supply water flowing through such a coil should be up to room temperature after a trip through the pipe.

TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

Of course, that copper pipe will sweat just like the toilet tank did, so allowances should be made to catch the drip. :-)

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

Yeah, same deal here - well water sits at around 55 all year, although our hottest days are around 90 and it hits -20 in winter (with the basement then at around 60F).

Reply to
Jules Richardson

Hmm, possibly... yes, the really hot season is reasonably short here (northern MN) - so I don't like the idea of a hot water feed just because it's wasteful for most of the year; but some kind of local heater that I could easily turn off wouldn't be so bad.

Reply to
Jules Richardson

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I thinkl the 4" pvc would be a better and cheaper solution. If the basement ceiling is unfinished or accesible it would be easy to run a

8' piece of it between joists. Even if you had to double back with a piece of 3/4" pvc.
Reply to
jamesgangnc

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