Hi all,
We have a small one-story cottage in France. There is no running water and no electricity. After hours and hours of time spent on the internet (and thanks to a wealth of information available on this forum), I have learnt about the existence of gravity fed hot water systems powered by solid fuel (I'm Dutch, never knew these things existed). I have now bought a Rayburn Royal solid fuel cooker that will heat a vented indirect cylinder that is going to provide me with hot water. The problem is my cold water supply. Since my cottage is small, there is no way to put my cold water storage high enough to supply the entire water system with enough pressure to take a shower (according to my information I need at least 0.1 bar, there's no way to accomplish this inside the cottage). However, my cottage is located on a hill. There's plenty of elevation to accomplish the amount of pressure I need if I were to put my cold water storage outside. The problem is that the water in the tank and in the pipes will freeze in winter, even when I'm there (I'm going to drain the entire system when I leave). The possible solution that I have come up with seems a bit far-fetched, and I can't find any example of others doing it the way I came up with (remember that I don't have any electricity to just heat the pipes, I do have a generator to fill my water storage tank when it's running low on water). I would appreciate any feedback you have.
It seems to me that the water won't freeze as long as there is plenty of circulation. However, I won't be turning on the shower or taps every hour just to make sure that the water won't freeze (I wouldn't be able to go away for a few hours either). So I thought that perhaps I could combine both circulation and heating at the same time. Circulation by running a pipe from my water tank to the cottage, where room temperature (perhaps a stove) will heat the water, which will then rise up to the tank again and ensure sufficient circulation of the entire water supply. The hotter water in the return pipe to my water supply is used to heat the actual cold water feed for my hot water cylinder by insulating both pipes together.
If you have made it to the end: does this sound feasible? Are there any obstacles I am overlooking? I guess I need to calculate the amount of circulation I need to make sure that the water in the tank doesn't freeze. Do you think that the the water heated by room temperature or perhaps by running it past a stove is sufficient to keep the water in the cold water supply pipe over zero degrees?
Many thanks for any remarks you may have.
Niels
We have a small one-story cottage in France. There is no running water and no electricity. After hours and hours of time spent on the internet (and thanks to a wealth of information available on this forum), I have learnt about the existence of gravity fed hot water systems powered by solid fuel (I'm Dutch, never knew these things existed). I have now bought a Rayburn Royal solid fuel cooker that will heat a vented indirect cylinder that is going to provide me with hot water. The problem is my cold water supply. Since my cottage is small, there is no way to put my cold water storage high enough to supply the entire water system with enough pressure to take a shower (according to my information I need at least 0.1 bar, there's no way to accomplish this inside the cottage). However, my cottage is located on a hill. There's plenty of elevation to accomplish the amount of pressure I need if I were to put my cold water storage outside. The problem is that the water in the tank and in the pipes will freeze in winter, even when I'm there (I'm going to drain the entire system when I leave). The possible solution that I have come up with seems a bit far-fetched, and I can't find any example of others doing it the way I came up with (remember that I don't have any electricity to just heat the pipes, I do have a generator to fill my water storage tank when it's running low on water). I would appreciate any feedback you have.
It seems to me that the water won't freeze as long as there is plenty of circulation. However, I won't be turning on the shower or taps every hour just to make sure that the water won't freeze (I wouldn't be able to go away for a few hours either). So I thought that perhaps I could combine both circulation and heating at the same time. Circulation by running a pipe from my water tank to the cottage, where room temperature (perhaps a stove) will heat the water, which will then rise up to the tank again and ensure sufficient circulation of the entire water supply. The hotter water in the return pipe to my water supply is used to heat the actual cold water feed for my hot water cylinder by insulating both pipes together.
If you have made it to the end: does this sound feasible? Are there any obstacles I am overlooking? I guess I need to calculate the amount of circulation I need to make sure that the water in the tank doesn't freeze. Do you think that the the water heated by room temperature or perhaps by running it past a stove is sufficient to keep the water in the cold water supply pipe over zero degrees?
Many thanks for any remarks you may have.
Niels
