Is your water tank covered?

cormie

Hi,
I've been laying a floor up in the attic and my watertank isn't covered, ran a bath yesterday and the water wasn't the clearest (from me being up there I highly suspect, sawdust, rockwool dust etc). The tank isn't covered and I don't think it ever was. Should it be? Will I just tape some black bags over the top? Since dust and whatever else has got into it now, should I clean it out? Drain it and give it a wipe out? How would I do this?

Any feedback appreciated:)

cormie

Also, my tank is hoisted up on two 3x4's which span I think 4 ceiling joists. I'm not sure if there is any need for it to span 4 as it only covers 3, and it's barely on the 4th, would it be ok to cut away the bit expanding to the 4th and just leave it span over 3? It's a normal plastic water tank.

GreeBo

Im about to build a wooden box for mine, then fill it with insulation (probably polystyrene sheets)
Makes it easier to insulate and also keeps bad things out
I guess it doesntmatter about the heating header tank, though I guess Is houdl insulate that too, though judging by the water in it, it never gets used!

be careful about cutting away supports, check the balance point etc.
It will be SUPER heavy

CJhaughey

Yes it should be covered , it can be a health risk if an animal -mouse-rat etc fell in and dissolved... all the while you are brushing your teeth and rinsing away!!

cormie

thanks for the feedback, better cover the tank so, damn plumbers should have done that:mad:

If you could, please have a look at this image and let me know if I should risk it:) Click to enlarge!


Ooops, that's supposed to say "Nothing supported on beams past the third joist and the beams are barely touching the 4th joist"

GreeBo

tbh, Id leave it
even though the tank is not over it its still supporting it, spreading the load.
Why do you want to remove it, for flooring?

cormie

yeah, would allow for another good bit to go down. Could be a bit risky alright. Hmmm... I'm thinking the way it was cut they may have meant for it to cover 4 but cut it a tiny bit too short but got it onto 4 in the end and decided it would do. Or else they meant to cut to cover three and it just so happens that it's touching off the 4th too?

Lex Luthor

mines not covered...
did we do this when we were kids in our parents house...?
I don't think so.

ah sure, you'll be grand

rooferPete

Hi Cormie,

Sure Lex could be right

Make sure if you are covering the tanks to leave room for the expansion pipes to overflow into the tank if needed, a damaged thermostat on an immersion heater can cause a lot of water to blow off into the main tank.

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cormie

Hi,
thanks for the replies, I rang 2 guys about the joists and was it "should" be ok by one and not to risk it by another, I'm only sacrificing about 3 sq ft of space so I don't think it's worth the risk.

Pete, I'm not too sure what pipes are what but I won't disturb anything:) Any idea what the best way to clean out both the big and small tank is? Should I just empty them both and then give it a wipe and then let it fill back up (will the small one fill back up too?). The water is quite manky now, and then I could just cover it once it's cleaned out:)

rooferPete

Hi Cormie,

The Expansion pipes are the two that are hanging over the top of your tanks faced down into them.

I think to save yourself some some trouble I would leave the small tank alone unless you caused a lot of the dirt because it's the header tank for your heating system and they do build up dirt but it has to be over 1" high before it can cause a problem.

Cleaning the big one is not an easy job because you can have about 1" of water left after draining it, remember to make sure your immersion and your heating is switched off before draining either tank.

If you have the main tank empty and the water in the cylinder starts to heat up there is a chance it will evapourate a little and crease the cylinder.

Have fun

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cormie

Gah! That sounds like a lot of effort, I think I'll just fill up the bath a few times and if after the 3rd/4th time it's still mucky, I'll worry about it then;)

Thanks for the help!