All Shop Notes published in 1927, in book form—Fifty Cents—from our Book Department
Insulating the Hot-Water Tank
By E. E. SCOTT
Upper Right. Applying the Asbestos; Center, How the Covering Is Anchored Left, Completed Job; Note the Covered Heating Coil between the Tank and Boiler
Why place a radiator in the cellar? That is just what you do when you permit the plumbing contractor to install the hot-water tank in your new house, without covering it to prevent loss of heat. The usual 40-gal. dwelling-house tank will radiate sufficient heat to keep a 10 by 12-ft. room comfortably warm. In so doing, it causes the temperature of the water in the tank to drop about 20° below that at which it enters the tank. Furthermore this heat is not needed in the basement as the heater itself will radiate, unavoidably, sufficient warmth to keep that part of the house comfortable. If you would have more and hotter water and save some fuel besides, cover the tank with asbestos cement. But, you ask, how can it be made to stick to such a smooth surface as that of a galvanized-iron water tank? First, buy sufficient wire window screening to cover the tank completely except for the top and bottom. Bind this screening around the tank with bare-copper or soft-iron wire of about No. 18 gauge and draw the wire up as tightly as possible. Next purchase about 30 lb. asbestos "furnace-covering cement" from a hardware-supply house or plumbing shop; this should cost about five cents per pound when bought in bulk. Make a paste by mixing this material with
