In Goes the Salt

It a little anti climatic but this is what $1000 worth of salt looks like.

It took over 6 hours to dissolve the salt.

I did this in four sessions due to the size of the hot water heater.

This is 5 bags (50 lbs each) - it took 21 bags or 1050 pounds of salt to 

reach the correct gravity (1.27).

With all the salt dissolved now I just have to wait for it to reach the correct temperature 93.5.

It's starting the night off at 89.2.

Soon!

Test went Well

I put some test water in to make sure everything work!!

A few small drips, but easily fixed.

Everything is Set for the Test

All the plumbing is put together and sealed up.

Water should go in tomorrow with the salt soon to follow.

Back Together

One more line to make sure we have a "water tight" seal.

The newly painted front panel back in place with the door attached.

The door worked perfect after being reattached.

Surprised and very happy.

The back is set and ready to be tested.

After all this work I'll see if it works when I add water tomorrow.

Putting it Back Together

So it was a big day.

We put the four top pieces back together on top of the base -

and it fit!

Here it is from the front -

Here is a back view

A shoot of inside the tank -

black is the new black.

Covering the Pieces

The top is made up of four pieces.

Each piece has foam board insulation on the outside:

Then the inside has foil insulation:

And finally each piece is covered with 6 mil plastic:

Here is the back with holes for the plumbing and air flow:

The Liner is In

So I got the liner all set up.

The Door

The door turned out pretty good.

Plumbing Redesign

After talking with David (who sold me the plumbing equipment) I had to redesign the system.

I got a crash course in fluid dynamics.

So here is the new set up.

The end goal was to remove elbows and create a more direct flow for the water.

Lining the Bottom

So I took the entire tank apart to start the process of lining it.

During this time I'm double checking the plumbing system -

this is a full rookie design.

The pipe on the right will take water out of the tank to the cleaning system.

The pipe on the left is the return for cleaned water coming back into the tank.

I've lined the entire area with foil insulation and placed the water bed heater.

Here's a view from the back of the tank - you can see the controls.

Plumbing is Close

So after rounding up all the pieces I set the plumbing up today.

Waiting to make sure it's correct before gluing it all together.

The top and bottom pipes are for air flow.

Close up.

And inside the tank.

Painting the Shower Area

Wow - white will sure brighten up a room fast.

Did a few coats of primer today - turned out OK.

Had some extra so did a little more of the ceiling than I was planning on.

After seeing how bright it made everything might as well.

Plumbing and the Back

So with the plumbing equipment arriving I built a container to hold it.

A simple raised box to let ant water drain to the shower area in the front of the trailer.

Sealed it up with a little water proof spray to finish it off.

Here it is in relationship to the back of the tank

The lines will go on each side.

Two other holes will be cut here for convection air flow.

Covering the Front

Before I can put the liner in I need to somewhat

prep the front of the trailer for when a shower goes in.

Here is the piece that will cover the front and have the door.

One of the next step is going to be to design the door.

Covering the Internal Pieces

Now that the front is done I took everything apart

and cover the interior with plywood.

These will be cover with insulation and a plastic covering.

The Front is Done!

So going with a triangle wasn't so bad at the start.

When it cam t to making the entry I ran into some problems.

This took way longer than it should have.

The 2 edge support had 5 different angled cuts each

We lost some wood here. 

But it's done!

The Angled Door

With weight taring to be on my mind I came up with the great idea to make the top a triangle.

This should eliminate all condensation problems as well as 

create less air space that needs to be heated.

This has become a angle nightmare with some boards requiring multiple angled cuts.

Two more hard pieces to figure out and the rest should go a lot easier.

I finished insulating and covering the sides and bottom.

Building the Base

I started building the base of the tank today.

Pretty simple platform with a foot between the joist.

Topped it off with a layer of plywood.

The end internal dimensions came out to 8 feet  by 4 feet 10 inches.

I ended up having to cut some off to frame the walls with 2 by 4's.

I then framed it in with 2 by 4's so that it can be insulated with R13.

I have to get a few more boards and then insulate the bottom.

I'll hold off on doing the sides for the time being.

Now that this is sitting in here I'm staring to gain a little perspective.

One thing is that this weight a ton!

May have to think lighter up top to be on the safe side.

The other thing that I kept thinking about today was the possibility of a curved roof.

This would primarily be for condensation.

But also allowing for maximum head room at the peak.

Something like this:

You have to love that heat escape on the top.