#Measuring water tank temperature

1 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

timber sparrow
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Howdy folks,

I'm putting this out here in case it's not a new problem. Much like many homes in the UK, I have a gas boiler which connects to a water tank. The boiler is managed by a control unit, which also controls the hot water for our radiators.

The tank keeps a small reservoir of hot water for washing up, but bigger activities like a shower or bath means I need to "boost" the hot water. This essentially turns on the boiler for about 20 mins. While the water tank is fair well insulated, the water seems to be heated up for longer than nessessary. I want to start measuring this aspect to find out by how much.

I'm not expecting precision, but I'd like to record some basic correlation. Without opening up the tank and sticking in a probe, how could I measure the temperature of the water in the tank?

heady fulcrum
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You should be able to just shove a temperature probe underneath the insulation from the bottom to get a reading on the tank's temperature

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unless the tank itself is vacuum insulated or similar

elfin narwhal
timber sparrow
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Under the insulation is a good idea and doesn't require any major modifications

elder sinew
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Can you share a picture of the tank?

timber sparrow
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Is a thermistor the best way to go about this? Or should I do something else like a laser thermostat on an external pipe?

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Sure, give me a mo to take some pics

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I just realised the tank doesn't actually have an insulation jacket 🤔

elder sinew
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I'm assuming the pipe will likely be very similar in temperature to the water inside. A encased DS18B20 stuck on with some aluminum tape and/or thermal grease/glue could work here.