Water benches...

The narrow profile of junked water heater tanks, plus their water tite threads means they can be used even laying on their sides.
They are cheap or free,  and even if they leak a little,  a little job weld will fix them.

Take junk water heaters,  stripped of insulation, lay them on their sides and build a bench around them.
Some wood under them to get them off the ground  and still allow their openings to be at their lowest points.
Some wood on either side to hold them in place.
Some wood across the top to hold the side pieces in place.
More wood,  or cushions to sit on.
Adding right angle MIP / barbed fittings let you connect tanks with scraps of garden hose, or clamp the hose off.

If they are going on your porch,  put them on casters.
If they are going around a camp fire,  put them on skids or bike wheels.

To store hot water,  connect them together with soft copper, radiator hose,  or corrugated stainless steel  gas pipe.
Build them into a bedframe for a warm or cool thermal mass.

My only concern is, that if the insulation is removed they will not keep water hot.
It seems like a lot of work for a seat?
They may make good building blocks for  a shed though.

@ William - are you actually trying to make a heated bench, or just a useful and disguised water storage system, or either?

One of my complaints about rainwater barrels is that often they don't look very nice in a small yard. Your idea of using hot water tanks inside seating if done well seems like a good way to "stack functions".

If you had sun in your "shoulder season" and used a solar water heater to warm the stored water so that come evening you could sit on radiant heat, that sounds interesting also. I expect then that I'd insulate under the tank and not above.

That said, water is *very* heavy, so I'd want to be careful about trying to move the tank full, or even the amount of support one's deck had for stationary use! After all, you'd possibly be adding the weight of a couple of people as well. Not much issue for me, but two of my friends are both tall enough that they're well over 200lbs each. I'd have to ask my son to do the math, but please stay safe!  

I don't know how many tanks like this land in the dump, but any creative uses to keep them out of that dump is worth discussing and debating as even a less than practical idea may lead to an awesome idea!

I'm sitting here wondering how that idea passed me up. Its been 2 decades since i was in the business selling them. It seemed like people return them for " leaking". They sit in a corner until the rep comes and oks the warranty. At that point they don't want them back. The local seller disposes of them.

Most of the leaks were the fittings going to the tank, not the tank itself.

I am currently looking at doing a batch type solar water heater. In simple terms, the skinless tank is inside a coldframe. Water from there will enter my electric water heater already warm. My only issue is i have to put it 8ft up so its not shaded half the day.

I guess I glossed over the real inspiration for this, but y'all sussed it out.
It's all about hiding the tanks.
In particular, my front porch is a perfect spot for rainwater storage, but the neighbors and the wife are not down with looking at that.
I thought about cutting drums or tanks in half so they were below the height of the railing,  and then I thought of laying them down.

The heated thing was an after thought,  I am into the idea of DIY hydronic heating.
I see them as potential  radiators/storage tanks.



I think I might be able to get these tanks from a local plumbing supply house, they usually have a bunch sitting around the pro entrance.
I imagine the warehouse guys do a scrap run, but even if they want a little something for them,  it might be worth it.

I think they would be good standing up as well.
The metal should take paint well and they have a smaller footprint than a 55 gallon drum.

I'm considering  using them standing  upright  in my greenhouse, as a thermal mass that could be heated  by solar or wood.
I'm just not sure if I want to give up that floor space.

If I turn them into  sub irrigated planters, I would have nice botttom heat for my plants and thermal storage thus stacking functions.
It might be better to leave the insulation on and collect the solar or wood heat with a coil.
This means losing out on using the tanks themselves as solar collectors, so maybe painted flat black,  or stained with lamp black,  and set behind their own separate glazing.
To avoid overheating they could be swathed in reflective blankets during the summer months.

William Bronson wrote:

I guess I glossed over the real inspiration for this, but y'all sussed it out.  It's all about hiding the tanks.

You can't hide your intentions from us "super sleuth permies"!

I cope with a hubby who claims he doesn't care what colour the house is or what things look like - it's all about function. But I admit, I'd *really* like something prettier than a blue 55 gallon drum collecting water in front of the house! Also, I'm aware that in some places, "rain barrels" are illegal, although from a permies perspective that's really short term thinking. I'm equally aware that if rain is inconsistent (here we're wet all winter and dry all summer when I'm trying to grow things) you need to store a *lot* of water to do much good.

So, if you can build several benches in a "conversational grouping" that becomes a wonderful place for people to chat or read a book, and it doubles as "prettified" water storage, and posted your plans, I'd not just toss an apple, I'd give you pie!

Even in a greenhouse, if you can find a way to make it work without looking ugly, there are people who would really appreciate that. Keep us posted!

Blue drums can be hiddeen, by creating a wooden fence around them, painting, or putting them into the ground or behind a low fence.