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Thermosiphon in a Tarp Barn

 
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Hey folks. I've spent over an hr searching through the threads here and although I've learned a lot, I still have questions haha!!

So we have a 25' x 25' x 14' high Tarp Shelter frame that we have a "heavy duty (yeah right lol)" tarp over. Inside we house our chickens and rabbits over the year. Last year we used an old wood stove and piled stones and rocks around and on top of it to act as heat sinks but a lot of the heat just goes right out the chimney. I just picked up a thermosiphon unit from a guy that was using it to heat his electric hot water tank. It has 1 inch copper tubing coiled around a 6 inch stove pipe, a very large vertical tank on a stand so that the bottom of the tank is level or just higher than the top of the stove. The cold water comes out the bottom, runs through the coil up to the top of the tank. He installed a drain on the cold exit and at the hot water he's got an output for his other tank or whatever I want, if I want, to put something else on it. He's also got a blow off valve for if it gets too hot. We were hoping to use it as a heat sink and/or find a truck rad or old shop rad to hang and run the hot water through with a fan behind it. I know the system works as he used it for years. (He's changing insurance companies and they were coming to inspect the house so he had to remove it) My biggest questions are about the water. As it's outside, and we live in Northern Ontario where we can get to below -40 at times, do I need to run a glycol mixture and if so, how do I do that. Also, I'm guessing there would be some sort of water dissipation with the heat and cooling. There is a spot to add water with a pipe running inside down to the bottom of the tank, however this is about 200 feet from the house and I'm not sure I want to be running a hose through the snow lol. How much water loss should I expect and how low can it get before it stops working as a siphon?

All advise is greatly appreciated!!
 
pollinator
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Location: Bendigo , Australia
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I use a similar system here in Australia for my home water.
I have never worked with weather conditions you speak of. But I am familair with pipes bursting because of the cold.
Would a Rocket Mass Heater be better for your purpose?
 
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