scooby074
New Member
I got a major problem with tank sweat on my softener and pressure tanks. The 3/4 Pex feed pipes are sweating as well.
This is really my first summer at this place and i need to get the issue addressed before mold and rot set in. I literally thought i had a pipe leak.. there was significant water on the floor. I was surprised to say the least.
The house is on a slab, and the softener is in a finished laundry room.
Tonite, i took some measurements to give an idea as to what were dealing with:
Ambient air temperature: 19.6 C
Inside Humidity: 45%
Exterior Humidity:92%
Softener tank exterior temperature: 13.6 c
Pressure tank ext: 14 c
And perhaps the most important temperature, the cast iron casing of the jet pump after running water for several minutes : 10.3C
So my input water is quite cool.
My options so far:
1. Insulate all exposed piping and tanks.
Not sure about this as i could have mold issues between the tanks and the insulation, especially fiberglass. And in my previous experience it wasnt 100% effective. Giving the location of the softener tank, id like it to be as dry as absolutely possible.
2. Install a tempering valve for the whole house.
This would be good i think, but at the cost of hot water wasted. I think the tempering valve is the best possible solution.
A couple questions about #2:
Is there any risk in feeding tempered water into the softener?
Can/should i temper the water in my pressure tank?
What valve do you recommend? What about an output thermometer so im not wasting excess hot water heating above the dew point? Any brands better than others?
Any benefit from pipe insulation on exposed pipes in a tempered system?
Wheres the best point to install the valve? On the "T" on the input to the pressure tank (ie: on the end of the line from the jet pump?) Or after the pressure tank before the softener? Or directly on the output of the pump?
How effective are the valves? and how much hot water do they waste (typically)?
Any other thing or options ive overlooked (other than dehumidifiers)?
This is really my first summer at this place and i need to get the issue addressed before mold and rot set in. I literally thought i had a pipe leak.. there was significant water on the floor. I was surprised to say the least.
The house is on a slab, and the softener is in a finished laundry room.
Tonite, i took some measurements to give an idea as to what were dealing with:
Ambient air temperature: 19.6 C
Inside Humidity: 45%
Exterior Humidity:92%
Softener tank exterior temperature: 13.6 c
Pressure tank ext: 14 c
And perhaps the most important temperature, the cast iron casing of the jet pump after running water for several minutes : 10.3C
So my input water is quite cool.
My options so far:
1. Insulate all exposed piping and tanks.
Not sure about this as i could have mold issues between the tanks and the insulation, especially fiberglass. And in my previous experience it wasnt 100% effective. Giving the location of the softener tank, id like it to be as dry as absolutely possible.
2. Install a tempering valve for the whole house.
This would be good i think, but at the cost of hot water wasted. I think the tempering valve is the best possible solution.
A couple questions about #2:
Is there any risk in feeding tempered water into the softener?
Can/should i temper the water in my pressure tank?
What valve do you recommend? What about an output thermometer so im not wasting excess hot water heating above the dew point? Any brands better than others?
Any benefit from pipe insulation on exposed pipes in a tempered system?
Wheres the best point to install the valve? On the "T" on the input to the pressure tank (ie: on the end of the line from the jet pump?) Or after the pressure tank before the softener? Or directly on the output of the pump?
How effective are the valves? and how much hot water do they waste (typically)?
Any other thing or options ive overlooked (other than dehumidifiers)?
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