moving our rainwater catchment | Construction and DIY projects | Forums

I know this is an older post but I figured Id ask here instead of making a thread.

Looking at getting 1 or 2 of those same containors, but have stalled up until I find out from someone how well they winter? Ever have them freeze and crack, or do you drain them out in the winter?

I would think that you could bury them as well, though below the frost depth or with insulation over the top.

Been meaning to come back to this.

I used to work in a commercial tomato greenhouse. Year round it was very warm in there, even in the depths of Colorado winter. I always figured it was just the overall biomass in there. Years later when researching greenhouse plans I came across an article about running/maintaining a year round green house. The thing that stuck out to me was a short couple lines about part of how he maintained temps in winter was a few 50 gal drums filled with water. He claimed that they would absorb heat in the day and add a little warmth throughout the night. That has been stuck in my head for a while...

Now, I think that if you just threw a drum into a hothouse that was dormant for the winter I would think that it would freeze solid. BUT an active one with a lot of biomass in combo might just work(?????).

This idea has led to a convoluted idea of running my gutters through the wall into the water tanks inside for storage.

So... whos willing to throw a water tank in their green house for the winter to see if it freezes and explodes and possibly damages stuff???

Yeah, the thermal battery is something that I've thought of to the point of using 10" PVC to build a "water wall" in my house for increased thermal mass. Unfortunately, I've never been able to find anything too technical on the topic.