let's see those insulated sumps!

[Sixty7x]

I'll be setting up my sump in the basement and there are many positives to doing it this way for me(800 sq. ft. house for one). however my basement is 50 degrees right now and I'm going to have to do something when my system is up and running. Also, are there alternatives to electric heaters? i've got natural gas in the house and I would think it might be advantageous to explore this option. I'd like to hear what people are doing.

 

[fermentedhiker]

I've seen some setups where people used a titanium heat exchanger to transfer heat from a loop off of their domestic hot water to heat tank water which is probably quite a bit cheaper to run than traditional electric element heaters.

 

[Sixty7x]

titanium heat exchanger you say?! I have to assume a pump is needed for this but I can't imagine it would need to be too large, no?

 

[fermentedhiker]

titanium heat exchanger you say?! I have to assume a pump is needed for this but I can't imagine it would need to be too large, no?

correct you have a loop with a circulator pump that pumps water from the hot side of your hot water heater through the heat exchanger and back to the cold side of your hot water heater, often with some sort of solenoid shut off valve to prevent siphoning. Then you have a pump in your sump that pushes water through the heat exchanger and back to the tank. It's a bit more involved than that but that gives you a basic idea. Involve someway to control it like an apex or you could rig something up with a ranco or inkbird.

 

[Pntbll687]

titanium heat exchanger you say?! I have to assume a pump is needed for this but I can't imagine it would need to be too large, no?

Look up @AlexG build thread. He uses this type of system to heat his displays. He did some YouTube videos on it as well, super detailed and easy to understand.