In Which I Begin Work On Our Indoor Water Tank

So now that I have the paneling complete in the kitchen corner right up to the top edge of our log wall, plus three runs above that, I feel like I can begin construction and mounting of the water tank.

I was ready to start on it a day ago actually, but then realized that perhaps I should test the factory installed plugs to be sure they didn't leak.  It would be a real tragedy to discover that they didn't hold water AFTER I had sealed the tank up and mounted it.

Kenny assisted with buckets of water, and I poured about four or five of them into the tank.  I admit that we didn't take the time or water to fill it, but I suspected if they were destined to leak, they'd leak already at such a small amount of water.

I propped the tank up on some scrap paneling, to ensure that the molded fitting wasn't subjected to any undue pressure.  Then I proceeded to dry the tank off so that I wouldn't be fooled by errant water drops.

We left it overnight, and I checked on it again this afternoon - it was nice and dry!  Yeah!

Awesome job by Larry and his son at Surecraft!

In this picture, you can see where Surecraft Plastics welded on a panel with my bulkhead fittings pre-installed.  They did a fabulous job, and I wouldn't hesitate to go back there for future needs, or recommend them to others.

So today I began cutting up some 1/2" closed cell foam sheets to attach to the tank for insulation purposes.  Seeing how much condensation forms in the sauna in wintertime was a real eye-opener.  I knew I couldn't deal with that much concentrated moisture in the cabin!

As per my idea, and Larry at Surecraft's reinforcing confirmation, I attached the sheets to the tank using Tuck Tape - the same tape I have been using to seal up my plastic air barrier throughout the rest of the cabin.

A double layer on the bottom to also cover those three white and blue plugs that I won't be using

And the finished product!  Ready for a plywood box to give it more support and protection.

You can see in the photographs that it turned out rather neatly.  My one disappointment is that on the narrow side, the tank was actually 12 1/8" - so I had to cut those sheets out of a 24" piece of material with large amounts of leftover "waste".

It wasn't waste though - not when Kenny turned it into a Fort/Wall that he could hide behind!

Now I have to figure out how to easily attach a fitting to the molded one on the tank, and build a plywood box to give it more support and protection.  Stay tuned!