The Pile is complete and the components for circulating the hot water generated by the pile to heat the floor and benches of the Strawbale Studio are being designed with the advise of many:
The hot supply water from the 15′ X 25′ X 7′ Compost Pile which is 5 ft to the west of the Strawbale Studio is entering the Strawbale Studio through the wall:
1) 1″ pipe in to the Strawbale Studio 2) thermostat in the line, 3) drain valve, 4) shut off valve and expansion tank, 5) fill value 6) a manifold or T and L’s taking the the 1″ line to two 1/2″ loops of unequal length (lower 190′) (upper 300′). I think there should be some sort of flow restriction valves on each loop to adjust flow/temp through the unequal loops if necessary . 7) pex loops go through the floor then 8)have an inline thermometer on each loop before going 9) back to a manifold that takes the two 1/2″ pex loops back to one 1″ pipe, 10) followed by a shut off valve, then 11) the pump and 12) another shut off value, then the 1″ diameter “cold return” pex pipe exits the Strawbale Studio to circulate water through the Compost Pile.
Any thoughts on this? email Deanne ecoartdb at gmail.com