Stock tank hot tub idea.

[arakboss]

I was thinking about a making a soaking hot tub using a galvanized stock tank and a set of propane burners. Basically you mount the stock tank securely off the ground insulate it with heat resistant foam of some sort and make a foam board lid for the tank. Mount the burner under the middle of the stock tank. Add desired amount of water and light the burners. Anybody ever tried this?

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[ma96782]

Aloha, Mark

 

[arakboss]

Aloha, Mark

I have watched a bunch of different videos like this but they seem way too complicated. When I heat a pot of water for my shower, I use a pot and a burner. Granted the stock tank would be a big pot but I have a double burner camp chef unit that puts out 60,000 BTUs with both burners running. I am thinking that just sticking it under the stock tank would do the trick. The insulation might not be necessary but would probably shorten the heating time and save me some propane. My concern would be that the burner might damage the stock tank but I think if it has water in it the metal won't be able to heat up very much. Maybe some blackening of the stock tank bottom but as long as it didn't burn through I wouldn't mind.

 

[Alexx1401]

Can't see why not. You would want a pump & filter but one should be dead simple to adapt.

 

[arakboss]

Can't see why not. You would want a pump & filter but one should be dead simple to adapt.

I am thinking super simple no pump or filter. One time use and then the water can be repurposed for flushing the toilets and watering the vegetation.

This is the tank I was looking at.

Behlen 2 ft. x 2 ft. x 6 ft. Stock Tank 50130048 - The Home Depot

The Behlen 2 ft. x 2 ft. x 6 ft. Stock Tank is great for the farm and helps with livestock watering needs. It features corrugated sidewalls for added strength. Heavy, reinforced steel tube rolled into

www.homedepot.com

 

[titsonritz]

I know a guy that made one out of a pick-up truck bed and would throw "Sloshy white thrash parties". Good times.

 

[Ura-Ki]

Couple of thoughts here,
1) Is the stock tank Galvanized? if so, your gonna want to ether de-galvanize it, or look for another alternate. You "Could" just burn it off, but you do not want to be around while that's happening, the fumes are very toxic!
2) you need to think about spreading the heat around, if you have it concentrated to just a small area, you will get hot spots, which can cause burns if you use it while the burner(s) are lit!
3) how heat resistant is it? can it take that kind of heat, several cycles with out weakening the metal, or burning it out! Remember, most metals don't cycle heat very long before they fail!

 

[arakboss]

Couple of thoughts here,
1) Is the stock tank Galvanized? if so, your gonna want to ether de-galvanize it, or look for another alternate. You "Could" just burn it off, but you do not want to be around while that's happening, the fumes are very toxic!
2) you need to think about spreading the heat around, if you have it concentrated to just a small area, you will get hot spots, which can cause burns if you use it while the burner(s) are lit!
3) how heat resistant is it? can it take that kind of heat, several cycles with out weakening the metal, or burning it out! Remember, most metals don't cycle heat very long before they fail!

Yes it is galvanized, the bottom is 20ga steel. I was planning on heating water to temp, then shutting off burners before hopping in. I was worried about it being too thin. I didn't think about the fumes from the galvanize burning off.

 

[arakboss]

Maybe the zinc fumes won't be a problem.

scr - well it's possible to generate zinc fumes over a campfire. But the big question is, will you generate zinc fumes over a campfire.



First, we need to understand what galvanized steel is. It's essentially steel or iron bathed in melted zinc which chemically bonds to the steel or iron to help prevent rust.



Second, we need to understand gasification. In order to put out any fumes (which is the gas state of matter), a solid like zinc has to first be turned to a liquid state, then has to be heated up enough to start the gasification process. Think ice to water to steam. Ice (solid) puts out no fumes. Left to melt to water (liquid), water, without being heated, puts out no fumes (steam - the gas state of water). Bring a pot to boiling and at some point, the water will start to put out fumes (steam), and usually before it reaches the boiling point.



The melting point of zinc is 787.24396 degrees Fahrenheit.



The boiling point of zinc is 1,664.6 degrees Fahrenheit.



At some point between those two temperatures, zinc will start to put out fumes (the gas form of zinc). We know that campfires can get to at least 800 degrees Fahrenheit - the melting point of lead - in the revolutionary war, people melted lead over campfires to make bullets. Depending on the wood used, campfires can reach about 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. Zinc falls well within that range. So, according to the science, yes, you could conceivably create zinc gas over an open campfire.



However, the zinc is chemically bonded to another metal - usually iron, and the melting point of iron is 2,750 degrees Fahrenheit. The question becomes, will you be able to heat the zinc enough to force it to lose it's chemical bonds with the iron? Probably not at the lower range of the temperatures needed to turn and keep zinc liquid, but potentially at the upper range of those temperatures, and even then, it's just as unlikely to melt as it is likely to melt. Aluminum melts at about 1,220 degrees Fahrenheit - if your fire won't melt aluminum, you're probably safe. If you're building fires that reach 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, then you might want to take a look at your fire building practices.



Of course this all assumes that you're putting the tub on the fire empty. As Gary mentions, there is an added element here - water in the tub. And water heats to boiling in the tub by absorbing the heat of the vessel its in, until it reaches its boiling point. Even after the water reaches its booiling point, the metal still isn't going to start increasing in temperature until all the water has turned to steam. So even if your fire is hot enough to cause zinc to melt, until the vessel no longer has water to push as much heat as possible in to, the zinc won't reach its melting point.



I'd say you're probably safe to boil your water in your galvanized tubs over an open flame but if it truly becomes an issue, then use your camp stoves. You can probably try to explain the science to those who are worried, but they won't listen because they've already been told that zinc fumes can be created and are dangerous. Of course, dollars to donuts they also take zinc tablets when trying to fight off a cold, but hey, why go there.

Source: https://www.scouter.com/topic/7353-boiling-galvanized-tubs/