It has really been hard for us, particularly in summer but in winter as well, to use the water from the water tank installed on the roof. The water tank is made of fiberglass and the water stored inside turns so hot at noon in the summer season that it is hard to touch.

The temperature in my area during the summer reaches 47 degrees Celsius or 116 degrees Fahrenheit. We used to fill the tank in the morning and by noon it became too hot to touch. One way to deal with that was to drain the hot water in the evening and fill it again with fresh water. However, this wasted much water. During winter, the temperature reached 0 degrees in December and January and we had to face the same problem.

We don’t drain the water in winter but excessive use of the water heater is common at that time. The water stored in the tank reaches 4-5 degrees Celsius during the night. Kids are always reluctant to take a shower in the morning before going to school. I searched a lot on the internet to find some solution to the problem but couldn’t find something practical.

Last week, I met a friend who is an M.Sc. in chemistry and discussed the matter with him. He mentioned a simple procedure about how to keep water tanks cool in summer. It is very simple to do and is as economical as it is effective. I am sure many can benefit from this information.

Tools You’ll Need

The solution was so simple that I didn’t believe it when I first heard it, but it really did wonders for us after we applied it. Here is a simple explanation of the solution to controlling your water tank temperature.

The materials required are not too many. It only requires:

• 3-4 kilograms of finely powdered calcium carbonate
• 2 kilograms of white glue
• A 4-inch paintbrush
• A plastic bucket

This material is enough to cover a 200-gallon water tank. You can increase or decrease the quantity based on the size of your tank. All these materials can be purchased from a paint or building material shop, and they are relatively inexpensive.

Step-By-Step Procedure

The procedure is very simple.

1. Take a plastic container like a bucket, and add about 3 kilograms of calcium carbonate powder to it.
2. Add some water and stir continuously to make a uniform paste. Lumps will begin developing at the start, but with constant stirring, a fine paste will be prepared. You can use a stick to stir the paste.
3. When a homogeneous paste is ready, add about 1.5 kilograms of glue to it and stir again. It will take about 5 minutes to get the paste ready.
4. Carry this bucket with the paintbrush to where the water tank is installed. Paint a thin layer of this paste all over the tank. You need to make sure all sides of the tank are covered with this paste. Please pay attention to the corners, bottom, and where the pipes are attached. These sections will be a bit difficult but could be done with a little effort. It took me about half an hour to cover the whole tank.
5. Once you are all done with the tank, watch closely how many parts of the water pipe coming to and going from the tank are open to sunlight. You need to add a layer of this paste to these parts of the pipes as well. If you don’t do this, the cooling factor would be affected, as the water will get hot while passing through these pipes. This way you can cover the 200-gallon water tank with about 4 kg of the powder and about 1.5 kg of the white glue.
6. Let the things cool down. Preferably, perform this activity in the morning so that the paste can dry through the day in sunlight. Fill the tank with water as you will normally do and you will be amazed to see the results. I filled the tank with water in the morning when the water was pleasantly cold. Until about 2 pm, there was no change in water temperature. It was the same thing in the morning. This was really good news for us. By 5 pm, the water temperature increased by about 2-3 degrees. On the day when I did this assignment, the maximum day temperature at noon was 42 degrees.
7. The next day, mix the remaining material (i.e., about 1 kg of the calcium carbonate powder) and about 500 grams of white glue, in the same way as before. Reach out to the water tank on the roof and look for any spaces left yesterday or created after the white layer was dried. Fill out all those same spaces with the paste, and that’s all, you are done.

I am hopeful the results will also be encouraging in winter. I did some research on calcium carbonate and came to know that, in addition to many other uses, it also works as an insulating agent. This simple, short, economical, and effective procedure has really gone well for us.