Insulated Toilet Tank

[PrinceCaspian]

What does an "insulated tank" mean regarding toilets?

 

[Jadnashua]

They add insulation to the inside walls of the tank. This can be handy if you say have a deep well, and the incoming water is very cold. It can limit the condensation you might have on the tank. This isn't as much of a factor on newer toilets unless they are flushed repeatedly since they leave some (likely) room temp water in the tank, and the incoming cold gets warmed up. Plus, if it hasn't been flushed for awhile, the water sitting in the pipes may be moderately warm, and not below the dew point. If you have high humidity (no a/c or dehumidifier), cold water, flush frequently, then it may be an advantage. But, flushed frequently enough in high humidity with cold water, and the tank wall will still get cold and sweat.

Most of the time, it's not needed. May have been true on an old toilet that could have used 7-8 gallons, though, not so much on one that uses 1.6.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Gary Swart]

Insulted toilet tanks are intended to prevent condensation on the tanks. Condensation occurs when cold water refills the tank and the room temperature is high. This problem has been greatly reduced with the advent of low flow toilets. In "olden times", when toilets were flushed then entire contents of the tank was drained to make the flush. This meant that from 3 gallons to 7 gallons of fresh water was required to refill the tank. After the water that was in the supply pipe was purged of tempered water, the rest of the refill could be quite cold thus causing the tank sweat. To understand why this is not much of a problem now, you need to understand how low flow toilets work. The tank on low flow toilets actually hold about twice as much water as used in a single flush. This a design feature to provide a bit more pressure to the flush, but it also serves another function. Since the water in the tank will be tempered as it sits in the tank and only half of it will be used for a flush, and that only amounts to 1 to 1.6 gallons, the refill water water mixes with the remaining tank water which will begin the tempering process. Moreover, the refill water has been resting in the supply line and has already tempered somewhat. So, all in all, tank condensation is minimal at worst and nothing at best.