Wood Fired Hot Tub Renovation — No Leak Liner

With better weather for working outside, tub on the way to WildSnow Workshop.

With a diameter of 64″ this 550 gallon HDPE water tank should fit nicely inside our wood fired hot tub. What could be better than a bathtub made from Ptex? The used wood tub we bought was ruined for self sealing because it had sat outside for several years unprotected from the weather, resulting in a lot of cracking and warping. Since we have to haul water to the tiny house at WildSnow Field HQ, we need a tub with zero leakage.

Snowmobile is so handy. Here it steadies the tank for cutting. Working with HDPE is almost like cutting wood, though you do have to be careful of cutting tools getting hot and melting the plastic. A light spray with water before you begin can help. We found cutting the top off the tank to be easier than expected. Carrying the floppy thing afterwards, however, was a challenge. We ended up making two handles with long strips of duct tape, yet another use for the Swiss Army Knife on a roll.

Measure and cut, or cut and measure.

Sawzall makes the hole for the tank (now a wood hot tub liner) drain.

Vacuum up layers of caked dirt before inserting tank.

Lou loosened the rings and we took out half the boards, then slid and lowered the tank-liner into place. They do make liners for these wood fired hot tubs, but they’re fragile vinyl. Making this liner cost slightly more but it’s beefy HDPE that should hold up to storage in cold temperatures and other backcountry abuses.

Perfect fit!

Eventually Lou may craft a wooden rim. In the meantime, we’ll use decommissioned urethane fire hose.

Lou adds a heat shield in hopes the stove won’t melt the tub liner. Turns out this is merely unnecessary but probably better to have than not. When the snorkel stove is fired up and the hot tub is filled to the proper level, most heat is absorbed by the water.

We back up the trailer into our yard to fill the tank for testing. Note our new sewer line project in the background. The backhoe operator had a time. Repair hot tub project wins over repair landscaping project. All we need now is a car up on blocks to complete our transition to another lifestyle. Does having a Jeep parked in the yard count?

After slaving away in the hot sun, Lou’s spirit gets lifted with a new tool — monster “weed burner” torch attachment for propane tank. Very necessary to start fire in wood fired hot tub snorkel stove. Not necessary to start the remnants of our lawn on fire, as is happening in this photo. To quote His Blogness: “Say hello to my little friend, best tool I’ve bought all year!”