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Post by ieatflys on Sept 25, 2009 0:26:06 GMT
Hi all I am happy to announce that I am moving. well the house has a greenhouse on it. I am still planning on building a large terrarium but this requires some questions.
1. how to heat it the green house is approx 6' wide 10' long and -9 foot tall. would it be possible to use a large room space heater? Im only going to heat it from 75 to 90 degrees at the highest. and what would the cost of it be? [bill wise]
2. are there any ways to insilate it to retain heat?
thanks all these are the only questions that I have right now.
ieatflys
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Post by rsivertsen on Sept 25, 2009 1:42:35 GMT
Hi all I am happy to announce that I am moving. well the house has a greenhouse on it. I am still planning on building a large terrarium but this requires some questions. 1. how to heat it the green house is approx 6' wide 10' long and -9 foot tall. would it be possible to use a large room space heater? Im only going to heat it from 75 to 90 degrees at the highest. and what would the cost of it be? [bill wise] 2. are there any ways to insilate it to retain heat? thanks all these are the only questions that I have right now. ieatflys Whoa! Heating it to 90F during winter is crazy! All you really need to do is keep it warmer than 50F depending on the plants you have in there. You might want to wrap it with a few sheets of drop-cloth plastic just to seal off the air leaks first. One or more layers of bubble plastic is commonly used to insulate greenhouses; you can install it on the inside, or outside, whichever is easier. An electric space heater will drive up your electric bill big time, but an unvented propane heater will do just fine at a lower cost per BTU, same with a decent kerosene heater. Best is to use as many different heaters as you can just for back-up, in the event that one fails during a cold winter ice/snow storm in the middle of the night. Be prepared for "Murphy's Law" scenarios. - Rich
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Post by ieatflys on Sept 25, 2009 2:17:02 GMT
I want to grow nepenthes mainly in there so I guess I will heat it up to 85. I am going to look into propane heaters. do you guys have an estimate on how much a propane heater would cost. and If I do go with propane how will I hook up a back up heater?? also how would I insilate it with bubble wrap?
oh and thanks rsivertsen
ieatflys
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Post by rsivertsen on Sept 25, 2009 2:30:01 GMT
I want to grow nepenthes mainly in there so I guess I will heat it up to 85. I am going to look into propane heaters. do you guys have an estimate on how much a propane heater would cost. and If I do go with propane how will I hook up a back up heater?? also how would I insilate it with bubble wrap? oh and thanks rsivertsen ieatflys Check out Home Depot and Lowes; both have a wide assortment of heaters. You might have to get several tanks of portable propane heaters unless you can figure out how to connect them to a larger propane tank that might last a whole week or two. You don't need to keep the temps as high as 85F, most plants will get by just fine if you keep them from freezing to death! You can set the electric heater as a back up by setting the thermostat to about 50F, so that it will kick in when the temps drop that low. Some kerosene and propane heaters don't have thermostats, some do. Remember to get enough kerosene and propane tanks to last a few weeks at a time. Welcome to the world of growing Nepenthes in a temperate zone! - Rich
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Post by ieatflys on Sept 25, 2009 2:32:58 GMT
how long would 1 normal size propain heater cost? and is this cheeper and easier than eletric??
thanks ieatflys
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Post by rsivertsen on Sept 25, 2009 2:41:20 GMT
how long would 1 normal size propain heater cost? and is this cheeper and easier than eletric?? thanks ieatflys This all depends on your area; some utility companies are very reasonable, some are very costly. Some places experience power outages very often during midnight winter storms that may last several hours to days. In my experience, when I had to rely on 20 gal propane heaters to heat my greenhouse, when I had a power failure, they lasted less than 24 hours, and then I had to switch to kerosene, often at 3 AM sometimes when the low temp alarms went off. btw, get some alarms like these as well. - Rich
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Post by ieatflys on Sept 25, 2009 3:02:13 GMT
what do you use now? and I cant find this simple question out 20 gal propain tank is the kind you use on a barbecue pit correct.
thanks ieatflys
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Post by rsivertsen on Sept 25, 2009 3:45:01 GMT
what do you use now? and I cant find this simple question out 20 gal propain tank is the kind you use on a barbecue pit correct. thanks ieatflys Yep, I used to use those 20 gal propane tanks years ago, but now I have a dedicated line of propane going into the greenhouse where they supply those heaters during the cold winter months. - Rich
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Post by ieatflys on Sept 25, 2009 12:24:09 GMT
are there any regrets using them?
thanks ieatflys
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Post by justjack on Oct 7, 2009 3:01:38 GMT
For heat insulation I've read in GH books that tubs or barrels of water under grow benches will stay warmer than ambient air through the night. They essentially store the days warmth like batteries so to speak. Just a thought. I'm surprised not to here about it here.
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Post by ieatflys on Feb 10, 2010 2:53:41 GMT
well I was told I wasnt able to build it thats wwhy I havnt posted for a while. but now I am moving I am being told that I mey not be allowed to have plants in my room Well I brought up the idea of a greenhouse or plants in my room and thankfully its going t words green house. so I am thinking since it is going to be a small walk in green house I may be able to get a small space heater. [the ones that are normally lining the floor there long and skinny] so my questions are-
1. shape. should I go with one of the arch shaped ones or a glass boxy one?
2. suggestions or electric heaters.
3.not a question but I am going to go with the water barrel idea I see how it works already.
4.how to build the greenhouse and where to find supplys.
thanks ieatflys
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Post by unstuckintime on Feb 11, 2010 18:41:48 GMT
For heat insulation I've read in GH books that tubs or barrels of water under grow benches will stay warmer than ambient air through the night. They essentially store the days warmth like batteries so to speak. Just a thought. I'm surprised not to here about it here. I have used a system similar to this one. Take some 2 liter soda bottles, enjoy the soda, remove the labels and fill them with water. Next, add a bunch of food coloring and try to make the water as dark as possible, the darker the better. Put them out and around your plants where they will get hit by the sun. Due to the high specific heat of water, they will be able to hold a lot of heat energy, and the dark color helps absorb the sun's energy. Thermodynamics 101 aside, the water bottles will re-emit the energy during the night. I did this when I started using the cold-frames outside for vegetable seedlings. Get a bunch of them, though, and it will certainly help, especially if placed near those low-landers who will like the extra heat at night. They'd be perfect for making little micro-climates in your greenroom.
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Post by ieatflys on Feb 11, 2010 22:49:12 GMT
ok thanks. I will start collecting them.
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