Southern-Grower

for those of you that are like me, short of $$'s.

here's a way to heat your greenhouse without spending a arm and all your legs.LOL

i bought this squirrel cage blower from mike couple years ago..
built the box that my 2 20.00 walmart heaters blow into .

believe it or not in gh last year with 2 layers of 6 mil poly gh never fell below 40. 20 x 12 x 13'

below is where i bought 2 thermostats from and still work..
http://kkontrols.com/

so all said and done 122.00 for my Hi Tech heating for my home built gh..

oh btw i paid a dollar a board for my 2x4's found a apt complex they were refurbishing, bought 30 boards..
my nephew found 35 5 1/2 x 5 8' long boards for free and 3 trips i had them all at our house..

but yu know the plants know no difference between a 2k $ greenhouse and my 200.$ gh.. they all grow just the same..* with proper care & heat

__________________
Happy Growing,

SG

Enjoy Life as it's too Short

Casa Del Gatos

SG,

Man you really McGuyvered that one, LOL! I agree, if it works - who cares what it looks like. This ain't no beauty contest ... well, except for the plants themselves of course!

momoese

How much is your heating bill is per winter?

Southern-Grower

LOL yup yur right casa.. now yur showing yur age..
gotta do something.. wanta keep my better half around for a long time.


momoese: seems like it was a additional 100.-125. for dec. jan. & feb..
i have the thermostats set on 40, so i'm trying to keep it just above freezing,,

but with what i have in there it culd really go to 32 with no problems.

couple years ago it wuld got to 27 with no issuses, except sdc.
the dwarf orinocos didn't mind it they came thru just fine to fruit that following nov. ..

__________________
Happy Growing,

SG

Enjoy Life as it's too Short

Casa Del Gatos

Dang, I'm probably working too hard. I've got mine keeping at about 55. Course that's the dome greenhouse with a 1500W heater. But I don't just want them to survive the winter ... I want growth too!

BobbyinNY

I have a small baseboard heater and my greenhouse stays at 75-80f/day and 65f/night - but our outside temps haven't dropped below 40f at night yet..

Southern-Grower

bobby,

40ish, when it's 10-15 degrees outside..

i was getting about a 10-15 degree difference from outside temps, single poly skin.
using the double poly method it became more stable..
my boards allow a 5 1/2" barrier between sheets of poly, which helps a bunch..

__________________
Happy Growing,

SG

Enjoy Life as it's too Short

JoeReal

How long does your Poly last?

Major problem for us is the occassional strong winds.

BobbyinNY

Joe,

We've had some pretty serious winds (40-50mph) so far this year and it's held up perfectly. It all has to do with how well you tie it down - but then again, I have it on the south-side of my house with the north wind being blocked.

Southern-Grower

joe,

it'll last one winter season, with heat it dry rots..

i re-skin each year..
if i buy poly during summer it's cheaper than waiting till cold comes in..

gees, they put up brand new prices as soon as they call for cold around here..LOL

__________________
Happy Growing,

SG

Enjoy Life as it's too Short

Bananavilla

Southerngrower, the Super Poly is 7 year isn't it? If you were to do the whole greenhouse as you did your roof, you'd be set for many years.
JoeReal, Super Poly is woven and will not come apart in strong winds or rip if it gets a hole.
Southerngrower uses cheap stuff on the sides so it can be removed in the summer for ventilation without fans.
Mike

JoeReal

Thanks for the input guys.

What about the clear polycarbonate corrugated sheet sold at Home Depot? It has also corrugated foam to seal in the gaps when placed against the supporting frames.

Bananavilla

Joe, I think the corrugated panels are nice but they can get real expensive. I'm trying to remember the name of the company that makes the ones at Home Depot. They are online, Tuf Something.

Anyways, Check out this Super Poly. Pretty amazing stuff
http://www.gardendome.com/greenhouse...poly_tarp.html

Or there are some places online to get the double walled poly panels for a decent price.
I think a wood frame with single wall on both the inside and outside with a nice air gap between is the best setup. If I had the room I would build a monster size greenhouse and have an indoor jungle!!
Mike

Divegod

Guys, can I ask a really dumb question? Okay, well then I will. Im about to purchase the thermostat for my greenhouse. I like the price on the kkontrols unit. The website claims it powers both A/C and heaters. Here in AZ that is a must, as A/C is mandatory in the summer, and heating strongly advisable in the winter. How will the thermostat know when to switch on? In the summer, I want the unit to power up when the temp is ABOVE a certain temp, and in the winter, when the temp falls BELOW the set temp. I know Im missing something super basic here, but can you guys advise what the heck it is that Im missing?
Thanks,
Diver

Bananavilla

Are you sure it claims to do both? It must have a switch or 2 seperate outlets. One to hook a heater to and one to hook an a/c unit to.
Make sure to pay carefull attention to the load ratings on the thermostats as well.
Are you planning on using some sort of actual air conditioner or a swamp cooler/cooling pad setup?

Ok, took a look at the kkontrols setup. You will either have a heater or an air conditioner hooked up at one time. Not both. Not sure if it is hard wire connections or not but you will have to physically change which unit is wired up.

Mike

Southern-Grower

yupper mike that's it..

i remember reading that you move the two wires inside..

super poly yupper, but it's too hot here and i'm not going to run air conditioners too..

__________________
Happy Growing,

SG

Enjoy Life as it's too Short

JoeReal

Mike, thanks.


How about using a heat pump for your greenhouse? It serves both as a heater and air conditioner with very good efficiency. I got a quote of $2,000 for a 1 ton capacity for a 24'L x 13'W x 12'H structure, installation and permits included. Of course very pricey. It comes with built-in thermostat.

Southern-Grower

ole lordy

my wife wuld have me living in it and paying rent..

it's cool just like it is..!!!

well maybe if i ever win the lottery..

__________________
Happy Growing,

SG

Enjoy Life as it's too Short

Divegod

Yeah, it claims to do both. Okay, so maybe switch around wires inside, Im okay with that. And, generally, only one type of unit will be hooked up at a time. It rarely gets both too hot during the day and too cold during the nights here. And, Ive got vents for the time of year when that might happen. That and a strong fan....
I got an email from kkontrols this a.m. You were correct. Moving a wire is all that is needed.
Im going to be using a mastercool portable evaporative cooler in the grnhouse during summer, only need a very small heater during the coldest part of our winter, so this looks like the unit for me. Im well within the load range, as the evap cooler simply runs a large sqirrel cage blower and small water pump, no compressor to turn, so the amperage rating is a-ok for my application.
Whew, that saves me big $$$!
Diver

shopgirl2

what about plans and pictures of how you made your greenhouse with poly?
I am very much interested in that.

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Orinoco by the sunlight.