heating a greenhouse

[j r hilton]

I may have to stop using the spare bedroom for bringing on my plants over the winter which has been very siccessfull. Could anyone advise me on the size of parafin heater required and approx cost to heat a 6 x 8ft grenhouse for the winter.

[nick the grief]

Does it have to be parafin JRH?

The only trouble with this is that you can't regulate the heat , if the sun come out (remember the Sun, big yellow disc in the sky talk about by the old people ) the temp will climb and if your not around it will mean the greenhouse will get too warm.

A better choice ( assuming electricity is out) would be a propane heater ( cost around £100 + your gas bottle) as this will have a thermostat on. If your really flash you have two bottles and an auto change over valve so the heat never goes out in the middle of the coldest night.

If it has to be parafin then something like a Parasene super warm 4 cost around £30 to buy and run on a gallon/week so what ever you have to pay for this ( around £6?)

Hope that helps

[Two_Sheds]

My first thought would be - do you need to heat the greenhouse at all?

what are you growing in it? Or intending to grow?

We don't heat our greenhouse at all, ever. We use it to start off all our veg, beginning in Jan/Feb with onions and sweetpeas.

[j r hilton]

I intend to grow tomatoes ,peppers , cougettes, veg and flowers etc for earlier crops next year. It does not have to be parafin and could be propane. I just dont want to lose any to frost.

[tootles]

I'm going for a hotbed next spring (fresh manure which produces it's own heat). It has been suggested that there may be a condensation problem, but I'll give it a go anyway...

[Snadger]

What a lot of people do, including myself is heat a portion of the greenhouse. If you curtain off a bench with polythene and only heat that area, you can use the rest of the greenhouse as a means of hardening off the plants coming from the heated area. If using paraffin you could site the heater under the bench similar to a soil warming cable.
Don't buy paraffin from the likes of B&Q or you'll pay a fortune! I go to my local allotment association shop and it works out at half the price in high street DIY shops!

Large bubblewrap insulation can keep your heating bills down but it does come at a cost.............loss of light during an already light defficient period!

I also have a woodburning stove in mine but only light it when I'm pottering about in the greenhouse. It makes life in the depths of winter a damm site more comfortable!

[Kristen]

Electricity would be best, particularly if you have Economy-7 - but only if you can get a cable to the greenhouse easily. Cost of an armoured cable is not cheap

My second choice would be gas bottle

And last paraffin - apart from lack of thermostat parrafin generates a lot of moisture

[j r hilton]

thanks for all your replies. Its given me a lot to consider.

[Two_Sheds]

I intend to grow tomatoes ,peppers , cougettes, veg and flowers

I grow all of those, in an unheated greenhouse. I start anything really tender off in an electric propagator (size of a laptop).
Tomatoes & chillies I would start off early, but courgettes can wait until April. No need for heat at all.

[SarzWix]

I grow all of those, in an unheated greenhouse. I start anything really tender off in an electric propagator (size of a laptop).
Tomatoes & chillies I would start off early, but courgettes can wait until April. No need for heat at all.

You are a few miles further south though TS, it makes a difference up here to have a bit of heat - we still get frosts in early June

I have a gas heater (just bought early this year) which made a huge difference to my tomatoes! I didn't put them out until April, so had about 6 weeks of using the heater which cost about £20 in gas.

[Stacey Steve]

We get free chippings on our site. In my greenhouse, I fill up the whole area under the staging with this, which if you push your hand into, you can feel the heat being generated. Doesn't produce loads of heat you understand but according to my max min themometer it's never gone below zero, although the outdoor probe has recorded as well below (mind you I suppose that would record any wind chill factor as well).

[nick the grief]

... (mind you I suppose that would record any wind chill factor as well).

Wind chill only affects things that generate their own hear ( bit like you and me) so the temerature you record should be accurate

[Stacey Steve]

When I remember seeing weather stations, the sides were louvered to stop the wind going directly onto the themometers or so I thought. Learn something new all the time on this place. Thanks Nick

[Adrastea]

Does it have to be parafin JRH?

The only trouble with this is that you can't regulate the heat , if the sun come out (remember the Sun, big yellow disc in the sky talk about by the old people ) the temp will climb and if your not around it will mean the greenhouse will get too warm.

A better choice ( assuming electricity is out) would be a propane heater ( cost around £100 + your gas bottle) as this will have a thermostat on. If your really flash you have two bottles and an auto change over valve so the heat never goes out in the middle of the coldest night.

If it has to be parafin then something like a Parasene super warm 4 cost around £30 to buy and run on a gallon/week so what ever you have to pay for this ( around £6?)

Hope that helps

Does anyone know the best and cheapest place to buy a propane heater and the gas bottles and auto valve?? I live in Leeds, West Yorkshire and I have some mediterranean plants I'd like to protect without adding to the moisture problem caused by using paraffin