How to heat the greenhouse?

[Tori]

Hi, before I go shopping I'd like some advice!

How shall I heat my 6 by 8 greenhouse? It's at the bottom of the garden, no electric nearby.

I currently have peppers and chillis in there.

Any ideas?

Thanks

[mrdinkle]

I use a parasene paraffin heater myself and find this is perfectly adequate, though what size you get will depend upon your greenhouse size:

Heaters

I don't know how these prices compare to other places - so worth having a shop about.

Also, remember you need paraffin (I get mine from B&Q as it is the only supplier I can find locally).

hth

[HotStuff]

mrdinkle, do you insulate your greenhouse with bubblewrap or something or do you find the paraffin heater enough? Do you leave it on all the time thru the winter or just overnight?

[nick the grief]

not sure about Norfolk heaters but they look suspiciously like Parasene heaters and this one will heat your 8x6

https://www.parasene.com/vshop/details.asp?prodID=207

Trouble is you'll need to fill it up after 3 days ( don't leave it for 3.5 days cos sods law says it will fail in the middle of the night in the worst frost of the year !) and you'll have to trim the wick every day anyway other wise you end up with soot on the inside of the glass and all over the plants!!

So I guess it will cost you £12 per week to run it.

[vicky]

If you have space in a porch/leanto/windowsill it might be cheaper to bring them in? Otherwise insulate with bubblewrap and even fleece the plants and use a parafin heater

[Gwyndy]

I used to use a paraffin heater until I put an electricity supply to the greenhouse. Paraffin was fine but it does produce a lot of moisture as it burns. Make sure that you ventilate the greenhouse during the daytime so you don't start to get mould, fungus, etc.

As others have said, make sure that you insulate the greenhouse as much as possible to keep the costs down.

[DaveC]

Do i only use the parafin heater at night if i know the temperature is going to drop below 0?

[Snadger]

Do i only use the parafin heater at night if i know the temperature is going to drop below 0?

Depends what you're trying to grow really?

I tend to use my small heater to heat a super insulated area within the greenhouse because it's pointless wasting heat on the whole greenhouse if you don't need it!

[Alison]

If you simply heat a greenhouse then you will lose a lot of the heat straight through the glass. I always insulate well with polystyrene at the bottome and bubble wrap up the sides and then the temperature rarely gets below freezing in the shettler spot where my house is sited. I try to use the heater as little as possible as I think it's rather wasteful. I bring very tender stuff inside and would never dream of heating to keep peppers etc alive all winter - just aim for frost free.

[pigletwillie]

Perhaps a windowsill in the house would be a better option for a few plants as it will be frost free (hopefully) and you will have no need to heat the greenhouse at all.

I used to use parafin, then gas and now use an electric fan heater as the moisture from the other two used to cause major mould issues as of course by insulating you stop the ventilation required to let the water vapour escape.

[DaveC]

I use a paraffin similar to this....https://www.parasene.com/vshop/details.asp?prodID=207 except mine has twin paraffin chambers. I took the advice of I think Snadger and only insulated part of my greenhouse with ordinary bubble wrap by creating an area under my wooden staging. Last week the temperature was between 0 and -2 up here in south yorkshire and the temperature inside my greenhouse stayed at around 6 degrees. Alot of moisture is generated but nothing opening the windows the following morning wont sort out.

All of this info is based on what I have read in the forums here and works well for me

An extremely useful forum

Thankyou

DaveC

[gettingrowin]

I'm new to all this myself and had been wondering the same sort of thing. Haven't tried it, but a friend suggested putting a heap of manure in the green house for a bit of free heat coming off it over winter, and then take it out for compost for the garden in the spring. (and keep pegs by the door for the nose I suppose). Has anyone here tried that?

[bluemoon]

I used to use a paraffin heater, but frankly the cost was extortionate, the fuel came in non-eco friendly plastic tubs and I was generating greenhouse gases (in every sense of the word) at an alarming rate. Now I germinate indoors then take the seedlings outside once they reach the point where they're bending towards the light. The greenhouse is well insulated and when a frost is forecast I chuck a fleece over the top of anything vulnerable.

[FionaH]

[QUOTE=gettingrowin;306699]Haven't tried it, but a friend suggested putting a heap of manure in the green house for a bit of free heat coming off it over winter, QUOTE]
I would need a much bigger greenhouse than I've got!

[gettingrowin]

Yes - that was pretty much my response too! : )