Hi, We have just moved house and the garden has a greenhouse, which I've never had before. There seems to be some kind of heating system installed consisting of a metal box (with chimney) outside the greenhouse and two metal pipes coming out of it and running around the inside of the greenhouse. Could someone let me know what it is and how it works? Many thanks Tom.
Hi Tom, and welcome to GC It strikes me as though it is some sort of log burner with a back boiler attached to it, which then presumably circulates the warmed fluid around the pipes inside the greenhouse to give off heat; I haven't ever seen something like this though, so cannot give you a definite answer. Maybe someone like @Zigs or @ARMANDII will have seen one before, or will know who might be able to answer for you. I think I want one though......
Thanks all. I've just been out and opened up the hatch and its full of compost, bricks and wood and clearly not been used in a while. If it does indeed heat up water....where is the water tank, or is the water sealed in the pipes?
I suspect it will be toward the back, behind the firebox and below the flue, and I'd imagine that it would be all but a sealed system (maybe with the option to top up). Certainly worth giving it a good check over before use.
Yep, I agree with Ziggy as to what it is. It looks like a warm air heater rather than a water heater. Still it's unusual for Green Houses these days. It would lead one to think the previous owner might have kept a few exotic plants in there. How big is the Green House, Tom??
Hallo Tom, glad you've joined and made us all envious already! I'm sure you'll put it to good use - look forward to an update sometime. to Gardeners Corner, Jenny namaste
I need to measure the greenhouse but it looks to be about 8x6. I checked the piping and there appears to be a chimney at the other end of those pipes in the actual greenhouse which could indicate air rather than water.
Then you've got a real find there, Tom, as that confirms my suspicions about exotic plants being kept in the Green House. The previous owner went to a lot of trouble to install not just a heater [normally a parafin or electric] but a solid fuel heater along with the pipes to carry the warm air. Also such heaters are normally installed in larger Green Houses rather in an 8' X 6. So it points to a really keen specialist
My only negative point is that the boiler is outside the greenhouse (not that you would necessarily want the fire inside the greenhouse) and all the "waste heat" from the boiler itself getting hot is going to be wasted. If you have plentiful fuel then probably not a problem. Very small firebox too - not sure how long that will run, without you having to trog outside at 2am to chuck some more logs / coke on? Its not a rocket stove is it? (I don't have much knowledge of them, and I think they have "horizontal" fire chambers??, just wondering about the pipes inside the greenhouse and whether they actually carry the "fire" along them, in which case maybe there is only minimal waste heat outside??)
