GreenHouse heaters

Hi all

Now its coming towards them cold winter months im thinking i should be considering something to keep my greenhouse rather warm, what do you guys think of this product,HERE
I have looked about and worked out that with the opening discount i get for purchasing with them i can get this heater cheaper than anyone else. do you think this heater will be sufficient enough?

Thanks in advance

 

Hi Seanster and welcome to the forum.

I notice that you only joined today and that your first post is in relation to a commercial product.

If you want us to believe that you are a keen gardener, you should tell us what plants you are growing, and why you need to overwinter them in a greenhouse rather than a cold frame. The sort of heater you will need also depends on the size of the greenhouse and what minimum temperature you will require.

 

I'd be rather sceptical of that product. There are no user reviews, there is no indication of how efficient it is regarding output v gas consumption. You've not given any indication of the size of GH you are proposing to heat and what degree of heat you require and what specific plants you wish to keep 'rather warm'.

 

One ---No address shown anyware that I can see, point one never have anything to do with any site if there is no address!

Two -- GREAT BRITISH POUND ????

Three -- CATALOG, what British company spells it like that ???

It looks dodgy to me!

 

The only uk company i could find with a similar name dissolved in 2008. It seems to fit the bill.." Retail sale via mail order houses"
Maybe email them to ask for their address so you can pay by cheque and see what they say to that

http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/267f41c7e3f4e6499e1a3708f0fc8c0a/compdetails

 

Having set up my first greenhouse I have bought a propane gas heater and have had it running for 4 days now. It is the one in question on this thread. A Lifetstyle 1.9kw.

I am using it in a 8x6 greenhouse and it has performed well or so I think. One problem, and that is my reason for searching on here, is that the thermostat seems to be working over the prescribed setting. Earlier tonight I had it set on 8c and on checking at about 8pm it was running on a full burner and the temp was at 11c. the setting knob has graduated markings of 4, 8, 12, 14c etc up to 26 but should it be running at the above temp when set at 8c.

This morning the minimum overnight temp in there was 8.4c so it is working but tonight it is also using unnecessary gas.

Looking at some of the comments in the earlier part of the thread this heater is sold at various outlets and also by several on ebay. My one was purchased from The Greenhouse People and they had 2 reviews which were favourable. However the instructions are very basic.

harryb

 

It wouldn't surprise me if the thermostat was not very accurate.

Where is your thermometer? If higher than the heater it might be that it was recording the warm air rising, whereas the lower air at heater-level was colder?

 

The heater in question by the OP is a lifestyle 1.9kw.

I have found out it is soild in various outlets both on the net and from greenhouse sales sites.

The company is Lifetstyle Appliances from Redditch and can be found here. www.lifestyleappliances.co.uk. I have made contact with them today and have spoken to their technical department about my thermostat problem. They seemed very effficent and informative. They gave me advice on the thermostat and how to overcome my problem and then backed it up with an email.

Tonight it seems to be behaving as I would expect.

harryb

 

Can you tell us what they suggested you do different? Might be helpful for other folk reading this thread

 

The thermostat sensor lies horizontally at the base of the fire on the outside of the cabinet. As the majority of the heat comes out of the top of the cabinet and then rises the upper part of the greenhouse gets hotter than that nearer to ground level, where the sensor is. Consequently the sensor detects a lower heat and therefore keeps the burner lit. As my thermometer is nearer the top of the greenhouse it shows the temperature there. The outcome is me thinking the heater has not cut out so the thermostat is not working correctly. Not so. The temperature near ground level is a lot lower.

The remedy: to either raise the heater off the floor so the thermostat does not detect a cold strike from below, my floor is paving slabs, or unscrew the sensor and lift to it an area nearer to the height of the greenhouse. The connection from the thermostat to the sensor is via very small copper tube which is coiled up underneath the heater so there is plenty of slack to pull through to heighten the sensor.

Last night I raised the heater approx 9" from the floor on a stand and place some thin rubber matting on the stand to give an insulating effect. I then raised the sensor and secured it to underneath the staging where it was safe but be careful if you need to move the heater. Finally I lowered the thermometer to the staging level.

The thermostat control knob is manual and not digital therefore it is not 100% accurate to the calibration settings that or etched on it. I was told the setting could be +/- 2c so it's a little bit trial and error to get it right. After setting the thermostat to 8c last night the minimum this morning was showing 6.8c so tonight I will raise the setting slightly.

The gas draw off when the burner is lit is .136kg per/hr so not bad

Hope all this makes sense.

harryb

 

When I bought my 'Firtree' propane gas greenhouse heater, I pondered over whether to buy the manual or thermostatically controlled model.

I opted for the manual one because:

1) It was cheaper.

2) I envisaged a situation similar to that described above, where the heater sitting on the slabbed floor would detect a lower temperature than on the staging above and would increase the rate of burn causing my auto-vents to open the top windows releasing the unnecessarily hot air and causing cold air to be sucked in around the sliding door to be heated up and exit through those open windows. A vicious and expensive circle.

As I already have two greenhouse thermometers, at both staging and eye level, the thought of another at floor level and trying to work out the temperature differentials and adjusting the heater thermostat to compensate seemed like too much faffing about for me.

 

Very helpful harryb, thanks.