Heating

This was even cheaper Gogs!...Donated by the head of the In-laws coven :D

 

:D :D

 

:( Reckon I'll have to take Mrs Pals purse to Focus for that Marley....... :D

 

I was lucky today, I lined the greenhouse with bubble wrap (got a roll from Staples). Tried the paraffin heater but the smell was awful, so I got the fan heater out, then found I hadn't got a lead long enough (needs 25metres). I then remembered that ALDI's had some 50m Reels of heavy extension cable at �£15.99 so dashed off to get one, I got the last one.

 

I got the bubble wrap yesterday Marley. My brother is closing his Garden Machinery Centre at Batsford and I had one or two bargains..30 metres of Wrap and six dozen fixing clips,the compost turner,a water butt drainpipe diverter,Knee pads,A 4' wide 'Jempshade' greenhouse roller shade,a couple of spark plugs and soft leather gloves for Mrs Pal....all for the princely sum of �£24

 

Boy you do get the bargains Nick!!!! good for you

 

Anyone use LPG (propane) I ask because I am erecting a lean-to greenhouse and with it I have purchased a propane heater. comments anyone please.

 

Hi MF
The one I have is the Bio Green 1.9 propane heater I hope, weather permitting, to have the green house up and the heater on by the end of the Month. A friend of mine who is a builder was to lay a brick base today, but, guess what! its started to rain; just for a change!!.
I used parafin years ago, it was easy to get then, now calor deliver to your door and with two cylinders and a change over valve I should have a continous supply.

 

Fed up with the vagaries of the frost guard setting on fan heaters as they get old, >2years, I finally got it together and designed and built an electronic thermostat. The MK1 is working well and is keeping the little greenhouse between 3.3C and 4.8C, even when it has been -4.5C outside. The consumption has not been as high as last year, due to extra bubble wrap over the roof.
The MK2 will incorporate the timer for the extractor fan and an overtemperature switch for the fan as well. But that will have to wait.
Being something of a nomad, the greenhouse has to look after itself for at least a fortnight at a time. Fortunately watering is not a problem in the winter.
Nik

 

Well done Nik. I installed some heating for the first time this year in my summerhouse, where I am overwintering some half-hardy plants. I started off with a plug in thermostat which overrides the one on the fan heater. I assume the one in the heater is a bimetallic strip, which is not very good at the best of times. I also got a power consumption meter.

On several ocasions it has been down to -7C and -8C outside. So I am pleased that my set up has only used 9KWH so for to keep the inside fractionally above freezing. It is a wooden summerhouse, 10' by 8', with bubble wrap so it will use less heat than a greenhouse of the same size.

As I see it, the great thing about electrical heating is the control that you can have. Whilst electricity must be a lot more expensive than paraffin for the same amount of heat, with a good thermostat you use absolutely no more than you need. And as you say Nik you can go away and leave it.

Just one word of caution. You have to be careful where you measure the temperature. I have two thermometers outside in differant positions, both away from the house. They can record up to 5C differance in the minimum temperature - and I am happy that this is genuine. The same problem applies inside. The lower the position of the thermometer, the lower the temperature it might record.