How much power did they require? Would you be able to run this off a small solar grid?
Winter Greenhouse Heating Ideas
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Dan Freeman
Minister of Fire
I had it hooked up to a regular outlet. Not sure how much power it drew.
Since it is only used during periods of no sun, your small solar grid would have to be able to have battery storage.
Yeah, I remember he went out a ways, but he’s trying to grow citrus, lol. I imagine you could get by with a lot less if you only wanted to warm it enough to grow kale.
I imagine you could rent a mini excavator and do the digging yourself. We’d only have to dig 4 feet or so down here. Do they have trenchers that go down that far? That’d probably be faster as the trench only has to be wide enough to drop in hose.
Dan Freeman
Minister of Fire
He buried 7, 8" tubes, 8feet deep and 90 feet in length from what I can tell in the section where he talks about them.
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
Solar power and cheap thermal storage and good enough insulation.
Any green houses dug in to a south facing hill? A berm
This is what I would do adding appropriate thermal storage and solar panels for my location.
Any green houses dug in to a south facing hill? A berm
This is what I would do adding appropriate thermal storage and solar panels for my location.
How To Build an Earth-Sheltered Greenhouse – Mother Earth News
Step-by-step building instructions for a passive solar greenhouse.
www.motherearthnews.com
Dan Freeman
Minister of Fire
Dan Freeman
Minister of Fire
I just read online that Russ Finch's greenhouse (that greenhouse in Nebraska growing oranges with the extensive underground piping network mentioned above with video) collapsed under the estimated weight of 195,000 pounds of snow on the morning of December 15th, during a blizzard.
greenhouseinthesnow.com
Greenhouse in the Snow | Geothermal 4-Season Greenhouse | 1114 W 2nd St, Alliance, NE, USA
Greenhouse in the Snow manufactures geothermal, 4-season greenhouse kits as well as other 3-season greenhouse kits. We also manufacture many additional accessories to customize your greenhouse! Located in Alliance, NE. Made in the USA.
greenhouseinthesnow.com
With that weight, I'd collapse too!I just read online that Russ Finch's greenhouse (that greenhouse in Nebraska growing oranges with the extensive underground piping network mentioned above with video) collapsed under the estimated weight of 195,000 pounds of snow on the morning of December 15th, during a blizzard.
Greenhouse in the Snow | Geothermal 4-Season Greenhouse | 1114 W 2nd St, Alliance, NE, USA
Greenhouse in the Snow manufactures geothermal, 4-season greenhouse kits as well as other 3-season greenhouse kits. We also manufacture many additional accessories to customize your greenhouse! Located in Alliance, NE. Made in the USA.
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
Growing on up the plains I remember a blizzard so bad our 2 axel 8x8 tractors could not get through the drifts. To get my aunt to town a cat dozer was found and it could not push through some of it so it used the blade to to dig it out backwards.I just read online that Russ Finch's greenhouse (that greenhouse in Nebraska growing oranges with the extensive underground piping network mentioned above with video) collapsed under the estimated weight of 195,000 pounds of snow on the morning of December 15th, during a blizzard.
Greenhouse in the Snow | Geothermal 4-Season Greenhouse | 1114 W 2nd St, Alliance, NE, USA
Greenhouse in the Snow manufactures geothermal, 4-season greenhouse kits as well as other 3-season greenhouse kits. We also manufacture many additional accessories to customize your greenhouse! Located in Alliance, NE. Made in the USA.
I’d doesn’t take much now if you have 65 mph+ winds and NOTHING to slow them down for the one thing in its way to pile drifts 10 feet high.
That’s a shame. He must be 90 years old. That’s a literal dream crusher. He proved his theories in my mind.I just read online that Russ Finch's greenhouse (that greenhouse in Nebraska growing oranges with the extensive underground piping network mentioned above with video) collapsed under the estimated weight of 195,000 pounds of snow on the morning of December 15th, during a blizzard.
Greenhouse in the Snow | Geothermal 4-Season Greenhouse | 1114 W 2nd St, Alliance, NE, USA
Greenhouse in the Snow manufactures geothermal, 4-season greenhouse kits as well as other 3-season greenhouse kits. We also manufacture many additional accessories to customize your greenhouse! Located in Alliance, NE. Made in the USA.
A well-managed compost system can be used for winter greenhouse heat. There are a variety of methods to extract the heat from simple proximity to plumbed systems.
smallfarms.cornell.edu
www.gardeningknowhow.com
Compost Power! - Cornell Small Farms
Any farmer is well aware that a large heap of fresh manure, livestock bedding and other organic farm residuals will generate substantial heat for several
smallfarms.cornell.edu
Using Compost As A Heat Source: Can You Warm A Greenhouse With Compost
What if you could use compost as a heat source? Can you warm a greenhouse with compost, for instance? Yes, heating a greenhouse with compost is a possibility, and using compost in greenhouses as a heat source has been around awhile. Learn more here.
www.gardeningknowhow.com
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Dan Freeman
Minister of Fire
If you have loads of compost, this will work. You need a lot of compost to heat a greenhouse of any size other than a very small greenhouse, and you need a lot of material "in the wings" for when the pile of compost stops cooking and loses its temp.
Dan Freeman
Minister of Fire
Solar Greenhouse Design 101
Excellent video from Ceres Greenhouse. They also have some other good videos at https://www.youtube.com/@CeresGreenhouseSolutions
Excellent video from Ceres Greenhouse. They also have some other good videos at https://www.youtube.com/@CeresGreenhouseSolutions
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
Any one have pond or pool that doesn’t freeze solid? We don’t need tropical heat just enough for the really cold nights. We run the pool pump during the freezing weather. Stays about 50-55F.
Dan Freeman
Minister of Fire
Creative! How would you set that up?
I am planning a 425-gallon pond in my new greenhouse (my old, raised pond). If that is not enough, I will replace it with a 600-gallon pond that takes up the same footprint.
Here is a picture of my 425-gallon pond.
Dan Freeman
Minister of Fire
Drum Role please....
Today we made the purchase of the Hoklartherm Riga XL 6: 14'W x 19'L x 10'H. We decided to do it now while we could get it for $13,720 when most websites are selling it for the MSRP of $15,999 or more. Some are discounting 10% to $14,399, but we were able to save another $679+.
It will arrive in about 10 days. We will have to store it until after all our seedlings are transplanted outside this Spring, which means mid to late May. As mentioned before, then we can dismantle the old and build the new.
If you are not familiar with our old greenhouse, it is a Sunshine Greenhouse Mt Rainier Model 8x16 made from cedar and thin double-wall polycarbonate.
Now, there is no turning back.
![[Hearth.com] Winter Greenhouse Heating Ideas](https://www.hearth.com/talk/attachments/001-webp.308117/ "[Hearth.com] Winter Greenhouse Heating Ideas")
Today we made the purchase of the Hoklartherm Riga XL 6: 14'W x 19'L x 10'H. We decided to do it now while we could get it for $13,720 when most websites are selling it for the MSRP of $15,999 or more. Some are discounting 10% to $14,399, but we were able to save another $679+.
It will arrive in about 10 days. We will have to store it until after all our seedlings are transplanted outside this Spring, which means mid to late May. As mentioned before, then we can dismantle the old and build the new.
If you are not familiar with our old greenhouse, it is a Sunshine Greenhouse Mt Rainier Model 8x16 made from cedar and thin double-wall polycarbonate.
Now, there is no turning back.
Stove Cricket
Member
Maybe you could make a couple of cold frames out of old materials. Cold frames might come in handy sometime.
Dan Freeman
Minister of Fire
I was thinking of saving some of the panels for just that purpose.
Dan Freeman
Minister of Fire
Just got word that the greenhouse is shipping out of Texas today. The projected delivery date is next Tuesday, January 31.
Spent a good amount of time today researching Phase Change Material (PCM) and its use in the greenhouse. It takes up the least space of all thermal gain/heat sinks and holds more heat than water. I am looking more closely at it as a replacement to black barrels filled with water.
Phase change materials (PCMs) are substances which absorb or release large amounts of so-called 'latent' heat when they go through a change in their physical state, i.e. from solid to liquid and vice versa.
I remember reading about PCM a few years back, but it wasn't available to John Q. Public back then.
Here is a link that explains the technology: https://insolcorp.com/services/
Here is a link to the product: https://insolcorppcm.com/products/templok-pcm-tile
Each tile contains 400 BTU of thermal storage.
Spent a good amount of time today researching Phase Change Material (PCM) and its use in the greenhouse. It takes up the least space of all thermal gain/heat sinks and holds more heat than water. I am looking more closely at it as a replacement to black barrels filled with water.
Phase change materials (PCMs) are substances which absorb or release large amounts of so-called 'latent' heat when they go through a change in their physical state, i.e. from solid to liquid and vice versa.
I remember reading about PCM a few years back, but it wasn't available to John Q. Public back then.
Here is a link that explains the technology: https://insolcorp.com/services/
Here is a link to the product: https://insolcorppcm.com/products/templok-pcm-tile
Each tile contains 400 BTU of thermal storage.
Dan Freeman
Minister of Fire
I actually wrote the above post a few hours ago, but forgot to hit "Post Reply". I just came back and it was still here.
Well, anyway, in the past hour, I decided to go ahead and order a case of the phase change material to test in my present greenhouse. The box is 9 tiles for a total of 36 square feet. I took advantage of their 10% off, so the box cost $157.50 instead of $175. Using it for a while in my old greenhouse will help me decide if I want to order more tiles for my new greenhouse.
Well, anyway, in the past hour, I decided to go ahead and order a case of the phase change material to test in my present greenhouse. The box is 9 tiles for a total of 36 square feet. I took advantage of their 10% off, so the box cost $157.50 instead of $175. Using it for a while in my old greenhouse will help me decide if I want to order more tiles for my new greenhouse.
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
Dan Freeman
Minister of Fire
Stove Cricket
Member
When 100*C steam changes to 100*C condensate it gives up 2142 btu’s per 1000 g’s. …the original phase change energy transport material - unless the definition is expanded to include wood as an energy transport material with phase change to high temperature plasma, lol.
For comparison, do you know the mass of the 400 btu tiles? Couldn’t find the mass on the web page?
For comparison, do you know the mass of the 400 btu tiles? Couldn’t find the mass on the web page?
