Heating and Venting HFGH

18 years ago

We got our HFGH this spring and got it all assembled. This fall we will move our cymbidiums in. We are in Solvang, CA where winters get down to @26 F maybe 10 nights a year but then during the day it will be in the 70's.

Any recommendations on a little heater and louvers and fan setups? I have been looking at FarmTek and ACF Greenhouses. The ACF setup at @ $359 (fan, motorized louvers, thermostat) looks like a good setup but seems like overkill for the little greenhouse. Any other suggestions - or just bite the bullet? (Hey, with all that ventilation maybe I'll have to get another HFGH and connect them!)

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Comments (15)

Vamptoo
18 years ago
Steve,

I couldn't say if this is the best set up or not but I have an electric baseboard heater in mine. When I put the clear solar pool cover on top it keeps it at 55 degrees easily enough. My DH said it raised the electric bill between $30-50 a month with the $50 being the very coldest month of Jan. He wired the baseboard heater to a thermostat. I am set up under very large decidious trees so in the summer I have only had to open the door and window and put a small oscillating fan in there to keep the temps under 80 degrees.

Now on to the fun part. I currently have my second HFGH sitting in the garage waiting for the area to be prepped. (The redtips are cut back but the poison ivy killer is doing its thing this week.) It will be connected to the first one back to back. That puts a vent on each side of the roof and doors on each end to open in the summer to create a breeze/ventilation. One half will be for my germinated seeds and the other half will be for my wintering over of plants. Hopefully enough room for a small chair so I can visit my plants on a regular basis. LOL

There are others on this board that have some great ideas too. I'm sure they will check in with their thoughts. We're a nice bunch here.

Cindy
kudzu9
18 years ago
I would worry a little bit about having an electric baseboard heater in a greenhouse, given all the potential for corrosion from moisture, and water/electric hazards. Just my opinion...
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I think the roof vents are my least favorite part of the Harbor Freight greenhouse. The vents on our 10x12 would not stay shut tight, even when the silly vent latches were in the "locked down" position. Because of our prevailing wind, the vents would pick up slightly, then bang down. Over and over, super annoying. I had to silicone the panels into the vent frames, because they vibrated out. I eventually wired the vents shut with baling wire; I got tired of climbing up on a step stool to mess with them on windy days. When we replaced our roof about 3 years ago, we removed the vents entirely. (I said, good riddance.) Looking back, though, I probably should have tried investing in some vent openers (Bayliss or Univent) before giving up entirely. As CanadianLori says, I know it would be a big cooling help during our hot summers. Here in the desert southwest, I manage without the roof vents only because I convert the entire south wall to screen in the summer months, and keep the sliding doors wide open, with three fans running (one exhaust fan.) So I did remove mine, but I stop short of recommending it to others, because I think it does make cooling more difficult. I do agree they are a pain.
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Posted by plantman56 z6 PA (My Page) on Thu, Mar 15, 07 at 12:38 I would bet there is a bigger risk by using an electric heater in a greenhouse that is not properly wired with GFI outlets. ----------------------------------------------------------- The key word in your sentence is properly wired. While that may be true no one other than a person with an IQ lower than outside temperature in January would install any electrical device in a greenhouse without a GFI so your statement has very little merit I would like to see some test of what it cost to heat a well sealed GH and heated with electric as to using gas and venting to let air in that also lowers the temp and runs the heater more. I pay 6 cents per kilowatt hour my well sealed and insulated GH heats real easy so I went with electric because it is cheap and easy to install and clean plus I don't have the hassle of changing tanks or worrying about gas leaks. I have yet to hear of a electric heater asphyxiating the plants. You can make a good argument for either type of heat but when both are done properly in a small GH I prefer electric heat if I had a big GH then I would have no choice I would be forced to use gas.
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Hello treed1304, I wanted to let your post sit for a few days, in case others might pop up here with a solution to the vent window problem. I had the same problem with the vent windows on my HFGH. Even in the most "closed" position, the windows could be lifted open just a bit. I was not able to find a good solution, and the orientation of my GH is so that the prevailing winds loved to pick up the vents that small fraction of an inch, then let them bang down again. Bang bang bang. Too often. I was worried that this would lead to a problem at 3AM when I was not there. Failing a brilliant fix, I finally gave up and wired the latches shut with baling wire. A few years ago, when we replaced our roof panels, I removed the vent windows entirely. I was only able to do this because I replace my south wall with screens all summer, and I use an exhaust fan to pull air through the open doors during daylight hours (through a curtain made of Aluminet.) Otherwise, I would not have been able to give up the venting. I think this annoying problem is present with most of the HFGH kits. Maybe, it's worse for some of us, depending on wind direction. So far, nobody had posted to my blog or here with a good fix. It's possible that equipping the windows with hydraulic automatic openers will resolve this problem. I never tried this, but I've read here that the automatic openers sold by Harbor Freight don't work well (or, for most, don't last long.) I'd try some of the other brand auto openers instead...by Bayliss, for example...after doing more research. Maybe...some brilliant person will show up here with a better solution (hope springs eternal...) Looking forward to seeing pics of your project!
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Vamptoo
18 years ago
Kudzu,

I was worried about the very same thing when my DH put it in there but it has been fine. I was really amazed. And don't you hate it when the spouse is right? LOL

I'm careful about watering stuff in there and make sure nothing is too close.

The DH told me last night he has been working on a plan for putting a propane heater out there. I think that is what I'm getting for my birthday in Nov. yippee!!! This will be in conjunction with installing the gas logs for the living room.

Cindy
Steve_889
Original Author
18 years ago
Cindy -
What brand/model propane heater is DH planning on getting? Or do we have to wait for your B-day?

Steve
Vamptoo
18 years ago
He hasn't told me those details yet. LOL I hope we don't have to wait for my Birthday to find out.

He's been going through the Farmtek and Northern Tool catalogs.

Cindy
marguerite_gw Zone 9a
18 years ago
I know that GH is greenhouse, but what is HF, please?
Vamptoo
18 years ago
Marguerite,

HF stands for Harbor Freight. It is the place a lot of us are buying our greenhouses. They are small, 6' x 8' but great for what we need.

Go to www.harborfreight.com and type greenhouse in the search block and it will come up.

Don't know if you can get one shipped to where you are though.

Cindy
Steve_889
Original Author
18 years ago
Cindy -

Would the propane heater be thermostat controllable? I would not want to go out and light it every night and turn off in the morning.
We only get down to about 26 degrees here so I am looking at a heater with a frost setting. Anyone have ones they can recommend?
Vamptoo
18 years ago
Steve

Hubby says yes it has to have a thermostat for those very same reasons plus in the early spring and late fall here we wake up to cold weather that gets warm by afternoon. We are not at home during the day to adjust it.

Unfortunately they are a little more expensive. He's doing some shopping around. But depending on how high propane is he says it may be cheaper to keep the electric heater out there.

Cindy
geraldo
18 years ago
"under very large decidious trees so in the summer I have only had to open the door and window and put a small oscillating fan in there"
This is going to be my next project. I don't want too big of trees, but I think the right varieties at the right spacing could be a "Good Thing".
canna_jan
18 years ago
I have a kit coming from Farmtec and it will be delivered on Friday. Be happy to share the info after it arrives. I went for their "medium greenhouse kit" which includes a 10,000 BTU propane heater, 12" exhaust fan, louvered intake, and overhead circulation fan. All will be automated by Nema thermostats.

By the way I'm in N. CA. Only slightly cooler than Solvang in the winter, probably about the same in the summer except I think we get more of a cool marine layer in the morning.

If you want info on on the Farmtec setup let me know. My GH is a 9 x 12.
Steve_889
Original Author
18 years ago
Canna Jan - Did the kit arrive? How do you like it?

Solvang Steve
javan
18 years ago
Has anyone put in a louvered window (with an automatic vent opener)? If so, what kind of louvered window did you install, and how did you do the installation? Thanks for the info...Jim (who's hfgh is awaiting me in my pickup.)
Vamptoo
18 years ago
Jim,

Go over to the Harbor Freight Club thread. There's a pic of the automatic vent opener there. I've put them on the "Dear Santa" letter that I write to my DH every year.

Cindy
joeurda
13 years ago
I have a HFGH that was put up in April of 2007. There's a small wall type propane heater that does a nice job. Now I have an idea for a "Greener Heating System".

What I'm thinking of doing is burying 4" PVC pipe in the floor with one end extended up to the peak of the greenhouse and the other end at floor level. The plan is to have a small fan blowing the hot air from the roof area into the PVC piping in the floor. The floor, that is now dirt with a layer of crushed stone on it would act like a big heat sink.

Has anyone out there ever tried this? Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Joe

Here is a link that might be useful: My HFGH

Heating and Venting HFGH

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