Hi everybody. I originally posted this message to mudhouse's blog, not knowing how to post it here. But, now I do! So, if anyone gets this message twice, lo siento mucho. Anyway, here it is: I have a question about possible corrosion on my new, unassembled HFGH 10x12. The gravel has arrived, the foundation timbers are in place, and I'm ready to build the greenhouse. But, before I begin, I wonder if someone can enlighten me on potential electrical contact corrosion where (mudhouse's) steel "L" brackets connect the EMT to the frame, where the hold-downs meet the steel base, and where the studs also meet the base. Should I somehow insulate these contact points, perhaps with rubber? Is there actually a problem at these spots? Thanks so much. masscactus - ready to build

Harbor Freight did not suggest this. Lets just say that Harbor Freights Tech support was, um Harbor Freight... I have to admit it was nice, they Cross shipped me new ones, which performed the same as the old ones. I found an overseas manufacturer of similar "budget vents", I think they were called Thermofor, who was very helpfull, and gave me a suggestion. I unscrewed the endcap that has the adjustment screw, and press the plunger till the seal almost comes out, then the oil will start to leak if you press softly on the plunger (If I pressed hard the seal comes all the way out, and you get a big mess ;) then close the whole thing and test. THrough trial and error, I now have all five of my HF openers opening between 65 and 75 degrees. Gato, I am not sure why mine did not work, and yours did, I am only 1300 feet higher than you, but I had a Total of ten from HF (The first five and the second five). Even at 38 degrees they were open five inches under load before I modified them ;) I would not recomend that anyone else try this, because I am sure it voids the warranty. (I tried it on just one first, then got bolder and tried the rest. I did spill all the oil out of one, and I replaced the oil with Cooking oil, even this one is now working ;) so I guess I will have to wait and see if opening them is gonna cause any long term ill effects.

I've built a shelving system along the back wall which makes it extraordinarily strong--it doesn't bow-in at all anymore where it previously moved 1/2 to an inch in a typical South wind. I used 3/4" galvanized pipe for the vertical supports, and 3/4" EMT conduit for the horizontal supports, which for the front-edge of the shelves pass-thru the galvanized cross- and tee-fittings, whose threads had to be ground-down just a little so the conduit would slide-thru. I'm real happy with the way it came together--the trickiest part was getting the installation "staged" properly: 1. Grind-out threads in the fittings for the side-to-side conduits 2. Make the two vertical posts (floor flange, 36" pipe, cross, 18" pipe, cross, 18" pipe, tee) 3. Flatten one side of three 10' conduits, thread these thru fittings and posts 4. Flatten other side of 3 conduits, drill holes, put assy into place, secure sides and floor flanges 5. Weld "L" brackets into one end of short (22 1/2") conduits (twelve of these) 6. Screw short conduits into each fitting and rotate into place 7. Cut cattle panel (2"X4" mesh) and wrangle into place from the side (having taken a side panel out temporarily) Look for "Details" in my photo link below. I think I'm done now with structural issues of the HFGH. Still have to build a potting bench, and we've been shocked to learn how hot the thing gets (over 100 degrees inside in 75deg sun out). So we have to do an exhaust fan/louver intake plus prolly some shade cloth. But the GH seems strong enough now that we shouldn't have to worry about it blowing-down, though the roof vents seem to twist a lot when open and it's windy--may have to make some further mods there. Here is a link that might be useful: Our 10X12 HFGH with Details

tiger67, I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your greenhouse, especially so quickly. Have you tried your local Craigslist, to avoid shipping? tmc2009, ours has been up almost 4 1/2 years, and we do have very strong winds routinely, for hours at a time. No wind damage at all to this point, but we did reinforce the frame, and we screwed the panels to the frame, as suggested by many posts here on GardenWeb. I documented many of those suggestions in my blog, here: Building our Harbor Freight 10x12 Greenhouse However, 80 mph winds are very severe. 80 mph winds can take down whole trees, and do roof damage to buildings that aren't engineered to withstand it. Mine has not been tested to that degree (although my guess is it's probably withstood some gusts in the 55-60mph range.) I'm not really sure how many greenhouses (of any brand) across the country could withstand 80mph. In my opinion securing the panels to the frame with screws is critical, in addition to strengthening the frame. Hello to funnylady...!