gas or paraffin - the best way to heat a greenhouse?

[ktlawson]

I am looking to buy a paraffin heater. It is £20 from Argos and claims to run continuously for 7 days on 4.5 litres of fuel.  (Similar to this product:  http://www.garden4less.co.uk/proddetail.asp?prod=0681)   I have 2 Questions:


1)  Is paraffin easy to come buy these days and how much is it?
2)  Would this be the preferred method of heating a greenhouse or is calor gas cheaper?

[Lacelotte]

Good question, I'm keen to see some answers here

[ktlawson]

Argos have just reduced it to £16

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/0424284/Trail/searchtext>PARAFFIN+HEATER.htm

[davyw1]

KT, if they have gone down to that price get 2.
I use them Parasine heaters and get more than 7 days out of them by adjusting the wick to how the weather is going to be and turning of during the day.
I pay £3.50 for 5 Ltrs
Most of the lads have gone back  Gas to Parafin as it is cheaper.
BUT The parasine heater has a fault, if you dont clean them properly when finnished with the tend to rust and hole.
BUT the up side is they can be modified by putting them in cut down plastic tubs and sealed round the top, it then becomes a heater for life.

[mrf94]

I have that same heater bought at argos for the 15 pounds its only good for 4 sq mtrs so it wont even frost warm a 6x4 greenhouse, paraffin is about 5 pound for 4 ltrs at most out lets  my garden center does 4x4 ltrs for 15 pound and its about 3.75 pounds  for 4 ltrs at b q at times. Ive put it under my seedlings on the racking near the glass to take the chill of ,if you buy it i think you will be dissapointed with it , i was.


mrf94

[davyw1]

I found the best way to use this heater is to put a pollythine skirt round your bench. Raise he heater so it is just below the underside of the bench and in the middle trapping the heat so it keeps the compost in your trays/pots warm. I use 2 heaters to an 8 ft bench.

[ktlawson]

I have just got back from Argos with one, I was hoping to heat a 6x8ft greenhouse. I guess it is insufficient then    You say I need 2,  would gas be cheaper rather than buying 2 lots of paraffin weekly.   If so would I be best returning it under their 16 day moneyback scheme.

[davyw1]

I have just got back from Argos with one, I was hoping to heat a 6x8ft greenhouse. I guess it is insufficient then    You say I need 2,  would gas be cheaper rather than buying 2 lots of paraffin weekly.   If so would I be best returning it under their 16 day moneyback scheme.

That depends on how you want to use it, to heat the whole greenhouse then take t back.
If you use them like i do then they work just fine. I dont see the need to heat the whole greenhouse when you only need to keep the soil warm, if the root in your pots are warm then your plant will remain healthy. I have been using them longer than i can remember using the method i described above and have not lost anything to the cold weather.
 

[davyw1]

To add to the above post there is only one heater under here in Feb. and they stayed healthy they are now in the ground.

[ktlawson]

To add to the above post there is only one heater under here in Feb. and they stayed healthy they are now in the ground.

Is it the same type heater and what size is the greenhouse?  All I want is a heater to heat  my greenhouse enough so my stuff does not die early on.


These heaters seem good but at £100. But with no fuss with wicks and refilling other than changing gas.  Just found out my neighbour runs gas 24hrs daily at £27 for about 6 weeks.  (Do not know of anybody else using gas though.)
http://www.patiogear.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=0_72&products_id=221&osCsid=5f623a6e50c90115f50b4da7e0f1f005&name=Lifestyle-4.2Kw-Classic-Greenhouse-Heater

[davyw1]

KT, I cant comment on that heater as i have never used it but three of my nieghbours have them but i think only one is still using it. I wont see them till the weekend so if you want to hang fire i will find out about them and get back to you ASP.

[Plot69]

Gallon of paraffin is about £4.99 and you can get it in any garden center. Calor gas bottle will cost you more than the heater for the deposit and is between £13 - £16 for a refill for an 8kg bottle.

I use calor gas on my boat and caravan and I doubt very much they'll run a heater continuous for 7 days. It all depends how big the heater is.

I use paraffin, only light it at night and a gallon has lasted me two years so far.

[davyw1]

KT, Spoke to one of the lads as to why he went back to parafin this year and did not use his gas heater, Getting the gas was the problem.
He says that gas burner you are looking at is quite good providing you have it on the right setting  (No 2.). It only has the pilot light on during the day then comes into play at night when the tempratures drop.
Might get one myself.

[cjb02]

this is a little of topic but if you have electric, would an electric heater be cheaper to run?

If so can any one recommend one?

I am looking at heating my greenhouse. have a leccy one but I think it is quite expensive to run as it is old, So i am looking at replacing it, Not sure whether to go down the gas/paraffin or leccy route, this thread is interesting and any advice appreciated.

[Gazfoz]

Yes. IMHO a thermostatically controlled electric heater knocks the spots off the other options.
If you want some meaningful heat i.e not just frost prevention parrafin is useless and certainly not cheap not to mention all the hassle, fumes, water vapour etc.
I have never used a gas heater but i would think that they could be quite expensive to buy compared to an electric fan heater.
Also the fan can be used without heat in the summer to improve air circulation / temperature control.

[marie59]

HI   I have a greenhouse too and have thought about all kinds of ways to beat the cost of heating     This is what I now do   I line the green house with bubble wrap on the inside and then on top of that I tuck all my seedling up to bed with a layer of fleece.    I also burn a small paraffin heater designed for use in a cold frame so that tells you how small is is.   I only light it at night and remove the fleece once the seedlings are a bit stronger than just out of the propergator.  If we have a sever freezing time I would leave it burning during the day as well.
  You can also divide your greenhouse into two by bringing the bubble wrap down across the middle.  It also cuts down on the cost as you can just heat half of the greenhouse.     All I try to do is keep the frost off the glass and let the plants grow slowly and not too leggy by been too hot all the time.   
Oh I also forgot to say    I bought one of those mini plastic greenhouses from Focus with 4 shelves and a zip up cover.  My seedlings  are inside of that at the moment too.     Guess they are filling the gap of the empty nest syndrome.

[gazza1960]

After reading this Old thread re heating GH etc,I presume we can use the same principles for poly tunnels we,ve been asking ourselves the best way to heat it during the winter and it seems a layer of bubble wrap and parafene
heating on really cold nights under a seedling bench.
We do not have the luxury of electricity so I guess its a double para on the chilliest of nights.

GazNjude

[Tee Gee]

would an electric heater be cheaper to run?

If so can any one recommend one?

I don't know about cheaper but electric is more reliable and with a good thermostat it only uses power when needed whereas paraffin & gas requires controlling manually.

So if you are at work and it is on and the sun raises the temperature you are using unecessary fuel, electric would switch off.

I was recommended this one here on A4A and I am very satisfied with it.

http://www.parwinheatersukltd.co.uk/heaters

I have the PE1 with the electronic stat.

I went this way for a couple of reasons and they are;

With the 3kw as against the 2kw I have surplus capacity if I need it, if I don't,  it only uses the power it needs.

The electronic stat is more exact than the capillary stat as I can fine tune to +/- 1° wheras the capillary type is 2° - 4° so I can be overheating the greenhouse unecessarily  with the latter one.

In fact I have my stat set at 2°C all year ( I never switch it off)which means it never comes on most of the time but acts as a frost stat if there is a sudden drop in temperature.

When I start up my sowing/cutting programme I up the stat to around 5°C which I find to be ample for veg and the likes.

Add to that I can cool the greenhouse down in summer if needs be.

So yes I am am very satisfied with my purchase!

(Thanks Laurie)

[laurieuk]

Hi Tee Gee, I have been off for a while as Ihad a complete breakdown with my computer and lost everything on the hard drive so just getting back in the swing, so glad you find the heater Ok I now have no garden, no greenhouse so a bit down in the mouth as they say. Best of luck for 2012 Laurie

would an electric heater be cheaper to run?

If so can any one recommend one?

I don't know about cheaper but electric is more reliable and with a good thermostat it only uses power when needed whereas paraffin & gas requires controlling manually.

So if you are at work and it is on and the sun raises the temperature you are using unecessary fuel, electric would switch off.

I was recommended this one here on A4A and I am very satisfied with it.

http://www.parwinheatersukltd.co.uk/heaters

I have the PE1 with the electronic stat.

I went this way for a couple of reasons and they are;

With the 3kw as against the 2kw I have surplus capacity if I need it, if I don't,  it only uses the power it needs.

The electronic stat is more exact than the capillary stat as I can fine tune to +/- 1° wheras the capillary type is 2° - 4° so I can be overheating the greenhouse unecessarily  with the latter one.

In fact I have my stat set at 2°C all year ( I never switch it off)which means it never comes on most of the time but acts as a frost stat if there is a sudden drop in temperature.

When I start up my sowing/cutting programme I up the stat to around 5°C which I find to be ample for veg and the likes.

Add to that I can cool the greenhouse down in summer if needs be.

So yes I am am very satisfied with my purchase!

(Thanks Laurie)

[claybasket]

I remember reading somwhere (memories going) about putting a candle under a up sidedown clay pot and it warms up and keeps the frost out  may work in cold frame, might try it out as am so mean