Author Topic: rhino are they worth it's? (Read 13639 times)

cambourne7 · « **on:** February 16, 2015, 22:16:36 »

trying to decide between an elite Belmont and a rhino for windy East anglia help can't decide!!

kGarden · « **Reply #1 on:** February 17, 2015, 08:37:22 »

Rhino always looks strong - several burly blokes sat on the ridge!

Either way, I would want to plant a hedge around it. Fast-ish moving air flowing over the structure will cool it more quickly than slow/no moving air ...

Hedge needs to be enough distance away not to cast a shadow of course :) or a fence would do.

goodlife · « **Reply #2 on:** February 17, 2015, 14:14:50 »

Quote from: cambourne7 on February 16, 2015, 22:16:36

trying to decide between an elite Belmont and a rhino for windy East anglia help can't decide!!

Well....Rhino has a reputation being strong...or should I say able to withstand heavy load on the frame. But that is not necessaryly any help with the wind. If you need to hang down 'stuff' where this load baring capability is advantage , then I would say, YES for rhino.
What you need in windy site is good base work and anchor the green house well to it!
I have Belmont Elite GH...I used to do quite number of hanging baskets for the work and clients and I used to hang great number on mine...and it took it, though I have to say I did wonder about the load sometimes...
Mine is also built on breezeblock base with some hard core footing underneath so it has good solid base and the GH base is bolted to the breezeblocks as well as some left over concrete from other jobs have been used around the base as final 'touch'.
We do quite horrid winds here..as the site is quite open for elements..and no wind has effected my GH. One year the wind did rattle the frame that much that some bolts on the actual frame did work loose..so after that, each year I do check few here and there if there is need for tightening....but there haven't been, so it was only because of the 'newness' and now that the GH is 'getting on' there is not settling in left to do. My Belmont is now good 10 yrs old this is first time I've had some 'issues' with it....or sort of..snow broke quite few glass panels from the roof

Other than that , Belmont has perfomed well and is still going strong

kGarden · « **Reply #3 on:** February 17, 2015, 17:00:11 »

Quote from: goodlife on February 17, 2015, 14:14:50

snow broke quite few glass panels from the roof

:(

Not something I would have expected. Was it a huge thickness of snow, or something else? IU'm just wondering if there is something, in future, that I should be looking out for - and dealing with preventively, if it were to occur.

Thanks :)

goodlife · « **Reply #4 on:** February 17, 2015, 17:20:10 »

Quote from: kGarden on February 17, 2015, 17:00:11

Quote from: goodlife on February 17, 2015, 14:14:50
snow broke quite few glass panels from the roof

:(

Not something I would have expected. Was it a huge thickness of snow, or something else? IU'm just wondering if there is something, in future, that I should be looking out for - and dealing with preventively, if it were to occur.

Thanks :)

Yes it was few itches on the roof...which it has had before but this time it was quite wet and extra heavy... but before we got to it..it had already had chance to freeze again. So it was just one of those unfortunate circumstances...combinations of weather conditions. Though I suspect there might be something to do with some person and his rake, chosen tool for the job

.....but if I ever dare to mention such a possibility...I won't never ever again get help from him...
Then nothing last forever...there is no issues with the metal frame itself...just 6 broken panes of glass.

kGarden · « **Reply #5 on:** February 17, 2015, 18:59:57 »

Thanks, wouldn't have thought of thaw-freeze and the resultant ice being a problem, so could-have-been-me - a Hay rake would be my first tool of choice too!

Paulines7 · « **Reply #6 on:** February 17, 2015, 23:33:28 »

I live in a very windy spot on the edge of Salisbury Plain. I did a lot of research before buying my GH and I went for the Rhino Premium with toughened glass. I am so pleased with it. The thicker glass seems to really help with the heat and it is always a lot warmer inside at this time of year than it is outside. I have overwintered all my pelargoniums without heating the greenhouse though I have them in polystyrene boxes with fleece over them. Get the biggest one you can afford and have room for, Cam.

gray1720 · « **Reply #7 on:** February 18, 2015, 09:58:04 »

Having put one up in the autumn I can vouch for Rhinos being solidly built!

If you choose one, I think these are the take-home lessons.

1. The instructions are a bit complex, but are worth following. My brother, leading project, cursed them for being ****, then assembled the whole thing in mirror fashion re the instructions!

2. Don't tighten it all up until everything is in place, glass and all. Guess how we found this out (see point 1).

3. Especially, don't concrete it in until it's all in place - see point 1 again!

4. Get friends and family round to help with the glazing clips - by the time we got all the glass done, the skin was hanging off our fingertips from burst blisters, they are tough to get in.

Adrian

cambourne7 · « **Reply #8 on:** February 18, 2015, 11:29:41 »

thanks for all the feedback :) either way i am paying someone else to fit it!

I am going to try and lessen the wind issue by building a small 4ft fence between the entrance and rest of the garden and it has fence panels on 2 sides already.

The unprotected points at the house and raised beds so fingers crossed.

I have a slab base.

Trying to decide on the internal fixings. Like the idea of the bed bars with a shingle base and maybe some narrow shelving up high so that there not in the way of plants on the shingle.

lezelle · « **Reply #9 on:** February 18, 2015, 17:36:02 »

Hi Ya, I had the same dilemma eight years ago. I bought a rhino and the way the glass fits makes it almost draft proof. There are so many items as standard with it and it's strong. I have never had a problem with mine never. I also live in east Anglia. My two neighbours have also bought rhino G/H and they are well pleased with them. Rhino all the way I say. I have an 8 by 10 with double doors and it's great compared with what I had before. Good luck with whatever you decide.

cambourne7 · « **Reply #10 on:** February 18, 2015, 18:27:00 »

thanks so anything you would do differently in your setup?

lezelle · « **Reply #11 on:** February 18, 2015, 20:08:15 »

Hi Ya, I would leave mine as is. But each to their own. I use the sides of mine for growing tommies, peppers, aubergines etc. I use mini g/h in winter and keep them frost free with the small round paraffin heaters. The g/h is so draft proof you have to watch the temperature it rises very quick. I have a potting bench at the far end from the door. Go for the biggest size you can afford or have room as you will soon run out of space. I went from a 6 x 8 to 8 x 10 and still run out of room. My one concern was the lourves on the roof vents as the roof vents are 6' and heavy so in very windy weather I disconnect the auto vents and from rhino got locks to lock the vents down. Any auto vent on any make in windy weather is a bit chancy. I only used them last year and before that had no problems. To clean the out side I invested in a Rolson telescopic window cleaning tool which makes life so easy. All in all I can recommend Rhino and am over the moon with mine. Toughened glass as standard and so many other bits I feel is good value. Good luck in your choice.

kGarden · « **Reply #12 on:** February 19, 2015, 02:38:45 »

Couple of thoughts:

Personally I like to have a low down louvre (on a sheltered side / side not facing the prevailing wind), I can open that, and a roof vent, to get convection cooling - much better than forced cooling by opening the door. Still have to open the door in the height of summer, but in Spring with seedlings I think louvre and convection-cooling causes less transpiration shock.

I have one roof vent for every 3' of greenhouse length. Mine are not auto-open because I prefer to be able to open them just-a-crack on the side away from the wind in Autumn / Spring. In Summer there are enough vents to be able to get cooling without having to paint the glass white! If you want to go away for the weekend :) then consider Auto-vents. Dunno what Rhino offers, but Bayliss are the market leaders, and they make some "strong" ones to open heavy / double vents.

I have a small slope in my foundations to the back, which is where my water butt is.

Make 100% double-triple-sure! that the measurements of both diagonals match - that will ensure that the structure is "square", if not the glass won't go in!

If you are putting in concrete footings perhaps put a reasonable diameter pipe through / under the concrete so you can run water / electricity services in later.

Squash64 · « **Reply #13 on:** February 19, 2015, 08:47:12 »

We had our 20 x 8 Rhino greenhouse at the allotments in 2012 thanks to a lottery grant.
We included the cost of installation in our grant application. I've attached a photo of Bill,
the man who did it, demonstrating how strong it is.

I have no complaints at all about it, apart from wishing I'd had a bigger one.

kGarden · « **Reply #14 on:** February 19, 2015, 10:48:29 »

Quote from: Squash64 on February 19, 2015, 08:47:12

apart from wishing I'd had a bigger one.

So true! I have a couple of decent sized greenhouses, so no real need for more growing space ... but ... I see commercial greenhouses come up on eBay from time to time and I toy with the ideal of covering my whole plot in a glasshouse :)

Cheap enough to buy (I suspect the sites they are on are being converted to housing or somesuch, so getting some money AND getting the structure carted away is a result for the seller) ... bit of a hassle, and some cost, to get it down, cart it home, and stick it back up again. But Hey! how cool would a whole-plot-greenhouse-be? or am I just doing my usual of "couldn't afford not to have it"?

gray1720 · « **Reply #15 on:** February 19, 2015, 12:26:39 »

Quote from: kGarden on February 19, 2015, 02:38:45

Make 100% double-triple-sure! that the measurements of both diagonals match - that will ensure that the structure is "square", if not the glass won't go in!

Hee hee, see my points above, guess how we know! The worrying thing is, he did several years as a builder...

Adrian

Paulines7 · « **Reply #16 on:** February 20, 2015, 12:14:22 »

Mine is similar to Betty's (Squash64) being 18ftx8ft.

My OH decided to erect it and do the foundations himself. The first thing he had to do was to dig out a lot of the hillside as it was the most suitable place for it and it had to be level. He refused to hire an excavator so did it all by hand. He did buy a cement mixer which helped with doing the foundations but then it was useful for other jobs that needed doing throughout the garden.

When the greenhouse arrives, it comes in hundreds of bits, all listed on the instruction sheet. We have a disused poultry unit so were able to put it in there to check everything. Once the foundations were laid, we took the greenhouse pieces outside and assembled them on the base. It wasn't easy but we got there in the end. We have four large, linked water butts behind the greenhouse which are fed from the guttering.

I ordered staging with my greenhouse as it was on special offer and at a later date, I bought blinds that roll up and down from the top of the roof.

Everything about the Rhino is premium quality.

Paulines7 · « **Reply #17 on:** February 21, 2015, 11:45:53 »

One thing I forgot to mention and that is that the Rhino has a low threshold door which is suitable for wheelchairs and wheelbarrows. I can get into it on my mobility scooter too. All worth thinking about now that you have mobility problems.

If you haven't already sent away for the Rhino brochure, Cam, then it is worth doing so. The brochure consists of 32 pages and has a lot of information in it. Mine came with a £10 voucher too. Not a big discount, but better than nothing.

lezelle · « **Reply #18 on:** February 22, 2015, 12:05:45 »

Hi Ya, I all for rhino as they come with so many things as standard that other companies charge extra for. I'm so glad to hear yours is right for you Pauline. Any way let us know your decision Cam. I am intrigued to see what you go for.

cambourne7 · « **Reply #19 on:** March 03, 2015, 20:42:43 »

Hi All,

Def going for the Rhino now need to get it all planned out :)

Cam

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Author Topic: rhino are they worth it's? (Read 13639 times)