Topic: Heated greenhouse

[Jennys Gran]

Hi,
Me and my other half have just finished putting up our first greenhouse, 6 x 4 we have put a parafin greenhouse heater in. Are there any problems we should be aware of when using this type of heater? Also could this effect my plants? ???

Any advice would be welcome.

[veggie perin]

Hi Gran,
If parrafin is the only method of heating you can afford, it does, to get you started, I'm sure most of us started out with it, and probably a lot of folk still use it, however there are a few minuses to using it;
you will have a lot of condensation, which can lead to various moulds and viruses forming i.e Botrytis (grey mould), you will have to ventillate to get it dried up, which kind of defeats the purpose. you have to make sure it is well filled up with fuel as you don't want it packing in during a cold, frosty night (if buying the fuel try to avoid buying it in the 5 litre bottles from the likes of b&q etc), as it is very expensive that way, try local garages or try the net for places locally which might stock it cheaper when buying it in bulk (25 litre bottles), keep your wick trimmed to keep it clean, this will stop, it smoking and blackening the greenhouse glass, but most of all be VERY careful that you do not knock the heater over or spill any fuel on the floor as it is highly inflammable. Apart from the negative side, plants seem to grow fairly well with this type of heating.
I now use a small electric fan heater with a thermostat which will control the temp and only comes on when the temperature drops this will probably be  immpossible in an allotment setting ,but if your greenhouse is at home ,it might be worth looking into for the future, hope I've been of some help to you and not too negative ..wishing you both a very enjoyable and
fruitful growing season...regards to'Jenny'...........V.P

[Jennys Gran]

Hi VP,

Thanks very much for your advice, I will be carefull with the parafin. I have heard of some strips you can buy that reduce condensation by attracting the moisture do you think this would help? Or could they dry the air too much?

Hope you also have a very enjoyable and fruitful growing season, we are looking forward to when the weather improves. Jenny says Hi

JG

[Deeds]

You would need a bit more than condensation strips to dry it out, more like a dehumidifier running at full blast, it's amazing how much water a litre of paraffin produces.

[veggie perin]

hi Jg,
Don't worry too much about the condensation, as I mentioned before , many people still use parafin, if possible open door, windows etc for a couple of hours in the morning if the temperature is not too low and this will soon dry it up....regards vp

[gardening giraffe]

I hate paraffin heaters but thats because A last year I had  the wicks turned  down slightly too low  and the inside caught fire which was very scary!!! and B it kept blowing out  a few nights and I  lost a few seedlings because of it. I now manage with using the windowsills in the house to germinate and grow on and then harden off during the day in the unheated greenhouse when the weather warms up  which is working well for everything this year apart from my sprouts which bolted as they got too warm  :(

[growmore]

I agree with VP, although it may seem counter productive Crack a vent open for a couple of hours during the day for some ventilation..Cheers ..Jim

[Jennys Gran]

Hi Veggie Perin, Growmore & Deeds

I have checked the greenhouse and taken your advice of opening the door for a while during the day, although there does not seem to be too much condensation at the moment.

I wonder if I have the temperature too low? The average temp is approx 50 degrees farenheit, but I have also wrapped plants in bubble wrap with the expected frost tonight.

Sorry to hear of your mishap with the parafin heater GG hope no one was hurt.

Thanks for all the advice JG :)

[SteveLouise]

just read this after I'd posted mine ........ see 'smoky heater'

[Jennys Gran]

Hi SteveLouise

I have put a post on 'smoky heater' for you. Let me know how you get on.


JG