Topic: Electric warming cables

[roytheboy]

I am thinking of making a warming frame in the greenhouse, do you think that a warming soil cabinet would be more beneficial than heating the complete greenhouse

[Tee Gee]

do you think that a warming soil cabinet would be more beneficial than heating the complete greenhouse

Most definitely this is how I heat my greenhouse; http://tinyurl.com/3ca7gw

[ACE]

I made my hot box out of offcuts of insulating foam from a building site. The stuff that is placed in the cavity with the silver foil each side. It is very easy to work with and just needs pinning together with dowels. You can make it to any size you want as long as you have enough heating cable. Fort the top, I just made a frame out of light batten and stretched bubble wrap over it.

It saves me heating my poly tunnel and greenhouse and really gives my cuttings a head start.

[Two Choices]

I made one a year ago using ply offcuts and an old (but unused) 100w heating cable. It's approx 1.3mtrs by 60 cm and just over 3 inches deep. It sits all year round on my lower bench. It is extremely useful and flexible ie initially you can rest unheated propagators on it and then open seed trays and small pots.  I start by having it on most of the day and then reduce gradually to nights only. One thing to note though, is the weight. It's not until you stop and think "how many 25kg bags of sand did I pour in?", you will be surprised.  I have  an aluminium bench and ended up jacking it up to place bricks midspan. Give it a go, you won't regret it TC

[machman5]

Just spotted this thread, can anyone tell me where to get Heating Cable? :-\

I think this is a great idea and would love to give it a try!

Donna

[Two Choices]

Hi machman5, this will give you an idea whats on offer, then you can search around. http://www.garden4less.co.uk/heated-propagators.asp
As I said in my post, it's a very flexible peice of kit. Excluding the cost of the cable, you are looking around £20 for 24 ins X 48 ins.  All you need is a piece of half inch plywood the size of the base, the same material for the edging (approx 3 ins deep) and a couple of bits ofcut timber to help sturdy things up at the corners.  If you go for about 3 ins deep, put between and inch and an inch and a half under the cable and the same on top.  If you have any old polystyrene sheeting then lay in the base before you pour the sand in.  Don't forget to keep the sand wet.
Let me know what to end up doing. TC ;)

[machman5]

Thanks for that Two Choices, I have had a look at the website and was pleasantly surprised at the prices.  I may well treat myself and give myself a project! 

At the moment, in my 6X4 greenhouse, I have made a mini greenhouse from some old sheets of perspex (very thick stuff which used to be be hanging advertising boards!) stuck together with gaffer tape and I have put an old electric heating pipe into it.  This is keeping my seedlings nice and snug at night and during the day the sun is doing just fine!

The heating pipe is fantastic as it is very low wattage and quite waterproof too as it is meant for the floor/skirting in a conservatory.

Thanks for your reply, much appreciated  ;D
Donna.

[Two Choices]

Donna, Great minds and all that ;) ;) I've done something very similar. As my heated bed is on the lower shelf, I've boxed it in with a combination of  recycled polythene and bubblewrap. With the improvement in the weather over the last week, I open the top about a foot each end before I leave for work in the morning.  It gets to the mid 80's and that's with two automatic vents in the greenhouse roof.  The  max/min thermometer in there indicates that at night it keeps it around 7 degrees higher than the unheated greenhouse temperature. Go for it.  Colin  ;D