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  • How to heat the greenhouse?

    Hi, before I go shopping I'd like some advice!

    How shall I heat my 6 by 8 greenhouse? It's at the bottom of the garden, no electric nearby.

    I currently have peppers and chillis in there.

    Any ideas?

    Thanks
    Tori

  • #2
    I use a parasene paraffin heater myself and find this is perfectly adequate, though what size you get will depend upon your greenhouse size:

    Heaters

    I don't know how these prices compare to other places - so worth having a shop about.

    Also, remember you need paraffin (I get mine from B&Q as it is the only supplier I can find locally).

    hth
    Excuse me, could we have an eel? You've got eels down your leg.

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    • #3
      mrdinkle, do you insulate your greenhouse with bubblewrap or something or do you find the paraffin heater enough? Do you leave it on all the time thru the winter or just overnight?
      Last edited by HotStuff; 05-10-2008, 05:30 PM.
      There are 10 kinds of people in the world, those that understand binary and those that don't.

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      • #4
        not sure about Norfolk heaters but they look suspiciously like Parasene heaters and this one will heat your 8x6

        https://www.parasene.com/vshop/details.asp?prodID=207

        Trouble is you'll need to fill it up after 3 days ( don't leave it for 3.5 days cos sods law says it will fail in the middle of the night in the worst frost of the year !) and you'll have to trim the wick every day anyway other wise you end up with soot on the inside of the glass and all over the plants!!

        So I guess it will cost you £12 per week to run it.
        Last edited by nick the grief; 05-10-2008, 08:42 PM.
        ntg
        Never be afraid to try something new.
        Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
        A large group of professionals built the Titanic
        ==================================================

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        • #5
          If you have space in a porch/leanto/windowsill it might be cheaper to bring them in? Otherwise insulate with bubblewrap and even fleece the plants and use a parafin heater

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          • #6
            I used to use a paraffin heater until I put an electricity supply to the greenhouse. Paraffin was fine but it does produce a lot of moisture as it burns. Make sure that you ventilate the greenhouse during the daytime so you don't start to get mould, fungus, etc.

            As others have said, make sure that you insulate the greenhouse as much as possible to keep the costs down.
            Gardening is a matter of your enthusiasm holding up until your back gets used to it.

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            • #7
              Do i only use the parafin heater at night if i know the temperature is going to drop below 0?

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              • #8
                Originally posted by DaveC View Post
                Do i only use the parafin heater at night if i know the temperature is going to drop below 0?
                Depends what you're trying to grow really?

                I tend to use my small heater to heat a super insulated area within the greenhouse because it's pointless wasting heat on the whole greenhouse if you don't need it!
                My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
                to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

                Diversify & prosper


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                • #9
                  If you simply heat a greenhouse then you will lose a lot of the heat straight through the glass. I always insulate well with polystyrene at the bottome and bubble wrap up the sides and then the temperature rarely gets below freezing in the shettler spot where my house is sited. I try to use the heater as little as possible as I think it's rather wasteful. I bring very tender stuff inside and would never dream of heating to keep peppers etc alive all winter - just aim for frost free.

                  Some of us live in the past, always talking about back then. Some of us live in the future, always planning what we are going to do. And, then there are those, who neither look behind or ahead, but just enjoy the moment of right now.

                  Which one are you and is it how you want to be?

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                  • #10
                    Perhaps a windowsill in the house would be a better option for a few plants as it will be frost free (hopefully) and you will have no need to heat the greenhouse at all.

                    I used to use parafin, then gas and now use an electric fan heater as the moisture from the other two used to cause major mould issues as of course by insulating you stop the ventilation required to let the water vapour escape.

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                    • #11
                      I use a paraffin similar to this....https://www.parasene.com/vshop/details.asp?prodID=207 except mine has twin paraffin chambers. I took the advice of I think Snadger and only insulated part of my greenhouse with ordinary bubble wrap by creating an area under my wooden staging. Last week the temperature was between 0 and -2 up here in south yorkshire and the temperature inside my greenhouse stayed at around 6 degrees. Alot of moisture is generated but nothing opening the windows the following morning wont sort out.

                      All of this info is based on what I have read in the forums here and works well for me

                      An extremely useful forum

                      Thankyou

                      DaveC
                      Last edited by DaveC; 02-11-2008, 04:09 PM.

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                      • #12
                        I'm new to all this myself and had been wondering the same sort of thing. Haven't tried it, but a friend suggested putting a heap of manure in the green house for a bit of free heat coming off it over winter, and then take it out for compost for the garden in the spring. (and keep pegs by the door for the nose I suppose). Has anyone here tried that?

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                        • #13
                          I used to use a paraffin heater, but frankly the cost was extortionate, the fuel came in non-eco friendly plastic tubs and I was generating greenhouse gases (in every sense of the word) at an alarming rate. Now I germinate indoors then take the seedlings outside once they reach the point where they're bending towards the light. The greenhouse is well insulated and when a frost is forecast I chuck a fleece over the top of anything vulnerable.
                          Into each life some rain must fall........but this is getting ridiculous.

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                          • #14
                            [QUOTE=gettingrowin;306699]Haven't tried it, but a friend suggested putting a heap of manure in the green house for a bit of free heat coming off it over winter, QUOTE]
                            I would need a much bigger greenhouse than I've got!
                            WPC F Hobbit, Shire police

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                            • #15
                              Yes - that was pretty much my response too! : )

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