Sad Sad News

[CN]

well as the title states .
My decision to buy a GH has cost me more then what it was worth .
Lil over a week ago i was afraid i was going to loose everything . because the heater i had an was tripping the 15amp breaker about every 15 minutes on the lowest setting .. i scrambled to grab all the harder to get plants an put them in the kitchen floor . i was only able to keep about 15 plants (H/L an Intermediates) in the house where the rest where sadly frozen to the roots .
I had on order my insulation an come to find out it was on back order (nice) . Just got the email this morning that it was shipped (Lil Late ).

anyways i need some of your Help to come up with a good heating source to heat 49 sq ft . Now i was going to try one of those Oil filled radiator type heaters but wasn't sure if it would do any good . the nice thing about it being oil filled is that the heater wouldn't always be running it would just heat the oil up to the right temp an shut off till it cooled too low an then heat back up. Then next option was a LP heater but the only one i can find is one that heats 300 sq ft which means i would have to cut some vent holes , an i don't wanna do that .
I am tiring to heat this as cheaply as possible . so any help would be awesome .

Thanks Daren

 

[cp-connection]

My dad uses a 50,000 BTU vented "warm morning" heater in a 100sq/ft polycarbonate greenhouse. 20 mph winds and 0 degrees F, he can keep it about 50F inside with the heater running full tilt. He got it used for a good price, but it takes a huge amount of floor space.

Its one of the only heaters that size that will run in a power outage.

 

[Lil Stinkpot]

I don't have the model number at hand, but we have a "barn heater" from Vermont Country Store that works really well. I've never heard of one that runs off a backup battery, though, so I'd go for that one!

My backup is a very large oil heater. Though it works well there is nothing to stir the air, and there is a big difference between a couple feet. And I can smell the oil. Yech!


FWIW, there is either something very wrong with that heater you have (had?), or something wrong with the circuit. Most likely the former. We have a little bathroom heater that pops the in-outlet breaker every time we shut it off.

 

[Tony Paroubek]

Sorry to hear about the setback. There was however lots of good information in your previous post. Greenhouse heating and Cheaply don't go in the same line.. unless you live in the far South US (which you don't).

I don't know what heater you were using but 15amps is about half what you need.. and that would only be for the greenhouse heaters and nothing else on the line, if you went with electric.

You need at least 2 of these!!! and they take 13amps each http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/Portable-Electric-Heater-120V/productinfo/HT-2000/
Even with 2 you will have some chilly nights in the greenhouse when the temps outside drop below zero... I estimate that 2 would give you about 2/3 the btu's you need to keep it around 60 when it goes subzero during Jan. and Feb. That is with the single layer bubble wrap on the inside.

By the time you have a 30 amp dedicated circuit installed you are probably better off with a ventless portable propane heater. You will still need a spot for a gas company to place a LP tank though.. Don't even think about using the 20lb bbq tanks. The tank does not need to be right next to the greenhouse though, which is nice.

 

[rattler]

Greenhouse heating and Cheaply don't go in the same line.

that would be why i dont have one.....hit -30 before windchill last night, cant imagine trying to keep one warm through our winters......and the real cold weather hasnt hit yet, we can still drop another 30 degrees.....

 

[mark.ca]

Craigslist!!!
Found a used 140btu propane for 50$....beat that! Try search in your area ....here i can find all sorts of heaters...and you need to test them for at least a week and monitor everytging before you put a plant inside...but of course you know that by now! Sorry for your loss!