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Cold Frame Glass is Tinted

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Posted by browndd1 none (My Page) on
Sat, Mar 3, 12 at 20:06

Just built a cold frame and the window I am using is a double hung one. I did not notice it at first but out in the sun the glass appears to have a tint to it. I am just wondering if this will filter out the right wavelength of light that the plants will need? I plan on starting the seeds in this cold frame and this is why I posted here on this forum.

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RE: Cold Frame Glass is Tinted

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My gut feeling is no, it won't make a difference in seed germination. Al

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RE: Cold Frame Glass is Tinted

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Just in case I rigged up some blue/red led par 38 light bulbs inside the frame. Can you post pictures on here?

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RE: Cold Frame Glass is Tinted

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Many newer insulated windows use special tinting between the panes to filter out UV rays. On top of that you have two panes of glass that the sun has to shine through which will cut down on the amount of light that gets through.

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RE: Cold Frame Glass is Tinted

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Yes, I think this is the type window I have. Therefore, will it work for my cold frame or would I need supplemental lighting inside?

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RE: Cold Frame Glass is Tinted.

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It would probably be easier to either change out the glass in the existing window frame with plain 1/8" glass, break out one of the panes of glass in the existing window or find a different old window that just has a single pane of glass in it. You could install a light but that is a bit of work to add the power, fixture and a timer. It would add some heat in the cold frame.

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RE: Cold Frame Glass is Tinted

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My glass is the same way... low-E double pane. As Frank said, it will filter out the UV, and that's a GOOD thing because plants don't need UV light. In fact, UV damages plants.

Before I built my cold frame I googled "low-e greenhouse glass" and the consensus seems to be that it is better than regular glass. Plus the double-pane glass should lose less heat during the night (since it insulates better).

I'm not sure how much light is lost going through the two panes and low-e tint but so far my plants seem to like it just fine but I've only had mine up and running for a week now so I can't claim to be an expert.

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RE: Cold Frame Glass is Tinted

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  • Posted by gjcore 5 South Aurora Co. (My Page) on
    Sat, Mar 10, 12 at 21:01

The one problem I found with using tinted glass is that the interior of the coldframe wouldn't heat up during the day. Maybe for some situations that could be useful but for me during the cold months I want my coldframe space to get warm.

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RE: Cold Frame Glass is Tinted

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I recently built a cold frame using a 4' x 4' Andersen window that I found on craigslist. It is tinted with the low-e glass. I have been tracking inside and outside temperatures to find the optimal performace range.

So far, the cool weather plants are germinating and doing well. I'm not sure how the tinting will affect them, but the low-e glass is performing better than I had hoped for. In addition, I've placed 7 one-gallon water containers inside to minimize temperature fluctuations. My data shows that the water does a better job preventing heat loss than preventing overheating. I have to vent the unit if day time temperatures hit the mid 60's.

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RE: Cold Frame Glass is Tinted

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  • Posted by gjcore 5 South Aurora Co. (My Page) on
    Fri, Mar 30, 12 at 22:48

I have non-tinted glass on my 2 coldframes. On a sunny day I need to vent when the outside temperature is 35F. Otherwise inside temps easily go up to 90F and probably beyond.

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