Steve,

I couldn't say if this is the best set up or not but I have an electric baseboard heater in mine. When I put the clear solar pool cover on top it keeps it at 55 degrees easily enough. My DH said it raised the electric bill between $30-50 a month with the $50 being the very coldest month of Jan. He wired the baseboard heater to a thermostat. I am set up under very large decidious trees so in the summer I have only had to open the door and window and put a small oscillating fan in there to keep the temps under 80 degrees.

Now on to the fun part. I currently have my second HFGH sitting in the garage waiting for the area to be prepped. (The redtips are cut back but the poison ivy killer is doing its thing this week.) It will be connected to the first one back to back. That puts a vent on each side of the roof and doors on each end to open in the summer to create a breeze/ventilation. One half will be for my germinated seeds and the other half will be for my wintering over of plants. Hopefully enough room for a small chair so I can visit my plants on a regular basis. LOL

There are others on this board that have some great ideas too. I'm sure they will check in with their thoughts. We're a nice bunch here.

Cindy

I would worry a little bit about having an electric baseboard heater in a greenhouse, given all the potential for corrosion from moisture, and water/electric hazards. Just my opinion...

Kudzu,

I was worried about the very same thing when my DH put it in there but it has been fine. I was really amazed. And don't you hate it when the spouse is right? LOL

I'm careful about watering stuff in there and make sure nothing is too close.

The DH told me last night he has been working on a plan for putting a propane heater out there. I think that is what I'm getting for my birthday in Nov. yippee!!! This will be in conjunction with installing the gas logs for the living room.

Cindy

Cindy -
What brand/model propane heater is DH planning on getting? Or do we have to wait for your B-day?

Steve

He hasn't told me those details yet. LOL I hope we don't have to wait for my Birthday to find out.

He's been going through the Farmtek and Northern Tool catalogs.

Cindy

I know that GH is greenhouse, but what is HF, please?

Marguerite,

HF stands for Harbor Freight. It is the place a lot of us are buying our greenhouses. They are small, 6' x 8' but great for what we need.

Go to www.harborfreight.com and type greenhouse in the search block and it will come up.

Don't know if you can get one shipped to where you are though.

Cindy

Cindy -

Would the propane heater be thermostat controllable? I would not want to go out and light it every night and turn off in the morning.
We only get down to about 26 degrees here so I am looking at a heater with a frost setting. Anyone have ones they can recommend?

Steve

Hubby says yes it has to have a thermostat for those very same reasons plus in the early spring and late fall here we wake up to cold weather that gets warm by afternoon. We are not at home during the day to adjust it.

Unfortunately they are a little more expensive. He's doing some shopping around. But depending on how high propane is he says it may be cheaper to keep the electric heater out there.

Cindy

"under very large decidious trees so in the summer I have only had to open the door and window and put a small oscillating fan in there"
This is going to be my next project. I don't want too big of trees, but I think the right varieties at the right spacing could be a "Good Thing".

I have a kit coming from Farmtec and it will be delivered on Friday. Be happy to share the info after it arrives. I went for their "medium greenhouse kit" which includes a 10,000 BTU propane heater, 12" exhaust fan, louvered intake, and overhead circulation fan. All will be automated by Nema thermostats.

By the way I'm in N. CA. Only slightly cooler than Solvang in the winter, probably about the same in the summer except I think we get more of a cool marine layer in the morning.

If you want info on on the Farmtec setup let me know. My GH is a 9 x 12.

Canna Jan - Did the kit arrive? How do you like it?

Solvang Steve

Has anyone put in a louvered window (with an automatic vent opener)? If so, what kind of louvered window did you install, and how did you do the installation? Thanks for the info...Jim (who's hfgh is awaiting me in my pickup.)

Jim,

Go over to the Harbor Freight Club thread. There's a pic of the automatic vent opener there. I've put them on the "Dear Santa" letter that I write to my DH every year.

Cindy

I have a HFGH that was put up in April of 2007. There's a small wall type propane heater that does a nice job. Now I have an idea for a "Greener Heating System".

What I'm thinking of doing is burying 4" PVC pipe in the floor with one end extended up to the peak of the greenhouse and the other end at floor level. The plan is to have a small fan blowing the hot air from the roof area into the PVC piping in the floor. The floor, that is now dirt with a layer of crushed stone on it would act like a big heat sink.

Has anyone out there ever tried this? Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Joe

Here is a link that might be useful: My HFGH