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Greenhouse heater advice please

katieb.homekatieb.home Posts: 9
in Problem solving
Hi there - I have a 6 x 8 greenhouse - quite old - I was to have a new one for my birthday but lead times are 6 months & more so will have to refurb my existing one.  I'm new to using a g/house ( existing was here when we moved in 20 years ago ) & need to buy a heater for the winter.  No electricity - any advice on best to get & size please?  Many thanks Kathy

Posts

  • nick615nick615 Posts: 1,487
    As nobody's taken up the baton, katieb.home, it depends what you're trying to do?  You see, some people will want to really cook the greenhouse up, whereas others are content to just keep the frost off.  If you're in the latter category, it's said that a row of plastic containers, filled with water and painted matt black, will absorb enough natural day warmth to expel back overnight and protect against frost bite.  For 'proper' heating you'll need to wait for someone else, I'm afraid.
  • katieb.homekatieb.home Posts: 9
    Thanks Nick - as you call it I'm looking for 'proper' heat.  Thanks for replying anyway, happy gardening :-) 
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    With no leccy I guess your choices are either paraffin or butane.
    A long time ago I had a paraffin heater in my parents greenhouse. The main problems were a lot of moisture, and if you don't trim your wick regularly, a lot of smoke and smuts and the greenhouse always stank of paraffin. TBH I found paraffin caused too many problems - mind you that was around 50 years ago.
    I've no experience of butane which would be cleaner, but still produces a lot of water vapour.
    What are you planning on growing there over winter?

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • katieb.homekatieb.home Posts: 9
    Hi Pete - was planning on some flowers & poss salad type veg - nothing on a major scale & a bit of trial & error.  Anything u recommend ? Yes I've seen mention of the smell with paraffin & was a bit concerned about breathing in the fumes........
  • Andy19Andy19 Posts: 671
    Burn a large candle with a terracotta pot over the top of it if you need more heat burn another one at other end of greenhouse both on the floor.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Hi Katie - I don't grow anything over winter in my greenhouse.
    I rarely venture down the end of the garden over winter.
    I start sowing chilli and peppers in a heated propagator in late Feb, but I do have leccy in the greenhouse and by March the sun is getting stronger to help the seedlings on.

    There are types of lettuce that will grow over winter apparently and Lambs lettuce should be ok even without heat. Adam Frost was sowing radish on GW last Friday.
    Perpetual spinach may work too, but don't expect too much from them.

    I'm not sure you'll get much in the way of flowers over winter - light from the sun just isn't strong enough over winter irrespective of heat, and plants need the right balance of heat and light to get them to produce flowers.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • katieb.homekatieb.home Posts: 9
    Thanks all - perhaps I'll have to have a re think & plan for early spring sowings then??  Just thought it would help get thru the winter not being able to do a great deal in the garden.........
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