"jane" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 11 Mar 2004 00:50:57 GMT, Jaques d'Alltrades
wrote:

~The message
~from "Franz Heymann" contains these
words:
~
~ You can make a heat pump for no cost at all, or very little -
assuming
~ you can find someone with an old freezer they don't want.
~
~ That will deliver around 50 to 100 watts, which is just about the
amount its
~ motor will need to run, so you might just as well not bother with the
whole
~ fridge. Just install the motor and switch it on permanently. Or,
easier,
~ just run a 100 watt bulb permanently.
~
~You will pump a great deal more than that, and you have the small amount
~of heat generated by the motor as an added bonus.
~
~If you have ever put your hand by the outblow of a freezer you have
~started from ambient temperature you'll realise it's pushing out as much
~as a small fan-heater.

I keep my second freezer (bought cos of the allotment!) in my
double-glazed conservatory because of that - the heat gets reused to
help keep it frost-free.

If you are serious about this, you should install it in the greenhouse door,
with its own door facing ourwards and open.
And make sure all the gaps left in the door are well sealed. {:-))

The downside is the heat in summer is too much for the freezer - but
at least it means I have an incentive to eat all the freezer contents
before May so I can switch it down for the summer!

And because it's an upright, I don't lose surface space either - and
my african violets are always nice and warm and visible

Franz