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Old 07-02-2005, 09:50 PM
Rob Halgren
 
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keith ;-) wrote:
I have been running a 2kw electric fan heater in my 10 x 8 greenhouse which
has cost around £120 for two months keeping
it at 60 f min 24/7.It may have been more expensive than it should be
because I have been running the heater through a thermostat controller set
at 60 f min & the heaters thermostat on full and on its highest heat
setting.After receiving my bill I am trying the heater thermostat lower and
the heat setting on one instead of two,I think on one its output is 1.8kw &
2kw on setting two.This has scared me,so thinking of buying a gas heater
supplied with hose & regulator so I think can use bottled gas with it.It has
a variable output upto 4.2 kw,suitable for 20x10 greenhouse & costs £99.95p
Would this be the cheapest to run,also would I require permanent
ventilation.If any one is using bottled gas/heater,any advise is
appreciated.
ps just thinking about gas at the moment(panic reaction!)



Well, a gas (I use liquefied propane, or LP gas) furnace is certainly
cheaper to run than the equivalent electric heater. I'd hate to guess
how much gas you would use, that depends a lot on the temperature
outside and the type of heater you have.

I'm pretty sure you can get a through the wall heater that runs on LP
gas. For not too expensive. But I don't know if you have LP gas where
you are. Here in the US, it is conceivable that you could run a small
furnace off of the same sort of tank that a barbeque grill might use.
You'd have to fill it up a lot.

If you have gas service from the street (that is usually natural gas,
methane), then there are no problems whatsoever. Just get the
appropriate plumber/heating guy to hook it up and away you go. Just
make sure you get a furnace appropriate to the fuel (propane and methane
aren't interchangeable).

Before I put up the big furnace, I had good luck with a shop heater,
which is a little turbocharged jet engine kind of thing. I have an 120K
BTU model, but they come in smaller sizes (75K?). It burns kerosene,
diesel, or fuel oil, although kerosene is probably cleanest. Comes with
a built in thermostat. It isn't vented, but I didn't run into much of a
problem with it. I kept the vents cracked open a bit. Didn't lose any
flowers.

Now, if you are going to all the trouble of getting gas for your
greenhouse, you may as well switch your home heating to the same fuel.
A new gas furnace or boiler for the house would pay for itself in lower
electricity bills. If you are already using gas for heating the house,
then it is really easy to tap into that for the greenhouse.

Rob
--
Rob's Rules: http://www.msu.edu/~halgren
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a) See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to obtain more
orchids, obtain more credit

LittlefrogFarm - Growing the plants Rob likes. )