I have found a way to get my propagator to work even better...I have a 2" thick piece of polystyrene under it so more heat is generated upwards towards the pots...has anyone else thought of this...?

On Feb 5, 10:22*pm, solaara
wrote:
I have found a way to get my propagator to work even better...I have a
2" thick piece of polystyrene under it so more heat is generated
upwards towards the pots...has anyone else thought of this...?

--
solaara

Sounds a good idea to me solaara, what was the heat gain?
and why did it need more heat? i.e. what are you growing?

Jay
http://www.ukjay.co.uk
http://www.gardenersclick.com

"UkJay" wrote in message
...
On Feb 5, 10:22 pm, solaara
wrote:
I have found a way to get my propagator to work even better...I have a
2" thick piece of polystyrene under it so more heat is generated
upwards towards the pots...has anyone else thought of this...?

--
solaara


Polystyrene is not going to "generate" heat, nor is it going to be as
effective at reflecting heat upards as a sheet of baking foil underneath the
tray. The only way this is going to help is by avoiding heat loss through
conduction into the surface the propagator is sitting on. But that shouldn't
really be an issue anyway, the propagator should be designed to minimise
that sort of loss. It isn't sitting on an anvil by any chance?

Steve

solaara wrote:
I have found a way to get my propagator to work even better...I have a
2" thick piece of polystyrene under it so more heat is generated
upwards towards the pots...has anyone else thought of this...?

If the propagator temperature isn't thermostatically controlled, you may
find that by using polystyrene its temperature gets too high on warm days,
as there will be very little if any heat loss throught he base. That could
do more harm than good.

--
Jeff

I am trying to germinate clivia seeds........I don't know how much more it generates..it seems a lot warmer on the bottom of the propagator........solaara

No. It is not sitting on an anvil..It is resting on a washing machine, as it is the only source of electricity nearbye..I am fairly new to this and I didn't expect sarcasm............

[quote='Jeff Layman[_2_];829314']solaara wrote:
I have found a way to get my propagator to work even better...I have a
2" thick piece of polystyrene under it so more heat is generated
upwards towards the pots...has anyone else thought of this...?

If the propagator temperature isn't thermostatically controlled, you may
find that by using polystyrene its temperature gets too high on warm days,
as there will be very little if any heat loss throught he base. That could
do more harm than good.

--

I am only doing it these cold wintry days, until we get a bit more sunshine...sol

The message
from "Jeff Layman" contains these words:
solaara wrote:

I have found a way to get my propagator to work even better...I have a
2" thick piece of polystyrene under it so more heat is generated
upwards towards the pots...has anyone else thought of this...?

If the propagator temperature isn't thermostatically controlled, you may
find that by using polystyrene its temperature gets too high on warm days,
as there will be very little if any heat loss throught he base. That could
do more harm than good.

Isn't there a thermostat?

If not, a suitable (adjustable) one may be got from aquaria shops.
Shield it from direct sunlight...

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

On 6 Feb, 16:23, solaara wrote:
UkJay;829296 Wrote:

On Feb 5, 10:22*pm, solaara
wrote:-
I have found a way to get my propagator to work even better...I have
a
2" thick piece of polystyrene under it so more heat is generated
upwards towards the pots...has anyone else thought of this...?

--
solaara-

Sounds a good idea to me solaara, what was the heat gain?
and why did it need more heat? i.e. what are you growing?

Jay
http://www.gardenersclick.com

I am trying to germinate clivia seeds........I don't know how much more
it generates..it seems a lot warmer on the bottom of the
propagator........solaara

--
solaara

Ok well I sowed some Gaillardia seeds in my propagator
and I do keep the compost moist and after a few days hey presto! they
are emerging (see this link)
http://www.gardenersclick.com/questions/view/614
Not bad for my first effort ??

Good luck with your Clivia seeds Solaara!

Jay
http://www.ukjay.co.uk

In article
,
UkJay writes
Ok well I sowed some Gaillardia seeds in my propagator
and I do keep the compost moist and after a few days hey presto! they
are emerging (see this link)
http://www.gardenersclick.com/questions/view/614
Not bad for my first effort ??


Well you might want to put off sowing too much at the moment because
you'll need to transplant them when they are big enough and the weather
is not so good that you can just put them in an unheated greenhouse etc.
You'll end up having an awful lot of pots to find room for!

I've delayed most of my normal January and February sowing this year I
don't know what others are doing?

Janet
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

Somewhere on teh intarwebs Jeff Layman wrote:
solaara wrote:
I have found a way to get my propagator to work even better...I have
a 2" thick piece of polystyrene under it so more heat is generated
upwards towards the pots...has anyone else thought of this...?

If the propagator temperature isn't thermostatically controlled, you
may find that by using polystyrene its temperature gets too high on
warm days, as there will be very little if any heat loss throught he
base. That could do more harm than good.

If, as you say, there will be very little heat loss through the base then it
follows that there will be very little (reflected lost) heat *gain* through
the base as well. Therefore your argument is null.
--
Shaun.

"Build a man a fire, and he`ll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and
he`ll be warm for the rest of his life." Terry Pratchett, Jingo.

On 13 Feb, 01:14, Janet Tweedy wrote:
In article
,
UkJay writes

Ok well I sowed some Gaillardia seeds in my propagator
and I do keep the compost moist and after a few days hey presto! they
are emerging (see this link)
http://www.gardenersclick.com/questions/view/614
Not bad for my first effort ??

Well you might want to put off sowing too much at the moment because
you'll need to transplant them when they are big enough and the weather
is not so good that you can just put them in an unheated greenhouse etc.
You'll end up having an awful lot of pots to find room for!

I've delayed most of my normal January and February sowing this year I
don't know what others are doing?

Janet
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraphhttp://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

I've done my Gaillardia and they seem to be coming along nicely
not sure when to prick them out just yet though.
I've sowed some Petunia but I think the moisture may be a prob with
them ??
It's all good stuff though and a steep learning curve!

Jay
http://www.ukjay.co.uk

hoping to get fit as well :-)