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Jan 22, 2014 11:02 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Anne
Summerville, SC (Zone 8a)
Only dead fish go with the flow!
Plant and/or Seed Trader Birds Cat Lover Greenhouse Tropicals Bulbs
Seed Starter Garden Ideas: Master Level Hibiscus Hybridizer Garden Sages Butterflies
Had a fright when the power went out. It's already in the upper 20's and with no power the GH heaters won't run. Thankfully it came back on in about 10 minutes but I watched both GH's drop 2 degrees (both were in the mid 40's) in that 10 minutes.

It got me to thinking, what would I do if it was a lengthy power failure with way below freezing weather?

I found is a Coleman ProCat Catalytic Heater that actually has a fan that runs off batteries! I'm thinking I may have to get me a couple of those - but you would definitely have to baby sit them all night since it doesn't have a thermostat. And the price really isn't all that bad!

http://www.coleman.com/product...

Anyone else have any suggestions for this potentially disastrous problem?
Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
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Jan 22, 2014 11:31 PM CST
Name: Cheryl
North of Houston TX (Zone 9a)
Region: Texas Greenhouse Plant Identifier Plant Lover: Loves 'em all! Plumerias Ponds
Foliage Fan Enjoys or suffers hot summers Tropicals Garden Ideas: Master Level Garden Sages Million Pollinator Garden Challenge
We have a generator planned for use mostly in the summer. But if something were to happen in the winter to threaten my greenhouse plants, I wouldn't hesitate to start it up to save them. In fact, we have a window A/C unit for summers but we still need to get a heater for ourselves for that odd generator use in the winter.
Life is short, Break the rules, Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly, Love Truly, Laugh
uncontrollably, And never regret anything that made you Smile.
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Jan 22, 2014 11:32 PM CST
Name: Cheryl
North of Houston TX (Zone 9a)
Region: Texas Greenhouse Plant Identifier Plant Lover: Loves 'em all! Plumerias Ponds
Foliage Fan Enjoys or suffers hot summers Tropicals Garden Ideas: Master Level Garden Sages Million Pollinator Garden Challenge
PS Stay warm. Something frigid is coming to South Texas tomorrow.
Life is short, Break the rules, Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly, Love Truly, Laugh
uncontrollably, And never regret anything that made you Smile.
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Jan 23, 2014 6:08 AM CST
Name: Kristi
east Texas pineywoods (Zone 8a)
Herbs Region: Texas Vegetable Grower Avid Green Pages Reviewer Garden Ideas: Level 2
I have a 'Lil Sweetie' wood box heater. I use that and have a radiant electric heater that is thermostat controlled. When the wood heater burns down, the electric kicks in. And yes, we see power outages often enough that I learned to get up a few extra times at night to keep the wood heater going.

The problem with that is the wood heater is on one end of the (10 x 20) greenhouse and a fan circulates the warm air. The fan quits when the lights go out. I staged plants that don't mind the cooler temps at the far end of the greenhouse but...

I saw a fan that sits on the wood heater and uses convection to circulate the air. Am thinking I need one of them too.

And now, the weather says we have seen our high for the day. I believe I'm going to load the heater and the fireplace just to be ready. Stay warm.
Believe in yourself even when no one else will. ~ Sasquatch
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Jan 23, 2014 7:56 AM CST
Name: Ken Ramsey
Vero Beach, FL (Zone 10a)
Bromeliad Vegetable Grower Region: United States of America Tropicals Plumerias Orchids
Region: Mississippi Master Gardener: Mississippi Hummingbirder Cat Lover Composter Seller of Garden Stuff
I have two propane heaters, running off those 5 gallon LPG tanks. They produce tons of heat and each would easily heat a 20x30' GH if necessary. Thank goodness I have never had to use them in a GH but just knowing I have them helps me sleep better.
drdawg (Dr. Kenneth Ramsey)

The reason it's so hard to lose weight when you get up in age is because your body and your fat have become good friends.
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Jan 24, 2014 10:03 PM CST
Name: Ursula
Fair Lawn NJ, zone 7a
Orchids Plumerias Cactus and Succulents Region: New Jersey Region: Pennsylvania Native Plants and Wildflowers
Greenhouse Ponds Keeper of Koi Forum moderator Lover of wildlife (Black bear badge) Adeniums
Around here, losing power in Winter would be a nightmare! Temperatures are supposed to drop next week again down to single digits F.
We bought a few years ago a generator and had it integrated into the main electrical system of our house ( extra switch box), we need to throw some switches after starting up the generator. I was very glad to have power during and after Sandy, it took 10 days for my street to get everything fixed/new poles installed and downed trees removed. The contents of the greenhouse would have been toast by then without the generator.
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Jan 28, 2014 10:52 AM CST
Name: Ric Sanders
Dover, Pa. (Zone 6b)
And his children Are his flowers ..
Birds Seed Starter Keeper of Poultry Ponds Region: Pennsylvania Greenhouse
Garden Art Dog Lover Cottage Gardener Butterflies Vegetable Grower Garden Ideas: Master Level
We have a problem with frequent outages, so I used a propane heaters that will work without power and they are affordable. These at Tractor Supply are like the one I use. I plumbed mine in with black iron pipe but tubing will work as well. We have a 100 gallon tank in the corner of the garden. Our's is like the second one.
http://www.tractorsupply.com/w...
Ric of MAF @ DG
Last edited by Eric4home Jan 28, 2014 10:54 AM Icon for preview
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Jan 28, 2014 11:23 AM CST
Name: Arlene
Grantville, GA (Zone 8a)
Greenhouse Region: Georgia Garden Sages Organic Gardener Beekeeper Vegetable Grower
Seed Starter Cut Flowers Composter Keeper of Poultry Keeps Goats Avid Green Pages Reviewer
Ric, that is just what I was looking for!
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Jan 28, 2014 1:28 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Anne
Summerville, SC (Zone 8a)
Only dead fish go with the flow!
Plant and/or Seed Trader Birds Cat Lover Greenhouse Tropicals Bulbs
Seed Starter Garden Ideas: Master Level Hibiscus Hybridizer Garden Sages Butterflies
They sound great but do they have a thermostat?
Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
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Jan 28, 2014 4:56 PM CST
Name: Holly
South Central Pa
Region: Mid-Atlantic Charter ATP Member Greenhouse I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Region: Pennsylvania Tropicals
Ponds Hummingbirder Birds Butterflies Lover of wildlife (Black bear badge) Garden Ideas: Master Level
pod, My son has a small fan that sits on top of his wood stove not sure how it works but it just runs from the heat generated by the stove. Really moves some heat around and his is rather small and I think only has 2 blades. I know his friend has one with more blades but I'm not sure if it is bigger.
Something like this but I don't think he paid more than $90.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001AYZMWQ/
Life is Great! Holly
Please visit me and learn more about My Life on the Water a Personal Journey Thread in the MidAtlanticMusings Cubit.
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Jan 28, 2014 10:29 PM CST
Name: Kristi
east Texas pineywoods (Zone 8a)
Herbs Region: Texas Vegetable Grower Avid Green Pages Reviewer Garden Ideas: Level 2
Thanks Holly ~ that is exactly the one I was thinking of. My box heater is small and I keep a large tea kettle of water on it for humidity. I haven't figure out where this fan can sit. I do appreciate knowing that it works well. Thanks, Kristi
Believe in yourself even when no one else will. ~ Sasquatch
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Jan 28, 2014 10:38 PM CST
Name: Ric Sanders
Dover, Pa. (Zone 6b)
And his children Are his flowers ..
Birds Seed Starter Keeper of Poultry Ponds Region: Pennsylvania Greenhouse
Garden Art Dog Lover Cottage Gardener Butterflies Vegetable Grower Garden Ideas: Master Level
Yes they do in fact have an adjustable thermostat. Right after I bought mine online from a greenhouse supply and paid the shipping, I found them at the local tractor supply. Whistling
Ric of MAF @ DG
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Feb 9, 2014 9:28 AM CST
Name: Ric Sanders
Dover, Pa. (Zone 6b)
And his children Are his flowers ..
Birds Seed Starter Keeper of Poultry Ponds Region: Pennsylvania Greenhouse
Garden Art Dog Lover Cottage Gardener Butterflies Vegetable Grower Garden Ideas: Master Level
We just experienced a major outage here, about 3-4 days, and our heater preformed quite well. Since we had no power for fans, we had to use a little more heat to maintain an acceptable temp. throughout the GH. These record temps. are costing an arm and leg, but...
I've applied bubble wrap to most (2/3s) of the exposed vertical surface, and it seems to have little negative effect on the light available. Next year I hope to attach a solar blanket to the roof as well. If these temps continue to be a trend, we may have to opt out to a more protected area for winter use and let this house go dormant. We have an area behind the house facing SW and have considered a solarium there. With a Trombe wall and other solar features such as black drums behind the glass and under the (SW) bench it should be more cost effective. Our living room has 132sq' of glass facing SW with a 6-8" insulated concrete floor which helps quite a lot with heating and gives a lot of guest houseplant envy. Hilarious!
Ric of MAF @ DG
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Feb 9, 2014 9:35 AM CST
Thread OP
Name: Anne
Summerville, SC (Zone 8a)
Only dead fish go with the flow!
Plant and/or Seed Trader Birds Cat Lover Greenhouse Tropicals Bulbs
Seed Starter Garden Ideas: Master Level Hibiscus Hybridizer Garden Sages Butterflies
I've been looking into propane heaters and natural gas heaters for the greenhouse I'll be building when I move. Probably what's available will determine what I ultimately get. When I lived in England I used bubble wrap on the greenhouse and incurred a horrible algae growth between the polycarbonate panes and bubble wrap. Have you or anyone else had that problem using bubble wrap?
Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
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Feb 17, 2014 8:55 AM CST
Name: Ric Sanders
Dover, Pa. (Zone 6b)
And his children Are his flowers ..
Birds Seed Starter Keeper of Poultry Ponds Region: Pennsylvania Greenhouse
Garden Art Dog Lover Cottage Gardener Butterflies Vegetable Grower Garden Ideas: Master Level
We haven't had any algae growth yet, other than a little directly on the polycarbonate, which is easy to clean off. I plan to pull the bubble wrap, dry it, and store it in the barn this summer.
Our current problem is getting propane, we've been waiting 3 weeks. The weather is interfering with transports and the demand is so high it is short in supply. We have been on the last 10% of our tank for days. We have 3 electric heaters set up to reduce the use of the gas heater and I have a 25# bottle in reserve. Deliveries are only being made to homes and businesses. I'm hoping we can get through this month, then I hope I can convince the gas co. to replace our 100 gallon tank with a 300 allowing me to schedule and pay for deliveries over the summer.
Ric of MAF @ DG
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Feb 17, 2014 10:28 AM CST
Name: Ken Ramsey
Vero Beach, FL (Zone 10a)
Bromeliad Vegetable Grower Region: United States of America Tropicals Plumerias Orchids
Region: Mississippi Master Gardener: Mississippi Hummingbirder Cat Lover Composter Seller of Garden Stuff
So far I have not seen any algae at all. My solar blanket material, aka bubble-wrap, is on the outside, not the inside of the greenhouses. I have only had the solar blanket wrapping the greenhouses since November.
drdawg (Dr. Kenneth Ramsey)

The reason it's so hard to lose weight when you get up in age is because your body and your fat have become good friends.
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Feb 17, 2014 10:34 AM CST
Name: Joanne
Calgary, AB Canada (Zone 3a)
I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Garden Ideas: Master Level Region: Canadian Charter ATP Member Seed Starter Roses
Plant Lover: Loves 'em all! Annuals Container Gardener Vegetable Grower Winter Sowing Enjoys or suffers cold winters
I used a propane heater in my greenhouse for years. The plants grow like crazy from all the CO & CO2 that the heater produces. Do take care that you have enough fresh air coming in the greenhouse when you are using a fuel heater and that you vent it properly. Before I had power in the greenhouse, I ran a little 24V fan off a motorcycle battery. Air moment is extremely important
Last edited by Joannabanana Feb 17, 2014 10:36 AM Icon for preview
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Feb 17, 2014 10:56 AM CST
Name: Ken Ramsey
Vero Beach, FL (Zone 10a)
Bromeliad Vegetable Grower Region: United States of America Tropicals Plumerias Orchids
Region: Mississippi Master Gardener: Mississippi Hummingbirder Cat Lover Composter Seller of Garden Stuff
I agree Thumbs up
drdawg (Dr. Kenneth Ramsey)

The reason it's so hard to lose weight when you get up in age is because your body and your fat have become good friends.
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Feb 17, 2014 11:42 AM CST
Thread OP
Name: Anne
Summerville, SC (Zone 8a)
Only dead fish go with the flow!
Plant and/or Seed Trader Birds Cat Lover Greenhouse Tropicals Bulbs
Seed Starter Garden Ideas: Master Level Hibiscus Hybridizer Garden Sages Butterflies
Air movement is definitely a must! Ever since that massive algae bloom I had when I was in England, I never wanted to use the bubble wrap again though on the outside might be better. Depending on what's available when I buy my new house, I'll either go propane or natural gas for heat.
Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
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