Heater Recommendations Needed

[TaylorEhrhart]

WE built/bought/modified me a 6x8 greenhouse. I moved all of my tropical plants in to free up some space in my house and I’ve loved it all summer with the door open, sun shade and the fans installed it’s been great. But it is starting to cool off here in New York and I need a heater for sure, something that is automatic and will keep it above 50° at least. Anyone have any luck on finding one on Amazon?

I was thinking of placing foam insulation in the bottom wood panels, and I have siliconed the top plexi panels already.

[Roberta]

Most important, you need a heater that is rated for greenhouses (that are damp) Electricity and water don't play nicely... I got one of these last year for my small (4' x 8' lean-to) greenhouse and it has worked quite well. But I'm in California so it's never working against sub-freezing temperatures.

Amazon.com

Ast to whether it will maintain 50 deg F, here is a little calculator. Greenhouse Heater Size Calculator from ACF Greenhouses

If the calculator says you need more capacity than that little heater (which is the maximum you can get with 110 v) you will either need to wire for 220v to run a bigger electric heater, or go to gas. For my 8' x 12' greenhouse, I found that I needed a small gas heater, and ended up with this one Williams 14,000 BTU Direct Vent Gas Wall Heaters on Sale - ACF Greenhouses 1403822 & 1403821 , direct-vent. Even in California...

[estación seca]

I suggest you change your country in your profile to US, and state you live in New York. We look at that info when giving advice.

Every greenhouse heater will eventually fail. A 6' x 8' greenhouse would probably freeze within an hour or two on a cold night. You also need an alarm, and a backup heater you can turn on within minutes.

Many greenhouse growers put extra plastic bubble wrap inside the glazing for winter. Consider joining a local orchid society or garden club to see what others do for winter.

[Roberta]

Another factor to consider... If the weather is very bad, sometimes you lose electric power. So if you use an electric heater, you want to have a backup heater that runs on gas, like this...Sorry! Something went wrong! of suitable size, and a full 20 lb propane tank (and suitable hose to hook it up) That direct-vent gas heater that I mentioned above does not require electricity to operate - you can get an optional fan for it but really doesn't need it.

[TaylorEhrhart]

Originally Posted by Roberta

you can get an optional fan for it.

Thank you, can you suggest a type of these fans?

---------- Post added at 02:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:26 AM ----------

Originally Posted by estación seca

I suggest you change your country in your profile to US, and state you live in New York.

Done.

However, I actually own multiple farms and houses in different states and ZONEs. Could this cause any issues with my membership here?

[estación seca]

No, not at all. When you're asking questions, tell us where you're growing the plant, and how.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by TaylorEhrhart

Thank you, can you suggest a type of these fans?[COLOR="Silver"]

---------- Post added at 02:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:26 AM ----------

When you order the heater, the optional fan that goes with it comes from the manufacturer. I don't use one, I have fans going 24/7 in the GH that do a sufficient job of distributing the warm air. (In a power failure, the fact that warm air rises will give enough circulation to keep the place from freezing, not perfect but would be protective, the heater is not dependent on the fan to operate) My GH is pretty flimsy and full of air leaks, OK for southern California, would not be even remotely adequate for anyplace that gets actual freezing cold.

[Roberta]

Remember, too, when choosing heater capacity... you have to size it for the extremes, not the average. So most of the time, it won't be working all that hard. But you need to protect the plants when the cold sets records - which happens. If the goal is 50 deg F, the occasional night where the GH goes down to 40, you probably won't have a problem. But if it goes to 29, you're likely to lose some things, maybe a lot. This is not a good place to economize.

[TaylorEhrhart]

Originally Posted by Roberta

.. This is not a good place to economize.

I totally agree..