Replacing an 8 x 8 Rion

Strong winds tore the roof vents off our seven-year-old Rion, and the door latch has stopped working. We're wondering whether it's just time to replace it with a more attractive model that holds the heat better, since ours was never very good at that. Inside temps were always the same as outside temps in the morning when it was cold out, even with a stone floor and large containers filled with water and painted black to store the heat. I've noticed that other people seem to have better experiences in that department. We don't want to build our own and we'll probably get someone to help us set the thing up at this point in our lives, but it would be nice to have a greenhouse that worked a little better. Any ideas?

What kind of winter temps do you get?

Cathy, it usually doesn't get down below the twenties around here, although lower temperatures sometimes occur. We're in Zone 7a so I'm assuming it's milder than your area.

If I remember correctly, the Rion has a 10 year warranty, you might check with them for replacement parts. I had a vent blow off and they replaced it free.

We went through and caulked our rion, it made a huge difference in heat retention. I do heat it just a little with a small electric heater. Without it, it just doesn't stay warm on cloudy days. When we had extra cold weather, down to zero, we put a sheet of plastic over it like people do with shade cloths in summer.

I know that it has a nice warranty, but between the roof vents and the door latch it seems as though it's trying to tell us something, and as with a car, when it starts falling apart to that extent sometimes it's time to say goodbye. I've been in touch with the people I bought it from and they told me to give them the part numbers and they'd get replacements for us, although I was assuming we'd be paying for them since it's not their fault there was a windstorm. But then we started thinking that maybe it was time for a new one. We're getting older and don't feel like doing constant repairs on it.

If it were several years earlier on I would try caulking it; that never occurred to us. We just assumed that what we had was the way it was supposed to be, and we didn't modify it at all. In the spring when I put my seed flats out in it after the first true leaves have appeared we do use a small electric heater, and that keeps the temps above freezing, but I was just surprised at how much heat it lost without that, and probably with it, too.

Greenhouse_gal -- My Rion is about 7 years old as well, and is also starting to fall apart in various places. (coincidentally - I think the warranty is 7 years...). I've overall been pretty happy with it, but really only use it for seedlings in the spring, with a small ventless propane heater to keep things from freezing, and I agree it doesn't seem to hold the heat as well as I'd like (even though I've gone through and filled in most of the little openings with caulk). I have to kind of wonder if anything really would, though, considering the amount of uninsulated surface area. Maybe a greenhouse inside another greenhouse or hoophouse, so there was an insulating air layer in between?

I will say it's stood up well for me in snow and wind, though. In the winter I cover it with a big piece of clear plastic because we were concerned water would get into the various nooks and crannies, freeze, and push things apart. The first year I used a big tarp but found clear plastic works much better because it lets the g'house heat up when the sun is out and the snow falls off. I'm afraid anything that would be really efficient at keeping heat in during cold weather would be well beyond my budget!

Sandy

Sandy, here's my Rion in the last snow, in December. I've never covered it, and maybe we should have.

I just figured that perhaps it was time to rethink and maybe I could spend a bit more money and get a much better product. I was curious to know what greenhouses others here might have and how happy they were with them, but if we do upgrade I want to stick to the same size because we already have the foundation in place. I'm sure we'd have to modify but at least the size would be right.

I'd love to know what might be a better replacement, as well -- hope to keep mine for a few more years, but it obviously isn't going to last forever!

Sandy

Well, I sent an email to igcusa, where I got my Rion, asking for suggestions, because their website doesn't search in terms of sizes and there were too many to look through. So I'll let you know if I get a response. I'm sure I will because they'll see a potential sale!

http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/Legacy-Greenhouse/productinfo/HG-BCLG/

This one looks pretty nice. The specs aren't too bad.

Good luck with your search. Let us know what you end up deciding on.

Pam

ouch, what a price, but pretty!

Believe it or not, that was the one that the igcusa salesperson suggested to me - that and the Early Grow Plus
http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/EasyGrow-Plus-Greenhouse/productinfo/HG-RIEG-08/
but I didn't care as much for that because it looks a lot like the Rion in terms of construction materials. I had emailed them and a representative called me and discussed options, which I thought was very helpful. The only problem with the Legacy is that I really wanted green trim, but I guess brown is better than white, or the Rion green plastic, which did fade as I figured it would. Charley's Greenhouse has a model I like better, but the reviews aren't good! This one's really nice, though:

http://www.charleysgreenhouse.com/GHFS808GRNTG-8--39-x-8--39-Supreme-English-Hobby-Greenhouse-Kit--Glass.htm

Greenhouse_gal -- I really like the looks of the clear glass and the sliding doors on the one from Charley's. Have you had a problem with things getting up inside the twinwall on your Rion? I have everything in there from worms to spider egg cases, and were I to use the twinwall again I would definitely use a "glazing tape" -- I think I've seen it in Charley's catalog -- to seal the ends off.

Not a replacement by any means, but I ordered a hoophouse kit that I found on EBay that I'm hoping will let me extend my growing season (ala "Four Season Gardening"). I was planning to construct a PVC hoophouse but for $130 for the kit, I'm sure I would have put that much into anything made "from scratch." Getting very itchy to start planting -- yesterday the sun was out and the temp got up over 90 in my g'house; it would really be fun to go out in the hoophouse and have stuff growing (or at least be able to smell the dirt).

Sandy

I really like the one from Charley's, too, but I can't find anything more about it and people didn't seem to think much of their service or products on Watchdog.

Leslie