Does anyone have experience with this make and/or model. I'm cosidering it as a replacement for my portable, and the only thing I'm not crazy about is the height of 6'10". I would prefer it to be higher. The really nice thing is the warranty, and supposedly the ease or set-up. Any and all comments are welcome and appreciated! Thank you!!! Gretchen
I was looking at that one when I was searching. What turned me off was the 4mm twinwall. I wanted it to be more insulated. You are in a much better zone than I am tho. A big plus is the free shipping. Shipping cost can be a BIG expense for a greenhouse kit.
You should search on the Greenhouse forum on GardenWeb too. There's a few people over there that have this one. I don't think the set up is as easy as it claims to be ;o)
Thanks Sue. I wondered about the set-up... And the fact that the frame is resin rather than aluminum, but they claim its very strong. I think it would definitely be enough insulation for this area. Costco has it with lots of extras included for I think $1800. That's a lot of GH space for the money, plus it has a great warranty. I'm not a member of GW, so maybe someone here will come along that has this one... Thanks again!
Gretchen, I don't think you don't need to be a GW members to read the threads there. Here's a search for Rion in there GH forum. http://search.gardenweb.com/search/nph-ind.cgi?term=Rion&forum=strucs&forum_name=Greenhouses+%26+Garden+Structures It might help to read what others have to say about it. It is a good price for a greenhouse.
Sue -- thank you - you're a gem! I just decide to continue with my search. From what I read, the thing could melt in severe heat! We get plenty of that here, so that just wouldn't work LOL! Can you imagine coming home to a melted GH??? I'm going to keep trying to get DH to just build me one from scratch out of wood and twin-wall...
I have a Rion 8 x 16 Greenhouse, I'm sorry to say. If anyone wants to buy it, let me know. I'll sell it cheap. I paid a lot of money for it from the main distributor in Texas who assured me it could withstand a lot of wind, 80 mph. I think he said. Anyway, it is NOT easy for the average person to put together. He told me a guy back east charges $500 to put them together. Anyway, I hired two fellows and it took them two days. And within two weeks it was blowing apart piece by piece until I was forced to disassemble it before I lost all the panels. I contacted the distributor and they said, "that's too bad" and were willing to replace the lost panels, but what good is that going to do me now?
Oh my -- that's terrible! Thank you for letting me know. It can be very windy here too. Between that and the possibility of it melting, well... NO WAY!
I bought this greenhouse last spring - a couple of panels came damaged but were promptly replaced. Set-up was pretty easy if you've put stuff together before, but you definitely need more than 2 people to put the top section on! I've been heating for the last month with a pretty small propane heater, keeping night temps between 45-55. We've had winds of 50-60 mph, and over a foot of snow at a time, with no problems. So far, so good - this is really my first greenhouse experience, but I'm happy. ;-)
Weed: Thanks for you input and great picture! I had to change directions due to the extreme heat we get here. Am just afraid it might melt, and apparantly that has happened to some.
I live in Arizona, and I have an 8x8 RION greenhouse, that I'm very happy with. I have it situated between two trees and it receives morning sun, then filtered sun the rest of the day. I grow mainly hoyas and plumeria, and it works well. I have an portable evaporated cooler and mini fan inside. Prior to this greenhouse, I had a shade-house made from the same material the RION is made with, and the shadehouse lasted 3 summers, and was taken down for the RION. It took 3 people about 8 hours to assemble.
Guess it doesn't melt as easily as some people have indicated in other forums... Thanks!
kaufmann, I've been looking at the Rion, too - as well as the "Hobby Gardener" greenhouse: http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/gardener.shtml - I like the looks of it, but my concerns are:
size (it's smaller than what I have now);
R-value, which I can't seem to find anywhere;
ease of assembly (3-6 hours, yeah right!)
longevity (plastic grids - ugh); and
sturdiness (strong, sustained wind gusts aren't REAL common here, but it can happen, and I don't want to be chasing panels through the yard.)
After I look and consider the costs and these other factors, I'm still leaning toward rebuilding my 10x12 GH plans, using metal conduit instead of PVC...but having rigid polycarb walls would be nice. Sigh...
Hi Terry:
I finally decided just to keep what I have for now: a 6X10 portable. Its not big enough, but I can make it work for one more season... Thanks for your input!
Grow-it, in Conneticut has all size kits for sale
Now I'm in even deeper temptation - they've got a new 8x10 (plus 4' extension available soon) "MiniPro" - same polycarbonate "snap" together system, with more headroom than the smaller "Enthusiast" model. Will be saving my pennies for this one next fall!!!!
Terry, might want to check out Essex too. Sandy
I sure would like to read some more input on the Rion Professional 8X16.
Costco's price has gone up a bit since 2004 when this post was originally started. It's now $2,4000, but from what I have seen at other sites, that's not bad. That includes shipping.
Maybe since this thread was posted, there have been improvements ?
I keep coming back to the Rion for several reasons ..... size, cost, ability to add on later if I want .....
Thanks for any input.
Kathy
Kathy, I bought the Rion 8x12 from Sam's Club last year for $1600. They still offer it at that price. If you don't have a membership, it might be worth the price difference to pay for a year's membership. Or if you have a family member or nearby friend with a membership, you could probably find a way to order it through their membership and have it shipped to your address.
I do need to get some replacement parts for mine before the weather turns cold; the May hailstorm we got did a real number on some of the support pieces.
Thanks Terry,
Believe it or not, we have a Sam's Club membership too.
I looked at Sam's club's website, but I didn't see the name "Rion" anywhere. I thought all the one's I saw there were aluminum, but I'll check it out again.
I do like the customer service at Costco better, they turely practice "the customer is always right". I would also get an additional 4% back at the end of the year because we have an upgraded membership and their American Express card.
I'll have to do the math and see how it works out.
Thanks again, I'll check out Sam's again.
Kathy
In case this helps someone else:
I just went to the Sam's website, and this time I typed "Rion Greenhouse" into the search and found them. When I checked before, I only typed "greenhouse" into the search, and none of them came up for me.
This message was edited Oct 8, 2006 2:58 PM
Hmmmm - all I typed was greenhouse and found it right off the bat. Weird, huh? Be sure to scroll down - they offer a smaller one for more money. (Go figure.)
Terry,
Does it come with the automatic vent openers?
Costco doesn't have the 8x12 and the price on the 8x8 is only $50 less than Sams price for the 8x12.
Are there any advantages with the "Clear Grow", which cost more, or is it purely for "looks"?
I'm thinking that since you can add on, I may just go with the 8x12 initially.
Any opinions on Green or White?
This message was edited Oct 8, 2006 3:20 PM
It doesn't come with the vent openers, but it does come with three vents, which is nice. (I also ordered the vent opener separately, and I'll probably add the louvered vent next spring.)
I got green - somewhere I read who should order green vs. white (it has to do with climate).
I couldn't tell you about the "Clear Grow" - mine are just the standard polycarb panels. My 8 x 12 is a good size, and yes you can always add on 4' increments later.
