What about propane heat?

I have discussed the possibility of wood heat, but now am curious about propane as a heat source. Who all here uses propane, what are your thoughts, and where can you get it bulk? I know gas is on the rise, but I don't have a woodstove, and am kinda concerned whether it would get too hot and melt the plastic. Also the erratic heat because I would have to have it inside the greenhouse. Not to mention all the time/work involved with the woodstove. I am determined to come up with an answer. Someone enlighten me =). Thanks.

I use propane in my g-house. Used to use wood in a smaller one (as I think I posted in one of your other threads, or somebody's).

How much you have to "work" your wood stove will depend on how good it is. If it's of decent size, airtight at the seams, and has good adjustable drafts, you should easily be able to load it up in the evenings and it should continue to heat the g-house till next morning. (My g-house at the time was about 12 X 18 ft.)

I use propane now cause my g-house is huge (35 X 50) and a wood stove just wouldn't heat it enough during extreme winter conditions.

Shoe.

I use propane, but my GH is not airtight. I spent a lot of time worrying about how much was in the tank the first year, then I spent extra for a bigger tank with a gauge.

It has worked well for us. Got it at Lowe's

loveshercowdog, what type of propane heater did you get at Lowes? I've been looking at all the stock propane heaters and am a little concerned as most say not to use indoors. My GH is not airtight either. I need about 10,000btuh.
Is it just a 20lb propane bottle with a topper on it or one of the forced air models?


The electric heater I used last year just didn't cut it.

Susan

We used vintage open faced propane heat years ago and plants suffered. Are the new heaters better or do they need to be vented?

I use propane to heat my GH. I have a Hot Dawg 45,000 BTU modine heater.
It keeps my 12 x 35 GH toasty warm even at -20 degrees if I set the thermostat at 70.
podster mine is vented and the plants suffer no ill effects.

I do have a smaller one that is non vented but will use it only if we lose power as it needs no electricity to run. It is safe to use it indoors too and runs on a 20 lb propane tank.

This is where I got the Hot Dawg. They have several different heaters to choose from and the service is great.
http://www.igcusa.com/

This message was edited Dec 5, 2005 11:21 PM

snowhermit, I can't afford the Hot Dawg. My GH is 9 x 16 with 8 ft walls. What type of topper do you have on that 20lb propane tank? My zone 9a winters are fairly mild but I am growing Hoya so I need to maintain nighttime temps no lower that the mid 50's and higher if I can get it.

Nightbloomer I have a Pro Com for emergencies if we lose power.
It's on sale now but you might want to check and see how much propane it would use as I think it uses more than the modine.
You would'nt need as big heater in your zone as I need up here so you could get by with a lower BTU one.
Here's where I got mine.
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=6970&productId=1029784&R=1029784

Thanks snowhermit. We were at Northern Tool last weekend as there's one close. I think I remember seeing that model. Will now check it out in more detail. My neighbor owns a propane business so it's easily accessible and I can probably get a discount on the fuel.

Susan

My husband bought my Modine vented propane heater (55K or 60K BTUs) last year from FarmTek. It's vented out one of the side walls. It worked very well last year even in 18ºF weather. One large tank of propane lasted almost all winter. My thermostat is set to 40º so it usually kicks in only at night. Many of our winter days are warm and the radiant heat helps keep the greenhouse warm until late at night.

Snowhermit, this is the first time I will have Brugmansias in the greenhouse. Is 40ºF too cold for them? They will share the greenhouse with a few tropicals, but mostly with citrus trees.

Veronica

Veronica they should be ok as long as there's not a lot of condensation and you have some air circulation. Cold and wet=rot, fungus and lots of other bad things.
If you have any versicolors you may want to put them closer to where the heat will be as they don't care for prolonged cold.
Keep them on the dry side to avoid root rot.
I try to keep mine about 50 degrees. I've got a mixture of trees, small plants and cuttings.
We just lined the whole GH last weekend with bubble insulation to help hold the heat better.
I sure wish I lived in your zone. When the temps dip below zero I go through several large tanks of propane. I have a very nice delivery man that stops every 2 weeks to fill the tanks.