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Post by Tarantulalover on Apr 14, 2016 15:56:23 GMT -5
So I have Ben trying to grow my carnivores plants in this mini green house and the temperature is usually great in the day Time, but after around 2:30 the sun stops hitting it and it really cools down. Are night temperatures aren't very warm either :/ does anyone know of a good non electric heater that I could run over night to keep my plants happy? Thanks:)
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Post by WillyCKH on Apr 14, 2016 17:23:06 GMT -5
One way to slow down the cooling is to add a large amount of high Heat capacity fluid (water has Cp ~4) inside your little green house.
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Post by Tarantulalover on Apr 14, 2016 17:29:08 GMT -5
Yeah that's what I have been doing lately, but sadly it's still not quiet enough to heat it for long periods over 3-4 hours. Especially when the nighttime temps can drop way down ro 1-3 degrees.
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Post by WillyCKH on Apr 14, 2016 17:36:27 GMT -5
You could also set a camp fire for your plants every night haha
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Post by Tarantulalover on Apr 14, 2016 18:11:37 GMT -5
Yes! That's a great idea haha
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Post by lloyd on Apr 14, 2016 19:46:50 GMT -5
What about a heat mat?
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Post by WillyCKH on Apr 14, 2016 19:54:47 GMT -5
I think he's looking for a non electric heater
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Post by Tarantulalover on Apr 14, 2016 20:00:17 GMT -5
Yeah that is what I was thinking Willy, just don't know any good ones that would be any good In a mini greenhouse like this.
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Post by lloyd on Apr 14, 2016 20:15:52 GMT -5
Do such things exist? Maybe a container of boiling water?
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Post by WillyCKH on Apr 14, 2016 20:47:51 GMT -5
Why not using a heat mat and run the wire from the house? Maybe use an extension core? I just fear that there aren't many good solutions non electric that aren't dangerous and hard to control.
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Post by Tarantulalover on Apr 15, 2016 4:38:00 GMT -5
Yeah I'll give that a try, although I'm not sure my outlets in the back of my house work.
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Post by mackthompson on Apr 15, 2016 8:29:58 GMT -5
How far is the green house from your house?
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Post by Tarantulalover on Apr 15, 2016 12:57:31 GMT -5
About 15 feet, I'm going to need a pretty long extension cor.
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Post by Apoplast on Apr 15, 2016 13:13:32 GMT -5
Hi @tarantulalover01 - I feel as though there is a bit of greenhouse information missing from this discussion. Namely, the basics of the thermal responses of greenhouses, which is why and how they work.
Greenhouses are heated by the sun. This means that when the sun goes down, the heat source has been shut off. Whatever was heated during the day will begin to cool. The barrier covering the greenhouse, be in plastic, glass, or some other material can only slow the heat loss - usually by opacity to infrared radiation being re-radiated off the sun warmed contents, as well as reduced convective loss by stopping cold air moving across the contents. The insulation capacity of the barrier is rarely that high, so losses are fairly rapid.
In many ways an unheated greenhouse is like the interior of your car. On a cold sunny day, the inside is quite livable, but at night it chills to, or nearly to the night time low.
This means from the stand point of basic Newtonian physics, if you want your greenhouse to stay warm through the night you need a heat source. All human controlled heat sources come down to two types, fire or electricity (okay there are other things we can do, but it's not how we heat spaces). Those are your options.
Barring adding a heat source, your greenhouse will get cold at night. If you have plants that are sensitive to cold in the structure, it means you'll have to move them daily until nighttime temperatures approach the tolerance of the species. Or just not put them in there until the night time temperatures get warm enough.
I'm sorry if this throws a wrench in your plans and is not what you wanted to hear. Good luck, and I hope you find a solution that works for you and your plants.
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Post by Tarantulalover on Apr 15, 2016 13:17:58 GMT -5
Thank you so much for all the information! Yes it does throw me off from my plans, but I'm definitely happy to understand it more
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