Type of heater

T

TurboMad

Well-Known Member
Hi all,
I'm starting to wonder if anyone uses a diesel space heater, or anything similar.
I have a large shed that is outdoors, fully insulated, but this time of year my electric heater is costing more then a Hps light... So I have this moment reduced my lights from 2 down to 1 x 600w Hps.
Temp while lights on is fine. temp while lights off is my problem, and only going to get worse with the cold weather...

I normaly do not grow this time of year, but with my partners health I didn't want to risk the amount that was left..

To save my electric bill with these electric heaters does anyone use diesel heaters or anything similar?

PS I have been searching before asking you all.. Peace
 
I use an electric with lights out in a similar situation. Im interested to see what ppl say here. Also, interested in hearing about exhausting something like that..... good luck.
 
I built a room in my garage that is insulated. Just a 4X4 room. then i put all my gear in there including a 700 watt heater. It might cut in two or 3 times a night and its been freezing cold here the past 2 or 3 weeks. Trying to heat your full garage is going to be a pain, but heating a small area is much easier. I don't know if that's an option or not.
 
Hi all,
Thanks for the reply's.
Twnewell.. Unfortunately iv already made everything compact as it can be, appreciate the suggestions. My heater atm is a 2kw the jump in electric was quite big, even tho like yours it's only on randomly..

MassMedMan, I do know of people using propane heaters, I can guess that would be good for co2.. But I'm not sure id feel safe using that equipment.
Once my room is empty, I'm going to try using one of these diesel space heaters and see what it's like on fumes etc. I know a friend that uses one for his workshop and you can't really tell it's diesel my the smell... Looks like time will tell.
 
twnewell said:
Ya, using a 2000 watt heater to heat a large garage is useless. I also don't think the plants will like the the fumes from propane or diesel.
Click to expand...

So you have any suggestions on a electric heater that's better on electric usage? Cheers
 
Propane is fine. They use propane and NG burners to produce co2 carbon DIoxide in large greenhouses. The danger is the possibility of CO carbon MONoxide that is produced during combustion of any fuel. I would not run any sort of combustion heater in a closed space without the correct air monitoring in place. A simple home CO detector would be enough to keep my mind at ease.

So a propane wall heater sounds like a good idea to me. (A ventless will increase the humidity because of the combustion cycle.)

The diesel... I'm not sure, I've honestly never worked on a diesel heater. I've done waste oil, and kerosene space heaters so I'm assuming it's similar to those (kerosene) they usually burn pretty clean.

It may be too cold to help. But you could run the lights at night during the coldest hours, it would atleast reduce the run time of the heaters.
 
twnewell said:
You guys are missing the point. 2000k watts won’t be enough to heat a large garage, if by chance you ran it all day it probably will heat it, just cost a small fortune. That’s why I suggested making a small room around your grow. Easy to heat a small room.
Click to expand...

Hi buddy, no I totally understand you. But my little 2kw heaters does heat up the space very well and is on a controller so only clicks on when needed, to be fair only couple of times in lights off.
I just wanted to know if there is anything else out there that doesn't drink electric...
Thanks for your help
 
TurboBucket...
Not seen you round in a while, hope your doing well.
That's very interesting what you have said, I do know that the new space heaters can be run on kerosene and are ment to be very clean... I like the idea of the propane but am not 100% confident on running that, as you said your self carbon monoxide etc.
Does kerosene have any smell after bunt?
My lights are running through the coldest hours already and the lights are keeping it lovely and warm, I'm just always trying to find a way to keep the electric costs down, as I do not grow for profit.
I might ask family to see if they have some form of these heaters to try before I invest in one that may not work...
That you all!
 
If you use propane, make sure it is vented to the outside. I nearly killed several plants in an insulated out building with an unvented wall unit this fall before reading the following:

All fuels contain traces of sulfur, some more than others depending on its source. During combustion sulfur in the fuel is combined with oxygen to form sulfur dioxide. Levels as low a ½ part per million (ppm) can cause injury on some plants. Once the sulfur dioxide enters the plant through the stomates, it reacts with water to produce sulfuric acid that will cause leaf burn, flecking and general chlorosis. Tomatoes and white petunias are very sensitive to this and will show signs in as little as one hour. They therefore make good indicator plants.
Ethylene gas is another pollutant formed during combustion. It can also be formed from ripening or rotting plant materials. Levels as low as 0.01 ppm can create symptoms such as malformed leaves and flowers, stunted growth, bud abcission, epinasty and flower senescence. Levels are usually highest near the heater and can be diluted by air circulation.
Care should taken if you install unvented heaters. Be sure to have an adequate makeup air supply and provide frequent maintenance. Use indicator plants near heaters or commercially available indicator tubes to warn of excess levels of pollutants.

Problems With Using Unvented Greenhouse Heaters

I thought the increased humidity and C02 would be a bonus but I did not considered the sulfuric acid production. I moved one plant inside and it seems to have recovered but I would not suggest trying it. Once it got cold enough for the heater to run more often it only took a week to see something was wrong, but it took me another week to figure out why.
Resources
 
Thank you all guys, looking like more and more of a bad idea haha. I guess it's a case of stay with what's works... I'll do some more resurch now you guy have told me info I didn't know, but looking like I'll leave my setup alone as it's took long enough to dial in. Thank you all.
 

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