Greenhouse gas for heating
PJL
Posts: 11
Can anyone please tell me which gas to use in my greenhouse. I plan to heat my greenhouse for the first time this year and have been looking at different gases, the garden book says Propane but the heater I plan to use seems to use Butane, what is the difference between these two gases and would Butane be safe to use in my greenhouse in regards to the plants?
0
Posts
Butane will freeze, whereas Propane freezing point is -42°C.
I am sure that propane is for outside use as it doesn't freeze as quickly as butane.
So if you are planning on keeping the bottle outside it might be the best bet.
We gave up on parrafin because it made the greenhouse wet with condensation, I have no idea if gas heaters do this though. We now have an electric heater and have it on frost free setting and it keeps the atmosphere warm and dry.
Forget gas for GH heating. Buy a GH Electric fan heater wihich will be thermostatically controlled to whatever setting you put it on. There will not be any condensation or the need to change gas bottles.
Any form of heating in late autumn/winter 0r early spring will be expensive. I use a fan heater from March to May for my Tomatoes, seedling and rooted cuttings plants and find my electric bill to be about £10 extra per month. You can of course reduce some of the cost by insulating the GH but as my GH is only 6 x 6 foot, I do not bother.
Don`t waste your time with gas heaters. Buy an electric GH thermostatically controlled heater which will not cause condensation or any other problems. Depending on what you are growing in late autumn/winter/early spring, keep the thermometer to about 45 degrees which will keep the cost down. I use my heater from mid March to mid May for my tomatoes, rooted cuttings of Pelargoniums, Penstemun and seedlings of Cosmos, etc. with the temperature around 55 degrees.
I find the extra electricity increases the monthly cost of about £10 per month - not too bad. Gas, like Paraffin, requires the dirty job of cleaning the wick or changing the gas canister often at inconvenient times.