wood stove in green house

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fespo

fespo

Minister of Fire
Dec 14, 2005
730
South West burbs of Chicago
Hello everyone, I bought a new 10x12 green house that I want to keep warm in the winter. I'm looking for any brand of stove as long as it is cheap. The question is, has anyone or know anyone who has done this? I went and looked at an old blaze king for 250, but I can't find any info on the net about it. I missed one stove with flue for 150. Any idea would be great. I have not set up the green house yet, I waiting till fall. Thanks Frank
 
I have a 12 x 23 ft greenhouse attached to my house, opens into the house via French doors. I have a wood stove out there which I light maybe 20 nights a year. Works fine. The portion of the roof above the stove is wood framed, so it was easy to put a chimney pipe up through it. I have only read about, and not done, a chimney through a glass-panelled roof.

I do not attempt to heat the greenhouse space 24/7 in order to grow winter crops. That would require, as you can imagine, a lot of monitoring and reloading and a hefty supply of wood. The greenhouse does not hold heat as would a regular room, so I have to load the stove one last time right before I go to sleep, as late as possible. I am interested in keeping the room from freezing. This is even with double-paned glass and a well-insulated floor [tile over concrete over 5" foam panels]. If the stoves goes cold, and it's zero F. outdoors after a cloudy day, the greenhouse will be in the mid-thirties in the morning. Unless I stuff the stove that last time, perhaps at midnight or so.

But, it works.
 
Our greenhouse is 12 x 20. I have our Jotul 602 in there. It has saved crops more than once when there is a sudden dip in temps in late fall.
 
I know of people that use various types of stoves for their greenhouses. I am not recommending it because I have never done it myself. I am only throwing out there. So yes, there are people who use stoves to heat their greenhouses.
 
A used Godin stove would be nice, compact, affordable and good for a boost.
 
Ive heard of taking BLACK 55 gal plastic drums and filling them with water and putting them in the greenhouse. During the day the black drums become hot from the sunlight. At night heat will radiate from them. If I ever get a greenhouse I'll try it.
 
trx680 said:
Ive heard of taking BLACK 55 gal plastic drums and filling them with water and putting them in the greenhouse. During the day the black drums become hot from the sunlight. At night heat will radiate from them. If I ever get a greenhouse I'll try it.
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If you add this + a woodstove you would be set. Your not looking to keep the greenhouse tropical usually but overnight temps in the 50's would be ok. Water as a storage medium and a woodstove to heat the place, make a simple heat exchanger and you are good to go. I have thought of this myself as Id like to grow some veggies in the winter and get a jump on growing in the spring. .
 
Im having a hard time finding a stove cheap. I found a V C on C L for $500.00 but more then I want or can spend. And I don't want a hunk of scrap.
 
At that price put in an Englander VL 17.
 
Ok, I got the V C stove, the person I got it from wants me to check everything out first. She let me take it home with out putting any money out for it. Ok this is what I know. It's a V C Intrepid II, in the inside of the stove is 1987. It looks like it in good shape. I know I need new gaskets. There is 2 pieces glass for each door that has been taken out by someone, not me!!! I have not looked into anything else yet. This should be more then enough for my green house. Now I can not find a owners manual online for a 1987. Please help, Thanks Frank
 
fespo said:
Ok, I got the V C stove, the person I got it from wants me to check everything out first. She let me take it home with out putting any money out for it. Ok this is what I know. It's a V C Intrepid II, in the inside of the stove is 1987. It looks like it in good shape. I know I need new gaskets. There is 2 pieces glass for each door that has been taken out by someone, not me!!! I have not looked into anything else yet. This should be more then enough for my green house. Now I can not find a owners manual online for a 1987. Please help, Thanks Frank
Click to expand...
Put in lots and lots of thermal mass close to the stove so it can absorb heat directly from the stove. In addition to the water drums, I have a friend who put in a 14" thick concrete floor with insulation under that.

I'm playing with the idea myself for our 10x20. I'm just not convinced yet that it's worth it.
 
I am very interested in this concept so please keep posting, Fespo. I would like to see the results.
 
For years, I've been told and have read sources in the greenhouse community that combusting propane can emit sulfurous compounds which will burn and harm plants in a greenhouse. Therefore, they say, only use a vented-to-outside propane heater around plants. The Hobby Greenhouse Association, of which I used to be a member, says the same thing.

I have no personal experience, though, and the OP wants to use a wood stove anyhow. I did purchase an Ecotherm heater [propane] for a room adjoining the greenhouse, one of those which brings in outside air for combustion and vents the exhaust back outside, no indoor air used or mixing. I could, if ever needed, run that Ecotherm and leave the room door open to keep the greenhouse from freezing, were I to be gone for a while during the winter. However, in 20+ years, I've never had to do so.
 
james@inlandfireplace said:
10x12? Get a vent free propane stove and put a borometric damper somewhere.. your plants will enjoy the heat, C02 AND moisture... No brainer!
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Depends on the greenhouse location. In Western WA moisture in the winter can be the enemy of the greenhouse. I literally go all winter with just one or two watering in ours. The key is to keep the soil surface dry, otherwise fungus and fungus gnats start taking over the place. Ours is 12 x 20 and I heat it at night to about 40F with a small electric heater. It is well insulated on the north side and with double pane glass on the south side. That seems to work well. When it gets extra cold I will fire up the Jotul in there.
 
The James McCullagh book is what I used to design my greenhouse, and I still have the book. Someone gave me a brand-new [never read] copy lately and I gave it to our library.

It is why I have a wood-framed area of the ceiling in the greenhouse through which to run my wood stove pipe.

Anyone building a greenhouse from scratch, whether to run it passive heating or adding a wood stove for supplemental would do well to read this one.

As I mentioned earlier in this topic, wood stoves do fine in greenhouses. I have an old Rais-Wittus stove out there in mine, it's great.
 
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