Diy steel hoop house.

[queequeg152]

wow your greenhouse base is fucking perfect.

what are you using? decomposed granite?

did you do any lime stabilization or anything? looks dead flat and nice and hard... im guessing you rented a plate compactor or something?

 

[CrushnYuba]

Lol. I'm glad you like it but it's just dirt floor. Just used a small rented mini excavator to cut the pad. We have clay soil here. Must be an illusion. My work isn't that good.
Traffic and plant canopy keep weeds from growing i guess. I haven't pulled any.

 

[queequeg152]

ah lol. so its not as flat as the pic looks? maby it is indeed an illusion idk.

you didnt do any comapction though?

you must have really good clay.
hard packed cohesive clay is no joke, especially when you have a decent amount of non uniform non weathered weathered or sharp sand mixed in.

the clay we have here is literally like dirty potting clay one you get down a foot or so. it does not drain what so ever, its super expansive, and it will not compact what so ever.

 

[Irish063]

Looks pretty sweet man! Thanks for posting this.

 

[CrushnYuba]

No i don't do compaction. No need. It's solid red clay. Just do tractor work and run a sprinkler Hard a few Times and its not going anywhere. Water compacts it.
Needs a Few wet and dry cycles before it turns solid. You can't mess with it in the rainy season. You can't get the dry cycles and it just stays mush. It's sloped a bit over a ft over the 20ft width for drainage.

 

[queequeg152]

No i don't do compaction. No need. It's solid red clay. Just do tractor work and run a sprinkler Hard a few Times and its not going anywhere. Water compacts it.
Needs a Few wet and dry cycles before it turns solid. You can't mess with it in the rainy season. You can't get the dry cycles and it just stays mush. It's sloped a bit over a ft over the 20ft width for drainage.

nice man. regardless of how you did it... its great work.

is this tunnel pellet stove heated like your other ones? i imagine you still have a few months of good night time temps... so maby its not needed?

 

[stinky]

Great thread! Thanks for taking the time to explain your build! I would LOVE to see the pictures that got deleted if you have the time.

Nicely Done!

 

[CrushnYuba]

Queequeg: that one is not heated yet. I really want a big yukon husky wood/diesel furnace with ducting that runs down the length. Pellet stoves are rad especially for small greenies but for that size, i would need at least 2. Might do a pellet furnace.
Stinky: i don't have any of the old pictures but i will take updated shots that explain allot of the old posts. I will likely build some more greenhouses this winter. I may switch to all greenhouse next year but to get the same weight as My outdoor it wood be allot of greenhouse square footage. Thinking i might do it though

 

[jaybodankly]

Nice thread. Greenhouse plastic can stretch and start flappin over time. I use a bicycle inner tube. Snip on either side of the valve and chuck that. Tie a rope to each end of the tube. Toss it over the greenhouse and tie it down. This will act as an automatic plastic tensioner.

I have used solar vents on un-powered greenhouses. They are like a piston you find holding up a the back of a hatchback car. Except they are filled with a heat reactive fluid. As it warms up the piston expands pushing the window fully open 70 degrees and close at 50 degrees.

Data Loggers are cheap. I use a SensorPush. Provides graphs tem/hum sent to your phone. Can set hi/low alarms. Will receive texts when out of range of your set point. $50 for each Bluetooth device. $150 for a basestation which will reach you where you phone can get service. Easy to set-up. I got one for veg, flower and outdoor. Easiest way to become a better farmer. Like having an assistant to tell you shit has changed better go take a look.

 

[CrushnYuba]

Jaybodankly: i like your inner tube idea. I use batten tape for that type of thing. Don't seem to get much stretch on my poly though. I don't get any stretch when using string reinforced poly that is on the larger greenhouse.
I have tried those arms. They are a cool concept. Not really enough ventilation in my climate though and difficult to mount on long tunnels. Kind of necessary to have roll up sides here.
My controllers i build are smart. The relays and the sensors use WiFi. Rolling up sides, black out, fan ventilation, and heat can all be controlled by smartphone or set environmental condition.

 

[stoned-trout]

Heating if ya got wood...yeehaw..hydronic..heat air soil whatever you want..would last overnight even in new England winter's...

 

[CrushnYuba]

Share some pics of the owb!!!!
For me it's overkill with my climate. But so so sexy

 

[CrushnYuba]

Earth juice sea blast veg sucks. I'm pissed i got a 40 lb bag. It is nothing compared to sea grow. All the nitrogin is from urea. Burnt my plants on a hot day with a very moderate dose. Scorched.
I'm still going to try the seablast bloom but the veg is no bueno.
Sea grows #1 ingredient is that north Atlantic kelp that is just straight up growth hormone. And 3/4 Of the nitrogin is organic.

 

[Speed of green]

Looking into getting a couple pellet stoves for the greenhouses, can you recommend a brand/model.

was looking at this one.
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/pelpro-pp130-pellet-stove-with-130-lb-hopper-2200-sq-ft

also does yours have a thermostat? id like something that kicks on automatically when the temp drops below 65. maybe you have a simple solution to this.

i was reading about some of them running in standby constantly until the temp drops and then it increases the feed rate.

Thanks in advance!

 

[queequeg152]

Looking into getting a couple pellet stoves for the greenhouses, can you recommend a brand/model.

was looking at this one.
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/pelpro-pp130-pellet-stove-with-130-lb-hopper-2200-sq-ft

also does yours have a thermostat? id like something that kicks on automatically when the temp drops below 65. maybe you have a simple solution to this.

i was reading about some of them running in standby constantly until the temp drops and then it increases the feed rate.

Thanks in advance!

cant comment on the particular stove, by my aunt/uncle had a pellet stove that ran as you say...

you basically needed to put in a handfull of pellets then light it with this wierd blue gel.

after that it will run 24/7 so long as pellets are in the hopper ramping up and down based on the indoor temps.

nowadays most of the pellet stoves have ceramic cartridge ignitors... and even the pellet grills have them.

basically works like a furnace ignitor. you have a sequencing board that runs the cartrige heater untill it glows red hot while adding pellets.
if the thermostat does not detect heat in the chamber after x minutes it will shut down down the ignitor after a few minutes.

 

[Speed of green]

got it, sounds like a simple effective design. Thanks for your input queeq.


I have another question im trying to sort out that may be right up your alley.

I have exhaust fans that are 240v, they are controlled by a humistat - thermostat combo via direct contactor and 120v trigger from the humistat-thermostat combo.

I also have circulation fans that run constantly.

ideally i would like the circulation fans to turn off when the exhaust fans come on.

is there a relay i could wire to the 120v trigger of the humistat - thermostat that would disconnect the power supply to the circulation fans when the exhaust fans are triggered on.

basically like a direct contactor that works in reverse, disconnecting the poles when the 120v coil is energized.

 

[CrushnYuba]

don't do any of those tractor supply garbage ones from China. they are all made by us stove company. us stove is huge and they own like 20 brands. all shit though. good lick getting parts or someone to help if it breaks down. I use timber ridges. i get dented ones or refurbs discounted online. the nice thing about them is their tech support. they Will walk you through fixing stuff yourself.

all are auto ignition these days but not all have thermostat or work the same with thermostat.
mine have 2 Modes. on/off or high low. allot of stoves only do high low. for real automation you need on off. it Will start on it's own and then turn off on it's own when it reaches temperature like a propane furnace would. high/low mode, the stove never fully turns off when it reaches temperature.
home depot and lows both carry timber ridge stoves under the names summers heat and england stove works. get one with on off. timber ridges are the best for the money. a 4k$ Harmon might be better, but it's 4k.

 

[CrushnYuba]

you can easily do that with a relay. just connect it so when the relay is closed its off. easy cheesy. either use a double throw, or a normally closed single throw.

 

[Speed of green]

don't do any of those tractor supply garbage ones from China. they are all made by us stove company. us stove is huge and they own like 20 brands. all shit though. good lick getting parts or someone to help if it breaks down. I use timber ridges. i get dented ones or refurbs discounted online. the nice thing about them is their tech support. they Will walk you through fixing stuff yourself.

all are auto ignition these days but not all have thermostat or work the same with thermostat.
mine have 2 Modes. on/off or high low. allot of stoves only do high low. for real automation you need on off. it Will start on it's own and then turn off on it's own when it reaches temperature like a propane furnace would. high/low mode, the stove never fully turns off when it reaches temperature.
home depot and lows both carry timber ridge stoves under the names summers heat and england stove works. get one with on off. timber ridges are the best for the money. a 4k$ Harmon might be better, but it's 4k.

Thanks ill look into the brands and see what i can come up with, i need to heat a couple 2600sqft greenhouses. i was thinking a single 50-60k btu stove per greenhouse should do the trick? any thoughts. i have really good horizontal air flow so distribution shouldnt be an issue.

you can easily do that with a relay. just connect it so when the relay is closed its off. easy cheesy. either use a double throw, or a normally closed single throw.

Okay, I understand the SPST NC relay & think it would be simple, however i cannot find one with a 120vac coil everything ive found is DC coil.

is it easier to find a DPDT in 120vac?

where do you source your electrical bits?


Thanks again i really appreciate all your help, where did you learn all this stuff anyway?

 

[CrushnYuba]

A 50k stove might be a stretch. But i know you have warmer weather. also depends how much of a temp bump you are looking for. maybe check one of those greenhouse heat calculators online.
Single layer poly really doesn't have much insulation. Getting heat 100ft plus can be hard but not impossible with HAF. In my climate a 50k stove is maxed out and somewhat stretched on some nights at 1200 sq ft. i would think with your size you would need at least 2. One on each end.

check automation direct for relays. they are really easy to find. depends how many amps you are trying to run through it though.