Greenhouse Upgrades - More Auto

[Zeez]

Hot air rises, but you still need to let the cool air in.

I used end clamps for everything. The divider for the roll up was used as the bottom of the window. (less work). Then the window was sized to get close to the hoop apex. Two pin style door hinges on top with the open side in. By connecting the actuator higher up, I got more lift out of it. It's rated for 225# so it can handle allot more than this. The whole thing was pretty simple.

Here's the 12" 12v actuator. It's rated IP65.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZF56NYR/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

Still had enough light.

 

[CrushnYuba]

What are you going to build the window sill out of?

 

[Zeez]

On top the covering has no seam. It's just cut out on three sides.

For the bottom and two sides, I have this thick clear plastic that is soft and pliable. My plan is to put this under the wiggle wire channel and have it overlap on the outside, like flashing. The thing is, the description sys its pvc so I plan on testing it with the covering before installing it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QWT5YKM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Zeez]

I took the roll up motors off for the winter. Inside the greenhouse with the hatch closed and full sun the temp went up fast. Doors at both ends were open. It got hot. As I got the electrics sorted out the difference with the hatch open was unbelievable. It was no problem being inside and there was very little temperature differential with the outdoor temp.

 

[Zeez]

Started work on the In Greenhouse iPad App.
These are just starters and will change as it gets dialed in.

Several of the functions will be automated.
Sides will roll up and vent will open and close on a schedule.
Sides and vent close if it's cold or raining.
Circulation fan scheduled.
Watering on schedule.
Feeding on schedule.
Security, Like you wouldn't believe.

Ipad is so old it won't do a screenshot.

 

[Zeez]

Share some pictures of the window framing. Have you gotten it to seal pretty well? I have to put a window into a little over winter mother plant storage house.

I think we have been doing it all wrong for a while. It's not the sides that need to vent, it's the roof.

I understand that you could roll the sides up higher but there would be less structural integrity.

Here in MA we have another local problem, Bug crap. Everything outdoors gets covered with it. Fungus and mold grows on it. Cars, plants, everything outdoors gets covered with a black coating of black crap. This spring I need to wash it off the cover with vinegar and dawn. GH weed in this area can easily pass as indoor bc there is no crap.

 

[CrushnYuba]

I don't think you would want to roll all the way up to the peak from the base on a larger hoop shaped house like blackout does.
The most recent house i did didn't have roll up sidewalls. The sidewalls are fixed until like 4ft up.

Check out this design. I have seen allot of houses like this recently.
https://www.google.com/search?q=rovero+roll+air&oq=rovero+roll+air&aqs=chrome..69i57j35i39j0l2.7055j0j4&client=ms-android-verizon&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#

 

[Zeez]

Typical German. They do everything big. There's allot to be said for simplicity in design. I'll bet it takes a long time to pay off the technology..

Initially I wanted to do light dep, decided to start off learning about greenhouse growing first. My hoop house was built with extra hoops for an overlap at the ends and I'v got the extra motors. Still thinking about doing it this year. If the house is blacked out from 4am to 7am and 7pm to 10pm there shouldn't be too much of a cooling issue. I came up with a good cheep design for blacking out the fans.

 

[CrushnYuba]

The Chinese have been doing roll back roofs on gutter connected houses like that for a long time also. Similar designs can be of together pretty cheap.

I think doing depp is easier. Especially if you live out east. Even if you just do one run, it would be nice to be done earlier. Fall is terrible there. Also, it can be tough to get plants sized right in constricted places like greenhouses. Being able to flip when it's ready is nice. I have seen plants outgrow greenhouses so many times before. I don't know anyone that does full term in a greenhouse out here anymore. We have nice weather so greenhouses cause way more problems then they solve for full season.

 

[Zeez]

Yup. It makes way too much sense.

My original plan was to have the roll up motors on one end and the black out motors on the other end, parking the blackout rolls on top. The GH was built with extra hoops for the black out overlap. For blackout on the ventilation, the plan is to have two air inlets and two fans out. Each would have three 55 gallon storage bins with squares cutting out 1/3 of the bottom of each bin. The three bins could then be stacked with the cutouts alternating so the air would zigzag in but no light. Very easy to fabricate and cheep.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-55-Gal-Tough-Storage-Bin-in-Black-HDX55GONLINE-4/205597365


Last year.

 

[CrushnYuba]

Your plants look big now! I bet you can fill every square inch of that thing and flip it soon. You will probably yield more then last year because the sun will be better. Mid summer always yields the best.

That sounds like a good idea for light blocking. It's a very small space. You could just use a little 6" inline fan connected to a short piece of rigid duct with a bend in it. Paint the inside of the duct black.

I use a cheap 8" vivosun for a 12x40

 

[Zeez]

That was last summer. First grow in the GH. It was full.

I'v got allot to figure out before pulling the trigger on this one. Getting done early and flipping based on plant size are two huge plusses. Having that much covering unsecured seems like it could be problematic. We get some serious storms here. Maybe if the side rollups were blackout only and the top had a rollup went over the clear film that would go from the mid divider up?

 

[CrushnYuba]

I don't think you will have a problem at all. 12ft wide is pretty small. You should at least put strapping to hold down though. "Batting" tape is a super cheap flexible strap that stretches for securing greenhouse plastic. U could just use rope. U run it from the base board to your wiggle wire. It stops roll ups from flopping around.

You can also use roll lock channel on your baseboards. When it rolls all the waydown and gets to the end of the plastic, it starts to roll in the other direction and locks into the channel. They use it in that rovero video i just posted if u want to see how it works in action. It's not super cheap, but it's not crazy expensive.

Really just the rope or batten tape will do.

 

[Zeez]

Simple is better. Good ideas. Thanks.

Got the greenhouse opened for the spring today. Roll ups were secured with wiggle wire and motors removed. New automation is up and running for everything except nutes and water. Redesigned nute vat and pump setup. Basically, it will pump teas through the irrigation lines prior to watering. There's an aeration stone in there and I'm looking for a motorized setup to mix it up periodically. In the past a big paint mixer was used on a drill.

 

[CrushnYuba]

Simple is better. Good ideas. Thanks.

Got the greenhouse opened for the spring today. Roll ups were secured with wiggle wire and motors removed. New automation is up and running for everything except nutes and water. Redesigned nute vat and pump setup. Basically, it will pump teas through the irrigation lines prior to watering. There's an aeration stone in there and I'm looking for a motorized setup to mix it up periodically. In the past a big paint mixer was used on a drill.

Check out those aquarium power heads. They are just Like little propellers that mount to the bottom or side. I use them to keep barrels agitated.

 

[Zeez]

I use a 15 gallon barrel with allot of solids in the tea, bat guano, fish guts, epsoma etc and let it stew for a while. It gets pretty rich and thick at the bottom. Ideally it all gets chopped up, somewhat composted, and in suspension. I was thinking of going heavier. Maybe something like this 6 speed mortar mixer.

 

[CrushnYuba]

What about just throwing a dirty water sump in it with no hose attached.

How do you run that sludge through your drip?!

 

[Zeez]

Real good idea! I guess it should be able to handle the muck.

I use home made watering heads. 3/4 pvc pipe capped at one end with threaded adapters (NPT - GHT) at the other connected to garden hose and then manually controllable manifolds. The heads have 1/4" and 1/8" holes drilled in them and are held in place with 6" garden staples. I have used top hat grommets in them with 1/4" lines for better distribution but it was over kill.

 

[Zeez]

Iphone App works perfect.

 

[CrushnYuba]

Damn that's a good idea. No way for that to clog. I have never Not used drip emitters. My spaces are pretty big though, i don't know if could make it even without running a crazy amount off zones. But it would be really rad to just pump whatever u want in there without even filter worry.
I only use synthetic through my lines.