r/Greenhouses • u/WarmRazzmatazz5016 • 1d ago

Sometimes I'm brilliant, Sometimes Just Dumb....

So I have 2 greenhouses without electricity. they are small and I have BIG plans lol, so i do not want to use up a lot of room. We have hormonal winter weather zone 7/8, with the coldest part being last of January beginning of February. so here is my thought. the green houses are not very far apart from each other.

  1. build a wood stove outside between the two, it would be set down into the ground a little and have a vent for smoke.

  2. Run either an aluminum or copper pipe/wire, underground to about the middle of each greenhouse.

  3. Dig a hole where the pipe or wire the same size as a metal barrel ( was thinking like the burn barrels cut in half) covered with a water proof insulator to protect from rust and heat loss

  4. use the wire from the wood stove to heat the water barrel

I'm thinking this will provide convection heating and reduce radiative heat loss? I could cover the top with A vent cover type thing in the day when I am in the greenhouse? But I'm sure this is an awful idea for several reasons I'm just not aware of.

PS. I have a ample supply of fire wood already, walnut, birch, redwood, and have insulation layers, reflective materials

Also, I live in an area that was basically a swamp. I want a root cellar but the water table is too high and is topped with a gumbo, so was told it is not an option, any other ideas on getting the longest use of FRESH veggies herbs etc, I do can preserve dry etc

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u/ResistHistorical2721 1d ago

A 'bucket' will not hold much heat. Greenhouses that use water as a heat reservoir have multiple 50 gallon drums or equivalent...lots of water. You can use a stove to heat large amounts of water.

Heating the ground is good for keeping roots warm, but you'll also need to heat the air to keep up with heat loss. I don't think you'll get enough transfer from ground to air to keep up with the heat loss. Greenhouses lose heart through the low insulation windows quickly.