Re: An Aroid greenhouse question

From: Gary Meltzer <kathann1 at tsoft.com> on 1998.06.10 at 19:03:43(2264) Gary, I would like to hear more about this system....even though I don't fully understand how you've got it set up. Is your chest freezer outside or inside? Hi Sue, Sorry that my explanation was so lacking in accuracy.  The tank is inside the greenhouse, and sits on the floor in about the center.  This tank was the inner lining of a chest freezer that I stripped of the outer metal skin, and all of the insulation.  I then washed the outside with TSP and detergent, rinsed well, and sprayed flat black to absorb the sun's heat.  I did put the tank on a section of 4" rigid wall insulation trimmed to fit with a knife, to prevent loss of heat into the substrate.  Additionally, I use a small infrared space heater ($16 at Kmart when I bought it in Oct., '96) that is propane fired, placed 1 foot away from the end of the tank and aimed directly at it.  This is only fired up when the temperature drops below 45 degrees more or less, and works great.  The heat that is absorbed by the water through the tank walls is even and more equally distributed by radiation rather than heading straight up. I have an economical method of keeping the water temperature even throughout the tank at all times, but don't want to bore everyone with it. +More I can draw a diagram and scan it, but being rather new to this dumb machine, I'm not sure how long it will take me to figure out how to post it.  If you are in a hurry, send me your snail mail address and I'll send you a copy. Someone did mention that the longer the stove vent pipt, the more heat is captured.  Be careful though, the exhaust gasses must be hot enough to be vented out.  Building codes are based upon these requirements for safety.  The non-vented greenhouse heater is an easier and better ( in my opinion) way to go.  I also keep some livestock in my greenhouse in addition to the fish in the tank. Keep having fun!  Gary Meltzer

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