Thanks for the reply Allen!
Heated benches are out for me, all I want is ambient. All my seedlings are grown in a tropical room inside so heated benches is not on my list. Great idea though.
I should have a decent amount of thermal mass as I will have raised beds and the concrete slab I poured is 6 inches thick.
As for stuff on the floor, the only thing on the floor is the raised beds and even then, the working height for them is 24 inches high at the soil level (so likely 4-feet high at the plant-harvesting level).
As for temperature swings, living in Victoria its VERY mild. I mean very. Christmas is usually a plus 8 degrees Celsius and the "heat" of summer hovers around 22C.
Wood supply is infinite as I have two woodworkers in the family. Any size and any type of wood is at my disposal.
The turbine vents are 14" diameter. In the summer they will be wide open. In the winter, the left one will be closed up and the right one will have a 15 x 15" piece of wood attached to the bottom to seal it. I'll cut out an 8" hole in the center to affix my vent pipe.
So I just need a design. That's the part that is getting me confused.
allen lumley wrote:Jeff Favelle : May I have a shot at modifying your goals a little? There is a very common mind trap that everyone with a limited amount of
space falls into!
About the 1st permanent improvement you make in your green house will be to figure out how to get things up off of the floor and save your
back! Here is where the Rocket Mass Heater RMH, shines, You will have ready-made benches, and heated seedling beds for ever! As soon as
you are inside your Greenhouse you have palace to set things down !
I even expect that as you start out at the very beginning of your growing season you will wish for a 1/2 dozen 55 gal drums full of water to
temper the temperature swings in your greenhouse every time you open a door! The amount of crowding you find acceptable will change
according to your needs !
Speaking of setting things down, Now is the time to think about An air lock type of shed addition to reduce cold air falling into your G'house
in the early days/weeks of your growing season every time you need to enter or exit your Greenhouse!
Because your RMH demands small, very dry, fine split wood, storing your wood within the greenhouse with its high vapor content will be a
problem! You can create an attached air tight wood box to load from outside, and unload on the inside, with the ends of your building being
preferred, Not under your eaves with their snow load !
You certainly should have enough ventilation, I am quibbling over your word choice Smoke Vent This would imply to many that you
were not planning on connecting the two together with hard pipe, This may or may not work for you -most of the days of your growing/heating
season! When your rocket is fired-up and running you may not have a problem, except with cold starts !
My recommendation is to try it your way, but to have a budget that allows for needing a Tall Vertical Chimney at least 4' over the top of the
greenhouse roof, and any nearby object bigger than a TV Antenna ! For the Good of The Craft ! Big AL
