2007 Greenhouse Saga II
Continuation from my original Garden Page
Pardon the abrupt change - but my old site is giving me the flux! (Won't let me in to edit the templates - and I definitely don't want to go in and edit via html!).
I'm hoping this is a "Temporary" fix until freeservers can get back to me...
Update 08/30/07: Freeservers ROCKS!!! My original page is back up and the Solar Fan page has been updated on the original site. Click on the link to go back to the original site - I'll be shutting this one down shortly....
Here's the link to go back to the original Garden Page. Or hit your browser's "back" button.
Back to the Original Garden Page
So anyway, this is a Continuation of the Continuation of the Greenhouse Saga of 2007. I'll continue posting updates (As they occur or "When I have time!").
Solar Fan:
The latest addition (08/26/07) is the Harbor Freight Solar Fan. That was my Anniversary Gift from Rog. It comes with two 'very large' Solar Panels, a bracket to hold them, a controller, and a fan that's rated at 251 CFM which, I believe, should *just* be sufficient for my 6x8 GH. I don't recall the specifics, but I recall that I researched this awhile back (there are many webpages devoted to stuff like this, and plenty of info to be gleaned from Gardenweb as well). I believe the fan is appropriately sized for my GH (and if not, I welcome feedback!).
We had some 'challenges' with setting this up, however. The first being "Where the heck are we gonna put these panels???" Any south-facing real-estate on the roof is already spoken for (We have solar heating for the pool). What few open spaces we could find were a LOOOONG ways away from the GH. Rog wanted to put it on the roof of the GH, but I didn't want to block precious sun (in the wintertime, anyway!). We ended up rigging it up on the fence, behind/next-to the GH. We found a sturdy corner where 2 fences meet (w/2 4x4 PT studs) and built a shelf for the new Solar Panels.
Even though it's right next to the GH, the supplied wires were too short, so I bought 14ga "Outdoor" wire so we could run the lines into the GH. I'd purchased 20' of flexible conduit and, even though the wire itself was very stiff, we just couldn't get it to go thru the conduit. Hence the rather 'inelegant' PVC pipe running down from the shelf. The PVC continues 'under' the GH and is mainly intended to protect the wire from the elements (and weenie dog puppies who like to chew!)
Roger pretty much took ownership of the entire Solar setup. And I think he did a damned fine job!!!
Pictures/notes below. Click on the thumbnail to see a full-sized version.....................
09/01/07 The "Original" page is back up (Yayyyy Freeservers! Thanks for fixing it!). So if you want to see the latest updates, go back to the original site:
View of Solar Panels as seen when standing at the front of the greenhouse. Note: The PT vertical 2x4 is supporting the shelf. The crooked-looking PVC pipe (which I'll probably paint dark brown so it blends in) is just covering the wires.
Closer view of panels. The bracket that came with the kit from HF seemed kind of flimsy at first, but it's actually quite sturdy.
The panels themselves are facing kinda SSE - we couldn't rig them for a due-south orientation, unfortunately...
The control panel is attached (using a t-bolt) to one of the fwd wall-studs.
And we've hooked it (Temporarily) to a Deep Cycle Marine battery. I'll be looking into smaller 20+AH Photo Voltaic batteries for a more permanent solution. However, as it turns out, the fan *does* need the battery in order to keep running thru the afternoon (sun gets pretty low in the sky)
View of fan from the exterior. Again, not terribly elegant, but it works! We cut a triangle of thick acrylic and used the 'over-the-door' piece as a template. We then cut a circle for the air to flow outward using a jigsaw (Important Note: Use Skilsaw Lubicant on the blade when cutting thru acrylic - otherwise it'll melt back onto itself!)
View from the inside. In anticipation of bug-proofing the GH, I cut a piece of window-screen and used aluminum tape to stick it down around the fan, then we bolted the fan in - sandwiching the screen between the fan and acrylic.
In this pic, you can also kind of see the galvanized ground wire that Roger installed (LH side of the fan). We've got that running down to the ground, and it's attached to a 2' length of rebar that's been driven into the ground.
Well, the fan has been in for one whole day. The fan itself seems powerful enough, and seems to run "mostly" off of the solar panels. And in the morning, before the greenhouse heats up, the solar power is diverted to the battery, so it seems to keep it "topped off" sufficiently. I'll post more updates on solar-power performance as the seasons change.
Right now, the gh remains insanely hot because the fan is just drawing hot air from the open ceiling vents, and out thru the front. I need to add passive intake vents on the bottom back wall - and probably consider closing the ceiling vents to see if I can't encourage some "sucking" of cooler air from the bottom back-side of the GH and then exhaust the hot air from the top/front. This is going to be a challenge, I'm sure!!! Once again, stay tuned for updates!
