Greenhouse and rain water

Joanie

We just put up a new greenhouse (pictures to follow later) and I was reading that to maintain a more constant temperature, you could use bottles filled with water, lining the inside of the wall that the sun shines onto. During the day, the clear water bottles will slowly store the heat energy from the sun, and at night will slowly dissipate this energy, keeping the greenhouse warm. In the summer, the bottles will cool off during the night, and keep the greenhouse cooler in the morning. (My greenhouse will be shaded from noon to sunset)

I have also been catching rainwater in tubs, which eventually gets sort of nasty as it sits, even covered. So I started filling the empty water bottles (minus the labels) with the clear rainwater and using them to line the greenhouse wall. That way, I can start using them over the summer when the barrel water gets scary.

Does anyone have any suggestions or considerations about trying this?

Joanie

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md4958

Hi Joanie,

My favorite local bonsai nursery does this on a grand scale...they use the large water bubbler jugs with the tops off. They told me once to increase humidity, they never mentioned anything about temp...but maybe they gave me the short sweet answer.

They can get pretty nasty though, as theirs got sometimes...I wonder if a couple drops of bleach would keep the bacteria at bay?
Good luck and lets see those pics,
Moe

Joanie

These bottles are closed tightly, they are regular drinking water bottles. I considered boiling the water first to get rid of bacteria. A drop of bleach would be all right, too. We had a discussion once about chlorine and apparently it doesn't hurt the plants in small doses. Sitting in the sun, the bottles might well develop algae and stuff.

Hmmmm..... good point, Moe. Thank you.

Joanie

__________________
"You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says,
'Wow, you're right! I never would've thought of that!'" ~ Dave Barry

Bob O

Hi Jonie,
Another option is useing large plastic drums or garbage cans full of water to support your benches.

Bob O

Joanie

That's a thought, Bob! I'll look into that....

Joanie

__________________
"You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says,
'Wow, you're right! I never would've thought of that!'" ~ Dave Barry

jjeter

Actually, any material that holds heat will work. Sand, dirt, gravel, etc. Water has a slightly higher heat transfer rate, but not much different as far as heat capacity. Therefore, it would transfer the heat faster, but the same amount of heat as other materials. Water might be cheaper because you are getting it free.

Joanie

And I need to store the water anyway, since our summers do not rain enough to refill the barrels. I just went out and felt them and they are definitely warmer than the surrounding area.

Interesting!!

Joanie

__________________
"You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says,
'Wow, you're right! I never would've thought of that!'" ~ Dave Barry

Bruce Winter

I don't know how large the greenhouse is but any container painted black will do a better job of solar gain. 55 gal drums are what I've used before. Also if the containers are black there will be less of an algae problem.

Joanie

That's a great idea, Bruce! I can spray paint the bottles black.

The greenhouse is only 6' x 6' x 6'. I'll put up pictures when my daughter gets back with the camera.

Painted black.... yeah.... makes sense.

Joanie

__________________
"You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says,
'Wow, you're right! I never would've thought of that!'" ~ Dave Barry