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seeds Space Heater For Germination?

nicksmurf111

nicksmurf111

I just use a folding table (along with another odd table) and (2) 4 bulb 4-foot fluorescents for starting my plants. Could I place an old space heater on low, utilizing the thermostat, underneath my table during germination instead of purchasing heat mats for 2 or 3 flats? Will I see a difference in germination time? Or am I just being dumb for considering using a space heater? I do keep my plants in the basement, so up to now I've always only kept my lights on 24-7 until the seeds all germinate. I'm sure the basement is a good 10 degrees colder than the house. I guess I should check the temp this winter.

And I apologize if someone has posted this here before, I didn't see anything right away using a keyword search.

Thanks,
Nick
 
Not knowing how much common sense you have, I don't want to say something and have you burn your house down - so don't burn your house down.

That being said, it should work, depending on the thermostat style. If its the on/off style, you might see fluctuations in temp as the heater goes on and off.

I use an old electric fry pan in a container of sand. The sand acts as a large thermal mass, storing and buffering the heat.

Get a thermometer and see if it'll work for you.
 
I'm not an uber-pepper grower, but I can say your starts will appreciate the extra warmth. CAREFULLY enclose the area so as there is no risk of fires, etc, as best you can to trap the heat, and a little space heater will make your peppers happy.

Good on ya for trying the search button, sometimes it doesn't return general subject matter results like what we're used to with other search functions.

WELCOME and have fun here on THP.

salsalady
 
If I was to use the space heater, it would most definitely be on the floor away from combustibles. I'm not sure if the thermostat would work correctly since the floor will be colder than the table. And by the time I go high tech and get a PID controller or something similar, I might as well just get some heat mats.

11010490 said:
I use an old electric fry pan in a container of sand. The sand acts as a large thermal mass, storing and buffering the heat.
Click to expand...
11010490, Do you use an external thermostat or do you just set it on "low"?
 
nicksmurf111 said:
If I was to use the space heater, it would most definitely be on the floor away from combustibles. I'm not sure if the thermostat would work correctly since the floor will be colder than the table. And by the time I go high tech and get a PID controller or something similar, I might as well just get some heat mats.


11010490, Do you use an external thermostat or do you just set it on "low"?
Click to expand...

I just set it on low. Because the amount of sand, it took about 4 days to work out the temp so it's stable between 30-32. It's set on 2.5 out of 7 so there's room for change if I wanted to use it for different germ temps.
I had it cranking on 40 for a while there (the cat obviously thought it needed to be hotter) and all my seeds popped in an instant but they did get very leggy, not that leggy bothers me, as long as the plant survives, it comes good eventually, just takes longer.

I have a bunch of PLCs that I could use for temp control but I'm pretty lazy. I like the KISS rule sometimes.
 
I used a space heater for my germination and early growth last year - it worked wonderfully. I am in an old, drafty house that seems to have no insulation, and am in northern Ohio, so it gets quite cold in the winters here. The space heater was just the thing to make the room nice and toasty. Over and above the safety concerns (make sure it's in a grounded plug, don't place it on or near flammables, etc.), the other thing you will need to watch for is the moisture content of your plants. The space heater did seem to suck moisture out of the air more rapidly, so you may need to mist/water them a tad more frequently.
 
Space heaters waste wayyyyyy to much heat if all you are doing is germinating. Bad carbon footprint.
Use waste heat you are already making, ie, refrigerator heat exchanger, domestic water heater, 'puter, cable box and etc. Only needs to be 80-90F.
 
Hydrofarm Seedling Heat Mat

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MT10006--19-1-2-Inch-Seedling/dp/B0001WV010/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1319563135&sr=8-2-fkmr0

Gardman R687 4-Tier Mini Greenhouse
http://www.amazon.com/Gardman-R687-4-Tier-Mini-Greenhouse/dp/B000NCTGQE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319563176&sr=8-1

You could attach lights to each shelf and keep your plants warm until they become too large for the greenhouse.....
 
willard3 said:
Space heaters waste wayyyyyy to much heat if all you are doing is germinating. Bad carbon footprint.
Use waste heat you are already making, ie, refrigerator heat exchanger, domestic water heater, 'puter, cable box and etc. Only needs to be 80-90F.
Click to expand...
No, I have a child. Soon to be 2 children. Plants need to be out of sight in the basement and the thermostat stays around 69F. My son can pick all the cherry tomatoes he wants come summer time.

I really like the thermal mass idea. I don't believe I have a hot plate sitting around (need to check the garage) and don't think I'll run across one in the next couple months.

I'll have to crunch the numbers. I think running the space heather for a week or two should be cheaper than purchasing 2 heat mats (minimum). I typically would never run a space heater to heat my house.
 
Well i did stupidly leave it on for about six weeks in an average sized room whilst getting my head start. Maybe that had something to do with it! :D
 
After doing more reading, I might try the aquarium heater method. My catfish and random south american cichlid don't require heat & I have a large aquarium heater handy. I just need to find a shallow tote. Should be able to save a lot of electricity that way: 250 watts in water vs. 1000 watts on the floor...
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8QA9RFyysc

http://www.gardengrapevine.com/BottomHeater.html

http://doorgarden.com/02/home-made-bottom-heat-seed-starting

http://www.thehotpepper.com/topic/19121-seedling-heatmat/

A few links to seed germination stations.
 
On top of the flourescent lamp is another spot - not sure if you are using them atm? but good find on the aquarium heater
 
Let the picture do the talking...
HPIM0841.JPG

I'll need to consider mats. Had the aquarium heater because my brother-in-law and I were breading fish until he got tired of it. He sold hundreds of fish on "trade" but I think he neglected to ever get a receipt...wanted to get more aquarium supplies.
 
Nick...there are some good suggestions that have been made...I will offer another one if you are mechanically inclined...this may be a long post since I am known to ramble a bit...

from looking at your picture, I would guess the area you are working with is ~8' long and 22" or so wide...it would be so easy to go to home depot, buy some light plywood like 1/4" thick and enclose your grow area completely...make a frame out of 2" X 2"s and use 1/2-5/8" deck screws (or something like them) to secure the plywood to the 2" X 2"s....then all you have to do is make your access...very easy...figure where you want your access to be...then cut out the "doors"...if you like plexiglass, you could get a couple of pieces and make your doors out of them using the pieces you cut out as "templates"..then drill holes in the plexiglass for your hinge "hardware"...I know the light may be an issue, but I don't see it that way...if you make the "box" out wood, you could mount ceramic light fixtures and screw them into the wood...wiring will be another thing...easy but I won't explain here...then get some 42 watt CFLs (2700K bulbs are cheap)...this allows you to have as many lumens/ft[sub]2[/sub] as you desire...IMO you don't need more than 1000-1200 lumens/ft[sup]2[/sup] for good early growth seedlings...

if you decide to do this, just watch what you are doing with the wiring, the ceramic fixtures won't get too hot for the wood, so fire shouldn't be a problem unless you overload the light fixtures or wiring...(read: use a huge wattage light bulb as in over 150W or so)

I don't know why bu t building something that is easy, functional, and most of the time cheap sure does make me smile....

there are many ways to go if you want to control the temperature in a "contained" area...I have seen good looking setups that are made out of PVC pipe, and that is easier than plywood and 2 X 2s...people have taken commercial shelving and closed that in with visquene (6 mil plastic) with a 4' shoplight on each shelf...

I don't know how long you are going to grow inside, but, to me I will tell you it is a pain in the ass...lot's of work....if you are going to grow inside to maturity, that is a whole other can of worms...and the biggest is your electric bill...during January to March, I run nearly 3.5K watts 24/7 and that eats me up...of course, that is for about 1500 plants in all stages of growth...if you ARE going to grow inside, I really recommend building an area that you can germinate seeds, grow seedlings fast, then a "slow grow" area....

it has taken me several years to get my grow set up like I want it...I have a germination chamber 2' X 2' X 4' (holds 8 72 cell trays), a fast grow area that will also hold 8 72 cell trays (3K lumens/ft[sup]2[/sup]) and a slow grow area that is 3 20" x 8' shelves and where I keep the plants until they reach about 12" tall if needed..this area will hold 24 trays, they will be in 3" square containers when they hit this area and if they get too big for the slow grow area, it is almost time for plantout...

timing of starting the seeds is of utmost importance...you have to look at when your last frost is and back up 8-12 weeks before...shorter period for annumms and longer period for chinense...

just remember to have fun with your hobby...I forgot that and what I was doing became work...hell, I am retired and I just want to enjoy my life...

you know, I just read what I posted and boy, was I off...but I am not going to delete it...

temperature control is the most important thing for seed germination...I use thermostats and light bulbs...the CFLS put off enough heat to warm the area if it is enclosed...
 
Yes, you can say that I'm mechanically inclined. So much so, that I work with computers all day to find something at least challenging to me.

Alabama Jack, I'm going to say that you where ripping on my t12 fixtures without saying anything about them. Yes, I know I can get many more lumens per watt utilizing CLF bulbs. Could you tell me more about your fast grow area? I'd have and continue to consider adding more lumens per square foot, but where do we see diminishing returns? I'm already at (4ft 40w x 8) 320 watts of ancient technology and I certainly don't want to draw even half of your 3.5kW. I've always changed the distance from the lamp, but never set up multiple areas.

I should get rid of those nasty old tables if I decided to build an enclosure but so far I've been holding off on a new table for now. I might do the space blanket walls with 2x2 framing. At least, that's what I was considering last year.
 
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