Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Chatting => Equipment Shed => Topic started by: cadalot on January 21, 2014, 07:43
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I'm getting my brother-in-laws old greenhouse but I know that it does not have an automatic opener for the vent, which is OK when it's in your back garden but as I don't have room for it at home it's going to live on the allotment so I really want to fit one.
I've had a quick look on the internet and ebay and have found some around the £25 mark including P&P but any suggestions on good brands and not so good brand etc.
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Mine is a Bayliss - they've been around for a long time so ought to know what they're doing by now. ;)
Some folk remove the operating cylinder over winter and store it indoors but I haven't bothered - still too cold to say whether it will still work this year but no problems for the last 3 and not expecting any this year, although with a specialist manufacturer like Bayliss you do have the benefit of readily-available spares if something does go wrong.
My greenhouse was ordered online from Homebase, processed by Argos, dispatched by Halls/Eden Greenhouses, but is apparently a "Juliana" ::) so wasn't sure whether the "XL" model would fit without a separate fitting kit but it did - additional bits and bobs are available should you need them for yours.
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Check how they're fitted too. Mine, bought with the Halls greenhouse sticks out into the eves when the window is closed. I've given my noggin a couple of wallops on it and it comes sharp, given my time again I'd look for one that sat down the glass out of the way !
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i've bumped my head a few times as well! but I think they all work the same way :unsure: - I keep saying I'm going to change and add a set of auto opening louvres instead, but haven't got round to it yet ::)
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Try for a sale at the Greenhouse people. I think around £25 is good. really pleased with ours, but I do have to duck!
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Im sure there are 2 types :unsure: the old bloke next door had one that sat down the roof line when it was closed, this sort of thing.
(http://www.advancegreenhouses.com/automaticroofventopener.jpg)
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I have a couple of bayliss on greenhouse and polytunnel they are good ,dont have problem with them they stand up against glass ,cheaper on amazon got 2 for £42.ive just put mine back in greenhouse after taking it out in september
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The type in the pic is the kind I bang my head on :nowink: when i straighten up after weeding,
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Thanks All
Sound like the staging need to go under the vent if at all possible to prevent head injury - As to the make of the greenhouse to ensure I get one that will fit, It's third hand as my brother-in-law got it second hand - not sure what make it is though. Do they usually have a label on somewhere saying the manufacturer and the model name?
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Just make sure you get one to fit the size of glass. Should be fairly standard, I woud think. :nowink:
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This is a pic of my Bayliss XL - it couldn't get much closer to the glass without breaking it, and it doesn't 'feature' what looks like a downward pointing spear like the one in Lardman's pic! :ohmy:
Personally, I'd be more likely to bang my head on it if it was above the staging (I find myself "resting" my head on the roof glass as it is when potting up!) but each to their own I suppose.
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Until I go to the brother-in-laws next weekend I can't really visualise how big and what the configuration is, (i.e. the vent in relation to the door and I'm not sure if the door in on the 6 foot or the 4 foot side. All I know is its a greenhouse that I can have at the allotment, I may have to build a base to make it a little taller if it's that short that you need to rest your head on the glass, there again my brother in law is taller then me so if he fits in there OK I should be able too.
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This an interesting topic, as I could do with getting an automatic opener as well. We also have a second hand greenhouse on our plot, and the only technology the roof vent has at the moment is a length of stiff wire to hold it shut, and a stick to prop it open.
Bearing in mind the gales we've had of late it would be really good if someone invented an opener which worked as normal with regards to temperature, but which shuts the vent if the wind gets above a certain strength.
Then again, these days it should be possible to use your smartphone to 'talk' to it remotely. Hmmm, that could be an interesting project for a Raspberry Pi...
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Bearing in mind the gales we've had of late it would be really good if someone invented an opener which worked as normal with regards to temperature, but which shuts the vent if the wind gets above a certain strength.
It should be safely shut tight in winter gales, and even summer gales tend to cool things down so it should at least not be wide open.
I installed my window on the side opposite to the prevailing winds to try to minimise the risk (and hopefully reduce the chances of blight spores and other nasties blowing in, although that may well be wishful thinking! :unsure:)
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I had a mind to fix a enviromesh or debris netting skirt to the vent to let ait on but keep nasty's like the cabbage white out
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The weight of the window closes it they are full of wax oil which expands cool wind will also close it i wouldont use mesh myself you need the bees in there to do their job ;).Darren
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I never really thought about bees getting into greenhouses :unsure: