[gardeners] Re: [tomato] heat pad
William McKay (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Mon, 15 Mar 1999 13:05:28 PST
>For those "Handy Persons", I made a 12x22 box out of 1x8's
>Covered the top with 12" Aluminum Flashing
>Inside the bottom I mounted some 1x3's about 6 in in from each end
>Mounted a light socket in the middle of the 1x 3's, Use 2 / 25 w light
bulbs wired to a dimmer switch.
>
>I made another 1x4 box to fit on top, also covered with 12" aluminum
>flashing. Cleated the 2 boxes together. Reason, this helps disperse the
heat and reduces hot spots. The flashing also keeps moisture off the
light bulbs
>
>In the top box I drilled a small hole to install a dial thermometer.
>In the bottom box I drilled a 1/8th in hole in line with each bulb so I
could see if they were still working. A little paint or stain, a modicum
of care, your biggest repair expense will be an occasional light bulb
>My cost was less than $15, but I had the wood
>
>Happy Growing
>Byron
I made some similar boxes but made them 22x22 so I could get two 10-20
trays on them. My instructions said to use 2 40w bulbs. They put
outtoo much heat. I used some plexiglas for the top (ran a bead of
caulk to keep water from the light bulbs) and then laid a piece of 1/2
inch styrofoam insulation on that to disperse the hotspots from the
bulbs. They work like a charm. In addition to using them to start
seeds, I hooked one of the boxes up to a timer. Tomatoes get 14 hours
of heat and then 10 hours at 56 degrees (my basement temp). Promotes
great stocky plants.
Love the idea of a dimmer switch. That should solve my overheating box
problem.
Bill McKay in E. Mass
>
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com