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punkin

Humidity in My Greenhouse

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apologies for the crosspost, just after all the options i can get.

:blush:

I live in a very dry inland environment and i grow my mushrooms outside in a small greenhouse under cover of a tin roof. There's plenty of light and heaps of fresh air, but humidity is the parameter i have to control (temperature is what it is and i'll just have to adapt my practises to it). The area is 140 sqfeet (13 sq metres).

At the moment i've been using a steam humidifier of the type used for asthma sufferers. It cost a dollar at the tip shop, and i've fitted a smmall remote tank to double the capacity. Does the job very well so far in winter, but as the weather warms, i've found i've had to run it more and more often.

The other drawback is the amount of water it uses all ends up as condensation in the greenhouse. It sits on the buckets and grows slime and stains the concrete upsetting the missus.

I'd really like one of the fancy greenhouse humidifiers, but i'm not prepared to pay the money they're asking (in the $300-500 range). I've also seen some of the bulk teks on shroomery ect where people have used barrels with airstones, fishpond foggers and computer fans to increase their humidity. I'm just not sure excatly which way i'd like to go and what is gunna work best and most efficiently for me.

Looking for suggestions as to setup.

I currently have;

More barrells than i can possibly use

A good dual output airpump from an aquarium.

Two 2' long air tubes that output the length of em for the bottom of a tank.

a 240v 4" exhaust fan that is surplus from my smoker builds.

All the PVC pipe and fittings i could need.

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I just built a greenhouse with a polycarbonate roof, open door.

Its about 7 sqm with shelving and river rocks on the floor area

I put in a small mist kit (5 misters,lines and filter for $95)from MrMister which runs off mains pressure. Anymore misters and I would need a pump.

In the middle of the day here in NQ, ambient temps are around 32C and humidity is fairly high.

In the greenhouse its about 36C.

I put the mister on a timer for 15 every hour and for 2 hours between 11am and 1pm.

The temps stay around 26C and 95% humidity.

Thats the best I can do here. Its sucks as I am very limited as to what will grow (Warm temperate oysters anyone? :) )

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The best combo I have seen has been this (usa only modle, $25 from amazon, you will need a stepdown converter) running 24 7 or on a timer,

http://www99.shopping.com/Vicks-Cool-Mist-V400/info

This is an impeller style, that is what you want NOT the wick style...

The Vicks with an ultra sonic fogger is a cheap proven combo.

http://shop.ebay.com.au/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m570.l1313&_nkw=ultrasonic+fogger&_sacat=See-All-Categories

The cool mist sits outside the green house sucking in fresh air, it is plumbed into the green house providing fresh air exchange and some humidity.

The fogger can be placed on a float upside down in a large sealed container (like a plastic 5L olive drum) with an air pump plumbed into the vessel and a fog pipe plumbed into the green house from the vessel, all sealed up nicely with silicone.

Or you can have it on the bottom of a sealed jar with about 4 - 5 inches of water over it, set up with the same style plumbing as above, though you will need to keep an eye on the water level constantly ( will last about 2 - 3 days, so I recommend getting a float designed for the the fogger so that it can sit in a larger reservoir of water for longer.

You might need two of these for your set up... although I have seen one completely fill a green house so thick you cant see in side it in about 20 minutes, you would have to fine tune it to you set up...

The ultrasonic coming on for 15 minutes or so every hour and the cool mist on a timer or running constantly will keep a 4 tier greenhouse from bunnings @ 95% - 99% humidity nicely.

The ultrasonics are prone to failure, so buy a couple, the first purchase with the PSU will set you back about $30 but the foggers are about $3 - $5 each that plug into the original PSU, they last about 3 to 6 months.

I have a tek somewhere with some pictures I can try to find for you if you like?

Good luck

Edited by San Rainbow

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The best combo I have seen has been this (usa only modle, $25 from amazon, you will need a stepdown converter) running 24 7 or on a timer,

http://www99.shopping.com/Vicks-Cool-Mist-V400/info

This is an impeller style, that is what you want NOT the wick style...

The Vicks with an ultra sonic fogger is a cheap proven combo.

http://shop.ebay.com.au/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m570.l1313&_nkw=ultrasonic+fogger&_sacat=See-All-Categories

The cool mist sits outside the green house sucking in fresh air, it is plumbed into the green house providing fresh air exchange and some humidity.

The fogger can be placed on a float upside down in a large sealed container (like a plastic 5L olive drum) with an air pump plumbed into the vessel and a fog pipe plumbed into the green house from the vessel, all sealed up nicely with silicone.

Or you can have it on the bottom of a sealed jar with about 4 - 5 inches of water over it, set up with the same style plumbing as above, though you will need to keep an eye on the water level constantly ( will last about 2 - 3 days, so I recommend getting a float designed for the the fogger so that it can sit in a larger reservoir of water for longer.

You might need two of these for your set up... although I have seen one completely fill a green house so thick you cant see in side it in about 20 minutes, you would have to fine tune it to you set up...

The ultrasonic coming on for 15 minutes or so every hour and the cool mist on a timer or running constantly will keep a 4 tier greenhouse from bunnings @ 95% - 99% humidity nicely.

The ultrasonics are prone to failure, so buy a couple, the first purchase with the PSU will set you back about $30 but the foggers are about $3 - $5 each that plug into the original PSU, they last about 3 to 6 months.

I have a tek somewhere with some pictures I can try to find for you if you like?

Good luck

 

I was getting a little interested until the bit about failure.

Maybe i should try to bite the bullet, build a drip tray of some sorts and instal mister jets....

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I was getting a little interested until the bit about failure.

Maybe i should try to bite the bullet, build a drip tray of some sorts and instal mister jets....

 

That would be the better idea in the long run, especially stepping up to a semi commercial production level...

having under bed storage bins full of perlite, presoaked in a 6% h202 & water solution would give off a bit to, you can get a hundred liter bag for around $30, they would recycle the humidity in there, as the heavy condensation falls on the perlite it would the be evaporated back into the air.

You can reuse the perlite if your on a budget, just buy a big cheap pot from one of the Asian stores and boil it... the h202 kills most nasty's'

Please post back if you go the mister jet option, eventually (if I can ever afford to buy my own place) I want to do semi commercial gourmet production.

cheers

Edited by San Rainbow

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That would be the better idea in the long run, especially stepping up to a semi commercial production level...

having under bed storage bins full of perlite, presoaked in a 6% h202 & water solution would give off a bit to, you can get a hundred liter bag for around $30, they would recycle the humidity in there, as the heavy condensation falls on the perlite it would the be evaporated back into the air.

You can reuse the perlite if your on a budget, just buy a big cheap pot from one of the Asian stores and boil it... the h202 kills most nasty's'

Please post back if you go the mister jet option, eventually (if I can ever afford to buy my own place) I want to do semi commercial gourmet production.

cheers

 

I've reached the stage of production i'm interested in i think (cept for the spawn production) and i think 1/2 doz buckets at a time is more than enough to keep me and my friends going, with enough spare to sell to people i know in small bags to cover all my production costs.

Trying to do this on a commercial scale would entail much more work than it's worth to me.

So the greenhouse won't be getting any bigger.

I will look into a mister though.

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i just had a thought the other day. If you have a karcher or similar...stick the nozzle in one end of you green house and set it on a timer for short bursts

brilliant:)

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Did you see this one? http://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/6252361#6252361

He uses a fogger, a heater and an airstone to get good amounts of humidity, and it keeps the water fresh. I reckon that would be more than sufficient and really easy to build.

 

Yep, thanks mate. Got a couple the same from there open in other tabs that i've been looking at for a week or two. Still undecided exactly which way to go and still checking all the reccomendations i'm getting, thanks people. :worship:

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if none of your plants are in the ground for a cheap large scale setup you could use black plastic or a pond liner on the floor/ground & simple trick-line with misters or drip system under a thin layer of pebble mulch (that way your not soaking everything)

Throw it on a cheap electronic watering controller with a solenoid that you can set for a few min twice a day 7 day watering cycle

Edited by mac

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Whatsa karcher? Sounds promising!

 

Its a high pressure water cleaner:) bunnings have cheaper little ones

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Don't forget the simple things like evaporation and surface area!

Hessian bags (might have to use detergent or a warm salt wash first if they won't soak up water) hung in the room will raise the humidity,but will also cool as it does.

I've used this over shed door-ways in summer to keep the shed cool as the hot wind blows through :wink:

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apologies for the crosspost, just after all the options i can get.

:blush:

I live in a very dry inland environment and i grow my mushrooms outside in a small greenhouse under cover of a tin roof. There's plenty of light and heaps of fresh air, but humidity is the parameter i have to control (temperature is what it is and i'll just have to adapt my practises to it). The area is 140 sqfeet (13 sq metres).

At the moment i've been using a steam humidifier of the type used for asthma sufferers. It cost a dollar at the tip shop, and i've fitted a smmall remote tank to double the capacity. Does the job very well so far in winter, but as the weather warms, i've found i've had to run it more and more often.

The other drawback is the amount of water it uses all ends up as condensation in the greenhouse. It sits on the buckets and grows slime and stains the concrete upsetting the missus.

I'd really like one of the fancy greenhouse humidifiers, but i'm not prepared to pay the money they're asking (in the $300-500 range). I've also seen some of the bulk teks on shroomery ect where people have used barrels with airstones, fishpond foggers and computer fans to increase their humidity. I'm just not sure excatly which way i'd like to go and what is gunna work best and most efficiently for me.

Looking for suggestions as to setup.

I currently have;

More barrells than i can possibly use

A good dual output airpump from an aquarium.

Two 2' long air tubes that output the length of em for the bottom of a tank.

a 240v 4" exhaust fan that is surplus from my smoker builds.

All the PVC pipe and fittings i could need.

 

Wherabouts did you find the fancy greenhouse foggers?

I've been looking into something that heavy duty and have only been

able to find them for $800-$1500

The $300-$500 range might be suitable for what I'm setting up, especially if I can get one fogger plubed into two separate rooms.....

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Wherabouts did you find the fancy greenhouse foggers?

I've been looking into something that heavy duty and have only been

able to find them for $800-$1500

The $300-$500 range might be suitable for what I'm setting up, especially if I can get one fogger plubed into two separate rooms.....

 

Dunno now mate, i've seen em linked on shroomery and seemed to me they were around that money.

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Here you go mate, give this a go

My link

Get a tube from Bunnings, jam it in the top and run it into the greenhouse.

Works a treat, and it has plenty of capacity so you can leave it for hours.

I use a timer with mine, haven't had any problems for a couple of years now.

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Here you go mate, give this a go

My link

Get a tube from Bunnings, jam it in the top and run it into the greenhouse.

Works a treat, and it has plenty of capacity so you can leave it for hours.

I use a timer with mine, haven't had any problems for a couple of years now.

 

How big an area do you do with this Butch?

My grow area is nearly 3 cubic metres.

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Howdy Punkin

I have a 4 tier PVC greenhouse, about 180cm m tall and 70cm x 50 cm wide, so it's a bit smaller than yours.

Having said that I have the humidifier on a timer and only run it for 5 mins every 3 hours on a fairly low setting.

The unit puts out a decent stream of cool water vapor and attaching a 2 meter tube hasn't affected the performance at all.

Good luck mate.

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Howdy Punkin

I have a 4 tier PVC greenhouse, about 180cm m tall and 70cm x 50 cm wide, so it's a bit smaller than yours.

Having said that I have the humidifier on a timer and only run it for 5 mins every 3 hours on a fairly low setting.

The unit puts out a decent stream of cool water vapor and attaching a 2 meter tube hasn't affected the performance at all.

Good luck mate.

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Howdy Punkin

I have a 4 tier PVC greenhouse, about 180cm m tall and 70cm x 50 cm wide, so it's a bit smaller than yours.

Having said that I have the humidifier on a timer and only run it for 5 mins every 3 hours on a fairly low setting.

The unit puts out a decent stream of cool water vapor and attaching a 2 meter tube hasn't affected the performance at all.

Good luck mate.

 

You got me. I'm gunna order one.

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You got me. I'm gunna order one.

 

Lemme know how it goes! I'm still running fog misters but the water droplets are too large to increase the humidity high enough.

Still trying to work out a cheaper solution for a larger greenhouse style grow room.

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I've ordered it. I'm gunna halve the size of my grow room too, so will be a few weeks before i have any results from the hydrometer and a few after that before i have shrooms growing again.

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Good luck mate, hope it works as well for you as it does for me.

Let us know.. ;)

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Oooh I'm getting excited about that piece of equipment butch97!

How do you go with air exchange? Could probably rig up a fan on

A timer....

I think this may be the cheap and easy solution I'm after!

Good one mate!

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Hey Omsource

The humidifier has a small fan that helps to blow the mist into the greenhouse, that seems to help with the air exchange. On hot days I do fan out the greenhouse with a bit of cardboard but when it's below 28 I don't usualy bother.

I have thought about rigging up a small fan on a timer but im happy with the current results so I might leave that for another day.

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