Help: Heating a very small grow

[Bulster]

I am doing a super small grow in an outdoor shed for my own medicinal use. I just started flowering and it's getting pretty darn cold out there already. How can I heat this tiny space without having to heat my whole shed? The grow is only 1.5 by 2 feet but I have about 6 feet vertical clearance.
I have thought about :
- Super small propane heater... but how would that work? and what about humidity?
- Heating blanket or 'propagation mat'... but will 40 watts of heating power make any difference anyway? Especially if I run the fan for humidity during dark hours. Maybe wrap the pots?
- Super small electric heater... cannot find one. also worried about electricity cost.

What else? Someone out there must be dealing with the cold....

Thanks.

Bulster Reviewed by Bulster on 10-16-2007. Help: Heating a very small grow I am doing a super small grow in an outdoor shed for my own medicinal use. I just started flowering and it's getting pretty darn cold out there already. How can I heat this tiny space without having to heat my whole shed? The grow is only 1.5 by 2 feet but I have about 6 feet vertical clearance. I have thought about : - Super small propane heater... but how would that work? and what about humidity? - Heating blanket or 'propagation mat'... but will 40 watts of heating power make any Rating: 5

[water]

do a google search for tube heaters and maybe ebay



good luck




water

[Zeus2007]

whichever you choose, try insulating the shed a bit so that the heat stays in....

[budcraft]

I use one of these to heat my little grow room at night
oscillating heater
It works very well at keeping the room around 21C. The fan turns itself on/off when needed too so that's a good thing. Not expensive either. I think it was around $45 or less. Oh, and it has two heat settings. 900 watt and 1500 watt. I use the lower setting.

hth
BC

[Comatose]

As stated above, I would work on insulating the shed as a first priority.

You don't want your heat signature excaping, snow melting off the roof, etc... and doing this will also increase the temperature inside. Most people don't choose to grow in a shed, because Leo doesn't have to worry as much about entering it since it's not technically your home. Whatever happens, best of luck.

[stinkyattic]

Insulate first or you are wasting energy and effort.
An oil-filled radiator-style heater in the grow area, set on a thermostat to go on when temps drop below 65 degrees, will dry out your plants less than a space heater with a fan in it would.

[Bulster]

Thanks for all the tips.

Just to clarify: My grow is insulated but the shed is too big to insulate so I just want to heat the grow. Even if I did insulate the shed, air venting would let most heat escape anyway. This is of course the same with the grow but it's so small that keeping it warm shouldn't be a very big expense despite losing some heat to air replacement.
So I need a very small heater that will fit in the grow. Right now I'm leaning towards the oil filled radiator that Stinky suggested. I just wish there was something gas powered since it would be so much cheaper to run.

Question: how often do I need to replace the air during dark hours? Can I just leave the vents open but the fan off? This would retain the heat much better than actively venting. I can of course still keep moving the air inside the grow itself with a small pc fan.

[mikeyjo]

Keep the vent fan running at all times.