Vent: My old greenhouse heater gave out right before the first big frost

It happened last Tuesday night, the temp dropped to 28 degrees here. I woke up to find my favorite Monstera and a bunch of my prop trays looking real sad. The heater was this old Sunbeam unit I'd had for like 8 years, just quit without a sound. I had to scramble, moving all the tender plants into my tiny bathroom under some grow lights for two days while I found a replacement. It's wild how you get used to a piece of gear just doing its job until it doesn't. Ended up ordering a new Vivosun model online, but man, that cold snap did some damage. Anyone have a good backup plan for when your main climate control fails like that?

4 comments

4 Comments

ryanm602mo ago

My neighbor lost half her citrus seedlings last year the same way. Honestly, the only real backup plan I've seen work is having a secondary, smaller heater on a different circuit ready to go. I keep a little ceramic one in a closet just for emergencies now. Tbh it's not about if the main one fails, but when. That cold is brutal and moves so fast. Ngl, after seeing her plants, I spent the money on a backup.

corap212mo ago

Half her seedlings? That's a crazy amount to lose from one heater going out. I would be so upset after all that work growing them. Your backup plan makes total sense now, I'd probably do the same thing. Cold really does sneak up fast overnight, no time to fix things once it drops. Smart move keeping the extra heater on a different circuit too, just in case.

king.eric2mo ago

Read about using incandescent bulbs as emergency heat.

drew_hart41mo agoTop Commenter

I actually tried this last winter during a cold snap when my backup heater tripped the breaker. Had a couple 100 watt bulbs in a droplight in the middle of the room. It raised the temp maybe 5 degrees in a small enclosed space, nothing dramatic. Definitely not enough to save seedlings if things get really cold, like in the 20s or below. The heat output is just too small and spread out compared to a real heater. Plus you have to worry about fire risk if something touches the bulb. It's a last resort trick, not a solid plan.