Author Topic: Geodesic dome greenhouse build  (Read 13286 times)

SeaWalnut

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1397
    • Romania zone 6
    • View Profile
Re: Geodesic dome greenhouse build
« Reply #50 on: August 20, 2019, 08:33:00 AM »
The anchors of the dome.Each had to be custom made from 1,5 mm thick metal plate wich i cut it in shape with a chisel and a hacksaw.Most of the work done with the chisel ,like the antichrist( i hope my neighbours forgive me  ;D).



And now i do the final step before starting to cover it.
I mixed 50/50 paraffine with boiled linseed oil and i spread it with somme rags over the painted wood structure.
The idea is that the linseed oil dryes and then the paraffine hardens ,providing a water repellent surface and protection against mold.
The structure has 2 coats of boiled linseed oil,2 coats of paint and a thick coat of wax-linseed oil mix.Hope it lasts.



SeaWalnut

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1397
    • Romania zone 6
    • View Profile
Re: Geodesic dome greenhouse build
« Reply #51 on: August 22, 2019, 01:27:10 AM »
The adjustable tool i made for measuring the polycarbonate triangles( works on exterior only).



Ive started installing the exterior polycarbonate triangles.Dilatation gap @ 3 mm ,screws and aluminum tape sealing the edge of every triangle.




Oolie

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1282
    • San Diego
    • View Profile
Re: Geodesic dome greenhouse build
« Reply #52 on: August 22, 2019, 12:00:32 PM »
On the topic of unsolicited advice, if you could seal the space between layers and pull a vacuum on it, you can limit the convection of heat outwards. This should solve the condensation issue.

SeaWalnut

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1397
    • Romania zone 6
    • View Profile
Re: Geodesic dome greenhouse build
« Reply #53 on: August 22, 2019, 06:43:50 PM »
On the topic of unsolicited advice, if you could seal the space between layers and pull a vacuum on it, you can limit the convection of heat outwards. This should solve the condensation issue.
I know what your thinking.To seal with tape each triangle between the wood structure and the pannels.
 That would be too expensive and its not possible ,because the wood has wax on it and the tape does not adhere to the wax.
But there wont be problem with convection altough it will not be a vacuumed space.Glasswool its not vacuumed and still not much convexion.Il have less convexion between my pannels than glasswool between plaster boards or otther porous building material.

SeaWalnut

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1397
    • Romania zone 6
    • View Profile
Re: Geodesic dome greenhouse build
« Reply #54 on: August 30, 2019, 02:38:14 AM »
Fire test for the polycarbonate.Doesnt fuels the fire.Il have to say im impressed and i toght this will start burning like a candle.

SeaWalnut

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1397
    • Romania zone 6
    • View Profile
Re: Geodesic dome greenhouse build
« Reply #55 on: October 16, 2019, 07:36:44 AM »
The dome today.Almost finished the exterior polycarbonate covering ( except 5 windows on the top).
Next il have to build the stove ,add the 5 temporary windows on top and then add another layer of polycarbonate,3 mm thick indoor.
The door is also temporary covered just for this winter.
The colored stirofoam on the foundation has to be covered in somme cement adhesive and fiberglass.


brian

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3355
    • Pennsylvania (zone 6) w/ heated greenhouse
    • View Profile
Re: Geodesic dome greenhouse build
« Reply #56 on: October 16, 2019, 10:13:24 AM »
It looks great!

Has it rained yet?  My experience is that where the screws puncture the plastic some small amount of water gets in, and it may collect at the low points of each triangle.  You may need to allow drainage at the low edges.

poofystuff

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 20
    • Melbourne, Florida 9B/10
    • View Profile
Re: Geodesic dome greenhouse build
« Reply #57 on: October 16, 2019, 11:28:57 AM »
It looks great!

Has it rained yet?  My experience is that where the screws puncture the plastic some small amount of water gets in, and it may collect at the low points of each triangle.  You may need to allow drainage at the low edges.

Looks like the foil backed tape covers the screws, so he should be fine there.

SeaWalnut

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1397
    • Romania zone 6
    • View Profile
Re: Geodesic dome greenhouse build
« Reply #58 on: October 16, 2019, 01:35:11 PM »
It rained a lot and the dome is covered in morning dew every day on the exterior only.
And because the tape covers the screws well i didnt got any water in any single channel of the triangles except triangles on the back side wich i let uncovered for a few weeks because i didnt had tape and 2 triangles on the front wich i think they had that water in them allready.
The water got inside just in the screw pierced channel and only a few  chanels .
On the front triangles that have a little water its not in the screws lines thats why i think it was there before and has nothing to do with the screws.
I used a lot of tape but compared to any polycarbonate even mounted profesionally like in bus stations and shops,mein still  looks better and is better sealed.
How long will it stay that well sealed? Well see  ;D.
As for the few lines that got water inside,im thinking to drain them using a seringe and then il cover the seringe needle hole with a little tape.
What looks weird is the foil left on the inside of the polycarbonate.Il take it out when il install the second layer of polycarbonate indoor.


« Last Edit: October 16, 2019, 01:37:55 PM by SeaWalnut »

Mark in Texas

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4220
    • Fredericksburg Texas, (central TX), zone 8a
    • View Profile
Re: Geodesic dome greenhouse build
« Reply #59 on: October 21, 2019, 08:46:24 AM »
Well done!  Congrats!

SeaWalnut

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1397
    • Romania zone 6
    • View Profile
Re: Geodesic dome greenhouse build
« Reply #60 on: November 22, 2019, 08:59:15 AM »
Condensation happens only on the single wall pannels.
The double wall pannels have zero condensation due to the thermal insulation.
Soon im gonna cover all the dome in double layer wall but this is the proof that double walls stop condensation and keep the heat inside.

Kevin Jones

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2171
    • Alabama - USA
    • View Profile
Re: Geodesic dome greenhouse build
« Reply #61 on: November 22, 2019, 12:40:52 PM »
Beautiful! Functional!
And a work of art!

Kevin

SeaWalnut

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1397
    • Romania zone 6
    • View Profile
Re: Geodesic dome greenhouse build
« Reply #62 on: January 11, 2020, 06:14:55 AM »
Beautiful! Functional!
And a work of art!

Kevin
Thank you Kevin! You compliment weights a lot to me because you had a geodesic dome too.

New pics with almost finished double wall( for thermal insulation and anticondens).
Looks great with the aluminum tape indoor,its superb insulated and no condens raining from the ceiling.
 


Here you can see that at the joints the aluminum is wet on the interior and appears darker .That happens because the joints form a thermal bridge.
They get colder ,somme heat its lost through there and somme little condens is formed but nothing to worry about and certainly it doesnt ,,rain,, from the joints.
I cant be more happyer about the double wall.It was expensive to do it but ive opted for quality vs quantity.
Keeps the heat in and stops condensation.


The heating device: its too small and over engineered.Il have to build another one simpler with same high quality materials ( stainless steel exhaust that heats through the floor ,a bigger rocket stove insulated outdoor and the insulation underneath the exhaust through the floor that people use stirofoam,il use refractory grade insulator-ytong,so that in case a fire happens the stirofoam wont melt or burn).

Somme of my plants.The browned one its Ugni and looks bad becauae ive kept it outdoor in the pot and it got too cold and wet inside the pot for it to thrive.Its not dead and allready started to recover.
The tomato in the bucket i found it at garbage( including the bucket) and ,,rescued,, her  :)
« Last Edit: January 11, 2020, 06:32:57 AM by SeaWalnut »

SeaWalnut

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1397
    • Romania zone 6
    • View Profile
Re: Geodesic dome greenhouse build
« Reply #63 on: February 07, 2020, 03:58:39 PM »
We just had 2 days with 90 miles an hour winds ( 145 kmh) storm.
Manny trees fell and manny greenhouses were completely destroyed.
Mein survived well thanks to the dome shape .Only the door had to be closed better because the wind managed to open it.
To be honest,i toght it would fly  but it withstand the wind quite well thanks to the dome shape.
The wind was soo strong it even took ceramic shingles off from my home roof.

Kevin Jones

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2171
    • Alabama - USA
    • View Profile
Re: Geodesic dome greenhouse build
« Reply #64 on: February 07, 2020, 06:11:32 PM »
I read somewhere that due to it's unique aerodynamic shape... high winds actually force the dome down... reducing the chances of it blowing away... unlike typical rectangular structures.

Kevin


SeaWalnut

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1397
    • Romania zone 6
    • View Profile
Re: Geodesic dome greenhouse build
« Reply #65 on: February 07, 2020, 08:13:58 PM »
I read somewhere that due to it's unique aerodynamic shape... high winds actually force the dome down... reducing the chances of it blowing away... unlike typical rectangular structures.

Kevin
Yea,thats true,the stronger the wind the stronger the dome becomes.
I was worryed about the polycarbonate on the dome ,that will fail but didnt.

SeaWalnut

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1397
    • Romania zone 6
    • View Profile
Re: Geodesic dome greenhouse build
« Reply #66 on: April 12, 2020, 05:01:57 PM »
Because my forum thread ,,Pollen vs viruses,, vanished ,i decided to take a break from the forum.
Summer is close and il have to make the 5 windows on the top of the dome to work( open and and close simultaneously).
I will attempt to use black locust wood in the making of somme parts of the window frames.
It will be hard to cut with the chainsaw into boards and it will be a tough test for the fake Stihl chainsaw.
Because ive installed the second layer of polycarbonate in the winter,water condensed on the exterior walls and it got trapped in between the 2 polycarbonate layers.
I will take down the interior polycarbonate to let it dry,then i will install it back.
After that il make the waterfall stile door wich will be the evaporating cooling sistem of the dome in summer.

Later,until the winter comes ,i will make a thick chimney pipe that will pass through the floor and a rocket stove fed automatically on wood chips that will be mounted outdoor ( the stove will make its own electric energy to drive the small
gear motor that will put wood chips on the fire).

And by the next spring i will finally catch a bumblebee queen and i wil house her in a small special hive for bumblebees inside the dome.It will make a small colony of @ 15-20 bumblebees that will be able to sustain themselves inside the dome( i will feed them also) and they will be permanent residents that will pollinate my plants.
Comercial greenhouses use bumblees for a month or so and then they die,but mein will be a permanent colony no matter they will have flowers to polinate or not.I will feed them a little pollen from my honney bees in times of dearth.

brian

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3355
    • Pennsylvania (zone 6) w/ heated greenhouse
    • View Profile
Re: Geodesic dome greenhouse build
« Reply #67 on: April 12, 2020, 05:28:17 PM »
How did it fare in terms of leaks & water inside panels? 

SeaWalnut

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1397
    • Romania zone 6
    • View Profile
Re: Geodesic dome greenhouse build
« Reply #68 on: April 12, 2020, 06:10:42 PM »
How did it fare in terms of leaks & water inside panels?
It is awesome.Air tight and no leaks in between the policarbonate stripes.
The only few water infiltrations in between the pannels are the ones from last year( verry few).No otthers developed.

And contrary,the window pannels wich are made from scrap left after cutting the original pannels are full of water on the edges.
But those i didnt sealed because they were just temporary installed for the last winrer only ( until i make the windows).
I cant immagine using double walled polycarbonate without sealing it with aluminum tape.

brian

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3355
    • Pennsylvania (zone 6) w/ heated greenhouse
    • View Profile
Re: Geodesic dome greenhouse build
« Reply #69 on: April 12, 2020, 06:41:19 PM »
That's really impressive, good work with the construction

SeaWalnut

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1397
    • Romania zone 6
    • View Profile
Re: Geodesic dome greenhouse build
« Reply #70 on: April 25, 2020, 04:20:36 AM »
I made a short video with the dome.Migratory storks returned from Africa and they were atracted by my greenhouse dome.Probably they think its a nest :D.
https://youtu.be/3mkDSeooxD0

Kevin Jones

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2171
    • Alabama - USA
    • View Profile
Re: Geodesic dome greenhouse build
« Reply #71 on: April 25, 2020, 10:32:34 AM »
Around here we call circling birds "Buzzards" and I would be looking for a dead something or other.
Dome looks really great... give us an actual detailed tour video when you have some time.
Thanks.

Kevin Jones


SeaWalnut

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1397
    • Romania zone 6
    • View Profile
Re: Geodesic dome greenhouse build
« Reply #72 on: April 25, 2020, 06:55:14 PM »
Around here we call circling birds "Buzzards" and I would be looking for a dead something or other.
Dome looks really great... give us an actual detailed tour video when you have some time.
Thanks.

Kevin Jones

These are storks not vultures and they dont eat dead animals.
They like to nest on houses and legend has it that if you destroy their nest,they will bring red coals into their beak and set your house on fire.
Its just a legend but a nice one.
They congregate like this and fly in circles only in the first day they arrive from Africa .



Jabba The Hutt

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 553
    • Appleton, New York, 6b/Pine Island, Bokeelia, Florida 10b
    • View Profile
Re: Geodesic dome greenhouse build
« Reply #73 on: April 25, 2020, 07:30:29 PM »
Around here we call circling birds "Buzzards" and I would be looking for a dead something or other.
Dome looks really great... give us an actual detailed tour video when you have some time.
Thanks.

Kevin Jones

These are storks not vultures and they dont eat dead animals.
They like to nest on houses and legend has it that if you destroy their nest,they will bring red coals into their beak and set your house on fire.
Its just a legend but a nice one.
They congregate like this and fly in circles only in the first day they arrive from Africa .




Beuatiful birds and beautiful dome you built Walnut.

SeaWalnut

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1397
    • Romania zone 6
    • View Profile
Re: Geodesic dome greenhouse build
« Reply #74 on: April 25, 2020, 08:30:48 PM »
Thx Jabba.I googled to see if you have these birds in North America and you dont have them but you do have that saying that new born kids are brought by the stork.
This is the original bird from that saying.
Migrates between Europe and South Africa.
« Last Edit: April 25, 2020, 08:33:27 PM by SeaWalnut »