What kind of radiator to buy - greenhouse heating

[Plantinyum]

I will be starting this project in september sometime and i'm stil wondering what kind of a radiator for the water heating system to take.
The space inside is verry limited, i do have a solid base on which i could mount the heating objects, but plants are planted all along the walls of the gh ,so i cant really go with the standart radiators at this particular area. I can only place them at the center of the gh ,right on the paths ,this will be a shitty decission since i wont be able to move freely at all. This choise is tsill possible since i dont have alot of variants anyway, if i would to place them at the paths i would like to be able to remove them in summer, but i know this will not be a good thing to do 2 times a year since the chance of a leak somewhere increases .

The other possible choise would be to buy bathroom radiators ,the ones that are like just tubes . Those i could easily place on the walls of the gh and there will be ebouth space between them and the plants i think. The thing that worries me is that they do not have the same heat capacity as the regular ones as they do not hold as much liters of water as the other tipe.
I also do not know how many radiators i will need, last year i did fine with a wood stove and got through minus 15 C temps guite a few times. The stove i used has a power or heat unit of 6.6 kw, i did not find a solo radiator with this much output so i will need several of them . I should also say that the stove wasnt burning at its full cappacity, it mostly had a gentle fire, so i may not really need something that powerfull....
Any reccomendations about my case are wellcomed ,but please no electricity or other means of heating like gas or other fuels, i want to do it connected to the house's heating sistem' which is via water...
Thank you !

[Seanny]

Add a recirculating pump to divert hot water to your gh.

[Plantinyum]

Yes i will also have an additional pump to move the water.

[Aiptasia904]

You can always install an additional water heater in your home and use circulation pumps to drive the heated water to your greenhouse and back. If what i'm reading is right, you want to connect your heating system in your greenhouse to the main house water heating system. I have an electric instant on water heater in my workshop that's 16 gauge and can heat the water to 140f. (60c) in about ten seconds. That's about the max heat i've been able to find in the electric ones but the gas ones designed for commercial spaces can heat a bit hotter if you need it near boiling.

I would think it will come down to either hot water or steam radiator designs. Do you need the humidity that a steam radiator provides? Then I would go with steam. Otherwise, hot water will be adequate. They both look about the same and come in free standing and wall mount styles.

I have also seen space heaters that attach to the top of propane tanks such as the propane tanks for gas grills. Depending on the size of your greenhouse they might get you through a really cold dip.

My Mother-In-Law has a roof mounted manifold made from black PVC which acts as a water heater. The back side of her roof gets nearly 100% sunlight and the sunlight heats up water flowing through the manifold back and forth around sections of 20' or so pipe. She uses a pool pump to push the water up to the roof, lets the sunlight heat it and gravity drives the water back down to the pool. It's a pretty cool little DIY setup that prolongs her pool season into the winter months.

[Plantinyum]

You can always install an additional water heater in your home and use circulation pumps to drive the heated water to your greenhouse and back. If what i'm reading is right, you want to connect your heating system in your greenhouse to the main house water heating system. I have an electric instant on water heater in my workshop that's 16 gauge and can heat the water to 140f. (60c) in about ten seconds. That's about the max heat i've been able to find in the electric ones but the gas ones designed for commercial spaces can heat a bit hotter if you need it near boiling.

I would think it will come down to either hot water or steam radiator designs. Do you need the humidity that a steam radiator provides? Then I would go with steam. Otherwise, hot water will be adequate. They both look about the same and come in free standing and wall mount styles.

I have also seen space heaters that attach to the top of propane tanks such as the propane tanks for gas grills. Depending on the size of your greenhouse they might get you through a really cold dip.

My Mother-In-Law has a roof mounted manifold made from black PVC which acts as a water heater. The back side of her roof gets nearly 100% sunlight and the sunlight heats up water flowing through the manifold back and forth around sections of 20' or so pipe. She uses a pool pump to push the water up to the roof, lets the sunlight heat it and gravity drives the water back down to the pool. It's a pretty cool little DIY setup that prolongs her pool season into the winter months.

yes i want to connect the gh heating system to the house's one' its a hot water system using radiators.
Humidity i think wont be a problem since theres awlays condensation on the greenhouse's perrimeter' due to the difference in temps inside and out. I will place some towels on the radiators to soften a bit the heat' since they will be near the plants...

Propane is an option but i'm kinda scared to go with it due to stories ive heard, u know explosions etc....

The main goal is to connect it to the central heting, so i dont have to run 2 fire pits or use electricity etc.
Bathroom radiators will be most compattible with the tight space in the gh, but again i dont know if they would have the capacity to heat it sufficiently.....

[Seanny]

Run a couple of loops of pex pipes.
Water flow of 1st loop should be opposite of 2nd loop to get even heating.
If not enough add another loop.
Or coil the pex to gain surface area to dissipate more heat.

My cold water dispenser has 20 loops of plastic pipe inside the refrigerator to cool incoming water.
No need for a radiator.

Use opaque pex so low algae growth inside pipe.
Or a few meters of copper pipe should transfer enough heat.

[Plantinyum]

Run a couple of loops of pex pipes.
Water flow of 1st loop should be opposite of 2nd loop to get even heating.


If not enough add another loop.
Or coil the pex to gain surface area to dissipate more heat.

My cold water dispenser has 20 loops of plastic pipe inside the refrigerator to cool incoming water.
No need for a radiator.

Use opaque pex so low algae growth inside pipe.
Or a few meters of copper pipe should transfer enough heat.

Ive seen people using pex pipes/ plastic with a thin alumminium pipe inside. BUT ive heard that they can melt or rather shift their form at a certain temp, thus blocking water flow. One person said this to me and showed me , it was a long time ago but i remember when i saw the pipes that attached to the fireplace, they didnt look pretty due to the hot water.
My father also suggested those pipes but he also said that there is a chance of them defforming.However the greenhouse is kinda far from the fireplace so the water wont be as hot as the one that goes into the house, so they may work but i am a little hessitant in using them, they are probably the cheapest way to do it though...
Copper pipes are claimed to be the best metal tipe pipe to use for heating, i would love to do it with cooper, will have to calculate if this route could be backed up by my budjet....

[Seanny]

Most new homes here use pex for hot water lines.
Heater at 140F.
Pressure at 50 psi.

If you can regulate temperature and pressure pex would be fine.

[Plantinyum]

Most new homes here use pex for hot water lines.
Heater at 140F.
Pressure at 50 psi.

If you can regulate temperature and pressure pex would be fine.

Our sistem does not allow the water temp or the fire strength  to be regulated, from time to time the water starts boiling when the fire gets too strong...

[DiamondMoss]

It's great that you want to connect it to your house's water heating system for efficiency. Bathroom radiators with tube-like designs could be a practical choice given your limited space. Although they may have a smaller water capacity, you can compensate for that by using several of them to achieve the desired heat output.

If you're uncertain about the exact number or type of radiators you need, you might want to explore Radiator Village. They specialize in all types of radiators and could provide you with some valuable recommendations for your specific project.

[Plantinyum]

It's great that you want to connect it to your house's water heating system for efficiency. Bathroom radiators with tube-like designs could be a practical choice given your limited space. Although they may have a smaller water capacity, you can compensate for that by using several of them to achieve the desired heat output.

I already connected standart type radiators, the worked very well last winter. I am glad i didnt went the electricity path, the current way of heating will be far cheaper , it was a huge pain to do it, but totally worth it.