Gas line to greenhouse

[SharonC]

So it began with $4400 dollars worth of tree removal to build greenhouse. Not all for greenhouse but about 2K to be fair. The rest were trees I did not want on top of my house.
Today the gas company came and to run a natural gas line to the back of my property which means over the bridge will be another 4-5K. That was not part of the budget. Oh well At this rate all I'll be eating is figs.

[Rafaelissimmo]

I feel your pain Sharon, I am considering some sort of gas heat in my greenhouse, there is a gas line very close for the pool heater, the electric heater is really expensive and the extension cord always snags on the door!

[COGardener]

Why not use a 500 gallon propane tank? When it's low call and a truck will come to fill it. It would be considerably cheaper than running the natural gas line.

[SharonC]

It would be but the truck could not get over the little bridge to my greenhouse. I don't think it was meant for cars although the former owner drove over it all the time.

[COGardener]

That is a drag. I do like Wills idea of have the propane tank by the bridge then running a line from it.

[WillsC]

Sharon,

How far from the bridge is the proposed site for the greenhouse? If it isn't too far the propane truck could reach it as the hose they use is pretty long OR you could locate the propane tank just over the bridge at a distance the truck hose could reach and then run the lines from there to the greenhouse.

[Atb_ncfoothills]

Sharon, do you have a fig nursery or are you just installing a greenhouse for personal use of cold sensitive figs? I am down the road from you over near closer to Denver near hwy 150/16. I have basic figs but last winter was brutal on my plants. Got down to 3 here one day. It looks like I will be dealing with dying back to the ground every year. I have a cold frame I am putting up soon but it is for native/deciduous azaleas. I don't have to deal with gas but do need to grade and put in a well.

[Kelby]

Ouch, that's rough. My neighbor was looking into getting gas installed on our street, I think he said it would cost $6-8000. Gas is cheap, but not THAT cheap!

[rusty hooks]

Wills has it on this one....no utility company likes to run an exposed or protected gas line over a "less than vehicular rated" bridge. Propane close to the bridge, on the greenhouse side, and a line, appropriately sized for the distance to the greenhouse (and heater demand) is going to be your best shot. The problem often arises when the local codes call for some type of protection for the tank....a concrete slab with a filled block wall is pretty much standard out here...check with a local propane supplier for the specs on the slab and wall (if needed)...they'll have them.

[cyberfarmer]

One more vote for the propane tank. I ad one a couple hundred feet from the closest the truck could go. He had a big hose reel and could have reached much further.

[Atb_ncfoothills]

Not that it would be cheaper but you could always bury your tank if you didn't want to see it. I have seen this done with residential but not commercial.

[COGardener]

May be worth having the propane people out to give you some ideas and let you know what they can do.

[Snaglpus]

Sharon, you're doing the right thing to plan now for heating your GH. You and I are in the same boat. My new GH is presently going up. The frame is up but I've got to install the earth anchors this week then the top. I'm planning on adding a wood burning stove to my GH. But I also go a gas heater too for backup. For this year, I will just run my new stove. My new stove will be a wood burning barrel stove made out of an old 30g steel barrel. I got the barrell----paid a farmer 20 bucks for it. And I just ordered the door kit from Northern Tool & Equipment. If interested, its a Vogelzang Barrel Stove Kit, Model# BK100E. Depending on the size of your GH, and if you choose this method, you may want to make a double unit. Using one of these stoves and a small fan, you should be able to keep your GH temperature above 50. Just a thought.....

[SharonC]

I think it may be time to look into propane. I will call and see how far the truck hose could reach to fill. We were thinking about putting in a driveway to the backyard so maybe this could work. The greenhouse will be housing my orchid collection so heat is a must have.

[COGardener]

I hope you get some better news Sharon!

[SharonC]

Ok here's the latest scoop. The gas company is fine with my bridge and will run the line over it. The propane said no more than 100ft from drive way. My tank would be at least 250 ft so out of question. Natural gas is $7.70 for a million BTU and propane is ~$35.00 for the same amount. Using my friend's greenhouse as a marker his heating cost was ~4-5K using propane. He switched last year and said he easily halved his bill. His greenhouse is twice the size of the one I am planning so this seemed reasonable. The town said I am good to go but must file a plan so that is my next step.