well i know yer all gonna take the mickey but ive had an idea! bear with me as i try to explain.
our local councill is changing over to the ever popular half sized wheely bins,colected only fortnightly.now my initial idea is to burn all combustables as most round here allready do,we usually just bung it all on the fire in the front room! . any how ive got a near30 foot green house,and i am planning to grow as much all year round as i can,personally i think it a waste to power a parafin heater or two for the colder nights.i also plan to grow tomatoes year round as they are dependant not on sunlight hours but tempurature.
i watched an old episode of 'time team' on telly the other night ,and they were re-creating a roman central floor heating called a hypercaust.
basically its a trench with a chimney at one end and a fire place at the other,on top are slabs sealed to stop smoke comming through,you light the fire and the heat and smoke are drawn under the floor and up the chimney,heating the floor and inturn the room.two problems solved! my waste and heat to grow my tomatoes year round!
does anyone have any experience of roman hypercausts or any tips or ideas?
http://www.romans-in-britain.org.uk/inv ... eating.htm
greenhouse roman style hypercaust
Moderators: KG Steve, Chantal, Tigger, peter, Chief Spud
You should get in touch with English Heritage. They have an archaeology team based in Portsmouth. I used to work there. They are having two open days in a couple of weekend's time. Their address is: Centre for Archaeology, Fort Cumberland, Fort Cumberland Road, Eastney, Portsmouth, Hants.
-
oldherbaceous
- KG Regular
- Posts: 14432
- Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2006 1:52 pm
- Location: Beautiful Bedfordshire
- Has thanked: 711 times
- Been thanked: 709 times
Dear Fish, i know this is not of any help to your question, but will you start wearing a Toga if you get the system up and running. 
I must say though, i have always thought there should be a cheap way of heating bricks or water up to allow heat out over a longer period. Good luck if you take the project on Fish.
I must say though, i have always thought there should be a cheap way of heating bricks or water up to allow heat out over a longer period. Good luck if you take the project on Fish.
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.
There's no fool like an old fool.
There's no fool like an old fool.
-
sally wright
- KG Regular
- Posts: 722
- Joined: Tue Nov 29, 2005 7:32 pm
- Location: Cambridge
Dear Fish,
before hot water boilers were invented for use in glasshouses they were heated using this method. True only the walls were heated but this allowed for a greater range of fruit. Many of the oldest of the large kitchen gardens had this system in some form or another. A little reading into the history of kitchen gardens might give you some more ideas.
Regards Sally Wright.
before hot water boilers were invented for use in glasshouses they were heated using this method. True only the walls were heated but this allowed for a greater range of fruit. Many of the oldest of the large kitchen gardens had this system in some form or another. A little reading into the history of kitchen gardens might give you some more ideas.
Regards Sally Wright.
thanks sally! ime getting quite enthused about this project now!
for all in country living,check out :
www.overthegate.co.uk
www.overthegate.co.uk
It sounds a wonderful idea...the only potential problem I can come up with is the smoke that is emmited from the chimney
Having sat through an hour and a half discussion in the council chambers last Tuesday night in a meeting about the merits of not of having bonfires on the site and whether they should be banned altogether...you could run into trouble
Plus if we all jumped on the band wagon would we go back to the days of pollution and peas soup fogs?
The idea of working in a warm greenhouse in the middle of winter does have merit though
Having sat through an hour and a half discussion in the council chambers last Tuesday night in a meeting about the merits of not of having bonfires on the site and whether they should be banned altogether...you could run into trouble
Plus if we all jumped on the band wagon would we go back to the days of pollution and peas soup fogs?
The idea of working in a warm greenhouse in the middle of winter does have merit though
I am in my own little world, ...it's OK, ...they know me there!
This is really strange. A couple of nights ago I had a really vivid dream. I was living in a Roman villa on the Amalfi coast, overlooking the Med (don't know who I was living with but I have my suspicions 
) I came home one day and this person, for my birthday present, was building me a Roman Baths, complete with hypercaust, tesserae of Neptune and Venus, plunge pools etc. The whole shooting match. A few days after completion of my bath house, I heard a noise and went to investigate. There was U2 in my bath house doing a writing/recording session for the new album because of the accoustics 
I'd go ahead and build the hypercaust under the greenhouse. It's very efficiant and charcoal can be used (as the Romans did) so it cuts down on the smoke emissions so should keep the council/neighours happy.
Could I come down and saunter barefoot over your greenhouse floor then please? It's part of my research should the multi millionaire come along and whisk me off to the Amalfi coast and Roman villa etc
) I came home one day and this person, for my birthday present, was building me a Roman Baths, complete with hypercaust, tesserae of Neptune and Venus, plunge pools etc. The whole shooting match. A few days after completion of my bath house, I heard a noise and went to investigate. There was U2 in my bath house doing a writing/recording session for the new album because of the accoustics
I'd go ahead and build the hypercaust under the greenhouse. It's very efficiant and charcoal can be used (as the Romans did) so it cuts down on the smoke emissions so should keep the council/neighours happy.
Could I come down and saunter barefoot over your greenhouse floor then please? It's part of my research should the multi millionaire come along and whisk me off to the Amalfi coast and Roman villa etc
Lots of love
Lizzie
Lizzie
Now there's an offer for you OH....
Lizzie is looking for a millionaire with a sunny mediterranean disposition...
Start packing your toga young man
Lizzie is looking for a millionaire with a sunny mediterranean disposition...
Start packing your toga young man
I am in my own little world, ...it's OK, ...they know me there!
-
oldherbaceous
- KG Regular
- Posts: 14432
- Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2006 1:52 pm
- Location: Beautiful Bedfordshire
- Has thanked: 711 times
- Been thanked: 709 times
Dear Weed, looks as if i had better count how much i have saved in the old teapot on the shelf then.
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.
There's no fool like an old fool.
There's no fool like an old fool.
Fish I reckon the way to get a draw for the smoke is to use a temporary fire at the other end of the tunnel from the main fire. (We had to do the same when using a parafin burner to heat a dustbin full of water for the M.O.D. mobile kitchens)
Introduce a small fire in to the chimney and the hot air rises out and has to be replaced by the air from the tunnel, assuming you have a decent seal where the fire is introduced to the chimney. Once the draw is established, ignite the fire and its smoke and heat carry on down the tunnel and up the chimney from then on.
With regards to the water heater they came from the USA to help with the Falkland adventure as it was quite cold down there
Introduce a small fire in to the chimney and the hot air rises out and has to be replaced by the air from the tunnel, assuming you have a decent seal where the fire is introduced to the chimney. Once the draw is established, ignite the fire and its smoke and heat carry on down the tunnel and up the chimney from then on.
With regards to the water heater they came from the USA to help with the Falkland adventure as it was quite cold down there
WigBag
Weed wrote:Now there's an offer for you OH....
Lizzie is looking for a millionaire with a sunny mediterranean disposition...
Start packing your toga young man
Multi millionaire please Weed. I can't see the point of faffing about for only 1 million.
Lots of love
Lizzie
Lizzie
My humble apologies Lizzie...I should have known....what was I thinking about
Sorry also to you OH...better luck next time... unless you have a spare million or two lying around doing nothing to satisfy the 'lady'
Sorry also to you OH...better luck next time... unless you have a spare million or two lying around doing nothing to satisfy the 'lady'
I am in my own little world, ...it's OK, ...they know me there!
-
oldherbaceous
- KG Regular
- Posts: 14432
- Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2006 1:52 pm
- Location: Beautiful Bedfordshire
- Has thanked: 711 times
- Been thanked: 709 times
Dear Weed, of course theres always the big jar in my cupboard, but i think i might just leave it there now.
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.
There's no fool like an old fool.
There's no fool like an old fool.
