very good idea, but instead of running a blower all the time, i think i'd blow it up good and tight, and then put styrofoam spacers at the joints, to keep it that way
Когда я собирала свою теплицу на каркасе размером 5мх5м, сверху полиэтиленовой пленки закрепила синтетическую сетку, которая прижала пленку к каркасу. Благодаря этому ветер не может сорвать пленку с теплицы.
I love what you did there. And for the past few weeks I have been searching for simillar solution. And for heating: there is a way in my country. It is cheap and usefull. Here I need to be excused for my bad english. But you need to burry cow's exrements under the greenhouse. Because of chemical processes it is going to generate heat. And next year you can use it for the plants.
Interesting and I appreciate the hard work that went into this. It's not for me, because a big part of my enjoyment of a greenhouse is the peace and quiet I enjoy working inside of it, and that blower would definately be a deal-breaker.
Thanks for all your research and sharing of great information. With a slight alteration of build (for climate and my OCD nature) my dome will look and function very similar.
I would suggest covering the plastic with a lightweight net (even fishing net) as this will reinforce the plastic which is of course the weakest part of this build. Personally, I would partially sink this in the ground for the geothermal effect, not a lot of help but some.
Let me preface my questions by saying that I have no knowledge of building something like this. Looking at the outcome after the blower is installed, did/would you have to add some much framing? It seems like the air/blower adds a fair amount of support and stability in wind? Could you get away with 4 curved column pieces and 1 or 2 rows around? Also, doesn't look like a bunch of sun, but hooking a solar array and some batteries for your blower?
Our challenges are a little different in the south. We get plenty of sun, and moisture, and little wind most of the year, but we also get very high pest pressure from animals, fungi and the like. We rely on shadecloth or netting for grow houses, and chemicals, but there isn't much discussion of the different materials for cultural control practices, much less chatter of adapting earthship lessons to our climate.
Good work, but I can't tell how the blower is oriented and install. It looks like it is by the door frame... is it pulling air from the outside? Are you blowing air between the sheets or just into the cavity of the dome?
thank you for the instructional video. i am exploring various greenhouse models and i really like the use of the geodesic dome. however, i am looking into digging down into the ground instead of building up the sides before i place my dome on top:)
@@SimpleTek If it's too cool outside and the greenhouse is warming, blowing in cold outside air will of course lower the temp in the green house. Especially at night. The whole advantage of a green house (aside from keeping in moisture/humidity so it requires less water) is developing warmer air and keeping it. When and if it's too hot, then venting is needed. So the blown air would be good in that situation, but not when the actual green house makes an advantage, which is the purpose for a green house to begin with. That's pretty simple green house tech.
you know, I thought about that. there's pluses and minuses on that idea. it would look better but I'd be concerned about the UV coatings and the anti moisture coatings on the plastic, I doubt they'd handle the heat. plus when shrunk the plastic might not transmit light as well... personally I'm ok with the folds but you put forward a VERY good question and one I had been thinking about. Thank you!
I invested in the heat gun and I am using 8 to 12 mill shrink wrap on my domes. Generally speaking it depends on where you build the dome. In Michigan the plastic can last as long as 13 years, so far longer than most greenhouse plastic anyway. I’m using 12 mill, extremely thick, white plastic on the base of the domes and then welding that to clear plastic on the top. The white plastic is flame retardant, the clear plastic is not.
Great Scott, Have you collected thermal data on this yet? Compared temperatures inside and outside? In a different comment you mention you get 60 mph winds a few times a year. Is it worth the investment to put up a cheap wind break? Something like a straw/hay bale wall or maybe even a plywood structure? A wind break wall will add to the cost of the project, but could extend the wear and tear on the greenhouse plastic. Something worth considering after some observation time. And in another comment you said the blower pulls air from inside the greenhouse. Does it also exhaust into the greenhouse? Cheers, Bill
the pillow effect of the air inflated poly doesn't need a wind break - it handles the high winds great! the air slowly leaks out cracks inside and outside.
@@SimpleTek Ideally, the only place the cover should leak is back through the blower when the wind hits it. If you have airleaks in the cover you dont have still air in the cavity. It would be worth hooking up a manometer (easy to diy) to check what air pressure you have, generally double skin tunnels run 0.25" -- 0.5" wc. You can adjust the cavity pressure by restricting the blower inlet. Using too much pressure will stress the poly, especially in hot weather. I use a differential pressure switch to maintain the cavity pressure in mine, air is only added to the cavity when the pressure drops below the setpoint.
@@SimpleTek I dug out this old vid of an early pillow test i thought you might like. The air in this small pillow will support a UDL of 186lb (84kg). Scaled for a 32ft dome (not made of conduit) it would be around 1200lb (544kg) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8uwJjIqzfBg.html
@@SimpleTek Aye, a small amount of air pressure can lift decent weights without any trouble. Here`s another test i did on that pillow involving a 25kg concrete block ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zzj5qT988jU.html
Are you sure its 6mil gh poly? it looks thinner and is way more flexible than it should be. It even sounds different ;) I was expecting a more tailored cover (no bulge), but it`ll do the job. The upcoming 32ft dome deserves a better finish ;)
Thank you for the comment! I am filming tons actually!! I will be posting lots soon. I own/run a campground and summertime is crazy busy here. it's slowing down now.
I assume Frosty was not just "in your garage" but in your freezer in your garage for all those years? If not I will have to report you, sorry I don't make the rules. :-) Great vids cheers watched them all.
@@davidfuller764 Assuming its installed correctly and you run at the correct pressure which varies with season. If you run too much pressure in summer the poly will stretch and vecome thinner near the attachment points. It wont fully recover when it cools down so it starts out fractionally thinner in the same locations the following day. The thinner it gets, the more it will stretch.
Thks & I assume clear shrink is available: Shrink Wrapping a Geodesic Dome - 18 ft 3v Frequency ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5eOQxjZUj_A.html Since the dome frame requires so little effort/resources, may I also suggest a concentric double/triple/quad/etc dome frame.
200 micron marine shrink wrap for an 18ft dome would cost about $130 here, lifespan 1-3 years. Double poly costs about the same and will give you at least 5 years.
Hello, we are a manufacturer in China. We do household greenhouse. After watching your video, can we cooperate? You can help us buy in your country。 请问怎么联系你
pro tip. You need the outside air to fill the bubble. Otherwise, you'll have condensation (mold) before long, inside. I used this for solar. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000O8D0IC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1&psc=1
Approximately where are you located. I'm in north central Montana and it gets pretty windy here at times too, 60+. Wondering if this would work for me too. Just thinking.
I live about 60 miles north of Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada, the coldest major city in North America. I live n the shores of Lake Manitoba, looking out on 30 miles of open water. The winds are huge here with that, we had a 130 kph wind here this summer and the greenhouse didn't budge, regular 50-70 kph winds
@@magapefarmshomestead6453 air inflated coverings are hugely wind resistant. single layer not so much. the air inflation acts like a pillow in the wind.if the inflation goes down, the wind will tear it apart. it's smart to have a battery backup device on the blower like a computer can have.
Just found... neat. Reminds me the use in Canada with foam beads blown in at night or whenever temp drops... then blowing out when suns up enough or something.
I was also thinking instead of tape using old plastic bottles that can handle UV... not sure what would be best outdoors since maybe would be something else plastic UV treated and using a heat gun to shape around. Guess on the plastic recycling kick.
