We dropped a bomb - now lets build a rocket - heater that is!

We are struggling with the cold here in Alaska this summer.  We have had only about three days of really good sun here and so I have been having to supplement the heat in the greenhouse so that the cucumbers will do what they are supposed to do.  I will admit it - I dont have the solar system hooked up still and so the tiny fireplace that I use to supplement the heat cannot be used right now - its a work in progress.

So the alternative is that I made a few candle mass heaters (sometimes called rocket mass heaters but I think those are ones that you can put wood in) to make up the couple of degrees that I need for heat supplement.  They are easy - all it takes ais a couple of brick pavers and some terra cotta pots and the bottoms to them and some pillar or even votive candles.

I watch the local thrift stores and garage sales for candles like the one pictures above - you can get them for about fifty cents each at those outlets - and as you have read before you can make your own with the toilet paper tubes  - see that post here.  I try to get ones that arent really scented as they end up being an allergen for some of my folks, and I dont like the sometimes chemical perfume smell in my greenhouse either.

Place your bricks on a flat surface away from wood or other flammables, and then put the saucer for the pot on the bricks.  The pot saucer can be a few sizes smaller than the pot itself - no matter.

Place the candle in the center of the saucer.....

Then turn the terra cotta pot so the bottom side is up over the candle.  I have seen a lot of folks do this with a couple of layers of pots - two or three pots stacked over the candle on top of the bricks.  I only use one because I use odd sized candles, and it is just faster than having to stack multiple pots up - Im a lazy gardener in this case I guess!

The brick pavers under allow air to circulate through so the candle doesnt go out and the hole in the top of the pot also allows heat to escape.  Once the candle is lit the heat comes out the hole and it also heats up the pot covering it.  I have had an increase of up to 10 degrees in my greenhouse between all of my candle mass heaters (I have 3 total but usually only use two).  I let them burn all night when it is really chilly - I know there are some safety issues with that but I have done my best to  alleviate those issues with the sizes of pot and saucer I am using.  So far it has been a great solution to my heat situation and is a cheap, easy fix!  It can also work in your house when the power is out too!  

Fire it up!