New device wanted

My greenhouse has been lined with bubblewrap, and yesterday, as happens regularly, this was covered with condensation.

Could some one please invent a device to remove this condensation. It only needs to be simple, like a scraper with a water container under it. I have filled my greenhouse with plants in wet pots to overwinter them. And I think that it is the huge amount of water in the compost that creates the heavy condensation. Opening the door to improve ventilation isn't enough, so I keep a sponge to wipe the ceiling. The sponge shifts the water, but doesn't absorb much, and most of it goes down my arm! :D

Any ideas?

 

Why not go to the local scrappy, by a big 12 volt fan out of any old car (either the radiator fan or the ventilation fan), a car battery, and a 12 volt solar cell. Wire it so that the solar cell trickle charges the battery, and have the fan act as demister by pointing it straight at the glass. A switch and/or a bit of electronics could be included so you can easily control it.

 

A squeegie type mop and a bucket would probably be the easiest to mop up the condensation. Fixing the issue isn`t easy with plant transpiration and pots of wet compost, especially with cold wet weather.
Other options include, reducing the humidity (cover the soil in the pots) and venting as much as possible, heat the air (also lowering the RH) or warm up the bubblewrap (to prevent the condensation from forming)
You`ll need a pretty large solar panel to keep up with a car radiator fan..they draw a lot of current :wink:

 

They do, about 4 amps if I'm not mistaken. A typical car battery does about 40 Amp/hours, so that's 10 hours on a full charge. A 30watt solar cell would be good for about 2 amps in full sun, or maybe an amp at this time of year, so there is a sizeable deficit, but it would extend running time by about 25% over the battery alone.

Actually when you plug the numbers in, the solar cell hardly seems worth it. Maybe best just go with the battery and fan and charge it up on a charger when it runs out. But then that is a bit of a carry on too, so lets go with the squeegie plan

 

The problem is that a sponge, which is the main part of the squeeze mop, doesn't absord much water as you can't press very hard against a flapping bit of bubble wrap. But as soon as you touch the bubble wrap the water starts to run off onto the plants below, which is where you don't want it.

I had a quick try with rubber end of the car frost scraper. It was most effective at moving the water with a very light touch, but it needs a container below it to be able to collect the water as well.

 

You could use a wet`n`dry vacuum but the neighbours might think you`re a bit mad :wink:
That got me thinking.. y`know those paint rollers jobbies where the paint feeds up the pipe? something along those lines with the water running down the pipe into a container? You wouldn`t need a roller, a fan shaped hoover head connected to a pipe might do it.
Of course the neighbours will still think you`re mad LOL

 

Thanks Hex and Clueless - it doesn't matter what the neighbours think. I can do anything because I am eccentric. :D

I like the principle of a reverse paint roller, which takes the wet coating off the wall, sucks it down a tube and put it into a nice tin. All I need now is for someone in the shop to pay me for a full tin with a lid sealed on. There is something appealing about the simple reverse logic. :hehe:

 

In that case, thinking outside the box (outside the greenhouse) and bringing it inside...how about some internal guttering rigged at the bottom of the 3 doorless walls to drip into say a cat litter tray for later emptying (tuck the very bottom of the bubblewrap into the gutter).

And using a sponge/squeegee attached to a pole would stop water running down your arm while you do the roof (inside).

Steve...

 

If we're going down the 'guttering at the bottom of the bubblewrap' route - you could use, err, guttering? Failing that, have you got any of those rectangular plastic garden tubs? I've used mine to collect water, the holes-in-the-bottom problem solved by first placing each tub inside a black bin bag.

 

Most of the condensation is on the ceiling, as the warm moist air rises during the day and then condenses as the greenhouse cools. The problem is more extreme in my summerhouse that also overwinters many plants in wet pots. The summerhouse is well insulated with two wooden layers and a cavity between, so there is virtually no condensation on the walls. But there is heavy condensation on the ceiling, which has only a small angle to it so the moisture doesn't run off.

The solution has to be some sort of scraper with a container underneath to catch the water. But thanks for all your ideas.

 

I don't know, but would a dehumidifier work?

Might I suggest that, rather than trying to stop the condensation itself, you make something to stop it dripping onto the plants - of course, this would depend on the height of your plants. What about making a lightweight, sloping wooden frame (on legs), with a piece of plastic or glass on the top? Could this 'lid' then not be placed over the plants to at least divert the water?

Is the problem is being exacerbated by having '... plants in wet pots' . Perhaps if you were to dry the pots out a bit?

 

Many years ago I made a cobbled together device from a squeegy type blade designed for clearing water from car windows.
It was put onto the end of a pole and I cut a section of guttering down pipe to fit around it with one side cut out, I then closed the ends with a two part filler.

It was then a case of running the blade of the squeegy over the glass, and the water collected in the section of pipe.

It worked up to a point.

But I think these days I'd go for a dehumidifier if condensation was a problem.

With the plants I tend to grow these days I think if there is too much condensation then its too warm.
I know ventilation has a tendency not to work in the very damp weather we have been having but, its also not been cold, so I doubt that unless the plants are true tropicals any damage would have occurred if ventilation was still on for 24 hours a day.

 

You have obviously had the same experience Pete. Your device was along the lines that I was thinking of.

But I would like to especially say thank you for your last comment. As long as the weather is so mild I am going to leave all my greenhouse and summerhouse doors open. I had closed them at night, fearing frost. But even a couple of degrees of frost outside would leave the open buildings frost free for a while. And then most of the plants that I am overwintering are capable of taking a small amount of frost.

I think people forget, or don't know, that even common tender plants like Geraniums (technically Pelargoniums) will take some frost. I have had some overwinter outside, in the past, close to the house wall.

 

To add to that I still have brugs growing and flowering on my allotment, which is pretty exceptional for around here in December.
.
Fibrous rooted begonias are still flowering, and a front garden in the locality is full of pelargoniums in flower
I know I'm wandering off topic but I cant remember an autumn like it.