[coldcanna]

Ha no shit didn't have any clue you had been up in the Maine area, I've lived all over the country its def a very difficult place to do anything but it makes you rugged and innovative. Growing community up here is also very chill and many many people do it.

I was looking for an all year dep system actually for 2 reasons really; first being to pull it whenever lights are on so you can't see that beautiful orange glow from a mile away, and second being the added R value at night time. I've seen those rack and pinions and I think thats a little out of reach for DIY projects. I have sketched out a system that resembles how a garage door works. The tarp would ride on tracks like the garage door and would curl up like a pool cover. All driven by a motor and heavy duty chain. Anyways, I won't hijack your thread over my own ideas. Do forever flowering or farmtek sell the light dep kit only, and have you seen what they're asking?

[Devoted1]

Just stopping by to say that you da man Yuba haha

[CrushnYuba]

It's cool. That's what this thread is for. It's totally on topic.
I would think farmtek has them. I'm sure forever flowering would sell them. Call them and ask for Eric. They are my homies but they are a little taxed. Especially for you because you would have to have it shipped. Not sure on pricing. My motor supplier has them but they are wholesale.

I don't think the blackout will add much for r value. The best way to up your r value is 2 layers of clear cheap 6 mil poly with inflation blower to inflate a gap. It will double your r value to around 1.7.
Lean to shaped wood greenhouses with solid insulated north endwalls and sidewalls are the best insulated really. Then the clear parts double layer poly or twin wall polycarbonate. These are also super easy to automate covering.
I will be running this greenhouse all year for veg. My winters are mild and short so I will only be doing double layer poly for the roof. You can't inflate the sidewalls if they roll up. During the really bad winter months when I know I will have a while that I won't be rolling up sidewalls, I will insulate my sidewalls with bubble wrap.

[queequeg152]

when you say "cheap" poly do you mean builders grade stuff?

inst greenhouse film engineered for transparency specifically? i would think with an air insulated greenhouse w/ 2 or more layers... good transparency would be even more vital?

i bought 3ml, "1 year" green house film one year... and yea it was way more transparent. than the stuff i use when i sand drywall.

[CrushnYuba]

Devoted1: thanks man. Lol
Queequeg: definitely not builders grade. That stuff isn't uv protected. You get 1 year out of it before it yellows. Just not expensive woven or scrim reinforced stuff. I covered this greenhouse with clear 6 mil 4 year. 24x100 roll was 300$ locally. That's enough to do a double layer on the 12x100 and have some left over. Was advertised as "light transmission equivalent to glass even when double layered".
Definitely not as strong as the bulletproof scrim reinforced stuff I used on my auto depps but wayyy cheaper and better for double layer.

[CrushnYuba]

Coldcanna: this is what I can get for rack and pinion. These guys are a manufacturer in China. I will ask them for a price quote. It's not easy to get small orders from them and the shipping is outrageous.

[queequeg152]

Originally Posted by CrushnYuba

Devoted1: thanks man. Lol
Queequeg: definitely not builders grade. That stuff isn't uv protected. You get 1 year out of it before it yellows. Just not expensive woven or scrim reinforced stuff. I covered this greenhouse with clear 6 mil 4 year. 24x100 roll was 300$ locally. That's enough to do a double layer on the 12x100 and have some left over. Was advertised as "light transmission equivalent to glass even when double layered".
Definitely not as strong as the bulletproof scrim reinforced stuff I used on my auto depps but wayyy cheaper and better for double layer.

interesting... never heard of skrim reinforced stuff... sounds almost like tyvec? sounds like it would be more of a shade film?

light transmission equivelant to glass is pretty.... bullshit sounding to me honestly, no offense intended.

some of the greenhouse glass panels they make are like 90%+ due to low iron and tempering allowing the panels to be very thin and flexible.

glass is obviously prohibitively expensive though... last i checked the best films were only a little bit better than glass, but the additives they add to the LDPE to make it that clear also cause it to fail earlier... meaning you really only get that additional transmissibility for 1 year, then it drops off appreciably.

id be curious to hear what you think of the polycarbonate 2-4 layer stuff? seems hideously expensive to me, but its intriguing none the less... especially if you could extend their life with wet sanding and clear coat them with acrylic coatings like they do with motorcycle windscreens and head lights.

[queequeg152]

Originally Posted by CrushnYuba

Coldcanna: this is what I can get for rack and pinion. These guys are a manufacturer in China. I will ask them for a price quote. It's not easy to get small orders from them and the shipping is outrageous.

sorry, maby i am misunderstanding the mechanism you linked,but what is stopping you from using a regular tube roller w/ urethane wheels etc?

i get how a rack would be preferred owing to torque figures and reliability, but it seems as though you could easily get away with a tube roller mechanism powered by a gear motor & torque tube.
you are basically just replacing the rack with a cheap tube, and the pinion with a conical urethane roller.

all that being said... im guessing there is a very good reason all these systems use a rack and pinion.

[CrushnYuba]

Queequeg: the scrim reinforced stuff that I use is pretty clear and doesn't block anymore light then regular clear 6mil poly. It just doesn't have that much string in it at all. Check out americover. They got it. Mine is like 8 mil I think. It's really tough.
As far as the 6 mil being equivalent to glass... Probably not . That's why I had it in quotes. But not far enough off that plants would notice. Also a little diffusion is really good. Glass's r value is horrible. That, the price and difficulty installing is the no one uses it. Glass sucks.
I love the multi wall polycarbonate. 8 mil twin wall is my top choice for clear endwalls and doors and anything else I want rigid. Installing it is more of a pain then poly with the h channels and everything. Same r value as double wall poly. About the sane light transmission. The greenhousemegastore has it the cheapest out of anywhere by me. Like half price of home depot.

Those rack and pinion pictures I posted I have zero experience with. I just know it's what they use for inside auto depps. I use cheap roll up motors for outside auto. They are dirt cheap, reliable and super simple stupid. So easy to install. No head scratching or problem solving. I try to keep it simple.

[Deezl]

I know yer going for a way more advanced automated solution but I used high tension lines every couple feet to create an inner ceiling and my tarp accordions at one end and I drag it out by hand to dep. it slides across pretty easily. Looks like the fancy systems when depped.