Harbor Freight Greenhouses?

I was just wondering if any of you have any experience with the Harbor Freight Greenhouses? They have a couple of models that look promising for outdoor enclosures. The panels are small for the roof so it would be pretty easy to get panels that let UVB in for just the roof. They come with roof vents that would need screening to keep unwanted birds out. With a mister system and a Cool Master evap cooler it should stay cool in the summer and nice in the winter. I am almost ready to jump on this project before it starts heating up here in the AZ but wanted to know if anyone had any feedback for me.

thanks

Everyone loves pictures

WOW... the small 1 is COOL!...... You could replace a panel or 2 with hardware cloth. Being in Arizona you could place part of it under a tree. You have trees there or just shrubs & cactus?

ive looked at them before an they arnt to bad, BUT it is harbor frieght were talkin about..

I agree with Rob, being Harbor Freight, who really knows? However, it looks very neat. If they are quality built, let me know. I may even invest in one. How much are they?

Edit: NM, I just checked the site. The greenhouse is $299.99 and it is 6' x 8'.

I have got a couple of buddies here at Davis that have got a couple of these. The say there great for plants. As for chameleons you could use them except expect to customize the greenhouse quite extensively (thermostat, if year round use lighting, etc..) . At the least if you put in a misting system you going to have a great hydration chamber (extra high humidity and water to shower your chameleons).

Motherlode Chameleon said:

I have got a couple of buddies here at Davis that have got a couple of these. The say there great for plants. As for chameleons you could use them except expect to customize the greenhouse quite extensively (thermostat, if year round use lighting, etc..) . At the least if you put in a misting system you going to have a great hydration chamber (extra high humidity and water to shower your chameleons).

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I may have to bite the bullet and give one a try. I can do some fabricating if need be. I'd be curious to know how well it works. However, I am not all about putting $300 of Benjamins into something that is cheaply made and will rip and blow away in one wind storm.

tkilgour said:

I may have to bite the bullet and give one a try. I can do some fabricating if need be. I'd be curious to know how well it works. However, I am not all about putting $300 of Benjamins into something that is cheaply made and will rip and blow away in one wind storm.

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Your going to have to figure if its worth attempting to put together. You would have to make certain that the misting system does not rain on your electronics and other problems.

Motherlode Chameleon said:

Your going to have to figure if its worth attempting to put together. You would have to make certain that the misting system does not rain on your electrics and other problems.

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Yeah, good point. Thanks for the heads up. Now I have more to contemplate. Thanks!

The one thing I like about Harbor Freight Tools is you know your getting inexpensive Chinese products. Some are real crap and some are pretty descent. You can often find the same products at the big box stores in prettier packages for a lot more money.
Rob: Do they have them in the store or do you have to order them.

tkilgour said:

Yeah, good point. Thanks for the heads up. Now I have more to contemplate. Thanks!

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There is a lot you have got to consider if you want to put a greenhouse together.

tkilgour said:

I may have to bite the bullet and give one a try. I can do some fabricating if need be. I'd be curious to know how well it works. However, I am not all about putting $300 of Benjamins into something that is cheaply made and will rip and blow away in one wind storm.

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It depends on what you mean by wind storm I lived in So. Cal. most my life & when the Santa Anna winds showed up it would sometimes blow heavy ceramic roof tiles off the house I would secure it to the ground for sure.

espressodude said:

The one thing I like about Harbor Freight Tools is you know your getting inexpensive Chinese products. Some are real crap and some are pretty descent. You can often find the same products at the big box stores in prettier packages for a lot more money.
Rob: Do they have them in the store or do you have to order them.

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they just hadasmall scale model of them my store had one of the smaller ones but id bet its more of an order thing..

Hey Rob, I have been wanting to do something like this also, and place some panels with solacryl and some screen but I can't decide which greenhouse to use. I am glad you started this, hopefully some people with greenhouses jump in and add there experience.

I have bought many tools from HF and so far i have not had to return a single one. If you want cheap prices, expect cheaply made products

just a quick google of the dimensions + green houses. 300 is literally half of what other kits go for.
http://www.google.com/products/cata...=X&ei=_Tc4T-vVGInr0gGvusXCAg&ved=0CI4BEPMCMAU

Id try it for 300.

suzi said:

Hey Rob, I have been wanting to do something like this also, and place some panels with solacryl and some screen but I can't decide which greenhouse to use. I am glad you started this, hopefully some people with greenhouses jump in and add there experience.

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I have got a greenhouse.

For $300, I just might take a gamble on one this summer.

Motherlode Chameleon said:

I have got a greenhouse.

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OK........ Do you keep your chams in it? How does it work? Any special needs requirements??? Ca' Mon... spill the beans.....

Davonat said:

OK........ Do you keep your chams in it? How does it work? Any special needs requirements??? Ca' Mon... spill the beans.....

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Im pretty sure he keeps his Parsons in it. Propane heat and all=The works lol.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/greenhouse-metal-halide-plant-photos-35073/?highlight=greenhouse


Edit: If you do a search, you can find more pics and info if you search through his threads

Davonat said:

OK........ Do you keep your chams in it? How does it work? Any special needs requirements??? Ca' Mon... spill the beans.....

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Search it I have put many of my notes on threads on these forums. There is more than one thread.

Hey guys! I just bought this exact model two weeks ago actually. I finished assembly of it early last week just as a cold front moved through. The quality of the construction and materials is average I would rate it a 7 out of 10. The polycarbonate panels are really nothing more than plastic but because it has space for air inside the panels it does better insulate from cold. The assembly time took me and my father over six hours. A base frame is required to screw the aluminum frame of the house too. This I did not know before buying the kit and did add a little to the cost. Overall, I am happy so far but the quality of the kit could have been better for sure, however, it is about half the price of what other greenhouses of that size cost.

As for housing chameleons in it:
The panels block all uv but you could easily remove some roof panels and install plastic hardware mesh to allow ventilation and uv through. The house is pretty spacious but for an outdoor cage you could build something much easier and cheaper that would serve them just as well. There's plenty of room to have your mist king pump, timers, lights, etc. in the house as I took a nap in mine the other morning! LOL!

This was an upgrade from my first greenhouse which I bought from ebay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-8x6x7-outdoor-Portable-Large-Green-House-Greenhouse-shelves-/120791350482?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c1fb9bcd2

This unit works amazing for the buck! Has built in shelves and was 124f one day when it was only 72 outside. I find i have to open the door flap on really sunny days because the plastic fabric really holds in the heat and humidity. The disadvantage is that this green house is staked to the ground with rope and with the wind blowing it does bounce around some. I added a few more stakes to it and never had it tople over through any of the thunderstorms we had. I upgraded because I wanted something that had the polycarbonate panels to better insulate and something that had more space to it.

This simple 'hot house' would also be converted to a chameleon house pretty easy. You could cut out a few panels on the roof and hot glue/duct tape some hardware cloth to it to allow uv through, but again IMO I would just build an outdoor cage for the cham and leave the greenhouse for the plants and orchids.