Many people are concerned that the Growing Dome® will be able to handle high winds. Basically the shape is such that the winds flow effortlessly around the Growing Dome®. They have been able to withstand recorded winds of 130 miles per hour in Browning, Montana, Alaska, and the front range of the Colorado Rockies. The opening windows however, are certainly more vulnerable to wind than the rest of the structure. The smaller domes have an automatic opener called Univent that is made in Demark, which is very adequate for the average location. Also, the vents have a double restraining cord which limits the opening of the vent to the maximum allowed by the vent openers. This arrangement has served us very well for over 20 years. However, as the domes get larger, the windows increase in size too, and for these we use a Bayliss opener made in the U.K. These are much stronger openers and the company, Bayliss Precision Components, has for the last 5 years has been making openers with extra strengthened arms especially for Growing Spaces. The beauty of the Bayliss Hydraulicheck opener which we use is that it has a dampening piston, which acts as a shock absorber on a car, only allowing the window to open slowly, thus preventing the wind from jerking it open suddenly. Again we have double restraining cords to restrain the amount of opening of the window.
For extra windy locations, we recommend an upgrade to the Bayliss opener for the small domes, and we add an extra Bayliss opener for the larger domes so that there are two per window. We have found that these solutions are more than adequate for 99% of the situations the Growing Domes® have to endure.
2 Comments
Hello,
looking at these as an option for placing a small hottub and growing herbs and a bit of veggies. located north of Bangor maine on a ridge. We get gusts over 60 in winter and regularly windy spot. have room for 15, not sure about 18 but with perimeter of 48 feet for 18 I might be okay? please get back with me. does 18 come with bayliss opener standard or is that an upgrade? saw your greenhouse in pagosa springs along the river.
We have domes all over the US, in Canada and in other countries as well. Below is a link to our shopping page where you can see all the specifications for each of our dome kits. If you click on the 15′ or 18′ there are tabs for Product Information, What’s Included, Owner Supplied Items, Installation, Featured Domes, Customer Reviews and photos. Please give us a call and our dome advisors can answer all your questions! 800-753-9333 Mountain Time. https://shop.growingspaces.com/collections/growing-domes