Rhino Greenhouse Features

We don't like to rest on our laurels at the factory and during the autumn we were working hard on some major improvements to the Rhino range*.

Improved Autovents
These are a more expensive version of the very reliable autovents we have always supplied with a Rhino. They have a double spring, designed to hold the roof vent shut in higher winds. Better still it is now possible to disengage the autovent when high wind is expected as the Rhino is now supplied with a bracket that will lock the roof vent securely closed.

Greenhouse autovents

Larger Gutter
The introduction of the wider Rhinos (10 and 12ft wide) called for a much more robust eave section that would also handle a larger capacity of water. This section is nearly twice the weight of the original gutter and many times stronger, incorporating a box section within it for greater rigidity. Even though the 6 and 8ft wide Rhinos were already very strong greenhouses, the decision was made to further improve them by also fitting the new gutter/eave section to these ranges too.

Stainless Steel Anchor System
The strength of the Rhino has been further enhanced with the introduction of a very sturdy stainless steel anchor bracket. This bolts to the strong aluminium base and the glazing bar providing excellent rigidity. The bracket is supplied with expansion bolts allowing the greenhouse to be secured to a concrete pad. "J" bolts are also supplied in case you are siting the greenhouse on soil, enabling you to concrete these into place. We appear to be suffering ever increasing storms and these anchors will greatly help to secure the greenhouse.

Better downpipes
The larger gutter allowed us to significantly improve the downpipes too. These 30mm rigid pipes come with sufficient fittings to direct the rainwater into waterbutts as shown here. The 10 and 12 ft wide models and the Rhino PLUS are supplied with extra fittings and pipe to allow a "two into one" arrangement across the rear of the greenhouse. This is an optional extra on the 6 and 8ft wide Rhinos.

Greenhouse downpipes

*Please note that the improvements described
in this section are
not applicable to the
Rhino Basic

It stands to reason that a glass structure like a greenhouse is going to need a solid foundation so that the frame doesn’t buckle and the glass break. For exactly this reason all Rhinos include a very solid 4” (100mm) base plinth as an integral part of the frame. This offers maximum versatility for any ground conditions.

Will a Rhino sit directly onto soil?
Yes absolutely! The strong integral base plinth is designed for exactly this situation. Some people may tell you that you will need to sit the greenhouse on a hardstanding but this is not the case with a Rhino,

Rhino greenhouse erected on to soil
Rhino greenhouse erected on soil

indeed many thousands of Rhinos have been installed in this way. Two notes of caution, make sure the soil is tamped down firmly and will therefore not subside and if you are erecting on grass, we would recommend that you first lift the turf from the area of the greenhouse plus 9” all round. We supply all Rhinos* with exceptionally strong Stainless Steel Ground Anchors. Where you are siting the Rhino is on a soil site you would dig a hole under each anchor and fix the long “J” shaped steel bolt before filling the hole with concrete (see picture below).

Stainless Steel Greenhouse Ground Anchors

This method of erecting a Rhino will save many hundreds of pounds compared to the cost of having a builder to lay a concrete or paving stone hardstanding.

I would rather lay a concrete base.
No problem! A Rhino will sit very happily, on a concrete hardstanding or a paved area. In this case the Stainless Steel Ground Anchors are fixed with expansion bolts, which are supplied with every Rhino*

Rhino greenhouse erected on a concrete pad
Rhino erected on a concrete pad

Rhino greenhouse erected on paving slabs
Rhino erected on paving slabs

Central path combined with shingle areas for drainage

One aspect of erecting a greenhouse on a hardstanding that is sometimes overlooked is that you will be sloshing a lot of water around and it would be an advantage if this were able to drain away.
Some people prefer this arrangment, a concrete or paving surround and central path combined with shingle areas for drainage.

*Please note that the Rhino Basic is supplied with strong aluminium T Bar ground anchors not the stainless steel ones described here.

Roof Vents Adequate ventilation is absolutely essential to growing under glass. Rhino greenhouses include more ventilation as standard than any other greenhouse. Many 8x12 greenhouses only offer 8sq ft of ventilation. The enormous Rhino triple vents are the size of a door - you get all this as standard even on a 6x10 Rhino -that's 32 sq ft! Even more in 8x14 and larger Rhinos!
Louvre Vents You don't just need plenty of ventilation you need good circulation of air too. Humid stagnant air causes disease. Every Rhino comes with 2 large louvres (40% bigger than normal) as standard. These allow the cooler air to enter the greenhouse low down and force the hot dry air out if the roof vents.

Stan the Man with two triple Rhino greenhouse vents

Atomatic Ventilation
Every Rhino roof vent is opened automatically by solar powered autovents! Quite simply the autovents will control the temperature far better than you ever could. Autovents are supplied as standard.

Rhino roof vents
Stan (left) is holding two
triple roof vents, the double
roof vent is shown above.

Greenhouse autovents

A single large pane of 4mm toughened safety glass is used in each side and roof bay, improving appearance (no overlaps to attract the dirt and algae) and making glazing a lot easier too.

Clever Glazing System

Wire clips are replaced by glazing beads running the full length of the glass. The beads not only look far more elegant they include a soft rubber squeegee edge to retain and seal the glass far more effectively.

Cross section of Rhino glazing system.
The unique Rhino Glazing Bead, shown red here for illustrative purposes, firmly grips the edge of the glass, locking it tightly in place.

Cross section of Rhino glazing system.
Frame distortion of glazed panels

We use a lot of very heavy 3mm thick "T" section in both our greenhouses and staging. Being heavy it is costly but it is enormously strong and adds significantly to the overall strength of the Rhino greenhouse.

Every Rhino includes 3 heavy duty "T section (3mm thick!) braces on every roof bay - 2 at the eaves and a longer one at the ridge, That's a total of 12 in a 6x10!

Heavy duty "T section (3mm thick!) braces on every roof bay

Strong T section for Hanging Basket Rails

In addition to this we use the same "T" section in our Hanging Basket Rails - two sections that run the whole length of each greenhouse. Not only are they there to increase the strength of the whole roof, preventing any tendency for the bays to spread, but they are so strong that you can hang 16 baskets from them.

Hanging Basket Rails

Hanging Basket Rails
Every Rhino includes unique hanging basket rails. Normally you wouldn't want to subject a greenhouse roof to any extra load but we are so confident of the Rhino's strength we include this really useful feature as standard. They will save vast amounts of space on your staging. The rails themselves are very strong, being made from the same heavy duty "T" section that is shown above.

Please note that the
Rhino Basic uses a
different section for
the eave and ridge
braces and the
hanging basket rails.

Every greenhouse needs a base of some sort, whether it is brick, steel or aluminium they need a plinth to sit on and support the frame. The 4" tall aluminium base of the Rhino provides this structural support and ensures that the galss is protected from the soil and stones at ground level. The Rhino can be erected straight onto compacted soil with the heavy duty ground anchors concreted into position or onto a concrete pad or paved area.

Please note that different ground anchors are fitted to the Rhino Basic.

At 5'5" to the eaves a Rhino is taller than most greenhouses on the market. You won't be banging your head on the glass while potting up, and your tomatoes will have room for several more trusses. At 8'4" to the ridge a Rhino is by far the tallest in it's class ensuring your plants are well away from the hottest part of the greenhouse as well as providing enough height for thegreenhouse as well as providing enough height for the hanging basket rail.

The door entry height of 6'5" is taller than any we know of. This picture demonstrates the height of a Rhino, even Richard at 6'4" does not have to stoop to get through the doorway.

The Rhino greenhouse door entry height of 6'5" is taller than any we know of.

Suprisingly most greenhouses are still sold with old fashioned 3mm horticultural glass. The issue of safety glazing is obviously important to children and pets but don't forget to consider your own position, it is very easy to trip over a bag of compost or slip on a wet floor.

Rhinos are supplied with 4mm toughened glass as standard. This is 33% thicker than much of the safety glass used in greenhouses and is very strong indeed. If it does break it will do so safely like a car windscreen. Rhino safety glass has another important advantage, all the edges are rounded so that you won't cut yourself when installing the greenhouse.

Just how strong is Rhino toughened glass?
Jim at 14 stone stands on a pane of Rhino glass to demonstrate it's strength. Not content with that we asked 4 of the factory staff to stand on a larger pane. Thats a third of a tonne!
From our experiments you can be fairly confident that someone faling against the glass or kicking a football at it, is unlikely to break it.

Four of the factory staff standing on a larger pane. Thats a third of a tonne!

Showsite at:
Greenhouses Direct,
at Phillimore Garden Centre,
Cambridge Road,
Melbourn,
Herts. SG8 6EY.

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