Exaco BioStar 1000 Premium Cold Frame Heater, Clear

I have a strong engineering, mechanical mindset and am a retired school teacher. Since the assembly directions are in German, you have to look at the pictures carefully. Unfortunately the pictures need to show details better. I ended up putting it together only to have to take it apart so I could correct my mistakes. One strong suggestion, leave the blue outside film on during assembly. The blue side faces outside. I trimmed a little of the perimeter of the blue film.Also. The directions and pictures are not real clear about which side piece goes where. In the pictures you may miss the picture with the corner marking showing a right, 90 degree angle. The parts are NOT numbered so make sure the corners stand vertically!!! If you attach the wrong sides to the front and back pieces, it won’t fit well and there will be a tilt to the frame. If you notice it just doesn’t want to fit and there is a tilt, switch sides and you will be fine.Another beef I had with engineering Is that the corners are VERY flimsy. I purchased some aluminum L angle and fabricated some braces to fit inside to strengthen the frame. I used stainless steel hardware fasteners. I also drilled in the top of the frame using large fender washers and L angle braces for the bottom corners.The rubber weather stripping, although very nice for sealing the top lid, does not stick well so I put some electrical tape to hold it in place until I can put a few spots of glue to keep it in place.Beware, this does not come with a bottom. The frame will be very wobbly in moving it.The top door that lifts and has sliding ventilation doors as well as a screen are nice features. The plastic sides look sturdy. This comes in a decent size. The materials look durable and if this is not moved, it looks like it should last several years before the plastic degrades.I was very frustrated at the Extremely POOR directions and how wobbly it is after it is put together. My wife wanted this so I just held my tongue while assembling it. I have invented things, reenginered things, worked in construction, electronis, as well as avionics and found this assembly process unpleasant! I detest crappy directions and these were the worst I have ever seen. Unless your wife wants this, I recommend staying away from this purchase.

Easily moved around (light) and great size in terms of both height, length and width. Includes really well thought out features including insect screen under the slide opening top to keep out unwanted pests and the ability to open up the entire top and have it hold open while you are using both hands to do whatever it might be you need to do inside. Top locks down securely - no worries about the wind blowing it open or off. We liked it so much we ended purchasing a second.

Clever design, sturdy materials. Directions are not always clear, but you can figure it out. What is completely lacking, though, is any early indication in instructions or on adhesive film on each panel, that one side is UV reflective and the other side is not. I blithely peeled all the panels before assembling, only to learn later that it matters which side is outward. By then it was impossible to tell. So I hope it works for me next season.

assembly took some time and one set of holes for the yellow handle were not placed correctly, but overall good quality.

Although a little expensive, once it was put together, it seems to be sturdy. The assembly directions weren't in English, but after checking pictures on the website, he had no trouble assembling it. He now has some starter plants outside and once the weather is consistently warmer, will be able to transfer the plants to his raised bed gardens.

Sturdy while lightweight. Very little of the instructions are in English. I found it helpful to read through the review comments and to go slowly and carefully. It does fit together quite well.

Perfect size, fairly easy to assemble, looks great in the garden. This is a replacement for an earlier version and it's much-improved. My veggies loved it in the early spring and I look forward to growing greens well into the winter.

Take a while to assemble.But very nice design and make once start using it.

1. There are photos. They are exact. Look at them closely. Very closely. Words are few, and are in 3 languages, one of which is English, not that it matters. There are photos. They are very very exact, although a bit small. Don't forget your reading glasses. Two heads and four hands are better than 1 and 2, but you can do it alone if you have all your pieces ready at the corners.2. Peel back the protective film enough to slide on the aluminum pieces, on an as-you-need-it basis. Leave it on to easily identify in and out. You can pull it off once the four walls are assembled.3. Make sure that you slide the aluminum pieces on in the right place. They are very hard to remove again!!! But you can, with a standard screwdriver on the end, and gently press outward and pull upward, wiggling a bit, without pressing on the plastic. But you don't want to have to do this. The voice of experience. You're welcome.4. The angled walls...put the right-angled side down.5. The angled corners... the top has the screw hole closest to the end. :-)6. The yellow corners... they sit flush on the top. If they don't, switch until you have the right one. No problem.7. Slide the lids in past the frame, then back to the frame, so they sit right. If they don't go, open the alternate one and fiddle. Once you have it, both will go back correctly.8. If the lid doesn't sit squarely, your box is not square. Easy to happen. Gently tweak the corners of the frame (gentle pulling), until it is better. You could loosen the wing nuts to facilitate this, then tighten it up again when you have it right.9. Anchor these units. They are very light.10. Oh, right. Don't screw the handles on tightly. Just enough to hold them from wiggling. And don't screw the corner braces in too tightly. Finger tight is good. Make sure those bolt heads sit in their slots, or the bolts will be too short. We had one bolt that just spun around. A socket wrench fixed that. :-)11. That darned brown weatherstripping. It's too short. They could have made it the right length and got five stars. Cut with scissors or a BRAND NEW exacto knife. Don't peel all the stripping off. Just as you need it, 6 inches at a time. Your fingers' natural oils will mean it won't stick.12. First one: 90 minutes. Second: 40, with cat "helping". Third: 30 minutes. We have 3 more to do. Expect to get it down to 20 minutes. Hardest part was holding the corners together while fitting in brackets, bolts, washers and nuts. This is where a loved one can really make the difference. Not if the loved one is a cat.13. Wonderful product. We found that one spouse who had built many things coupled with one good at studying pictures and organizing pieces and the willingness of both to defer to the other at oops-moments made for a fun process.14. The cat will really like to play with the weatherstripping. Don't say I didn't warn you.15. Have fun! With the cat, with the spouse, with the construction, and with your new garden.16. A third person to amuse the cat would be good to have on the team.

Amazing product that lets me get a head start on the spring gardening season and extend gardening of cool weather vegetables into the fall.It is a bit tricky to put together, but if you read other reviews I think there's a really detailed one on how to put it together easily.I have 2 and want 2 more!

Quality materials and stoutly built. Perfect for the job.

Der Aufbau war etwas verwirrend, aber wenn alles fertig ist wirkt das Frühbeet stabil. Als besonderen Pluspunkt sehe ich das integrierte Fliegennetz, da ich Salat gepflanzt habe, der schon bald verzehrt werden kann. So bleibt Ungezieferbefall aus. Eine Stütze, wenn der Deckel geöffnet wird, wäre noch gut. Da er mir beim Gießen schon auf den Kopf gefallen ist. Insgesamt bin ich jedoch sehr zufrieden.

Kleines, qualitativ sehr wertiges Gewächshaus. Ich bin zufrieden. Doch dass Schnecken draußen bleiben, kann ich nicht bestätigen. Die kommen durch jeden kleinen Ritz und haben mir so einiges weggefressen.