dondon Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 Hi, I am interested to know how you lot keep warm in your studios besides the heat of the kiln? Please don't say electric heaters because they cost a fortune to run. I am usually bulging with that many layers of clothing - I look a right sight haa especially when someone comes in to potentially buy a pot... oops Ottery ...sorry Pottery of course it should read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatthewV Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 Radiant floor heat is the best for 'ottery. Keeps the work from drying too fast. I have a forced air gas heater and it dries the studio out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Fireborn Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 I use an electric radiant heater. I live in Georgia though so my coldest days are in the 30's. Right now it was a nice 57 degrees. Next week supposed to be in the 60s! Anywho. I turn on the heater about an 1-1.5 hours before I get out there, then its about 60-70 in the garage. Once I get moving and working I turn off the heater as I am plenty warm with a sweatshirt and jeans on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alabama Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 I use some electric heat but mostly a portable Mr. Heater, an extension hose and à 30 pound propane tank. Working on getting a hundred lb tank and set it up next to the wheel. We'll have spring in about 70 days... The Equinox is the day a raw egg will stand up on one end, until the gravitational pull is less than equal. See ya, Alabama Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJR Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 I have hydronic heat, which is two coils of glycol [anti-freeze] which rotate through the floor. Also called in-floor radiant heat.Set the thermostat in the fall and just leave it. No blowers, no fans, just a passive heat that is always on. I live in Winnipeg, Canada, which is one of the colder parts of the country. I worked in a second floor of a warehouse for 26 years with those overhead warehouse heaters blowing dust every where. Finally built my dream studio 4 years ago. My only problem is that my space is too well insulated. I need a de-humidifier to get rid of all the moisture from making pots. TJR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdptrKrmk Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 Hi ! I live in continental weather (read : very cold in winter, very hot in summer) but I've steeled myself not to heat up my studio. My primary concern is to keep the costs down. But I also don't like my porcelain, slip, green ware, etc. to be exposed to changes of temperature. I don't fire very often (maybe 6 biscuit firings per year, and 12 glaze firings) but even so, everything sensitive is kept well away from the kiln room, to minimize any risk of brusque temperature changes. This said, I have to precise that my studio is only 60m², half-buried 1.50m deep, and well insulated. Even when it's -10°c outside, it's still 12°c indoors (last week). In the hottest days of summer (sometimes up to 40°c) it's rarely above 25°c. The studio is efficiently ventilated (my father very kindly installed a neat system with is pretty much on automatic with regards to both temperature and humidity levels), and the kiln room has its own ventilation. At the moment, I drink lots of hot tea, and wear an "ultra-light down" vest. I also regularly top up my throwing water with hot water. Plunging my hands in cold water or slip is the worst ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denice Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 If you have a cement floor and are able to vent to the outside maybe you could build a masonry heater. The big ones in Sweden are covered with ceramic tiles and fires with a small amount of wood. The tiles release the heat slowly so they usually fire them once in the morning and once at night. You can make them all sizes. I watched a video of a man living off the grid build one in his adobe hut for heat, it was very small. He made his tiles with some clay he found on a river bank and fired them on the heater. I found a company on the internet call Pyromasse that has some good diagrams that show how and why they are so efficient. I always thought this would be the perfect heater for a clay studio since it is covered with tiles. Denice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Min Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 Plunging my hands in cold water or slip is the worst ! Small crock pot on low or immersion heater for throwing water is just bliss. Have to turn it off after a bit or else it gets too hot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdptrKrmk Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 immersion heater THIS ! Thank you ! how come I haven't thought about it sooner ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChenowethArts Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 I'll probably get jumped for this but I use a portable Mr. Heater Big Buddy that runs on propane to knock the chill off in the morning. 30 minutes is usually enough for me to turn it on, go have a cup of coffee, and return to the studio to turn it off. It is a hassle to have the tank outside, but that is a must (legal/code requirement). And, 30 minutes has never set off the CO alarm...evidently there is enough fresh air coming in to avoid a build-up. Peace, -Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlady Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 TJR and Denise, you both have what i want. hydronic and something i can burn wood in. it is uncomfortable here in florida when the temps stay in the 50 degree range. i have an electric heater for the studio and there is a heat pump for the tiny trailer i live in but that is all electric heat and i think it is burning up dollar bills. right now, the heat pump needs a new fan, about $400. i do not understand why a tiny space, 12x32 needs a heat pump for heating. i can see it for the AC in the summer but i am glad not to be here then. i do have to turn it on for a few days each season while i am here. there are 4 insulated tubes running from the outside machine down the center of the trailer, 1 outlet in the bedroom and another in the bathroom right on the other side of a common wall. there is one in the kitchen/dining area and one at the far end in the living room. the heat pump seems overkill to me but i don't know what to do about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugaboo Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 I have a propane wall heater, a blue flame heater I think it's called. I rarely use it since I hate to use up the propane which also runs our fireplace which is our only form of emergency heat if the power goes out. I have found wearing boots keeps me pretty warm since they insulate my feet from the concrete and tile floor. Sweatpants and thermal shirts go along way too. T Oh and I have hot water in the bathroom so can run my frigid fingers under the flow when they get too cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted January 26, 2016 Report Share Posted January 26, 2016 My shop has a small vented Natural gas heater-These old smaller heaters are hard to find now and this one is my second one.Shop is old but insulated ceiling and walls. Winter its toasty and things dry really well. I do not have hot water but can heat it on stove in metal pan when its needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Longer Member Posted January 26, 2016 Report Share Posted January 26, 2016 immersion heater THIS ! Thank you ! how come I haven't thought about it sooner ? I made one out of a heating element for an electric water heater. I glued a piece of PVC pipe over the electrical end with 3M 5200 and ran the wires out the other side, The pipe is about three feet long, more than enough to keep it from slipping down into the pouring table. I spread the element out so it doesn't cook the slip in between the sides (which is will do) and it works great. The end of the element just rests on the bottom of the tank. I move it around from time to time and use it for gentle stirring too. Make sure you ground the thing though and don't forget....don't try this at home,,, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Longer Member Posted January 26, 2016 Report Share Posted January 26, 2016 the heat pump needs a new fan, about $400. Get the part number off of it and google it. Give some guy a six pack to install it and you're done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bciskepottery Posted January 26, 2016 Report Share Posted January 26, 2016 immersion heater THIS ! Thank you ! how come I haven't thought about it sooner ? An aquarium heater would work and you can control the temperature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benzine Posted January 26, 2016 Report Share Posted January 26, 2016 Radiator pipes on the ceiling provide most the heat. I just acquired a small electric heater, if I want to warm myself more directly. The studio stays pretty constant, regardless of the time of year. That's the good thing about basements. They may be a bit on the cool side, but they are consistently so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtRoads Posted January 26, 2016 Report Share Posted January 26, 2016 When I bought this property there were propane heaters here. I was scared to use them for 2 years... I gave 2 of them away. There have starters so you don't have to use a match. Finally I started using them. I keep a one burner on almost all the time, starting in November, and it heats up the 2 drying rooms. I guess it's the humidity but my pottery is weeks drying (3-4) if you don't use heat in the winter. I have a 3 burner in the clay room and just installed a 2 burner in the glazing room. My glazer is 73 years old and is always cold. The heat from the propane heaters is amazing. If someone is cold they turn them on .. we don't try to conserve. Yes I know you are thinking "Mississippi" ... how cold can it be there. My workers are always cold and the heat comes on anytime it is below 60 degrees. My niece is only 20 years old and she's constantly cold and keeps the clay room at about 85 degrees when she's working. I just filled the tank and we've ran heaters for 2.5 months and it only cost like $250. Very cost effective. I'm considering putting in another tank near the showrooms and using it out there. The propane puts out way more heat at a lower price than the electric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldlady Posted January 26, 2016 Report Share Posted January 26, 2016 i should drive my tanks up to your house, propane here is $5 a gallon delivered. am having the tanks changed out when the second one goes dry. they can change the valves to a pair of 20 lb tanks like an outside grill uses. that way, i can take the empty tank to Walmart for a new one at $15 and do it when i want to, not "sometime in the next week" that the propane company thinks is reasonable. another $400. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtRoads Posted January 26, 2016 Report Share Posted January 26, 2016 ^ OMG. That's really high!! National price right now is only $2/gallon. https://ycharts.com/indicators/us_residential_propane_price My cost per gallon was $1.95 ... Partridge Propane in Choctaw, MS is the company I used and that included delivery. I have a 200 gallon tank but they don't fill it past 80%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhPotter Posted January 26, 2016 Report Share Posted January 26, 2016 The shop is 12 X 32. I put in a Mitsubishi mini-split system back in 2009. It is still going strong. I keep it at 65 in the winter. In the summer it stays at 81 till about an hour before I go out there, then down to 73. Also, there are 2 ceiling fans constantly going. All this air movement tends to dry the ware out, but have figured out how long to wrap stuff with plastic till I can get to it to trim or add handles, etc. Even with the covered drying rack, still have to wrap with plastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Longer Member Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 All this air movement tends to dry the ware out, but have figured out how long to wrap stuff with plastic till I can get to it to trim or add handles, etc. Even with the covered drying rack, still have to wrap with plastic. Old refrigerator or freezer works great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dondon Posted January 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 Anyone in England have any suggestions on heat source ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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