Chilly Posted September 26, 2017 Report Share Posted September 26, 2017 21 hours ago, Benzine said: Homes are deathtraps, why do we live in them again?... Because tents are even more flammable, and not suitable for year-round living ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benzine Posted September 26, 2017 Report Share Posted September 26, 2017 4 hours ago, Chilly said: Because tents are even more flammable, and not suitable for year-round living ! That's why you have to go with a Yurt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babs Posted September 26, 2017 Report Share Posted September 26, 2017 it's that rare commodity, common sense. high temp, flammable substance don't place side by side. why risk anything when a simple solution exists , don't thnk egos involved here , fires nearly always affect more than just who is responsible. I live with a kiln, wood fires and stove on edge of an Australian scrubland. So guess what my kiln and stoves are sitting on and backed by? Not wood. don't know why yurt always brings yoghurt to mind, breakfast calls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dAO Posted September 29, 2017 Report Share Posted September 29, 2017 Going back through this discussion, there is a point raised specific to my situation: my new kiln with an electronic controller is in a protected outdoor space (totally safe regarding clearances) in MICHIGAN. It gets really cold here in the winter for prolonged periods of time. I'm not comfortable with the controller being that cold for extended periods of time and I'm trying to brainstorm a way of keeping it somewhat warmer consistently. I'm thinking water pipe heat tape or roof de-icer tape. Any thoughts or advice or other ideas are VERY welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted September 29, 2017 Report Share Posted September 29, 2017 1 hour ago, dAO said: Going back through this discussion, there is a point raised specific to my situation: my new kiln with an electronic controller is in a protected outdoor space (totally safe regarding clearances) in MICHIGAN. It gets really cold here in the winter for prolonged periods of time. I'm not comfortable with the controller being that cold for extended periods of time and I'm trying to brainstorm a way of keeping it somewhat warmer consistently. I'm thinking water pipe heat tape or roof de-icer tape. Any thoughts or advice or other ideas are VERY welcome. Sitting in the cold when you're not using it shouldn't hurt it. The issue will be when you're ready to fire. If the controller is too cold you can just put a space heater next to it for a while to warm it up before you start the firing. Once the kiln gets warm it will be fine on its own. I would not add a heat source directly to the control box or it could damage the controller and/or be an issue when the kiln is hot. The other possible issue with a cold kiln is the thermocouple reading. The controllers can't read below zero, so if it's that cold you'll need to put a little space heater in the kiln to warm up the bricks before you load it. Then load quickly and they should hold enough heat to keep it above zero until you get the firing going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benzine Posted September 29, 2017 Report Share Posted September 29, 2017 I've seen others here post about doing, exactly what Neil suggests. It's not the extreme heat, or cold, that generally hurts electronics. It's trying to use them, when they are already at those temperatures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dAO Posted September 29, 2017 Report Share Posted September 29, 2017 neilestrick and Benzine, really good to know that and to hear., and thank you so very much for weighing in. As a computer geek, I can't imagine leaving my laptop outdoors in Michigan and then expect it to be okay with a space heater goose. If that would work fine, without issues, I am all about it. Much less costly option than other things I've been thinking about (also occurred to me that an electric blanket might work). If anyone else has experience or thoughts, I'm still very open to guidance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted September 29, 2017 Report Share Posted September 29, 2017 The space heater goose is standard practice. Those controllers are very tough, made to survive in pottery studios at schools. They last much, much longer than laptops, despite their exposure to radical temperature fluctuations and dusty environments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilly Posted October 1, 2017 Report Share Posted October 1, 2017 My controller states a "storage" max/min temp and an "operating" max/min temp. Check to see if yours has the same info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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