Studio Space Questions - repost

[athomeartist]

Sorry this is a repost from a different forum. I am new to posting and inadvertantly posted to the Education forum and do not know how to move or delete it...

 

With that said, I am growing out of my current indoor studio space (a spare carpeted bedroom believe it or not). I am, at this point, strickly a hand builder. My kiln is currently in my non-heated cinder block garage. I have been thinking about moving my studio to the garage which would give me more space and less concern about messing up the carpet in the spare room. My questions, which I bet have been answered in other posts but I can't seem to find them, are as follows:

 

 

1. At what temperature will clay freeze? If I store my clay in the unheated garage at what temperature will I need to worry about freezing?

 

2. Are there some low cost ways to keep my garage/studio above the temperature where my clay will freeze?

 

3. Other garage/outdoor studio artists - in what ways do you keep your studio warm while you are working?

 

4. Also I have not used my kiln yet this winter and I was wondering if I have any cause for concern when starting it up to fire? Do I need to warm the garage up a bit before I start the kiln? There have only been a handful of days where the temp has dropped to or below freezing.

 

 

While it has been unseasonably warm here in Indiana this year, I still need to know about the minimum temperature my garage can be before i have to worry about freezing clay, glazes, etc.

Sorry if these are repeat questions. I tried a dozen or so search terms and just cannot seem to find this topic in the forums. So forgive me if the topic already exists.

 

 

 

Thank you

 

Kelly

[Arnold Howard]

4. Also I have not used my kiln yet this winter and I was wondering if I have any cause for concern when starting it up to fire? Do I need to warm the garage up a bit before I start the kiln? There have only been a handful of days where the temp has dropped to or below freezing.

 

Kelly, a digital kiln should be warmed up to 32F or higher before firing. Place a small space heater near the switch box. Some people hang a utility light near the kiln. A manual kiln can operate in temperatures below 32F.

 

Has anyone here analyzed the firing cost of an electric kiln in cold weather versus warm weather? I doubt if there would be much difference in cost.

 

Sincerely,

 

Arnold Howard

Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA

ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com

[TJR]

Kelly;

I am going to jump in here even though I don't know if I can help. As you can see by my handle, I am a potter living in Canada. I have answered the question about cold weather potting a few times, but since I am Canadian we are polite about these things. I live in a very cold part of the country, and ironically we are experiencing spring like weather.

Most potters here do not work in unheated spaces as they are a pain. If your clay freezes, all the water comes to the surface and you must rewedge.

If you have a 220 outlet for your kiln, you can buy one of those industrial heaters at a big box store-[don't want to say any brand names]. They have a thermostat on them and youadjust the temp for working.

Store your clay in the basement or a heated porch, and only take out what you need for the day.

Got to go to the airport, so must catch you later.

Good luck!

TJR.

[bciskepottery]

Kelly,

 

 

I also work out of a garage studio -- wheel, slab roller, kiln, clay and glazes (Northern VA area). The garage is about 300 sqft (one-car) and I use the rear half for my clay studio. The garage shares one wall with the house; I have a couple of shelving units on that wall where I store glazes. When I had the kiln installed, I also had the electrician put in a subpanel to give me more flexibility for future needs. That turned out to be a good move.

 

1. Clay (the water within it) will freeze below 32F. Have not encountered that problem, although the clay does stay cold during the winter.

 

2/3. I recently had a ceiling mounted heater installed -- a 5000w unit from Farenheat. It runs on a separate 240v circuit. I had a wall-mounted thermostat installed that gives me more discrete control than the one on the unit. I leave the thermostat set at 40F to keep clay and glazes from freezing (that is the lowest setting available). When working, I move the thermostat up to 60F about 30 minutes before starting to work. Prior to the ceiling unit, I used a space heater but found that to be rather inefficient. Plus, I was always worried about safety. Sometimes its worth the upfront investment to make your work environment more tolerable; it will pay for itself over time. I work in the garage a couple days/nights per week, so it does not seem to have added a lot of cost to the electrical bill.

 

This fall, I also put insulation in the ceiling above the half of the garage that I use for clay work (have insulation for the rest, just haven't gotten to it yet).

 

The garage floor is concrete; I have a couple of 3x5 or so anti-fatigue mats that I stand on while working (one in front of the slab roller, one in front of the folding table I use for handbuilding); these keep the cold off your feet which is a good thing. I got mine from Home Depot for about $20/each.

 

I also have a ceiling fan installed for use during the summer.

 

4. My kiln is digital controlled; I do not fire it unless the temperature is above 32F for the entire firing period. The kiln is vented to the outside. Winter firings sometimes take a bit longer, but not so much that I see it as a cost issue/concern.

[Marcia Selsor]

when I had a studio in Upstate NY I used an antique kerosene heater to keep the well insulated studio from freezing overnight.I I a wood stove to bring up the studio to temperature for working Electric blackest worked ok for keeping clay from freezing...but depends on quantity.

Marcia

[teardrop]

I live @ 7300 ft in the Rockies. It's cold here more often than not and low temps in the AM in winter are usually around 0F. While it is attached to the house, the garage I will soon be setting up shop in my garage in has no direct heat source... (other than 1000 watt grow lights..nyuk..nyuk) so I will be facing some of these same challenges.

 

The small, oil-filled radiator type floor heaters at the Home improvement stores work well and are reasonably cheap to buy/operate. Then there's always a woodstove if you have the clearance/roof set up that will allow it and you are formally nixxing any parking of vehicles in said garage as well.

 

There was already talk in another thread about keeping yer clay warm/above freezing. Build an insulated wood box or find and old fridge and put a light bulb in it to keep the space warm...cheaply. You could always store in in the house and move it out to the studio when needed if you don't have the space to build a storage area

 

A heating blanket in yer chair is another warm option. With a warm butt you can face most anything

 

and last but not least....get a good stocking cap. you may LOOK funny wearin it inside...but you >>will<< be warmer!

 

good luck with the set up

 

teardrop

[Denice]

I have never tried this and maybe someone on the forum will know more about this, I read about a potter from a frozen area of the country keeping their clay warm with an engine block heater. My garage studio is attached to our house so I have a vent from our house furnace. It keeps it about 55 degrees and I have one of those oil filled heaters that look like a radiator, I turn it on about an hour before I start working, if I forget to turn it off at night the shop is really quite warm by morning. Indiana like Kansas is having a warm winter hopefully you can work this out before next winter. Denice