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Has a cup of water on a table in your garage ever frozen?  If not you don't need to do anything to keep it from freezing. 

 

Keeping in on the floor away from an outside wall will probably be all you need.  The concrete floor has a large thermal mass and will help keep the clay from freezing. 

 

LT

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One reason I have been wanting to get into ceramics and pottery is I'm a Lampworker who works glass with torches.
Winter is horrible, one side of you is scorching hot and the other side freezing.
In order to run a torch safely you have to have high powered exhaust systems to remove fumes, you need fresh intake air so its not possible to stay warm, its like working in a blast freezer.

The idea of having a big kiln or two running is wonderful. Out here in eastern Washington state our weather does not get too intense.
Its November 13th and I have not turned the heater on in my house. Id like to see snow, last year we got a couple inches. :(
 

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One reason I have been wanting to get into ceramics and pottery is I'm a Lampworker who works glass with torches.

Winter is horrible, one side of you is scorching hot and the other side freezing.

In order to run a torch safely you have to have high powered exhaust systems to remove fumes, you need fresh intake air so its not possible to stay warm, its like working in a blast freezer.

 

The idea of having a big kiln or two running is wonderful. Out here in eastern Washington state our weather does not get too intense.

Its November 13th and I have not turned the heater on in my house. Id like to see snow, last year we got a couple inches. :(

 

That sounds like a pretty harsh way to have fun.  I'd love to see some of your work, I'm not sure exactly what it means to be a lamp worker.  Is it your day job too?   I could never do what you do - I'd burn the place down on the first day.  If you're ready to switch to pottery, I highly recommend it.  I'm completely obsessed.  Or you could pot in the winter and lampwork in the more cooperative seasons?  

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I got lucky at a garage sale and found a Rubbermaid storage locker, something like this.

 

http://www.rubbermaid.com/en-US/new-roughneck%C2%AE--medium-vertical-shed(<---link)

 

It's double walled and a small (very small) electric space heater is all it takes to keep the

Temp in the 50 (f) I keep my clay and glaze in it all winter. (about the only really good

Idea I had that year)

 

graybeard

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Both those ideas sound really good.    Antoinette, do you use this heater?  Any idea what it costs to run?  My son-in-law has an idea about lining a big cardboard box with those foam insulation sheets.  I think the best thing would be to drop it over the clay.  Graybeard, how is your stuff arranged in that locker?  Is the clay stacked on the bottom and glaze on shelves?

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Hi irenepots,

 

Yup, the really neat thing is that the sides and floor are double walled with about a 3/4' dead air

space I run the space heater on low and I can't remember ever seeing the temp below 50/52 degrees.

I really like the setup for keeping my glazes organized (im about as UN-organized as a person can get)

I bought a dial thermometer drilled a hole through the door.... well you get where Im going

 

Good luck

 

graybeard

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  • 2 weeks later...

Nice little reverse refrigerator graybeard.  

 

Coldest it's been so far out there today, but I'm finding my little space heater is keeping me warm.  I have a bisque running too so it ought to be toasty in there at some point today, even with the door cracked for air for the vent and so my dogs can get in an out.  Only problem is the heater blows the gfci sometimes, (the line has an outdoor plug on it)   Waiting for the electrician to run me a regular outlet but still, so far so good.  

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Well the cold is about to happen next week with -17c or 1.4F.  Sure like the wood stove in the shop. I don't think the shop will freeze much as there the concrete wall is 6' high along the back and 1/2 way along the 40'side and the shop has 6" insulation.  Plan on keeping the clay against the concrete wall at the base for when we go away for a few months. Hope it will not freeze there.

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Can someone tell me how I got to be an Advanced Member on here?  I'm advanced at some things, but pottery? Not yet anyway.  

 

LOL, that happen to me too, it made me chuckle since I'm not advanced enough to be a newbie. I'm sure it has to do with the amount of posts you made on this forum.

 

You can change the member title in your profile

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