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-   -   Do you torch in winter? (http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=280123)

AVTrout 2015-07-17 9:04am

Do you torch in winter?
 
About 2 years ago we built a single wall cabana up by our pool area that I snagged for my studio. It's been working out great! Windows with cross ventilation and a sliding glass door. For 6 months of the year I am able to torch, but for the other 6 months I simply cannot deal with the cold. I have arthritis and my hands can't cooperate. Plus it's bitter cold here in winter! (Pennsylvania).

My hubby and I were thinking of covering the walls and floor in plastic sheeting, dropping in a layer of fiberglass insulation and covering it with wood paneling (which is what is inside right now and looks nice). We are a little stuck with what to do with the floor. Rolled linoleum?

But the biggest issue we can't figure out, is how to deal with the frigid air that will come in from the window cross ventilation. I suggested getting a couple of portable baseboard heaters but he pointed out that I will still be blasted in the back by the cold air, which will quickly fill the studio.

How do you handle torching in the winter?

Eileen 2015-07-17 1:21pm

I'm in FL so don't have the same weather at all, but I'm wondering if there is any way to put in duct work to bring the fresh air up right near the work table so it doesn't blow past you?

ROC 2015-07-17 2:01pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eileen (Post 4772783)
I'm in FL so don't have the same weather at all, but I'm wondering if there is any way to put in duct work to bring the fresh air up right near the work table so it doesn't blow past you?

Yep. DH built my workspace so I have three make-up air vents coming in from the outside, 2 on the surface and one under it, with an enclosure around them. I can redirect the underneath one if it's too cold. I also have a 220 heater I run at my feet which really kicks out a lot of heat. Oh yeah. And a nice wool army blanket to put over my legs if I need it. We're not nearly as cold as PA, but I can work comfortably when it's 30-40 outside. A hat helps, too.

Speedslug 2015-07-17 7:56pm

I am up here in the frozen nort' so I understand cold.

My torch bench is actually in the house but I hated the idea of dumping all the house heat out the ventilation system so I placed the torch bench in front of a window and ran the ductwork through the wall to the out side for at least ten feet away from the window. That way the fumes going out will have a chance to disperse and not get sucked back into the window.

This way I can crack the window open in the depths of winter and it will allow in makeup air to replace the torch fumes with the vent fan on. I also have something called a "blast gate" that is as big as my ventilation duct work (10 inches) and I can close that when I don't have the vent fan running.

I only need to crack the window a quarter of and inch or less to get enough makeup air and not even that much most of the time.

A little bit of house heated air goes out the vent system and that comes past me keeping me comfortable and I also run a small space heater at my feet under the bench.

menty666 2015-07-18 8:38am

If you enclose your bench on 3 sides, you can run the makeup air through the bench via ducting. Have your ventilation pull out the back/top of the work space.

For heat, I use a ceiling mounted infrared heater over my bench. That heats me, not the air that I'm pulling out.

asimeral 2015-07-19 11:37pm

My Chili Pepper kiln sits about 2 ft from me and keeps the room fairly warm. I also have a heat dish space heater but I find that if I wear a quilted shirt over my reg clothes I'm fairly warm enough.

ChurnHill 2015-08-02 10:49am

I have always used a space heater by the back of my legs (I torch standing), and I got a tall quartz heater last year which works WAY better at keeping me warm than the little box heater with a fan did. I heated the shedio up in advance and worked until the temp got down to about 40, then my fingers didn't work well anymore. So I would go inside and warm my hands while the heat ran to get the space heated up again, and repeat, all day long during winter (I have to work since this is how I make my living).

We moved recently, and I have a new shedio space, so I set it up with makeup air ducting coming in under the bench. I just got it set up, so I don't know how it will perform during the winter. Fingers crossed! I do know that during the recent hot spell, the studio stayed just as hot after I ran the vent system as it had been before, so it seems to work to keep the heat in.

5betsy 2015-08-16 10:13am

I live in Western WA and my studio is a semi insulated room in one corner of a barn. I can torch pretty comfortably until the outside temps get to 30 or so. Which is not what PA deals with.

But in addition to some serious layering of clothing, I stand on a heating pad designed for warehouse workers. It helps a LOT.

Jenglo2 2015-08-30 6:27am

I'm just setting up my studio, but I got a really good pointer from my flameworking teacher. When you pick your space heater for under the work bench, make sure you get a radiant heater, (one where you see the glow). Radiant heat energy will travel straight to you so you'll feel it even if the air's circulating too much for the heater to warm the room.

rainygrrl 2015-10-08 7:44pm

I don't know how to put a link using this iPad, but I just bumped up an old thread in tips and tricks. "Tricks for working in the cold" or something like that. Lots of good info. Hope you find it useful.

JanetG 2015-10-28 9:42am

I use the back porch which is unheated and warm it up with a space heater. I have my kiln next to my bench so it keeps me warm. I'm also in PA and I tend not to torch in Jan/Feb - it's just too cold even with 2 pairs of socks!

eregel 2015-11-01 7:03am

I'm in upstate NY, and deal with the same issues - last year most of January and February was sub-zero or single digits. Here's my studio build thread - there's detailed photos of how we insulated. http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=220718

Besides good insulation, I have a propane space heater and, because the floors are uninsulated and 2 years ago I got chilblains from standing on the cold floor, I have a heated floor mat that I stand on.

Return air is from a very slightly - like less than an inch - opened window at the far end of the shed. By the time it reaches me it's gone past the space heater and the kiln, which sits on a rolling cart directly behind me. It has to be ungodly cold before I absolutely can't work out there (arthritic joints) and usually I'm not willing to make the trudge out there when it's THAT cold, so working conditions really aren't an issue.

ChurnHill 2015-11-05 9:58am

I have had a chance to test the new makeup air system coming up through the bench, and it works perfectly! The last couple of days have had lows in the teens, and highs in the low 30s, and it stays warm enough to work all day with just a quartz heater. Yay!

Now the issue is getting it warmed up early in the morning so I can make jewelry out there and get all my mess out of the living room. I bought a little box heater with a good fan and a timer so I could set it to turn on a couple of hours before I go out to work. I tested it out this morning in the house to make sure it works, and discovered it shuts off in 30 minutes after being started with the timer, and there is apparently no way to overide it. Aaaargh.

Anybody have a heater with a timer, that will stay ON, that they like? I guess I can just buy one of those outlet timer thingies, but I was trying to avoid extra parts.

Speedslug 2015-11-06 5:05am

Is it that the heater will only run for 30 minutes or that it got the room up to temp and then shut off?

Outlet light timers is one way once you have a heater that will go the distance for you.


But I will also add that those infra red heat lamps can make a world of difference as well.

I set one up over my shoulder while doing a brake job on my car last week and it not only warmed me up it also warmed up my tools and the break parts I was working on even with the garage door wide open.

You might look in the Good Will type stores for those Christmas light timers. They are pretty inexpensive these days.


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