Janet Kaiser on wed 27 feb 02
Global warming takes all forms, eh? But don't worry. We very rarely
have 12 °F of frost, but when we do, it has to continue for more than
one night to do any damage, because it takes time to penetrate
buildings which are "warm" to start with. So your problem is slightly
different to what people in really cold climates deal with...
And it sounds like your environment has been pretty warm at up to 80
°F/mid 20s °C, so if it is only a night-time snap of frost, spread
newspaper loosely over the pots or place them in cardboard boxes up on
worktops (not down at floor level or up high on shelves, if the roof
is not insulated). If you want to make doubly certain, place a few 8
hour night-lights in saucers of water around the workshop, on window
sills, etc. where they are safe. Windows and doors are "temperature
bridges", so keep your pots as far away from them as possible.
That will be more than enough to prevent your pots freezing under the
circumstances.
Do not introduce paraffin, gas or butane if you can help it. They pump
a lot of additional moisture into the air, which cools much faster
than dry air and takes longer to heat up. If your pots are leather
hard, there is little moisture to freeze, but it is still not a good
idea to introduce more into the atmosphere.
If you really want to go wild, buy a bale of straw and fill the
cardboard boxes around the pots with that instead of newspaper. That
double insulation should see you through a severe frost of a couple of
days and nights, even in an unheated space.
Janet Kaiser - Never a girl guide, but once used to unheated workshops
in a "mild" maritime climate.
The Chapel of Art / Capel Celfyddyd
Home of The International Potters' Path
8 Marine Crescent : Criccieth : GB-Wales
URL: http://www.the-coa.org.uk
postbox@the-coa.org.uk
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