Freezing Temperatures

If it's water-based, you better keep it from freezing. Other than that, if it's certain types of oils then they'll just run slower and be more difficult to use but no actual harm will come to them. Check the labels and see if they say something about keeping from freezing.

Have you considered just using a "hot box" to put everything in?

- Andrew

An old refrigerator with a low wattage light bulb wired to stay on continuously works.

-- Jack Novak Buffalo, NY - USA (Remove "SPAM" from email address to reply)

Or an old chest freezer - but the old appliances may be somewhat harder to come by since they are now supposed to be going off and having the refrigerants sucked out of them. A small heater with a thermostat may be more reliable in the long term than the light bulb (they do burn out occasionally, and if you don't happen to notice, it could get cold), and would also limit the heat in to only when it's needed.

If reusing a dead refrigeration appliance is not on the menu, a wood box can be lined with styrofoam and more wood (or drywall, I suppose). Leaving styrofoam exposed is a bad idea due to how it behaves in fires.

2" (R10) styrofoam is normally adequate for this application, but if you live in a very cold region and/or have to limit your power use, more insulation might make sense.

It all depends on the size you want to make. I have several different sizes in my various unheated shops. They all share the same basics though. I'll describe the smallest...

1) Styrofoam 2'x2'x1' cooler (couple of bucks) 2) Lightbulb, fixture, backing plate, and short length of wire with male plugin (another couple of bucks) 3) Thermal trip plugin that turns on automatically at 40F. Found with the water pipe freeze tape, etc. (most expensive part at ~ $13 US) 4) Extension cord (few more bucks)

Put together lightbulb, fixture, backing plate and short length of wire with male plugin and attach to top lid of cooler. Keep the wire INSIDE the cooler. Plug the wire into the Thermal plugin (it stays in the cooler and as far away from the bulb as possible). Plug the male end of the Thermal plugin into the extension cord. Run the extension cord out through a small hole in the cool and plug it in. Store your finishes, etc. in the cooler. Leave everything plugged in. The bulb will come on at 40F and off at around

45F automatically. No need to fiddle with vents and the bulb won't be on all the time. Do not not not not not not NOT (!) simply leave that bulb on all the time. Cost for this setup is less than $20US. Make it any size you want and (mostly) any material you have on hand. It'll scale up to large old fridges and freezers too.

- Andrew

I have a little heater with an "anti-freeze" mode. It just comes on long enough to keep the temperature above 35 or so unless I set the thermostat higher than that.

Haven't been using it long, but it's working out great so far. Just don't put the glue too close. Swells up like a tick, it does... :)