Winter and a cold garage

In another thread on here there were folks talking about winter and the water table. One solution was to add a stock tank heater (used to keep water for livestock thawed in the winter) to the table. Most electronics don’t have problem with normal cold (if it’s -20F inside…that’s another story) but maybe one of the langmuir guys can chime in and tell us the min operating temp on the table.

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I’m another one in southeast Idaho.

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Ya I’m in New England here where brutal is the only way to define our winters.

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my water table freezes a lot. It explodes when the plasma hits it.
Pour hot water on it to melt it. Add some salt. And then usually its just the top layer that freezes and you can just break it with a hammer or screwdriver.
I had an oil pan heater on the bottom (magnetic base on my steel water table) and it didn’t help

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That’s great advice! We’re in San Diego, CA - we barely know Fall, let alone Winter. While we haven’t done a temperature study, the consensus here is that temp is likely more a concern for your cutter than your table. Of course water in the water tray will be an issue.

Did you try a bubbler like they use around boats to keep the water from freezing against the hull? Might be able to do it in a smaller way with an aquarium air stone setup.

This will be my first water table so can only theorize right now. My plan is to drain the table after use and bubble the bucket instead.

I did not. I don’t use my table every day (close) so leaving it on 24/7 is a waste for me. a few cuts and things break apart. A bubbler is a great idea if you want to cut aluminum as it helps get rid of trapped hydrogen

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Just thought I would throw my 2 cents in. I just bought the components that another owner said work well for him in another thread.

The components are available on Amazon
AspenTek Us Plug Dc 12v Power Supply Converter Adapter for Powering 12v Led Strip Light, Led Rigid Bar, Under Cabinet Lighting, Security Cameras, LCD Monitor, LCD TV, Ac 100-240v to Dc 12v 6A 72w Amazon.com

(Upgrade Version)Facon 12" x 18" Water Holding Tank Heater Pad With Automatic Thermostat Control for RV Camper Trailer 12V DC Amazon.com

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Are you still facing this problem? As we all know that winter is an enjoyable season, but at the same time we need to take care of our electronic devices. It is quite dangerous if we keep our device in the cold weather as it creates several damage. The cold may reduce the battery life and can harm the internal units. Why don’t you go for an HVAC system as it gives you the ability to control the temperature of the interior space with the help of single remote. It is generally used for the heating, ventilation and an air conditioning purpose. Check out here if you are looking to know more about a smart HVAC services.

Hey guys, I also have a garage that is not heated and have my crossfire in there. I live in Canada and it gets down to -40C. Have you guys used it in the winter? Or is it so cold that I should remove the motors and computer system?

Thankfully, I have a heated garage, with a wireless (ecobee) thermostat. I keep it at about 45-50 at all times, then up to 60 when Im working. Open the app on the phone, wait a little and it’s a nice environment with a hoodie on. I use a reverberay infared heater, I think it’s 60,000 BTUs and in Michigan it only adds about $25 a month to my gas bill. Well worth the money! I got the unit for free from a friend and I got the ecobee free from the electric company.

I’ve used mine in the winter - but it was in a Connecticut winter. We don’t get too far below zero. I didn’t move any of the parts inside. I did use fresh hot water whenever the water was frozen in my 5gal buckets (I’d dump out the ice buckets and fill the buckets up in the bathtub).

When I assembled my crossfire it was -20 out. I remember it well, running back and forth watching a vid and back out assembling it. All i have is a space heater that runs off deisel fuel. So when im not out there its pretty much outside temp minus the wind. I left everything including pc out there and had no issues. Sinse winter I have insulated the walls, started putting up a ceiling and insulating it also. Big job for me. 30x40 with 14ft side walls.Hope to have it done by winter and get some real heat and ac in it. With no insulation i could get it up to 50ish no problem. Perfect working weather. ( I have a drain back style water hydrant in the corner of the shop. 50 degree water year around.)

Im also in Mich and looking and buying this set up. I have a salamander that cooks you out, but only when Im in garage. Would using something like RV antifreeze in water tray work? I wouldn’t freeze, and it is cheap. Not sure if it would affect the plasma, but I don’t see why it would bother it. My garage is brick, so it doesn’t hold heat well.

I plan to do the same thing I did for my chickens water and goats water. An IR heat lamp worked good aimed at the bowls. IR will not heat the air it will heat the surfaces it “lights up” so the walls and floors near the water would absorb and store heat (not a lot mind you, enough that their water didn’t freeze over night. Also no wind was blowing on the bowls

I went out to do some curtain brackets, and had some issues due to the cold
Air pressure out the cutter nozzle seemed low, problems cutting 1/8”, and some cutting out of the flame.
It is 20 degrees in the shop today, yesterday temps were 50-60, and it cut great… I was just doing a quick cut, so never turned the heat on
Think I will change the Hypertherm air filter.
Just sharing my cold weather experience.

My partical filter freezes and restricts the air. After the first time I found this out i thaw it out before i start. It was 32 in my shop today but the news said with the wind chill it was minus 21 outside.

Makes my 42 here in North Alabama seem like summer, maybe I’ll go swimming when I get home, haha

Keep warm.

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I have never changed the filter in the 4 years I have had it, all the other frying, gilter stuff is new. So U suspect it needs changing, and the cold was the biggest factor.
I went to tack the brackets, and the regulator on the mig tank seemed to be froze.
It will warm up in a couple of days, and I bet it will be fine again.
I may run torpedo heater in there first

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Electronics usually aren’t affect by the cold you’ll get through most winters in the lower 48. If you really want to nerd out search youtube for folks super cooling their PCs with liquid nitrogen to overclock them. :slight_smile: The bigger issues will be the water table and probably the lead screws.

If water freezes in your garage it’s probably a good idea to drain the table after each use in the winter. I’m not sure I’d recommend adding salt to the water unless you really want to replace your slats sooner rather than later.

Where the lead screws could be come a problem is if the plastic bearing that rides up and down the screw shrinks too much. You could, in theory, end up with inaccurate cuts because the they don’t smoothly travel up and down the screw anymore. Also if you’re using some type of oil based lubrication on them the cold will increase the viscosity which could cause inaccuracies.

I live in Southwestern Idaho (which doesn’t get as cold as your side of the state), and have a daylight basement garage so it stays warmer than normal. I’ve not had any issues cutting in a cold garage, but cold in there is 55 degrees.

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