It gets pretty cold where I live and my laser is out in my shed which is insulated but even still that only helps so much when its cold for a long time. Saturday was the first time I actually saw the laser say its too cold which wasn’t a huge issue since it wasn’t going to be ran for a while. All I was doing was looking to get it referenced and ready to run once it was warm. After about an hour of heating the shed up I got it to go away thanks to a couple heaters and fans to circulate them.
My question for everyone is what are your solutions for warming the laser up or keeping it from getting that cold? Right now I cover my laser with a big moving blanket and heat my shed for while to get it going but I was curious how its being handled by others in cold areas. Its nice it lets you know hey its too cold you idiot don’t run it but it took a lot of resets before it told me that. For me preventing it would be a better option than dealing with it.
I guess my solution is to keep it inside my house. I believe the Glowforge can be damaged if stored in a hostile environment, so it is more than heating it up when you want to use it. You could damage it if kept in an area that is too cold or too hot.
Operating Environment
To prolong the life of your Glowforge unit and to reduce the risk of fire or mechanical failure, do not put the Glowforge unit where it could experience:
Extreme temperature or humidity
Temperatures below 40 degrees Fahrenheit (5 Celsius) or over 120 degrees Fahrenheit (48 Celsius)
Extreme humidity conditions (below 10% or more than 75%)
If venting outdoors, ensure that changing conditions do not cause extreme temperatures or humidity to enter the Glowforge unit through the exhaust hose. Disconnect the hose from the outside air when the Glowforge is not in use.
Someone on here talked about a heating mat of some sort. I think it was for reptiles? There are also heated pet mats that might work. https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=heated+pet+mats&ref=nb_sb_noss_1
If you had something like that and kept it inside the unit and an insulated blanket over top that might work. You would have to be sure it is electrically certified by your country of course.
I tried running it in the house for about a week before I had to move it out. My son and myself both suffer migraines that recur fairly often. For me, I have lived with it for long enough to just deal with it and mine are sound and light sensitive ones. My son is not quite so lucky with one of the big triggers for him is smell so I literally could not have enough ventilation to continue running it in the house.
My son still complains when I bring projects up from my shed because of lingering smell. I love the wood burning smell so that never bothered me, but I know migraines well enough that keeping it in the house was not an option.
As for heating blankets/pads I had thought about that and that may be the option I have to go with as a heating it up or keeping it from getting too cold option. It was well above 40 degrees in the shed before I ever made a single cut thanks to the heaters I was running. If push comes to shove I have a kerosene heater that gets so hot Its far more likely to start a fire than the laser but its complete last resort.
I only asked this because I was curious to see if anyone had any creative or outside of the box ideas for keeping it warm or warming it up. This is probably the last winter I will be willing to deal with my old shed. I have already been working toward building one that will be over insulated to the point its closer to a sweat lodge, I wear a hoodie when its 70 outside for me the warmer the better. So sitting infront of a heater shivering like a tiny dog waiting for my shed to warm up is not ideal.
I would be very leery of large temperature swings in the building. You may end up with condensation inside the unit which could either cause corrosion or short circuiting. I think a much better option would be to try keep it around 65-70 degrees inside at all times.
What @beerfaced said. I got an oil-filled radiator (plugs into the wall) and turned it on its lowest setting. The room, an exposed corner of the house, stays warmer than the rest of the house just by that one heater all the time. My electric bill hasn’t been out of the ordinary for the last two months.
I realize a stand-alone shed is a bigger challenge. Hang some curtains with a little airspace between cloth and wall, and you’ve got passive insulation. Maybe even just curtain off your little workspace and keep the heater in there with the 'forge.
The radiator heater is not nearly as much a fire hazard as radiant heaters.
