If you're in Northern Canada, the cold staying for weeks, have you
considered spray foam insulating the walls around the kiln area at least.
We use this in the Mojave desert (weeks of 120F and lots and lots of wind).
Makes a huge difference in our shop which is large enough so there is no
real heating or cooling available. Ours was done nearly 30 years ago and is
still working fine with no maintenance. Sorry, I don't know where my
husband got the material, he says it was from a private contractor. You
might check with any contractor in your area.

Kathy
wrote in message
. ..
Thanks for the response. Yeah, sorry, back porch might be a regionalism -
it's an extension of the house at the back where all the garbage that
doesn't fit in the basement goes. It's totally closed off, has windows,
shares one wall and a door to the house, so probably isn't as cold as the
outside. Underneath it is the storm cellar - a few steps down to bare
earth
that then opens into the basement. The only thing is that it isn't heated
or insulated. So it's probably even better than a garden shed in that
regard. Not sure how much extra electricity it would take to fire it up
in
cold weather - it's a 7' cubic electric kiln, quite old, so probably takes
a
lot to start with.
Simon
"annemarie" wrote in message
...
Do you have a garage? Having it outside could be a problem, the colder
temperatures could make it more difficult to reach your required temp.
You
would be using much more electricity and even bunged it is making your
kiln
work a lot harder. I am in New Zealand and have my kiln in my garage
and
even here (moderate climate) I notice the kiln takes longer on a cold
10C
winters day. I close the garage doors and it does make a difference.
Yes
I
am in Wellington and wind is an issue sometimes.
Could you build a small shed to house it? Here in NZ anyway small
garden
sheds are pretty cheap.
Good luck
Annemarie

"Charles Spitzer" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
.. .
Hello all,
I've read similar postings over the past few years, but I guess I
didn't
pay
attention to the answers well enough. I've got a kiln that I can't
get
into
my house. It's been on my front porch wrapped in plastic, lowering
property
values for a year now, becasue I'm not sure what to do. I could get
it
into
my back porch and I'm trying to figure out the feasibility of
putting
it
there.

First, the back porch is a wooden structure, about 8 feet wide and 5
feet
deep, with the adjoining wall to the house being made of brick. I
could
run
the wiring through to this wall. The advantage, is of course that
venting
would be easy, it's not actually in the house. Disadvantages, this
is
Canada and it regularly goes to -20 or -30 in the winter. So, how
realistic
is this, what kind of insulation would be required to deal with the
fact
that it's made of wood, what kind of clearance from wooden walls is
needed
to keep it safe? etc.

about 18" seperation. you could put up durock (cement board) to
protect
it.
don't forget the floor.

I know people have commented on similar questions in the past and
I'm
wondering if you'd mind repeating your advice! Thanks in advance.
Simon