HexaYurts

[Swope904]

Lol I dont understand how your saying portable ACs are less trouble.... There twice as heavy as window units. require twice as much setup and take down. And no one ever said they needed to be high off the ground mounted on the yurt... that would be impossible. Set them on a crate or some 2x4s. Cut a while. plug everything in. Bam. Done.

[Elderberry]

Exactly.Not to mention they cost two to three times as much. You can get a wall mount unit for around $100 that will more than do the job.

Lol I dont understand how your saying portable ACs are less trouble.... There twice as heavy as window units. require twice as much setup and take down. And no one ever said they needed to be high off the ground mounted on the yurt... that would be impossible. Set them on a crate or some 2x4s. Cut a while. plug everything in. Bam. Done.

[Elderberry]

I just want to mention one other important thing about the width of the tape, especially if you do your taping as per the instructions--using a single piece of tape to span each joint over the roof from one site to the other (as opposed to cutting the tape and doing it in sections), With thinner tape, you have little to no room for error in the placement of the tape. If you factor in the wind (breeze actually, you can't setup in windy conditions, but there is almost always a gentle breeze blowing), having wider tape is much more forgiving with placement.

[robrob]

woohoo! just finished ours. Julie Danger's resources are amazing, but there are two things i'd add:

1) making one, especially the first time, is kind of an ass pain; i'd get a few people together and make a little factory and crank out several, assembly line style.

2) spend $9 and buy an extra sheet of *any* rigid panel in 1/2" (assuming you are using 1" boards); we made do with a couple square dowels I found in my woodworking landlord's scrap pile, but if we had thought it through and spent a few bucks to make a template it would have been awesome- it would definitely be a killer asset for the aforementioned hexayurt assembly line.

[--Ever--]

The big difference is a window unit recircs the inside air and continually cools it, using outside air to dump the rejected heat. In this manner the window unit keeps the hot and cold sides completely separate. This is the way things are optimally done.

In contrast, e one-tube portables suck outside air into the occupied space, diluting the cold air, and then exhaust it out the tube. In other words you are constantly fighting a battle to cool air that is immediately reheated by the condenser and then dumped. This is pure waste.

Fact is, a 5k BTU window unit will easily outperform a one-tube portable more than twice its size. (Note that a two-tube unit performs almost as good as a window unit).

If you want AC on the playa, or anywhere else, go with a window unit (or a split system) if you have a choice. If no choice, then put your filtered air intake as close to the portable unit as possible so that hot outside air has a short trip to get to the intake point on your unit. (Think inches here, not feet).

Would this AC fit the bill for what's being described here? (a unit that recirculates inside air, never pulls hot air into the yurt, doesn't cause a pressure drop in the yurt)



Think that will work as well or better than an 8k BTU single-hose AC?

[otakup0pe]

1) making one, especially the first time, is kind of an ass pain; i'd get a few people together and make a little factory and crank out several, assembly line style.

The thing that took me surprise building ours was the footprint you need for construction. Hard to build a H12 in anything less than twenty by twenty feet.

[Elderberry]

Yes. You can find 5000 BTU air conditioners for under $100.00 at Home Depot.

Would this AC fit the bill for what's being described here? (a unit that recirculates inside air, never pulls hot air into the yurt, doesn't cause a pressure drop in the yurt)



Think that will work as well or better than an 8k BTU single-hose AC?

[Swope904]

Pending on Location and Time of year permitting yes. Most of the time they raise the price to about $125 during the summer. Like now...

Yes. You can find 5000 BTU air conditioners for under $100.00 at Home Depot.

Would this AC fit the bill for what's being described here? (a unit that recirculates inside air, never pulls hot air into the yurt, doesn't cause a pressure drop in the yurt)



Think that will work as well or better than an 8k BTU single-hose AC?

[robrob]

yeah, the bigbox hardware store $99 ones are $119 this year

Also, a bunch of places in the midwest, including some of the regional hardware chains and other department stores have already started pulling that stuff out and replacing it with backpacks/ pumpkins/ christmas trees/whatever.

[--Ever--]

How do you think a 5k BTU window unit like that (recirculation) will stack up against our 8k BTU portable from last year (napkin math says it pulled in hot air from the outside).

[GreyCoyote]

How do you think a 5k BTU window unit like that (recirculation) will stack up against our 8k BTU portable from last year (napkin math says it pulled in hot air from the outside).

Ever: I think this question has been well-answered. The short answer is the 5k recirc should kick the 8k one-tubes ass for all of the reasons already stated, and do it for less fuel, weight, and less initial cash outlay. If the 8k is a dual hose, then the 8k should win.

I think its time to pick an A/C horse and ride it to the burn before these serial beatings send it to the glue factory. The physics are unlikely to change between then and now. Whatever you finally choose, please be sure to report back on your experiences so the next crop of yurt-dwellers can benefit from your experiences.

[GreyCoyote]

One other thought: if you are buying an AC for a yurt, get the dumbest, cheapest, most brain-dead unit you can find. Mechanical, not electronic, controls are preferred. Many electronic cntrols will reset after a power sag, and put the unit into the "off" mode. Generators and mechanical ACs rarely have issues working together.

[--Ever--]

One other thought: if you are buying an AC for a yurt, get the dumbest, cheapest, most brain-dead unit you can find. Mechanical, not electronic, controls are preferred. Many electronic cntrols will reset after a power sag, and put the unit into the "off" mode. Generators and mechanical ACs rarely have issues working together.

You bring up a great point. I was looking at two 5k BTU's in the $100-$150 range, and while the tech-person in me appreciated the one with the digital controls, I was more drawn to the mechanical version after dealing with buttons last year Good call.

[otakup0pe]

So how do hexayurts stand up to hail

[Elderberry]

Hmmm.... good question. I remember it hailing on the playa one year, but I think it was before we had the yurts setup and we ended up sleeping in the truck that night. I guess you could take a panel outside and throw small rocks at it and see what happens.

So how do hexayurts stand up to hail

[Luigi]

Hail - bring it on! As I am working on my yurt in Truckee, we have been getting thunderstorms daily. Sunday as it rolled in, I left the yurt up and it got windy, hailed and the poured rain. Yurt got wet but did not move or get damaged. I am using 2' foam (I was gifted a few sheets) and while it is heavier and bulky, it is good because I am rough and I only used 7 sheets for the 6 foot stretch. I sealed all edges with 3" foil tape.

[--Ever--]

Awe hail....

Question: still curious if windows/vents with a furnace filter are required when using a window AC.

Considerations I can think of:

• creating optimal pressure for the AC
• having a cross-breeze vs not diluting the cold air with hot air
• o2 depletion / co2 buildup

Thx for any guidance.

[VNixie]

So we missed the topic on here before building our yurt about not using R-Tech. We are 1 week away from the burn and frankly don't have the funds or time to go out and get new panels and rebuild. We were going to put a tarp over the entire thing and then strap it down with one of those pickup truck nets. We also reinforced the door with thin plywood and are putting plywood boards on the bottom of the outside and inside of every other panel. We have 1 inch think R-tech that is silver shiny on one side and white with letters on the inside. We are doing a 13 foot by 10 foot tall yurt. so the extra 2 foot panel rotating on the top and bottom of each panel.

Thoughts? Think it will work out on the playa this year ? Have any ideas besides starting over to help us have a secure yurt?

[theCryptofishist]

Have a back up plan. pack and tent and shade.

[maladroit]

It will probably explode on the playa, and that's not hyperbole. It's shaping up to be a dustier, windier year, and harder to get your stuff anchored down solid. The white styrofoam is much more fragile than the polyiso panels, you look at it crosseyed and it will snap in half, releasing tiny white pellets of foam. And yes, you must go out into your neighbors camps and pick up Every. Single. One.

Your backup plan should be leave it at home, get a cheap tent and a monkeyhut.

[robrob]

So. We are liesurly working our way from Chicago to Reno towing a trailer with our Hexayurt. It's wrapped up in a tarp and strapped to a ladder rack atop the trailer. Rock solid.

Until my partner/ copilot tried to drive a ramp into a parking garage with low clearance. It's a fucking disaster. I can tell the yurt is mangled, and one of the 4 ladder rack things had flat out ripped apart at the welds. Great.

We limp along side streets to a backlot a Denver pal let us use, and discover that yes, it was catastrophically mangled, but mangled in the best possible place-the two ruined pieces were ends of the flat walls. 18 inches of shredded moop, but all other panels- including all the tricky bits like roof and doors and shit are all good as new.

Luckily I had the foresight to buy and bring an extra, pre edge taped panel. We simply sliced off the shitty end, stuck on the new one (base later of 3"bi-fil, covered with foil on outside) redid the single ruined tape edge and were able to re assemble the package.

As for the ladder racks, once I got the load off, I was able to reset it into place and keep it there with another pair of straps. It all feels solid, and I made sure to check it again after 20 highway minutes.

Crisis /heartbreak averted, and lessons learned.

[GreyCoyote]

Nice save, RobRob!

[Elderberry]

No. We did that the first year and all it did was let in dust.

Awe hail....

Question: still curious if windows/vents with a furnace filter are required when using a window AC.

Considerations I can think of:

• creating optimal pressure for the AC
• having a cross-breeze vs not diluting the cold air with hot air
• o2 depletion / co2 buildup

Thx for any guidance.

[robrob]

Verdict= fucking awesome.

Slept till 3:30 yesterday. Roomy, dust was no big deal, warm at night and easy to cool during the day. Couldn't imagine doing it any other way now. Love it. Thank you Julie danger, and all the other nerds that figured out the tricky bits.

[--Ever--]

New H15 worked great. Some notes:

• A wooden frame + fancy hinges and latch hardware probably added 30+ minutes to both the setup and tear-down. Doesn't seem like much, but it adds up in the end. I might re-build that wall and just use a simple "portal" door on one of the 4-foot panels (H15 usess a 2ft + 4ft).
• If using fancy latches, consider how you'll be able to open it from both inside and outside. We had a classic gate latch at the top with string running to the inside. But alas, again we ran into trouble getting it to close from the inside. So I added a slide-latch to the bottom on the inside. However if the GF went to sleep before me, I wasn't able to open that. I'm thinking of a new system that can be used from both sides and is less complicated than a gate latch.
• We were nazis about following the steps while stetting up on playa (IE, have stakes in the ground ready to go in case the wind picks up). However we were so taxed after arriving at 4am on Sunday that we simply laid down the tarp. Big mistake as the rains came at 4am on Monday while we slept. Flooded yurt, anyone? Took a half a day to clean, did some pretty bad irreparable damage since we had to quickly throw up tape as it rained.
• Less often mentioned is how to tape a tarp - or anything to the yurt for that matter. Be sure to use a ring of bifil on the tarp to "attach" something like blue tape to. This will be a permanent place you can tape/remove things to each year in a way that won't damage the wall.
• Cut the halo before putting it up. It's easy to skip these steps in the packing craze that is BM. Do it before you arrive.
• We were actually pretty hot at night, albeit it was a warm year. We didn't add a vent until Tuesday. Cutting on the playa is looked down upon, and now I see why. It was a big pain to gather all the moop. Do all cuts prior to arriving, and vents are important.
• I still don't know if I'm supposed to have the vent open or plugged during the day (we have an AC).
• A $100 5k BTU wall-mount AC worked fine. And I run hot.
• Wood clamps + a few small 3in x 3in squares of plywood make on-playa assembly much easier. People are moving quickly and are eager to setup on playa. These provide an extra set of hands.
• Bring a broom and a ladder to help with taping the cone.
• Mark the edges you tape on the playa. You'll be weary while taking it apart and can cut the wrong edge.
• We used a knife taped to the broom handle to cut the cone at the end of the week.

We did quite a lot of damage to our yurt while cutting it down. It's hard to keep a utility knife from swaying off course and into the foam. Any tips for this?

[otakup0pe]

Our hexayurt was dry and snug during the Monday rain. It is now safely partially cleaned up and packed up in our container awaiting next year. Didn't get to finish all the panels as a whiteout popped up late yesterday morning and we ended up skipping some steps in order to get off playa quicker. Problem for future us !

[robrob]

oh man, the hail sounded so cool pounding the roof. My partner did a bang up job taping, the only tiny bit of of water we had come in was by the door, and it was handled as it happened so no big deal.

here's an interior shot of ours:


embiggen

the clothes rack rocked, as did the 8 foot long table (a folding closet door i found in an alley, sitting on 4 milkcrates)

[Elderberry]

We use metal tape to repair all rips, erant cuts and other damage to the panels that inevitably happen when tearing down.

[Canoe]

[*]I still don't know if I'm supposed to have the vent open or plugged during the day (we have an AC).eek.?

Depends on the type and the mode.
If it's a "window" type, hopefully you can run it in recirculation mode, so it cools the air inside by recirculating it. If you have a vent/window open during this, then you're trying to cool the outdoors...

If window and in "fresh" mode, it's sucking hot dusty outside air through the A/C to the inside and cooling it as best as it can as it passes through. It will also need exhaust venting in your yurt to let air out so the A/C can push it's air inside. Just like a swamp cooler needs an exhaust vent. Don't be surprised if the playa dust trashes the tubes, fins or motor.

If it's a floor/portable type, is it one hose or two hose. If it's one hose, it will also need a vent in the yurt, for letting air in, as the one hose type takes the air you just cooled from inside your yurt and uses that to run through the heat-exchanger to vent the A/C's heat to outside. If it's two hose, you don't need an exhaust/intake vent in the yurt; just run the hoses through the wall, and not exactly right next to each other or the intake/exhaust to the heat-exchanger will do it's best to run as an inefficient closed loop.

[rideincircles]

I am a rookie just getting starting on preparation and want to build one, but was wondering if it can be cut up to fit in a van. I have a 1700 mile drive and was not planning on having the sheets on the roof or bringing a trailer, so i was thinking of cutting it up into 2 X 4 sections so it could fit inside the van. Is this a bad idea? I assume it could be done, just would need a lot of tape. Right now it will be just 2 people going and I still have to figure out which one of my friends would be able to go as it is.

I have been to plenty of festivals for tent camping (glastonbury, Coachella, bonnaroo), but would like to avoid the tent sauna in the morning. My goal is to fit 2 people and everything needed inside of a van for the road trip. Normally I usually use a tent under a carport at festivals. My car port got the crap beat out of it when I was camping in the mountains at Big Bend and I had to take it down in the middle of the night. I want to avoid any similar issues.

Not sure if my question has been asked before, but I have plenty to do already. I will try and read as many pages of the thread as possible.

What is the best place to buy tape? I saw the uline site has 8 roll boxes and a minimum of 2 cases needed it looks like. Still seems like a way better deal than amazon.

http://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-1 ... lsrc=aw.ds