Silver Tarp beat the heat?

FIGJAM · Post by **FIGJAM** » Fri Apr 16, 2010 8:33 am

Im using that for side shade, but im with gyre on totel shade on top. Im going with silver tarp.

Homiesinheaven · Post by **Homiesinheaven** » Fri Apr 16, 2010 9:18 am

tarp wont let light through but it also wont let air through and create a greenhouse. i guess it depends on how high above your head it is. if what you're attaching it to is strong enough to take that sail force when the winds kick up then it's definitely the cheapest option.

no disrespect but i think PVC and cheap tarp make for dumpy looking camps.

Fire_Moose · Post by **Fire_Moose** » Fri Apr 16, 2010 9:43 am

i have a monkey hut, PVC half cylinder covered with a silver tarp, and it is SO incredibly cool under. Doesn't look dumpy at all

Homiesinheaven · Post by **Homiesinheaven** » Fri Apr 16, 2010 9:49 am

Fire_Moose wrote:Doesn't look dumpy at all...

uh huh, pictures?

phil · Post by **phil** » Fri Apr 16, 2010 9:57 am

> reflective surfaces are poor radiators of heat.

My radiators are all painted silver. :->

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Fri Apr 16, 2010 11:30 am

Probably aluminum paint, which is good for rust and conductive of heat, as a material.
It would be interesting to see how much different one painted black would be.

It's more of a factor probably with a mirror-like surface, like chrome.

This effect only applies to certain frequencies of infra-red, I believe.

ohCarie · Post by **ohCarie** » Sun May 02, 2010 11:50 pm

I took all of your advice and am using the sweet parachute I found for decoration only and we are going with the Monkey Hut with silver tarp. We found a great price for a silver tarp, about $40 for a HUGE 25'x53' tarp, on closeout now (hurry!):

http://www.harborfreight.com/25-ft-4-in ... 37978.html

Can someone tell me if it's possible to make the Monkey Hut wider? We want it to be 8ft tall and 16ft wide. Does it work by simply using longer PVC?

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Mon May 03, 2010 2:20 am

I would examine that tarp closely.
Make sure it's opaque.
I heard that northern or harbor freight had a good tarp, but it wasn't cheap cheap, just a good deal apparently, but very heavy duty.
I think I found it for $80 up.

I haven't found anything that is really better than the shelter systems tarps consistently.
I checked out a sample of it.
Even the good chinese tarps cost more.
Opaque requires a black or metallic layer in the middle or great thickness.
Even my very heavy billboard tarps aren't opaque with one layer, and yes it matters.
Black billboard material is more likely to be opaque.

http://shelsys.com/