White versus silver tarps

[Sundial]

So I'm looking at a website that sells heavy duty tarps. They sell white tarps as well as silver ones. I would think that white would be a better colour than silver in that it would reflect more light. Am I correct in that thinking?

[TT120]

I thought the same thing. As long as it's a heavy duty thicker tarp I think it would be fine. I'm bringing a white one and a silver one and will conduct my own tests.

[Sundial]

One other thing since I have your attention. They're selling two different types of tarps with the words "heavy duty" in the title. The cheaper ones are woven poylyethylene. The more expensive ones are "Heavy Duty Vinly Coated Mesh". I assume the latter is what I'd want?

[roody]

The best surface is the most reflective surface, so get a silver tarp. I finally got a new one for this burn, it's silver on the top and white on the bottom, great shade!

[TT120]

One other thing since I have your attention. They're selling two different types of tarps with the words "heavy duty" in the title. The cheaper ones are woven poylyethylene. The more expensive ones are "Heavy Duty Vinly Coated Mesh". I assume the latter is what I'd want?

Yeah, you want to get the more expensive ones. Those woven ones moop all over the place if they start to come apart. Make sure to pick up a grommet repair kit or two. You'll need it.

[Sundial]

The best surface is the most reflective surface, so get a silver tarp. I finally got a new one for this burn, it's silver on the top and white on the bottom, great shade!

I've got a silver-coloured tarp myself, which I'm not using because its too big. Honestly, I don't really find it very reflective at all compared to any other colour. Its just grey. Not literally reflective like metal. Which would mean it'd be better to go with the colour that absorbs the least light.

[TomServo]

10 x 10 HD silver tarp


Here's a proven way to reinforce grommets...I use Nashua Duct tape, but Gorilla tape would be better. This works best done BEFORE you leave for the playa.

Tape over grommets on both sides and punch a hole through tape and grommet.

[Sundial]

Kinda gotten away from tarp colour now, but that's okay. I need all the help I can get. =p

I've been considering the problem of poles. My last attempt, I brought standard tarp poles. Seemed to me like those ones with rubber bottoms are no good and just slip on the playa surface. Better to buy t-posts or something in Reno and hammer them in a foot?

[trilobyte]

Tarp info 101...

If you have a heavy duty silver on silver tarp with UV protection, that's best.

White tarps are bright, and let more light pass through them, but they're significantly less efficient at reflecting away the sun's energy.

Generic silver tarps with different color backings will vary widely on efficiency. The silver/brown tarps frequently sold at big box hardware stores are kind of crappy, as their UV protection is generally inferior and the brown-backed tarps aren't all that efficient at reflecting the heat away.

[CornMan]

The heavy duty tarps are getting thin. The extra heavy duty or premium tarps are the better bet. I bought a 20x30 heavy duty silver tarp in May and could see sunlight shine through what looked to be seams.

[trilobyte]

I think the descriptive stuff will change from one supplier to the next. The rule of thumb I use for roof tarps is to get the absolute heaviest duty tarp available from a trusted seller. Thinner tarps may be lighter and cheaper, but have almost no UV protection.

A good heavy duty tarp on a solid structure will last you years - I've got roof tarps that have been coming to the playa for 6 and 7 years in my camp, and my old camp is still using the roof tarp from the structure I designed in 2005. We use white tarps strategically for angled side walls on the structures , and the lower grade stuff we'd used in the past ends up having to get replaced after a couple years.

[BBadger]

That's why you buy decent heavy tarps like Harpster Tarps. They're thick, opaque, well reinforced, UV-treated, and never smaller than their stated size. At $40 shipped (Amazon prime), they're a great price compared to buying them from Gemplers or other places.

Costco "heavy duty" tarps are okay for light duty, but they're relatively thin, often not opaque, and their grommets suffer under strain such as wind. Their grommets didn't stand up during a wind storm at Element 11.

White tarps? They are usually not opaque, which means they're absorbing and transmitting at least visible light through them. It's a good bet they're also transmitting heat too.

[Sundial]

Silver it is then.

[CornMan]

I've always bought silver tarps. They are the coolest, but I'm getting tired of the silver look. I make a reinforced peaked canopy with a 20x40 black shade mesh put over the peak and 10x10 silver tarps put flat below that. This year, I'm going to experiment with colored tarps for decorative reasons. Hopefully, the mesh above makes it feasible, but I'll have some silver tarps on standby in case it's too hot.

[melodiousdirge]

I have found that the silver ones are heavier duty and let less light through. The white ones absorb less heat. If you have a more or less open structure where the breeze can come through, silver will do you better. If it's enclosed, well hard to say. The white will let in more light, but the surface will stay cooler.

Definitely want vinyl if your budget fits it, but the HD silver tarps hold together pretty well.

For my awning poles, I'm using a technique I've seen lots of people use - hammering rebar into the playa and then sliding an EMT pole over that. PVC works too if your structure isn't too large. Rubber feet definitely won't bite into the dust.

[Sundial]

I have found that the silver ones are heavier duty and let less light through. The white ones absorb less heat. If you have a more or less open structure where the breeze can come through, silver will do you better. If it's enclosed, well hard to say. The white will let in more light, but the surface will stay cooler.

Definitely want vinyl if your budget fits it, but the HD silver tarps hold together pretty well.

For my awning poles, I'm using a technique I've seen lots of people use - hammering rebar into the playa and then sliding an EMT pole over that. PVC works too if your structure isn't too large. Rubber feet definitely won't bite into the dust.

Could I see an image of this EMT pole? I'm kinda clueless, and not having much luck with an image search. Does EMT stand for something?

[theCryptofishist]

I forget what it stands for, or never knew, but it's a white plastic pipe. I think it's what they use for drinking water in new housing construction.

[FIGJAM]

https://www.google.com/search?sourceid= ... trical+EMT

[Sundial]

https://www.google.com/search?sourceid= ... trical+EMT

Oh THOSE things. Okay. What does one do to secure lines at the top? Drill holes or attach another piece or what?

[Sundial]

Come to think of it, I bet you could slide the rubber ends off regular tarp poles and slide those over the rebar.

[GreyCoyote]

Dunno if this helps, but in recent years I have been using white-top tarps and fabrics instead of the silver-types. Although I don't have any actual data, folks who are under them comment they are cooler.

Maybe I need to take an IR thermometer to the playa and do some measuring of backside temperatures. Seems to me this is an important point that deserves a quantitative answer. Even a few degrees of improvement would be cause enough for a FAQ.

[melodiousdirge]

https://www.google.com/search?sourceid= ... trical+EMT

Oh THOSE things. Okay. What does one do to secure lines at the top? Drill holes or attach another piece or what?

There are a few ways. You could drill a hole in the conduit itself, or weld an eyelet to it. I took sort of an overcomplicated approach and welded a bolt into the end of my 7 foot awning poles, and welded a nut into an extra 3 foot section. So my assembly plan is to drive rebar into the playa, put the 7' pole over the rebar, place the grommet in the corner of my awning over the bolt on the top of the pole, then screw the extra 3 foot section to the top, sandwiching the tarp in there and giving me a 3 foot extension over top of the awning to stick a lamp or a flag or something on. Also of course there will be some guy straps bracing each pole against lateral forces.

[Drawingablank]

Although I'm having trouble finding it, I recall seeing a discussion on eplaya last year about various tarp colors and their ability vs. both UV and infrared.

It was probably part of another shelter thread.