Hi everyone, It was great meeting some of you at the happy hour - and getting to thank the Danger team personally for their online yurt design contributions. It was our second year doing an H12 hexayurt - much improved experience setting up and breaking down using the Danger Camp folding method. We also debuted a swamp cooler, running exclusively on solar (no battery), which worked well, but we're hoping to improve. I wanted to share two revelations we had/learned: 1. Reinforcing door panels with wood is a great idea! But luann is not good reinforcing material. We're going to use 1/2" ply next year. The luann was too flexible and didn't provide the support we were after. The panel still warped when we tied down the H12, making the door less-than-easy to operate (and seal). This was especially problematic because our door was cut without a lower sill (we were sure it would get busted), so it dragged on the ground making for dusty annoyance. We couldn't get it close tightly most of the time, which reduced the effectiveness of our swamp cooler and dust-proofing generally. Chris and Julie shared some video and images of their door reinforcing and it looks a LOT sturdier than what we did. I think we'll replace our door panel next year and go with a lower sill and a hearty piece of 1/2" ply on the outside. We are hearty endorsers/practicers of cross-ventilation using furnace-filter'd windows on opposite walls and standard roofing vents in the dome. I'm not sure those spinning circulators are a good idea on the playa - because they probably enable dust to get in when they turn in a dust storm. Correct me if you think I'm mistaken.
We debuted a swamp cooler this year. I knew next to nothing about solar (or swamp coolers) and used my imperfect knowledge of electronics to make a series of mistakes that resulted in a functional, if not ideal, swamp cooler. Next year we'll go with more solar panels and a deep cycle battery for better performance/power. We'll also seek out better insulation for the intake pipe and find a shadier location for the whole unit. I'm interested to hear more about swamp cooler designs. At the AEZ (and at Charlie's yurt) I took in the importance of increasing airflow between the inside of the bucket and the cooler batting - using some sort of spacer. I also learned from Charlie that the ideal fan is one that pushes a column of air, rather than the wide dispersal pattern most cpu fans push. I found a good candidate - this one<http://www.frozencpu.com/products/11260/fan-720/Silverstone_Air_Penetrator_AP181_180_x_180_x_32mm_Fan_-_SST-AP181.html> - and would love to hear any feedback or suggestions about fan selection and other swamp cooler tech. Best to all! Mike Katell -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hexayurt" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/hexayurt?hl=en.
