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Extreme temps & a fear of mold

H

Heck Yeah Holler

New member
Hi friends. We are in the process of choosing a yurt with plans to live in it year round, off-grid.

We live in north east minnesota, average winter temperature is -20 F with consistent temps as low as -35 for weeks at a time.

Our main concern with living in a yurt is STAYING WARM! We will heat with wood but hope to not burn more than 4 cords of wood/winter (wood stoves up here typically run non-stop from October 15 until May 1st)

What yurt should we go with? Is the Shelter Designs "Arctic Insulation" package truly above and beyond what Pacific and Colorado offer?

Also, we are terrified of mold. Is there a way stay truly warm and not get mold?
 
Our Mongolia Yurts have kept the nomads of the steppe warm for a 1,000 years. Mongolia routinely reaches -40 for months. The Mongolian yurts are lower lying keeping heat down and reducing windage, insulated with 100% wool felt and wrapped in a weather resistant cotton canvas. The materials breathe allowing you to cook inside with out building up condensation. Not to forget the wool has natural lanolin in it to prevent mildew. During the winter we can easily cook ourselves out of the yurt if we crank the stove in 0 degree temperatures. We use a little Jotul 602Cb stove. Get in contact with us from our website. SunTime Yurts we will happily answer all your questions. We have couple yurts still in inventory.
 
Heck Yeah Holler. You can check the thread "r-value" for this exact discussion going on there. You can take from it what you'd like. I live in one full time in Eastern Canada in a yurt purchased from one of the big manufactures in North America. It's not going well. Yes they keep warm but you're looking at 10 cord of wood in a 30 footer a year to be comfortable and condensation issues are terrible. Anyways. Check out the thread... it helps to see the ongoing living experiences.
 
Mold can definitely be an issue depending on what insulation you use and how much moisture you introduce inside. Heating is not really an issue IMO. You will go through a bit of wood, probably more than 4 cords. You have to ventilate and that introduces cool air at times. If you don't ventilate, you absolutely will have moisture issues living in one full time.
 
Without ventilation? Yes you would still have problems. Just consider how much moisture a human exhales, along with bringing in snow on your feet, etc..
 
we would ventilate. but i guess i don't know exactly what that means...cracking the dome? how often? daily? multiple times per day? Sorry that I have no knowledge.
 
Cracking the dome works for me, usually during the warmest part of the day. I must remind everyone though, I do not live in my yurt full time.
 
I have heard of them. My only concern about rocket stoves is their weight. I understand they can weigh up to 1,500 pounds. You really are going to need a stable reinforced platform IMO.
 
Indeed. I know zip about those stove systems. However, if the footprint of the stove is say six square feet you're at almost three hundred pounds per square foot floor loading. WAY more than a trad wood floor system. Really, you need a concrete foundation under such load.
 
Um, 6 sq ft would be a bit small (2 ft x 3 ft). With a large mass like that, it's more likely to be something like 10 to 25 ft square (say 5 ft by 5 ft). This would give you more like 60 psf for a 1500 lb stove--fairly close to a normal loading if I recall. But yes, it is something to be *very* mindful off.

No one on this forum has done it so far that I know of, but there are people thinking about it. The thermal mass of the stove compliments the yurt's lack thereof, you'd hopefully burn less without having to stoke the fire at night. It might work better with the aluminumized mylar/bubble wrap insulation many yurts have. But a large stove could take up precious space in a yurt--best make it functional, like a large bench or bed (spreads the weight out, too).
 
We moved into a 30ft yurt in Vermont a little over a year ago. We ended up adding traditional fiberglass insulation between the 2x4s that came with the snow and wind package. This helped keep more heat in... But we got ice building up between the insulation and the wall - presumably because there isn't a moisture barrier like conventional homes. Anyone encountered this problem before? Are afraid of mold
 
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