This is our first winter in our 22ft Groovy Yurt and so far it's been fantastic. We've had some issues with moisture but seem to have fixed that by pre-drying all of our firewood in our sauna. We're in northern Ontario but this has been a relatively mild winter with no prolonged cold spells. Our coldest morning was -35C(-31F) and the temp inside stayed in the low to mid 20's (75degF) through the night. We heat with an old Stanley cookstove that weighs about 700 lbs, so there is a lot of mass to store heat. It is rated somewhere around 33k btu's but we're not working it hard at all and only burning low btu content softwood. This has been a pretty enjoyable winter and much more relaxing than listening to a furnace suck money out of our wallets.
How's Your Yurt Handling The Cold?
- Thread starter Jafo
- Start date
I forgot to mention the all important data- we are calculating that our firewood consumption by season's end will be in the range of 4-5 bush cords. Much less than feared.
Surely Yurts - Steve
Manufacturer Representative
Bob Rowlands
New member
Extremely nice stove.
TalkingTrees
New member
..just designing and ordering my new yurt home, and wondering about the option of double felt.. it does come with a 9mm felt layer (although not sure whether it is wool or a synthetic blend)..
Is it worth the massive extra cost (extra $1600AUS), or are there cheaper ways to insulate?
I will be in the snowy mountains (5'c or 35f) on average during winter, but have a big wood stove I want to install for cooking and hot water also..
Is it worth the massive extra cost (extra $1600AUS), or are there cheaper ways to insulate?
I will be in the snowy mountains (5'c or 35f) on average during winter, but have a big wood stove I want to install for cooking and hot water also..
Bob Rowlands
New member
IMO, if you have the money, go ahead and just buy the insulation. aerect the yurt, insulate it witha proven maerial, and boom, done. Aside from money, the only reason to dink around testing and making your own insulation is you need something to do. lol
Surely Yurts - Steve
Manufacturer Representative
Thanks for noticing the stove Bob.
I call this woodstove 'gentle ben' because it buts out a really nice even heat and never seems to spike up too harshly.
Grew up with it on my grandmothers back porch... When she passed in '98 this is what I got out of her house and it really means a lot to me.
Trees
Though it is synthetic... Using reflective bubble insulation makes a really nice vapor barrier to help keep out condensation and mold that come with cold climates and extreme temperature fluctuations. Could be used in addition to the felt which comes with your kit.
You can get a 6 foot by 100 foot roll for around 4 hundred bucks depending upon where you are.
I call this woodstove 'gentle ben' because it buts out a really nice even heat and never seems to spike up too harshly.
Grew up with it on my grandmothers back porch... When she passed in '98 this is what I got out of her house and it really means a lot to me.
Trees
Though it is synthetic... Using reflective bubble insulation makes a really nice vapor barrier to help keep out condensation and mold that come with cold climates and extreme temperature fluctuations. Could be used in addition to the felt which comes with your kit.
You can get a 6 foot by 100 foot roll for around 4 hundred bucks depending upon where you are.
We went with a double layer of felt that adds up to about one inch total thickness. We are roasty-toasty cozy even down to -35c but at warmer temps (anything warmer than -10c) we have to ventilate. Our stove is a 700lb Waterford Stanley cookstove and we don't like to let the fire go out, so it idles most of the time. By 'not going out', I mean that we wait until there is the tiniest little remnant of an orange coal before restocking the firebox. Often, when putting fresh wood in, the remaining coals disintegrate and fall through the fire grate (I think that's where 'disinteGRATE' comes from) but it still relights without paper or matches. Mass really helps maintain draft. We've noticed a big improvement in heat retention by having snow bermed up to 2/3 of the wall height. I hope this helps.
Bob Rowlands
New member
disintegrate lol Thnks for the post.
We're in the middle of our 4th winter in our Groovy Yurt and we can't imagine ever living in a "normal" house ever again. We consistently go through about 4.5 bush cords of firewood per year--90% of it being spruce, with poplar for warm days and birch or tamarack for cold nights. Right now, it's about -34C/-30F outside and it's 25C/77F inside with no strain whatsoever on our cookstove. If it gets really cold tonight I'll use a piece of birch that I've been saving for years but haven't needed yet.
We're in a 22ft Groovy Yurt with double felt and an 8inch Styrofoam floor directly on the ground. -42C/-44F this morning and still 24-26C inside.
audreylen27
New member
We moved in and hadn't finished all insulation. We have a small wood stove and a propane heater. It still was hit and miss. My husband got up several times during the night to put more wood on. We keep layers of clothes on and sleep with plenty of blankets. I'm sure once we get the roof insulated it will be much better. The inside got to 40's one night.
Wintergreen282
New member
That’s crazy! (Crazy good!). Congratulations. I do think the traditional yurts with lower ceilings and fewer (no?) windows are much easier to heat. It’s “only” 3 degrees F here in NH and my 24’ White Mountain yurt was 43F degrees this morning. (My stove is small and I don’t get up at night. Preferring to just dress warm in the AM. I don’t have to be anywhere, which helps a lot. Probably wouldn’t work if I had to actually put “water to my hair or body”. Or more likely - would quickly head to a gym.)
Anyway. I do think this is a very important point about traditional vrs westernized yurts in cold climates. And because of the moisture issue, it seems you can’t really insulate your way to a more climate controlled environment. Still. I, too, love my yurt life and will live here as long as I possibly can.
Anyway. I do think this is a very important point about traditional vrs westernized yurts in cold climates. And because of the moisture issue, it seems you can’t really insulate your way to a more climate controlled environment. Still. I, too, love my yurt life and will live here as long as I possibly can.