Insulation

[Bob Rowlands]

Based on my experience you'll need a massive wood stove to heat a 32' yurt. Look only at the biggest model a manufacturer offers. Plus, the more mass the stove has, the better.

I have a small 'fireplace insert' type welded steel wood stove with a dinky little firebox maybe 1.5 cu ft. When it is well below freezing that little dude barely heats my uninsulated drafty 16' yurt. At zero it just doesn't heat it, period, unless full on wide open and stoked every fifteen minutes.And, with a drafty porous canvas wall, the heat exits pronto.

That's why you need a tight yurt that is well insulated if the temp dips to -30. Frankly I would consider a forced air

heating

system to keep the yurt warm. But expect to pay $$$ for heat. Yurts are great, but they aren't houses.

[skippycamper]

Originally Posted by Bob Rowlands

Based on my experience you'll need a massive wood stove to heat a 32' yurt. Look only at the biggest model a manufacturer offers. Plus, the more mass the stove has, the better.

I have a small 'fireplace insert' type welded steel wood stove with a dinky little firebox maybe 1.5 cu ft. When it is well below freezing that little dude barely heats my uninsulated drafty 16' yurt. At zero it just doesn't heat it, period, unless full on wide open and stoked every fifteen minutes.And, with a drafty porous canvas wall, the heat exits pronto.

That's why you need a tight yurt that is well insulated if the temp dips to -30. Frankly I would consider a forced air

heating

system to keep the yurt warm. But expect to pay $$$ for heat. Yurts are great, but they aren't houses.

what are your thoughts on a 24 footer with a 14 footer beside it and an enclosed walkway?

just tossing ideas out there besides the 32 footer

[Bob Rowlands]

I can't make knowledable comments about yurts larger than my primitive 16'er, or yurt clusters, since I have been in neither, nor know anyone who has such. Hopefully someone on here will help you with that based on their experience.

I have looked at the floor plans of 24'ers and IMO they appear ideal for an empty nester couple. If you had an adjacent 16er you'd have a garage lol.

If you are really intent on a yurt in -30 temps another suggestion would be to build one yurt inside another and insulate between the two. Like a superinsulated house. I know that would hold the heat better than one single walled yurt.

My wife and I have lived in temps lower than -30. In fact it was below zero for a whole month and down to -50. Managing that kind of cold in a massive cloth covered gives pause for thought. Cold isn't fun if you don't have a nice warm place to hole up in.

Good luck.

[skippycamper]

I just got off the phone with Yurtzby Design and they are claiming their

insulation

is good to minus 60,..........little sketchy about that.

[SeverTheTether]

The only

insulation

they list on their website is rFoil... We have the reflective stuff AND the arctic insulation from

Shelter Designs

, and at -40F it was pretty chilly in there, I had to run a kerosene heater along side the wood burner those days. If we just had the foil, I think all the water would have froze.

[skippycamper]

Originally Posted by SeverTheTether

The only insulation they list on their website is rFoil... We have the reflective stuff AND the arctic insulation from

Shelter Designs

, and at -40F it was pretty chilly in there, I had to run a kerosene heater along side the wood burner those days. If we just had the foil, I think all the water would have froze.

thats totally what I expected. Thanks for the reply.

This insulation issue is going to be a little tricky

Whats size is your yurt and your wood stove?

[SeverTheTether]

We have a 30 foot yurt, and use a Hearthstone Castleton 8030 (CASTLETON 8030 | Wood Stoves | Hearthstone Stoves). It is rated at up to 45,000 BTU, up to 1500 Square Feet. We could probably use a slightly larger one, but I think we are going to work on some better insulation at some point.

The challenges when it gets cold are several fold. Keeping it warm and

moisture

are something we fought all last winter, and will probably fight every winter.

[skippycamper]

Originally Posted by SeverTheTether

We have a 30 foot yurt, and use a Hearthstone Castleton 8030 (CASTLETON 8030 | Wood Stoves | Hearthstone Stoves). It is rated at up to 45,000 BTU, up to 1500 Square Feet. We could probably use a slightly larger one, but I think we are going to work on some better insulation at some point.

The challenges when it gets cold are several fold. Keeping it warm and

moisture

are something we fought all last winter, and will probably fight every winter.

ooo thats a sweet album you have im just flicking through it now

[Jafo]

I have an old smaller woodstove in my 30 foot Pacific Yurt and it keeps the place pretty warm. I have been here to -20 and was walking around inside with a tshirt and shorts on. I agree with Bob that bigger is better when it comes to wood stoves. The only issue I have with my stove is that I have to load it so often since it doesn't hold a lot of wood.

[Larzo]

I have a 20 foot yurt in Maine that has the bubble/reflective insulation. I only go there for weekends and vacations but some day if I retire I could end up spending alot of time there so I want to explore ways of better insulating the yurt.

The bubble insulation seems inadequate, I found this article:

"Stay Away from Foil-Faced Bubble Wrap"
Stay Away from Foil-Faced Bubble Wrap | GreenBuildingAdvisor.com

Once the temperature gets down to near zero, I tend to not visit the yurt. I can deal with 20 degrees no problem. I only have a small jotul stove plus a kerosene heater that I try not to use too much. It's sort of like a 3.5 season camp and is fine if it is not too cold or I would not stay there for more than 4 days in the winter.

I see that traditionally felt was used for insulation, I am not sure how expensive or easy this is to find ?

GoYurting - Felt Yurt Lining, Yurt Insulation, Camping Yurt

I will have to explore the previous posts here ..
My yurt can get very hot in the summer. The skylight creates a greenhouse effect even though the sun only hits the roof in the afternoon. Would I need insulation that is removed in the summer ? I do not want to have to use air conditioning for cooling, but just fans. I am also concerned about mice getting in insulation. I have to set mice traps every fall.

The insulation should be durable and be able to last whether left on or stored someplace