Videos of Projects Going On at Wheaton Labs!!

Here is my thread where I will post videos of the projects at Wheaton Labs I took video of while I was there.

My first one was this tour of almost every project out there. I missed a few but I was only there for 24 hours so I got as much as I could!!

And here is the first individual project video: the tipi with a rocket mass heater inside!

Love this! I've been there now ;) Thanks, Cassie....

Looks great!

Rocket mass heaters are Good Things.

That's awesome. What is the temp outside, and what is the temp inside the tipi?

Hi Cassie!

I am very impressed with your vlogs and this video. The music, view going towards the tipi, and showing around the inside, and the presentation were great. Thank you all.

Yay! Glad you are all enjoying them! I am not sure of the exact temps. All I know is that I was getting too hot while we were shooting because I was standing close to the rocket mass heater and I had a full a full winter coat on.. haha But Where Jesse is sitting is like perfect temperature!

I love your videos, thank you all for this plethora of information!

Happy to see that the tipi is being used and loved!

I noticed at the end of the video that the fire was not performing well. This is a message for Jesse and Sam: make sure that you don't overload that particular rocket mass heater. There were flames and a little smoke coming up the wood feed, which is not good. The RMH in the tipi needs to be primed well before use in order for that to be avoided. And a lot of times if you over load the wood feed it will begin to smoke back and burn back. So: prime it well and don't put too much wood in at a time. If it begins to flame back, try a new method the next time you light it. =)

I loved getting a chance to see inside the tipi, nice job. I would LOVE to see more of it. Did you have any other footage of it or just the one pan? I was hoping to see it from the door so I could get a feel for how you'd lay out something like that. And maybe just more of the RMH feed and barrel etc.

I think you're the perfect person to do these, you've got that youthful spark that helps make everything seem more fun. Keep it up.
-Kelly

Interesting video, although there are a few things about a tee pee and its engineering that weren't utilized that would make it more comfortable.
I lived in a tee pee for 4 years, and here are some tricks;

1; the interior liner isn't high enough, it should be head height when standing to keep the warmth in and let the fresh air circulate between the outer shell and the liner without you feeling a breeze of cold air. This will also evacuate smoke up wards when using a standard fire in the center of the tee pee.

2; a good layer of fluffed straw all around the outside of the tee pee keeps the snow and cold from blowing in under the edge of the tee pee, keeping things dry while still providing fresh air, it also helps to keep critters out. The straw will greatly slow the tie-downs from rotting due to moisture.

3; a double layered entry, one on the outside of the tee pee (preferably waterproof) that keeps the snow/rain outside, and the other layer on inside of the entrance. This also helps to keep the living space cleaner.

4; Many traditional dwelling floors are covered with a good layer (6") of cedar bows turned sticky side down, again it creates an air pocket for warmth, you could lay carpet or the like over that as not to trip up. The cedar bows are a great air freshener.

These four "tricks" will make the tee pee very comfortable, and your RMH won't need as much wood.

Cheers! K

Here is a video of Sam talking about the porta-cabin/love-shack out at Wheaton Labs! Yay sam!



You can see heaps more pictures of the porta-cabin here:
https://permies.com/t/29134

If you have any questions or comments, you can ask them here:
https://permies.com/forums/posts/list/40/29134

You can see all of the other stuff going on at Wheaton Labs here:
https://permies.com/forums/f-102/labs

Here is the tiny house forum out at permies.com:
https://permies.com/forums/f-141/

Well done, looks great, do you have any video of the insides?

Paul talking all about the pebble style rocket mass heater in his office!!