Yurt dwelling, moved from communal forum

Hey everyone,
i started this thread in the communal forums yesterday, but have since thought that maybe it would get abetter reception and responce from the people at this forum, as this would probably be better defined as outdoor living.
The link is http://www.hipforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=139066
My message basically was:
"im wondering does anybody know of any resources on yurt/ger dwelling, specifically in the modern day united kingdom.I know where to buy yurts, but now i wanna know how i can live comfortabley in one (in an ecologically sound way). www.fourdog.com is THE place for stoves i know, but does anywhere in england sell them (id say transportation would cost alot)? And oh yea, is there anyway to get a little electricity into the place (just for lighting and maybe a small freezer to freeze food)..... iv been looking into generators, anyone have any ideas?"
So can anyone else help me out here?"
Thanks a million for helping guys.
Peace and love

 

lol...ok so nobody here has any knowledge about outdoor living? weird for a camping/outdoor living thread.

 

United Kingdom was the killer, I'm in the Colonies and so I can't help you any. But I often thought of Yurt living, or possibly even using a Tipi as you can have an open fire in them and they are a little more portable. As far as electricity I would use solar panels and batteries, personally I would attempt to live as they did before electricity, drying food, canning, or root cellaring. Not sure of the weather in the UK, but here in the Colonies we have some sunny days, freezing days so certain things are going to be a challenge. I've backpacked in my younger years, taught scouts and research pre 1840 living. I'm no expert on anything but just have fun. Unfortunately I'm getting older and had a family to support so I couldn't just live like I want to. Now that my kids are grown and it is just the wife and me and if she don't like it - it will just be me!

Dave

 

Maybe you could look into a fridge/freezer that runs on gas? As for lighting you could get a gas lamp? I checked out a yurt recently and it was beautiful. I would definatley consider living in one. They cost $7000 including set up here in Australia and I saw them on ebay recently too.

 

here are some ger makers in the netherlands......
http://www.nooitmeerhaast.nl/index.html
they have a great gallery full of pics......

here is a guy in canada who built his 24 foot ger for $800 us dollars....
http://www.fieldlines.com/story/2005/7/9/195611/4449

here is a couple who made their ger from free scrap wood ....it has a simple design and looks relatively easy to make......
http://www.cco.net/~str8jkt/yurt.html

and here are a few more yurt manufactures....
http://www.woodlandyurts.co.uk/

..here is one that sells & makes portable wood stoves in the uk....
http://www.albioncanvas.co.uk/

http://www.yurtinfo.org/index.php

 

For electricity a generator will get you started, from there you can add batteries and then green energy sources according to your budget. For efficient lighting you can use 12v domestic LED lamps: only 1.8w each which justifies the cost! I know of an eco-dweller using just such a solution and she has very little power. Available from any good place that sells lighting for the electrician or builder.

Unfortunatly generating reliable green energy for unconventional housing is a topic in itself and I havn't found any "here is what you do" type rules or instructions yet! Some systems are clearly for full domestic setups in "proper" houses, but some people off here have been using DIY alternators and batteries. For inbetween there seem plenty of companies that cater for the eco-hippy, but prices are not cheap and can vary wildly with questionable performance from the products themselves.

 

led lights are no good for lighting domestic situations. try 12v flourescent lighting from batteries.

 

Not sure where you got that idea from??? They are not single LED's but super bright LED clusters. Flourescent lights were the best alternative before this new wave of domestic LED lighting came along, but during the winter months I would much rather pay the extra for the LED clusters and have reduced electricity needs - i also happen to prefer the light of led lamps as opposed to the washed out light of flourescent lamps

I've also heard you can blacken flourescent lamps when the batteries start to weaken, though I guess using one of those electricity filters to protect equipment is a must anyway.

toolstation.com stock led clusters

or you can build your own cluster by buying a suitable type from maplin.co.uk, i had a look and was left baffled but i know of somebody that has made a super bright torch that lasts ages on just a quartet of batteries

 

i have seen a heap of clusters all packed into a long fluoro tube type clear case. it produced bugger all light and used about 58watts and the power factor was terrible ie using a heap of current. leds are ok for directional light only in about a decade or so it may be true that they will eventually be useful for proper lighting. fluros are more more efficient than leds ie they produce more light for given energy.

 

Not sure we're talking about the same thing to be honest - 58w sounds like a huge amount. My advice to irish_hippy is to spend a tenner on each and decide which you prefer! If you are generating a surplus amount of energy then LED's become less advantageous but even so I have flourescent lighting in half of the rooms where I live now and I just don't like the feel/type of light they produce - if it was off grid and I had enough energy available I would probably go with regular bulbs.

It would be good to hear off somebody actually using domestic LED lighting. Judy of the woods does but her site appears to have been down for some time. http://www.judyofthewoods.com

 

Hi Irish Hippy, Sound to me like you just need a stove and a comfy bed. Running water and some PV panels to create electricity would be nice. I don't know if i'd fancy a generator spoiling the ambience so when affordable the PV's would be the way forward. Check out www.lowimpact.org for more info on these and compost toilets etc. Yurts vary greatly in price, I'd check out www.worldtents.co.uk and www.albioncanvas.co.uk as a couple of examples. You'd need batteries to store your electricity through the night and freezers use alot of electricity so you'd be better off trying to live without one. Good luck, I'd be interested to hear what you end up doing.


Enjoy it!!

 

why buy a yurt?? make your own ..the originators of the yurt don't go out and buy them ready made ..a yurt is simple in concept .building it solid for permanent living in a stationary spot would be a little different but not insurmountable

 

I concur!

 

notice that there is always talk of led lights versus fluorecent .......if you are going to be stationary ,why bother with those ..good old fashioned kerosene lamps lit homes for longer than electricity did ..they are cheap and if handled with care and kept out of where they can be upset or tipped over they are ideal ....i have a generator at home,candles too but for standby lights i keep my kerosene lanterns full and wicks trimmed ,ready for use ....every time i light one i get nostalgic because the next town over where my grandfather lived ,had no power ..all kerosene lamps for lights