Does anyone have experience with tipi's..putting up,living in,etc. My daughter wants to put a 24' one out in our woods to live rent-free next year. What size stove would heat this ? Any help appreciated.

-- MUTTI (windance@train.missouri.org), January 07, 2000

Answers

Having only spent a few nights in one, so take this with a grain of salt. The amount of heat required in a Tipi is very minimal, a stove made from a 5 gallon bucket would be more than enough.

-- Rich (pntbeldyk@wirefire.com), January 11, 2000.

Bear in mind that the R value of a tipi is VERY low. Therefore, it takes a lot of heat, compared to a house. But since it is smaller than a house, you can heat them with about the same amount of wood as you'd use in medium sized house. Putting a liner in it helps a bit, too.

The thing with a tipi; you can have it toasty warm when the fire's blazing, but once the fire goes out, the tipi reaches ambient temperature very quickly.

Obviously, the size of stove, and amount of wood required, will depend on your climate. The tipis I've stayed in were in Grants Pass, Oregon, (mild) and Punta Arena, California, (very mild). My friends set one up here on Jumpoff Joe, but way upstream from me, at about 3000 feet, ,and complained that they froze their butts off.

-- jumpoff joe (jumpoff@echoweb.net), January 11, 2000.

Lived in a tipi for a week as a girl. One of the most important things you can do is make sure you use appropriet materials. (Papermaking felt stinks!!!!) You can insulate a tipi by using 2 layers. Natives used moss, grass, etc. Make sure you insulate the ground as well. I've heard about using sawdust covered with tarps and then carpets. Good luck!

-- annette (j_a_henry@yahoo.com), March 11, 2000.

I've never built a teepee, but I have a built and occupy a Mohawk Longhouse in the mountains of New Hampshire, especially during the winter months. The long house is 32' long and 11 feet wide. At the deepest end of the long house, there are 2 elevated sleeping platforms. Between the 2 platforms is a cheap wood stove, that is used for cooking and heat as well. In the middle of the long house is a fire pit, used for cooking and atmosphere. Directly above the fire pit there's a flap that opens to allow smoke to excape the long house. In the front 3rd of the long house I keep dried firewood, food and utensil storage. The long house is made from tiger maple saplings that are arched and tied together every 8 to 10 inches. Beyond that there's a center ridge pole the length of the long house that is 6 to 8" diameter Oak. The arched tiger maple saplings are topped with a double layer of fire retardant tarps. While the longhouse is not insulated, I've constantly gotten temperatures of 65 degree's during a 15 or 20 degree night. I have pictures that I can e-mail people of the building of the frame, for the long house, the tarp covering and the interior. A long house is certainly more comfortable and accommodating than a teepee could ever be. It's pretty difficult to put an addition on a teepee, but with a long house you just keep making it longer! A great way to enjoy a layed back lifestyle where the rat race doesn't matter!

-- Ed Chandler (EChand5000@aol.com), August 16, 2001.