Tepee,Millets

[Womble]

Had a play with it this morning, inclined to be pleased to be honest. It's *big*, the windows are diamond shaped and I reckon I can seal them no bother. The bottom edge is going to need some work because I can see what Womble meant about it creating a drip trap, need to think about that one
HWMBLT says that the Glasgow shop had these marked as half price for £59.9?,
I'm going to wait for a sunny, light wind day and put it up and seal all the seams again and decide what to do about the groundsheet/tent seam.

Cheers,
Toddy

I must admit that IF a solution could be found for the material at the bottom and drip tray/leaky windows, I'd actually quite like to keep the thing - and if I was going somwhere by car and could guarantee good weather (other UK residents start laughing hysterically at thins point...) I wouldn't mind giving it another chance.

 

[Toddy]

Leaky windows; I'm going to use the iron on, or glue on seal sealer tape over the outside stitching. I think that ought to do it. I like the shaping of them.
The bottom edge I think is going to be more problematical Theoretically the same seal sealer glue ought to be enough, but that depends on the fabric being waterproof, and your experience kind of indicates that it's not very when water is lying on it. Might be easier just to replace, or recover the entire band with something I *know* is waterproof and make a really good job of sealing the seams. D'you think that would do it?

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[mojofilter]

I have heard that that Ronsons Waterseal, the stuff that you use for brick walls and stuff, can be used sucessfully on fabrics and tarps etc....

I must admit that I really quite fancy one of these at that price

Is the peak ventilated, I can see it being a cozy little place with my Tilley radiator keeping it warm.

 

[Toddy]

Thanks for the tips on the Ronseal stuff; I'd never have thought of using that for fabric

It has a seperate flysheet cap, and there are two ground level ventilation meshes as well. Two doorways too. The cap might need to be remade from something heatproof if using a biggish stove, but there's certainly enough room inside for cooking/ socialising with normal camping equipment. I'm going to try to get hold of some fireblanket to use beneath my stove, maybe cut a fold back flap near the hole that accomodates the pole in the groundsheet to make extra sure I've got a safe patch for cooking/ heating.
I think I'll see about some sort of clamp that will fit the pole and give me two brackets at a safe height to hang candle lanterns from.
I'm having fun, can you guess?

It's definitely not a lightweight camp outfit, but for a weekend or more I think it could be very comfortable, and room to sit up comfortably and work counts for a lot these days.
Cheers,
Toddy

 

[Nemisis]

HereToddy equivilent of ronseal on weekly special at Aldi today might be worth comparing prices http://www.aldi-stores.co.uk/ item 54 of 57 near the bottom
Dave.

 

[mojofilter]

Couldn't help myself but order one.....

 

[Doc]

I'm sure I'm not the only one watching this thread with interest......I could do with a biggish tent and if the bugs can be ironed out......

Let us know how things go.

 

[Graham_S]

one of my friends' wife works in millets, i wonder if she can use her staff discount...........

 

[Doc]

Any updates from folk who've tried this tent?

 

[mojofilter]

I have had mine up in the back garden since Saturday, and it has rained pretty much every day for a while. The water does pool reound the bottom a little bit, but unlike Wombles mine has not let more than a few drops in here and there, apart from on Wednesday when I left the doors open to air it while I went to the pub, and it blimmin poured....

I have bought a 2.5l tind of Fabsil and am going to coat the whole thing with it, particularly round the bottom, and I am thinking of sealing the upward facing seams with Duck tape.

I'll take some photos later.

 

[Toddy]

How do you find the windows? I'm beginning to think they'll need to be taken out altogether. Condensation builds up on the plastic and it runs down inside the tepee. I think this is what caused the drips on Womble's sleeping bag. It might only be a problem in cold weather though and Summer is nearly here.

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[Womble]

I don't think it was condensation - there was simply too much water for that; there wasn't just drips, there were puddles. The thing was the water was running down the window flap and pooling under there - about a foot or more from any egde. Not only that, I wasn't in the teepee at the time, and it was evening.

It's my plan to get some sort of waterproof material and make a layer that covers both the patterened section and the upward pointing seam. However I'm not sure how it could be bonded onto the outer.

 

[mojofilter]

Yeah, bad condensation on the windows, they would be better gone....

 

[Toddy]

I've got a source of waterproof ripstop nylon in the same weight as the tepee, but it's a bushcraft green colour, for £1 a metre at 60" wide.
I've bought enough to make a flysheet for the entire thing and just give myself the extra layer. There'll be left over pieces if anyone wants to take the windows out and sew and then seamseal in new bits. It ought to work as an extra layer round the skirt too. I do like the size, the ease with which it goes up, and the useable space it gives for movement and hanging candle lights. I know that as bought it's not perfect, but it's still a good thing for the cost I think.

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[Toddy]

I don't think it was condensation - there was simply too much water for that; there wasn't just drips, there were puddles. The thing was the water was running down the window flap and pooling under there - about a foot or more from any egde. Not only that, I wasn't in the teepee at the time, and it was evening.

It's my plan to get some sort of waterproof material and make a layer that covers both the patterened section and the upward pointing seam. However I'm not sure how it could be bonded onto the outer.

I can send you a link for fabric but it's not the same colour as the tepee, it's a good bushcraft green ripstop, waterproof nylon. I'll probably have enough left overs to do the windows on a couple more tepees but I don't think there'll be enough to re-do the patterned bits as well.
I think the pieces could just be sewn on with a double seam, like denims, and then seam sealed with the paint on stuff or iron on tape.

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[Womble]

Yes please toddy, that would be great! How much was the lot of material you bought - to give me some idea of costs/dimensions?

 

[Womble]

I've got a source of waterproof ripstop nylon in the same weight as the tepee, but it's a bushcraft green colour, for £1 a metre at 60" wide.
I've bought enough to make a flysheet for the entire thing and just give myself the extra layer. There'll be left over pieces if anyone wants to take the windows out and sew and then seamseal in new bits. It ought to work as an extra layer round the skirt too. I do like the size, the ease with which it goes up, and the useable space it gives for movement and hanging candle lights. I know that as bought it's not perfect, but it's still a good thing for the cost I think.

Cheers,
Toddy

Overall I'm inclined to agree - it's just too good an idea to give up on. I just wish they'd put a bit more thought into its initial design!

 

[g4ghb]

could you send me the link for the fabric as well please Toddy!

 

[Toddy]

Okay, I've phoned Discount Fabrics and they're holding what's left of the green for me, I'll get in and pick it up at the start of next week. Let's see what they've got and we'll go from there. Try and have a work out of how much you might need, I think there's just under 10m left on the roll at £1 a metre, 60" wide. It's lightweight so postage won't be very much.
They do have other fabrics in stock that might do very well too; I spoke with Mazur about posting his contact details here, so if anyone phones about this they'll know what you're talking about. The fabrics are factory over runs, and they are excellent quality outdoor clothing materials. Green goretex is under £5 a metre.
Discount Fabrics, London Road, Glasgow. 07932 737 690
They're in the process of moving from 52, Moncur Street, in the Barras, to just around the corner onto the London Road. The Moncur St. phone number is 0141 552 1777

Disclaimer: I don't make anything from this recommendation, except (hopefully) friends and cheap kit

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[mojofilter]

Now I know that you are not supposed to use a naked flame in a tent, but I dare say many of us do.......

The tepee seems to be impossible to heat inside

I tried my Tilley radiator in it later on last night and it hardly seemed to hold any heat at all. Not to be beaten, I fired up my Nova at full pelt, but all I seemed to get was a heat pocket up near the peak, and very little at ground level.....