Bananas.org - View Single Post - Permanent banana shelter for winter and spring

PR-Giants · 09-07-2013, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Olafhenny

Okay, Ramanon, no insult taken.

Here are however a few figures which might help point out the difference between my shelter
and a contractor's vinyl bag:

Okay, Styrofoam (polystyrene), one inch thick has an r-value of 4. Two layers of that in my
shelters have an r-value of 8. Add to that the glass fibre filler I intent to add in fall, with a
nominal r-value of 9 for the three inches and you get a total of 17.

Admittedly stuffing glass fibre between the polystyrene layers will not quite achieve that, so
let us assume a final r-value of 15 total. That would be the equivalent of a twelve inch stack
of plywood. Since frost here only goes a few inches deep at most, I consider my shelter
sufficient in keeping the content frost free.

Certainly it will be superior to the leaf mulch I have employed successfully in past winters,
especially since the pyramid shape is relatively open to the warm soil below.

Oh yes, you need a concrete wall of more than 7.5 feet thickness to achieve r = 15

Note: r = resistance to temperature penetration.

In the tropics concrete walls and roofs are nice, cool during the day, warm and cozy at night.