I read the manual. This is never a good first step.

Paul F · Post by **Paul F** » Mon Jan 07, 2013 9:31 am

Well its arrived. Got the tool, read the manual, watched the dvd... You guys make it look easy.

Got 2 questions so far. More will probably come as I actually get out and try this thing. First, the holes marked P are for pivot, I get that, but whats the R ones for?

Second, page 7 gives a chart on what poles to use for each size gloo, for the 7' it says use the #2 hole on the 10' pole, fourth from the right. That hole on my 10' pole is fifth from the right. One of them is fibbing me.

I've got 7 inch of sugar outside and probably doing my first one solo. Assuming I can get the dome up, this means I'll be cutting the door right into the side, no trench. This should be interesting.

Igloo Ed · Post by **Igloo Ed** » Mon Jan 07, 2013 5:32 pm

Paul F wrote:watched the dvd... You guys make it look easy.

Hmmm, seems I've heard that before.... Then consider, that DVD was filmed about ten years ago, I've built another 200, or so, igloos since then. LOL.

Got 2 questions so far. More will probably come as I actually get out and try this thing. First, the holes marked P are for pivot, I get that, but whats the R ones for?

R is for ramp, I change the pole length on the middle block of the ramp and use the R hole when it is available. Basically, there needs to be an average setting between the settings of the numbered layer holes. I was considering marking it A for average but my partner thought it a bit much to have both... a P hole and an A hole.

Second, page 7 gives a chart on what poles to use for each size gloo, for the 7' it says use the #2 hole on the 10' pole, fourth from the right. That hole on my 10' pole is fifth from the right. One of them is fibbing me.

Fibbing? That's down right lying!
Actually, thanks very much for pointing that out. It looks like some editing on the manual was missed when we added the R holes to the poles a couple years ago. This is the first time anyone has pointed it out also.
It should read "Fifth from the right".

I've got 7 inch of sugar outside and probably doing my first one solo. Assuming I can get the dome up, this means I'll be cutting the door right into the side, no trench. This should be interesting.

I've had times where I prefer the sugar snow when I have an experienced team working with me. It takes a lot less muscle to pack the sugar. Good luck.

Paul F · Post by **Paul F** » Tue Jan 08, 2013 4:16 pm

Glad I could help with the manual. All ya needed was someone dumb enough for it to confuse!

Well its dark out and the 7 footer is up. Took a flashlight out to finish the final layers. Since I'm working with sugar things got a little trickier to pack once I was down to the inner panel and I am not confident the top was packed as tight as it could have been. Felt a bit like a roman architect pulling the pole out when the keystone block was in place, but it was nice enough to stay put. I can see why you build these things out of snow. Not for its structural value or availability, but because you can just flop down afterwards and get a full body ice pack!

I had to work around my 9yo helpers school schedule, but up until the 4th course I was almost entirely solo. On the 5th it was a bit of a clown car act with me wedged through the hole to pack while he tossed snow in my face. Once that hole was too small I finished the last blocks solo. Going to let the thing set up overnight and hopefully snap a few pics of it tomorrow.

Overall I am quite pleased with the tool. I can already see a lot of mistakes I made, and had to readjust the mold several times to compensate for the block beneath having been packed at the wrong angle. The catenary curve came out looking like more of a bell curve, but it still stands! Not sure when I'll be able to make the next one but will be looking forward to it!

One last question. I took a 6 D-cell maglite into the thing and aside from the door, I couldnt see any light through it. What kind of lanterns are you guys using in those pics to make them glow like that?

*edit* finally got out to get some pics. These were taken 2 days after the build was finished.

PineMartyn · Post by **PineMartyn** » Sun Jan 13, 2013 7:42 pm

Congratulations on your first build!

I had the good fortune of having a wife who was as keen to build an igloo as I was. I was much less sanguine about building one solo however, so I built my first 7-footer with her help, in a mere 2.5 hours, then built one by myself in 4, and then went camping solo and built one in the same time. It's a great feeling of accomplishment.

I hope to see more pics of your future igloos.

Cheers,
- Martin

Igloo Ed · Post by **Igloo Ed** » Mon Jan 14, 2013 6:50 pm

Paul F wrote:One last question. I took a 6 D-cell maglite into the thing and aside from the door, I couldnt see any light through it. What kind of lanterns are you guys using in those pics to make them glow like that?

*edit* finally got out to get some pics. These were taken 2 days after the build was finished.

Yep, congrats on your first igloo, and it sounds like there'll be more. Sweet.
The glowing igloos are time exposures. My small lantern that is supposed to be equal to a 75 watt light takes about a 3 minute exposure and shows an orange light.
Most of the white glowing igloos are taken by setting a camera flash off inside the igloo. It takes about twelve flashes.
Keep at it and I'm always here to answer questions along with a few others.

www.Grandshelters.com

I read the manual. This is never a good first step.

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