Instruction Additions for 30 and 31 Shelter Systems' Domes and Yurts

These Instructions Additions to our standard Manual explains in how to erect 30' and 31'. Be sure to study the Standard Manual for details relating to ALL other aspects of your dome as this manual is updated most often.

Assembling and Disassembling Your Dome: Wear eye protection and gloves for safety. Have two strong friends help you set up your dome. Start by setting aside your (8 for the 30' or 12 for the 31') short poles from your pole set. Spread the dome on top of your floor or a large tarp so that the dome's connectors are visible and the top of the dome (marked with a strip of fabric). Take care that your dome's covering is not pinched between your domes poles or connectors and any hard surface, such as concrete, asphalt or rocks, as the dome's covering could be cut. If you must set up your dome on a hard surface then, at all times, keep the covering tucked under the dome away from the thrust of the poles.

Taking one pole at a time, insert it into one connector at the top of the dome. Insert the other end of the pole into a connector outward from the center of the dome. Insert the next three long poles from the center outward. You should now have formed an X at the top of the dome such that there should only be a little slack in the covering under the poles. Continue bending and inserting long poles working out and down from the top. Note: it does not matter which connector is on top and which is underneath; random is best; however if the poles seem unusually tight you might try switching the order of the connectors.

Here you can see we have added the first 4 long poles creating an X with 4 poles that radiate out from the top center clip's two connectors. Now with 8 poles create a 2 by 2 grid of regular squares by adding the 8 poles around the first 4 poles. As more poles are added, the canopy will become tighter requiring that you bend the poles and pull on the connectors to fit the poles in place.

Continue working out from this 2 by 2 grid by adding 12 poles. Each of these 12 poles points away from the center. Enclose these poles with 12 more poles to create a 4 by 4 grid of squares.

At each of the extreme 4 corners of your 4 by 4 grid you will find that there are three connectors attached to each of these 4 clips. Six poles will eventually intersect at these 4 clips which each have 3 connectors instead of the standard two; but do not add these additional poles at this time. First add one long pole to the middle of each of the 4 sides of your 4 by 4 grid. Next add one short pole to each side of the one long pole you added in the last step. Now you should have a total of 12 poles (4 long and 8 short extending out from the 4 by 4 grid.

Next add a ring of 20 long poles. Then 20 more that radiate out towards the ground. If you have a 30' Dome, Yurt or GroDome then you are done. If you have a 31' then continue to add poles as show below.

Now add 4 short poles radial out from the 3 way connections. If you have trouble inserting any of the short poles, remove the long poles adjacent to the window panels and then insert the short poles first. Then fill in the ring with 16 more long poles. Next extent outward with 20 long poles to complete the 31' YurtDome or GroDomes

This may sound and look complicated but the simple fact that you can not place a pole where there is no connector allows the construction of the dome to be a matter of adding one pole at a time while continuing to work out from the top center of the dome. Also, you can not fit a long pole where a short one is to go as there is not enough covering under the connectors to allow it to fit.

Tricks for tube bending: The 30 and 31 foot Yurt Domes are the most difficult to put up. Make sure you have two strong people working on it. If you have trouble bending the poles try one or more of the following:

See attached photo; also try inserting the upper end of the pole first then the lower. One technique is to insert a leg between the dome and the pole to use the body to help bend the pole. Another is to use the lower connectors as a lever to pry the pole into it. Try having your help pull out on the middle of the pole to bend it (being careful not to pull so hard that the pole kinks) while you pull on the connector, that the other end of the pole is to go into, to stretch the dome's covering underneath the pole.

To get a pole to arch, fit one end of it on to a connector, then grab the pole in the center and pull outward from the dome. Simultaneously push the other end of the pole inward . At the same time, put this end in the next connector.

Note when putting up your dome in the cold: The poles of the dome are made of PVC, a thermo plastic, which gets stiffer with the cold. In putting up the dome the poles are bent and inserted into connectors. It is preferable that the domes be set up during the day when the air temperature is warmer. Poles may be kept warm by wrapping them in a blanket with several large bottles of boiling hot water. Once the poles are warm remove and insert them one at a time from the blanket. If the domes are set up in the extreme cold with out warming the poles some may break. This should not be a problem however since we include 4 extra poles with each dome.

After all poles are in, turn your dome so the doors face the direction you want. Hook all the doors closed. (Leave them closed until the dome is anchored.) Your dome knows how to hold itself in a nice circle for staking out the bottom if the doors are closed.

The 30' Yurt Domes™ are set up as the other domes but require more strength to lift the dome when adding poles. Notice also that the 8 short poles go just above the 8 door openings.

Doors: The fabric strips across the threshold of the doors hold the door openings in their proper spacing. This strip can be cut after staking if it proves to be in the way. However, try to avoid cutting it since the dome's base will spring out without the strip, and if you move your yurt you will need to reestablish this spacing by moving the stakes towards each other so that your door flaps will overlap your door openings. If your door openings are adjusted to the correct width, the doors should

seal without a gap when closed.

A pole can be added to the lower edge of each door to hold the door tight and make it easier to use. The door pole goes over the plugs attached to the corners of each door. One side of the door can be left

hooked closed all the time if you do not need the extra ventilation. This is particularly nice if you're using a door pole, since it allows the door to swing open and shut easily. In strong winds, hook both sides closed. Binder clips are provided with your dome to secure the doors in wind or when a tight seal is desired. They also work well on net doors. They hold best if you overlap the door and side wall materials a little as you clip them together. If you want more binder clips, you can get them at a stationery store.

To prop your door open, tuck the tip of the door pole under an adjacent horizontal pole. Of course, if you aren't using a door pole, just roll the door panel up and tuck it over the pole above the door.

Note: that the 30' does not use door poles. Door poles come only with the 14',18' and 20'. You can rig a door pole for the 30' with one of your spare poles by drilling a 1/4" hole .5" from each end of the pole and tying the two ends to the two clip cords at the bottom of both sides of the door.

Wind and Snow Warning

Shelter Systems' Domes are stronger for their weight and materials used than any other structure. Still they are light weight portable structures and as such are not designed to hold unusually strong wind, year round wind or much snow.

When possible, avoid exposed hilltops and narrow valleys where wind speed increases. Trees and

brush between you and the wind help protect your shelter. If you do not have natural protection from the wind you can create a wind screen out of straw bales. Your dome could be destroyed in extreme weather and your life or safety could be at risk. In heavy snow or wind your dome could collapse, damaging what you have or compromising your shelter. Do not rely on your dome as your only shelter. Accumulated snow, must be melted or shaken off.

Just as you would not expect to be able to climb up on top of your dome and have it hold you, it will not support much snow. If you plan to use your dome in the snow you will need to knock off the snow periodically or melt it off with heat from with in the dome. If the dome should collapse some poles may brake (these are easy to repair or inexpensive to replace) with unusually little or no damage to the covering. However items stored inside could be damaged by the weight or melting of the snow.

The covering will have a shorten life in areas that have constant winds. The dome's covering can fail or the covering be ripped from the clips in extreme wind.

If your dome is free from its anchors it can tumble and blow away and possibly collide with and damage people or property. Do not let your dome get away from you anchor it well.

Even if you anchor your dome well, extreme wind can rip the guy line clips and poles off your dome and your dome will fail.

WARNING: Your Yurt Dome shelter could be destroyed in extreme weather and your life or safety could be at risk. In heavy snow or wind your Yurt Dome could collapse, damaging what you have or compromising your shelter. Do not rely on your Yurt Dome as your only shelter. Accumulated snow, must be melted or shaken off periodically. Do not set your Your Dome under a tree or branch that might fall on you. Keep all flames and heat away from your Yurt Dome's covering and objects in your yurt dome.

Storage: Brush off all the dirt that you can. Make sure the dome is completely dry. If you have to take the dome down wet, plan to hang it

indoors from the top clip until it's dry before packing. Remove stakes, vent tubes and poles. The liner may stay attached. We've found the following folding technique to be the easiest. Lay the dome on its own floor. Put one stake in the ground, to use as an anchor during folding. Hook the clip string at the very top center of the dome to the stake. Pull all the dome's edges so that it fans out and lies flat, one half on top of the other half. Then pleat-fold it so that the canopy forms a narrow triangle 4' wide at the base. Try to get each fold as flat as possible. Slip the tip of the triangle off the stake now and begin rolling it tightly down toward the wide end until you've got a nice bundle. Clean and dry both sides of the floor. After the floor is dry, fold it into a 4' wide strip. Lay the tent roll and other small parts at one end and roll the whole thing up tightly. Wrap your dome in the material you received it in and use strings to hold the roll tight.

Now tie the poles into a bundle. To get it nice and tight, wrap string twice around the bundle of poles and use a packer's knot. This is a kind of slip knot that holds tight.

You can use a house vacuum to compress your packed dome to about 1/2 its volume; roll and pack

up your dome as above; warp in its wrapper it came with; tape the long seam of the wrapper; tape any holes in the wrapper. twist one end tight and then fold and tape this twisted end to the package; insert your vacuum hose in the other end twist and tape it tight; turn on your vacuum; with the vacuum on push on the package and it will compress to about 1/2 its original size; now tape around and around your package with the vacuum still on (this is to hold the package compressed when you remove the vacuum. now remove the vacuum and tape the end of your package closed.

WARNING: Your Yurt Dome shelter could be destroyed in extreme weather and your life or safety could be at risk. In heavy snow or wind your yurt could collapse, damaging what you have or compromising your shelter. Do not rely on your yurt dome as your only shelter. Accumulated snow, must be melted or shaken off periodically. Do not set your yurt dome under a tree or branch that might fall on you. Keep all flames and heat away from your yurt dome's covering and objects in your yurt dome.

1 1/2-YEAR GUARANTEE. If for any reason you're not completely pleased with your purchase, return it in original, clean condition within 30 days of receipt for a full refund or exchange as you wish. All items in this catalog have a warranty against defects in materials and workmanship for 1 1/2 years. Should any product prove defective we will repair or replace it at no cost to you. Special Orders are not returnable. Read Snow and Wind Warnings.

Questions? Orders & Customer Service: Toll Free 866-777-1066 or 831-464-2002 eleanor@shelter-systems.com Technical: 650-323-6202 bob@shelter-systems.com. Copyright © Shelter Systems 1976 - 2008 All Rights Reserved

Instruction Additions for 30' & 31' Yurts & Domes

Wind and Snow Warning