Bob was correct. The line you quoted about the "pup tent" came from my original post back in August 2008.
A very important point came after the line you quoted. It talks about using a fan to keep the air moving. If you don't have the humid air exhausting out from inside the plastic "pup tent" the moisture has no place to which causes the problems you describe. That would be bad.
Ventilation is critical to the success of the technique. Without it, the pup-tent is completely counter-productive except as a rain shelter.
In a desert or arid climate I don't think it would be worth the effort. In a more humid rainy climate it might make more sense. It would allow someone to protect their pour from more frequent rains, and take limited advantage of some solar heating at the same time.
--- In papercreters@yahoogroups.com, Ron Richter <ronerichter@...> wrote:
>
><snip>
> You said "I can even imagine using clear or black plastic and creating a very long "pup tent" like structure that might act like a solar greenhouse." In an earlier post I mentioned I was making mini-greenhouses for my garden, and I stole one to try and get my blocks dried faster. IT DOSEN"T WORK. Yes, it gets hotter than ambient, yes, it holds the heat of the day longer than ambient, but the water coming off the blocks condenses on the inner surface and drips right back to the blocks or down the plastic to add to the humidity. I even tried opening up the ends to allow the moisture to escape but it didn't change much.
> Thanks for sharing!
> Ron
>
> <snip>
>
>> --- In papercreters@ yahoogroups. com, "slurryguy" <slurryguy@ .> wrote:
>
><snip>
>
> Protecting the papercrete as it dries should be a lot easier. A very
> small surface area is exposed and tarps can be draped over the
> forms/walls when it rains. This should be a lot easier than trying
> to cover an entire yard with tarps to cover a bunch of blocks when it
> rains. I can even imagine using clear or black plastic and creating
> a very long "pup tent" like structure that might act like a solar
> greenhouse. If a fan is placed at one end of the tent, it may be an
> excellent method for speeding the drying process. (always move the
> air from the dry end of the wall toward the wettest end of the wall.)
>
><snip>
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