Vendors Used for Burning Man Projects

The vendors below supplied parts for Ectropy Camp in the Alternative Energy Zone (AEZ) at Burning Man.

Projects included a geodesic dome, a hexayurt, a misting system, a swamp cooling system, shade structures, shower, gray water evap pond, PV panel and controller, lots of 12v gadgets.

Criteria for inclusion on list:

Vendor must serve large area, preferably all of US.
I actually still use what I ordered. This eliminated boating-style pumps and computer fans.
Vendor must have stuff I need that is not available locally. This eliminated ACE hardware, Fry’s, Home Depot, Radio Shack, REI, (who are all fives anyway).
Reasonable prices (a few exceptions noted).
Supplies in retail quantities.

Sorted by Rating, then Vendor Name

Rating 5=max	Vendor name	Vendor URL	Products purchased	Last ordered	Comments
5	Battery Minder	www.batteryminders.com	Battery charger	2008	Precise, intelligent battery chargers. Great pre- and post-sales support.
5	Digikey	www.digikey.com	Electronics parts	2009	Anything electronic in retail quantities (contrast: Allied). Sometimes it is hard to find stuff since they have so much.
5	Golden Valley Tools & Tarps	www.GVtoolsandtarps.com	Shade cloth, EMT fittings	2009	EMT fittings make it a breeze to put together shade structures. Good selection, fast delivery.
5	Powerwerx	www.powerwerx.com	Anderson Power Poles, 12v accessories	2009	Fast delivery. Almost everything you need to connect and test 12v systems.
5	Small Parts	www.smallparts.com	Nuts and bolts	2008	Great selection of non-rusting hardware (stainless steel and nylon). Fast delivery.
4	ABC Plastics	www.abcplastics.com	Plastic extrusions	2008	Much better selection than TAP plastics.
4	AeroStich Rider WearHouse	www.aerostich.com	Super-absorbent towel	2008	Large pieces hard to find. Greatly accelerates evaporation of gray water.
4	Allergy Be Gone	Order via www.amazon.com	3M 9211 dust masks	2008	3M 9211 is very comfortable, has outlet valve that keeps face cooler. Comes in individual packages (but you can buy boxes of 10 ea).
4	Custom Auger Systems	Order via www.amazon.com	1.75” garden auger	2008	Hard to find an auger this size. Great for drilling out 12” deep holes for setting EMT poles. Holes are easy to fill post-event.
4	FiltersNOW	www.filtersnow.com	Air filters	2008	Great selection of both face masks (N95) and furnace-type filters.
4	Greenhouse Mega store	www.greenhousemegastore.com	Shade cloth	2008	Greenhouse supplies of all kinds.
4	QC Supply	www.qcsupply.com	Plastic extrusions	2008	Farm supplies of all kinds.
4	Service Partners Supply	www.service-partners.com	Dow Thermax	2008	Great selection of foam panels. Only drawback was distance from home (100+ miles).
4	Tape-rite	www.taperite.com	Tape	2008	Easy to deal with, gigantic selection.
4	TurboKool	www.turboKool.com (note the K)	RV (12v) swamp cooler	2009	Good pre- and post-sales support. Design is elegantly simple. Unit is expensive, but they are the only game in town.
3	FastFittings	www.fastfittings.com	Fittings for water – misting & swamp cooler	2009	Great selection. They are fast if they have it in stock, but a few items were not in stock and took weeks to deliver.
1	CD RV Parts	www.cdrvparts.com	Standard RV water pump and parts	2009	Poor email customer service response. Phone cust serv is better. No delivery or communication for weeks. They did finally deliver after being pestered.