Active New Top (30 days) Compact Card Is Hydroblu still a viable company with good products? Amazon reviews are terrible wildfireexpert - February 27, 2022 I looked up the Hydroblu Pressurized Jerry Can Water Filter online and the most recent reviews on amazon were terrible. Has this been sold to another firm? Are the smaller products still recommended? Thx Read More 8 6 Gear The story of surviving a cold and stormy night off of a candle Jay ValenciaContributor - February 26, 2022 It is a cold and stormy night when your car goes off the side of the road and into a tree. “Guess you should have spent the extra money on some snow tires” you tell yourself after cursing a little for your stupidity. You look down at your cell and there is no service, great! The forecast had mentioned it getting into the negatives tonight so your car just won’t do as a shelter until morning. As you sit there pondering the real pickle you are in, you recall a small shack you passed about 1/4 mile back the way you came. You bundle up with all the clothing you have and face the blistering storm as you hike through the darkness. Upon coming to the house, can it even be called that? It looks to be barely held together and like it was deserted for some time. As a big gust of snowy wind pushes you back you are quite through with being out here and push your way into the building. With the remaining 14% of your cell phone battery, you illuminate the small area looking for any signs of life, food, or communications devices. There is a broken chair, a busted window, empty cupboards, some empty soup cans, a matchbook, and a single candle. Your luck hasn’t changed much, but at least it is warmer than out in your car. As your phone’s battery drains to 12% you decide that you will light the candle to be your source of light through the night, and maybe offer a little bit of heat. Time passes and you notice how thirsty you are, but heck if you are about to eat some snow and cool yourself down even further! You notice one of the empty soup cans and wonder if you could melt the snow over the candle’s flickering flame. Working fast you run outside, scoop a can of snow, and run back in before you cool down even further out there. Making a quick contraption you improvise a little stove top and place your can of snow on top. Just for giggles you time how long it takes with your trusty Casio watch and are quite surprised that the snow is completely melted in 6 minutes and 40 seconds. And just over 15 minutes the water has come to a roaring boil! Not too bad. Letting it cool down slightly you drink the warm beverage and your soul is warmed along with your stomach. More time passes and your candle is still holding strong, but your stomach starts to grumble. At that moment you hear a rustle near the top corner of the shack. Using some of your precious battery again you flip on the light to illuminate a small pigeon’s nest. Oh that would be some mighty fine eatin! As you creep up on the little fluff, it flutters away! But it happened to kick over it’s nest onto the floor, might as well burn that for some warmth right? Upon closer inspection of the nest you notice some eggs inside, hope is not lost! Taking another can, you craft a hot plate and crack an egg over top. Surprisingly it starts to sizzle instantly and you know the beast in your stomach will be calmed shortly. It’s not much but you form the egg into a little omelette and it isn’t too bad. With your stomach full, you drift off to sleep. The night turns to day and are awoken to the sound of traffic going past the shack, guess it’s time to get up and be rescued. You blow out the candle that made this horrible night just a little bit more bearable. It provided you with warmth, light, clean water, and a warm meal. Before you step out into the day you look back at the shack and the memory you had there. “When I get home, I am going to work on being more prepared.” you say out loud before the door shuts. The end… Hope the story was a more interesting way to share my little experiment of cooking over a candle. Have a nice weekend everyone. Read More 12 4 Scenarios How can I seal the ring-pull can end? CatFromHell - February 26, 2022 Hi, everyone here. I came all the way here looking for helpful information. I have a question. I’m going to buy canned food as an emergency food. One of the most famous survivalists in Korea says Ring-Pull Can End is vulnerable to corrosion. So he says that the laser carved part must be additionally sealed in advance to store it for a long time. He recommended manicure to seal fine gaps. (like this) But I believe there will be a better idea. Is there anything to replace manicure? Or is there any other way you can use to store Ring-Pull Can End products for a long time? (I used a translator, and there may be some awkwardness. I’m sorry 🙂 Read More 11 12 Advice Massive far side sun explosion Tuesday brekke - February 22, 2022 interesting article and more encouragement for digital preparedness and a backup communication plan. a local article and interviews a scientist from the Oregon Museum of Science Industry. This sunspot activity is from the same area that took out the satellites last week. OMSI: Massive far side sun explosion could have been catastrophic Read More 13 10 News UK media saying war by Wednesday Bill Masen - February 22, 2022 Many UK media sources believe its going to kick off this week between Ukraine, Russia and Nato, the Daily Mail is saying WAR on wednesday. They report the costs of grain, animal feeds,natural gas, petrolium and diesel will go through the roof. Internet may get jammed by military level hacking and GPS systems may be disrupted. I would also redirect you to the thread about products made from oil and gas to see the likely impact on most of our daily essentials. I’m filling all my fuel containers and treating it with Sta-bil, increased food stocks to the tune of £300 worth, stocked up on firewood, medical supplies and stored water. I’m an old dude so I can opinion on this but this reminds me of the darkest days of the Cold War. If it goes off who knows how it could spiral. Read More 10 16 NewsScenarios Another earthquake issue – Water hikermor - February 22, 2022 Water. Water supply could be an issue after a quake. Water lines, typically buried, could be broken or cracked, leading to H2O absence or contamination. We have received boil water recommendations following the Northridge quake, which was some distance away. Along with food and other essentials, I keep about thirty gallons dispersed around the property, along with means of water purification. Read More 13 7 NYT article on PNW tsunami threat pnwsarahContributor - February 21, 2022 Hi all, Just wanted to share this article from yesterday’s New York Times re: the tsunami aspect of the seismic hazard in the PNW and how communities are trying to prepare: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/07/us/tsunami-northwest-evacuation-towers.html The article actually does a good job of explaining why a tsunami triggered by a Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) earthquake would be so destructive, touching not only on the oft-mentioned aspects of the hazard (e.g., the height of the wave; the arrival time) but also the fact that 12-20 minutes of lead time for evacuation does not get you as far (literally) on buckled, undriveable roads, and the fact that the coasts of Northern California, Oregon, and Washington have a lot of huge bays fronted by multi-mile-long, extremely low-lying sand spits that have been heavily developed and will literally be overtopped by the wave. (The article has tons of maps that illustrate this effectively.) We’ll have to wait and see what happens after the votes on the various evacuation-tower-financing bond measures are cast, but it seems like there are some real signs that people in the affected communities are taking the threat seriously. It’s one thing when geologists at DOGAMI and the major research universities in the region offer journalists quotes about the number of thousands of people who will die; it’s another thing when a school superintendent says, “The fact of the matter is that if a tsunami occurs tomorrow, we are going to lose all of our children.” At least we’re (maybe) past the point where nobody in these communities is willing to confront the reality that they will not be able to evacuate. I also read (too many of) the comments. It was interesting to see what wasn’t getting across/what people were confused about. For example, a lot of folks seemed to have a “these towers will never work!” reaction, but the Japanese have been building them for a while and there are engineering design guidelines for this type of structure. I’d really prefer a managed retreat strategy for a place like Ocean Shores than a bunch of expensive, ugly evacuation towers (especially since sea level rise will come for that town even if the tsunami holds off for a couple more centuries), but the former is so legally fraught and so much more costly that I just don’t see Washington, let alone Oregon, getting to it in a timely fashion. I suspect they’re going to let California figure it out first (with respect to climate change, i.e., not tsunamis), since California has money. That’s moving really slowly, though, so I feel like Oregon and Washington should maybe just invest in some towers in the meantime, you know? Also, a lot of people were getting in “people shouldn’t live there!” arguments, and many of the people on Team People Shouldn’t Live There seemed to have the impression “there” consists of super wealthy communities where people with options have chosen to live because they “want an ocean view.” But a lot of the PNW coast is pretty economically depressed, and it’s less that people have chosen to live there than that they’re from there and it would be super challenging for them to relocate. Also, scientists didn’t really understand that these tsunami-generating mega-quakes could happen here until the 1990s, so of course people settled and built in dangerous places— they didn’t know they were dangerous! The other interesting thing in the comments is just seeing the range of reactions. Some people were like, “So much for visiting Oregon and Washington ever in my life!” While some PNW commenters’ reactions were more along the lines of, “I’m figuring I’ll probably just die when it hits and I’m okay with that.” Personally, I visit the coast all the time, but don’t like being out on those spits. My husband has wanted to explore a couple of them (at Tillamook Bay and the mouth of the Columbia) and I was totally jittery the whole time. I also haven’t spent a night in the tsunami inundation zone since 1996 and have no intention of ever doing so again. So, I’m curious: Any PNWers out there have thoughts on any of this? (Or people from BC or Japan?) For those who aren’t PNWers, do you think we’re nuts to live here? 😀 Read More 16 15 NewsScenarios Joolca HOTTAP – a very impressive off-grid hot shower solution Peter 44 - February 21, 2022 I never click on Facebook ads, but today was an exception when I saw this hot shower system that works off propane. The product is pretty impressive, 30 day trial, free returns, only $270. Watching the above video, it looks like a quality company who has thought of everything and isn’t just putting out an inferior product to make a quick buck. I’d like to get one of these as a backup shower system in case my hot water heater goes out or any number of natural disasters that could interrupt my shower time. It isn’t a NEED, but certainly would be a very welcome luxury. I am not associated with this company and just wanted to share a cool product I saw and thought this community might enjoy. Read More 9 7 Gear Testing $1 fire starters from Walmart. Insta-Fire and Firestart Jay ValenciaContributor - February 19, 2022 While browsing the camping section at Walmart I saw two fire starters that were under a dollar. As you know, I am a bit of a pyro and wanted to test these out and see if they were the next big survival fire starter that I need to add to my supplies. The first product is the “As Seen on Shark Tank” product called Insta-fire. I’ll call this the Dippin’ Dots fire starter. It claims to be: Eco-friendly Smokeless Does not contain harmful chemicals Good for camping, emergency, fireplace, or campfire “Military Grade”! — Oooo… Fancy… Lights wet wood because it burns at 1000 degrees Burns on snow and floats on water Nonvolatile with no unexpected flare-ups Burns in winds up to 30 mph Has a 5 year shelf life, and more… The second product is an indoor/outdoor fire log by Duraflame called Firestart. It more or less resembles the inside goo of a Fig Newton with bits of wood chips in it. It is sticky and I ended up tearing the wrapping while trying to get it out of the packaging. Taking both products outside, I tried lighting a US quarter sized piece of each. The ferro rod was not able to ignite either one so I switched to my trusty Zippo lighter and held the flame to each product for over 10 seconds. The Firestart did not light and the Insta-Fire lit for a few seconds before going out. It wasn’t even a particularly windy day and I was blocking the flame with my hand and huddled in a corner. The Insta-Fire claims to burn in winds up to 30 mph, but the trick is first lighting the darn thing. Having no success outside I wanted to give them the best shot possible and took them into the garage. This time I took a book of matches and figured if I couldn’t light them by the time the match burned out then I wasn’t interested in it. The Firestart took a light but burned such a small flame that didn’t spread to the rest of the piece. The Insta-Fire caught flame and burned decently for a few seconds before self extinguishing itself again and leaving many unburnt pieces behind. Okay… So far this is very disappointing. Lets try Insta-Fires’s bold claim of being able to float and light on water. This time I wasn’t messing around and poured in 1/4 of the bag into a cup of water. And the Dippin’ Dots fire starter did float! It also lit into a good sized flame. I lit the Firestart and placed that in the water to see if it would float and it just instantly sunk and went out. Overall I would give the Firestart a 0/10 for survival and prepping purposes. As a fire log in a fireplace it might have some potential, but I will not trust this to start an emergency fire. It just doesn’t hold a flame well enough or burn hot and large enough to do much good. The Insta-Fire gets a 2/10. One point for being cool and burning on water, and one point for at least lighting into a semi-usable flame if you put 1/4 of the package together. But again, not trusting this for an emergency situation. It’s problem is that you do need to use a large cup of it to actually do anything with and all the pieces don’t burn before it extinguishes itself. One of it’s main claims is to be nonvolatile and not flare up, but I want it to! I want it to catch fire easily, spread to all the pieces and burn completely. I’ll just stick to my cotton balls and vaseline for now. They catch easily, burn very long, produce a large and hot flame, and are DIRT cheap! Read More 16 8 Gear Earthquake specific food store question Geezer - February 17, 2022 Hi there, Brit in WA state. Aware of this earthquake situation, and although I am trying to cover all emergency my bases, earthquake seems like a good one to be ready for. I have a couple of questions about food storage that I would really appreciate people who have more experience than I do to chime in on. I would like to keep my longer term food stores in the garage (concrete slab), but we have an apartment above it so the whole thing really could come down. Thing is, everytime I put anything even slightly edible in a sealed plastic bucket in the garage mice start chewing thier way through. 1. Is it just a ‘find a rodent impenetrable chest’ that is about the right size’ situation? In which case any recommendations? 2. Where do I keep it in the garage obviously near a door / window, and the furthest up any slopes, but what is the best way to not get stuff buried in an earth quake. Forgive me if this question has already been asked, I did my best to search around in old comments for something similar, I’m sure I just missed it, so any links to old conversations I’d also be grateful for. Thank you kindly, G. Read More 18 26 Advice Booze recommendations for barter during SHTF Sharon - February 16, 2022 Happy new year all! Every once and awhile, I like to add on to our little larder, so I’m looking for recommendations for sales/value/brands of alcohol that you might like to trade when SHTF? I used to drink tequila and scotch, but know next to nothing about other types of alcohol. Read More 12 10 Advice What’s in my everyday backpack? Estel - February 15, 2022 Although I only got actively interested in preparedness quite recently, I’ve long been in the habit of carrying a well-stocked everyday backpack, though the contents have been assembled haphazardly, never with any particular comprehensive review. This started when I was at university and carried a backpack like most university students, and I just never quit carrying a backpack. Well over a decade ago, when I was in grad school, I recall telling a friend how I keep all sorts of stuff in my backpack because I never know when I’ll need it, and my friend lightly teased that “so basically you carry your junk drawer everywhere you go”. I just got myself a new backpack and am about to transfer the contents over, and I figure it might be interesting to do an inventory of what’s in my backpack (and I’m sure I’ll make a few adjustments to the contents as I do this, as well). The new backpack is an Eddie Bauer 29L cargo pack – the same as my old backpack, except I got my old backpack second-hand and a previous owner had cut off the waist strap and sternum strap, and I was getting annoyed by the lack. Asterisks mark items that I’m not transferring over to the new backpack. Clothing/shelter A knit wool hat A cotton sun hat A flimsy disposable poncho (I’d have preferred a sturdier plastic poncho more designed for reuse, but I saw this one in the shop cheap and I figured it would tide me over until I come across a better one) A clean handkerchief A reflective emergency blanket A “raincoat for my backpack” – a garbage bag with slits cut in it to let the shoulders straps through A pair of socks (likely dirty, got separated from my laundry, oops)* There’s usually some combination of sweater / down vest / windbreaker in there as well, but they migrate in and out depending on weather, laundry, usage around the house, etc., and happen to all be out at the moment. There are also usually some gloves or mittens at least during the winter but they also happen to be out at the moment. Food/drink An insulated water bottle/thermos 5 bags of green tea (genmaicha) and two small packets of salt contained in a zip bag 3 sugar packets; I’m moving those to the zip bag with the green tea and salt 5+ bags of a black tea that I find works well made in a single cup Some beef jerky Some expired coupons for my favourite fast-food restaurant* 5-ish bags of one of my standard black teas* (I find this tea works well made in a teapot but not made in a cup, so it’s less suitable for backpack stock) Medical/hygiene 2 Can99 respirators (FFP3 NR certification) – when this gets down to 1, I add another 5 from my home stash. Some surgical-style non-certified masks (these are mostly for giving away) A pack of wet wipes A bottle of hand sanitizer The end of a roll of toilet paper. (Two instances. Reducing to one.) 13 bandaids A dozen or so cotton balls A small container of petroleum jelly Some sanitary napkins A medieval-style bone comb Some extra strength Advil/ibuprofen Some Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride antihistamine tablets [generic Benadryl equivalent] An up-to-date EpiPen An expired EpiPen* Some expired Cetirizine Hydrochloride antihistamine tablets* Electronics A portable power bank Paper-related A Rite in the Rain notebook A mechanical pencil A pamphlet-sized prayer book Another pamphlet-sized prayer book* (so well tucked away I didn’t even know it was there…) A small leatherbound notebook with handmade paper; two pins through a page near the back* (Notebook superseded by the Rite in the Rain notebook which I acquired more recently. Pins are not essential enough to keep in there.) A book that I’m reading with a friend* (This goes in and out because it only needs to be in the bag one day a week) Miscellaneous papers acquired in daily life and not yet filed* Other 9 grocery bags (this is way too many, they tend to accumulate; reducing to 3) A clean small zip-seal bag inside a larger zip-seal bag (I’m replenishing this depleted supply by adding 3 more clean small zip-seal bags and 1 clean large one) A BIC lighter A travel-sized diptych icon One key item I’m adding to my new backpack right now: a LifeStraw that I recently acquired. Things I carry in my pockets instead of my backpack: keys, credit card, transit card, health card, Swiss Army Knife, wallet, phone. I also plan to add to my backpack: A bit of cash, probably about $60-80 – enough to be useful, little enough that I won’t be too upset if it’s lost or stolen The right charging cord for my phone, and a wall converter (I got a new phone recently, and so far only have one charging cord for it; the cord with my power bank fits my old phone and I haven’t yet updated it) What do people think would be particularly useful to add to this? (One thing I’m not looking for is weapons.) Is there anything here you wonder what it’s there for? Read More 16 27 Gear Has anyone found a small, good wall-plug charger with all major USB ports? John RameyStaff - February 13, 2022 Looking for: At least one port for each of the three most common types used in portable devices: USB-A (the big boxy one), Micro-USB (was common on cell phones until recently), and USB-C (the new standard). Small enough to be appropriate for a go-bag. Durable. For example, maybe the electrical prongs can fold in to make it more compact and less likely to bend/snap. It makes sense that if you’re in an emergency away from home you’d want the all-in-one ability to use any of the common cables and devices scattered around. I assumed there would be lots of options, but haven’t found something obviously worthy after some quick searching. This kind of product seems ideal for a go-bag, and if we find a great one, I’ll buy and test it. Here’s what A, Micro-B, and C look like: Edit to add: I wasn’t aware of all the multi-headed hydra cables, like this: https://www.amazon.com/CHAFON-Multi-Cable-Micro-Charging/dp/B01DK13VZ6/ So if you’ve used those kinds of cables, share that feedback too! Seems like we can solve the same problem by having a wall-charger with only USB-A and -C, combined then with a cable with a wider range of options. Read More 27 16 Gear Is the food too old? / aka when to can the can TraceContributor - February 13, 2022 (Recently I saw a forum question, “How to tell when to toss cans that have rust on the outside?” And it got me to thinking more about what was inside the can.) As preppers we store food. We rotate and use our items regularly. (First in First Out ) But sometimes we don’t, it gets old and unused for whatever reason. What is too old? First, you have to at least open it up (don’t just throw it away based on what the outside looks like). Assess what’s inside. Do you own little prepper experiment. IF you HAD to eat it to survive, could you? Modern day food processing is pretty amazing. Look at the color and consistency. Smell it. If it looks okay and smells okay, taste a little (it won’t kill you). Again, could you eat it if you had to? Here are the timeframes we’ve (very unofficially) determined that we’re generally comfortable with: – Cans (that require a can opener): 6 years – Cans with pull rings: 2 years (these are not sealed as well and mold frequently develops in them prematurely) – Cheese: I’ve left a sealed package out in the garage as an experiment for 10 months, the package swelled, and some oils pooled, but it tasted fine — just much sharper. In the refrigerator: 2+ years – Sour cream (16oz) / cream cheese (12oz) (refrigerated): 6 months. We buy small containers — once opened use them within about a week. – Half and Half (64oz) (refrigerated): 3+ months – Greek Yogurt (32oz) (refrigerated): 6+ months – Cottage Cheese (16oz): <6 weeks (and it’ll be obviously moldy if it’s bad) – Beer: room temperature/dark: 3 – 9 months, refrigerated: up to 2 years. It’s important to remember old beer doesn’t become dangerous to drink, it just gets old and can taste skunky or sour — but it’s harmless to the body. Essentially if it tastes fine, drink it. – Saltines: I recently came across a sealed packages from ‘13, they tasted sour/salty almost like baking soda — but the sheep and chickens loved them. – Frozen Meat: At the bottom of the (big) deep freezer we came across some butchered pork from ‘17, 5 years old. I was skeptical and gave some to the dogs, but it didn’t look bad. It was wrapped in plastic, then in butcher paper and the meat still looked good and wasn’t freezer burned. Experimentally we cooked some up in the crock pot, letting the pork shoulder cook on low overnight — and it was great. Great flavor and great consistency, we’ll (carefully, inspecting as we go) use the rest of it. (Edit added 2/13) What to do with TOO OLD? I make pigcycles. I pour the contents of all the old cans into large bowls, stir them together into a slop, spoon them into quart ziplock bags, then freeze them. Then I’ll give them to our pig, or chickens, or occasionally our dogs on a hot day as a treat. [Disclaimer: This is only my opinion and advice, old food should only be eaten in a survival situation.] Read More 11 5 Advice Summary Report: Our power went out brownfox-ffContributor - February 12, 2022 Last night our power went out for four hours. Everything was fine. I sat by the fire and read a garden seed catalog by candle light. This is dangerous: now I want to buy everything! Everything looks good in the catalog! This was a good opportunity to review what worked and what needs fixing. Sharing here in case it is useful. I find it good practice to write up a review for myself. Suggestions are welcome. .. Timeline Power outage started around 7pm Power back on around 11pm (4 hours) What went well: Having a keychain flashlight. I carry three mini flashlights on my keychain, which I have on me at all times. As soon as the power went off it was pitch-black dark, and of course – one of the flashlights was out of battery. Thankfully I have two spare. I was able to calmly and easily find my way around the house, to gather the family and go get the LED candles. LED candle lights. These are just the cheap pick from ikea – they glow like a candle and take two AAA batteries. They give off a nice soft glow. We had enough we could hand one to each person, and leave one on a table or at the top of the stairwell if needed. Once everyone has their own light, everything is calm. Natural gas fireplace. With no power, the main furnace won’t run. That’s why we have this. I keep the pilot lit all winter for exactly this reason. It costs me a few dollars per month to keep it lit, but you’re sure glad for it when you really need it. We flipped the switch and got heat and light. Left the fire on during the whole outage. Everyone stayed calm. The fireplace is on, so we just gathered nearby and relaxed. Have a nap. Read a book. Whatever suits you. Group text chat with our neighbours. We use Signal, because its the only app I trust for security. We are lucky to have two great sets of neighbours, with similar mindset (and they are much more skilled than I am at e.g. shooting, gardening, and other skills. I learn a lot from them). We’ve spent a long time building a relationship for our group. The app was useful – we could gather and share info. It helped to stay informed. Data connection. We were able to text lots of other neighbours and check on them, to see if everyone was okay. Luckily: yes. We do have a backup emergency phone on a different network, with a ‘pay-as-you-go’ card. Didn’t need to use it. Pantry food. We were able to easily open crackers, canned peaches, etc. And eat dinner without cooking. I enjoy intermittent fasting, and considered making it a ‘challenge’ for myself to get through the situation without eating. But I figured if I had to go help someone, or the situation got worse, it would be better to have energy. So I ate. Curtains and blinds. As soon as everyone was safe and cozy by the fire, I went around the house and closed everything to keep the heat in. DIY home repair. I have spent many months fixing leaks to try and make our home more passive and efficient. Installing vapor barrier. Taping and sealing. Installing gaskets and covers on electrical sockets. Weather stripping. etc. I have no direct measurements but I like to hope this helped. Friendly backup location. If worst comes to worst, we have a family member within driving distance that is in our covid cohort. We could load up the go bag and go there instead. Didn’t need to. But glad to have the option. Got to have a conversation about being prepared. After the power came on one of our neighbours texted us, discussing how we were doing. Their fireplace does not work, and has been broken for a long while. Discussing our steps and situation with them got them thinking, making comments like “huh, that’s a good idea. Maybe I should look into fixing our fireplace for next time…”. Great! That’s the kind of self-assessment and improvement I love to see. What could improve: Fix my power outage alerts to be text messages, not email. I had alerts configured with the power company to notify me if the power went out. It was pretty obvious it went out. But setting them to email was dumb – I couldn’t access my email over the data connection; it was too hammered and slow. So I didn’t get any updates. Luckily our neighbour in the group chat was smarter than me, and had his set to text. So we could still get updates on the ETA to restore power. Wind-up hand crank flashlights. These did not work. I always thought these would be useful because they don’t require batteries. But the lights don’t give off much light. Also if you had young kids – the cranks take a certain amount of manual dexterity to wind them correctly. I won’t use these again. Much better to have simple LED candles. Stored water containers: empty out some of the water. I have several 7 gallon jugs. If it was seriously cold, they might freeze, expand, and burst. I should drain some water to store them 90% full, or down to 6 gallons per container. Keep doing house improvements. Long term, I want to add more attic insulation. Short-term, we have one very leaky window that needs to be fixed or replaced. My next summer projects may include installing a better exhaust vent for our bathroom fan that doesn’t let in cold air; and putting spray foam behind (but not inside) electrical boxes. Where we got lucky: It was warm! Two weeks ago was -35C (-31F). Last night was -5C (23F) instead. Big difference. Much easier to deal with. We were very lucky this outage happened after it warmed up. The whole family was safe at home when it happened, not out driving or doing anything. Data connections and text messages still worked. If they hadn’t I would have gone by foot to check on one of our closest neighbours, who is elderly. Overall, pretty happy.Now I need to budget for garden seeds. Read More 23 33 Scenarios A quick workout to warm you up Henry Tubbs - February 10, 2022 Just a quick tip that I wanted to share: I had a smoothie for breakfast today and they always make me so cold afterwards. A quick workout is the perfect solution to warm me up. After stretching, do some squats, jumping jacks, push ups, or lift weights. In less than three minutes I was toasty warm and feeling strong and loose for the day. Try and target the larger muscles for maximum heat generation. Quads and biceps are good ones. To warm up hands and feet, swing your arms in the air like a windmill or kick your legs out to force warm blood to the tips of your extremities. We may not always have access to more clothing or a space heater, but we have an incredible heater inside of us and just need to know how to turn it on. This is a great prepping tip for when you are camping or bugging out and are away from home. Read More 12 3 Mini greenhouse out of scrap materials Magic 8 Ball - February 10, 2022 While spending way too much time on Reddit, I came across a project that I wanted to talk about with someone. To avoid hurting the creator’s feelings, I didn’t want to comment on the actual Reddit thread itself. It’s a great project, but there are some changes I would make. I don’t have a sunny windowsill, so I made a mini greenhouse to start my seeds The creator of this project used standard pane glass and scrap wood from a previous project. Cost them $10 to build. People in the comments said that the creator needs to provide some ventilation so that the plants do not cook and the creator responds that they did put some small holes in and filled the holes with cotton so bugs don’t get in. This probably won’t provide enough ventilation. Changes I would make: Place a hinge on one side so you could prop it open or easily gain access without having to remove the entire lid. Drill holes in the sides for ventilation and staple squares of screen window over the holes to prevent bugs. Add a thermometer inside to monitor temperatures. If things get too toasty I would prop open the lid or turn away from the sun. If things were not warm enough, painting the box black would absorb more warmth. Create 3″ feet in each corner to get the box up off the floor to prevent it from sitting in water and rotting. Has anyone made a mini greenhouse like this before? What changes would you make to this design? Read More 15 13 AdviceGear It is critical you prune your muscadines RedneckContributor - February 10, 2022 I’m a firm believer that if you live in the south and are a prepper, then you should grow muscadines… preferably commercial varieties. Around here they grow wild almost everywhere. Unlike many food crops, muscadines really require little care. Diseases and insects don’t bother them and they can handle dry spells. Muscadines love the heat & humidity of the south. A mature vine can get 30 -40 feet long but I keep mine around 15 feet long. A mature commercial plant can produce around 60 pounds of grapes each year and they are soooooo good! I have most of my vines inside my orchard and they are on a trellis system, but that is not necessary. They easily will grow up & along any fence line. And boy do they every grow. Muscadines mostly only fruit on new growth, so if you want a large crop, you need to prune back the vines each year and thin them out. I cut off all but a few inches, so that I have a few buds on each shoot. From that, each bud will put out several feet of new vine. The fruit forms on these new vines. That is why it is critical to prune your vines when they are dormant in the winter. I just took these pics today. I pruned one row and called it a day. In the spring, they will leaf out, grow new vines & set new fruit. Read More 16 4 Advice Little work light that pulls very few watts RedneckContributor - February 9, 2022 Each time I have to actually use my preps, in a real world situation, I find things that need to be done differently than I originally thought & I find things I need to add to my preps. In the past several weeks, I’ve had to deal with two separate, multi day power outages at my mother in law’s. After the first event I added a Mr. Heater 30,000 BTU LP gas heater and it worked incredibly well at the second event last week. I noticed, even with my two solar generators & several rechargeable Goal Zero lanterns, that I could use some extra lighting that would be flexible, bright & pull very little watts. During these events, I would use the solar generators to power lights & devices when the generator wasn’t running, such as overnight or when refueling. I found the lighting around my mother in law’s house would really drain the solar generators. Nothing they couldn’t handle but it gave me some concerns. So after the first event I ordered these little mini LED work lights from Amazon for $13 each with free Prime delivery. They didn’t come in before the second event, but they did come in today. They are very highly rated on Amazon, and I can see why. They are small, lightweight & the legs can be manipulated to point it anywhere, or you could hang it by the handle. They are very bright at 1000 lumens yet only pull 11 watts. That means 9 of these would pull the same power as one 100 watt incandescent bulb. I think these could be very helpful for folks planning on running some devices off of battery units, such as solar generators or the like. These last outages during freezing weather brought home some points to me. You can always use more lighting and being cold for long periods ain’t fun. I have adapted my preps accordingly. Read More 12 9 Gear Grid down home/bug-out hygiene kit Noah Prepares - February 7, 2022 What do y’all store to prepare for hygiene without running water and electricity? I put together a list that seems like it would cover the basics. Read More 17 6 Gear 7 things to prepare before it’s too late Mike Hill - February 6, 2022 I’ve been thinking about TEOTWAWKI or The End of the World as We Know It. To be clear, I believe that there are many other more likely scenarios to happen before this, but if you plan for the worst you will be prepared for the rest. As part of my family’s plan I wanted to make a list of the things we need to get in order before it’s too late. They are in no particular order and is just a very short list of things we need to do. I am planning on expanding my description of and notes for each point once I finalize the list. What do all you preparedness experts think of this list and what would you add or change? 1) Have ways to collect, treat, and store water Water is life, we all need a lot of it not only for drinking but cleaning, cooking, and hygiene. Not having it will quickly lead to disease, dehydration, and death. Not only is storing clean water important, but have ways to collect and clean more. 2) Store food and ways to cook it Start with a week of food, then a month, then three, then six if possible. Have ways to cook and prepare multiple recipes with the food we store and don’t just do beans and rice every day. 3) Learn basic first aid and have a supply of medical supplies Be able to treat wounds, sprains, cuts, and breaks. Store medications and don’t forget about dental and eye health. Store more than we think we will need. 4) Have backup sources of energy Have alternative ways to stay warm, cool down, modes of transportation, and power the various devices and appliances in our home. 5) Fortify our homes and self Secure our home against nature, humans, and animals. Learn personal self defense and carry some defense tool with us at all times if possible. No use preparing if we get our stuff stolen or die. 6) Create a reference library and practice various skills The internet may not always be available, have some paper reference material and practice skills so we aren’t trying new things during the disaster. 7) Work with other preppers We want to create a network of other like minded individuals and have goods and skills ready that can be used for trade and bartering. Read More 12 13 AdviceGearScenariosSkills Electrical surge protection for older homes Seasons4 - February 6, 2022 I just bought several surge protectors for outlets used for electronic devices in my home (computer, radio power supply, printer, modem, router, TV). Now I wonder if those surge protectors will do more harm than good since my older home uses a two-wire system (hot wire and neutral, no third wire for ground, as I understand it). Can anyone here speak to that issue? Does anyone have experience with Zero Surge protectors? Apparently they use a different approach to handling surges. Instead of directing surges to ground or neutral wires (again, my house doesn’t have ground wire at outlets), they handle it differently. https://zerosurge.com/ungrounded-buildings-older-homes/ Thanks! Read More 12 10 Advice Let’s talk Texas – how to prep your home for extreme cold Jesse Smith - February 5, 2022 My heart goes out to the millions of Texans who lost power during extremely cold temperatures yesterday. What lessons can we draw from this experience so that we can improve our future response to crises like these? I’ll speak to my area of knowledge, which is buildings. However, I have very little knowledge of regional construction practices specific to Texas, so please correct any errors or provide info as you see fit. I’d love to hear lessons from experts on community response, particularly with reference to protection of vulnerable populations. This might be disjointed. Know the location of your main water shut-off(s). Ensure that you can operate it and that it doesn’t leak. In the event of pipes freezing or bursting, immediately shut-off the main water supply and drain all pipes via the lowest elevation fixture(s). Then return to the burst location and start collecting water. Most burst pipes are on the water supply system so the water won’t stop until you make it stop. My guess is that only a very small number of Texas homes have hydronic heat. However, if you have hydronic heat it will be very useful to ascertain whether the burst pipe is part of the heating system. If hydronic, kill power to the boiler and drain the system via drain valves on the boiler. In rare cases the waste piping system may rupture in freezing temperatures. This seems most common to areas prone to flooding where elevated houses are the norm and traps are suspended low or below the floor system and tend to freeze. This is the lottery win of frozen piping. Simply stop using this section of the waste system until you’re able to make repairs. All combustion-based boilers and furnaces will fail during a power outage due to electrical inputs for combustion and distribution. Boilers generally have considerably lower electrical input than furnaces, but neither will work without back-up power when the grid goes down. Portable generator systems that back-up modern furnaces and boilers are hit-and-miss due to potential sine wave problems. Inverter generators address this, but are considerably more expensive. I don’t have a good estimate for the fraction of heating/cooling that won’t work with a standard generator, but would guess that 1/4 of stuff installed in the past decade, especially premium equipment. I would expect almost all ductless minisplit heat pumps to fail. Many combustion water heaters work without electrical power as do most gas ranges/cooktops. Ranges have to be lit manually. These devices can be used to transfer heat to the building. Make certain you have battery back-up CO monitors before you mess with this. Boil water, fill bathtubs and allow the water to approach room temperature. My guess is that the combination of these two has the capacity to put 10-40 kbtu/hr into a home, which will often be sufficient to take homes out of the danger zone. Power-vented gas water heaters need electricity, but have very low power requirements. I’ve had customers place their power-vented water heaters on an uninterrupted power supply with good results. (This is technically a building code violation, so it’s not something I would provide as a service). Water, heating, and cooling systems belong on the inside of the building enclosure. They don’t belong in unconditioned attics, vented crawlspaces, or exterior walls. This is a nearly sacrosanct tenet of resilient, energy-efficient housing. In homes that are placed on slabs it can be very tempting to place these things in attics. Doing so should be accompanied by a plan to condition the attic, or at least around the component in question. *Edited CO2 to CO. Read More 21 94 Ice Storm in Memphis RedneckContributor - February 5, 2022 Well, I’m back in Memphis at my 100 year old mother in law’s house. I’d say half of Memphis is without power and half the traffic lights not working. The drive inside Memphis was rather scary. They say over 100,000 houses are without power Thankfully our farm in north Mississippi has power. So after work, I loaded up my truck with the dual fuel generator, lots of extension cords, 25 gallons of gasoline and 5 of my 40 pound LP gas tanks. Also brought two of my Humless solar generators and my LP gas ventless heater. I don’t trust ventless heaters, so I placed it in front of the fireplace. She has natural gas logs but they won’t keep the room warm. This LP gas heater keeps the room toasty warm and only runs about 10% of the time. Read More 14 12 BOB Bifocals for old eyes BrewIt - February 4, 2022 I’ve always kept a pair of cheap “cheaters” in my BOB, vehicle and everywhere else I think I might need them. I’ve recently begun swapping them out for safety glass with bifocal lenses. They are apx $15 at most local home improvement stores and come in different strengths. Last thing I want is an eye injury when I need my eyes most. Read More 14 9 < Prev 1 2 3 … 22 23 24 … 55 56 57 Next > Recently Active News for the week of 2023-09-18 - 12 hours agoChickens for preppers: Important considerations - 13 hours agoDo you include a Communication Board/Cards in your prep? - 2 days agoNews for the week of 2023-09-11 - 3 days agoPrep to be fit and be fit to be prepped - 4 days ago RULES This forum is heavily moderated to keep things valuable to as many people as possible. Full community policies are here. The basics: 1. Be nice to each other. 2. Stay focused on prepping. 3. Avoid politics, religion, and other arguments. 4. No unfounded conspiracies, fake news, etc. 5. Debate ideas, not people. FILTER Show all Advice Gear Meta News Scenarios Skills

Is Hydroblu still a viable company with good products? Amazon reviews are terrible

wildfireexpert - February 27, 2022

I looked up the Hydroblu Pressurized Jerry Can Water Filter online and the most recent reviews on amazon were terrible.  Has this been sold to another firm?   Are the smaller products still recommended?   Thx

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The story of surviving a cold and stormy night off of a candle

Jay ValenciaContributor - February 26, 2022

It is a cold and stormy night when your car goes off the side of the road and into a tree. “Guess you should have spent the extra money on some snow tires” you tell yourself after cursing a little for your stupidity. You look down at your cell and there is no service, great! The forecast had mentioned it getting into the negatives tonight so your car just won’t do as a shelter until morning. As you sit there pondering the real pickle you are in, you recall a small shack you passed about 1/4 mile back the way you came. You bundle up with all the clothing you have and face the blistering storm as you hike through the darkness.

Upon coming to the house, can it even be called that? It looks to be barely held together and like it was deserted for some time. As a big gust of snowy wind pushes you back you are quite through with being out here and push your way into the building. With the remaining 14% of your cell phone battery, you illuminate the small area looking for any signs of life, food, or communications devices. There is a broken chair, a busted window, empty cupboards, some empty soup cans, a matchbook, and a single candle. Your luck hasn’t changed much, but at least it is warmer than out in your car. 

As your phone’s battery drains to 12% you decide that you will light the candle to be your source of light through the night, and maybe offer a little bit of heat. Time passes and you notice how thirsty you are, but heck if you are about to eat some snow and cool yourself down even further! You notice one of the empty soup cans and wonder if you could melt the snow over the candle’s flickering flame. Working fast you run outside, scoop a can of snow, and run back in before you cool down even further out there. Making a quick contraption you improvise a little stove top and place your can of snow on top. 

Just for giggles you time how long it takes with your trusty Casio watch and are quite surprised that the snow is completely melted in 6 minutes and 40 seconds. And just over 15 minutes the water has come to a roaring boil! Not too bad. Letting it cool down slightly you drink the warm beverage and your soul is warmed along with your stomach.

More time passes and your candle is still holding strong, but your stomach starts to grumble. At that moment you hear a rustle near the top corner of the shack. Using some of your precious battery again you flip on the light to illuminate a small pigeon’s nest. Oh that would be some mighty fine eatin! As you creep up on the little fluff, it flutters away! But it happened to kick over it’s nest onto the floor, might as well burn that for some warmth right? Upon closer inspection of the nest you notice some eggs inside, hope is not lost!

Taking another can, you craft a hot plate and crack an egg over top.

Surprisingly it starts to sizzle instantly and you know the beast in your stomach will be calmed shortly. It’s not much but you form the egg into a little omelette and it isn’t too bad. With your stomach full, you drift off to sleep.

The night turns to day and are awoken to the sound of traffic going past the shack, guess it’s time to get up and be rescued. You blow out the candle that made this horrible night just a little bit more bearable. It provided you with warmth, light, clean water, and a warm meal. Before you step out into the day you look back at the shack and the memory you had there. “When I get home, I am going to work on being more prepared.” you say out loud before the door shuts.

The end…

Hope the story was a more interesting way to share my little experiment of cooking over a candle. Have a nice weekend everyone.

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Scenarios

How can I seal the ring-pull can end?

CatFromHell - February 26, 2022

Hi, everyone here. I came all the way here looking for helpful information.

I have a question.

I’m going to buy canned food as an emergency food.

One of the most famous survivalists in Korea says Ring-Pull Can End is vulnerable to corrosion.

So he says that the laser carved part must be additionally sealed in advance to store it for a long time.

He recommended manicure to seal fine gaps.

(like this)

But I believe there will be a better idea.

Is there anything to replace manicure?

Or is there any other way you can use to store Ring-Pull Can End products for a long time?

(I used a translator, and there may be some awkwardness. I’m sorry 🙂

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Advice

Massive far side sun explosion Tuesday

brekke - February 22, 2022

interesting article and more encouragement for digital preparedness and a backup communication plan.  a local article and interviews a scientist from the Oregon Museum of Science Industry. This sunspot activity is from the same area that took out the satellites last week.

OMSI: Massive far side sun explosion could have been catastrophic

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UK media saying war by Wednesday

Bill Masen - February 22, 2022

Many UK media sources believe its going to kick off this week between Ukraine, Russia and Nato, the Daily Mail is saying WAR on wednesday.   They report the costs of grain, animal feeds,natural gas, petrolium and diesel will go through the roof.

Internet may get jammed by military level hacking

and

GPS systems may be disrupted.

I would also redirect you to the thread about products made from oil and gas to see the likely impact on most of our daily essentials.

I’m filling all my fuel containers and treating it with Sta-bil,  increased food stocks to the tune of £300 worth, stocked up on firewood, medical supplies and stored water.

I’m an old dude so I can opinion on this but this reminds me of the darkest days of the Cold War.

If it goes off who knows how it could spiral.

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Another earthquake issue – Water

hikermor - February 22, 2022

Water.  Water supply could be an issue after a quake.  Water lines, typically buried, could be broken or cracked, leading to H2O absence or contamination.  

We  have received boil water recommendations following the Northridge quake, which was some distance away.  Along with food and other essentials, I keep about thirty gallons dispersed around the property, along with means of water purification.

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NYT article on PNW tsunami threat

pnwsarahContributor - February 21, 2022

Hi all,

Just wanted to share this article from yesterday’s New York Times re: the tsunami aspect of the seismic hazard in the PNW and how communities are trying to prepare: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/07/us/tsunami-northwest-evacuation-towers.html

The article actually does a good job of explaining why a tsunami triggered by a Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) earthquake would be so destructive, touching not only on the oft-mentioned aspects of the hazard (e.g., the height of the wave; the arrival time) but also the fact that 12-20 minutes of lead time for evacuation does not get you as far (literally) on buckled, undriveable roads, and the fact that the coasts of Northern California, Oregon, and Washington have a lot of huge bays fronted by multi-mile-long, extremely low-lying sand spits that have been heavily developed and will literally be overtopped by the wave. (The article has tons of maps that illustrate this effectively.)

We’ll have to wait and see what happens after the votes on the various evacuation-tower-financing bond measures are cast, but it seems like there are some real signs that people in the affected communities are taking the threat seriously. It’s one thing when geologists at DOGAMI and the major research universities in the region offer journalists quotes about the number of thousands of people who will die; it’s another thing when a school superintendent says, “The fact of the matter is that if a tsunami occurs tomorrow, we are going to lose all of our children.” At least we’re (maybe) past the point where nobody in these communities is willing to confront the reality that they will not be able to evacuate.

I also read (too many of) the comments. It was interesting to see what wasn’t getting across/what people were confused about. For example, a lot of folks seemed to have a “these towers will never work!” reaction, but the Japanese have been building them for a while and there are engineering design guidelines for this type of structure. I’d really prefer a managed retreat strategy for a place like Ocean Shores than a bunch of expensive, ugly evacuation towers (especially since sea level rise will come for that town even if the tsunami holds off for a couple more centuries), but the former is so legally fraught and so much more costly that I just don’t see Washington, let alone Oregon, getting to it in a timely fashion. I suspect they’re going to let California figure it out first (with respect to climate change, i.e., not tsunamis), since California has money. That’s moving really slowly, though, so I feel like Oregon and Washington should maybe just invest in some towers in the meantime, you know?

Also, a lot of people were getting in “people shouldn’t live there!” arguments, and many of the people on Team People Shouldn’t Live There seemed to have the impression “there” consists of super wealthy communities where people with options have chosen to live because they “want an ocean view.” But a lot of the PNW coast is pretty economically depressed, and it’s less that people have chosen to live there than that they’re from there and it would be super challenging for them to relocate. Also, scientists didn’t really understand that these tsunami-generating mega-quakes could happen here until the 1990s, so of course people settled and built in dangerous places— they didn’t know they were dangerous!

The other interesting thing in the comments is just seeing the range of reactions. Some people were like, “So much for visiting Oregon and Washington ever in my life!” While some PNW commenters’ reactions were more along the lines of, “I’m figuring I’ll probably just die when it hits and I’m okay with that.” Personally, I visit the coast all the time, but don’t like being out on those spits. My husband has wanted to explore a couple of them (at Tillamook Bay and the mouth of the Columbia) and I was totally jittery the whole time. I also haven’t spent a night in the tsunami inundation zone since 1996 and have no intention of ever doing so again. 

So, I’m curious: Any PNWers out there have thoughts on any of this? (Or people from BC or Japan?) For those who aren’t PNWers, do you think we’re nuts to live here? 😀

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Joolca HOTTAP – a very impressive off-grid hot shower solution

Peter 44 - February 21, 2022

I never click on Facebook ads, but today was an exception when I saw this hot shower system that works off propane. 

The product is pretty impressive, 30 day trial, free returns, only $270. Watching the above video, it looks like a quality company who has thought of everything and isn’t just putting out an inferior product to make a quick buck.

I’d like to get one of these as a backup shower system in case my hot water heater goes out or any number of natural disasters that could interrupt my shower time. It isn’t a NEED, but certainly would be a very welcome luxury.

I am not associated with this company and just wanted to share a cool product I saw and thought this community might enjoy.

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Testing $1 fire starters from Walmart. Insta-Fire and Firestart

Jay ValenciaContributor - February 19, 2022

While browsing the camping section at Walmart I saw two fire starters that were under a dollar. As you know, I am a bit of a pyro and wanted to test these out and see if they were the next big survival fire starter that I need to add to my supplies.

The first product is the “As Seen on Shark Tank” product called Insta-fire. I’ll call this the Dippin’ Dots fire starter. It claims to be:

Eco-friendly Smokeless Does not contain harmful chemicals Good for camping, emergency, fireplace, or campfire “Military Grade”! — Oooo… Fancy… Lights wet wood because it burns at 1000 degrees Burns on snow and floats on water Nonvolatile with no unexpected flare-ups Burns in winds up to 30 mph Has a 5 year shelf life, and more…

The second product is an indoor/outdoor fire log by Duraflame called Firestart. It more or less resembles the inside goo of a Fig Newton with bits of wood chips in it. It is sticky and I ended up tearing the wrapping while trying to get it out of the packaging.

Taking both products outside, I tried lighting a US quarter sized piece of each. The ferro rod was not able to ignite either one so I switched to my trusty Zippo lighter and held the flame to each product for over 10 seconds. The Firestart did not light and the Insta-Fire lit for a few seconds before going out. It wasn’t even a particularly windy day and I was blocking the flame with my hand and huddled in a corner. The Insta-Fire claims to burn in winds up to 30 mph, but the trick is first lighting the darn thing.

Having no success outside I wanted to give them the best shot possible and took them into the garage. This time I took a book of matches and figured if I couldn’t light them by the time the match burned out then I wasn’t interested in it. The Firestart took a light but burned such a small flame that didn’t spread to the rest of the piece. The Insta-Fire caught flame and burned decently for a few seconds before self extinguishing itself again and leaving many unburnt pieces behind.

Okay… So far this is very disappointing. Lets try Insta-Fires’s bold claim of being able to float and light on water. This time I wasn’t messing around and poured in 1/4 of the bag into a cup of water. And the Dippin’ Dots fire starter did float! It also lit into a good sized flame. I lit the Firestart and placed that in the water to see if it would float and it just instantly sunk and went out.

Overall I would give the Firestart a 0/10 for survival and prepping purposes. As a fire log in a fireplace it might have some potential, but I will not trust this to start an emergency fire. It just doesn’t hold a flame well enough or burn hot and large enough to do much good.

The Insta-Fire gets a 2/10. One point for being cool and burning on water, and one point for at least lighting into a semi-usable flame if you put 1/4 of the package together. But again, not trusting this for an emergency situation. It’s problem is that you do need to use a large cup of it to actually do anything with and all the pieces don’t burn before it extinguishes itself. One of it’s main claims is to be nonvolatile and not flare up, but I want it to! I want it to catch fire easily, spread to all the pieces and burn completely. 

I’ll just stick to my cotton balls and vaseline for now. They catch easily, burn very long, produce a large and hot flame, and are DIRT cheap! 

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Earthquake specific food store question

Geezer - February 17, 2022

Hi there,

Brit in WA state. Aware of this earthquake situation, and although I am trying to cover all emergency my bases, earthquake seems like a good one to be ready for.

I have a couple of questions about food storage that I would really appreciate people who have more experience than I do to chime in on.

I would like to keep my longer term food stores in the garage (concrete slab), but we have an apartment above it so the whole thing really could come down. Thing is, everytime I put anything even slightly edible in a sealed plastic bucket in the garage mice start chewing thier way through.

1. Is it just a ‘find a rodent impenetrable chest’ that is about the right size’ situation? In which case any recommendations?

2. Where do I keep it in the garage obviously near a door / window, and the furthest up any slopes, but what is the best way to not get stuff buried in an earth quake.

Forgive me if this question has already been asked, I did my best to search around in old comments for something similar, I’m sure I just missed it, so any links to old conversations I’d also be grateful for.

Thank you kindly,

G.

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Booze recommendations for barter during SHTF

Sharon - February 16, 2022

Happy new year all!
Every once and awhile, I like to add on to our little larder, so I’m looking for recommendations for sales/value/brands of alcohol that you might like to trade when SHTF? I used to drink tequila and scotch, but know next to nothing about other types of alcohol.

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Advice

What’s in my everyday backpack?

Estel - February 15, 2022

Although I only got actively interested in preparedness quite recently, I’ve long been in the habit of carrying a well-stocked everyday backpack, though the contents have been assembled haphazardly, never with any particular comprehensive review. This started when I was at university and carried a backpack like most university students, and I just never quit carrying a backpack. Well over a decade ago, when I was in grad school, I recall telling a friend how I keep all sorts of stuff in my backpack because I never know when I’ll need it, and my friend lightly teased that “so basically you carry your junk drawer everywhere you go”.

I just got myself a new backpack and am about to transfer the contents over, and I figure it might be interesting to do an inventory of what’s in my backpack (and I’m sure I’ll make a few adjustments to the contents as I do this, as well). The new backpack is an Eddie Bauer 29L cargo pack – the same as my old backpack, except I got my old backpack second-hand and a previous owner had cut off the waist strap and sternum strap, and I was getting annoyed by the lack.

Asterisks mark items that I’m not transferring over to the new backpack.

Clothing/shelter

A knit wool hat A cotton sun hat A flimsy disposable poncho (I’d have preferred a sturdier plastic poncho more designed for reuse, but I saw this one in the shop cheap and I figured it would tide me over until I come across a better one) A clean handkerchief A reflective emergency blanket A “raincoat for my backpack” – a garbage bag with slits cut in it to let the shoulders straps through A pair of socks (likely dirty, got separated from my laundry, oops)* There’s usually some combination of sweater / down vest / windbreaker in there as well, but they migrate in and out depending on weather, laundry, usage around the house, etc., and happen to all be out at the moment. There are also usually some gloves or mittens at least during the winter but they also happen to be out at the moment.

Food/drink

An insulated water bottle/thermos 5 bags of green tea (genmaicha) and two small packets of salt contained in a zip bag 3 sugar packets; I’m moving those to the zip bag with the green tea and salt 5+ bags of a black tea that I find works well made in a single cup Some beef jerky Some expired coupons for my favourite fast-food restaurant* 5-ish bags of one of my standard black teas* (I find this tea works well made in a teapot but not made in a cup, so it’s less suitable for backpack stock)

Medical/hygiene

2 Can99 respirators (FFP3 NR certification) – when this gets down to 1, I add another 5 from my home stash. Some surgical-style non-certified masks (these are mostly for giving away) A pack of wet wipes A bottle of hand sanitizer The end of a roll of toilet paper. (Two instances. Reducing to one.) 13 bandaids A dozen or so cotton balls A small container of petroleum jelly Some sanitary napkins A medieval-style bone comb Some extra strength Advil/ibuprofen Some Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride antihistamine tablets [generic Benadryl equivalent] An up-to-date EpiPen An expired EpiPen* Some expired Cetirizine Hydrochloride antihistamine tablets*

Electronics

A portable power bank

Paper-related

A Rite in the Rain notebook A mechanical pencil A pamphlet-sized prayer book Another pamphlet-sized prayer book* (so well tucked away I didn’t even know it was there…) A small leatherbound notebook with handmade paper; two pins through a page near the back* (Notebook superseded by the Rite in the Rain notebook which I acquired more recently. Pins are not essential enough to keep in there.) A book that I’m reading with a friend* (This goes in and out because it only needs to be in the bag one day a week) Miscellaneous papers acquired in daily life and not yet filed* 

Other

9 grocery bags (this is way too many, they tend to accumulate; reducing to 3) A clean small zip-seal bag inside a larger zip-seal bag (I’m replenishing this depleted supply by adding 3 more clean small zip-seal bags and 1 clean large one) A BIC lighter A travel-sized diptych icon

One key item I’m adding to my new backpack right now: a LifeStraw that I recently acquired.

Things I carry in my pockets instead of my backpack: keys, credit card, transit card, health card, Swiss Army Knife, wallet, phone.

I also plan to add to my backpack:

A bit of cash, probably about $60-80 – enough to be useful, little enough that I won’t be too upset if it’s lost or stolen The right charging cord for my phone, and a wall converter (I got a new phone recently, and so far only have one charging cord for it; the cord with my power bank fits my old phone and I haven’t yet updated it)

What do people think would be particularly useful to add to this? (One thing I’m not looking for is weapons.)

Is there anything here you wonder what it’s there for?

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Gear

Has anyone found a small, good wall-plug charger with all major USB ports?

John RameyStaff - February 13, 2022

Looking for:

At least one port for each of the three most common types used in portable devices: USB-A (the big boxy one), Micro-USB (was common on cell phones until recently), and USB-C (the new standard). Small enough to be appropriate for a go-bag. Durable. For example, maybe the electrical prongs can fold in to make it more compact and less likely to bend/snap.

It makes sense that if you’re in an emergency away from home you’d want the all-in-one ability to use any of the common cables and devices scattered around.

I assumed there would be lots of options, but haven’t found something obviously worthy after some quick searching. This kind of product seems ideal for a go-bag, and if we find a great one, I’ll buy and test it.

Here’s what A, Micro-B, and C look like:

Edit to add: I wasn’t aware of all the multi-headed hydra cables, like this: https://www.amazon.com/CHAFON-Multi-Cable-Micro-Charging/dp/B01DK13VZ6/

So if you’ve used those kinds of cables, share that feedback too! Seems like we can solve the same problem by having a wall-charger with only USB-A and -C, combined then with a cable with a wider range of options.

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Gear

Is the food too old? / aka when to can the can

TraceContributor - February 13, 2022

(Recently I saw a forum question, “How to tell when to toss cans that have rust on the outside?” And it got me to thinking more about what was inside the can.)

As preppers we store food. We rotate and use our items regularly. (First in First Out ) But sometimes we don’t, it gets old and unused for whatever reason.

What is too old? First, you have to at least open it up (don’t just throw it away based on what the outside looks like). Assess what’s inside. Do you own little prepper experiment.

IF you HAD to eat it to survive, could you? Modern day food processing is pretty amazing. Look at the color and consistency. Smell it. If it looks okay and smells okay, taste a little (it won’t kill you). Again, could you eat it if you had to?

Here are the timeframes we’ve (very unofficially) determined that we’re generally comfortable with:

– Cans (that require a can opener): 6 years

– Cans with pull rings: 2 years (these are not sealed as well and mold frequently develops in them prematurely)

– Cheese: I’ve left a sealed package out in the garage as an experiment for 10 months, the package swelled, and some oils pooled, but it tasted fine — just much sharper. In the refrigerator: 2+ years

– Sour cream (16oz) / cream cheese (12oz) (refrigerated): 6 months. We buy small containers — once opened use them within about a week.

– Half and Half (64oz) (refrigerated): 3+ months

– Greek Yogurt (32oz) (refrigerated): 6+ months

– Cottage Cheese (16oz): <6 weeks (and it’ll be obviously moldy if it’s bad)

– Beer: room temperature/dark: 3 – 9 months, refrigerated: up to 2 years. It’s important to remember old beer doesn’t become dangerous to drink, it just gets old and can taste skunky or sour — but it’s harmless to the body. Essentially if it tastes fine, drink it.

– Saltines: I recently came across a sealed packages from ‘13, they tasted sour/salty almost like baking soda — but the sheep and chickens loved them.

– Frozen Meat: At the bottom of the (big) deep freezer we came across some butchered pork from ‘17, 5 years old. I was skeptical and gave some to the dogs, but it didn’t look bad. It was wrapped in plastic, then in butcher paper and the meat still looked good and wasn’t freezer burned. Experimentally we cooked some up in the crock pot, letting the pork shoulder cook on low overnight — and it was great. Great flavor and great consistency, we’ll (carefully, inspecting as we go) use the rest of it. (Edit added 2/13)

What to do with TOO OLD? I make pigcycles.  I pour the contents of all the old cans into large bowls, stir them together into a slop, spoon them into quart ziplock bags, then freeze them. Then I’ll give them to our pig, or chickens, or occasionally our dogs on a hot day as a treat. 

[Disclaimer: This is only my opinion and advice, old food should only be eaten in a survival situation.] Read More

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Advice

Summary Report: Our power went out

brownfox-ffContributor - February 12, 2022

Last night our power went out for four hours. Everything was fine. I sat by the fire and read a garden seed catalog by candle light. This is dangerous: now I want to buy everything! Everything looks good in the catalog!

This was a good opportunity to review what worked and what needs fixing. Sharing here in case it is useful. I find it good practice to write up a review for myself. Suggestions are welcome.

..

Timeline

Power outage started around 7pm Power back on around 11pm (4 hours)

What went well:

Having a keychain flashlight. I carry three mini flashlights on my keychain, which I have on me at all times. As soon as the power went off it was pitch-black dark, and of course – one of the flashlights was out of battery. Thankfully I have two spare. I was able to calmly and easily find my way around the house, to gather the family and go get the LED candles. LED candle lights. These are just the cheap pick from ikea – they glow like a candle and take two AAA batteries. They give off a nice soft glow. We had enough we could hand one to each person, and leave one on a table or at the top of the stairwell if needed. Once everyone has their own light, everything is calm. Natural gas fireplace. With no power, the main furnace won’t run. That’s why we have this. I keep the pilot lit all winter for exactly this reason. It costs me a few dollars per month to keep it lit, but you’re sure glad for it when you really need it. We flipped the switch and got heat and light. Left the fire on during the whole outage. Everyone stayed calm. The fireplace is on, so we just gathered nearby and relaxed. Have a nap. Read a book. Whatever suits you. Group text chat with our neighbours. We use Signal, because its the only app I trust for security. We are lucky to have two great sets of neighbours, with similar mindset (and they are much more skilled than I am at e.g. shooting, gardening, and other skills. I learn a lot from them). We’ve spent a long time building a relationship for our group. The app was useful – we could gather and share info. It helped to stay informed. Data connection. We were able to text lots of other neighbours and check on them, to see if everyone was okay. Luckily: yes. We do have a backup emergency phone on a different network, with a ‘pay-as-you-go’ card. Didn’t need to use it. Pantry food. We were able to easily open crackers, canned peaches, etc. And eat dinner without cooking. I enjoy intermittent fasting, and considered making it a ‘challenge’ for myself to get through the situation without eating. But I figured if I had to go help someone, or the situation got worse, it would be better to have energy. So I ate. Curtains and blinds. As soon as everyone was safe and cozy by the fire, I went around the house and closed everything to keep the heat in. DIY home repair. I have spent many months fixing leaks to try and make our home more passive and efficient. Installing vapor barrier. Taping and sealing. Installing gaskets and covers on electrical sockets. Weather stripping. etc. I have no direct measurements but I like to hope this helped. Friendly backup location. If worst comes to worst, we have a family member within driving distance that is in our covid cohort. We could load up the go bag and go there instead. Didn’t need to. But glad to have the option. Got to have a conversation about being prepared. After the power came on one of our neighbours texted us, discussing how we were doing. Their fireplace does not work, and has been broken for a long while. Discussing our steps and situation with them got them thinking, making comments like “huh, that’s a good idea. Maybe I should look into fixing our fireplace for next time…”. Great! That’s the kind of self-assessment and improvement I love to see.

What could improve:

Fix my power outage alerts to be text messages, not email. I had alerts configured with the power company to notify me if the power went out. It was pretty obvious it went out. But setting them to email was dumb – I couldn’t access my email over the data connection; it was too hammered and slow. So I didn’t get any updates. Luckily our neighbour in the group chat was smarter than me, and had his set to text. So we could still get updates on the ETA to restore power. Wind-up hand crank flashlights. These did not work. I always thought these would be useful because they don’t require batteries. But the lights don’t give off much light. Also if you had young kids – the cranks take a certain amount of manual dexterity to wind them correctly. I won’t use these again. Much better to have simple LED candles. Stored water containers: empty out some of the water. I have several 7 gallon jugs. If it was seriously cold, they might freeze, expand, and burst. I should drain some water to store them 90% full, or down to 6 gallons per container. Keep doing house improvements. Long term, I want to add more attic insulation. Short-term, we have one very leaky window that needs to be fixed or replaced. My next summer projects may include installing a better exhaust vent for our bathroom fan that doesn’t let in cold air; and putting spray foam behind (but not inside) electrical boxes.

Where we got lucky:

It was warm! Two weeks ago was -35C (-31F). Last night was -5C (23F) instead. Big difference. Much easier to deal with. We were very lucky this outage happened after it warmed up. The whole family was safe at home when it happened, not out driving or doing anything. Data connections and text messages still worked. If they hadn’t I would have gone by foot to check on one of our closest neighbours, who is elderly.

Overall, pretty happy.
Now I need to budget for garden seeds.

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Scenarios

A quick workout to warm you up

Henry Tubbs - February 10, 2022

Just a quick tip that I wanted to share:

I had a smoothie for breakfast today and they always make me so cold afterwards. A quick workout is the perfect solution to warm me up. 

After stretching, do some squats, jumping jacks, push ups, or lift weights. In less than three minutes I was toasty warm and feeling strong and loose for the day. 

Try and target the larger muscles for maximum heat generation. Quads and biceps are good ones. To warm up hands and feet, swing your arms in the air like a windmill or kick your legs out to force warm blood to the tips of your extremities. 

We may not always have access to more clothing or a space heater, but we have an incredible heater inside of us and just need to know how to turn it on. This is a great prepping tip for when you are camping or bugging out and are away from home.

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Mini greenhouse out of scrap materials

Magic 8 Ball - February 10, 2022

While spending way too much time on Reddit, I came across a project that I wanted to talk about with someone. To avoid hurting the creator’s feelings, I didn’t want to comment on the actual Reddit thread itself. It’s a great project, but there are some changes I would make.

I don’t have a sunny windowsill, so I made a mini greenhouse to start my seeds

The creator of this project used standard pane glass and scrap wood from a previous project. Cost them $10 to build.

People in the comments said that the creator needs to provide some ventilation so that the plants do not cook and the creator responds that they did put some small holes in and filled the holes with cotton so bugs don’t get in. This probably won’t provide enough ventilation.

Changes I would make:

Place a hinge on one side so you could prop it open or easily gain access without having to remove the entire lid. Drill holes in the sides for ventilation and staple squares of screen window over the holes to prevent bugs. Add a thermometer inside to monitor temperatures. If things get too toasty I would prop open the lid or turn away from the sun. If things were not warm enough, painting the box black would absorb more warmth. Create 3″ feet in each corner to get the box up off the floor to prevent it from sitting in water and rotting.

Has anyone made a mini greenhouse like this before? What changes would you make to this design?

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AdviceGear

It is critical you prune your muscadines

RedneckContributor - February 10, 2022

I’m a firm believer that if you live in the south and are a prepper, then you should grow muscadines… preferably commercial varieties.  Around here they grow wild almost everywhere.  Unlike many food crops, muscadines really require little care.  Diseases and insects don’t bother them and they can handle dry spells.  Muscadines love the heat & humidity of the south.  A mature vine can get 30 -40 feet long but I keep mine around 15 feet long.  A mature commercial plant can produce around 60 pounds of grapes each year and they are soooooo good!

I have most of my vines inside my orchard and they are on a trellis system, but that is not necessary.  They easily will grow up & along any fence line.  And boy do they every grow.  Muscadines mostly only fruit on new growth, so if you want a large crop, you need to prune back the vines each year and thin them out.  I cut off all but a few inches, so that I have a few buds on each shoot.  From that, each bud will put out several feet of new vine.  The fruit forms on these new vines.  That is why it is critical to prune your vines when they are dormant in the winter.

I just took these pics today.  I pruned one row and called it a day.

In the spring, they will leaf out, grow new vines & set new fruit.

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Advice

Little work light that pulls very few watts

RedneckContributor - February 9, 2022

Each time I have to actually use my preps, in a real world situation, I find things that need to be done differently than I originally thought & I find things I need to add to my preps.  In the past several weeks, I’ve had to deal with two separate, multi day power outages at my mother in law’s.  After the first event I added a Mr. Heater 30,000 BTU LP gas heater and it worked incredibly well at the second event last week.

I noticed, even with my two solar generators & several rechargeable Goal Zero lanterns, that I could use some extra lighting that would be flexible, bright & pull very little watts.  During these events, I would use the solar generators to power lights & devices when the generator wasn’t running, such as overnight or when refueling.  I found the lighting around my mother in law’s house would really drain the solar generators.  Nothing they couldn’t handle but it gave me some concerns.

So after the first event I ordered these little mini LED work lights from Amazon for $13 each with free Prime delivery.  They didn’t come in before the second event, but they did come in today.  They are very highly rated on Amazon, and I can see why.  They are small, lightweight & the legs can be manipulated to point it anywhere, or you could hang it by the handle.  They are very bright at 1000 lumens yet only pull 11 watts.  That means 9 of these would pull the same power as one 100 watt incandescent bulb.

I think these could be very helpful for folks planning on running some devices off of battery units, such as solar generators or the like.  These last outages during freezing weather brought home some points to me.  You can always use more lighting and being cold for long periods ain’t fun.  I have adapted my preps accordingly.

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Gear

Grid down home/bug-out hygiene kit

Noah Prepares - February 7, 2022

What do y’all store to prepare for hygiene without running water and electricity? I put together a list that seems like it would cover the basics.

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Gear

7 things to prepare before it’s too late

Mike Hill - February 6, 2022

I’ve been thinking about TEOTWAWKI or The End of the World as We Know It. To be clear, I believe that there are many other more likely scenarios to happen before this, but if you plan for the worst you will be prepared for the rest. 

As part of my family’s plan I wanted to make a list of the things we need to get in order before it’s too late. They are in no particular order and is just a very short list of things we need to do. I am planning on expanding my description of and notes for each point once I finalize the list. What do all you preparedness experts think of this list and what would you add or change?

1) Have ways to collect, treat, and store water

Water is life, we all need a lot of it not only for drinking but cleaning, cooking, and hygiene. Not having it will quickly lead to disease, dehydration, and death. Not only is storing clean water important, but have ways to collect and clean more.

2) Store food and ways to cook it

Start with a week of food, then a month, then three, then six if possible. Have ways to cook and prepare multiple recipes with the food we store and don’t just do beans and rice every day. 

3) Learn basic first aid and have a supply of medical supplies

Be able to treat wounds, sprains, cuts, and breaks. Store medications and don’t forget about dental and eye health. Store more than we think we will need.

4) Have backup sources of energy

Have alternative ways to stay warm, cool down, modes of transportation, and power the various devices and appliances in our home.

5) Fortify our homes and self

Secure our home against nature, humans, and animals. Learn personal self defense and carry some defense tool with us at all times if possible. No use preparing if we get our stuff stolen or die.

6) Create a reference library and practice various skills

The internet may not always be available, have some paper reference material and practice skills so we aren’t trying new things during the disaster.

7) Work with other preppers

We want to create a network of other like minded individuals and have goods and skills ready that can be used for trade and bartering.

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AdviceGearScenariosSkills

Electrical surge protection for older homes

Seasons4 - February 6, 2022

I just bought several surge protectors for outlets used for electronic devices in my home (computer, radio power supply, printer, modem, router, TV). Now I wonder if those surge protectors will do more harm than good since my older home uses a two-wire system (hot wire and neutral, no third wire for ground, as I understand it). 

Can anyone here speak to that issue? Does anyone have experience with Zero Surge protectors? Apparently they use a different approach to handling surges. Instead of directing surges to ground or neutral wires (again, my house doesn’t have ground wire at outlets), they handle it differently.

https://zerosurge.com/ungrounded-buildings-older-homes/

Thanks!

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Advice

Let’s talk Texas – how to prep your home for extreme cold

Jesse Smith - February 5, 2022

My heart goes out to the millions of Texans who lost power during extremely cold temperatures yesterday.

What lessons can we draw from this experience so that we can improve our future response to crises like these? I’ll speak to my area of knowledge, which is buildings. However, I have very little knowledge of regional construction practices specific to Texas, so please correct any errors or provide info as you see fit. I’d love to hear lessons from experts on community response, particularly with reference to protection of vulnerable populations. This might be disjointed.

Know the location of your main water shut-off(s). Ensure that you can operate it and that it doesn’t leak.  In the event of pipes freezing or bursting, immediately shut-off the main water supply and drain all pipes via the lowest elevation fixture(s). Then return to the burst location and start collecting water. Most burst pipes are on the water supply system so the water won’t stop until you make it stop. My guess is that only a very small number of Texas homes have hydronic heat. However, if you have hydronic heat it will be very useful to ascertain whether the burst pipe is part of the heating system. If hydronic, kill power to the boiler and drain the system via drain valves on the boiler.  In rare cases the waste piping system may rupture in freezing temperatures. This seems most common to areas prone to flooding where elevated houses are the norm and traps are suspended low or below the floor system and tend to freeze. This is the lottery win of frozen piping. Simply stop using this section of the waste system until you’re able to make repairs.  All combustion-based boilers and furnaces will fail during a power outage due to electrical inputs for combustion and distribution. Boilers generally have considerably lower electrical input than furnaces, but neither will work without back-up power when the grid goes down. Portable generator systems that back-up modern furnaces and boilers are hit-and-miss due to potential sine wave problems. Inverter generators address this, but are considerably more expensive. I don’t have a good estimate for the fraction of heating/cooling that won’t work with a standard generator, but would guess that 1/4 of stuff installed in the past decade, especially premium equipment. I would expect almost all ductless minisplit heat pumps to fail. Many combustion water heaters work without electrical power as do most gas ranges/cooktops. Ranges have to be lit manually. These devices can be used to transfer heat to the building. Make certain you have battery back-up CO monitors before you mess with this. Boil water, fill bathtubs and allow the water to approach room temperature. My guess is that the combination of these two has the capacity to put 10-40 kbtu/hr into a home, which will often be sufficient to take homes out of the danger zone.  Power-vented gas water heaters need electricity, but have very low power requirements. I’ve had customers place their power-vented water heaters on an uninterrupted power supply with good results. (This is technically a building code violation, so it’s not something I would provide as a service).  Water, heating, and cooling systems belong on the inside of the building enclosure. They don’t belong in unconditioned attics, vented crawlspaces, or exterior walls. This is a nearly sacrosanct tenet of resilient, energy-efficient housing. In homes that are placed on slabs it can be very tempting to place these things in attics. Doing so should be accompanied by a plan to condition the attic, or at least around the component in question. 

*Edited CO2 to CO.

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Ice Storm in Memphis

RedneckContributor - February 5, 2022

Well, I’m back in Memphis at my 100 year old mother in law’s house. I’d say half of Memphis is without power and half the traffic lights not working. The drive inside Memphis was rather scary. They say over 100,000 houses are without power   Thankfully our farm in north Mississippi has power.

So after work, I loaded up my truck with the dual fuel generator, lots of extension cords, 25 gallons of gasoline and 5 of my 40 pound LP gas tanks. Also brought two of my Humless solar generators and my LP gas ventless heater. I don’t trust ventless heaters, so I placed it in front of the fireplace. She has natural gas logs but they won’t keep the room warm. This LP gas heater keeps the room toasty warm and only runs about 10% of the time. 

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BOB Bifocals for old eyes

BrewIt - February 4, 2022

I’ve always kept a pair of cheap “cheaters” in my BOB, vehicle and everywhere else I think I might need them.  I’ve recently begun swapping them out for safety glass with bifocal lenses.  They are apx $15 at most local home improvement stores and come in different strengths.  Last thing I want is an eye injury when I need my eyes most.

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