Mike M - Member - The Prepared

Reply to: Filling 5 Gallon Water Jugs – From the Tap or Filtered? Posted March 28, 2022

It SHOULD eventually SETTLE, but using the alum speeds up the process by binding with the non-water particles and dropping to the bottom. Brownian motion will leave some particles suspended for weeks or longer. The alum binds with those particles and makes them larger/heavier so the drop out faster. Ask folks that work at a water treatment plant about it. Many of them use ferrous sulphate instead of aluminum sulphate because it works faster.

Reply to: Filling 5 Gallon Water Jugs – From the Tap or Filtered? Posted March 28, 2022

aluminium sulfate, also known as alum is used by municipal water systems to remove turbidity (IE., dirt) in the water supply before filtering it. Water for human consumption on a ‘home’ basis is a maximum of 150 milligrams per liter, or about one ounce by weight per fifty gallons of water. Best to use an 80 gallon barrel with the 50 gallon depth marked on the outside. Install two spigots, one at the very bottom, and the other about four or five inches up and offset by 4 inches. Put the strained as best you can water into the barrel and dissolve the alum into it. Stir for half an hour, then cover and wait 24 hours (at home this is NOT an immediate process). Uncover and you should see most of the turbidity at the bottom. Open the bottom spigot slowly so the turbid water flows out until the higher spigot opening has at least one inch of clear water below it. Now open the upper spigot for a few seconds so the turbid water can drain out of it. Once it is running clear, transfer the rest of the water into your ‘untreated’ water jugs and either treat or filter it into your ‘treated’ supply. Ideally your group would have several of the 80 gallon barrels operating at different stages as the yield will be about 40 gallons a day per barrel. Turbidity can range from slight – it’s got a tinge of some color, but I can clearly see a coin through a foot of water, to heavy – where the coin is invisible at the same depth. Use only the minimum amount of alum to get the job done. Experiment now while you still have clear water to drink! Coffee filters or fine cloth can be used to reduce turbidity to more acceptable levels. It’s all a balancing act.

Reply to: List of training centers near you Posted March 26, 2022

John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC (far western N.C.) classes year round. Annual Weekend events – Heritage Life Skills in Waynesville, NC, and Prepper Camp in Saluda, NC.

Reply to: Creating a prepping team Posted March 26, 2022

Several books come to mind: MAGS, The People Part of Prepping” , and “Survival Group Handbook” by Charlie Hogwood. “The Reluctant Partisan”, and “The Guerrilla Gunfighter”, parts 1 and 2 by ‘John Mosby’ also has some thoughts on groups, both core and auxiliaries. I’m sure there are others just as good, but I have these tomes.

Reply to: Knowing who has what skills Posted March 26, 2022

A less obvious skill is cordwainer/cobbler. Cordwainers make shoes from ‘scratch’, while cobblers repair shoes that are damaged. Both skills will be needed in a grid down situation, and could also be useful if/when global trade makes it difficult to find a new pair. Going barefoot in winter conditions is not very pleasant.

Reply to: Prepping books Posted March 26, 2022

Not so much books, but survival magazines can be useful, “‘American’ Survival Guide” was published from Jan 82 through Sept 2000 and has lots of articles. “Survive” started in 1981 and died in 1985, followed a few years later by “Practical Survival” in 1991-1992. Older issues are available from used bookstores and e-Bay, among others. There are more recent magazines available with similar titles and updated gear selections. Don’t overlook them, but don’t overpay to get copies! Then share what you have with your group!

Reply to: Evaluating information – a prepper skill Posted March 26, 2022

Bill, I can go back further to the McCarthy hearings in the early 1950’s with the ‘communism scare’. There were earlier ‘pundits’ but they did not have the advantage of TV and the 24 hour a day news cycle on multiple media platforms to sustain them. Advances in technology is a two-edged sword. YMMV.