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Two Letters Re: Cost Comparison: Factory Loads and Reloaded Ammunition
James,
Grandpappy isn't comparing apples to oranges correctly. His reloaded ammo pricing is for premium self defense bullets, which cost $150 or so per thousand. Most people are going to reload cast lead, which would cost $50 or 60 per thousand for a .40 S&W for example. If you price new premium self defense ammo, like Doubletap, it is going for around $700 a case. If you purchased new brass (why?) Hornady or Speer premium SD bullets, you would still be able to build your own (which we supposedly should not due to legal concerns) SD ammo for half the cost. And practice? Much, much cheaper with lead bullets.
Recent online ammo vendors (who have in stock) are trying to charge almost $500 for a case of .45 ACP 230 grain hardball (look at Natchez). You can load 230 grain lead roundnose (LRN) and duplicate the factory load for maybe $130 or so with good hard cast bullets included. Compared to today's ridiculous ammo prices, you can make up the cost of your reloading setup in a case or two of ammo. Anyone who wants to shoot more than 500 rounds a year should be reloading. Thanks! - M.S.
Jim:
Grandpappy had a great article on reloading, but what about time? Time is money. Reloading is very time consuming. Between [the time required for] collecting the fired brass, sorting the brass, cleaning [or tumbling] the brass, de-priming the brass, adjusting brass specs to factory (sizing, case length, primer pocket, etc…), this alone is a huge labor and use of time.
This, and my worsening eyesight that keeps me from enjoying precision hand loads, is why I gave up on reloading and sold all my equipment and supplies. BTW, I made a bundle of cash selling my new and used brass and primers. Wow! I quadrupled my money.
No one seems to factor in time. I don’t know about you, but have a long list of to-do projects and brass prep is not one of them.
I’m sure glad I bought hard and heavy in ammo back in the old days. I’m set for my life and probably the life of my kid too. - Robert
JWR Replies: I agree that reloading is time-consuming, but it is a valuable skill. For anyone that makes a six-figure salary, it is probably not worthwhile as a hobby at the present time. But for the rest of us, that don't make that much money, and a have a bit of time on our hands, it is well worth doing. It is particularly worthwhile for students and retirees. I love listening to music, and find that since it is a relatively quiet activity, reloading is a soothing, almost cathartic experience. But, of course, "your mileage may vary." Regardless, it is a valuable skill. I recommend that SurvivalBlog readers at least take the time to learn how to do it, and lay in the appropriate tools and supplies. Reloading capability might prove invaluable in a long-term collapse.
OBTW, don't overlook taking the same humidity precautions for powder and primers that you do for loaded ammunition. On that note, I should mention that I prefer using used Tupperware boxes for storing primer and percussion caps. They are airtight, yet they pose less of an explosion risk than metal ammo cans, in the unlikely event of a house fire. (I look for Tupperware containers whenever I go to garage sales, thrift stores, and farm auctions. Powder cans seal quite well by themselves. Again, for the sake of fire safety, they should be stored in a "blow open" plywood cabinet. Again, resist the temptation to store it in something confining like a 20mm ammo can.
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Letter Re: Some Preparedness Lessons Learned
James,
The need for usable skills in tough times, goes without need for embellishment.
The grand question is: which skills are the most valuable? In any situation
the basic needs are obvious – food, shelter, and clothing. Choosing what
I would concentrate on learning, became predicated on what I could do, and
what the community could provide in stressful times.
I moved some time ago from the gulf coast to Tennessee to retire and begin
preparing for the coming events. I moved into a community which is pretty much
self sufficient, mostly by religious choice. Livestock husbandry ranges from
cattle (mostly for milk), goats to chickens, hogs and horses.
I began to raise goats several years ago, starting with Boer cross. After several
discussions I have crossed them with a strain of milk goat to reduce the size
(and therefore the quantity of meat to be preserved) and gain the benefit of
milk products. I researched the process of cheese making and using products initially
supplied from New England Cheese Makers, learned the processes. It was very interesting
to discover that the rennin (for assisting in cheese making) actually comes from
the stomach of ruminators, another by product of the goats.
Preserving meats became my next concern. When talking to many folks, they believe
that they will just run out and kill fresh meat when needed. Not only will the
game be decimated in no time, but without a method of preservation it is wasteful.
Preferred methods around here are smoking, honey and salt boxes for curing and
preserving. The use of honey as a preservative turns out to be one of the very
best. Honey has a natural bacteria inhibitor, and curing smoked meats in honey
just makes life better. This in turn has determined the need for bees – My
neighbor already has a couple of hives which produces enough for now. The use
of honey reduces the dependence on obtaining sources of salt. In addition they
are many maple trees in the area which folks tap during the winter and early
spring. Many families have ponds a raise fish, which are canned by cold packing
or salting and drying.
Having fresh water is a paramount concern. Even with a spring the water quality
can change with the amount of rain causing algae blooms. These can range for
digestive distress to just foul taste. The stream water cannot be used without
treatment, as we have otters, beavers, coyote, foxes, and a whole range of other
critters, so amoeba type problems are probable. Boiling water is the surest,
but is often not the most practical. Any numbers of excellent water filters are
available, but the Big Berky is the most popular here. In any case the water
has to be pre-filtered to remove organic matter. This can be done by straining
through
a clean cloth, then passing through/over a disinfecting agent such as a silver
compound, or the addition of non-detergent bleach. The next best is a cistern
collecting rain fall, but even this can have issues as it tends to clean smoke
dust and pollen from the air on its way down.
As for the vegetable gardens the goats do help with the fertilizer which is composted
and added to the garden. The area I live in is pretty much a “rock farm” so
there is a constant need to remove the rocks from the garden areas and add in
soil from the hills behind us. This soil is usually pretty acidic with all of
the hardwood trees. Most folks use lime from the feed stores – haven’t
found a good substitute yet.
Clothing is one of the details that I have struggled with. The ability to produce
cloth is beyond most of us. Wool makes for great outer wear, but lousy underwear.
Goat hair can be made into quite durable garments, somewhat at the expense of
comfort. We have chose to use GI surplus wool socks, sweaters, BDUs
(because they are very durable) and purchase and store long and regular underwear.
We
do have a real cobbler in the community that does make very nice shoes/boots,
but I still have a back up pair. Many women here weave or quilt (using discarded
clothing as well as new cloth). I do keep some “unisex” clothing
on hand for whomever – mostly in the form of overalls. They are fairly
cheap and commonly worn in the area, and during the cold weather are an additional
layer. We have had most days at or below freezing and night down to zero. I have
looked into tanning leather – it is a noxious process and can be done.
I am choosing to have the hides tanned while I still can and store them against
the future need as clothing.
Our cabin is solid cedar timbers, and smells great! The downside is that there
is a constant need to stay on top of the chinking and calking, to reduce drafts – I’ve
used 22 tubes already this winter. We thought that pellet stove would be a great
idea – wrong. First it requires electricity. With the
power out you have to fire up the generator which is noisy and uses expensive
fuel. Second the stove
can burn corn or compressed hardwood pellets. Corn is food or the animals and
us, and tough enough to grow enough as is. Besides using the corn leaves the
odor of burned popcorn as exhaust. Compressed wood pellets are used on an average
of 80# per day at a cost of ~$9.00 / day. Pulling the stove this spring and going
to a straight quality wood burning stove that can be used to cook on. To back
up a wood burning stove an axe, buck saw, splitting wedges or a maul, and or
chain saw are required based on how much free time you can devote to it. Setting
aside wood requires a year round effort to keep from killing yourself. Although
we have electricity I do have a pitcher pump ready to install in the event it
is needed. And have simple kerosene lanterns for light. I prefer the straight
wick models, as the mantels have become very had to come by recently.
Health concerns in rural living also means, that you have to have a working knowledge
of first aid and basic medicine. The Red Cross has good courses on first aid
and the older Boy Scout manuals give an acceptable knowledge as well. Around
here there is a good deal of herbal medicine practiced. This is good for preventive
and minor issues. I have chosen to invest in some older college texts on anatomy,
physiology, and pharmacology, and a physician’s desk reference. These books
help in diagnosing, but will be of minimal help if/when the main line drugs are
not available. They are great for showing how to stitch and bandage wounds more
severe than the first aid books cover. We keep a well stocked medicine chest
with off the shelf medicines, and rotate them as needed. As we find local remedies
that are effective, we also include them (i.e. willow bark tea as a substitute
for aspirin).
I have learned rudimentary blacksmith skills, and collected some of the tools
as well as books on the subject. I can fashion horseshoes, wheel rims, forge
weld, make cut nails and a few other tasks as required. There are many better
skilled in this community and it will be more time efficient to trade/buy their
services.
I have a full time gunsmithing business which has been sorely needed in this
area – seems like everyone has one that they need fixed. So much for a
retirement business….
The acquisition of books, and how to reading material can spell the difference
between existence and some degree of comfort. In addition it is my considered
opinion the education of young people is severely unbalanced. The possession
of text books, classics, and recreational reading allows one to educate children
when contact is limited. The community has a long history of home schooling.
These kids routinely pass the high school exit exams (same tests as the state
requires for graduation) with higher scores, and at an earlier age. Most parents
seek out folks whom are well versed to teach the children. Oh yea, one by product
is that the kids are very respectful, and thoughtful.
In conclusion I thought that preparation for tougher times meant more beans,
bullets, and bullion. As it turns out, the retraining of my mind and attitudes
has presented the larger challenge. Understanding how you store food, is nearly
as important as what you store. What you can make is as important as what you
can do without (toilet paper?) Knowing that one person cannot do all that is
required, only means that you learn the skills to assist your community which
will supplement everyone’s survival/ quality of life. I thought that being
retired would allow me to kick back and enjoy some good libations. It has turned
out to be the greatest learning curve of my life – and I love it. Jim’s
preparedness course is a great place to start. But the real preparedness is in
the doing! - Dennis S.
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Depression Proof Jobs for a 20 Year Depression - Part 2: Developing a Home-Based Business
Yesterday, in Part1, I discussed the "safe" and counter-cyclical occupations
for the unfolding economic depression. Today, I'd like to talk about one specific
approach:
self-employment
with a home-based business.
I posted most the following back in late 2005, but there are some important
points that are worth repeating:
The majority of SurvivalBlog readers that I talk with tell
me that they live in cities or suburbs, but they would like to live full
time at a retreat in a rural area. Their complaint is almost always the same: "...but
I'm not self-employed. I can't afford to live in the country because I can't
find work there, and the nature of my work doesn't allow telecommuting." They
feel stuck.
Over the years I've seen lots of people "pull the plug" and
move to the boonies with the hope that they'll find local work once
they get there. That usually doesn't work. Folks soon find that the most
rural jobs typically pay little more than minimum wage and they are often
informally
reserved for folks that were born and raised in the area. (Newcomers from
the big city certainly don't have hiring priority!)
My suggestion is to start a second income stream, with a
home-based business. Once you have that business started, then
start another one. There are numerous advantages to this
approach, namely:
You can get out of debt
You can generally build the businesses up gradually, so
that you don't need to quit your current occupation immediately
By working at home you will have the time to home school your children and
they will learn about how to operate a business.
You can live at your retreat full time. This will contribute to your self-sufficiency,
since you will be there to tend to your garden, fruit/nut trees, and livestock.
If one of your home-based businesses fails, then you can fall back on the
other.
Ideally, for someone that is preparedness-minded, a home-based business should
be something that is virtually recession proof, or possibly even depression
proof. Ask yourself: What are you good at? What knowledge or skills
do you have that you can utilize. Next, consider which businesses will flourish
during bad times. Some good examples might include:
Mail order/Internet sales/eBay Auctioning of preparedness-related products.
Locksmithing
Gunsmithing
Medical Transcription
Accounting
Repair/refurbishment businesses
Freelance writing
Blogging (with paid advertising) If you have knowledge about a niche industry
and there is currently no authoritative blog on the subject, then start your
own!
Mail order/Internet sales of entertainment items. (When times get bad, people
still set aside a sizable percentage of their income for "escape" from
their troubles. For example, video rental shops have done remarkably well
during recessions.)
Burglar Alarm Installation
Other home-based businesses that seem to do well only in
good economic times include:
Recruiting/Temporary Placement
Fine arts, crafts, and jewelry. Creating and marketing your own designs--not "assembly" for
some scammer. (See below.)
Mail order/Internet sales/eBay Auctions of luxury items, collectibles, or
other "discretionary spending" items
Personalized stationary and greeting cards (Freelance artwork)
Calligraphy
Web Design
Beware the scammers! The fine folks at www.scambusters.org have
compiled a "Top 10" list of common work-at-home and home based business scams
to beware of:
10. Craft Assembly
This scam encourages you to assemble toys, dolls, or other craft projects
at home with the promise of high per-piece rates. All you have to do is
pay
a fee up-front for the starter kit... which includes instructions and parts.
Sounds good? Well, once you finish assembling your first batch of crafts,
you'll be told by the company that they "don't meet our specifications."
In fact, even if you were a robot and did it perfectly, it would be impossible
for you to meet their specifications. The scammer company is making money selling
the starter kits -- not selling the assembled product. So, you're left with
a set of assembled crafts... and no one to sell them to.
9. Medical Billing
In this scam, you pay $300-$900 for everything (supposedly) you need to start
your own medical billing service at home. You're promised state-of-the-art
medical billing software, as well as a list of potential clients in your
area.
What you're not told is that most medical clinics process their own bills,
or outsource the processing to firms, not individuals. Your software may
not meet their specifications, and often the lists of "potential clients" are
outdated or just plain wrong.
As usual, trying to get a refund from the medical billing company is like trying
to get blood from a stone.
8. Email Processing
This is a twist on the classic "envelope stuffing scam" (see #1 below).
For a low price ($50?) you can become a "highly-paid" email processor
working "from the comfort of your own home."
Now... what do you suppose an email processor does? If you have visions of
forwarding or editing emails, forget it. What you get for your money are instructions
on spamming the same ad you responded to in newsgroups and Web forums!
Think about it -- they offer to pay you $25 per e-mail processed -- would any
legitimate company pay that?
7. "A List of Companies Looking for Homeworkers!"
In this one, you pay a small fee for a list of companies looking for homeworkers
just like you.
The only problem is that the list is usually a generic list of companies, companies
that don't take homeworkers, or companies that may have accepted homeworkers
long, long ago. Don't expect to get your money back with this one.
6. "Just Call This 1-900 Number For More Information..."
No need to spend too much time (or money) on this one. 1-900 numbers cost money
to call, and that's how the scammers make their profit. Save your money --
don't call a 1-900 number for more information about a supposed work-at-home
job.
5. Typing At Home
If you use the Internet a lot, then odds are that you're probably a good
typist. How better to capitalize on it than making money by typing at home?
Here's
how it works: After sending the fee to the scammer for "more information," you
receive a disk and printed information that tells you to place home typist
ads and sell copies of the disk to the suckers who reply to you. Like #8,
this scam tries to turn you into a scammer!
4. "Turn Your Computer Into a Money-Making Machine!"
Well, this one's at least half-true. To be completely true, it should read: "Turn
your computer into a money-making machine... for spammers!"
This is much the same spam as #5, above. Once you pay your money, you'll
be sent instructions on how to place ads and pull in suckers to "turn
their computers into money-making machines."
3. Multi-Level Marketing (MLM)
If you've heard of network marketing (like Amway), then you know that there
are legitimate MLM businesses based on agents selling products or services.
One big problem with MLMs, though, is when the pyramid and the ladder-climbing
become more important than selling the actual product or service. If the
MLM business opportunity is all about finding new recruits rather than selling
products or services, beware: The Federal Trade Commission may consider it
to be a pyramid scheme... and not only can you lose all your money, but you
can be charged with fraud, too!
We saw an interesting MLM scam recently: one MLM company advertised the
product they were selling as FREE. The fine print, however, states that
it is "free
in the sense that you could be earning commissions and bonuses in excess of
the cost of your monthly purchase of" the product. Does that sound like
free to you?
2. Chain Letters/Emails ("Make Money Fast")
If you've been on the Internet for any length of time, you've probably received
or at least seen these chain emails. They promise that all you have to
do is send the email along plus some money by mail to the top names on
the list,
then add your name to the bottom... and one day you'll be a millionaire.
Actually, the only thing you might be one day is prosecuted for fraud.
This is a classic pyramid scheme, and most times the names in the chain
emails
are manipulated to make sure only the people at the top of the list (the
true scammers) make any money. This scam should be called "Lose Money
Fast" -- and it's illegal.
1. Envelope Stuffing
This is the classic work-at-home scam. It's been around since the U.S. Depression
of the 1920s and 1930s, and it's moved onto the Internet like a cockroach
you just can't eliminate. There are several variations, but here's a sample:
Much like #5 and #4 above, you are promised to be paid $1-2 for every envelope
you stuff. All you have to do is send money and you're guaranteed "up
to 1,000 envelopes a week that you can stuff... with postage and address
already affixed!" When you send your money, you get a short manual
with flyer templates you're supposed to put up around town, advertising
yet another
harebrained work-from-home scheme. And the pre-addressed, pre-paid envelopes?
Well, when people see those flyers, all they have to do is send you $2.00
in a pre-addressed, pre-paid envelope. Then you stuff that envelope with
another flyer and send it to them. Ingenious perhaps... but certainly illegal
and unethical.
From all that I've heard, most franchises and multi-level marketing schemes
are not profitable unless you pick a great product or service, and you
already have a strong background in sales. Beware of any franchise where you
wouldn't have a protected territory. My general advice is this: You will probably
be better off starting your own business,
making, retailing, or consulting about something where you can leverage
your existing knowledge and/or experience.
---
In closing, I'd like to reemphasize that home security and locksmithing are
likely to provide steady and profitable employment for the next few years,
since hard
economic times are likely to trigger a substantial crime wave. After
all, someone has
to keep watch on the tens of thousands of foreclosed, vacant houses. (If not
watched, then crack cocaine addicts, Chicago syndicate politicians, or other
undesirables might move in!)
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Two Letters Re: Alaska as a Retreat Locale
Jim,
For starters I would like to say that Jim you are dead-on with your Delta
Junction recommendation. I live near Delta. And it is some of the finest
farm land in the
world. everything grows amazing here. Some of the information in the previous
letters is wrong and I would like to clarify them . The growing season may
be a little shorter in days of light, but in total hours of light it is much
longer than other places. It gets light here in May and gets dark at night
again in late August. Some vegetables will grow great, some don't do so well,
Corn doesn't like it, but potatoes grow without trying. And as for isolation,
that's the idea. Things are harder to get, but you learn to live with less
and enjoy it more. As for power, at least in the Delta area you do not need
to worry about that in the winter, solar is awesome here in the summer, but
in winter the wind is ever present. I have four wind generators that I built
from old car alternators and Fan blades. I never had a loss in the battery
bank.
I live off of their grid anyway, so I am used to adapting.
As for the wood
situation, certain types of trees do incredibly well here, And they grow faster
not slower, I have trees that I know weren't there ten years ago and are over
twelve feet tall, Spruces grow well here, and birch is my main heat, I have
a fair sized house, and a new, catalyst stove and burn 5-to-7 cords of wood
per
winter.
Fuel is more expensive here, but it fluctuates like anywhere else,
buy when the price is low, and stockpile it. In this area it is common for
people to have a couple of 1,000 gallon tanks buried in their yard, Moose and
caribou ar always around as a meat source, as with buffalo in this area. (Yes
we have buffalo in Alaska). Along with Many other species of flora and fauna.
On the other hand Alaska is not a place for those who can not take care of
themselves. In this area it is not uncommon to see the temps dip below -60,F.
I have seen -72. It is dark all winter, And the stores never have what you
want.
There is plenty of water though, my well is thirty feet deep, and the pump
is set down to twenty feet, My suggestion for people who are thinking about
moving to Alaska is simple, Unless you have lived a subsistence lifestyle for
a while, are used to constant extreme weather changes, and can do it on your
own, stay where you are, or find some place else. As for me, I will never go
outside [Alaska] again, you can keep it. - Z. in Alaska
Mr. Rawles
I too am a long time reader and this is also the first time I have written.
I urge all of your readers to take head to Mr. Galt's letter concerning Alaska
as a retreat locale. It is harsh up here. I live in Delta Junction area and
love it. We have been here for over 10 years now and have our place set up
pretty well. We live off grid and in the bush, hunt, fish, trap, mush dogs
etc. etc. I wouldn't encourage anyone to try to move here and set up a retreat
this late in the game. We just went through a couple weeks of -50 to -60(Tok
recorded -78) temperatures then 70 m.p.h. hour winds that blew down many
trees and damaged a lot of structures. These things are a regular occurrence.
A lot
of Russian immigrants have moved from the lower 48 into the Delta area. Most
of the ones I have met seem to be good people but most live off welfare.
When the welfare stops we'll have problems. The bad bunch of them are thieves
already not just the Russian but Americans also. The Russian community has
a bad reputation for it though. Anyone planning to move here and find a job
might be in for a rude awakening.
The local jobs don't pay enough to live on the grid and the government jobs
stay filled mostly. Delta is profiting from a small military bubble economy
brought
about
by the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense
(GMD) program but with you know in office now all that could come to a
screeching halt at anytime. Because of the GMD program everyone around here
thinks their land has gold on it and prices it
accordingly.
Yes, Delta does have a big farming community. Most of the farmers get buy
living off of government programs and are deeply in debt. The ones that don't
live
off the program hurt. Most farms lay dormant wile collecting CRP checks.
I have heard that there will be no more new CRP contracts in the future. The
fertility of the farm land has gone way down too because of the climate here.
The cold doesn't allow much time for plant matter to decompose plus it's hard
to have crop rotation with only Barley. (Barley, hay grasses, potatoes, and
carrots are the main crops grown here.) For the last three years we have had
a frost in the middle
of August that pretty much killed any vegetables that were not in a green house.
Wells in Delta are any where from 40 to 450 feet in depth. If you buy land
where there is bed rock you may drill 450 deep and still get mastodon pee to
drink. Wells are at $50 a foot this year. Better plan on how to get water out
of the well when the power goes down. Currently heating oil is 2.23 at the
pump in town, more if its delivered. Diesel is currently $3.69. It hit $5 last
winter. Fire wood from Delta Lumber is $180 per cord until they run out for
the winter other sources are up to $250. The people from Delta lumber are great
people and will work themselves silly trying make sure no one goes cold. I
have seen one add for firewood for $300 per cord. Dry firewood is a must because
-50 the soot form green wood builds in the chimney thus creating chimney fire.
A friend of mine got burned out at -50 for that very reason. They didn't get
in enough dry wood for the winter. Luckily they were able to run to separate
garage and no one suffered any cold injuries. Finding a place to cut fire wood
now is getting hard to find.
Most people here are enjoying high power bills now since Golden Valley increased
their rates. The average size house power bill is running $300- $400 [per month]
in the winter maybe less if your really frugal. You have to keep your vehicles
plugged in. In a diesel that is like running a 1,500 watt electric heater.
Wind power is a possibility if your turbine can withstand the wind. Closer
to the mountains it has been 100 mph. The wind here isn't steady it is really
gusty, not good for turbine. Rent is running around a $1,000 and up for a three
bedroom home. Certified sewers are from $6,000 to $16,000 depending. Cost to
build is running around the $150 per square foot range and going up.
If you don't know how Seasonal Affect Disorder (SAD) will affect you, then
you's better find out before you try to make a permanent move here. Cabin fever
has been the demise of many people who move here and plan to live the wilderness
experience. The only cure for it is to be outside. It don't matter what the
the temp is you got to get out side when it's light. SAD has be the cause for
suicide, alcoholism, and drugs. People do the latter two to cope. I personally
have never had it. I have too much work to do. People who don't procrastinate
and get all there chores done and food stores in order for the winter and plan
to stay in the cabin for the winter suffer the worse. We don't procrastinate
but we don't stay in either. The cabin is only a place to warm up, eat and
sleep. Living is done outside the cabin. We trap, mush dogs, care for the horses,
cut more fire wood when it's not too cold, fire up the blacksmith forge, build
some log furniture. It is easy to get lazy and lethargic during the winter.
You have to fight the urge daily. We had a couple move in not to far from us.
I told the lady to make sure she kept the windows uncovered in the winter.
Well, they were the lazy type and didn't ever have enough wood cut so they
covered the windows and blocked out some of the cold but mostly the light.
They made
it though one winter but the next one they didn't. They pulled up [stakes]
and left middle of the winter.
As much as I love living here, if I were looking for a retreat locale this
late in the game then it would be some place more hospitable. We did move here
for the
lack of people and when things get even worse I expect people to start migrating
out of Alaska especially the interior. It requires a lot of hard work to live
here more especially so if your living off the land. How would you like to
cut 20 cords of wood with a hand operated saw and axe when you run out of gas
and or you saw goes down? Running chain saws in the sub-zero weather is hard
on them. Better get extra clutches for them. What about when the mosquitoes
bloom and you have run out of bug dope?
Hunting is decent here. The Russian community poaches a lot of the moose in
the Delta management area. They do it to eat. I am not knocking them for that.
When the SHTF it
will be even worse therefore even we will have to start going further into
the bush to hunt using sled teams to get there. If you plan to
have dogs and sled they require a lot of food. [Here they eat mostly] fish.
The salmon that makes it this far inland is [best -suited for] dog food. It
is pretty beat up by the
time
is gets
here.
The flesh is a faint pink to gray color as they are close to the end of the
life span. Anyone planning to come to Alaska to survive the upheaval better
have there you know what together or they won't make it. This land is unforgiving
and the least mistakes get big in a hurry. Sorry that my letter has gotten
so long but I want people to know what they are getting into if they come here
thinking
it's paradise. It ain't. but it's the life we love. People here are willing
to help if you are not stupid. Our favorite saying around here is "If
you gonna be dumb then you'd better be tough" - C.B.
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Letter Re: Handy Uses for Thermite
James:
I followed a link from your site and ended up at the DBC Pyrotechnics site,
looking at a
lot of 10 Thermite "all weather fire starters".
It seems like a very handy tool to have - cold weather fire
starters like that. I wonder if any other readers of your novel might find
them useful. A lot of 100 of those might be just a very useful thing to add
into someone's retreat supplies.
Now if I can just find a place that offers pre-mixed bulk thermite, I might
build some nice #2 can-size thermite devices, in case I ever have a need to
do some "off grid welding", or whatever. A smaller [one quart] can
[at the bottom of] a larger can filled with sand (along the sides) tends to
direct more of the molten metal down through the bottom. Just the thing if
you need to put a nice, fairly round hole through some steel plate for a special
construction project. - Bob B.
JWR Replies: I describe how to "mix your own" thermite
as well as how to make thermite igniters in my novel "Patriots:
Surviving the Coming Collapse". Thermite itself is quite easy
to make, with black iron oxide and aluminum powder. But the igniters are
a bit harder to improvise. So it might be easiest just to buy the small readily-available
DBC Pyrotechnics fire starters with integral igniters, and use them to start
larger containers of home-made thermite powder for those big cutting and welding
projects.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: Choosing Between Roughly Comparable Retreat Locations »
Letter Re: Home Invasion Robbery Countermeasures--Your Mindset and Architecture
Hi Mr. Rawles -
I've been reading, and enjoying, your survival blog for some time now. There
has been a recent thread on home invasions, which has gotten me to upgrade
my home door security. While surfing the web reviewing door frame reinforcing
products, I came across a
link to an interesting article on the techniques used by firemen to breach
your doors and gates. While the steps I am now taking
would defeat most "kick in" assaults, stopping a determined crook
with a [police or] fireman's "Hallagan" tool seems unlikely. Thanks
for your Blog, and Happy New Year. - Tom from Chicago
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Letter Re: A Prescribed Burn in North Carolina to Find a Fugitive's Weapons and Ammo
Howdy James,
I thought that this
article was interesting in the fact that the US Forest Service is calling
for a prescribed burn [in order] to locate weapons, ammo, and explosives (sounds
like reloading powder) that a fugitive may have stashed around his camp site.
This got me to thinking, how safe are your caches? You will want to make sure
any caches you have are buried well if they come looking for your cache and
burn the area. Also consider that those landmarks/trees that were there
may be gone after a burn, so locating it again may be difficult if you are
basing it on 'sight' only! Be sure to have other methods to recover your cache.
Later, - Mark in North Carolina
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Two Letters Re: A Vehicular BoB
Mr. Editor:
I have been a reader of this blog for a little while now and one of the earlier
postings I read caught my eye: In regards to a vehicle “bug out” kit.
That list was certainly a good place to start, but it was missing a few items,
so I thought I would put my “two cents” worth in.
To give you a little bit of background, I would describe myself as essentially
being a realist. I watch the news, I read the papers. I know what is going
on around me. I am aware of today’s political and economic climate, and
I understand what that does (and can) mean; not only for today but for tomorrow
as well. In my opinion preparation and knowledge are the keys to not only surviving,
but for nearly anything in life.
I have worked both white-collar and blue collar jobs. I have been a soldier
(an NCO – I
worked for a living), and I have been what I term a “survivalist” for
a little over a decade now. Along the way I have managed to learn some of the
lessons the easy way; reading books, talking to people, experimenting, and
practice, practice, practice. While other lessons were learned at the school
of “hard-knocks”; try sitting on the side of the road in the middle
of a blizzard for six hours on Christmas Day with three children praying for
someone else to come along to help (I’m not kidding about that one) – all
because you thought “it could never happen to you”. I am an active
outdoorsman; camping, fishing, hiking, small game, etc. To date I have been
lucky enough to live through them all. Sometimes with a few bumps and scrapes
along the way, and sometimes with little more
than a bruised ego; but I have survived nonetheless. Not surprisingly on my
journey I have picked up a few things: “must have” items, advice,
knowledge, and most of all experience.
As for geography I have lived in the cold and wet of Washington state; the
extreme cold of Colorado; the hot and dry of West Texas; and now the hot, wet
and hurricane-prone area of East Texas; and this list contains items that have
literally saved my life on more than one occasion, while making crisis situations
a whole lot easier to deal with in others.
While I am not going to lay claim at being an expert on the subject of survival
or preparations; I have seen a done things that may genuinely surprise some
people (while possibly boring others) and could probably go on for hours on
end; but that is not my point here today. I now possess [what I feel] is enough
knowledge that I can speak with at least some authority. My point in this
is to allow others to learn from
my own mistakes
in the hopes that they don’t find themselves forced to repeat the same
errors that I have made. Learn from others – that is the point in all
of this.
As I write this I am proud to say that none of my vehicles are ever without
the bare essentials. In my opinion it is one of the things that everyone should
do, survivalist or not. I rank properly equipping my vehicles right up there
with having them registered, insured, and inspected, to me it is simply a necessity,
a requirement. In an attempt to make sense of this I broken the lists down
into four basic areas:
Vehicle Supplies
Personal Supplies
Glove-Box Miscellaneous (loose throughout the vehicle)
General Miscellaneous
While there is some repetition between the 4 areas, this is done so for a reason – it
is always a good idea to have a backup.
1. Vehicle supplies (most will fit in a small “duffle” or reasonably
sized “tool bag”, kept in trunk, cargo area, or under the seat)
Jumper Cables (get the good ones)
Tow Rope (at least 1)
2 cans of “fix-a-flat”
Air compressor (cigarette lighter plug in)
Roll of Duct Tape (if you can’t fix it, duck it)
100ft of parachute cord (550 cord)
X style lug-wrench (more torque, safer, and more versatile than the ones that
come with cars today)
2 1⁄2 ton bottle jack (again safer, and more versatile than the ones
that come with cars today)
Roadside Flares (3 minimum)
Hand-held spotlight, plug in type is fine
Electrical Kit with:
Spare Fuses – vehicle specific
Spare Bulbs – vehicle specific
Small roll of Red Wire (14-16 GA)
Small roll of Green Wire (14-16 GA)
Small Assortment of Butt Splices
Circuit tester (Screwdriver type)
Electrical tape
Spare belts – vehicle specific
Spare hoses – vehicle specific
Spare thermostat – vehicle specific
Assortment of hose clamps, at least two large enough for your coolant hoses
Flashlight (2 minimum – generator type are best, LED Generator types
are better)
Spare batteries – 1 set for each flashlight in the vehicle (if needed)
Tarp (8 x 10’ is usually sufficient)
Hand Tools:
Screwdrivers (4 minimum, 2 standard 2 Phillips-head)
Crescent Wrenches (2 minimum, 6” and 12”)
Slip-Joint Pliers
Needle-Nose Pliers
Wire Cutters
Channel-Locks (12”)
Socket set (basics only, 3/8” drive, SAE and Metric)
Combination Wrench set ((basics only, SAE and Metric)
Allen Wrench set
Small Hammer
Hatchet (axe)
Folding Shovel
Plastic Trash bags (2 minimum)
Coffee Can full of Cat litter (with lid)
Basic First Aid Kit, with the following additions:
Aspirin
Tylenol
Motrin
Antacid Tablets
Water purification tablets
Small tube of Neosporin
Additional alcohol pads
Additional band-aids (common sizes)
Cravat
Razor blade
Matches
Can of Sterno (large)
Wire coat hanger
Roll of bailing wire
Box of matches (at least 1 box)
Cigarette lighter (disposable, spend the buck and a half and get the Bic brand,
you can’t beat them)
Water bottle
Pen(s)
Small notepad
A small stash of cash ($50 to $100)
Spare compass
Rain poncho – 2
Emergency Blanket (foil type) – 2
Candles – 6
Sunscreen
Basic Fishing kit:
Hooks
Sinkers
Fishing Line
Bobbers
2. Personal Supplies (with a little patience and forethought, this will all
fit inside of and/or attached to a medium sized book-bag, i.e. backpack)
Basic First Aid Kit – duplicate of the aforementioned kit
1 pair of socks
Flannel shirt
Windbreaker
Baseball cap
Multi-tool
“Swiss Army” knife
Fixed blade knife
Basic Camping Mess Kit
Travel Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Toilet paper
Tissues
Sunscreen
Flashlights (2 minimum)
Compass
50 ft of parachute cord (550 cord)
Can of Sterno (small)
SPAM – 1 can
Tuna fish – 1 can
Rice – 1⁄2 lb
Lintels – 1⁄2 lb
“Gorp” (Trail mix) – 1⁄2 lb
Packet of powdered Gatorade
Zip-lock bag with:
Sugar packets
Salt Packets
35mm film canisters full of All-spice
Tea bags
Bullion Cubes
Vitamin Pills
Energy bars (3 minimum)
P-38 can opener
Rain poncho
Poncho Liner
Tarp – 5 x 8” is usually sufficient
Candles – 3
Matches
Cigarette lighter
Emergency blanket (Mylar foil type) – 2
Signaling mirror
Basic Fishing kit:
Hooks
Sinkers
Fishing Line
Bobbers
Small Hikers Trowel
Plastic trash bag (2 minimum)
A small stash of cash ($40 to $50) [JWR Adds: I recommend that be
in rolls of Quarters, so you can also use pay phones.]
Water purification tablets
Canteen
Canteen cup
Web Belt
3. Glove-Box Miscellaneous (kept loose in the glove box, in the vehicles console,
or in door pockets)
Package of Tissues
Cigarette Lighter
Small Multi-tool
“Button” or other small compass
Map of local city you are in, and the state(s) you are traveling – or
expect to travel.
Small tube with a mix of aspirin, Motrin, and Tylenol.
Pen(s)
Small notepad
A small, durable pocket-knife
Small Flashlight
One $20 bill
4. General Miscellaneous
Fuel can – store empty; you never know when you will run out of fuel
two miles form the nearest gas station. If you are evacuating, fill up as you
leave – this will reduce your risk of fumes/explosion.
One gallon of potable water
1 Qt Engine Oil (minimum)
1 Qt Transmission Fluid (minimum)
1 Pt Power Steering Fluid (minimum)
Assortment of “bungee” cords
Now I am sure that I have probably missed a few items here, but this list is
fairly comprehensive. Please feel free to add items to it – I am always
eager to learn more.
If you look through it, you should be able to think of one (and most of the
time multiple) uses for each and every item on this list. With this setup you
basically have what you need whether you are accompanied or alone and whether
you stay with the vehicle, leave the vehicle, or are for some reason forced
to separate your party (never a good idea – remember there is always
strength in numbers). But you get the point.
In colder climates, add more food, and more warmth items (sleeping bag, snow
boots, candles, or a heavy coat?). In warmer climates add more fluids and more
shade (bottled water, additional hats, or maybe an umbrella?).
On to the next topic – How much does all of this cost? Well that can
vary widely. Many of these items can be had at the local dollar store, while
other may take a little bit of searching. Check Wal-Mart, your local Military
surplus dealer, the flea markets, and pawn shops. You might be surprised just
how far you can make your dollars go. Plus don’t try to do it all in
one shopping trip – you will just frustrate yourself. Keep your eyes
open when you are at the grocery store or out doing your normal shopping; pick
up a few items here and there, and just slowly equip your vehicle. Within a
month or two you will suddenly find your vehicle is much better equipped than
it ever was before.
As to the vehicle preparation mentioned in the earlier post, this is all good
advice. But again I would add to it. Create yourself a short checklist of items
that you check weekly and monthly. Follow the owners manual that came with
the vehicle, they tend to be fairly comprehensive.
Some tricks I have learned include:
Remember to check the air pressure in your spare tire regularly. A spare doesn’t
do any good if it is flat too.
Don’t forget to check the brake fluid, power steering fluid, and windshield
washer fluid too, these are often over looked.
Never, ever overfill any of your vehicle’s fluids.
Keep all of your lights clean, headlights, brake lights etc. The better they
work, the better you see, and are seen.
Whenever adding accessories to your vehicle: make additions that work, and
that matter before you worry about “pretty”. Think of it this way
- which is more important (and useful) on a full-size truck – a good
trailer hitch, or a pair of fancy mud flaps? You get my point.
When adding electrical accessories, always use the next heavier gauge wire,
it will handle to load better, last longer, and prevent not only short circuits,
but fires as well.
A good CB is
always a wise investment, but make
sure that it is installed properly.
Engine and Transmission oil cooler can extend the life of your vehicle – and
mean the difference between getting there and getting stuck – especially
in hot weather and heavy traffic. They are definitely worth the money.
Own a truck, van or SUV? Look into an oversized fuel tank and/or a spare fuel
tank with a transfer pump. It may be expensive, but it will pay for itself
over time; between having the ability to fuel up for a cheaper price per gallon,
combined with the extended range the vehicle will now have – it is definitely
worth at least considering.
Consider installing an aftermarket, oversized fuel filter. Cleaner fuel means
longer engine life. Plus some of the newer vehicles don’t even have an
inline fuel filter – they are mounted inside the tank itself. Who was
the genius that came up with this gem anyway?
If your vehicle doesn’t have them, install tow hooks both front and rear.
They do not have to be conspicuous, but they need to be there.
Don’t skimp on wiper blades, buy the good ones and replace them often.
If you can’t see, you can’t drive.
Keep the engine bay clean – it makes finding a leak a whole lot easier,
and makes life a whole lot more pleasant when making repairs.
It also it isn’t a bad idea to add seasonal items to your kits. For example
if you live in area prone to snow, you should probably have a set of tire chains/cables
with you in the colder months, but then why would you want to carry them in
July?
Lastly a few words of advice:
First: know how to use everything you put in your kit. Practice with it before
you put it in the vehicle – few tools are as dangerous as the ones in
the hands of the uninformed.
Second: check your local laws on exactly what is considered a weapon,
and what is considered concealed. You may want to think twice before you run
out and buy that shiny Rambo knife with the 12 inch blade and have it strapped
to the outside of your back pack sitting under your seat.
Third: in regards to knives, multi-tools, hand tools and the like – you
generally get what you pay for. That cheap knife at the flea market is normally
just that – cheap. It may be better than nothing at all, and the truth
is that if that is all you can afford – then fine. But understand that
up front.
Fourth: when choosing the storage bags to put these items in – think
about the size, shape, and color of the bag you buy. There is not a right or
wrong here, get what fits your situation. And think about the straps. There
may be a situation where you find yourself forced to carry these bags, so good
shoulder strap are important. And just as with knives and hand tools – you
generally get what you pay for.
Lastly, a word about any and all foodstuffs you keep in your kit: remember
that all food expires sooner or later – a even water can only sit for
so long before it is no longer fit to consume. Trust me when I tell you that
yes, even SPAM can and will go bad with time (you really, really don’t
want to know how I know that). So rotate your foodstuffs regularly.
The long and the short of it is that some sort of vehicle kit really should
be in each and every car, truck, SUV, or van on the road. With a little bit
of thought and not a whole lot of money we can all prepare ourselves better.
No traveler should be without what they consider to be the basics. - David
H. in Southeast Texas
[JWR Adds: Thanks for those great lists! The only additions
that I'd make to your lists are a fire extinguisher, and depending on whether
off-road travel is anticipated, more robust pioneer tools. These should include
an ax,
pick,
shovel,
and if space permits, a Hi-Lift jack.]
Jim,
Hugh D. sent in a good letter about using his trailer as a large bug-out kit.
The concept isn't bad (as long as he's on the road and off again before the
masses figure out something is wrong) but then he said this:
"This has been overcome with careful planning on our part. First, we have
mapped out likely hide spots for ourselves and the trailer – mostly campgrounds
on National Forest lands," and then regarding some cabins near the campground, "...we
can move into a nice, if rustic, survival retreat."
No offense, but I wouldn't exactly consider this careful planning. If Hugh
doesn't think that for every marked camping site in America there aren't 100
guys (who also own guns) already thinking about that same site, he's crazy.
Worse, he has no claim of "right" when it comes to those cabins.
He is no more entitled to a cabin there than the next guy that comes along
and wants to evict him and take it for himself. Furthermore, he's got kids
in diapers (I do too) - he isn't going to be able to defend both his family
and his "stuff" in a public campground whose location is published
on every map and travel guide in America.
I'd suggest that Hugh reconsider his plans. The trailer is good but find somewhere
else to go. As an example, I live in the Dallas area and have friends who own
a ranch about three hours away in central Texas and can be reached using a
number of combinations of country roads and state highways. It's on 500 hilly
acres twenty miles from the closest town, whose population is a couple thousand
people. You can't see a single building on the ranch from the state highway
- you have to drive a winding county dirt road a few miles to get to the houses
and barns. My friends who own the ranch think I'm nuts (they aren't survivalists
by any means, but retired city folk who wanted to run a peach orchard in retirement).
Nonetheless, they have agreed that if I need to get out of town I can come
down there with no prior notice. - Matt R.
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Letter Re: Some Technologies for Retreat Security
Jim
I've put together a few ideas on retreat security that I haven't seen on your
great site. I may have missed them but I think they would bear repeating.
I presently
live near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but will soon be moving to my 280 acre
ranch in central Nevada.
What got me to write this was a realization during my semiannual chore of
servicing the
emergency
generator.
Changing out the gas (It is also set up to run it on propane) changing the
oil, and testing the circuitry, I realized that what I thought was a good
setup
was
actually lacking.
I have always made the preparedness of our home priority. If a storm knocks
out the power, I go start the generator and switch the control box. My "Ah-ha"
moment came with the realization that if the power were ever cut intentionally,
all security would be off until after I'd expose myself to go start the generator.
Needless to say
corrective
action projects (remote start, auto control panels, and UPS battery
backup for the security system) are now underway.
Education has been mentioned but I realized that I hadn't seen much about
basic electronics. Learning how to make small circuit boards is really rather
simple,
and allows
you to make a lot of toys (equipment) for the homestead. A simple IR detection
circuit to let you know if someone is coming in under cover of night. A display
can show which sensors are being activated. This way you have a choice, whether
or not to let someone know you are alert
to their presence. Pressure [sensing] pads you can make yourself to show if
someone is standing behind that large boulder, by the barn, or shed. [JWR
Adds: Commercially-made
pressure sensing pads are far more reliable weather-resistant. Used ones are
sometimes sold as surplus by alarm companies.] How about a simple circuit that
is connected
to motion/heat sensors in the house
that
light
an
LED array that not only shows someone is in your house but on which
floor or in which room. There are electronics parts vendor sites like Jameco and
DigiKey and web sites
like Instructables.com, Makezine and
similar hobby and hacking sites that show all sorts of projects and skills.
When I
get my
next batch of wire I am setting small speakers to exploit a bit of human nature
by creating a brief sound to get intruders to look in a particular direction
and then two seconds later turn on concealed 500 Watt floodlights for a blinding
effect.
These floodlights will
be good
for
general
use as well. I mentioned pressure pads for detection earlier. One of the ideas
at the ranch was to place large cover objects at strategic points to funnel
a potential intruder to a place he could hide and I could remote view the opposition
at the same time. Mini cams and mikes and alarm pressure pads will give you
a heads up.
Since my ranch a long way from law enforcement protection, a remote
defense is also installed. Behind two of the boulders I had moved with the
rented dozer, I placed a small outcropping of rock in the ground so as to leave
nothing to hide behind but left a cavity in front to set plastic bagged SKS rifles
(sans stocks) [in mounting frames with solenoid-actuated triggers and] cameras
at the scope (which by the way is a great way to aim around corners) and the
aiming
is
done
by
remote
control
units
from
the hobby shop (or eBay). Solar power and small batteries keep things operational.
(I am sure the liabilities and legalities will be questioned, so let's say
the property is set up for installation after TSHTF).
Safety is important so the units are double switched, one to turn on the power
and
the
other to
control
and fire. The third unit is similar but I made a small bracket on the tree
behind the third cover position, laid in my controls, made a cloth skirt at
the base to allow movement and then used the foam
insulation in a spray can and made a foam cover to look like a branch
and spray painted with a couple of
colors
. This made it so invisible that a visiting friend couldn't detect it even
after I told him where it was. The cost for cameras, microphones, controllers,
and sensors
is really
small--from
under $2 for sensors to perhaps $25 for the others. What you pay big bucks
for is the labor and knowledge. But you you get that by turning off the television
and
exercising your brain.
[JWR Adds: Consult your state and local laws on "trap
guns" before
considering any such installation. Also keep in mind that any semi-auto firearm
that is triggered via solenoid might be construed to be a " machinegun" if
there is any way whatsoever that more than one cartridge could be fired by
a single press of the remote "trigger". Also, keep in mind that in
the US, Federal law that restricts not only barrel length but also overall
length for a firearm.
(Rifles
and shotguns must have a minimum overall length of 26 inches.) Multiply-redundant
safeties should be designed, as a well as a safe backstop for any bullets fired.
In
my opinion,
installation
of a remotely-fired gun should only be considered in absolute "worst
case" situations.
Their use in any lesser situation might very well land your in court, on trial
either criminally and/or civilly, in a very bad light that would doubtless
be exploited by
hostile attorneys.]
Before I leave this topic I would add that on the previous
mentioned
web sites and YouTube.com and Google video you can learn how to pick locks,
scavenge old camera parts, make and run a forge, start fires, throw flame,
make thermite, generate smoke and just about anything else you can think of.
Its like having a couple hundred mischievous people in your R&D department.
How about remote cameras? There are gadget sites, military and defense corporations,
and especially university sites have many ideas, for free, such as GizMag,
DARPA, and MIT.
One topic of interest is remote viewing. You can launch a hand held and nearly
silent electronic plane
and
view all points of
the ranch in very short amount of time without exposing yourself. It could
also be used to find wild game. [This is called "First
Person View (FPV) piloting.] Try
a web search on "remote FPV flying" and watch a couple of videos. The aforementioned
hobby
web sites
are
also a
resource
on
model aircraft information. [JWR Adds: Radio control aircraft
servos have numerous uses for folks with creative minds.] Prices range from
$300-to-$400 to as much
as $1,500 This can be applied to rc cars
adding
remote
microphone
and
speaker,
and
rc
helicopters
as well.
It
only took a couple of hours to get a real good feel for it,. But I should add
that I haven't yet flown it in high wind.
To set up [for security at] the ranch property I mapped out GPS way
points and used a range finder for all the prominent features. I would also
suggest
a
picture
of
the property
and the surrounding properties from Google maps . At several strategic spots
I planted some damaged concrete sewer pipes on end--I had obtained these
free for the asking--and made large lids for them with a plastic base and the
aforementioned spray
can foam to look like the landscape, with a hollow center so you could look
out small holes without moving the lid. Inside is water and there are a couple
of ammo cans for food, and
a small seat
and space blanket, iron oxide hand warmers which are also good for emergency
in your car and coat pocket or keeping vigil at a remote hide--[a small heat
source] can be the difference between bearable, frostbitten, or dead. I've
requested more
of the free concrete pipes be saved so that I can bury them between the house
and the barn and run a little shuttle
between the two buildings. Why not,? The price is right.
For structure fire suppression and prevention, I'll just mention these two
products as a one-time fire insurance policy: ThemoGel and
Barricade. Perhaps
at some point this could also be made a remotely-triggered function. I hope
you find some of this useful. - Erik
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Letter Re: A Useful Heated Steel Color Emission Chart
Dear James:
I came across this table in a reference book and thought it may be useful to
everyone. Note: This chart should not be used as a guide to combating
fires. Remember all fires are dangerous, and you should call the fire department,
if that is a possibility, when you see flames. All degrees are in Fahrenheit
below.
Yellow
|
450 degrees Fahrenheit |
Brown to Purple
|
550 degrees Fahrenheit |
| Blue |
600 degrees Fahrenheit |
Faint Red
|
900 degrees Fahrenheit |
Dark Cherry Red
|
1,100 degrees Fahrenheit |
Full Cherry Red
|
1,400 degrees Fahrenheit |
Salmon
|
1,600 degrees Fahrenheit |
Lemon
|
1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. |
White
|
2,200 degrees Fahrenheit |
| Sparkling White |
2,400 degrees Fahrenheit |
Regards, - Mikael
JWR Replies: Of course all the
usual torch and metal-working shop safety rules apply.
That chart, BTW, is handy companion piece to the Combustion
Temperature Reference that was posted previously in SurvivalBlog. I recommend
printing out hard copies of both posts for your shop reference binders.
Keep in mind
the standard provisos that the true measurement of the volatility
of a stored material is its "flash point", which in most cases
is considerably lower than the flame point figures noted in the Combustion
Temperature Reference.
Also, when using
color as a reference for gauging the temperature, keep in mind that the ambient
light available can skew the color observed. Holding up a piece
of metal in the dim light of a blacksmithy will not show the same color as
holding up the same piece of metal heated to the same temperature in
bright daylight. This can lead to heat-treating errors. This was best illustrated
in the
classic
book "Hatcher's
Notebook." In it, Colonel Julian Hatcher recounted the
story of the "Low Number Springfields", that many shooters in
the current generation
might not have heard: Here it is in a nutshell: The smiths at the Springfield
and Rock Island Armories were manufacturing Model 1903 Springfield rifles.
One of the steps in the process was heat-treating the receivers to a certain
color
of redness.
This was before the days of precise industrial pyrometers--back when heart
treating was judged "by eye".) It was found that some of
those receivers failed--due to the heat treating being of insufficient
hardness.
The Board
of Inquiry
discovered
that some receivers
that were heat treated on overcast
days, lacked sufficient heat treating (and blew up dramatically when
fired), while those made on sunny days had the specified strength. This
was because on
overcast
days,
the heated
receivers showed the correct "color" when they had not yet actually
reached the requisite temperature.
This failure in process control was of course soon corrected, but ever
since,
"low number Springfields" have not been trusted for full-pressure
pressure .30-06 loads. (The manufacturing transition BTW, was with Springfield
Armory
M1903 rifles that had serial numbers below 800,000 and Rock Island M1903
rifles with serial
numbers below 285,507.) Just
an interesting
historical tidbit...
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Letter Re: Advice for City Folks on a Budget?
Dear Mr. Rawles,
I read the two letters that were posted on September 27, “Advice for
City Folks on a Budget”. What struck me was how similar Mike H.’s
situation is to mine. I too have a wife similar to the Mike H’s.
At first my wife thought I was out of my tree when I began preparing years
ago. After the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, she came to believe that what I
was doing was prudent, but somewhat overkill. Now that we have entered this
period in history, she’s starting to pay attention, and has become a
participant. I empathize with people in Mike’s predicament, and I have
several suggestions to add to yours:
Before one starts with your recommended “List
of Lists”, I would
encourage everyone to do a complete inventory of what is currently in one’s
household. I understand that sounds overwhelming, but it can be accomplished
within a week or two, if one room or closet is done every evening. I’d
leave the larger spaces such as attics, garages, and basements for a Saturday
or Sunday. I would encourage people to do this as a family group so that people
will have an idea where things are when all is said and done.
I’m going to make some suggestions of things to add to one’s preparedness
supplies as I go along.
Start by going through your clothing closets with prejudice. Do the same with
your children’s closets. Set aside the clothing in a pile that is no
longer worn or that is out of fashion. Heavy coats, jackets, etc should be
checked for fit. If they don’t fit, place them in the pile. If they do
fit, even if you or your kids hate the way they look, put them back into your
closet.
If you are unable to heat your home, you won’t care what you look like
when you’re cold. Keep in mind layering and hand-me-downs [for younger
children] when checking fit.
Next, do the same with shoes. Fashion footwear that is little more than eye
candy, if it is no longer being used, it should be placed in the pile. Go through
your dressers and chests of drawers as well.
Now that you know what you have in your closets, and they’re cleaned
out, this makes room for your needed additions. Depending on your climate,
you may find that you will need to add things like sweatshirts, sweat pants,
gloves, scarves, hats, long underwear, wool socks, heavy boots or more rugged
shoes, etc. I live in sunny Central California, and during the winter, it can
frequently still fall into the single digits overnight. Most people never
notice it because of modern conveniences like central heat. That will change
if things
really get bad.
Keep in mind your bedding and bath towels. Extra towels, blankets and sheets
are good to have if everything has to be washed manually and hung to dry. Make
sure you have a way to string a clothesline, even if it’s just above
the bathtub.
Now is the time to buy. Many retailers are having sales as their revenues continue
to fall, and others declare bankruptcy. Keep an eye out for sales, and don’t
be afraid to visit the Goodwill or Salvation Army thrift stores. If you’re
worried about fallout from mortified spouses or kids, do it alone, pack it
up, and label it. I sincerely doubt that you’ll hear any complaints from
people who are cold and miserable.
Next, go through your clothing discard pile. Donate things that obviously will
serve no practical purpose in a survival situation. Polyester skirts and pair
of pumps that were in fashion in the 1980s really won’t help much.
The rest box up and label. There may be neighbors or others who can benefit
from your charity if things really get bad.
If you are like I was, you probably had eight pairs of old jeans that had holes
in the seat and the like. Save several pairs to cut patches out of to repair
the one’s you have now, and to help filter coarse debris from water.
Discard the rest. Get a sewing kit capable of handling heavy fabrics. Buy some
glue for your shoes, like Shoe Goop.
Next stop is the kitchen and pantry. Go through all your cabinets and drawers.
Pull out everything that is food. Go through it. Check the date codes. Things
that
are way out of date, use or discard. Just because something is past the date
code, doesn’t mean it is bad. A little time spent on the web will show
you how to interpret date codes and their meanings for various foods.
Set aside things that you know you will never eat. You may have received a
Christmas basket that had pickled pig’s feet in it, and you know that
even if someone held a gun to your head, you wouldn’t eat it.
Put everything you will eat back, and make a list of things to add to your
larder. Buy them as finances permit. When adding to your larder, remember to
[FIFO] rotate your stock.
The things you won’t eat, put them in a box to use as charity, or donate
them to a food bank now.
Next go through your cooking utensils. The non-stick Wolfgang Puck Bistro set
isn’t going to hold up if you’re forced to cook in your fireplace,
so you'd better lay in some cast iron or at bare minimum plain stainless steel.
If you can only afford one piece of cast iron, then get a Dutch oven with an
iron lid.
Some are available with a glass lid. If the lid breaks, you’re SOL.
Try to purchase brands such as Lodge. There are a lot of inexpensive pieces
out
there that come from China, and I’ve heard that they warp and sometimes
shatter. Check garage sales, and the Goodwill etc. Even if they’re rusty,
as long as there aren’t huge pits in the iron, they will clean up and
re-season well.
You’ll also need a manual can opener, a “church key” [beer
can opener],
a manual bottle opener and corkscrew. If you can, get an extra or two of each
because
sometimes they break or wear out. Your neighbor may not have one, come the
time [of need]. Good will between neighbors goes a long way when things are
difficult. Extra
pot holders and kitchen towels are good too.
Get a set of real knives. Those fancy ceramic ones are awesome, I know, I have
a set. They won’t hold up if you have to carve up game, such as a rabbit
or duck. Don’t forget a whetstone or some way to manually sharpen your
knives. A dull knife is far more dangerous than a sharp one.
As you continue through the garage and attic, use the same critical eye. Discard
things that you won’t use to make room for things that you will.
When you finish you’ll have a good idea of what you do have, and can
accurately gauge yourself against the “List of lists”.
Here are some additional thoughts:
If you should find yourself with a collection of things that can generate some
cash after going through your house, consider a garage sale, and use the proceeds
to buy needed supplies.
If you have the time,storage space, and finances, then add hand crank drills,
hammers, a “Yankee
Screwdriver” and other manual tools to a small kit. Get some nails, wood
screws, and a couple of sheets of plywood, a few 2x4s, and heavy poly sheeting.
This will help you contend with broken windows and doors. If civil unrest becomes
a problem, the 2x4s can be used to reinforce exterior doors. Make sure you
have appropriate fasteners such as lag screws or nails between 40d and 100d.
(The “d” means penny.) A 40d is about 5 inches in length and 100d
is about 10 inches in length.
Buy several large fire extinguishers and position them through the house. Make
sure everyone knows where they are and how to use them. Best Regards, - J.H.
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Letter Re: Advice on Fuel Drums and Fuel Transfer Pumps?
Jim:
Do you have any idea where I can get a 50 gallon fuel drum with a manual
pump like
the one that your previous writer discussed? - SF in Hawaii
JWR Replies: You should first consult your local fire code,
for capacity limits. This is generally not a problem outside of city limits,
but laws vary widely. Needless to say, you
should store any fuel cans or drums in a detached storage
shed that is away from your house, not in an attached garage!
In North America, the fuel drums that the reader mentioned are usually made
in 55 gallon capacity. Your local fuel distributor should have new ones, or
you
can
scrounge
used
clean ones
locally if you post a query on Craig's
List. The fuel-rated pumps are often D-handle
design, like these.
Again, used ones are less expensive.
Or, of course you could also use a 12
VDC electric fuel transfer pump, like the ones that I make. (OBTW, every
family should keep one of these pumps handy.)
Unless you are certain that you will be using the fuel within a few weeks,
be sure
to se
stabilizer, such as Pri-G.
It is best to buy winter-formulated gas, and rotate it annually.
(Also in winter.) This is because winter gas has extra butane added, o aid cold
weather starting. This formulation extends the storage life of gasoline.
Drums that are 20 gallons or smaller can be moved with a standard dolly and
lifted off a pickup tailgate by two men. But moving anything larger requires
special handling equipment, and is a back ache waiting to happen. Filling (or
re-filling) a large drum that is kept at
home can best be accomplished discreetly by using your vehicle's fuel tank
and a 12 VDC fuel
transfer
pump. Just make several trips over the period of a week, and it won't be noticeable.
Buy the materials for camouflaging your fuel drum(s) in advance. I generally
recommend scrounging an appliance box (such as a small refrigerator box) so
that the drum won't
be noticed by
visiting workmen or meter readers. Or you could build a false wall at the end
of a long shed. One other alternative is to use a "hide
in plain sight" (HIPS) approach. This might be to re-paint the drum white,
with herbicide
markings. This won't look too out of place for drum up to 30 gallon capacity
stored in the corner of a gardening shed. You can also leave a full two-gallon
lawnmower
gas can
in the same shed, as "bait" for burglars, to distract their attention.
Re-painting a fuel drum is a fun and creative family stencil cutting and painting
project.
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Letter Re: Some Thoughts on Practical Preparedness -- Things That Work
Jim:
To follow-up on the last two e-mails that you posted from me, here are some
random thoughts that I'd like to share on preparedness for when the Schumer
Hits
the Fan
(WTSHTF):
Use an eyeglasses "leash" (lanyard) to prevent the loss of glasses and reduce
the risk of damage.
Buy janitorial-size rolls os toilet paper, without perforations. Each roll
is 1,000 feet long, and a box of 12 rolls measures about two feet square.
These take up just a fraction of the room required to store the same length
of toilet paper in standard household rolls.
Use a kiddie-type pool to collect water from rainwater downspouts. The pools
with hard-plastic sides and vinyl bottoms are fairly durable. A six foot diameter
pool that is 15 inches deep holds 211 gallons of water.
Light-emitting diode (LED) lights are superior to traditional [filament] bulb
designs. They last much longer and are much more resistant to impact. When
used LEDs, batteries last much longer. LED headlights are close to ideal for
doing chores, since they keep your hands free. Tactical use requires a hand-held
or
weapon-mounted
light [with an intermittent switch.]
Krazy Glue [cyanoacrylate adhesive] is great for closing small cuts [after
they have been properly cleaned.] Steri-strips are the next step up in holding
ability.
Water Filters - Culligan's
new EZ-change Level 4 [under-sink] filter [cartridge]
is rated to treat 500 gallons. That is five time the volume of most compact
backpacking filters. With a self-contained design, it would be easy to attach
a pump. The are available for $38 through Amazon.com. Most [other] under-sink
filters could be used the same way, but the Culligan design is preferable because
it is fairly compact.
For "ready made" backpacking filters, I prefer the First Need brand filters.
These are rated to remove viruses and radioisotopes.
Ball-shaped pin on magnetic compasses are compact, but they are more fragile
that the type designed to clip on to a watch band, such as the Brunton and
Suunto brand compasses.
Dental health is very important for long-term survival. Wal-Mart now sells
a dental kit including a mirror with scaling tool and pick, from Dentek. They
also sell Temparin temporary filling repair kits. These come in three-application
containers.
Temparin is far superior to the old standby of packing a lost filling void
with zinc oxide.
A big part of survival is preventing injury. In a post collapse word, an injury
will reduce available manpower, and something that would be considered just
relatively minor in the present day could prove fatal. Proper safety equipment
and training in the safe use of hand tools is crucial. Gloves, eye protection,
preventing falls, fire safety, and so forth should be stressed. Hygiene and
proper sanitation are equally important.
I believe that a good foundation for long-term family preparedness is learning
the basics of wilderness survival. Having a solid understanding of the first
four critical basics--water, food heat and shelter--helps set priorities in
developing a larger plan for long-term preparation. It is also the final "fall
back" position [in the event that you are forced to abandon your retreat or
in case you never make it there]. These basics are also foundational in making
important decisions.
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Letter Re: A Recent Fire Evacuation Experience
James:
Last weekend my town was threatened by a pretty big fire. Dozens of homes
burned, thousands of citizens were evacuated. My neighborhood was among those
ordered to flee the advancing flames. (Drama!)
My family was prepared to leave ahead of time and evacuated safely in large
part because of the advice and encouragement I have found at SurvivalBlog.
Thank you.
I did learn a few things. Theory flies out the window when panic is in the
air. What is organized and prepared ahead of time actually works, what is thrown
together at the last minute tends to fall apart. I had my Bug Out Vehicle (B.O.V.)
fueled and standing by the night before but many did not and I saw long lines
at every
gas station as people were struggling to flee. The major exits were all jammed
with vehicles and as tensions rose, tempers flared. Several collisions were
reported, slowing down the evacuation further. People generally remained orderly,
but my spouse reports that as fire trucks and other emergency responders were
making their way via siren through the crowded roads, opportunistic tailgaters
would follow them. I saw none of it, as I took the less known and less traveled
back woods roads out of town.
I hauled all the usual checklist items; important
documents, tangible savings, family photo albums, firearms and ammunition,
fuel, genset,
med kit, food and water supplies, camping gear, etc. With all normal routes
into and out of town barricaded we had no idea when we would
be allowed back in or what we would find when we got there.
Communications broke down when concerned calls flooded in. The local paper
did a bang-up job of keeping us informed using Google Maps, but when the power
lines burned it was tough to get on the Internet. Voice Over Internet Protocol
(VOIP) phone lines tied to cable service fail when the cable service substation
is
dependant
on
local
power. We are considering putting in a backup "Plain Old Telephone Service" (POTS) line for
emergency communications. Cell systems were overloaded as well, and it seemed
the only way I could communicate with my spouse who had left work to head to
our pre-arranged Bug Out Location was by relaying through an out of town relative.
I also discovered that trying to organize your assets solo while simultaneously
keeping track of a small child and keeping an ear out for updates is much harder
than
when
you have time to think in peace. Finding a way to contain the child safely
and keep him entertained became a prerequisite to having my hands and mind
free to load up our gear.
I am thankful that the fire was managed and most folk returned home safely.
Our prayers and thoughts go out to the firefighters who saved our town and
to those neighbors whose homes were lost. - Anonymous
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: Physical Gold Versus Electronic Gold »
Letter Re: A Combustion Temperature Reference
Hello James:
I came across these ignition temperatures in a reference book and thought they
might be of use to others,. This may be useful for whatever folks may be
doing with flammable materials
or fuels at their retreat or at home. All ignition temperatures noted are
in Fahrenheit:
Cut Newspaper 446 degrees
Cut filter paper 450 degrees
Straw and sawdust 450 to 500 degrees
Gasoline 536 to 800 degrees depending on octane rating
Kerosene 480 degrees
Natural Gas 1,000 to 1,200 degrees
Propane 871 degrees
Butane 806 degrees
Paints and Lacquers (the flammable part isn't the pigment, although the metallic
chromate pigments are flammable) 475 to 1,000 degrees
Amyl Acetate 715 degrees
Acetone 1,000 degrees
Linseed Oil 650 degrees
Mineral Spirits 473 degrees
Turpentine 464 degrees
Alcohols 750 to 900 degrees
Petroleum Naptha 475 degrees
Magnesium 1,204 degrees, but if material is finely ground then as low as 900
degrees
Regards, - Mikael
JWR Adds this Strong Proviso: Reader Jim. H. in Colorado
has pointed
out
that the full potential fire hazards of stored materials should not be
evaluated according to the preceding chart. The chart was based on direct contact
of a solid material with a heat source. The true measurement
of the volatility of a stored material is its "flash
point",
which in most cases is considerably lower than the figures noted. It is explained
at this
Wikipedia
page. Essentially, Mikael's chart was correct. Any of those material that
are
heated to
those temperatures will combust (without the presence of any flame).
However, the essential definition is: "The flash point of a material is the
point at which the material will give off gasses that, when mixed
with oxygen, can
support
combustion
if exposed to an outside heat source."
Also note that combustible gasses,
dusts, and vapors (such as gasoline vapors) can sometimes travel long distances
and still be combustible or explosive. Over the years, SurvivalBlog has stressed
safety, particularly
with stored fuels. I've written this a dozen times, but this bears repeating:
Stored liquid fuels should never be
stored in a typical attached garage. Most suburban garages also have a natural
gas-fired
or propane-fired hot water heater with a continuous pilot flame. That is a
very dangerous combination of a vapor source and vapor ignition. Read:
Kaboom!
Also beware of
any processing operation that produces combustible
dust, such as grain milling or even metal grinding. There have been countless
news stories over the years about grain mill explosions. As I illustrated my
novel "Patriots:
Surviving the Coming Collapse", ounce-for-ounce, fuel-air
mixtures can be some of the most potent explosives imaginable.
« Letter Re: Triage in Emergency Mass Critical Care (EMCC) Event |Main| Notes from JWR: »
Letter Re: Nomex Flight Suits for Ground Troops in Iraq
Dear Mr Rawles,
Just wanted to thank you for SurvivalBlog, and I especially like the useful
tidbits from the troops overseas. I was a Navy Corpsman / combat advisor
with a Marine
[Corps] Police Transition Team (PTT) in Hadithah six months after the alleged
massacre, interesting times for sure.We got in-country in August 2006, and
the Nomex
suits were just catching on [with Marines]. We managed to snag a set for
each of our 10- man team.
The only real reg[ulation]s were that at Al Asad or any large Garrison type
Base they wanted you wearing camouflage [utilities], otherwise they fine
with
the
Nomex, the big deal [with IED flash
burns] was the synthetic Under Armor type shirts
that
are
great for staying dry and cool(er) but [in a flash fire] will melt to your
skin. the Uniforms weren't really the problem. I prefer the uniform especially
on patrol, it goes back to training, with my uniform I know where all the
pockets are, and most importantly I can wear a belt and not feel like I'm
wearing a dress.
I hit one IED in Hadithah, which means I was a lucky b****rd.,
I was in the
back [of the vehicle]. Two other [Marine]s got med-flighted out. We had been
totally engulfed in the blast and flames but no one got burned. Thanks again,
- Matt B.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Four Letters Re: Advanced Medical Training and Facilities for Retreat Groups »
Letter Re: EcoBeam Construction for Ballistic Protection
Hi Mr. Rawles,
I read your reply reharding "EcoBeam Construction for Ballistic Protection".
Three years ago, a friend of mine and I shot
a concrete wall until we made a nice size hole in it. This was just to
see how much small arms fire it could take. [We used handguns.] Here is a web
page
I made
about
it with photos.
Readers will get a idea what you meant about sand and and gravel being better
at stopping small arms fire than even reinforced concrete.
Take care, - Wes
« Letter Re: Coping with Changes in Diet when Using Storage Foods |Main| Note from JWR: »
Homestead Fuel Storage and Rotation, by NC Bluedog
Given that liquid fuel costs are climbing dramatically, and likely to continue
rising, I would like to share some of the practices for fuel storage we employ.
For our homestead, liquid fuel equates to four items, namely: Propane,
diesel fuel, kerosene and last but not least gasoline. For each fuel, there
are specific uses, distinct storage requirements and longevity considerations.
Let me discuss each in order:
The primary furnace in our house runs on propane. Currently, we use electricity
for water heating and cooking. Our annual propane usage is between
500 to
800 gallons
per year depending on the weather and how much wood we burn in the small heating
stove in the living room. My goal when we bought the house was to have one
year of supply, so I had installed two 500 gallon (nominal water capacity)
above
ground propane tanks (800 gallon capacity at 80% fill). I have the tanks filled
during the (typical) summer price drop. Below grade tanks, while preferable
for several
reasons (ballistic protection etc.), are problematic (i.e. expensive) because
of the rocky soil and high water table. Nonetheless, I would like to expand
my capacity to two years, and will likely bear the excavation expense and install
a 1000 gallon underground tank as well. For the grill and portable propane
appliances (stove, lights etc.), we keep a supply of 20 and 40 pound tanks
available. Small one pound propane bottles are refilled from these tanks. (Note: US DOT
regulations prohibit transporting refilled “disposable” cylinders).
Storage life is not of concern with propane, but price and availability are
of paramount importance.
Diesel fuel is used on our homestead for the generator when the power fails
and for the tractor. My little tractor just sips fuel and only uses about 20
gallons per year (mowing etc.). Our storage capacity consists of a 100 gallon “belly” tank
on the generator and a 275 gallon fuel oil tank (i.e. heating oil tank) set
up beside the generator shack. This leads to the problem of low use during
normal times, where longevity is of concern, and problems with fuel transfer
between the tanks. Diesel fuel, being lightly refined, has a relatively long
storage life (5-10 years reported) if properly cared for. This includes relatively
stable temperature, commercial fuel preservative/algaecide (I prefer Pri-D)
and above all else keeping it dry. Again, underground storage would provide
the stable temperature, but rocky soil and US EPA regulations
have precluded me from doing that. Water is the big problem. Humidity condensing
inside the
tank
collects in the bottom under the diesel fuel (oil-water layer) and provides
a nice environment for oil eating micro-organisms. These little bugs make acid
(anaerobic metabolism or vinegar fermentation) which will destroy the metal
tank and other byproducts which clog filters and injectors. An algaecide limits
this but removing the water is even better. To provide for this and allow fuel
transfer, I set up a plumber’s nightmare of supply and return lines with
valves to a water-separating filter and a fuel-oil circulating pump. The pump
is rated at 45 gallons per hour (GPH)
and was bought on-line (~$100) and the filter was bought at the local farm
supply. The pump runs on 12 VDC and
draws only 2 Amps off the generator starting battery. Since this pump only
runs part-time,
a 1.5 A trickle charger makes up for the difference during down times. Diesel
powered boat owners call this “diesel fuel polishing”. My supply
lines are set up at the low side of the tank, so water will preferentially
be pumped out of the tank. About once a month, I set up a “polishing” operation
during the weekend, letting each tank circulate for 24 hours each. Every year
I add an appropriate amount of Pri-D to each tank. Fuel transfer at 45 GPH
is relatively slow, but it only takes 7 minutes to fill the 5 gallon portable
tank for my tractor. Any transfer between tanks needs to be watched closely
so you don’t overfill the receiving tank. While the generator will siphon
its own fuel while running, by adjusting the valves one can provide a little
pressure feed to the injector pump and polish at the same time. I would like
to increase our storage capacity of diesel fuel for more reserve generator
use, but in the absence of a diesel powered vehicle, our annual consumption
would not permit enough rotation to keep the fuel usable.
Kerosene is used in our homestead for the portable kerosene heater, Aladdin
lamps (power failures) and in real hard times the Prize stove. Annual use is
10 to 20 gallons per year during normal times. Our storage capacity consists
of a 50 gallon drum and ten 5 gallon jugs kept in a dry room in the barn. I
prefer the round drum-shaped jugs since they are stackable. Kerosene, like
diesel fuel, is lightly refined and has an approximately 5-to-10 year shelf
life if stored properly. To keep the fuel rotated, I use a bulb siphon pump
attached
to a 4 foot piece of copper tubing that I can place in the drum and siphon
from the bottom. This permits removal of any moisture collected in the drum.
The transferred fuel is drained into a 5 gallon jug for routine use. The height
difference from the drum to the jug permits siphon action without hand pumping,
so long as the drum is nearly full. New replacement fuel is added to the drum
as needed.
Gasoline storage is a real problem. First, it is volatile and very dangerous
to handle. Second, it is the one of the most commonly used liquid fuels at
our homestead. Third, its storage life is extremely limited. And fourth, it
is desirable to have a portable supply in a Get Out of Dodge (G.O.O.D.)scenario.
These are competing and contradictory considerations. During normal times,
our use
is
between 7
and 10 gallons per week (350 – 500 gallons per year). For normal use,
6 months would be considered a typical shelf life, but this can be extended
for up to a year with a good stabilizer (I prefer Pri-G). Gasoline stored longer
may be usable but problematic. Problems include filter and injector/venturi
port clogging and loss of volatility (may require starting ether). The most
difficult aspect is keeping the fuel rotated, since if you store fuel but continue
to fill up your vehicle at the pump, the stored fuel is never rotated. To address
this problem, I have a tiered system of storage. Weekly use of gasoline comes
from a supply of 5 gallon gas cans (currently 20). I strongly prefer the metal
NATO ratchet
clamp style. Consumer quality plastic jugs are just far too fragile in my opinion
and the newer military specification HDPE jugs
too expensive. Don’t
waste your money on surplus or old style “Jerry” (Blitz) cans.
I have never had one that did not leak while pouring, even brand new ones.
The NATO
style cans may be stacked and even laid on their sides without leaking. They
are tough enough to handle a GOOD situation in the back of a pickup. When emptied,
these portable tanks are filled from two 100 gallon “transfer” tanks
in a fixed location. Fuel transfer is handled in a similar manner to the diesel
fuel setup except that the pump is more expensive since it is rated for gasoline.
The fuel is also pumped through a water separating and particulate filter.
These tanks are periodically refilled from a transfer tank in the back of the
pickup. The routine is as follows: Weekly, I top off all vehicles with portable
containers. Since full, the vehicles store more than 100 gallons total. These
5 gallon cans are refilled, to keep an additional 100 gallons in easily portable
containers. About once every two months, I fill the transfer tank in the truck
with added Pri-G stabilizer and refill the “fixed” transfer tanks
in storage. This provides me with 400 gallons of stabilized fuel in constant
rotation
with my nadir being 320 gallons, when it is time to buy more gasoline. All
gasoline is in a well ventilated “shed” and weather/sun protected.
There are several nearby fire extinguishers.
Besides the above “four-horsemen” of liquid fuels, we keep some
additional fuels available. There is a supply of liquid paraffin for odorless
burning in the oil lamps. Any oil lamp we keep filled with fuel for immediate
access has liquid paraffin in it since it doesn’t vaporize and “disappear” leaving
wick-killing varnish like kerosene does. There is also some mineral spirits
for the Prize stove (mineral spirits was the original fuel for oil lamps and
stoves prior to the “invention” of kerosene). Additionally, we
keep some naphtha (white gas/Coleman fuel) despite the fact that all of our
gas appliances/lanterns are “dual fuel”. I do this because it provides
for the best longevity for the “generator tube” in these appliances
and may be a good barter item for people using white gas only appliances. These
could be considered part of the respective kerosene/gasoline inventory, but
I consider them as un-inventoried extras.
Fuel storage is problematic because the fuels mostly needed during TEOTWAWKI,
namely diesel fuel (for electricity generation and tractor use) and kerosene
(for heating, lighting and cooking) are the most infrequently used during routine
times. Our homestead gasoline consumption will likely drop dramatically in
bad times. Propane storage is mostly an economic and availability issue since
the furnace won’t run without electricity and we can heat (at least part
of our house) with wood or kerosene. By limiting he running of the generator,
we should have close to a years’ worth of diesel fuel. Aladdin lamps
use about a pint of fuel for 8 hours, so 100 gallons of kerosene may keep us
with light for up to a year. Gasoline storage should be adequate for up to
the useful storage life of the fuel.
I have tried to strike a balance between annual consumption, storage capacity,
rotation and shelf life in my planning. Basic information would include baseline
consumption data for your homestead, anticipated consumption in bad times and
available storage mechanisms or space. Running these calculations for your
own situation will be enlightening and encourage you toward further preparation.
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Time For Retreat Logistics Stage Two--The Soft Items
If you are a regular SurvivalBlog reader, the odds are that you already have the majority of your key logistics squared
away, like food storage, tools, guns, communications gear. So
now it is time to stock up on "soft" and perishable items. These
include over the counter medications, vitamins, chemical light sticks, matches,
paper
products,
cleansers, spices, liquid fuels, and so forth.
You need to exercise caution when stockpiling soft items, for several reasons:
1.) Shelf Life and Deterioration. Some items like pharmaceuticals,
batteries, and chemical light sticks are best stored in a refrigerator. Keep
in mind that items like
matches
are
vulnerable to humidity. (BTW, do not store matches in Mason
type glass jars! Resist the urge, or else you'll inadvertently make a glass
shrapnel bomb! Instead, use a vacuum sealer,
such
as
the
Tilia FoodSaver sealers sold by Ready Made Resources. This is also a great
way to keep rubber bands (including elastrator
bands) from deteriorating. Exposure to sunlight, or heat, or moisture can
all be deleterious to soft goods.
2.) Bulkiness. Paper products like paper towels, toilet paper,
and paper napkins are extremely bulky, per dollar value. If you have limited
storage space then you will need to budget that space carefully.
3.) Flammability. You should think of your stored paper products
as house
fire tinder, and your stored liquid fuels as potential fire accelerants
and explosives. One mistake that that I've heard mentioned is storing numerous
gasoline cans at home, in an attached garage. Most garages have a hot water
heater, often
fired by natural gas or propane. Uh oh! Store gas cans, oil-based
paint cans, and bulk lubricants only in a well-ventilated outbuilding that
is well-removed
from your residence. Be sure to check your state and local fire code for permissible
limits.
4.) OPSEC risk. The aforementioned bulk of stored paper products
also makes them obtrusive to casual observers. This present s an OPSEC risk.
If you have 500 rolls of toilet paper and
paper towels in your garage, someone is likely to notice. OBTW, one item that
I've stored as a potential barter item is sheet plywood. Those extra plywood
sheets, if
properly positioned can keep prying eyes away from your stockpiles.
5.) Abundance-Inspired Waste. Human nature dictates that
when something is scarce, it is used frugally, but when it is abundant, it
tends to get used more wastefully. I've seen this happen with my children,
in target practice with .22 rimfire ammunition. If they know that they have
just 50 rounds apiece available for a shooting session, they make every shot
count. But if there
is a full "brick" of ammo sitting there, it soon starts to sound like a day at
Knob Creek.
In his book The
Alpha Strategy, John Pugsley mentioned some friends that "invested" in
stocking their own home wine cellar. They determined that it would be less
expensive to
buy wine by the case. But they soon had so much wine that they got in the
habit of having a bottle with dinner
almost
every evening. So even though the per-bottle cost decreased,
their monthly expense on wine actually doubled! OBTW Pugsley's The
Alpha Strategy is highly recommended. It
is
available for free download, but I recommend also
picking
up a used
copy,
for
reference. They are often available through Amazon.com for less than
$5.
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Two Letters Re: Homemade Alcohol Stoves
Mr. Rawles,
The recent article on alcohol stoves made me think of these ultra-lightweight,
portable alcohol stoves made out of soda cans, See this
Wikipedia article.
I have successfully built the original Pepsi-can version using epoxy glue,
as well as the Heineken-can "penny" version. I have not tested them "in
the field" but both work very well indoors, and they have impressive performance,
boiling 2 cups of water in 5 minutes using only 2 tablespoons of alcohol. Those
who have actually used them outdoors say they outperform other small stoves
even in the most extreme of conditions. Even for indoor use, they are a compact,
easily stored backup for cooking.
The stoves are easy to build, but expect to build a few to get the hang of
it and make a well-burning version. Many web sites are available that cover
different versions of the stove and various accessories to go along with it.
For fuel, you should only use methyl or ethyl alcohol. Don't use isopropyl
alcohol in these stoves, as it will cover the bottom of your pots and pans
with soot. Methyl alcohol burns hot and clean, but it is poisonous.
It is available, among other places, as HEET brand engine fuel line de-icer
in auto parts stores
in the red
bottles. (Don't get ISO-HEET, since that is isopropyl alcohol). Denatured ethyl
alcohol is cheapest, and of course Everclear 190 proof grain alcohol works
as well,
but it is quite expensive. Sincerely, - Chris S.
JWR Adds: Denatured ethyl alcohol ("grain alcohol") is much less expensive if bought
in quarts or gallons. It is available at paint stores. Don't buy methyl alcohol (Methanol or "wood" alcohol"), because of its toxicity. Long term exposure to the fumes or just brief contact with the skin can be toxic and can cause irreversible liver damage.
James,
LeAnne's article today has some bad advice and some misstatements in
it - potentially dangerous.
First of all, alcohol will produce Carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapor (not
carbon MONoxide, CO) only in a perfect (ideal) combustion, with exactly the
correct proportion of oxygen - called the stoichiometric ratio. Any deviation
from that will produce imperfect combustion and CO. Even a perfect combustion
will result in CO2 being produced, the carbon atoms in the alcohol have to
go somewhere. And perfect combustion only happens on chemistry examinations.
A buildup of CO2 can be just as deadly as CO.
Secondly, 70% alcohol is 30% water....and before you get any heat out of burning
the alcohol you need to heat up and boil off the water. Half of the energy
of the alcohol (by volume) is wasted getting rid of the water The water vapor
added to a shelter could be significant. A better choice would be 91% alcohol,
if you had to use isopropyl alcohol. A better choice IMO would be alcohol available from paint stores, boating shops, etc.
For people travelling (backpacking, etc) a higher energy density fuel (gasoline
versus alcohol, with roughly twice as much BTU value
per pound of fuel carried) makes more sense. Alcohol stoves have their niche
but LeAnne's reliance on them
can lead one to dangerous reliance on them in inappropriate conditions. - Flighter
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The Homemade Alcohol Stove and The Wonder Box, by LeAnne
In any situation, small electricity
outage, or large-scale grid-down disaster, a simple homemade alcohol stove
and a Wonder
Box slow cooker can
simplify your life and add the comfort of cooking and warmth.
Why alcohol?
Alcohol is the one fuel that can be burned indoors without any chimney or
any objectionable fumes. The only byproduct is water. [JWR Adds: Keep
in mind that for safety, even with an alcohol stove, some ventilation is
needed, sine the combustion will consume available oxygen.]
Isopropyl alcohol (70%) is cheap. A couple of quarts can be purchased
for about $3.00 at Costco or Sam’s Club.
The small alcohol stove burns about a pint of alcohol in eight hours. It can
be used to cook food. It can also bring the temperature of a small room up
to reasonable levels without any fumes. In a larger room, you might want to
use three of them.
How to make one?
You need a larger can, such as a clean empty steel one gallon paint can; and
a smaller can, such as a clean empty quart paint can. These can be purchased
clean and
unused from a paint store, or a store like Home Depot, for $1.00 to $4.00 each.
You also need a roll of cheap (not quality) toilet tissue and your alcohol.
The reason you don’t want quality toilet tissue is that it won’t
fit into the can. However, you can overcome that problem by just removing some
of the tissue.
First, you remove the cardboard tube from the inside of the tissue with a knife.
Then scrunch up the roll of tissue and stuff it into the smaller can. Then
take the larger can and punch holes all over the side of the can, so that air
can flow through it. You can do this with a hammer and nails. You
can draw designs on the can with a dry-erase marker and pound holes along the
lines, if you wish. If you fill it with water and freeze it before punching
the holes in it, you won’t smash it while you are making the holes. If
you need it “right now,” you can fill it with ice pieces and snow,
tamped down, before pounding, or just find a way to make holes without smashing
it.
Fill the smaller can with 1-1/2 cups of alcohol, so that you can see the alcohol
at the top of the tissue. Put this can into the larger one, and light the alcohol.
You can put a pan on the top of it to cook your food. I would be careful to
put it somewhere where nobody will knock it over accidentally while it is cooking.
One pint of alcohol will burn about eight hours. However, if you extinguish
the flame, before you can light it again, you have to pour in more alcohol
to bring the level up to the top of the toilet tissue again before you light
it.
You should not plan to store the alcohol stove with the alcohol in the can,
since it could rust.
It isn’t an extremely hot flame. It may take a bit longer to cook your
food. We took quite a while one day to cook pancakes for four hungry people
using alcohol. But it is easy, cheap and safe. And it requires materials that
you probably have on hand.
* * * *
The Wonder Box
Ideally, if you have an alcohol stove, you have a Wonder Box insulated slow
cooker to go with it.
If you bring your stew to a boil over your alcohol stove and then put it into
a Wonder Box and cover it carefully with its lid--six hours later, it will still
be so hot that you will have to use hot pads to take it out. It has been cooking
all of that time, and saving you fuel.
If the food has been hot and cooking all of that time, it did not need to be
refrigerated. So you could cook your stew and eat it hot for lunch, then put
it boiling hot, nestled down into the Wonder Box, and take it out still hot for
dinner. No refrigerator needed.
The fabric must be 100% cotton to prevent it from melting from the heat of the
pan. The pan must be one that has small handles on each side and it must have
a lid. A pan with one long handle extending out from under the Wonder Box lid,
will lose too much heat through the handle, and it will not work as well.
The Wonder Box is much like two small bean bag chairs, one being the lid for
the other. You can get the pattern in a fabric store. The larger one is 24” in
diameter and the smaller one about 16”. You make it in sections, like orange
sections, just the peeling part, made out of 100% cotton. Denim is a good fabric.
Even old jeans stitched together would work. You stitch it together, leaving
an 8” hole for turning. Turn it right side out and fill with seven gallons
of Styrofoam beads. Make the lid in the same way, using four gallons of beads.
Don’t let the static electricity of the beads bother you. Pin your seam,
then try nestling a pan down inside to see if you have enough or too many beads.
Sew up the seams, and you have a Wonder Box.
The Styrofoam beads can be purchased at stores such as Smith’s grocery
stores. They come in a four-foot long tube that holds enough for two Wonder Boxes,
for about $15.00.
Nestle a covered pot of boiling food down into the Wonder Box bottom, and carefully
cover with the insulating Wonder Box top. It is a good idea to put a layer of
aluminum foil between the pan and the Wonder Box just to keep the Wonder Box
clean. Let it sit for up to seven hours, and it will cook with no additional
heat.
Whatever method you use to bring your food to a rolling boil before you put it
into the Wonder Box, it can save valuable fuel in a time of no electricity or
other services. * * * *
Variations on The Alcohol Stove:
What if you need an alcohol stove “right now,” and you don’t
have clean empty paint cans?
Some people have used #10 cans like the ones that food storage wheat or rice
or beans, etc. come in. They have also used a “church key” type can
opener to make the holes in these cans, since they are lighter. I would prefer
the gallon paint can if possible, because it is heavier and therefore more stable
with a pot of boiling food on top of it. Also, it has a lid and a handle for
carrying.
You can also use the #1 cans that come with the larger size canned peaches and
hold about a quart, for the inside of the stove. The problem with these is that
it is harder to extinguish the flame down inside the can, because you don’t
have a lid to put on it. This can be overcome, of course. Just don’t singe
your arm while doing it.
You could also use something like the “Pirouettes” cookie cans.
The problem with these is that you have an extra inch of can. Not a terrible
problem.
If you need more room heat, you could use three #303 cans like you get with
canned vegetables, and put all three down inside one of those large $5.00 popcorn
cans
that you get at Christmas. Don’t forget to put the holes in the sides of
the can. You would have to take off more toilet tissue from the roll, and you
would have to use a sharp knife to slice off about 1/2 inch of the end of the
roll of tissue, so that it would not extend past the top of the smaller can.
But it
can be done. You then have a nice little warming “furnace” with
a lid on the top.
When terrible things happen, people need something simple, dependable and comforting.
They need something easy to use and fast. After they have had time to adjust,
they can get on with more complex tools and equipment. But for that first little
while, an alcohol stove is easy, simple, lightweight and comforting, as well
as safe, and it won’t make any harmful fumes.
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Letter Re: Choosing a State for Relocation
Dear Jim,
I found this
article on the safest states to live in, based on major crime
rates. Compare that to this
article from "Parents" magazine, who['s author] seems to rate
states by the number of socialist laws they have.
This is the [same] magazine whose solution to children fearing fire, after
seeing the attacks of Sep 11 [2001], was "therapy." I used the expedient
of starting a small brush pile out back, dousing it with an extinguisher, and
leaving a
new extinguisher in their room. $30 is a lot cheaper and less stigmatizing
than "therapy," and had the practical benefit of teaching them how
to control small fires.
Along the same lines, here's
an article from England.
I was being partly facetious when I suggested in my novel "The Weapon" that
fire extinguishers would be banned like guns because "firefighting should
be left to professionals." It seems that I wasn't too far off.
I am so
very glad my parents made the decision to relocate from the UK to Canada,
and then to the United States. Just keep in mind there's nowhere left to retreat
to at this point. Liberty must make its stand here. - Michael
Z. Williamson
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Unconventional Bug-Out Transportation Methods, by A. Taylor
I read with interest the inquiry about, what I term a "Bug out Boat".
I made this recommendation several years ago, in numerous survival forums.
Most
readers seemed unable to process the potential for this kind of plan or it
seemed to
be impractical
to them
compared
to hunkering
down or egress by vehicle. I would advocate that the more eclectic methods
of egress from chaos may hold greater potential for success than some mainstream
ones. Traditional modes of travel in the modern age are easily controlled by
the powers that be, accidents, infrastructure break down, computer problems,
electricity (can you say "grid down"?), etc. How many have actually
considered (much less planned?) on using the following practical means of getting
from
Point A to B (whether a short or long distance).
1. Walking- hard work but very quiet and stealthy. Drawback- slow.
2. Bicycle. As long as you can keep your tires inflated, you can travel [at
least] three times as fast than as on foot. Drawback- awkward to carry equipment unless you buy a trailer or stroller for the back.
3. Boat/canoe- Who is going to blockading the river or watching it? The river
does the work for you if your are going down steam. The preferred method of
choice for hundreds of years by Native Americans, trappers, traders, frontiersmen,
market hunters, settlers and soldiers.
4. Snowmobile- Don’t worry about the roads being open. Just try to follow
me in/on anything else. Drawback-seasonal.
5. Skis- No trail, no problem. Drawback-seasonal.
6. Motorcycle- Easy to get around that road block isn’t it? Just try to
follow me through the woods in your squad car.
7. Ice skates- many frontiersmen/trappers traveled this way up river systems. Drawback-Seasonal.
8. Roller blades-the modernized society equivalent of ice skates. Drawback-Seasonal and depends upon roads and sidewalks being in place.
9. Horse/Horse and wagon/Horse and sleigh - has both advantages/disadvantages, accessibility issues, and disadvantages, but you won't need electricity to keep them going. Drawback-you have to pay to feed/house them.
10. Dog sled- For those in the far North. Drawback-Seasonal.
11. Para-planes –fuel efficient, no license needed, can land in small areas.
12. Light aircraft- expensive but they are what they are.
13. Freight trains/barges/cargo ships- It seems no matter how much chaos a country descends into, occasionally a train, barge, cargo ship goes somewhere. Drawback-Can be Seasonal depending on low water levels, ice, snow.An undependable mode of transport to plan on using.
The reason you haven’t considered these methods is because we as Americans
are too d--n lazy and we carry around too much stuff. If your supplies are pre-positioned,
you will need very little physically on you.
We as Americans are pre-conditioned to think first and foremost of the family
vehicle almost exclusively. Unless you have a full tank of gas when the grid
goes down or an EMP-resistant
vehicle, you're screwed for any number of reasons. Your going to be thrust down
a channelized highway of horrors (just ask anyone
who has fled a hurricane inland). This highway can easily be barricaded by law
enforcement, the military, gangs, or a group of local idiots. Accidents, traffic
jams and lack of fuel will prevent you from getting out of the area at the speed
which you anticipated.
Not only may you be stripped of your dignity, you may be stripped of all your
supplies, valuables, clothes and chastity. If you are counting on the herd to
protect you from harm, I have news for you, they will readily look on while you
are assaulted (and hope it doesn’t happen to them) and/or they will participate
in plundering your belongings (see Katrina stories). If psychologically less
than 5% of the population is prepared to act as a warrior or protectors of the
flock, which leaves potentially 95% of the population as someone who will not
come to your aid or will prey upon you given the situation. I prefer to believe
that there is a percentage of 20% of Christians, rural or generally good people,
that may not physically risk their life for you, but are none the less, good
people who might assist you in other ways. Your car may be a false hope that
ends up getting you into a more dire situation or delaying critical choices that
need to be made before you start out.
For our purposes I am going to concentrate on canoes and Jon boats. Those heavy
ski boats, yachts and sailboats will only work for limited distances or in limited
places. If you live near the ocean or the Great Lakes , they will work just fine.
If your only using you ski boat to go across the lake or 20 miles down the river,
it may work out for you. Do not, however, plan on using them
to navigate the Missouri , Mississippi , Ohio River 's drainage basins. Those
rivers have locks
and dams
aplenty that you may not be able to portage or pass through in a worst case scenario.
Many of the rivers in the Northwest and Southwest are in a similar state except
the dams are bigger and often not designed to accommodate navigation (Think of
the Bonneville Dam at the Columbia River Gorge, Grand Coulee Dam and over 225
others in the Columbia River Basin . Hoover/Boulder Dam. Upper Mississippi has
38. The Ohio River has around 30, but the Lower Mississippi has none. Missouri
River
has none from St. Louis to Sioux City Iowa, but the headwaters have numerous
Dams
and Reservoirs). If the locks have no electricity or they have been told by the
military or police not to let anyone through, you’re a sitting duck and
it may be game over.
In many parts of the country the boat may be a preferred method because it is
stealthy, uses little fuel, can be suitable entirely without fuel, will never
be subject to the same amount of usage demands as the highways, will be noticed
less by the public/looters/law enforcement/military. The majority of motors out
there should be 2 cycle. These are more EMP-resistant
and easy to work on.. Most boats will
still remain functional
even
while
leaking or having holes shot in them. You would have to be taking on a lot of
water from holes below the waterline to make it untenable to remain afloat.Many
boats will contain buoyant materials designed to keep the boat afloat.
A Marina
may be more likely to have fuel available than any gas station. (Note:
Kevlar was sometimes used as a hull material for some larger and more expensive
ski boats, since it stronger than fiberglass.)
Most of the major river systems are about a half mile across. If you stick to
the middle of the channel, anyone trying to shoot at you will have make a shot
of an average of a quarter mile. Call me optimistic, but most of the people shooting
at you from that distance are more likely to hit you by accident than on purpose.
An old USGI Kevlar
vest will provide some ballistic protection for your motor
or
fuel
supply. Most bridges will not be suitable for either looters/military/police
to set up on, and fire directly down upon you, unless the entire bridge is shut
down to traffic. In most cases, anyone trying to get at you will not have any
guarantee of actually boarding your vessel. Even if they managed to kill you,
your supplies would continue to float down stream and out of their reach. This
may discourage any but the most criminally motivated elements of society. I happen
to believe that I have a better chance to survive in the water as on any interstate
or major highway. If you should happen to run into a motivated criminal element
in speed boats, either flee, beach your craft and run, or turn and fight with
everything you have. Chances are they won’t want to mess with heavily armed
elements on a flat surface with virtually no cover. A bow-mounted belt-fed Browning
[Model
1919A4
machinegun or semi-auto equivalent, mounted on a larger boat] would chop any
attackers
watercraft
into
matchsticks
in
no
time
at
all.
(I
am
not endorsing it. I’m just saying it’s a nice idea to consider.)
In the first two weeks of a catastrophe, a miniscule number of people are going
to be watching the rivers or lakes. They will be down looting televisions and
liquor. The cops will be at roadblocks and chasing looters and arsonists.
Your
main antagonists are likely to be; federal employees manning the locks/dams,
Conservation Officers (since they already have lots of boats, the military (probably
a naval reserve unit) or in certain instances, the US Coast Guard. None of this
group is usually looking for trouble on the water and Conservation Officers are
notoriously cautious when working alone. It's too easy for them to just "disappear".
The larger the body of water (in square miles or distance from shore), the more
distance or greater buffer you can put between you and anyone who may wish you
harm. Night travel by water with no running lights and your motor off, will make
you nearly invisible to 99% of the population. Watch out for logs, snags and
sand bars and keep a watch out for other boats or you might well be sunk. Night
vision might be handy if traveling at night. Many duck and goose hunters have
metal supports for blind materials that could come in handy for camouflaging
your boat
if you choose to lay up during the day at some creek or island.
Your average inner city gang member doesn’t know how to operate a boat
and cant swim anyway, but don’t count on it. Even criminals near a resort/sailing/boating
area are sometimes familiar with boats. Ever heard of pirates and drug runners?
You could potentially carry much more equipment or personnel with you by means
of a boat. Several Jon boats/canoes can be lashed together or roped in parallel
(with the front boat pulling all the others in line). In this way you save fuel
and have spares engines at hand in case a motor conks out. A boat can theoretically
carry quite a load (much more than a car or small truck). However, remember anything
you put into a boat may have to be portaged across any barrier. If you don’t
like the idea of lugging it in and out of the boat many times, then don’t
take it along. If you read a book about fur traders or Lewis and Clark, they
often
spent an entire day (or days) at a portage site.
Say you come to an inoperable lock/dam, you find an area to unload, carry the
boat across land to a suitable location, carry the supplies to the boat, and
resume your journey. This will be fraught with peril and hard work. You will
need a crew. A minimum of one individual is needed to watch both locations (point
A to B) and you will need the individuals necessary to carry everything between
those points. The only way to avoid that is to do it so fast nobody notices or
take a canoe and only what's in your pack. If you try to navigate smaller rivers,
you will find yourself having to portage across every log jam. It's no fun, it's
frustrating and it's slow. You might be better off walking at that point unless
you will break through to a larger body of water that will make the endeavor
worthwhile.
In a freshwater area, you will have a supply of drinkable water (albeit full
of herbicide, fertilizer, and pesticide or toxic waste depending on the area).
This
is why you have a water filter, right? Food can be supplemented by fishing or
trolling (dragging a line behind the boat as you go). A small island might be
a good place to stop and cook lunch or dinner. Waste can be dumped over the side
or [better yet] buried p[when you go ashore.]
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Letter Re: More About the Chimney Fire Hazard
We just just learned that the beautiful house we had built on our 20 acre
Michigan property burned to the ground. I want to urge all readers to have
their chimneys
checked yearly. The house had a wood furnace in the basement and a well-built
3-flue chimney yet in a state with deep frost, foundations can settle. The
new owners never spent the money to have the chimney cleaned/inspected yearly
as
we had advised them to. Yet they just spent over $40,000 on granite countertops
and all that fancy stuff. "Penny wise and Pound foolish!" My brother-in-law
lives next door on property he bought from us so he got the full picture.
Apparently they hadn't upgraded their insurance either after renovating.
When we moved to the Ozarks and bought this old farmhouse we didn't trust
the wiring or chimney...and inspection showed the chimney had been struck
by lightening
and was dangerously damaged. So we put in a stainless steel liner which
makes all insurance companies smile! Wiring was original cloth-covered well
chewed
by rodents! If we'd have light a fire or turned the power on we could have
been looking at a smoldering pile of rubble, too. Which is why we opted to
put in
a wood-fired outdoor boiler and only rarely use the back-up stove in the
kitchen on zero degree days. Since we've lived here five different houses
in this area
have burned down--all due to chimney fires. Don't think fire can't
happen to you. - Diana S.
JWR Replies: I recommend that readers practice cleaning
their own chimneys, and buy their own set of brushes and rods. Even if you
eventually get lazy and pay someone else to clean your chimney, you need
to know how to do it,
and you'll have the means to do so.
Unless you already live at your retreat year-round, WTSHTF,
you will likely be burning far more wood than usual. This necessitates inspecting
your chimney
at least twice a year. My philosophy is, as long as you are pulling things
apart to inspect, you might as well a go ahead and de-gunk the spark arrestor
and brush the chimney. If you have a proper removable bottom clean-out for
your chimney, then the whole job should
take
less
than
an
hour. Be sure to wear gloves, goggles, and and a dust mask.
OBTW, be particularly vigilant if you switch to burning soft woods, such
as pine. The creosote build-up can be very rapid!
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From the SurvivalBlog Archives: Start With a "List of Lists"
Start your retreat stocking effort by first composing a List of Lists, then
draft prioritized lists for each subject, on separate sheets of paper. (Or
in a spreadsheet if you are a techno-nerd like me. Just be sure to print out
a hard copy for use when the power grid goes down!) It is important to tailor
your lists to suit your particular geography, climate, and population density
as well as your peculiar needs and likes/dislikes. Someone setting up a retreat
in a coastal area is likely to have a far different list than someone living
in the Rockies.
As I often mention in my lectures and radio interviews, a great way to create
truly commonsense preparedness lists is to take a three-day weekend TEOTWAWKI Weekend Experiment” with your family. When you come home from work on
Friday evening, turn off your main circuit breaker, turn off your gas main
(or propane tank), and shut your main water valve (or turn off your well pump.)
Spend that weekend in primitive conditions. Practice using only your storage
food, preparing it on a wood stove (or camping stove.)
A “TEOTWAWKI Weekend Experiment” will surprise you. Things that
you take for granted will suddenly become labor intensive. False assumptions
will be shattered. Your family will grow closer and more confident. Most importantly,
some of the most thorough lists that you will ever make will be those written
by candlelight.
Your List of Lists should include: (Sorry that this post
is in outline form, but it would take a full length book to discus all of
the following in great detail)
Water List
Food Storage List
Food Preparation List
Personal List
First Aid /Minor Surgery List
Nuke Defense List
Biological Warfare Defense List
Gardening List
Hygiene List/Sanitation List
Hunting/Fishing/Trapping List
Power/Lighting/Batteries List
Fuels List
Firefighting List
Tactical Living List
Security-General
Security-Firearms
Communications/Monitoring List
Tools List
Sundries List
Survival Bookshelf List
Barter and Charity List
JWR’s Specific Recommendations For Developing Your Lists:
Water List
House downspout conversion sheet metal work and barrels. (BTW, this is another
good reason to upgrade your retreat to a fireproof metal roof.)
Drawing water from open sources. Buy extra containers. Don’t buy big
barrels, since five gallon food grade buckets are the largest size that most
people can handle without back strain.
For transporting water if and when gas is too precious to waste, buy a couple
of heavy duty two wheel garden carts--convert the wheels to foam filled "no
flats" tires. (BTW, you will find lots of other uses for those carts around
your retreat, such as hauling hay, firewood, manure, fertilizer, et cetera.)
Treating water. Buy plain Clorox hypochlorite bleach. A little goes a long
way. Buy some extra half-gallon bottles for barter and charity. If you can
afford it, buy a “Big Berky” British Berkefeld ceramic water filter.
(Available from Ready
Made Resources and several other Internet vendors. Even if you have pure
spring water at your retreat, you never know where you may end up, and a good
filter could be a lifesaver.)
Food Storage List
See my post tomorrow which will be devoted to food storage. Also see the recent
letter from David in Israel on this subject.
Food Preparation List
Having more people under your roof will necessitate having an oversize skillet
and a huge stew pot. BTW, you will want to buy several huge kettles, because
odds are you will have to heat water on your wood stove for bathing, dish washing,
and clothes washing. You will also need even more kettles, barrels, and 5 or
6 gallon PVC buckets--for water hauling, rendering, soap making, and dying.
They will also make great barter or charity items. (To quote my mentor Dr.
Gary North: “Nails: buy a barrel of them. Barrels: Buy a barrel of them!”)
Don’t overlook skinning knives, gut-buckets, gambrels, and meat saws.
Personal List
(Make a separate personal list for each family member and individual expected
to arrive at your retreat.)
Spare glasses.
Prescription and nonprescription medications.
Birth control.
Keep dentistry up to date.
Any elective surgery that you've been postponing
Work off that gut.
Stay in shape.
Back strength and health—particularly important, given the heavy manual
tasks required for self-sufficiency.
Educate yourself on survival topics, and practice them. For example, even if
you don’t presently live at your retreat, you should plant a vegetable
garden every year. It is better to learn through experience and make mistakes
now, when the loss of crop is an annoyance rather than a crucial event.
“Comfort” items to help get through high stress times. (Books, games,
CDs, chocolates, etc.)
First Aid /Minor Surgery List
When tailoring this list, consider your neighborhood going for many months
without power, extensive use of open flames, and sentries standing picket
shifts exposed in the elements. Then consider axes, chainsaws and tractors
being wielded by newbies, and a greater likelihood of gunshot wounds. With
all of this, add the possibility of no access to doctors or high tech medical
diagnostic equipment. Put a strong emphasis on burn treatment first aid supplies.
Don’t overlook do-it-yourself dentistry! (Oil of cloves, temporary
filling kit, extraction tools, et cetera.) Buy a full minor surgery outfit
(inexpensive Pakistani stainless steel instruments), even if you don’t
know how to use them all yet. You may have to learn, or you will have the
opportunity to put them in the hands of someone experienced who needs them.)
This is going to be a big list!
Chem/Nuke Defense List
Dosimeter and rate meter, and charger, radiac meter (hand held Geiger counter),
rolls of sheet plastic (for isolating airflow to air filter inlets and for
covering window frames in the event that windows are broken due to blast effects),
duct tape, HEPA filters (ands spares) for your shelter. Potassium iodate (KI)
tablets to prevent thyroid damage.(See my recent post on that subject.) Outdoor
shower rig for just outside your shelter entrance.
Biological Warfare Defense List
Disinfectants
Hand Sanitizer
Sneeze masks
Colloidal silver generator and spare supplies (distilled water and .999 fine
silver rod.)
Natural antibiotics (Echinacea, Tea Tree oil, …)
Gardening List
One important item for your gardening list is the construction of a very tall
deer-proof and rabbit-proof fence. Under current circumstances, a raid by deer
on your garden is probably just an inconvenience. After the balloon goes up,
it could mean the difference between eating well, and starvation.
Top Soil/Amendments/Fertilizers.
Tools+ spares for barter/charity
Long-term storage non hybrid (open pollinated) seed. (Non-hybrid “heirloom” seed
assortments tailors to different climate zones are available from The
Ark Institute
Herbs: Get started with medicinal herbs such as aloe vera (for burns), echinacea
(purple cone flower), valerian, et cetera.
Hygiene/Sanitation List
Sacks of powdered lime for the outhouse. Buy plenty!
TP in quantity (Stores well if kept dry and away from vermin and it is lightweight,
but it is very bulky. This is a good item to store in the attic. See my novel
about stocking up on used phone books for use as TP.
Soap in quantity (hand soap, dish soap, laundry soap, cleansers, etc.)
Bottled lye for soap making.
Ladies’ supplies.
Toothpaste (or powder).
Floss.
Fluoride rinse. (Unless you have health objections to the use of fluoride.)
Sunscreen.
Livestock List:
Hoof rasp, hoof nippers, hoof pick, horse brushes, hand sheep shears, styptic,
carding combs, goat milking stand, teat dip, udder wash, Bag Balm, elastrator
and bands, SWOT fly repellent, nail clippers (various sizes), Copper-tox, leads,
leashes, collars, halters, hay hooks, hay fork, manure shovel, feed buckets,
bulk grain and C-O-B sweet feed (store in galvanized trash cans with tight
fitting lids to keep the mice out), various tack and saddles, tack repair tools,
et cetera. If your region has selenium deficient soil (ask your local Agricultural
extension office) then be sure to get selenium-fortified salt blocks rather
than plain white salt blocks--at least for those that you are going to set
aside strictly for your livestock.
Hunting/Fishing/Trapping List
“Buckshot” Bruce Hemming has produced an excellent series of videos
on trapping and making improvised traps. (He also sells traps and scents at very
reasonable prices.)
Night vision gear, spares, maintenance, and battery charging
Salt. Post-TEOTWAWKI, don’t “go hunting.” That would be a
waste of effort. Have the game come to you. Buy 20 or more salt blocks. They
will also make very valuable barter items.
Sell your fly fishing gear (all but perhaps a few flies) and buy practical
spin casting equipment.
Extra tackle may be useful for barter, but probably only in a very long term
Crunch.
Buy some frog gigs if you have bullfrogs in your area. Buy some crawfish traps
if you have crawfish in your area.
Learn how to rig trot lines and make fish traps for non-labor intensive fishing WTSHTF.
Power/Lighting/Batteries List
One proviso: In the event of a “grid
down” situation, if you are the only family in the area with power,
it could turn your house into a “come loot me” beacon at night.
At the same time, your house lighting will ruin the night vision of your LP/OP pickets.
Make plans and buy materials in advance for making blackout screens or fully
opaque curtains for your windows.
When possible, buy nickel metal hydride batteries. (Unlike the older nickel
cadmium technology, these have no adverse charge level “memory” effect.)
If your home has propane appliances, get a “tri-fuel” generator--with
a carburetor that is selectable between gasoline, propane, and natural gas.
If you heat your home with home heating oil, then get a diesel-burning generator.
(And plan on getting at least one diesel burning pickup and/or tractor). In
a pinch, you can run your diesel generator and diesel vehicles on home heating
oil.
Kerosene lamps; plenty of extra wicks, mantles, and chimneys. (These will also
make great barter items.)
Greater detail on do-it-yourself power will be included in my forthcoming blog
posts.
Fuels List
Buy the biggest propane, home heating oil, gas, or diesel tanks that your local
ordinances permit and that you can afford. Always keep them at least two-thirds
full. For privacy concerns, ballistic impact concerns, and fire concerns,
underground tanks are best if you local water table allows it. In any case,
do not buy an aboveground fuel tank that would visible from any public road
or navigable waterway. Buy plenty of extra fuel for barter. Don’t overlook
buying plenty of kerosene. (For barter, you will want some in one or two
gallon cans.) Stock up on firewood or coal. (See my previous blog posts.)
Get the best quality chainsaw you can afford. I prefer Stihls and Husqavarnas.
If you can afford it, buy two of the same model. Buy extra chains, critical
spare parts, and plenty of two-cycle oil. (Two-cycle oil will be great for
barter!) Get a pair of Kevlar chainsaw safety chaps. They are expensive but
they might save yourself a trip to the emergency room. Always wear gloves,
goggles, and ear-muffs. Wear a logger’s helmet when felling. Have someone
who is well experienced teach you how to re-sharpen chains. BTW, don’t
cut up your wood into rounds near any rocks or you will destroy a chain in
a hurry.
Firefighting List
Now that you have all of those flammables on hand (see the previous list) and
the prospect of looters shooting tracer ammo or throwing Molotov cocktails
at your house, think in terms of fire fighting from start to finish without
the aid of a fire department. Even without looters to consider, you should
be ready for uncontrolled brush or residential fires, as well as the greater
fire risk associated with greenhorns who have just arrived at your retreat
working with wood stoves and kerosene lamps!
Upgrade your retreat with a fireproof metal roof.
2” water line from your gravity-fed storage tank (to provide large water
volume for firefighting)
Fire fighting rig with an adjustable stream/mist head.
Smoke and CO detectors.
Tactical Living List
Adjust your wardrobe buying toward sturdy earth-tone clothing. (Frequent your
local thrift store and buy extras for retreat newcomers, charity, and barter.)
Dyes. Stock up on some boxes of green and brown cloth dye. Buy some extra for
barter. With dye, you can turn most light colored clothes into semi-tactical
clothing on short notice.
Two-inch wide burlap strip material in green and brown. This burlap is available
in large spools from Gun Parts Corp. Even if you don’t have time now,
stock up so that you can make camouflage ghillie
suits post-TEOTWAWKI.
Save those wine corks! (Burned cork makes quick and cheap face camouflage.)
Cold weather and foul weather gear—buy plenty, since you will be doing
more outdoor chores, hunting, and standing guard duty.
Don’t overlook ponchos and gaiters.
Mosquito repellent.
Synthetic double-bag (modular) sleeping bags for each person at the retreat,
plus a couple of spares. The Wiggy’s
brand Flexible Temperature Range Sleep System (FTRSS)
made by Wiggy's of Grand Junction, Colorado is highly recommended.
Night vision gear + IR floodlights for your retreat house
Subdued flashlights and penlights.
Noise, light, and litter discipline. (More on this in future posts--or perhaps
a reader would like to send a brief article on this subject)
Security-General: Locks, intrusion detection/alarm systems, exterior obstacles
(fences, gates, 5/8” diameter (or larger) locking road cables, rosebush
plantings, “decorative” ponds (moats), ballistic protection (personal
and residential), anti-vehicular ditches/berms, anti-vehicular concrete “planter
boxes”, razor wire, etc.)
Starlight electronic light amplification scopes are critical tools for retreat
security.
A Starlight scope (or goggles, or a monocular) literally amplifies low ambient
light by up to 100,000 times, turning nighttime darkness into daylight--albeit
a green and fuzzy view. Starlight light amplification technology was first
developed during the Vietnam War. Late issue Third Generation (also called
or “Third Gen” or “Gen 3”) starlight scopes can cost
up to $3,500 each. Rebuilt first gen (early 1970s technology scopes can often
be had for as little as $500. Russian-made monoculars (with lousy optics) can
be had for under $100. One Russian model that uses a piezoelectric generator
instead of batteries is the best of this low-cost breed. These are best used
as backups (in case your expensive American made scopes fail. They should not
be purchased for use as your primary night vision devices unless you are on
a very restrictive budget. (They are better than nothing.) Buy the best starlight
scopes, goggles, and monoculars you can afford. They may be life-savers! If
you can afford to buy only one, make it a weapon sight such as an AN/PVS-4,
with a Gen 2 (or better) tube. Make sure to specify that that the tube is new
or “low hours”, has a high “line pair” count, and minimal
scintillation. It is important to buy your Starlight gear from a reputable
dealer. The market is crowded with rip-off artists and scammers. One dealer
that I trust, is Al Glanze (spoken “Glan-zee”) who runs STANO
Components, Inc. in Silver City, Nevada. Note: In a subsequent
blog posts I will discuss the relationship and implications to IR illuminators
and tritium sights.
Range cards and sector sketches.
If you live in the boonies, piece together nine of the USGS 15-minute maps,
with your retreat property on the center map. Mount that map on an oversize
map board. Draw in the property lines and owner names of all of your surrounding
neighbor’s parcels (in pencil) in at least a five mile radius. (Get boundary
line and current owner name info from your County Recorder’s office.)
Study and memorize both the terrain and the neighbors’ names. Make a
phone number/e-mail list that corresponds to all of the names marked on the
map, plus city and county office contact numbers for quick reference and tack
it up right next to the map board. Cover the whole map sheet with a sheet of
heavy-duty acetate, so you can mark it up just like a military commander’s
map board. (This may sound a bit “over the top”, but remember,
you are planning for the worst case. It will also help you get to know your
neighbors: When you are introduced by name to one of them when in town, you
will be able to say, “Oh, don’t you live about two miles up the
road between the Jones place and the Smith’s ranch?” They will
be impressed, and you will seem like an instant “old timer.”
Security-Firearms List
Guns, ammunition, web gear, eye and ear protection, cleaning equipment,
carrying cases, scopes, magazines, spare parts, gunsmithing tools, targets
and target
frames, et cetera. Each rifle and pistol should have at least six top quality
(original military contract or original manufacturer) full capacity spare magazines.
Note: Considerable detail on firearms and optics selection, training, use,
and logistic support are covered in the SurvivalBlog archives and FAQs.
Communications/Monitoring List
When selecting radios buy only models that will run on 12 volt DC power or
rechargeable nickel metal hydride battery packs (that can be recharged from
your retreat’s 12 VDC power system without having to use an inverter.)
As a secondary purchasing goal, buy spare radios of each type if you can afford
them. Keep your spares in sealed metal boxes to protect them from EMP.
If you live in a far inland region, I recommend buying two or more 12 VDC marine
band radios. These frequencies will probably not be monitored in your region,
leaving you an essentially private band to use. (But never assume that any
two-way radio communications are secure!)
Note: More detail on survival communications gear selection, training, use,
security/cryptography measures, antennas, EMP protection, and logistical support
will be covered in forthcoming blog posts.
Tools List
Gardening tools.
Auto mechanics tools.
Welding.
Bolt cutters--the indispensable “universal key.”
Woodworking tools.
Gunsmithing tools.
Emphasis on hand powered tools.
Hand or treadle powered grinding wheel.
Don’t forget to buy plenty of extra work gloves (in earth tone colors).
Sundries List:
Systematically list the things that you use on a regular basis, or that you
might need if the local hardware store were to ever disappear: wire of various
gauges, duct tape, reinforced strapping tape, chain, nails, nuts and bolts,
weather stripping, abrasives, twine, white glue, cyanoacrylate glue, et cetera.
Book/Reference List
You should probably have nearly every book on my Bookshelf
page. For some, you will want to have two or three copies, such as Carla
Emery’s "Encyclopedia of Country Living". This is because these books
are so valuable and indispensable that you won’t want to risk lending
out your only copy.
Barter and Charity List
For your barter list, acquire primarily items that are durable, non-perishable,
and either in small packages or that are easily divisible. Concentrate on
the items that other people are likely to overlook or have in short supply.
Some of my favorites are ammunition. [The late] Jeff Cooper referred to it
as “ballistic
wampum.” WTSHTF, ammo will be worth nearly its weight in silver.
Store all of your ammo in military surplus ammo cans (with seals that are
still soft) and it will store for decades. Stick to common calibers, get
plenty of .22 LR (most
high velocity hollow points) plus at least ten boxes of the local favorite
deer hunting cartridge, even if you don’t own
a rifle chambered for this cartridge. (Ask your local sporting goods shop
about their top selling chamberings). Also buy at least ten boxes of the
local police department’s standard pistol cartridge, again even if
you don’t own a pistol chambered for this cartridge.
Ladies supplies.
Salt (Buy lots of cattle blocks and 1 pound canisters of iodized table salt.)
(Stores indefinitely if kept dry.)
Two cycle engine oil (for chain saw gas mixing. Gas may still be available
after a collapse, but two-cycle oil will probably be like liquid gold!)
Gas stabilizer.
Diesel antibacterial additive.
50-pound sacks of lime (for outhouses).
1 oz. bottles of military rifle bore cleaner and Break Free (or similar) lubricant.
Waterproof dufflebags in earth tone colors (whitewater rafting "dry bags").
Thermal socks.
Semi-waterproof matches (from military rations.)
Military web gear (lots of folks will suddenly need pistol belts, holsters,
magazine pouches, et cetera.)
Pre-1965 silver dimes.
1-gallon cans of kerosene.
Rolls of olive drab parachute cord.
Rolls of olive-drab duct tape.
Spools of monofilament fishing line.
Rolls of 10 mil "Visqueen", sheet plastic (for replacing windows,
isolating airspaces for nuke scenarios, etc.)
I also respect the opinion of one gentleman with whom I've corresponded, who
recommended the following:
Strike anywhere matches. (Dip the heads in paraffin to make them waterproof.)
Playing cards.
Cooking spices. (Do a web search for reasonably priced bulk spices.)
Rope & string.
Sewing supplies.
Candle wax and wicking.
Lastly, any supplies necessary for operating a home-based business. Some that
you might consider are: leather crafting, small appliance repair, gun repair,
locksmithing, et cetera. Every family should have at least one home-based business
(preferably two!) that they can depend on in the event of an economic collapse.
Stock up on additional items to dispense to refugees as charity.
Note: See the Barter Faire chapter in my novel "Patriots" for
lengthy lists of potential barter items.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: How Much Ammunition to Store? »
Weekly Survival Real Estate Market Update
Winter Home Inspections
Although winter time retreat shopping can afford many positives like reduced
prices and motivated sellers, there can also be a few downsides as well. While
purchasing your retreat during the winter, especially when there is a considerable
amount of snow on the ground, extra care must be taken during your inspection
period. Many surprises may await you when the spring thaw arrives. Among them
may be hidden trash and slash piles that will have to burned or removed, road
grading and repair work, downed frost free spigots, fencing repairs, vegetation
removal and major grounds keeping issues that are hidden under the snow. That
nice rock flowerbed may be a heap when the snow melts due to falling ice/snow
off the roof. Also, varmints and pest infiltration can be a major issue especially
in unoccupied dwellings. On a side note a recent home inspection report here
stated “The woodpeckers appear to have mounted an attack on the front
porch eve”. Funny? Absolutely! But not to the new owner. Beware of unoccupied
dwellings for sale, especially in the winter. Snow hides many maintenance items
that may need to be addressed and could be quite costly. Asking the seller
to plow the driveway may be one thing but asking them to remove the snow load
all the way around the house and each out building so the inspector can complete
a thorough inspection may be an issue, especially with upwards of three solid
frozen feet of snow on the ground here in the mid-range elevations of northern
Idaho. This cost may range upwards of over a thousand dollars and sellers who
have had their property overpriced and on the market for a while will not be
motivated to incur such costs unless you release some earnest money to pay
for it, and the fee reimbursed should you actually purchase the property. Why?
Who knows, it makes no sense to me, but some sellers are very stubborn, to
their own detriment.
Here is a list of items to make sure are working and not damaged during a
winter time purchase: Well and well pump(s), all water lines (have they burst?),
septic
lines and tank, any generators and off grid solar components (have the batteries
been neglected or are they due for replacement or upgrade?), wood decking (has
the snow cracked or otherwise damaged the decks/railings/steps), wood stoves
and piping/flues (creosote build-up or other deferred maintenance like loose
flashing at the roof seal?), roofing (has the snow load loosened or ripped
off any shingles?)--a good reason to have metal roof (for fire protection as
well), any appearance of water intrusion into the basement or crawl space in
winter is really going to be an issue in the spring. It is recommended that
the buyer be present at the home inspection and normally a good inspector will
let the buyer follow them around the home for most of the inspection. Most
inspectors will be happy to let you tag along, as you’re paying them
and they will explain certain details of demerit or merit, as you go.
If the retreat you’re buying has been on the market for a while, then
your agent should have visited the property during the summer/fall months and
therefore
should be aware of any issues regarding road, vegetation, downed timber, and
landscaping issues that wouldn't be obvious under snow cover. This is one more
reason to seek out a qualified retreat real estate agent in
your desired locale.
Survival Supplies Storage
Once you have closed escrow, the work begins at your new retreat. As I have
stated before several times, before TEOTWAWKI the
threat of fire will be either first or second on the
list
of major threats, next to theft.
Speaking with a client this morning I was very specific that they should store
their supplies ‘assuming’ that
the retreat was going to burn down. Yes, having just spent a bunch of money
on a retreat one may feel a bit annoyed, but storing expensive supplies under
the house or hidden in walled over closets and crawl spaces is at best mediocre
and dangerous at worst. If there is not a full concrete built basement under
the house where a bunker can be walled off to survive a fire and water damage
then an alternatively located underground bunker must be built, period. It
would be better to put a bit less cash down on the property and save $15,000
for building a self contained storage bunker than to lose it all during fire
season, or worse yet from a small propane heater malfunction-- the heater that
must be
left on during the winter in order to keep your water pipes from freezing while
the place is not attended. Not living at your retreat full time has its
issues, none of which cannot be overcome with a little forethought.
A simple
excavated 12'x12' (finished size) underground concrete room--typically insulated
concrete form (ICF) block--with proper drainage on the sides/underneath
and a small CONEX container
placed on top would
probably be enough for anyone’s basic storage of supplies. (Clothes,
storage food, medical supplies, tents, sleeping supplies, guns, and ammo).
These supplies would be needed to
survive
if you were to find the
main retreat structure just a smoking hole, upon arrival. Note that the
CONEX should have a secured internal vertical entrance door leading to the
shelter. [JWR Adds: in addition to a stout lock and equally
stout hasp, the trapdoor should be concealed beneath something that
doesn't look worth stealing, such as burlap sacks full of rags, prominently
marked "Extra shop rags".] The rest of the less essential and less valuable
supplies
can be hidden in the
retreat
itself,
but
always
have
a reserve
in
place. Owning
a retreat is a blessing, and very few have the opportunity. Just be diligent
about your supplies, since storage consideration are as important as the retreat
itself.
If you have any questions about retreat real estate in northern or north central
Idaho,
then please contact Todd Savage via e-mail at: toddsavage@meadowcrk.com
« Letter Re: Grandpappy's Pemmican Recipe - A Native American Indian Survival Food |Main| Note from JWR: »
Letter Re: Burning Soft Maple Wood as a Primary Home Heat Source
Hi Jim,
I have set out on an experiment in heating my home that has been interesting
and is important to relay to other readers as their are many questions about
using Soft Maple as a heat source. My experiment follows nearly a lifetime
of wood burning, tree felling, splitting, chimney cleaning lifestyle and
is of course not from a "professional", so ask a professional when
experimenting with home heating.
I have used wood only heating in my current home for five years with 100% safety
and 1,000% enjoyment. Before that, I had 11 years of consistent home heating
by wood. I ran into a project on my property that involved felling some gigantic
Soft Maple trees in order to adjust fencing and grading issues. These trees
also became a looming headache about falling on my building. This past early
summer was the project.
The trees were about 48"-to-60" in diameter. With all the overhead
limbs that were as big as most trees appearing to start to hollow out, I felt
it necessary to drop these trees with a large tracked excavator. In this scenario,
we ripped the roots out from around the tree on three sides with a gigantic
frost tooth/ cement tooth attachment. After ripping through the 16" diameter
roots, we used the machine to drop the trees by guiding them to the ground
with the hook. I could not justify being under any one of those limbs while
felling the tree as it would have been instant death upon impact.
Now that this job was complete, it was saw time. I had everything cut into
lineal length for the saw mill in two days and the brush cut and stacked for
burning. There was no way I could fathom attempting to split the wood with
the enormity of the trunks. I decided early on to sell the largest logs to
the mill and "deal with the limbs" at a later date. When talking
to an old boy at the mill, he recommended against all other advice. He said
to split the wood late season and burn it right away. Conventional wisdom would
tell you to never burn un-seasoned, (wet) wood in a stove/fireplace or dangerous
deposits of creosote would form in the chimney causing a chimney fire. I decided
that with my project I had over three years supply of soft maple right in front
of me, so I might as well try it given my understanding of how important it
is to monitor the burning, I felt completely comfortable with this experiment.
I started heating intermittently in October, exclusively with soft maple. Here
are my observations:
-It starts amazingly well given an air space under it. In fact, I have been
able to rekindle the fire without any matches for most of the winter by using
the bark from the soft maple placed directly on the very small coals and propping
up what I would call “Extremely large tinder”, (i.e.- 2” – 4” odd
split off fall), give it lots of air and it is going.
-Given its properties, it does not overheat my chimney near as often as hardwood,
but did not lend itself to any signs of buildup in my chimney. For the first
month and a half I would add “anti-creosote” granules when the
chimney was warmed up to keep things clear.
-With fewer BTUs than hardwood, I have gone through about 10% more
wood than the previous winter of hardwood burning and have used my electric
blower about 20% of the burn time compared to not needing it with hardwood.
This was for comfort, not necessity.
-I have cleaned out the ash box and chimney 3 times as much this year compared
to hardwood burning. These ashes seem to quickly choke the coals if not monitored
when you first get up in the morning.
-I have decided to not use the granules any longer and keep monitoring the
chimney. For the past month I have not noticed any change in buildup in the
chimney. It is amazing how clean my chimney is for burning a softwood. It has
yet to truly need the brush this year, but I have as habit.
-If a long burn is needed, it is imperative that you stack the wood in the
fire box in a manner that would not aid in air flow to the fire. In other words,
try to stack wood exactly upon itself in the exact same direction creating
very small places for the flame to lick out upon the upper wood which allows
the wood to smolder in the ash below and keep a more consistent burn albeit
at a lower temperature. At least when you get home you have coals and a comfortable
abode.This experiment has been fun as I am glad to not waste that much cordwood.
I have not cut up the additional logs that were limbs from those trees yet
as I did not want it to dry up and not create any heat next year. I will monitor
the results and fill you in when that season is upon us. I hope that in 20’ lengths
of logs, that it will still retain its moisture without rotting. Soft Maple
really does not do well for any outdoor exposure in lumber form.
I wanted to share this experiment as it is against what I have known and could
prove useful to someone else when dealing with a soft “nuisance” tree
like Soft Maple. Please understand that other soft woods don’t share
this property to my knowledge. Cottonwood plugged my chimney faster than I
have ever seen before. But Cottonwood and hardwood mix allowed me to get some
benefit out of that tree that could not be used at the mill. (I don’t
recommend using Cottonwood, after that experiment).
A tidbit of value before cutting up your tree post-SHTF.
After felling a tree, look at the rings. If you notice a sizeable, (thumb size
or larger) deposit
of graphite toned discoloration, then you have a tree with metal inside. Maybe
it’s just a nail, but maybe it is a fence post! This is extremely important
if you own the sawmill or you don’t have spare chains or teeth for your
saws and you can’t get them without UPS [parcel
delivery service continuing] as we know it. I would venture this to be very
common among
fence
row trees on
the property lines or near
pastures of yesteryear. Avoiding that part of the tree could mean the difference
between keeping your home heated for the year, or looking for a new saw at
the barter faire!
Last bit of advice, the sawmill was happy to see that I over sized the logs
by 5” to allow them to trim the ends. They were also glad to see the
large logs compared to most customers who split the trunks and sell the limbs.
What a mistake as the profit lost could put food on the table! The limbs burn
30% longer than an equivalent size and weight log that is split. I love burning
round stock that is properly cured!
In my project, I did have logs that were too big for the mill’s equipment.
In those cases I had to saw the logs in half. I guess that is better than trying
to axe a 48” diameter log, or roll that widow maker up onto the log splitter!
A little asking around might serve us all better before the need arises. This
well seasoned man just heated my family this Winter,…. Maybe he’ll
heat yours too! All the Best! - The Wanderer
« The Precious Metals Bull Charges Onward |Main| Note from JWR: »
Sources for Free Survival and Preparedness Information on the Internet, by K.L. in Alaska
Recent comments in SurvivalBlog provided excellent advice on using the public
library. You can gain lots of knowledge with no expense, then purchase only
those books you want to keep on hand for personal reference. Also, many colleges
and universities loan to local residents, so you can use them too, even if
you aren't a student.
If your local libraries participate, a great resource is Worldcat. It lets you search for books from home,
then go check them out, or get them through interlibrary loan.
What will happen to the Internet when the SHTF?
There's no guarantee it will survive. Even if the World Wide Web endures in
some form, most of the individual computers connected to it will not. Hopefully
by then you will have already downloaded all the free info that's going to
help you cope with the new world.
You may want to download a copy of information
on this web site or any other web site with useful content. It would be a shame
to face some disaster when all the resources of the internet are no longer
at your fingertips.
In preparation for a worst case scenario,
it's a good idea to begin now to collect the knowledge that will come in handy
later. You can download whole books, save them to jump drives, and keep an
entire library in a very small space. All kinds of free manuals, guides, tech
tips, and schematics are available on the internet; for everything from firearms
to furnaces to computers to appliances.
All of the downloads listed
here are in the public domain or allowable for copying. Stay away from sites
that may involve copyright infringement. If you use a file-sharing site such
as Limewire, Kazaa, or any site that uses bit torrents, you are not only downloading,
but also uploading. Your participation involves automatically uploading to
other users. If the file is illegal, you are distributing illegal material,
not just downloading it. Stay away from these and stick with the legitimate
sites listed below.
Keep in mind that some of this information you
download might be illegal to use at the present time. You can't practice dentistry
on your neighbor just because you have the book. Nevertheless, you have the
right to possess this very vital information. After TEOTWAWKI,
all bets are off. The information you collect today might save your life or
the life of somebody you love.
Many downloads are in Portable Document Format
(PDF) form, so to read them you must have a suitable program such as Adobe
Reader, which is the free version of Adobe Acrobat. There are alternatives
to Adobe that can read PDF files, if you prefer. Some of these files are very
large. If your internet connection is slow, it's better to right click and
download rather than try to read a huge file online.
Some documents you may want to print out. Others
you can just leave on disc. Just be sure to store your drives safely. Not included
in this list are the many web sites that are very good resources in themselves.
Rather, these are the files you can download for offline viewing at a later
time. Download them while you still can!
Project
Gutenberg was mentioned as a good place to go for eBooks.
The Smithsonian
Institution is another great resource. They have digitized many older
books, maps, and documents in their collection.
Wikisource has
a nice collection of free eBooks.
One way to search for books no longer in copyright is to use Google
Book Search. Check "full view." If it comes up in the search,
it can be downloaded as a PDF file.
A good alternative to Google is the Internet Archive which includes books,
images, audio, and more. The Internet Archive also hosts the Wayback Machine,
which archives copies of an incredible 85 billion pages from the internet of
years past.
Over 100,000 free eBooks can be accessed through Digital Book Index
2020ok is a directory of
free online books and free eBooks
The British Columbia Digital Library has an impressive Collection, including
dictionaries, encyclopedias, and most importantly, the Holy Bible. It also has a Guide to other digital libraries.
Scribd is an online document
library of free research articles, eBooks, and other content.
A great resource for home schoolers is the Internet's largest
directory of free audio & video learning resources maintained by LearnOutLoud.com.
Check out the postings of Home Schooling
On-line Resources on the The Mental Militia Forums, as well as the "Must
Have" Books/reference material topic.
More than 3,200 pages related to the U. S. Constitution can
be downloaded from The Founders' Constitution
Firearms For any
firearm you own or plan to own, you should have a drawing of its Exploded View,
which will help identify parts and how they fit together. One of the most comprehensive
collections of Exploded Views is the paper edition of the Numrich Arms Catalog, which
in itself is a gold mine of information and very inexpensive for a volume of
over 1200 pages.
But if you only need certain Exploded Views, there are many
places on the internet where you can download them for free:
Gunuts is a good place
to start with hundreds of drawings. Another source is The Okie Gunsmith Shop, which
is apparently no longer operating, but you can still download drawings and
parts lists from its web site.Big Bear Gun Works has
another good list. For pre-WWII firearms, check out Gunsworld. For examples of specific
firearms manufacturers, see Remington, Browning, and SKB Shotguns
The book, The Defensive Use Of Firearms by
Shane C. Henry is available as a download from rec.guns. An enormous amount
of additional gun information is available on the rec.guns web site.
There are several good sources for Military Publications: GlobalSecurity.org has
a huge collection of Military manuals.
Try Integrated Publishing for
access to millions of pages of engineering manuals and documents.
The U.S. Army Materiel Command maintains the LOGSA web site for access
to thousands of Army technical manuals.
The U.S. Air Force maintains the Air Force e-Publishing web site.
As mentioned recently, The
Small Wars Journal has a Reference
Library of downloadable military documents.
The Brooke Clarke
web site has a good guide to accessing military field manuals
Surviving War and Nuclear
Attack For a basic guide, download How
To Survive A Chemical Or Biological Attack.
Nuclear War Survival
Skills, along with some other very interesting books, can be found on
the Oregon
Institute of Science and Medicine web site. This book includes plans
for the Kearny Fallout Radiation Meter (KFM). If you have not bought a radiation
meter, you should at least download the book for future reference. You can
also get the Free
Plans from The Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Nuclear War Survival Skills is also available on the KI4U web site as an online
book, but not as a download.
The Equipped To Survive web site
has some free ebooks, as well as books for sale: Survival,
Evasion, and Recovery and U.S. Army Survival Manual FM 21-76.
The Volunteer Center of Marin County, California has prepared A Guide to Organizing
Neighborhoods for Preparedness, Response and Recovery which you
can copy from their web site.
Medical Resources The Disease
Net has a library of downloadable manuals on survival, weapons, emergency
medicine, and less serious subjects.
Virtual Naval Hospital is
a digital library of naval, military, and humanitarian medicine
The very important field manual, First Aid For Soldiers FM 21-11 can be downloaded here.
One of the best medical handbooks available is the U.S. Army Special Forces Medical Handbook ST31-91B.
It can be downloaded free (as well as additional essential guides) from Delta Gear, Inc.
A newer version of the Medical
Handbook, plus more great material can be downloaded from NH-TEMS
(New Hampshire Tactical Emergency medical support).
The
American Red Cross has some of their disaster guides online for download.
For most of their material, you have to go to the local office. Some of it
can be copied from the Earth
Changes Media Survival Tips page.
The Red Cross Book, First
Aid in Armed Conflicts and Other Situations of Violence
The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency book, The
Ship Captain's Medical Guide
Hesperian makes
available free downloads of its books for medical treatment in primitive conditions.
Two highly respected guides it publishes are Where There Is No Doctor and Where
There Is No Dentist.
Here is a direct link to the must-have book Survival and
Austere Medicine: An introduction. Australian Survivalist Online
has several additional Files
for downloading.
The Department of Agriculture has
a treasure trove of information for free download. This agency maintains The
National Agricultural Library, a collection of free information on Agriculture,
Food and Nutrition, and other related subjects.
Another USDA web site is the Cooperative Extension
Service. Click on the map to navigate to various Extension offices around
the country. Don't limit your search to just your own state. Many of them
have invaluable information on animals, crops, construction, food preparation
and much more for free download.
The
USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) offers downloads about preventing plant and animal diseases,
among other topics.
The USDA Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) offers Fact
Sheets about food handling and preparation, and emergency preparedness.
Other Important Reference
Resources The classic outdoor guides, The 10
Bushcraft Books by Richard Graves are available on the Chris Molloy web
site. Free manuals for electronic equipment can be downloaded from eServiceInfo.com. Another source is UsersManualGuide.com. For Ham Radio
and Test Equipment Manuals, the KO4BB web site has Free Downloads, as well as LINKS to many other web sites with free downloads. A few examples
of repair information for outdoor equipment are Penn Reel Schematics,
and Mercury outboard
parts.
Paid Services In
the unlikely event that you can't find free information on the Net to fix that
generator or whatever you need to repair, there are web sites that charge for
information. As a last resort, you can check Sam's PHOTOFACT service manuals,
or RepairManual.com. Hopefully,
that won't be necessary.
The foregoing just begins to scratch the surface. Some of
these free downloads are also available as books or CDs from eBay, Amazon or
from some of the survivalist web sites. That is fine. Sometimes it is easier
to just pay the money and buy the book. But nobody can afford it all, and downloading
gives you access to millions of pages - much more knowledge than you could
acquire through any other method.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| During a Disaster Event Should You Stay at Home or Leave?, by Grandpappy »
Letter Re: Hunkering Down in an Urban Apartment in a Worst Case Societal Collapse
Hello,
In the event of a disaster (I live in New York City) I intend to shelter
in place until all the riotous mobs destroy each other or are starved out.
I am preparing for up to six months. I have one liter of water stored for
each day (180 liters) and about 50 pounds of rice to eat as well as various
canned
goods. I have not seen on your site anything about heat sources for urban
dwellers who intend to shelter in place. I'm assuming that electricity would
go first soon followed by [natural] gas and running water. Do you have any
recommendations for cooking rice and other foods in this event.
I am considering oil lamps or candles, methane gel used for chafing dishes,
or small propane tanks. Because of the small size of my apartment and potential
hazards of storing fuel I'm unsure which would be best. Please advise. Thank
You, - Michael F.
JWR Replies: I've heard your intended
approach suggested by a others, including one of my consulting clients. Frankly,
I do not think that it is realistic. From
an actuarial standpoint, your chances of survival would probably be low--certainly
much lower than "Getting
Out of Dodge" to a lightly populated area at the onset of a crisis. Undoubtedly,
in a total societal collapse (wherein "the riotous mobs destroy each other",
as
you predict)
there
will be some stay-put
urbanites
that
survive
by their wits, supplemented by plenty of providential fortune. But the vast majority
would perish. I wouldn't want to play those odds. There are many drawbacks
to your plan, any one of which could attract notice (to be followed
soon after by a pack of goblins with a battering ram.) I'll discuss a few complexities
that you may not have fully considered:
Water. Even with extreme conservation measures you will need
at least one gallon
of water per day. That one gallon of water will provide just
enough water for one adult for drinking and cooking. None for
washing. If you run out of water before the rioting ends then you will be
forced
to go out
and forage for water, putting yourself at enormous risk. And even then, you
will have to treat the water that you find with chlorine, iodine (such as Polar
Pure--now very scarce), or with a top quality water filter such as a Katadyn
Pocket water filter.
Food. For a six month stay, you will need far more than just
50 pounds of rice! Work out a daily menu and budget for an honest six month
supply of food with a decent variety and sufficient caloric intake.
Don't overlook vitamin supplements to make up for the lack of fresh fruit and
vegetables. Sprouting is also a great option to provide vitamins and minerals,
as well
as aiding digestion. Speaking of digestion, depending on how your body reacts
to the change in diet (to your storage food), you may need need a natural laxative
in your diet such as bran, or perhaps even a bulk laxative such as Metamucil.
Sanitation. Without water for flushing toilets, odds
are that people in neighboring apartments will dump raw sewage out their windows,
causing
a public health nightmare on the ground floor. Since you will not want to alert
others to your presence by opening your window, and no doubt the apartment
building's
septic
system stack will be clogged in short order, you will need to make plans to
store
you
waste in your apartment. I suggest five gallon buckets. A bucket-type
camping toilet seat (a seat that attaches to a standard five or six gallon
plastic pail) would be ideal. You should also get a large supply of powdered
lime to cut
down on the stench before each bucket is sealed. You must also consider the
sheer number of storage containers required for six months of accumulated human
waste.
(Perhaps
a dozen
5 gallon
buckets
with tight-fitting o-ring seal lids would be sufficient.) Since you won't have
water
available for washing, you should also lay in a supply of diaper wipes.
Space heating. In mid-winter you could freeze to death in
your apartment without supplemental heat. As I will discuss later, a small
heater or just a few candles
can keep the air temperature above freezing.
Ventilation. If you are going to use any source of open flame,
you will need lots of additional ventilation. Asphyxiation from lack of oxygen
or slow carbon
monoxide (CO) poisoning are the alternatives. Unfortunately, in the circumstances
that you envision, the increased ventilation required to mitigate
these hazards will be a security risk--as a
conduit for the smell of food or fuel, as a source of light that can be seen
from outside the apartment, and as an additional point of entry for robbers.
Security. The main point of entry for miscreants
will probably be your apartment door. Depending on the age of your apartment,
odds are that
you have
a traditional solid core wood door. In a situation where law and order has
evaporated, the malo hombres will be able to take their time and break
through doors with fire axes, crow bars and improvised battering rams. It is
best to replace wooden apartment doors with steel ones. Unless you own a
condo rather than lease an apartment, approval for a door retrofit is unlikely.
However, your apartment manager might approve of this if you pay for
all the work yourself and you have it painted to match the existing doors.
Merely
bracing a wood door will not suffice. Furthermore, if you have an
exterior window with a fire escape or your apartment has a shared balcony,
then those
are also
points of entry for the
bad guys. How could you effectively barricade a large expanse of windows?
If you live in a ground floor apartment or an older apartment with exterior
metal fire escapes, then I recommend that you move as soon
as possible to a third, fourth, or fifth floor apartment that is in a modern
apartment building
of
concrete construction,
preferably without balconies, with steel entry doors, and with interior fire escape stairwells.
Self Defense. To fend off intruders, or for self defense
when you eventually emerge from your apartment, you will need to be well-armed.
Preferably you should also be teamed with
at least two other armed and trained adults. Look into local legalities
on
large volume pepper spray dispensers. These are marketed primarily as bear
repellent, with brand names like "Guard Alaska", "Bear Guard", and "17% Streetwise."
If they are indeed legal in your jurisdiction, then buy several of the big
one-pound dispensers, first making sure that they are at least
a 12% OC formulation.
If you can get
a firearms
permit--a bit complicated in New York City , but not an insurmountable task--then
I recommend that you get a Remington, Winchester, or Mossberg 12 gauge pump
action
shotgun with a SureFire flashlight forend. #4 Buckshot (not to be confused
with the much smaller #4 bird shot) is the best load for defense in
an urban environment where over-penetration (into
neighboring
apartments)
is an issue. But if getting a firearms permit proves too daunting, there is
a nice exemption in the New
York City
firearms
laws
for
muzzleloaders
and pre-1894 manufactured antique guns that are chambered for cartridges
that are no
longer commercially made. It is not difficult to find a Winchester Model
1876 or a Model 1886 rifle that is in a serial number range that distinguishes
it as pre-1894 production.
(See: Savage99.com for
exact dates of manufacture on 12 different rifle models.) You will be
limited to chamberings like
.40-65 and .45-90. You can have a supply of ammunition custom loaded. A Winchester
Model 1873 or and early Model 1892 chambered in .38-40 might also be an option,
but I would recommend one of the more potent calibers available in the large
frame
(Model
1876 or 1886 ) rifles. Regardless, be sure to select rifles with excellent
bores and nice mechanical condition.
For an antique handgun, I would recommend a S&W
double action top break revolver chambered in .44 S&W Russian. None
of the major manufacturers produce .44 S&W Russian ammunition. However,
semi-custom extra mild loads (so-called "cowboy"
loads, made specially for the Cowboy Action
Shooting enthusiasts) in .44 S&W Russian are now available from Black
Hills Ammunition. The Pre-1899 Specialist (one of our advertisers) often has
large
caliber S&W
double action top break revolvers available for sale. The top breaks are very
fast to load, and you can even use modern speed loaders designed for .44 Special
or .44 Magnum cartridges with the stumpy .44 S&W Russian loads.(It has
the same cartridge "head" dimensions.)
Firearms training from a quality school (such as Front
Sight) is crucial.
Fire Detection and Contingency Bug-Out. A battery-powered
smoke detector is an absolute must. Even if you are careful with candles,
lanterns, and cook stoves, your neighbors may not be. There is a considerable
risk that
your
apartment
building will catch fire, either intentionally of unintentionally. Therefore,
you need to have a "Bug Out" backpack ready to grab at a moment's
notice. Although they are no proper substitute for a fireman's compressed
air breathing rig, a
commercially-made egress smoke hood or a
military surplus gas mask might allow you to escape your building
in time. But even if you escape the smoke and flames,
then
where
will that
you
leave
you?
Outdoors,
at an unplanned hour (day or night), in a hostile big city that is blacked
out, with no safe means of escape. (This might prove far too reminiscent of
the the 1980s Kurt Russell movie
"Escape from New York.") By the time this happens, the mobs
may not want just
the contents of your backpack. They may be sizing you up for a meal!
Fuel storage. Bulk fuel storage has three problematic issues:
1.) as a safety issue (fire hazard), 2.) as a security issue (odors that could
attract
robbers),
and
3.) as a legal
issue (fire code or tenant contract restrictions). I suspect that
New York City's fire code would not allow you have more than a week's worth
of propane on hand, and completely prohibit keeping more than just one small
container of kerosene or Coleman fuel. From the standpoint of both safety and
minimizing detectable odors, propane
is
probably
the best option. (The odors of kerosene and chafing dish gel are both quite
discernable.) But of course consult both your local fire code and your apartment
lease agreement
to determining
the
maximum
allowable
quantity
to keep
on hand.
Odds are that there will be no limit on the number of candles that you can
store. If that is the case, then lay in large supply of unscented jar
candles designed for long-burning (formulated high in stearic acid.) I
suggest the tall, clear glass jar-enclosed "devotional" candles manufactured
in large numbers for the Catholic market. You can even heat individual servings
of food over these if you construct a stand with a wide base out of stout
wire. Watch for these candles at discount and close-out stores. We have found
that
the
large adhesive labels slip off easily if you soak the jars in water for an
hour. Since their burning time is approximately 24 hours, and since
you might
need
two
of them
burning
simultaneously for
sufficient
light
and to stay warm,
that would necessitate laying in a supply of 360 candles! (This assumes that
the worst case, with the outset of a crisis in October, and your having to
hunker down
for a full six months.)
Fire fighting. Buy at least two large multipurpose ("A-B-C")
chemical fire extinguishers
Cooking odors. In addition to the smell of fuel, cooking
food will produce odors. I recommend that you store only foods with minimal
spices. In situation where you are surrounded by starving people, just frying
foods with grease or heating up a can of spicy chili con carne could
be a death warrant.
Noise discipline. Just the sound of moving around your apartment
could reveal your presence. For some useful background,
see if your local library has a copy of the best-selling memoir "The
Pianist", by Wladyslaw
Szpilman.
(If not, buy a copy through Amazon or request a copy via inter-library loan.
It has been published in 35 languages. The US edition's ISBN is 0312244150.)
The book describes the harrowing experiences of a Jewish musician in hiding
in Warsaw, Poland,
during
the
Second
World War.
Following
the 1943
Warsaw Ghetto uprising and forced deportation, Szpilman spent many months
locked in a Warsaw apartment, receiving just a few parcels of food from some
gentile friends.
In his situation, the power and water utilities were still operating most of
the
time,
but he
suffered from slow
starvation and lived in absolute fear of making any noise. His survival absolutely
defied the odds. There was also an excellent 2002
movie based on Szpilman's book, but the memoir provides greater detail
than the film.
Light discipline. If you have any source of light
in your apartment, it could reveal your presence. In an extended power blackout,
it will become
obvious to looters within a couple of weeks who has lanterns or large supplies
of candles and/or flashlight batteries. (Everyone else will run out within
less than two weeks.) And I predict that it will be the apartments
that are still lit up that will be deemed the ones worth robbing.
So if you are going to have a light source, you must systematically black out
all of your windows. But sadly these efforts will be in direct conflict with
your need for ventilation for
your heating
and/or
cooking.
Heat. With the aforementioned restrictions on fuel storage,
heating your apartment for more than just a few days will probably be impossible.
Buy an expedition quality sleeping bag--preferably a two-bag
system such as a
Wiggy's brand FTRSS. Under
the circumstances that you describe, don't attempt to heat your
entire apartment. Instead, construct a small room-within-a-room (Perhaps
under a large dining room table, or by setting up a camping tent inside your
apartment, to hoard heat.) Even if the rest of the
apartment drops to 25 or 30 degrees Fahrenheit, your body heat alone will keep
your demi-room
in the 40s. Burning just one candle will raise the temperature another 5 or
10 degrees. For the greatest efficiency at retaining heat, your demi-room
should be draped with two layers of mylar
space blankets.
Exercise. While you are "hunkered down", you will
need to maintain muscle tone. Get some quiet exercise equipment,
such as a pull-up bar and some large elastic straps. Perhaps, if your budget
allows in the future,
also purchase or construct your own a quiet stationary
bicycle-powered generator. This would provide both exercise and battery charging.
Sanity. .Hunkering down
solo in silence for six months would be a supreme
challenge,
both physically
and
mentally. Assuming that you can somehow tackle all of the aforementioned
problems, you also need to plan to stay sane. Have lots of reading materials
on hand.
In conclusion, when one considers the preceding long list
of dependencies and complexities, it makes "staying
put" in a worst case very unattractive. In less inimical circumstance, it
is
certainly feasible, but in a grid-down situation
with utilities disrupted and
wholesale
looting
and rioting in progress, the big city is no place to live. But, as always,
this is just my perspective and your mileage may vary (YMMV).
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Four Letters Re: Extended Care of the Chronically Ill in TEOTWAWKI »
Three Letter Re: Fire Suppression and Firefighting at Retreats
Jim,
A few hours after I wrote the most recent Weekly Survival Real Estate Market
Update (Fri 12-14-07) I was awakened at 2 a.m. Friday morning with a page out
to respond
as a member of our local volunteer fire department to a fully involved structure
fire with multiple occupants trapped. Like I stated in my update it takes us
15 to 30 minutes to arrive on scene as we respond from our homes to the station
then on to the scene. As far as I can estimate there were emergency personnel
on scene in about 14 minutes and we arrived at about 19 minutes from the initial
page out, as the roads were icy and slippery. Obviously without going into
details the outcome was devastating for the family, for us, and for the community
as a whole. We have gone without a structure fire fatality for about 11 years
according to local sources.
Remember, it's not the actual flames that will kill you, it's the poisonous
smoke and fumes from the fire that will incapacitate you in seconds, stopping
your escape and or rescue effort of your loved ones. I moved from a higher
end subdivision in California where the city building code called for a water
suppression system in every room with hard wired smoke alarms. Although
I disagree with government mandates about building codes (none in
our north Idaho county outside of city limits!) I did appreciate the system
we had in that
particular
home. In closing, whether you'll be building a retreat, buying a stock one
or still living at your home in the perilous 'burbs, spending the cash to install
some kind of fire suppression system may seem nuts but the chance that you'll
be very thankful. Smoke detectors are worthless without a system to suppress
the fire so that you can escape!
The bottom line is that having a fire suppression system in place, no matter
the cost, would have saved one very precious child last night. Most of us concentrate
on tactical gear, growing veggies and ammo purchases rather than taking the
time to run the odds. Realistically speaking if you figure the odds of needing
such a system versus needing your firearm in an actual defensive situation,
I'd take my bets on the fire. - Todd
Savage
James,
I am on the local Volunteer Fire Department here in the communist state of
New Jersey. Instead of posting things that will compromise your OPSEC outside
of your home. Find out when your local fire department has drills and go down
and talk to the Chief or one of his officers. Invite them over for a walk
through.
They
will most likely do this just because they are good people (we also appreciate
a case or two of beer). Show them where your water supply is (if you have one
on your property). They most likely know where the water supply is on the roads
(Hydrants, Stand-pipes, Drafting sites). Show them where to shut off your gas
and electric,
because if your house is burning they need to shut it off. If you have ammunition
stored please explain to them that it is in a certain part of the house so
if it's on fire nobody gets injured from rounds cooking off. What I have
outlined seems a lot better in my mind than ruining OPSEC by posting things
like that outside of your home. - TD
Mr. Rawles,
Having been through a few fires, I have the following suggestions:
A sign or placard near the driveway with instructions to the firefighters has
some
merit. If you have a NO TRESPASSING sign, it should read something like this: "Absolutely
NO Trespassing except for Emergency Personnel, Delivery Personnel, and Invited
Guests. Others by appointment only. Call 555-5555." This implies that
the house is occupied, which is a good thing, and it acknowledges the possible
need for Firefighters or Paramedics. The phone number is important so they
can call you if your house is burning. Your instructions to firefighters should
include the location of every fuel tank, propane tank, or any other volatile
substance. This is very important to them for their own safety as well as their
strategy in fighting the fire. If you have a large cache of ammunition, it
could be a problem in a fire. I've never known anyone to get "shot" by
loose ammo in a fire, but I've seen some real meltdowns. The intense heat just
makes a bad situation even worse. I would suggest that however you store your
ammo, make sure it's totally fireproof. - K.L. in Alaska
JWR Replies: The risk posed by stored ammunition during a
house fire is often exaggerated by the sensationalistic mass media. It does
indeed
"cook off", sounding like firecrackers. But when ammunition that
is not contained by a firearm chamber, the
bullets don't go anywhere.
It
is the cartridge cases that move, not the heavier lead bullets. Typically
the brass will fly no more that 10 feet, and at fairly low velocity.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: Communications in Times of Crisis »
Weekly Survival Real Estate Market Update
This week, after a personal experience with a house fire in a rental property
I own, I want to cover how to secure your retreat from fire when your not living
on site. Although the fire department was on scene and had the fire out within
10 minutes of the 911 call (the property was inside city limits) you can expect
a 15 to 30 minute response time to your unoccupied retreat (in good weather),
and that is if you have an automatic notification
system or if a passerby sees the smoke and flames, and pray
the fire is not during 'open burn season' in
your area, otherwise just consider it a "burn down"! Fire suppression is probably
the most important item next to the secure storage of your supplies and one
of the most overlooked as well. You'll need to budget some extra cash to install
a moderately priced automatic system to guard your valuable supplies.
I'm not too familiar with high end waterless automatic fire suppression systems,
as we simply do not have these in place in our jurisdiction, with the exception
of
several
commercial
buildings
and
they
are
the very simple
pressurized
type
water based systems. [JWR Adds: These typically using a
gas. Older systems often used Halon (an alkane with linked halogens), but that
was considered unfriendly to the environment ("ozone
depleting")
so many of the new systems use HFC-like gasses]. For a retreat though, I would
highly recommend that you do not use a water based suppression
system (in the house), it will simply
create as much if not more damage than the fire will and you will lose your
supplies with the exception of your guns, assuming that they are stored in
a highly rated safe. The keys to a successful fire suppression action inside
your retreat
will be
two-fold:
One,
the fire
will need to be detected early, the waterless system will need to be able to
discharge enough retardant to put the flames out and Two: The local fire department
will need to be paged out to respond while the system is activated.
With a plethora of different waterless suppression agents and systems on the
market the best advice I can give out is to make sure that the system is activated
by a thermal and chemical detection system and that it is completely off the
grid so a power loss will not disable it. If you Scroogle 'waterless
home fire suppression system', you can read all day. The second issue would
be to purchase
a waterless system that uses a compound that can either be easily recharged
or you can purchase the extra retardant/gas/particulate et cetera, and the
equipment to recharge the system without having to have a 'tech' come out and
do it, since post TSHTF it may of course prove futile. The retardant should
also be non-toxic to humans as you'll want to keep it on a manual override
switch once the retreat is activated for any last ditch suppression during
a major siege on the property. Of course, standard fire extinguishers should
be as prevalent as loaded firearms in your retreat once your there and living
full-time, like the American Express card "never be home without it!".
Most of the clients I've met this year through SurvivalRealty.com are
technically savvy enough to build a monitoring system that would notify them
via page or
email
that
there
was
an
issue at their retreat and should be incorporated along with the multitude
of motion sensors and cameras in and around the property for long distance
oversight when your half a country away. Another item of interest would be
to make sure and package all of your supplies inside waterproof bags or containers.
Imagine you either have a water based sprinkler system and/or the firefighters
arrive and dump three thousand gallons of water inside your retreat while fighting
the fire! Although half the home was lost the basement survived and yet was
two feet deep in nasty contaminated water! If none of the supplies were burnt
would they be salvageable if you merely stuck them inside wall lockers and
plastic tubs without first vacuum sealing them in bags? Probably not, they
would all be destroyed. Do you seal your ammo before putting it inside
the .50 cal ammo can(s)? You should. It's not necessary to seal the bag so
tight that it rips when you drop it in the can, just enough to keep water out
if the cans seal is compromised. What about all those wool blankets, BDUs,
toilet paper , medical supplies, et cetera? Yes, that's right, the toilet paper,
keep it dry at all costs, it'll be worth more than bullion should TEOTWAWKI
happen! Every survival item deserves extra protective packaging, even the books
stored for that rainy day on OP/LP duty! You'll thank yourself later!
One last
item would be to have a placard made with Fire Department instructions near
the house, NOT on the house of course. A simple reflective 2'x3' sign near
the driveway/walkway explaining to the responding volunteer firefighters
what type of system you have in place, how to turn it off (especially if you
go
with a water system!) and any other information, like the location of any
hydrants or standpipes on/near the property (yes, they are out here) and your
immediate
contact info. Although completely against all rules of OPSEC you could post
a copy of the floor plan as well (not showing all the secret bunkers of course),
this would be well appreciated and will help if they need to make entry.
As
covered last year in SurvivalBlog you'll still need a good gravity-fed
water suppression system with decent head pressure without a pump to cover
your home
from the outside and to protect from wild land fires as well. That article
is a good read when considering how to handle your retreat firefighting procedures.
To recap, think 1. Waterless suppression 2. Remotely and/ automatically activated
3. Cost effective and available recharging 4. Supplies secure from water
damage. 5. Fire Department instructions near the house
If any readers out there have additional technical comments or experience
that would be helpful for a subsequent comment, please e-mail them, especially
anyone who is a full-time firefighter or that works for a company that manufactures
or sells these waterless suppression systems. - T.S.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Are Your Neighbors Contrapreneurs? »
Three Letter Re: The Recent San Diego, California Wildfires
Jim:
I have the rest of the day off due to the wildfires in the area so I am at home.
The firefighting aircraft have been grounded due to wind until a couple of
minutes
ago. The evacuation zone is currently a 1/4 mile
east of me. My northeastern and southeastern escape routes are currently
out of the question. I figure that by the time I get told to Get Out of Dodge
(G.O.O.D.),
the Northern
route
will be closed off or too crowded to take. Going South into Mexico is currently
not an option due to the makeup of my G.O.O.D.kit
([which includes] military caliber firearms and ammo.) Probably will head
to the beach area if I need to G.O.O.D..
I have
a couple of friends in that area. I do not want to G.O.O.D. until
the last minute due to security reasons. [For fear of looting of my household
goods.]. One positive thing is that there were several small brush fires
pretty close to me
several
months
ago
so the
underbrush
is already burned away. The fire department is spending too many resources
arguing with the people who refused to evacuate to get them out of harm's
way and they are not able to allocate the resources to fight the fire.
I had my low profile small duration G.O.O.D. stuff loaded in my vehicle within
15 minutes. I had parts of the kit stored in multiple locations in my place
and it took only 15 minutes to gather my stuff. Only things missing were my
Baygen radio and toilet paper. (That's what the liberal newspapers are for.)
I was planning on getting a solar/hand crank radio and had put my hand crank
radio into storage. My low profile kit is configured so that anyone looking
into my vehicle will not know that I have gear in my vehicle, yet enough for
me to live out of my vehicle for a few days.
I topped off my gas this morning before I went to work. Not surprised to find
out that no one else at work had packed their essentials in case they are not
able
to
make it back to their abode due to road closures. A lot of people were bugging
out early from work due to the spreading fire so we decided to close down the
company. I really didn't care since I was already equipped to survive. Later,
- "Dan Fong"
JWR Adds: In case you are wondering, yes, the writer of this
letter is my real life friend of 25+ years, upon whom the Dan Fong character
in my novel
"Patriots" was directly drawn. And yes, he really says "Oh maaan!"
Jim,
First, I must say after reading you for a while now almost every thing on television
I see, or disaster, or shopping excursion my mind wanders to " What
would Jim say?" Thanks for your wisdom and guidance.
What if you have to abandon your fixed position? like the 500,000 - 1 Million
good folks in Southern California?
Obviously one should have copies of all pertinent documents on an encrypted
portable drive on their person and if possible all the family photos and originals
of those docs not too far away in a briefcase ready to move at a moments notice.
What about my arms collection and ammo ? a real house fire will cook a safe
and ruin the guns. I have many coworkers and friends in the San Diego area
are that are affected and may be homeless soon. please pray for them. If you
live in an affected area please have you gear ready to go this time of year
(October Santa Ana winds in so cal, hurricane season in the south, tornado
season in the midwest, blizzard season in the north east and any earthquake
area). ( as an aside, notice no stories yet of rapes at the football stadium
or looting?)
...
I was at Hearst Castle this past weekend and we went on the tour that included
the wine cellar. recently you suggested that if you were building a custom
home,
use non-local contractors.But if you were pouring a nice all concrete basement,
I would suggest that you just tell the local guy that its a wine and root cellar/
pantry. Of course Hearst had real steel safe doors for locks and his was compartmentalized,
his excuse that they told us on the tour was that if a basement fire broke
out it could be contained. One could make an interior room of the cellar their
armory / reloading room and then the outer part of the cellar their wine cellar
and pantry. Anyway, this is food for thought.
...
Lastly, with Halloween season upon us, you may have noticed all the stores
have all kinds of candies in bite size packaging for sale. For the last few
years, I have bought several bags of my favorite chocolate bar and vacuum packed
them and then kept them in my camping box (for camping treats as well as long
lead time BOB food)
and my BOB. Rotating them annually hasn't been a problem if you keep it out
of any heat. A real grinch could then give away the year
old candy on 10/31.. or just eat it. if you wait until 11/1 your choices may
be limited but you can get the candy for 1/2 price. if anything, trade barter
or making the kids happy and its some quick energy.
Along these same lines,
I was also at the beverage superstore lately and saw all the little 50 ml
single serve 'airline' bottles. Me thinks a case or two of these of various
hard liquors
could be tucked away for future trade barter or medicinal purposes. Your
thought?
Thanks, - Tim L.
JWR Replies: As a Baptist, I don't personally stock
any liquor for barter. But many folks see the wisdom of doing so. OBTW, if
you do buy any liquor, one variety stock up on is the 190
Proof variety of Everclear grain alcohol, which
also has medicinal purposes
(for sterilizing instruments and for making tinctures) and can
be used as lamp fuel.
Jim:
I write this to you as I communicate with my family still in the fire zones
in San Diego. I am a former San Diego resident who happily relocated to the
wet and soggy Pacific Northwest. I still have family and memories of the region.
My step mother reports that she is on alert to bug out with minutes notice.
She is sleeping tonight with a packed car in the driveway and in street clothes
so she can go fast to G.O.O.D.. However,
there are serious concerns and issues my family has expressed.
1) Main travel ways, arterials and so on are clogged. Fire and emergency vehicles
going in, folks evacuating out. As a kid in San Diego, I watched some friends
get seriously burned in their vehicle when they were trapped in a blow over,
caused by them staying too late. Burning to near death in their car was horrific
enough. Over 250,000 people ordered to evacuate. San Diego has an excellent
highway system but when you have that many moving . . .
2) Many folks have been reluctant to leave. Family has stated that they are
aware that looters and burglars have worked some mandatory evacuated neighborhoods
to their benefit. If your house doesn’t burn, it could get robbed.
3) What people are packing for evacuation in their vehicle is insane. Everything
but what they really need (documents, photos, family bible, etc.). I was listening
to a cable news program tonight in which a producer admitted that she evacuated
her house, taking important things like her Emmy [Award Statue]s. For the love
of goddess!
4) Fire is a sadly common event and yet people in that area still have homes
with shingle roofs and land that has not been disaster proofed (ice plant,
sprinkler systems, etc.). Several years ago, my dad rejected a shake shingle
roof system to replace the old one. He now has good ole terra cotta and stucco
sides (gee, odd how the early settlers knew how to mitigate fire damage to
their buildings).
5) Telling statement from a local television report: “ The mayor's office
put out a call the public to help provide for the evacuees at the Friars Road
sports
arena. The following items, which should be taken to the stadium's "P" gate,
are needed: tents, cots, water, blankets and prepared food.” Oddly enough,
these residents knowingly live in fire and earthquake zones and yet they don’t
have supplies. Worse yet, the city is unprepared for the numbers of evacuees.
Makes the preps we do seems at that much more intelligent.
Anyway, some thoughts for the SurvivalBlog readers. My thoughts and prayers
go out to those affected, my family and those fire fighters and cops going
into
these
zones to put down the fires and help the people out.
- MP in Seattle (a 10
Cent Challenge subscriber)
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Letter Re: A Nearby Wildfire Was My Preparedness Wake up Call
James:
Don't know if the callow-youth angle is of interest to your readers,
but I dashed this off after a recent wildfire alert: This evening around 5:30
there were reports of a fire very near my
home. Wildfires around here can get interesting quick, especially
this late in the year with plenty of dry fuel waiting around. I thought we
might have to Get out of Dodge and so I ordered the wife to pack up the paperwork
and prep the munchkin for a few days field trip.
Error. Wife does not respond well to orders, and she judged the threat to be
considerably less than I did.
I then went to grab my bug-out bag and load it in trusty escape vehicle. Mixed
results. My Bug Out Bag (B.O.B.) was in pieces all over the garage and house,
as parts of it had been used in recent camping
trip, some for vacation travel, or in my guru-bag for my work.
Assembling the kit under time pressure and while checking in on the radio/tv/internet
news, hounding the wife to follow through on evacuation procedures...it was
not going too well. Stress induced
tunnel vision slows people down and invites errors.
A few hours later the fire was under control and we wound down and turned in
for the night.
Lessons learned:
Discuss relative priorities ahead of time, so when the time comes to move out
there is less wasted effort in communication.
Rechargeable batteries are great for daily use, but useless in a bug-out situation.
Not enough extras were charged and ready to go, so my two-way radios, extra
Mini-Maglites, and backpacking GPS were useless. Keep a stash of copper-top
[Duracell]s or lithiums on hand for when they are needed.
Keep your evac vehicle ready to roll. My escape vehicle was in moderate condition.
The truck bed was loaded with junk I’d slated for a dump run, and only
one of the two fuel tanks was full.
Better to be empty of junk and topped off. Other minor problem: Not road-legal
for three bodies.
Keep your B.O.B. packed with dedicated gear. If you can’t
grab and go, it isn't a B.O.B.Yeah, your best flashlights live there.
So what. Make the second rate gear take the daily wear and tear.
Gear to make life bearable and the more readily portable valuables / memorables
could have been collated and loaded, but it would have taken quite some time.
Lesson: Get some Rubbermaid bins. Number them. Stow gear numbered by load order
so as to make finding things easier. Items not likely to be needed in the short-term
get loaded first. Print up inventory list and tape to inside lids, along with
a cheapo LED keychain light. This way important equipment gets loaded quickly
and my loved ones can find what they need in my absence, even on the side of
the road in the dark. Keep a few
extra bins for rapid-load of household items such as family photo albums, insurance
paperwork, etc. Keep the weight manageable by the weakest person likely to
be helping load.
I had I planned to haul off any fuel or ammo I had, for the safety of any rescue
workers. Since I do not yet have a large volume to move, I thought it polite.
Having a garage explode or a case of
ammo cook off could ruin somebody's day. Remembering where all gas, kerosene,
Coleman’s, fuel canisters, target ammo, real ammo, gopher-killer ammo
were stored and getting it all together was a
minor challenge. Lesson: Keep ammo stored centrally and securely. Keep fuels
stored outside garage in locking cabinet.
Alternate evac routes were planned, but only in my head and on screen. Should
keep paper maps in all cars. Review routes in advance. Two alternate routes,
two alternate rally points. Practice them in advance by taking the 'scenic
route' to 'grandmas house'.
[My original] plan was for her to head out very early in this scenario on
with our precious cargo and take shelter at our fallback place while I loaded
gear
and
stood
ready to defend the home front against fire or looters until such time as I
needed to bail out. With everything but property already secured, I know I
would not spend much time playing hero. In the future,
I want to plan on a one
vehicle evac, so I know where my most important cargo is and
have a second set of hands and eyes to help in getting there intact.
Planning and wishful thinking don’t go very far to securing the safety
of your family and property. It can all fall down fast with sloppy execution.
I now intend to finish my summer by being able to pack up with a few minutes
notice and be safely out of town. Thanks for all the good advice and references
I have found here. - The Hushmailer
« Letter Re: Canadian Retreat Locales |Main| Note from JWR: »
What if The Schumer Doesn't Hit The Fan? - Reasons to Prepare Anyway, by MB
As long as I can remember, I have felt that someday the comforts of a modern
American lifestyle would vanish, at least temporarily. So I have made small
mental preparations for some time now; keeping my mind and body fit and strong,
staying informed, dropping hints to the wife, etc. Recently, and mostly after
reading Patriots, I have a renewed interest in preserving my life and protecting
those I love.
After educating myself on the subject of survival, I felt, as I’m sure
many others have, very vulnerable and even overwhelmed. I needed to take action,
immediately. Many thoughts spring into one’s mind during these moments. “What
will I feed my children; oh man, water is essential; what about all those crazy
people in the city, I need a gun, I need several guns; I need to move to North
Dakota!” Sloooow down! These are daunting items. Once you quiet your
mind and restore some sense of calm (it may take a couple days), you realize
that you must be realistic. It’s not feasible for most of us to pack
up an arsenal and move to a remote retreat in the hills or forests of the upper
Midwest. We have jobs and responsibilities, relatives and friends; lives that
at least for the time being, limit our options. And there is also the feeling
that hundreds or even thousands of dollars spent on preparations could be wasted
if The Schumer doesn’t ever Hit The Fan. (Doubtful, but it does cross
one’s
mind) A sense of urgency is implied; however, a caution against panic is warranted.
It’s easy in this post 9/11 age to let fear control your life. Don’t!
Simply take comfort in the fact that doing something to prepare for various
scenarios, however big or small, will most importantly increase your odds of
survival in the worst of emergencies, but also increase your comfort in the
less dire situations and even improve your life now.
You Don’t Have to
Move to Idaho--Survival Mindset for City Folk
I wanted to write an article for people like myself who are in the beginning
stages of survival preparation. People on limited budgets, who may not live
on farms, or maybe have never served in the military or had experience with
guns. Those people who live in or near a city, particularly congested east
coast cities. I write for those city dwellers and suburbanites in less than
ideal regions; students, urban professionals, everyday people. However, it
can apply to just about anyone who is not already well “squared away”.
I will attempt to provide ideas on where to begin, how to prioritize and how
to prepare mentally and with limited monetary resources for a multitude of
events. I will try to focus on things that can be useful now and for a lifetime.
My intent is not to instruct on what exactly is needed for every particular
individual; there are more capable advisors for that. I aim to get people thinking
and to provide a more general approach to surviving the times.
Get Your Mind
Right
First and foremost is your mindset. Think about your values, your morals. What
is most important in your life? Who is most important to you? How far are you
willing to go to protect them? In the most serious situation, we would do anything,
right? Why let it come to that? There’s good reason to get motivated.
Put yourself and your family in the best possible position for survival now,
so you don’t have to act out of desperation later. Also, think about
what you spend your money on and where you spend it. Do you really need that
big screen plasma television? What are you teaching your children about spirituality,
health, money? Just as important, what are others teaching your children? You
see where I’m going here. It’s not all about beans, bullets and
Band-Aids. It’s about your mentality. Only the strongest-willed individuals
will make it through tough times, be it TEOTWAWKI,
high school, or simply life as an adult in the 21st century.
Beginning Logistics
Now think about tangible items to have on hand. Make a list. Just jot down
ideas, then categorize (based on cost or type) and prioritize later. Your location
and climate will impact your list. Set up your inventory and storage on varying
degrees of threat and length of time of crisis. For instance a blackout that
lasts 30 days vs. a full scale economic collapse. Will you be staying put or
escaping to a safer location? What criteria will you base your decision on?
What would you miss most if something tragic happened? Put yourself in that
situation. The obvious answers are food and more importantly, water. If you
are human, you already eat and drink water, so this is nothing new. You just
need to think about having more of it on hand. In turn, storage is needed.
We find room for other items; we can find room for potentially life saving
sustenance. Package enough easily transportable food for 30 days. A durable
plastic tote should work well. Then store enough for much longer periods of
time. Buy a little extra food with each grocery shopping trip and date it.
Not extra chips or TV dinners, get extra items such as dried fruit or granola
that will last for an extended period of time, without electricity. Buy in
bulk and incorporate raw grains into your diet. Start a garden. Not only will
you know how to prepare these foods now, you will be more accustomed to eating
them later, not to mention the health benefits. Think about buying a food dehydrator.
They are reasonably priced. Keep a few five gallon containers of water in
your garage, basement or crawlspace. If you live in an apartment, do you have
a
spare room or a patio? For long term situations, any amount of water that can
be conveniently stored in most homes will be consumed surprisingly fast. Think
about other sources and get a good water filter. Again, this is prudent to
have anyway. A [compact] portable filter might come in handy also. With both
food and water, as much as possible, use your storage as supplement, not a
main source.
Little by little set aside money and acquire items you will need.
Keep
an extra
supply of first aid items on hand. Don’t forget some of the less apparent
items like toilet paper, sanitation, batteries, tools, candles, medications
and fuel. Keep some spare 5 gallon containers of stabilized gas in your shed.
It’s not wasteful as it can be used in your vehicles at any
time. And with the rising gas prices it may prove to be a worthwhile investment.
Don’t forget to rotate [your stocks]. Consider buying a generator. In
a full scale crisis, drawing attention to yourself and home with a loud, light-producing
device is not going to be very smart, but when power goes out and the masses
aren’t yet rioting in the streets, a generator will be nice to have.
Get a portable model. Study maps and plan different routes to and from your
home. Keep an emergency kit in your car. This is by no means a complete list,
it’s designed to get you started. Yes, the preparations are abundant.
Don’t get overwhelmed into thinking you have to get it all at once. The
key is minimization. Minimize the chances that you will be taken by surprise,
wondering why you didn’t do something earlier. Start small and with things
you can use in everyday life. The wealth of available information on specifics
is immense. This web page is a great resource. It’s up to you to educate
yourself and determine exactly what and how much you will need.
Help Others
Help You
Working together will be to your advantage during crunch time. Find strength
in numbers. Seek out others who share your values and have skills you lack.
How can you help each other? Build relationships and share ideas. Educate others,
but be careful as you can imagine the funny looks you might get if you start
prophesying doomsday. And guess who’s doorstep they’ll be standing
on come crunch time. I am a firm believer that the more people around you that
are prepared, the better off all of us are. If your neighbors can take care
of themselves, then it’s more likely your preparations will be preserved
in the event of crisis. In short, at least fewer of your neighbors will be
knocking on your door the same day of an event.
Securing Your Castle
I’d like to take a moment to discuss security, specifically firearms.
If you have studied survival even a little, then you are aware that arming
yourself ranks high on the list of recommendations. Perhaps some of you share
my reluctance to build an armory in my home. I have children, and being married
to someone who is strictly against guns makes security a particularly difficult
element in my survival preparations. While I recognize security as an absolute
must, I have reservations about keeping a device designed to kill in my home.
Ironically the reasons not to own a gun are the very reasons why I feel I should
own gun. The reasons are aged 2-11, not including the Mrs. In a volatile scenario
that could spiral out of control; I would feel helpless without weapons to
protect my family. All the stockpiling of food and water will be futile if
some thug can easily take it from you (and maybe your lives with it). If you
do decide to own a firearm (or firearms), don’t flaunt it and please
educate yourself and practice. Keep a chamber or trigger lock in place and
store the
ammunition
in a different location if necessary. In addition, don’t rule out other
ways of defending yourself. Albeit, less formidable, they are less expensive.
These include pepper spray, knives, batons, stun guns and martial arts. I don’t
think I need to remind people that these are mostly ineffective against attackers
with guns, or even large groups of unarmed evil doers. However, they may prove
useful in that they are very portable and can be used in less dire emergencies.
Deterrence in the form of dogs, fencing, motion detection, alarm systems and
location should also be considered. Protection from those who intend to harm
is imperative and yet another item that is useful even today.
Back to Basics
Take an assessment of your skill sets. What knowledge do you posses that would
be of value in a crisis situation? Don’t worry, if needed, your survival
instincts will take hold, but some basic skills can make you an asset and will
help you survive. Develop and hone these skills now. Start simply; make your
own bread, catch your own fish, grow your own vegetables, prepare healthier,
less processed meals. I enjoy beer, I brew my own. It’s rewarding and
I’ve learned much from it. Learn basic plumbing, carpentry and electrical
skills. You don’t have to be a master mechanic, but any vehicle owner
should know the basics; how to change the oil, filters and spark plugs. Having
a skill can be just as valuable as having an inventory; you never leave home
without it and could earn you a spot in a group if needed. Maybe you are a
dog trainer or electronics engineer. Don’t forget your kids. Teach your
children to swim, hunt, split wood or sow a garden. It seems that all too often,
in our frenzied lifestyles, we focus all our energy on skills that will get
us fat paychecks and forget the simpler but more important things. Get back
to basics. Slow down. Simplify. If something isn’t adding positive value
to your life, eliminate it. Many preparedness items can be fun and done as
a family. Go camping, take hikes, etc. If you have kids, consider home schooling
them. Most importantly get to know your children; spend time with them.
It’s
Up to You
You can make self sufficiency a way of life without going “off the deep
end,” so to speak. Taking action will not only give you peace of mind,
a sort of insurance policy, but also can improve your life in the meantime.
Many corollary benefits will emerge. Here are some that come to mind: Less
reliance on outside institutions, money saved, healthier eating habits, time
spent with your family. Regardless of the future, you’ll be teaching
your children to be prepared, to think logically and independently and not
to have a lazy, consumerist attitude of entitlement that dominates our culture
today.
This writing isn’t packed full of technical how-to information, but I
sincerely hope it helps to serve those of you that may feel overwhelmed and
don’t know where to begin and to breathe hope into those who are obliged
to retain their current lives without major upheaval. There are many who see
the challenges involved with getting ready and are scared into doing nothing.
For one reason or another they go back to sleep, their head comfortably lodged
in the sand. Don’t be one of those people. Enjoy the time and blessings
you have, but be ready. An old proverb says “Trust in God, but tie up
your camel.” Just the same, pray for peace, but prepare for war.
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Letter Re: The Formulary Book Mentioned in the Novel "Patriots"
Mr. Rawles:
First, I'd like to thank you for your novel "Patriots".
I bought it and read [the 31 chapter edition] in 2002, and loved it. I implemented
many of your suggestions, and have my bug out bags prepared and ready. I especially
have medical supplies on hand.
I have been trying to remember the name and author of a "formulary" book
I believe you mention in Patriots. You said it was out of print but
showed how to make things like paint, if you had no paint. You said it was
a fixture on American farms at the turn of the 20th century. I would look in
my copy of Patriots for this, but it is packed with my bug out items
in a special safe place away from my home, so I can't just quickly go get it.
Please let me know the title of this "formulary" so that I can be
looking for a copy. Thanks! - Pamela G. in Oregon
JWR Replies: I believe that you are referring to Kurt
Saxon's book: "Granddad's Wonderful Book of Chemistry", which
is primarily a reprint of he classic formulary "Dick's Encyclopedia",
circa 1872. Saxon also assembled a dictionary of old fashioned
chemical terms and synonyms and included it in the front of his reprint.
This is worth its weight in gold. (Having an old formulary is great, but
if you don't
know
that "oil
of mirbane" is
now called nitro-benzene, then a lot of formulary knowledge verges on useless.)
Kurt has some far-our political beliefs which, as a Christian, I find abhorrent.
(Kurt Saxon is an atheist and a eugenicist.) But if you skip past those
rantings, all of his books are great references. I've heard that a few
of his hard
copy
books
are
now out of print, but that they are all still available on CD-ROM.
OBTW, if you search through used book stores, you will occasionally find
other old formulary book from the late 1800s. Buy them when you find them.
They are treasure troves of useful arcana!
Some special notes of caution on home chemistry: Use extreme
care whenever working with chemicals--even when doing something as basic
as making
soap.
Always wear full goggles,
long sleeves, and gloves. Always work in a well-ventilated area. Wear a respirator
mask,
when
appropriate.
Always
keep
an A-B-C fire
extinguisher handy. Keep an emergency eyewash bottle handy. When working
with a chemical that could burn your skin, be prepared with a bucket of water
(if
appropriate)
or the
appropriate
neutralizer.
Never use any of your regular kitchen utensils, containers, or measuring
instruments
when
working
with
chemicals.
(Have a
dedicated set,
and clearly mark
them as such!) Never work alone. Study reactivity
tables, and always keep
them in mind. Whenever working with anything flammable or potentially explosive,
always work with minute quantities for your experiments. Keep
in mind that 19th Century safety standards were considerably more relaxed
than
today's, so old formularies often omit safety warnings. Always
remember that exposure to some
substances
such as
lead, mercury, and carbon monoxide are insidious and cumulative. FWIW, I'm
not putting forth all these strong warnings simply to cover my assets from
a lawsuit. I really sincerely mean them, since I've "been there, done that",
and caught
my hair
on fire a time or two.
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Letter Re: Firefighting Equipment for Rural Homes and Retreats, and Comments of Geothermal Heating
Hi Jim,
I thought it prudent to add a bit to Mr. Savage's fire fighting equipment article.
It touches two topics worth mentioning.
In the article, Mr. Savage recommends a fire truck, bladder, tank, etc... for
firefighting. I have no problem with this unless it is winter. Trying to pump
this much water on as "as need" basis in the event of a fire is obviously
not going to work as well. Storing the water in a "non-potable" type
container clearly marked, one could add the appropriate amount of RV antifreeze
to the tank to keep from bursting your firefighting vessel, pipes, and valves.
Please don't confuse this with vehicle antifreeze.
For those considering using the RV for bugging out or a second retreat, then
it would be necessary to understand how to winterize and de-winterize your piping
if you desire to keep things relatively intact.
This would also be an important segue into learning to winterize your home in
case you decide to shut off heat to most rooms, but would like the ability to
have pipes that are not broken/ frozen at a later date when outside temps are
above freezing.
Since we are on the topic of water, another thing to mention in addition to the
corn/ pellet, wood boiler type heat, I would like to add geothermal to
what
in my
opinion is a worthless heat/cool source post-TEOTWAWKI. Most don't know this,
but in our climate, the electrical needs for the system can easily surpass 100
amps! Good luck powering that with your wind turbine. Sorry for the
ramble,
but wanted to bring up a few talking points. God Bless,
-
The Wanderer
JWR Replies: The power required to run a home geothermal
heating system varies widely, depending on the water temperature and well depth.
In some places like
Klamath
Falls, Oregon, where there is fairly hot water at shallow depth, a
"closed loop" system connected to hydronic
sub-floor pipes can use
just a small circulating pump that draws relatively little current. BTW, Klamath
Falls is
one of the preferred retreat locales mentioned in my book Rawles
on Retreats and Relocation. And, BTW, I once had the opportunity to
buy a ranch near Wells,
Nevada that had a large hot spring with gravity flow to
the
house.
This could have provided geothermal heat with no pumping
requirement. However, the
Memsahib and I decided to pass on buying that property because
we felt that it was too close to the I-80 corridor and hence not strategically
viable.
« Letter Re: Why Food Prices are Soaring |Main| Note from JWR: »
Letter Re: Firefighting Equipment for Rural Homes and Retreats
Jim
As a local volunteer firefighter in Northern Idaho, I would like to offer some
advice to current and future retreat owners. Due to response time(s), everyone
who can afford it should have the following set up on the property to use
during those 15 to 30 minutes until emergency services arrive. You will find
that in most retreat areas volunteers are the norm. It may take that long
from your call to having equipment on scene. The farther out you are the
longer it will be, and in the winter, you may be on your own due to road
impassability.
I sometimes suggest to clients that they purchase an old fire truck or water
tender that is in decent shape, but only if you have the skills to service
those type of units. Prices vary but most of the time you can get a nice working
1960s -1970s vintage truck for $5,000 to $10,000. Those of you
that plan on cashing out and moving to your retreat area to pay cash for it,
might
want to consider having this purchase pre-booked in your ledger as you shop
for your property. Sometimes retreats will have such items already on hand
that you can negotiate into the deal, seeing that prices in the real estate
market are still coming down.
Here is a set-up under $2,500 that would be great. You can find used equipment
as well for much less.
Purchase a portable
pump along with a portable
bladder (if you do not have a pond, swimming
pool or year round stream close to your retreat, 100-150 feet maximum)
then add some 1.5” hose and
a
nozzle or two and there you have a fairly economical safeguard against structure
fire or
a wild land fire on your property.
I have seen several structures recently go up in flames; one that I arrived
on scene before the equipment that could have been saved from extensive damage
had the owner had fire protection equipment to use before we arrived. It’s
very easy to maintain some portable set-ups like the one above. Part of preparedness
as we all know is actually doing something about a possible threat so that
we can remove any worries while we go about our lives.
Remember, out in the hinter boonies fire will be an everyday threat Pre- and
Post-TEOTWAWKI to your structure and surrounding property.
God bless, - Todd
Savage
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From the Memsahib: Developing Wildfire Defensive Space at Your Home or Retreat
Much of the western U.S. is starting to look dry as the Spring rains are
over in many areas and the annual grasses have already gone to seed and turned
brown.
With
major fires burning in several states, it seems timely to discuss the"defensive
space" of your property. [JWR Adds: Not to be confused
with "ballistic"
defensive space, which I recently addressed in SurvivalBlog.]
The goal is to
prevent a forest fire from reaching your house by reducing the amount
of
fuel
for a
fire
near
your
home.
When
forest fires lack fuel crown fires drop to ground fires. Ground fires burn
slower and are easier
to contain. The recommended defensive space plan divides the area around
your house into three
zones.
Zone One
is 0-to-15 feet all around your home.
It
is recommended
that you have no trees and no large shrubs in this zone if you live in an area
prone to wildfires. If you do have landscaping close to your house, then it
should be a plant species that is
not
readily combustible.
Succulent
groundcover plants
are recommended. Better yet would be decorative rocks! The idea
is that there should be no organic fuel within 15 feet of your home.
Zone Two
is 15-to-75+ feet area around your home. In this area it is recommended that
trees are spaced so that there is a ten feet space between the outermost edges
of
the branches
of each tree. This means large trees might need to be spaced 30 or 40 feet
between the trucks of the trees. The purpose is so that a "crown"
forest fire would not be able to jump from crown to crown within your defensive space.
You do not want to give a ground fire a "ladder" to climb into the
crowns of your trees, so it is recommended that you remove all the limbs which
are within
10 feet of the ground. You should also not allow thick underbrush to grow
around your trees which could feed a fire and also serve as a ladder. Note
that if
your house is on a hillside, then Zone 2 might be as far as 125 feet downhill.
Zone Three is from the outer edge of Zone Two to the edge
of your property. (Zone Three was described by one web page as "an area
of traditional
forest
management
and
is of no particular size. It extends
from
the edge of your defensible space to your property boundaries.")
By the time you have created a proper defensive space
around your home the landscaping is not going to look too "natural".
It will be much more like a town park than a natural habitat. But, that is
a sacrifice
I'm
willing to
make in
order
to defend our home against forest fires.
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Letter Re: Safety of Storing Ammunition in a Gun Vault
Jim,
Sorry if you've covered this topic before. First off, I'd like to thank you
for the information on your blog. I bought a gun safe yesterday, and thanks
to Bruce H.'s question a few weeks ago about the effects of an EMP on
a safe's electronic lock, I didn't make the mistake of buying one with such
a lock. (I'm close to Nellis AFB and
somewhat close to the Nevada [nuclear] test site)
After I got done putting in my guns, family heirlooms, coin collection, etc.,
I put 500 rounds of .223 in the safe, too. I figured that if there was a break-in,
flood, fire, or whatever, I'd still have some ammo to roll with. After I closed
the rather large, armor plated door, I thought, "Now let's see a burglar
or inferno try and take our stuff away from us!"
Then the thought occurred to me: "What if it's not the fire that destroys
our stuff? What if it's the 500 rounds inside that destroys our stuff after
they cook off in there?" The manufacturer claims that the safe will withstand
1,275 degrees F for 90 minutes and writes about the safe, "Designed to
maintain an interior temperature of less than 350 degrees."
My question is this - Will ammo inside a safe at or near 350 degrees F cook
off inside there? Thanks, Bill in Las Vegas
JWR Replies: Ammunition inside a vault will not "cook off" until
temperatures reach very high levels--by that time your house will doubtless
be totally engulfed in flames. And even then most ammunition is far less of
a hazard than
the house
fire itself. (They essentially pop like firecrackers--their projectiles have
very
little velocity.)
« Letter Re: Keeping Firearms Functioning in Extreme Cold Temperatures |Main| Note from JWR: »
Storing Oil and Lubricants for TEOTWAWKI
The recent discussion of firearms lubrication reminded me about
a subject that I've meant to address again in SurvivalBlog: oil and
lubricant storage for your retreat. It is important
to think through all
of your oil and lubricant needs--everything from motor oil and transmission
fluid to firearms lubes. Calculate what you use in a three to five
year period, and stock up. Then anticipate what you
might need for barter and charity, and stock up even more.
Because most families do not store any substantial quantity of oils
and lubricants, they
will make an ideal barter item in a long term Crunch.
One lubricant that
is often overlooked in retreat logistics planning is two
cycle engine fuel mixing oil.
I predict that this will be like gold, post-TEOTWAWKI,
since there aren't any decent
substitutes. When TSHTF,
suddenly everyone will be using their chainsaws a
lot,
but two cycle mixing oil will be in very short supply. You can
be
"the man of the hour", but only if you stock up.
I recommend buying a couple of cases of small bottles of
two cycle mixing oil. It will be a fantastic
item for barter and charity.
For your long term TEOTWAWKI oil
storage, I recommend that you store at least a few cases of non-detergent motor
oil. This is because detergent motor oils only store well for
a couple of years. In contrast, non-detergent motor
oil store almost indefinitely. Look carefully at the label before you
buy. (These days, even most inexpensive brands of motor oil contain
detergents.)
For firearms lubrication, I generally prefer the Break
Free CLP brand. In a post-TEOTWAWKI environment,
your guns will be your constant companions in all sorts of weather.
So it is
important to store gun cleaning and lubrication supplies in quantity.
Safe storage for your oil and lubricants is essential. I
recommend that you build a separate, dedicated, locking steel
storage shed to store all of your flammables. Think in terms of a 20
foot long CONEX or
perhaps a pre-fabricated metal shed that is well-removed from your
other retreat buildings. Aside for a very small supply for day-to-day
use, nearly all of your flammables should be stored in the outside
shed: kerosene, fuel canisters (propane, stove fuel, et cetera),
lighter fluid, gas cans, paint cans, bore cleaner, various automotive/tractor
fluids, paint thinner, chemical degreasers, decontamination fluids,
and oils of all descriptions. If you store any powder, primers, or
blasting caps, or fuse in this same shed, it is important that you
store them inside separate ammo cans with tight-fitting rubber seals. Otherwise,
the lubricant vapors will deaden them.
For your cars, trucks,a nd tractors, oil filters are more important
to store than motor oil. The
myth of the obligatory 3,000 mile oil change has been perpetrated by
the "30 minute oil change" industry, because they like to
see their customers frequently, to enhance their cash flow. In fact,
in the modern era of multi-weight detergent oils, oil changes are grossly
over-done! Unless
a car engine is older and starting to grind metal, then your motor
oil will usually have a much longer life than 3,000 miles. And
just because motor oil is dark does not necessarily indicate that it
needs to be changed. Many commercial fleet vehicles get no oils changes
at all--just new filters installed. Then the same oil is put back in.
Back in the 1980s the U.S.Army instituted the Army Oil Analysis Program
(AOAP.) Under AOAP, oil samples are periodically mailed to a
centralized lab. Unless the lab detects a drop in viscosity, suspended
metals particles, or contamination for any particular vehicle's oil,
they direct units to re-use the oil and merely change filters. (By
the way, this program has saved the U.S. taxpayers hundreds of millions
of dollars in the past 20 years.)
Another tangential note: I've mentioned this in SurvivalBlog
before, but it is worth repeating: Part of keeping your hand tools
in proper condition is oiling them to prevent
rust. It
is a good idea to keep a steel bucket with a tight-fitting metal lid,
half-filled with sand that is soaked in fresh motor oil (Don't
use wood shavings or anything else that is flammable! And, BTW, don't
soak the sand with used motor oil, because it has been documented as
a carcinogen.) After
tasks like splitting wood or spading the garden, be sure brush off
any clinging soil, re-sharpen your tools, and then plunge them into
the oily sand and swish them around to give them light coat of oil
will. This will greatly extend the serviceable life of your
hand tools!
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Letter Re: Advice on Where to Learn Practical, Tactical Skills
Dear Jim:
As my confidence in the dollar depreciates and my desire for skills
increases, I'm wanting to convert FRNs
into hands-on knowledge. What weeknight or weekend workshops would
you recommend? Are there any places
where you can learn Army Ranger skills without joining the military?
Animal husbandry, and so on? - Spencer
JWR Replies: There is a tremendous wealth of free
or low-cost classes available--enough to keep you busy every weekend
of
the year
if you are willing to drive a distance. If you have time and
just a bit of money, you can get some very well-rounded training in
skills that
are quite applicable to post-TEOTWAWKI living. In
my experience, the most cost-effective training opportunities in the
U.S.
include:
American
Red Cross First Aid and CPR classes
Local Community College, Park District, and Adult Education classes.
They offer classes on metal shop, auto shop, wood shop, leather crafting,
ceramics, baking, gardening, welding, and so forth.
RWVA Appleseed Shoots.
These are held all over the nation. They offer great training for
very
little money. The West
Side Sportsman's Club,
located on the west side of Evansville, Indiana is hosting the national
RWVA shoot on June 30 / July 1st. The
Red Brush Gun Range, located on the east side
of Evansville is having another Appleseed, and they're also having
an Appleseed Boot Camp. The boot camp starts on Monday
October 22 thru
Friday
Oct. 26th. Then
the Appleseed Shoot is on Saturday Oct. 27 and Sunday Oct. 28. The deal is
if you want to attend both the Boot Camp and the Appleseed match, you
do so for $200. Yes, for just $200 you can have seven
days of
top
notch
marksmanship training.
U.S. Army ROTC classes,
the ROTC Ranger program (administered by individual university ROTC
Departments), and ROTC
Leader's Training Course, aka Basic Camp). The first two years
of the ROTC program--including Leader's Training Course--are available
to any full-time enrolled
undergraduate college student
(including "cross-enrolled" junior college students) with
no contractual obligation. Participation in the ROTC Ranger
program by anyone other than enrolled ROTC cadets is usually up to
the discretion of the instructor or the PMS.
When I was in a ROTC Ranger program back in the early 1980s, we had
two Marine Corps PLC students
and an Administration of Justice (police science)
major in our Ranger program, as supernumeraries. So even if you don't
sign up for ROTC classes, you might be able to be involved in a Ranger
program.
Of particular note: If you sign up for the four week ROTC Leader's
Training Course at Fort
Knox,
Kentucky,
you will actually get paid to
attend, plus get a couple of free pairs of combat boots. To be eligible
to participate in ROTC, you must be under 31 years of age
on Dec 31 st of the year that you expect to graduate. (Or possibly
34 years old, with waivers.) The best chance to get a slot at the ROTC
Leader's Training Course is during your sophomore year of college,
but when I was there I met a graduate student that had wangled a slot.
(He eventually got a direct
commission, by virtue of his ROTC "contact hours")
LDS (Mormon)
cannery classes/canning sessions. Many "wards" have
their own canneries, which are generally open to non-Mormons. (OBTW,
the LDS food
storage calculator web page is a very
useful planning tool.)
FEMA /
CERT
Classes (Classroom and Internet courses, some with team commitment)
ARRL amateur radio classes.
Species-Specific or Breed-Specific Livestock and Pet Clubs
NRA and State Rifle and
Pistol Association training and shooting events
Fiber
Guilds (spinning and weaving) and local knitting clubs
Mountain Man/Rendezvous Clubs (Blackpowder
shooting, flint knapping, soap making, rope making, etc.)
University/County
Agricultural Extension and Cattleman's Club classes
on livestock, gardening, weed control, canning, et cetera
Medical
Corps small
group classes. I heard that they have scheduled just one hands-on
Combat/Field Medicine Course thusfar for 2007. It
will be at the OSU Extension Campus, in
Belle Valley Ohio, April 20-21-22. That class is full, but
check their web site for additional course dates. They offer
great
training--including advanced life saving topics that the
American
Red
Cross doesn't teach--at
very reasonable
cost.
Volunteer
Fire department (VFD) classes
(usually with some commitment)
Candle and Soap Making Clubs/Conventions
Boy Scouts and 4H.
Informal, un-enrolled ("strap hanger") training is available
for adults--just take your kids to the meetings and don't leave.
I would also consider these less important (but still worthwhile)
training opportunities, as time permits:
Sheriff's posse and Search and Rescue (SAR) programs
Police department "Ride Along" and Police Reserve programs
Civil Air Patrol (CAP) courses.
Civic/Ethnic Club cooking classes
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Letter Re: Fire Fighting Tools and Skills for Retreats
Sir:
The
recent piece in SurvivalBlog outlines many of the advantages
of belonging to a Volunteer Fire Department (VFD).
The VFDs in many areas have women as members as firefighters and
support. The VFD that you join will let you network
with other folks who care about their home area. The good training
is just one of the many perks. You will
most likely get to know your local police officers. And if you live in an area
that prohibits scanners in cars, as a firefighter you might be able to have
one legally. Having scanners lets you know what is going on in your area. Regards,
- Tom in Oregon
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Re-Write of the Austere and Survival Medicine Book »
Letter Re: Fire Fighting Tools and Skills for Retreats
Dear Mr. Rawles,
Recently a fellow posted asking about firefighting options. If he wants
advice about firefighting and resources to do so, he might want to
look into joining his local Volunteer Fire Department (VFD).
Fire departments are the first ones (along with law enforcement) to
be summoned to any natural or man-made disaster. For this reason, almost
all fire
departments (including the VFDs) prepare, trains themselves
for disaster! 75% of the fire departments in the United States
are manned by volunteers. All [of them] are always looking
to add men to their rosters.
While one might think that all the local VFDs do is fight fires,
they actually perform many services and have great training that would
be quite useful for the average Joe.
One great advantage to being in the VFD is that you not only know what
resources your municipality may have for dealing with a disaster, you
know how they are going to use those resources and can make your preparations
accordingly. Simply put, you know how the municipality is going to
respond, so you can tailor your preparations to address at the personal
level
the areas where the municipalities preparations are lacking.
As far as training, pretty much everything is available: Basic First
Aid, Advance First Aid, Certified First Responder, EMT-A, EMT-B, etc.
All at no charge to the individual. Aside from first aid, there’s
training on handling Weapons of Mass Destruction scenarios, Hazardous
Materials, Mass Casualty Scenarios, Decontamination, etc. That’s
in addition to firefighting training.
Many departments actually have retirement benefits even though it’s
a volunteer gig; my department pays a $400 a month pension when I’m
62 if I stay active in the company for 20 years. May not sound like
much, but that will pay my property and school taxes for the year!
Also, after five years in the company I get a 10% break on my property
taxes.
Since the departments are volunteer, a fellow can pick different jobs
within the department. Not everyone is cut out physically to run into
burning building or cut drunks out of car wrecks. Some folks are just
drivers, some are Fire Police, others are scene support. There are
different positions for different degrees of physical ability.
Another big plus is now that the Department of Homeland Security has
implemented a standardized National Response Plan (NRP) and National
Incident Management System (NIMS), there has been an impetus to standardize
protocols between departments on things
such
as identification. In my company we receive county/state issued ID
cards that have our name, photo, physical description and identify
(in my case) the bearer as a Firefighter in the (name of town) Fire
Department. On the back are the state seal and county seal. In the
event of Bad Times, this ID can be a big help in getting around.
Also helpful in getting around can be the special license plates and
authorized emergency vehicle lights. In a disaster when civilian traffic
may be barred from the roads, such markings can be useful.
Since I’ve been in my company, I’ve learned the following
things that can help my family and I in an emergency:
I know what the local municipalities disaster plans are. I know what
resources are available and I know how long they will last. In short,
I know how long before the refugees become a hungry mob.
At no cost to me I got credentialed as a Certified First Responder.
I learned all the 'ins and outs' of the county’s
communication systems. I know where all the repeaters are, how much
fuel they have and what frequencies all the local agencies use.
In the event of a smallpox or Avian Flu pandemic, I will be one of
the first people vaccinated and will be assisting in the distribution
of vaccine to others (meaning that I will make sure my family gets
theirs in a timely manner!).
I persuaded my company to avail itself of Federal programs that allow
for first responder agencies to purchase (for a nominal fee) surplus
military equipment. Our company has pallets of MREs (ostensibly
to feed the crews during wildfires), we have trailer mounted military
generators (for when power to the municipality goes out and we need
to power the local emergency shelter) and are currently looking at
several
other useful ‘dual-purpose’ items.
Probably the best thing is that I have learned how preparation pays
off. It is one thing to prepare for social collapse; there are
no rehearsals or try-outs. Society collapses or it doesn’t
and you are prepared or you are not. In firefighting, I have
learned first hand how being prepared before hand can affect things;
I understand
now
that every night, without fail, my hat and keys go in the exact
same place, that my boots, pants and shirt go in the
exact same place, so
that when
I have
30
seconds to clear the building at zero dark thirty,
I’m not frantically searching for my keys. My turnout gear is
always painstakingly stowed in a very precise and careful manner so
that when the call comes the 10 minutes I took to carefully stow it
allows me to go from flammable to fire-proof in 60 seconds. My privately
owned vehicle (POV)
is parked with the radio off, electronics pre-set, etc. so that when
I jump in to respond to a call and start the ignition,
the
tape
player
doesn’t come on blaring music that drowns out my fire pager leaving
my in the dark about where I am headed. All little things to be
sure, but tricks learned from repetitive experience.
How does this translate to preparing with my family? I have a much better understanding of how carefully thought out and meticulous planning
can pay off in an emergency. - Regards, R.V.
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Chimney Construction, by PrepNow
I would like to offer some information about my experience with
chimney construction and creosote build up. This information does not
apply to the typical suburban open fireplace. What I’m talking
about is a wood-burning stove designed to heat your home or shelter.
There are a number of manufactured fireplaces
available that are designed to regulate the amount of combustion air
traveling into the firebox and consequently the control the actual
burn. These are the most efficient and are the type that we would be
using in a structure designed to ride out the future storm.
Construction of the chimney is extremely important. In this case the
old ways are not the best. Fire brick and chimney tile will eventually
burn out and will not handle many chimney fires. I heated my two-story
log home in Montana for years primarily with split pine, which is very
susceptible to creosote build up. Due to the construction of the chimney
and fireplace I was able to regularly “burn out” the creosote
safely.
I constructed the chimney using high quality triple wall stainless
steel chimney pipe that was designed with separate air spaces between
each layer of tubing. This allows the inner tube to dissipate heat.
(Never use the double wall insulated pipe because it will contain heat
and can cause extremely high temperature build up in the wall of the
tube). The triple wall stainless steel (SS) chimney tubing was then
encased in a framed shaft lined with fire rock all the way to the roof.
The
SS
tube
extended
through the metal roof cap. This cap was removable so that the tubing
could be pulled out and replaced if necessary without disassembling
the chase and associated walls. Of course a spark arrester was installed
on top of the chimney. I installed a vent in the bottom and top of
the chase to capture the heat from the chase and reduce any heat build
up. The vents incorporated at lead link controlled fire damper so that
if there was a fire in the chimney chase they would automatically close.
The bottom of the chimney was located directly above the fireplace
and connected by a single wall SS pipe open to the room. The entire
corner walls and floor where bricked and the stove set on the brick.
The fireplace was a plate steel enclosed box lined with firebrick.
There were controllable air intakes on the front doors and also a combustion
air vent piped from outdoors with a control damper built in near the
stove. These allowed me to shut down the air supply and control the
fire level. Most of the time the fire was kept and a fairly low level
and consequently contributed to creosote build up in the chimney.
About once a week during the main heating season I would open the air
intakes and allow the fire to build up enough to burn the creosote
out of the chimney. This can be a little spooky the first time you
do it because it sounds like the chimney is going to blast off into
space. I chose days when there was adequate snow cover or wet weather
in order to eliminate the chance of fire from sparks emitted from the
chimney. These chimney burnout’s were generally very small and
short-lived due to repeating them on a regular basis. During the learning
curve I did have a couple of fires that emitted a large amount of flames
and smoke from the chimney. I monitored the heat coming from the chase
vents and it never exceeded an uncomfortable level. I also inspected
the flue system and no damage was done other than a discoloring of
the spark arrestor.
The weak link in a system like this is the single wall pipe between
the stove and the chimney. This must be stainless steel, have adequate
spacing from combustibles and be inspected regularly.
Another thing to remember is that a small hot fire is much better than
a large cool fire. This is accomplished through the control of intake
air and will become easy to maintain with practice. More of the gases
that create creosote are burned in the hot fire. The diameter of the
chimney flue is also important. If sized too large the velocity of
the smoke and gases will move up the flue too slowly and will cause
build up. Some of the older large chimney’s actually set up a
convection current inside the flue drawing cold air from above, heating
it and moving back up and out. This also opened the door for an uncontrolled
chimney fire because it was self-feeding. A smaller diameter flue creates
a higher velocity current fed only by the controlled combustion air
thus keeping the smoke gasses a little hotter, moving them out of the
chimney and reducing creosote build up.
The important element of this type of heating system is the ability
to shut off the supply air. You can literally kill a fire in this manner.
A back-up dry chemical fire extinguisher released into the front air
damper opening should solve any out of control problem. I never found
this necessary but kept one on hand, just in case.
Another point that goes along with wood heating is having a metal roof
on your house. This is the simplest way to fire proof your roof and
a good standing seam system, (not a screw down), is easily a 50-year
roof. I had hand-split cedar shake shingles on mine and was always
paranoid about the possibility of it catching fire from either a chimney
spark or a forest fire. My next home will have a standing seam galvanized
aluminum roof. Pricey, but worth it.
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Two Letters Re Converting A Gasoline Engine Generator Set to Propane
Hi Jim,
Regarding the thread on converting generators to propane, last
year I installed a tri-fuel conversion
kit on
my 7.5 KW generator,
that has a Honda engine. [Since the conversion] it works perfectly
and [the conversion kit] was very easy to install. If the [grid] power
goes out,
I
can switch
it to
the piped-in natural gas and if that goes out, I can either use propane
or gasoline.
I also got an inexpensive solar trickle charger and connected that
to the battery, so that the battery is always fully charged. Best Regards,
- Kurt
JWR Replies: I consider the small (5 watt) 12 VDC battery
trickle chargers that you mentioned a must for every retreat. We
have one
for each
of our vehicles here at the ranch.
Keeping one of these connected to your backup generator battery is
a great idea. They are available from Northern
Tool & Equipment
.
(One of our Affiliate
Advertisers.) At Northern Tool's web
site, search on Item # 339973.
Jim
Propane is a good long term fuel for home and engine use as long as
"the system" continues to work. How long will you be able to maintain
your power needs after the balloon goes up?
Things to think about, [are]:
What are the common failure parts in
you genset and
automobile?
What are your consumables, gas, oil, diesel, hoses, gaskets?
How long
can you practically extend oil changes and not damage your engines?
Can
you add a oil purifier to your engine?
Wood gasifiers are a proven and reliable source of fuel to run engines
for the long term. As long as there are trees and shrubs then you have
fuel.
The
GENGAS web page has charts and plans for a stratified down draft
gasifier that can run all manner of internal combustion engines including
diesels
cars and generators.
If you want to see the kind of engines that stand
the test of time go down to your local farm and see how many of the
old tractors are still running [that were made] from the 1940s to the
1960s.
I would be careful about spending money on conversions that will only
be useful while the [modern commercial] supply system is running.
One
other note: How safe is your fuel storage from fire and to incoming
[small arms]
fire?
Large
propane tanks can and have leveled city blocks when set on fire. In
some locales
underground
tanks are illegal so a block house away from your main structure would
be in order, and security for same must be reviewed.
Now think of your last power outage. How quiet was your neighborhood?
How far does the sound of your genset carry?
Remember that needs and wants are a long way apart. Skills are cheap
and you can accumulate lots of those and no one can take them from
you. Goods cost money and they can be taken or lost. The short of it
is: do not buy what you can learn to build or do without. In my humble
opinion the best way to survive is to organize like a Special Forces
team with overlapping skill sets. And never rule out mobility as strategically
v have any choice. Learn all you can about it. Good reference books
to have are the U.S. Army's FM 7-8
on infantry tactics and battle drills and the Ranger handbook. A
third "must have" is ST 31-91B US Army Special Forces medical
handbook. As the motto
[borrowed from the British SAS]
goes: "Who dares, wins".
Sorry for the rambling but I read your blog every day at 0400 and don't
get to write that often. so I start my day with a good cup of coffee
and good friends. God Bless and Semper Paratus, - Mike H.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: Advice on a 12 VDC Fuel Transfer Pump »
Letter Re: Smoke Damaged Firearms
Greetings,
In January, our home burned down. The family made it out safely
thanks to our dog waking us up. The fire started outside and once it
entered the house it was engulfed in minutes.
My question is how to restore books, firearms, et cetera that have
been damaged by smoke and fire. Since getting burned out is a possibility
in survival
times this information could be quite handy. BTW Smoke eats the finish
on guns. My Mini-14 got eaten up pretty badly, but the CETME in the
rack next to it came out just fine. I guess
they used a different type of bluing. Thanks, - Chad
JWR Replies: Let me start by encouraging all SurvivalBlog
readers to carry both fire and theft insurance. A
house fire can be a very traumatic event, but they are even more so
if you are uninsured or underinsured. Note that many insurance policies
have specific limits on
firearms, often absurdly low
dollar figures unless you get
a separate "rider " to your policy, at additional cost. If
you aren't sure about your coverage, then pull out your policy and
read through it in detail. Second, I encourage all of you to get a
gun vault.
Not only will it deter 98%
of burglars, but it will also usually prevent the sort of damage that
Chad described. (Unless of course, the house burns to the ground, and
even then a "fireproof" vault may not save your guns.) I also
recommend taking a list of serial numbers and detailed descriptions of
each gun.
(OBTW, I have found that using 3"x5" index cards is convenient for
updates, since your collection will change
over time. Also take a few detailed photos of each gun. Store the
3"x5" index cards
and hard copy pictures annotated with each
gun's serial number in
a vault belonging to a relative or a trusted friend, and offer
to do likewise for them.
Now on to the repairing the damage: I've
seen lots of smoke and fire damaged guns at gun shows over the years,
and it is never a pretty sight. If a fire is intense enough to burn
the stock or grips off of a gun, then it is generally beyond salvageability.
This, among other things, is because springs lose their temper and
actions
can warp and bind. If
there is only smoke damage, then they can definitely be salvaged.
It is important to immediately 1.) Photograph each
gun
in detail
to
support your insurance claim. then 2.) Grease the gun from stem to
stern (and down he bore) with rust inhibitive grease (RIG).
This will protect any remaining finish from corrosion. Depending on
how your insurance agency handles
paying your claim, you
may end up salvaging your smoke-damaged guns yourself. I recommend
sending them off for bead blasting and an exotic coating such as NP3
or METACOL.
This
will leave them better than new, since they'll have a more durable
finish that their original bluing or parkerizing. There are now a wide
range
of exotic materials such as Teflon and Zylan are frequently used
as "after-market" gun
finishes. The
Robar Company uses a nickel/Teflon composite that they call NP3. My personal
favorite of the exotic finishes is called METACOL (METAl COLor),
which is offered in a wide variety of colors by Arizona
Response Systems Exotic
material finishes offer rust protection that is exceeded only by stainless
steel. They are quite durable. Parenthetically, for anyone
that that dislikes the highly reflective surface of stainless steel, it too
can be coated with
one
of the
exotic materials
such
as green Teflon, with a matte texture. If you have wood gun stocks
that have had their lacquer go "bubbly" or smoke darkened,
you can either
refinish
the stocks (which takes about 30 to 50 minutes each), or better
yet replace them with fiberglass or Kevlar-graphites
stocks
from a vendor like Choate, Brown
Precision, or H-S
Precision.
As for your books, check first with your insurance agent. If your
policy covers "full replacement cost", then it is probably
best to just buy
replacement copies of each book. This is fairly quick and easy, using
Amazon.com's "One Click" purchase option. If your policy
only covers part of the
loss, or if you have any rare, memento, or otherwise irreplaceable
books/albums, then consult with a restoration service such as Serv-Pro.
(They specialize in restoring books and artwork that have been smoke
and/or water damaged.) BTW Chad, if your loss included a copy or two
of any the books that I authored and the insurance company doesn't
cover replacing them, just let me know and I will send you complimentary
replacement
copies. May God bless you in the rebuilding process.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: The Forgotten Survival Skill: Physical Fitness, by Ron D. »
Letter Re: Bullet Casting: A (Relatively) Simple Introduction, by AVL
James,
Another safety item for melting lead: When done pouring bullets,
it is important that any remaining lead should be poured out of
the
pot, rather leaving it to solidify in
the pot. Lead like all other materials will expand when heated. Lead
will also melt from the bottom up and if trapped by a solid layer
at the top, may erupt when it breaks through that top layer. - R.H.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: Some Useful British Survival Web Sites »
Three Letters Re: Bullet Casting: A (Relatively) Simple Introduction, by AVL
Hi Jim,
I have two notes regarding casting your own bullets (or any other
metal for that matter): First: One piece of safety equipment that
you really should have on hand when casting any metal is dry sand.
Make sure you have at least 25 pounds of dry sand at the
ready. If there is a metal spill, dump the sand on it
and it will contain the flow and cool it quickly, plus it will
cut of the supply of
oxygen, preventing fire.
Second: A fire extinguisher is good to have to put out fires, but
with molten metal flowing all over the place lighting things on fire,
a fire extinguisher is not enough. You must never put water on molten
metal, because it will cause a steam explosion. This will burn you,
and send splatters of molten metal flying all over the place making
your problems much worse. Choose a dry chemical fire extinguisher
that is rated to be used on electrical fires.
Metal casting is fun, and can be accomplished without accidents if
you are diligent about your techniques. It is a skill that will be
most useful if and when the SHTF. I just read C.W. Ammen's "The
Complete Handbook of Sand Casting" and feel that it is
a great start to making almost anything out of metal.
Be blessed! - Chris
Jim:
I drop bullets from the mould into the five gallon bucket of water
in which I have placed a mesh nylon bag. When I am through casting
I hang
up the bag of bullets to dry. I have found that lubricant will
not stay on damp bullets. Regards, - Vlad
Sir:
A link to a much safer and far superior method of manufacturing
bullets than casting hot lead is to swage bullets: http://www.corbins.com/
I have had and used professional level swaging equipment from my
first business opportunity in 1982.
While I have sold that original business many years ago I continue
to manufacture my own jacketed bullets for my favorite bench-rest
rifles and continue to enjoy a much safer and cleaner method to manufacture
bullets.
While swaging is considerably more expensive (and I continue to cast
bullets from time to time, particularly for black powder arms.) I
can say from over twenty years now that I enjoy the method and results
much more than I could ever enjoy casting hot lead.
Swaged bullets are world record breakers, almost every precision
competition rifle event is dominated by custom swaged bullets and
for good reason, the ultimate in accuracy and quality.
I have over the years collected a shop full of swage dies for rifle
and pistol and have not regretted the purchase, if anything it has
enhanced my enjoyment of the craft of reloading, knowing I am in
total control from primer choice to jacket material and bullet weight
(down to the tenth of a grain!)
I would suggest that if you are serious about swaging that you buy
one of the special designed presses (the main product form Corbin
pulls double duty as swage press and reloading press) as the pressures
involved are too much for a standard reloading press.
Imagine the potential of manufacturing jacketed bullets when you
may be the only supplier available, often using junk or scrap metals
for jackets (the ability to turn .22 LR casings into jackets for
center-fire .22 rifles).
I would not want to place the curse of the foul habit of bench-rest
shooting and reloading on any sane person, the benefits of cold lead
flow forming of lead and jacketed bullets is worth the investigation.
- Wotan
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Notes from JWR: »
Bullet Casting: A (Relatively) Simple Introduction, by AVL
Bullet casting is likely one of the oldest activities regarding firearms.
From the time humans graduated from using shaped rocks, casting was
the method of choice for just about every projectile. While there
are
other methods that allow for more complex designs (swaging, see corbins.com)
casting is still the best simple method for turning a lump of otherwise
useless lead into a projectile that will put food on your table and
protect your family.
Safety
It is important to note that casting is a dangerous process. Casting
will expose you to toxic metals at high temperature. Safety is paramount.
I suggest wearing safety glasses at the minimum. At the max, wear a
welder’s apron or suit, with the boot covers, a face shield,
hat, and respirator (rated for metallic oxide gasses). Molten lead
flows like water, but with the density of concrete and will either
sear, or vaporize anything it comes in contact with including but not
limited to human flesh. Have a fire extinguisher near by, as well as
a large tub of water (if you get splashed, immediately immerse the
burn area in cool water). Conduct all casting outside, or in a very
well ventilated area. I typically work on the back porch, with a box
fan blowing vapors away from the house and myself. I most often set
the melting pot on the [porch] floor; so if it spills it will not splash
everywhere. When casting, melt lead only in steel or cast iron containers,
aluminum
will not stand up to the heat, neither will zinc, or copper.
Tools
The beauty of bullet casting is it's a simple process, however, without
the right tools it is impossible. This section covers the tools you
need to make a bullet. I will discuss reloading in a future article
(I'm still working on it).
Heat Source
The heat source can be anything, from a campfire, to a camp stove,
to a blowtorch. The heat source I have chosen is a dual fuel stove
made by Coleman. It is small, has a single burner, and is powered by
gasoline or camp fuel. The thing to keep in mind is the more BTUs
a stove can put out, the more lead you can melt. One of those large
Cajun cookers used for turkey frying kits is ideal. It has a sturdy
base, hooks up to a bulk propane tank, and will boil 5 gallons of oil
in nothing flat.
Melting Pot
The melting pot is another thing that can be improvised from whatever
you have available. Generally speaking you want a metal pot that is
somewhat shallow <5" and rather wide 8" or so. I use a
2qt Texsport Dutch oven I bought for $10 at a local surplus store.
This pot reliably holds about 40 lbs of lead, has a lid which makes
it great for breaking down large amounts of scrap (the lid helps pre-heat
all of the material, so it melts faster.). I recommend owning several
of varying sizes, large laboratory crucibles work, I also used a 20oz
steel coffee cup for a while, and still use this when the lead gets
too shallow in the big pot.
Lead Handling Tools
There are a number of tools, which are useful for this. I recommend
several pairs of slide-lock pliers; they are great for handling hot
flasks of lead that otherwise you couldn't pick up. You should also
have several pairs of gloves. A set of welding gloves is great, as
well as a set of heavy gardening gloves for sorting scrap lead; they
will also protect your hands from the heat when the welding gloves
are too cumbersome. Additionally, a few hooked tools (for picking up
the lid, and the lead pot) come in handy. Also you will need a large
ladle, a large stainless steel ladle is good for pouring lead into
ingot moulds. The final tool that is an absolute necessity is the ladle
for pouring lead into the bullet moulds. These are typically fairly
small, and only hold about an ounce or so of lead. I recommend buying
a ladle purpose made for this (the one made by lee manufacturing is
cheap and works great. I recommend buying several ladles for when your
friends want to try. If you have several mould sets, you can cast out
20 lbs of lead in nothing flat with help).
Bullet Moulds
The bullet moulds are probably the most important part of your casting
setup. Without these you don't make bullets. I recommend lee moulds
for starters, they are inexpensive, and for low volume production fit
the bill, they also heat up quickly due to their aluminum construction
and are ready to cast with 1-2 heat pours. A good place to buy moulds
is at gun shows. There are a number of people who frequent these shows
who seem to be locked into a serious casting hobby, and have great
numbers of used moulds for sale at reasonable prices. Most of the people
who are really into bullet casting buy Lyman moulds almost exclusively,
and I have found that they have a great variety of cavity shapes that
will fit almost any bullet makers want list. Most bullet moulds also
need a knocker or a mallet for cutting the sprue off. I use a length
of hanger rod (wooden) about 12" long. Others recommend hammer
handles (no head, just handle).
Ingot Moulds
If you are interested in casting, you should buy at least one ingot
mould. Ingot moulds allow you to break down large volumes of scrap
lead, and put it into a form, which can be saved for later use. Most
ingot moulds cast one pound blocks. This is by far the most useful
size unless you are doing small batches of test alloys. Lee makes an
ingot
mould
that makes 2 one pound bars, and 2 half pound bars, I personally prefer
the Lyman mould, which makes 4 one pound bars.
Hardness Tester
Hardness testers will measure the hardness of a given alloy and are
useful if you are trying to make bullets with certain characteristics.
Most hardness testers measure lead hardness on the Brinel scale, and
it is possible to adjust the alloy while it is still molten. If you
wish to do this, you should have stocks of tin, antimony and pure lead.
(Pure lead makes things soft, antimony makes sure the bullets will
not shrink too much, tin makes it harder, arsenic can also be used
but tin is less toxic).
Lubricants and Sizers
One practice most reloaders are not familiar with when it comes to
reloading is lubricating and sizing, All cast bullets must be lubed,
and in most cases they must be sized to make sure they are not over
bore size. Most mould makers cut their mould cavities larger to account
for bullet shrinkage; depending on the level of shrinkage you can have
bullets that are either too small, or too large. Too small is less
of an issue, but too large can result in excessive chamber pressures.
I have had good luck with Lee Liquid Alox and their lube sizer die.
Some people prefer the Lyman lube-sizers, which use heated lube, the
end product comes out with what most reloaders, would recognize as
cast bullets.
Casting Thermometer
Most casting thermometers resemble those like you would use for determining
if you have cooked that roast or turkey enough. Except they are capable
of measuring the high temperatures of molten lead. Pure lead melts
at about 650 degrees F. Whereas certain alloys have lower and higher
melting points. The best casting is accomplished about 20-50 degrees
over the
melting point.
Sources of Lead
You can buy lead at a number of locations, plumbing shops,
custom metal shops, gun shops, places that provide linotype for print
shops (though not so often any more).
The other option and how I typically obtain most of my lead is as scrap,
as I am not particularly discerning when it comes to my bullet making.
For the most part, I make adjustments to the mixture while it is molten
to give the characteristics I want.
Ideal locations to look for scrap lead are indoor shooting ranges,
outdoor shooting ranges, tire shops, print shops and other bulk users
of lead. I get most of my lead from tire shops in the form of wheel
weights. I am able to obtain anywhere from 25 lbs, all the way up to
several hundred pounds per tire shop. Some shops recycle this material,
others will sell it to you, and some will give it to you for free.
After getting a quantity of scrap lead, the next thing to do is break
it down, this process melts down the lead, removes the dirt, grime,
and tire clips. I typically put my large pot on the stove, throw a
load of lead in, put the lid on, and turn the stove on. Within 10 minutes,
the bottom layers will start to melt down and fill the bottom with
molten lead. You can usually push the top layers down and get it to
melt down faster. Eventually you will have a puddle of lead with a
bunch of crap floating on the top. Scrape this material off; it usually
works best if you use a large slotted spoon (pre-heat the spoon by
letting it sit in the lead for a minute, otherwise the lead will clump
on it.) Once you get the clips off, you can use a smaller ladle to
skim the other debris off the top. Sometimes adding candle wax to this
helps it clump up, but beware, the wax will boil and catch on fire.
While the wax is burning, you can use it to smoke your moulds, which
will prevent the lead from sticking to the moulds. Scrape the material
off and throw it in a five pound coffee can, some lead will be lost
in this, and you can re-melt it later and recover more lead.
Once you decide the lead is clean enough, you can either cast bullets
or cast ingots. If you are casting ingots, simply take your large ladle,
and fill up each cavity (if your pot is small enough, you can simply
lift it up and pour it, but I wouldn't suggest this if it weighs more
than 10 lbs).
Wheel weights come in several types, there are tape weights that are
normally used on those fancy aluminum rims some people buy, this is
usually flat and has a sticky back. Typically these are an alloy that
has a higher amount of lead and less antimony/tin than normal wheel
weights. I sort these out, and ingot them separately and use them later
for customizing my alloys.
Standard wheel weights are long, have a gentle curve to them and come
in a variety of lengths and weights. There is a little chunk of steel
on these that clips it to the wheel. When you melt the lead, these
will float to the surface.
The third type of weight comes in both clip, and in tape weight form.
These are made either of steel or zinc, these for the most part do
not melt in the lead, however, zinc has a relatively low melting point,
and can be melted with the lead, if this happens it can add properties
to the lead which make it of very poor quality for casting. You should
do your best to remove all of these before you throw the lead in the
pot. The easiest way to tell the difference is to hold the weight by
the edge, and drag it along the concrete. If it rubs off it is lead,
if it scrapes the concrete it's zinc or steel. Separate these, and
you can take it down to the metals recycler in your area. (Or you can
save it for casting if you alloy brass, bronze or other copper alloys)
The final step is to perform a QC test on your product. Most Hardness
testers use a bullet to test. You should now cast a single bullet (see
the section below) and put it into the hardness tester. If you find
your alloy is soft (it most often will be) you can add tin and antimony
to the mix to harden it up. Antimony is a difficult material to come
by and has a high melting point, but lead-antimony alloys have a lower
melting point than either metal (a property called eutectic), the easiest
way is to add linotype or other high-antimony alloy. Tin is commonly
available as plumbers solder. Vary these until your bullets are to
a level you are satisfied with. For pistol bullets, I am happy with
soft lead (just pure scrap), for rifle bullets I would want something
harder.
Making Your Own Bullets
Lets assume you have a large pot of molten lead in front of you, a
mould, and a ladle. If you haven’t already done so, you should
now smoke your moulds either with a carbide lamp, or with a candle.
This prevents lead from sticking to the mould. Carbide lamps, and acetylene
torches work better than candles. When using a candle don't get any
molten wax on the moulds.
Bullet moulds consist of several parts; there are the handles, the
mould blocks, and the sprue plate. The sprue plate gives you a little
dimple to pour the lead into, and will also cut the sprue off the bullet.
Once you are ready to cast, place the tip of the sprue plate into the
hot lead. This pre-heats the sprue plate so hot lead doesn't immediately
cool and block the rest of the lead from flowing into the mould. When
the sprue plate is hot enough, lead will not clump up on it (think
of a wick being dipped into hot wax when making candles).
After you have pre-heated your mould, pick up your small ladle and
fill up your mould. It takes a little bit of finesse to get this process
down, but you will get it rather quickly. Now, you should knock the
sprue plate to the side, cutting the sprue (save the sprues and throw
them back in the pot next time you need to add more lead). You can
now open the moulds and dump out the bullet. I typically use a large
metal pail about half full of water to dump the cast bullets into.
(Some people prefer dumping them on a damp rag). The bullets are quickly
cooled by the water and fall to the bottom. You can now repeat this
process until you have the desired number of bullets, or until you
run out of lead.
Before you run out of lead, you should sort your bullets, any of them
that do not meet your satisfaction can be thrown back in the pot, and
re-melted down until they come out as you expected.
The next step in the bullet making process, after you have cast them,
is to lubricate them. Lubricating using Lee Liquid Alox is a simple
process. Put bullets in a plastic container (I use cottage cheese containers)
put some Alox in, and shake. They should come out with a thin coating,
if the coating comes out too thick, add more bullets and shake. Once
you have applied Alox to them, lay out a sheet of tinfoil outside,
and set the bullets tip side up to dry (takes a few hours). Faster
drying can be obtained using an electric hair dryer. I also set the
bullets tip down in one of the 50 round plastic things that they pack
pistol ammo in, then place a piece of cardboard on top, and turn it
upside down. This spaces the bullets and makes it easier to lay them
out. It is also a good way to count the number you have produced.
After lubing, insert your lubri-sizer die into your reloading press,
put the ram into the shell holder slot, put a bullet on top, and run
it through the die. Once they come out the other side, they are fit
for reloading. I usually put them in a canvas bag (shot bags work well)
label them and store them until I'm ready to reload them.
Using a Fire to Melt Lead
While I highly suggest using a modern gas or propane stove, it is possible
to use a wood fired stove, or a campfire. Since I typically cast using
an old Dutch oven, the process would remain similar, except I would
place the oven inside the fire, and I would stoke the fire using an
air pump or a fan to reduce the time it takes. The ideal way to do
this would be using something similar to the method described in the
Gingery books for making your own foundry. Just don't get your cast
ware too hot, otherwise you may damage it, a cast iron pot will last
forever casting lead, but may only last a few times when casting aluminum
or bronze. Temperature is everything. For lead, buy a good casting
thermometer. For anything hotter, get a good tool that's designed for
it!
Conclusions
Casting your own bullets can be a fairly time consuming process, but
it is fun, and informative, not many people out there still make their
own bullets, and in a TEOTWAWKI situation, you may be one of the few
people with a relatively unlimited supply of projectiles. Obtaining
lead from scrap sources is almost free, and lead has an unlimited shelf
life. If you combine this practice with other strategic stockpiles
(powder, primers) you may have several lifetimes of shooting ahead
of you, regardless of external conditions.
JWR Adds : The safety issues of bullet casting cannot
be over-emphasized. Needless to say, your lead melting pot should be
permanently and prominently marked "Lead Melting Only." This is best done
with an engraving pen. Melt and cast only
in
a well ventilated area.
(Lead poisoning is gradual, insidious, and
difficult
to detect
without
a
clinical lab test!) It is an absolute must to wear long gloves
(preferably elbow-length), boots,
a heavy canvas or leather apron, sturdy pants and a sturdy shirt with
long sleeves,
and
a full face
mask when melting and casting. All it takes is one live primer
or cartridge dropped accidentally into a batch of scrap lead, or a
bit of water
that becomes exploding steam, and SPLAT! Hot
lead flies in all directions. So you must wear the proper safety
gear from start to finish in the melting and casting process. Also, keep a dry chemical type fire extinguisher and a large bucket of dry sand handy. Do not use water from your quenching bucket to fight a fire started by spilled molten lead. That could cause a steam explosion and, as previously noted, that would send molten lead flying!
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Two Letter Re: MURS Radios and Microphone Connections »
Letter Re: Gas Masks, Fire, and Chlorine Gas
Jim,
Thank you for your hard work on maintaining the SurvivalBlog. I was
first introduced to survival ideas in the late 1990s when I read
your novel "TEOTWAWKI" (I read it again when it
was [expanded and] re-published as "Patriots".)
I truly appreciate the time and effort you spend promoting a self-reliant
way of life. I
am an
Air Force
NBC instructor (have been for about 8 years now) and I am concerned
that recent posts on your web site will lead people to believe that
military gas masks will protect them from industrial chemical releases.
Military masks (M17, M40, M45, MCU-2 series, and others) are designed
for battlefield concentrations of chemical agents. Battlefield concentrations
of chemical agents are expected to be lower than those that result
from industrial releases. These masks are not designed to protect
the wearer from toxic industrial materials including chlorine. The
Army Technical Manuals (TMs.) and Air Force Technical Orders (TOs)
for masks using the C2A1 canister all contain warnings about the
limitations of the C2A1 canisters.
Here is an excerpt from the MCU-2 technical order dated 24 June 2004
(about a decade after the introduction of the C2A1 canister):
"WARNING. The MCU-2 Series mask is not an authorized respiratory device
for industrial chemical use. The canister will not protect against ammonia or
carbon monoxide, and the mask is not effective in confined spaces where there
is not enough oxygen in the air to support life." Here is an excerpt from
Air Force Manual 10-100 ,dated 1 June 2004:
"The mask is ineffective in industrial chemical environments such as ammonia
or chlorine spills, or within carbon monoxide atmospheres." I
realize that some companies (Scott and 3M) manufacture filters that do protect
against chlorine and are compatible with the threads on most
military masks; however, the military canisters do not provide this level of
filtration. It is important that people know the capabilities and limitations
of any protective equipment prior to using it. Thanks again for your work on
SurvivalBlog. I hope that this information is helpful. Thank
you. - Scott
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Two Letters Re: Gas Masks, Fire, and Chlorine Gas
Jim:
Just something I would really like to beat to death, and that's
Chlorine, Fires and Gas masks. I just keep getting this really creepy
feeling that there are a lot of folks out there that aren't clued
in on the limitations of gas
masks and may kill themselves.
First:, grass fires, forest fires and house fires.
A gas mask will keep you from choking on the fumes and stop your
eyes from watering but it will kill you!
The mask will stop the particulate matter that irritates your eyes,
throat and lungs but it will not make oxygen where there
is none,
like in the fires described above, and you will suffocate! You'll
pass out
Second, chlorine is a particularly nasty
product. Most of the normal ABC, NBC,
and biowarfare filters will trap a lot of nasty stuff in the activated
charcoal
granules in the filter. BUT MOST WILL NOT STOP
CHLORINE! Chlorine requires a special filter.
If you have masks and you anticipate Chlorine then get the right filter!
Okay, I feel better. It was this part from today's post that triggered
me: "Unfortunately, the chlorine gas saturation level in the
area was too high and most vehicles would not start. Many families
perished
in their
cars. Gas masks are great idea if you have to walk out." If
they had tried to walk out without a chlorine filter on their
mask,
they would have died anyway. I've seen Chlorine deaths and
it's not pretty. Thanks for letting me vent. Best Regards, - The Army
Aviator
JWR Replies: Thanks for mentioning the importance
of gas mask filter selection! You are right that most "typical" masks
sold to civilians do not protect against chlorine. For example, the
ubiquitous "green
ring" cheek
filters for U.S. M17 series masks do not protect against
chlorine. However, the current NATO issue C2A1 filter canisters (which
are standard issue for M40 series masks) do protect
against chlorine. SurvivalBlog readers that live near train tracks
or a chemical plant should do their homework before they buy.
And, as
you pointed out, both the gas concentration level
and the available oxygen
level
are
both
crucial
issues, regardless of the filter used. How much oxygen? OSHA defines
a "safe" oxygen level for mine workers as 19.5%, or higher. With a
web search, I found the following on a
forestry web site: "A fire consumes the oxygen essential to
human survival. During a fire, the normal level of oxygen in the air
(about 21%) drops rapidly. If the level drops below 17%, clear thinking
and muscle control become difficult. When the oxygen level in the air
drops between 6% and 10%, breathing stops, and after four to six minutes
without oxygen, brain death occurs."]
James:
I have worked US Air Force NBC for
several years and civilian law enforcement. I have read with interest
the information
regarding hazardous materials spills by the SurvivalBlog reader in
North Carolina. I was concerned about the advice about using gas
masks to protect yourself and family. Toxic Industrial Materials
are referred to as TIMs.
The common gas masks the many individuals have (Israeli, US surplus
M-17s, MCU 2A/P) are only filters.
They will stop many chemicals, but they will not provide oxygen.
I know that this is understood by most readers but if this prevents
one person from going into a cloud of methyl-ethyl-kill-you then
it was worth posting. If there is enough chlorine concentration in
the air to prevent a car from starting then a mask will not protect
you. I do not remember the chemical but I saw a video of two US Army
Chemical Corps troops checking what appeared to be a large propane
tank in Iraq or Afghanistan.
This was a real incident but not covered by the media. It was being
videoed by another troop. They had their sampling equipment at the
ready. They opened the tank and within seconds the were on the ground
and died. Was it some kind of super warfare agent? No, it was an
industrial chemical. (The name escapes me.)
If you are dealing with an unknown TIM, you need a self contained breathing
apparatus like firefighters wear. Otherwise, take the safe room approach
and seal your self in. Hopefully they will get the leak sealed off
and
it will dissipate before you run out of air. A HEPA filter will not
safely ventilate a safe room when TIMs are involved. A mask and a HEPA
filter will protect you from bio agents and the charcoal elements will
protect from warfare chemicals but TIMS, depending on
what they are can be a different story. The Department of transportation
puts out
the hazmat guide,
usually yellow that describes most
of the truck placards and different
chemicals. (Even war agents.) The guide has a cross reference
including what is needed to protect you. It has other info as well.
My buddy who also works military NBC plays a game on the road with
his kids. They each have a copy and race to see who can figure out
what the placarded trucks are carrying first. I haven't done that with
my kids yet. Regards, - Nightshift in Mississippi
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Letter Re: The Apex, North Carolina Fire
A quick comment regarding the Apex fire story suggestions. In Northwest
Florida many years ago several chlorine rail cars derailed and leaked
in the middle of the night. Residents close to the derailment tried
to escape the harmful fumes
by getting in their cars and driving off. Unfortunately, the chlorine
gas saturation level in the area was too high and most vehicles would
not start. Many families perished in their cars. Gas masks are great
idea if you have to walk out. Probably the next best thing is to have
a ready response kit that will seal openings, doors and windows if
you live near a processing plant or railroad and you can't effectively
escape in a moments notice. Sometimes the window of opportunity to
escape opens and closes quickly, even before you are ready to bug out.
Awareness of the prevailing winds in relationship to your
home helps also.
Thanks for letting me send you my two cents. There are great ideas
out there from all sources coming into SurvivalBlog...and the best
thing
is how everyone responds to other peoples' ideas if they see a potential
weakness or flaw. The comments are never mean-spirited and everyone
benefits from from the multiple angles of viewpoints - drawing on what
is best for their own family. Thanks, - "M" in the New Orleans
area.
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Stockpile Fire Safety Considerations, by AVL
Hazardous materials storage laws can affect your intended stockpile.
The survival mantra is “Be Prepared!” to this end; it is
often necessary to have stockpiles of materiel that may come in handy
in
case of an emergency. Most conversations about such stockpiles talk
about food, water, clothing, and of course gasoline, ammunition, gunpowder,
primers etc. While there are currently no limits as to what quantity
of food, water, and shelter you can store, gasoline, ammunition and
firearms are another story entirely.
What is considered hazardous material?
A hazardous material is anything that may adversely affect your safety or the
safety of those around you. Normally this might be considered acids, flammables,
strong bases, oxidizers, fine particulates (asbestos) or radioactive materials.
Hazardous materials fit into a number of classifications based on their affect
on health, flammability, and chemical reactivity. This is defined by the NFPA
704 diamond (National Fire Protection Agency) that you will often see on buildings
indicating the danger posed by chemicals contained inside.
Why should I be concerned?
A number of the materials you may be considering stockpiling, or have already
stockpiled may fit into one of the above categories. Substances such as gasoline,
gunpowder, primers and small arms ammunition are considered hazardous. Because
of this, most local, state, and even federal governments have set limits as
to how, and how much of each material may be stored.
Gasoline, smokeless powder, primers, and small arms ammunition are all flammable
and can be dangerous in the presence of heat, sparks or rough treatment. Gasoline,
gunpowder, and primers should not be stored together! Gunpowder over 20 lbs
should be stored in a portable magazine; this makes it mobile, safe, and legal.
Store primers in a similar manner and in small quantities to avoid chain detonation.
Don’t forget, there may be other things in your emergency stock that
can cause fire. Potassium Iodate is an oxidizer and should be stored away from
flammables.
Due to the regulations, you must carefully consider how you will store these
valuable commodities in a way that will not put your property in danger of
fire, or government seizure.
The regulations
Smokeless Powder:
At present, few local and state governments set limits on storage of small
arms ammunition, or reloading components (Shell casings and projectiles are
not counted, just powder and primers). However, the federal government through
the NFPA has set limits.
Transportation in private vehicle: 20lbs – 50lbs in a magazine with walls
of 1” thickness
Storage in private residence: 20lbs – 50lbs in a magazine with walls
of 1” thickness
The NFPA does not seem to have any limits on the quantities of primers stored
or transported; however, certain states do impose limits such as Massachusetts,
where it is illegal to posses more than 1000 primers without a license. However,
the license is reasonably priced.
Other states impose possession limits on small arms ammunition; the most draconian
was again Massachusetts, with a limit of 10,000 rounds of rim fire ammunition,
10,000 rounds of center fire, and 5,000 rounds of shotgun ammunition. While
neither
a federal, nor a preponderance of state regulations could be found. It should
be expected that quantities exceeding these will likely garner significant
attention from authorities. You should check your local laws regarding this
matter.
Gasoline:
Gasoline is a fairly easy commodity to store, put it in an airtight container
and put it away, rotate every few months. However, the Uniform Fire Code (UFC)
sets limits on how much you can stockpile.
Gasoline is required to be stored in UL listed containers (Underwriters Labs).
Most commercially sold containers meet this requirement and are available in
1,2 and 5 gallon sizes. The next size up container is a 60-gallon drum. However,
UFC does not allow the storage of more than 25 gallons on your premises. [JWR
Adds: The limit cited is for private residences. Many farms and ranches
have commercially built exterior gasoline tanks--either above or
below ground--in capacities that
range
up to
several hundred gallons or even larger. Consult you state and local laws before
buying a tank.]
Solutions for the savvy stocker
Based on these limits, there is a fair amount of flexibility as to what you
stock. 50 lbs of gunpowder will make 7500 rounds of .308, 15000 rounds of .223
or 80000 rounds of .45 depending on how you load. So keeping your larger cartridges
as your stockpile of loaded ammunition gives you a lot more mileage.
For example, keeping 10,000 rounds of .50 BMG loaded with a powder that could
be used in .308 and .223 would be ideal, this way it can either be ammunition,
or just a storage container. [JWR Adds: Pay close attention
to powder burning rates and pressure curves. Powder that is suitable for large
volume cases is not always appropriate for large cartridges. Follow published
loading data scrupulously!] Only primers must be stockpiled, which are small,
lightweight, and can be spread out and hidden in many areas easily. Limits
are not imposed on reloading components such as cases or projectiles, so these
can always be stored without a hassle.
Currently, the regulations are on a per-premises basis. The regulation isn’t
clear whether this is one property, or a single dwelling. However, it opens
up the possibility of storing multiple caches on any property you own. This
could provide several lifetimes worth of ammunition if done right.
Gasoline presents similar issues, however, unlike gunpowder and primers, gasoline
is bulky and doesn’t lend itself to being broken up. However, the UFC
does not place any stipulation on carrying fuel in vehicles. The ideal solution
here is to have several large vehicles with large tanks which in an emergency
you could quickly move the gasoline into your bug-out-vehicle, storage tank
for your generator, or just drive off with it in the vehicle.
Conclusions:
Survival is a game that goes back to the origins of life itself. As organisms
became more advanced they were able to ensure their survival through behavior.
The strongest survival advantage in mammals is gained through cooperation and
division of labor.
The ultimate stockpile you can create is to have your friends and neighbors
stockpile in the same way you do, when the balloon goes up, and there’s
no one around to tell you, you’re not allowed to have 26 gallons of gas,
trading elements among your friends and neighbors can give you the things you
need, and give them the things they need.
While cooperation is essential, operational security is also necessary. Pick
and choose those you wish to be part of this carefully. Perhaps recommend quantities
to associates, but do not comment on your own preparations. The first thing
that happens when you are prepared and others are not never leads to a happy
ending. - AVL
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Letter Re: David in Israel on Fire Suppression and Fire Fighting
Mr. Rawles,
The Ben Meadows catalog is a great place for all kinds of outdoor equipment.
The print catalog is a few hundred pages long, with everything from
soil testers to firefighting gear and arborist supplies. I consider
it recreational reading as well as a supply source. Their website has
a "Wildland Fire Management" page: See: http://www.benmeadows.com/refinfo/wildlandfire.htm?cid=W51206 Regards,
- TFA303
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Letter Re: David in Israel on Fire Suppression and Fire Fighting
Greetings JWR,
A few words about the article that David sent you on fire suppression:
While I admit my wildland fire fighting experience is limited, as
a member
of private forest industry we do a lot for fire prevention. My
associations with fire run deep. David recommended talking to state
and Federal forest entities...look up your local private industry forester.
Often these people are happy to give advice and know contacts of people
with the equipment and knowledge to do the work at reasonable rates.
First, do not wait to make a clearing around your house...make one
around your property. Two of the best fire breaks are roads and clear
cuts. The ideal situation is a backhoe or Cat[erpillar tractor] line
around your property with
no trees (ideally) within 1-1.5 tree lengths of the fire line. As David
mentioned, properly thinned forests are key as well. Crowns should
have air around them, such that crowns are not touching. Spacing should
be increased the drier your property is--dependent on rainfall and
aspect (i.e. slope: south, north, etc. facing). It's wise to research
what species are fire resistant in your area and select for them [to
remain] when thinning. Fire that is on the ground is fire that can
be controlled. So keep the ladder fuels (i.e. smaller trees that lead
up to bigger trees) thinned out. Multi-story management is alright
as long as spacings are still observed and crowns do not touch crowns.
Roads or skid trails (taken down to bare mineral soil ) in key defensible
locations like along ridge lines can be used to your advantage. Remember
that roots burn as well, so hack all those bad boys off and clear the
trail. During a worst case scenario, a couple people could run along
a ridge line and with chain saws dump the trees into the fire side
away from the skid trail. This is not necessarily advisable while the
fire is at your door step but if there is one burning in your general
direction it may be necessary. Fire lines around your property can
be easily maintained with a back pack sprayer and Round Up [herbicide].
This also comes in handy since under burns have to be reburned every
couple years, depending on vegetation types. Good and well-maintained
fire lines keep your fire off your neighbors land as well as their
fire off yours. Heavy woody debris or brush can accumulate over periods
of 4-5 years before having to be burned. Grass needs burning more frequently.
Personal observations of excess vegetation will be required.
Fire can also be fought with fire. While burning your own property,
play around in small areas with black lining ( or burning fuel in front
of the fire so that it cannot go further ) and learn what works best...i
e. heat is drawn to heat et cetera. I burn my grass field every spring
as soon as the grass will hold a flame and try something different
every time I can, just to learn and see what will work best.
It might be handy to invest in a diesel drip torch ["dribbler."]
I've found that this is the best tool for managing under burns--it
is easy
to use...
walk
along [with the tip held out to the side of your path] and drip. It
does all the work. Forestry suppliers will carry this item.
Regarding Boots: I spend A LOT of money on boots
as they are vital to my livelihood. "Whites" are no longer "the
best" in
my experience and opinion. "Nicks" (located in Spokane, Washington)
is a smaller company started by an ex-Whites employee who wanted to
make boots the way "Whites" used to make boots. A new pair
starts at about $375.00. As long as the uppers stay sound you can have
them rebuilt for about one hundred seventy-five bucks, usually a 3-4
month wait for them, so order early. Vibram soles for fire, but for
everyday woods stomping I like calked ("corked") boots, unless,
of course, there is a lot of rock in an area. Expect to rebuild them
every 1-2 years with HEAVY use. On any boot designed like the "Whites:
Smoke Jumper" the spot that I've found will wear and crack first,
is the instep by the arch support--design makes it difficult to grease
this area and keep it supple. I recommend Obernaufs...it is good for
greasing your boots. I like to bake it in- then I take a bees wax ring
(the ones used for toilets) and smear that over the top and bake 'em
little more. Be careful, however, the wax is a drying agent (I have
cracked leather using pure wax.) Be sure and use your grease first,
before applying the wax. Laces are also a problem--- Leather with the
heavy wet dry action, tend break a lot. Most of the fiber ones seem
to fray and are pricey
as well. I have started using parachute cord as a cheap alternative...seems
to work great. Thanks much - E.B. of N. Idaho
« Letter Re: Stocking Up on Shoes and Boots for Survival |Main| Precious Metals Update »
David in Israel on Fire Suppression and Fire Fighting
For those with a real retreat in the forest or high desert a more pressing
need than complete firearms battery is fire suppression. If
you miss my point here, I believe that many survivalists confuse
their gun
hobby with serious survival preparations.
If the massive combined fire suppression ever stops for even a year
massive fires will rip across the United States. Fuel loading from
over 70 years of fire suppression and no natural burn-off has made
conditions ripe for fires never seen before in North America. Even
if your only survival concerns are foreign invasion or occupation expect
fire to be used (as was
attempted but failed during the Vietnam Agent Orange defoliation ops)
to clear insurgents out of unsettled areas and deny them cover and
natural resources.
This is a massive topic and this post can only give you areas to begin
study.
1-Thin the vegetation as far as you are practical able to in the area
of your home/retreat ideally this would be a county or community effort
and the USFS or State Forestry
Agency may be able to assist. Ideally, undergrowth would be burned
off and trees closer than 5-10M to another
would be removed to slow spread through a forest crown fire.
2-Create a perimeter around your home grass must be mowed to a stubble
and raked off, no trees can be within 10M of the house any building
or fuel tank.
Try to eliminate flammable trees in the nearby areas to your home and
plant less flammable types.
3-Switch to a non flammable roof now, shake roofs are tinder and
are almost a guarantee of a burned home in a fire
4-Make active suppression preparations:
-
Install a irrigation
system, include the roofs and under the eaves of your buildings in
this sprinkler installation
- Install a swimming pool or cistern to provide a large supply of water
- Have a portable or installed gas powered water pump 250gpm is a good
rate more will support more hand lines but any is better than none
have a store of 1.5" supply line as well as 1" fire and 3/4" fire
(with garden hose fittings) types, nozzles, adapters, splitters etc
will round out the hardware. Standardize [fittings] with local
fire or fed/state agencies who would respond. BTW, it is best
to mark [with a distinctive bright paint color] all of your hardware
to prevent
theft
after a
fire by the crews.
A excellent preparation to keep you whole home with pressurized water
in the event of a prolonged outage is making a water tower and relying
on head pressure to feed both your home and fire suppression systems.
This is as simple as hanging plastic barrels on a tree trunk or as
complex as complex as having contractors install a proper water tower.
For the improvised tower remember the filled weight of your water (1
gal = 8.33 lbs. and 55 gal = 458 lbs.) and fence around the tower in
case of collapse so that nobody is injured.
Here in Israel I have seen the same "pumpkin" tanks that
we used in the Forest Service, but built to larger dimensions and more
aesthetic colors
and sold as swimming pools. Above
ground or in ground is a matter of your pocketbook but be sure that
you are able to properly draft to supply your fire operations.
Clothing
Nomex is best, USFS surplus
or military flight suits are good as long as no metal zippers contact
skin, the next best is cotton, Never wear synthetics or synthetic
blends for use around fire.
Boots/Gloves
Never wear steel toe boots for fire fighting, because the steel will
hold heat. Kevlar laces do not melt or burn. Keep boots and gloves
dry to prevent steam burns. White's brand were
the best in my day this may have changed. Good leather gloves light
enough to work in, do not oil them keep them dry buy as large a supply
as possible, kevlar stitching and double palm is a plus.
Gear
Buy a fire shelter for every family member plus extras, have several
fire shovels (different than cheap garden/work shovels) and Pulaskies
(hoe/axe tool), a helmet should always be worn during heavy work, and
possibly
blagger bags will help mop up after a fire has gone through. Also,
a chainsaw adequate for cutting the local timber and the skills
to use and maintain it are a must.
JWR Adds: David speaks from experience. Heed
his advice. Most of you may not be aware, but before he emigrated
to Israel, David
worked in the U.S. for many years as a full time fireman, and
later as a paramedic.
My $.02
worth on fire suppression/fire fighting: If you are building
a retreat from scratch or if you are replacing an existing water
system,
I recommend that you spend
a little bit more an put in a large cistern, preferably
with gravity feed with a substantial head, and put in a 2" diameter
Schedule 40 service line
to the
house. Just
outside of the house put in a "T" on the two inch line
with a 2"
gate valve. (Downstream of that "T" is where
you can reduced to 1" or smaller lines for your house.) Those
2" gate valves are outrageously expensive--around $50 each), so
shop around--perhaps buy them used. At
the big gate valve you can attach a proper high volume fire fighting
hose rig. Effective firefighting is all about dispensing a
large VOLUME of water,
fast. Anything smaller than a 2" diameter
line will not suffice! (Okay,
perhaps 1.5 inch line if you are on a tight budget.)
