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"Cross-wire" Your Home Heating and Save Money, by Ted B.
This article explains one way that you can configure a hybrid heating system for your house in a Schumeresque environment, but it is also potentially a way to cut your heating bills before TSHTF, depending on the prices of various heating fuels in your area.
We live in North Idaho, in a house that would be better suited in Hawaii. It’s watertight but mostly a heat sieve. Each of the last few years as the propane prices jumped each winter, we ended up getting hit with astronomical bills to keep the inside of our rather large home livable in outdoor temps that, for months, hovered between 20 °F and –10 °F. We use the wood stove that was already upstairs when we bought the place, and we have added some house insulation, installed double pane windows, and done all the usual maneuvers to limit heat loss, but the basic structure of most of the house is still about R-3 and right now we don’t have the money needed to get it all up to snuff. We have a forced air propane-fired furnace, but in our region wood pellets are much cheaper than propane and that was the basic reason that I started thinking about how to take advantage of that fact.
I came up with an interesting approach to marry the existing propane furnace system to a recently purchased, used pellet stove. Normally, pellet stoves provide lots of heat in a limited area, at a relatively low cost per BTU. Their drawback is that, typically, you can’t get that cheap heat spread all over the house so you end up with one nice warm region, and many cooler regions in other rooms or on other floors. Turning on the furnace blower can help to move the warm air around somewhat, but airflow patterns and the tendency for heat to rise often thwart this approach significantly. Then there is the fact that the two systems don’t “talk” to each other so you could end up with the furnace blower running when the pellet stove is cold, or it’s off when the stove is cranking out the heat, and manual synchronization requires constant attention.
I put the pellet stove in the same room that has the furnace closet and cold air intake (aka the cold air return). I placed it on an outside wall of the house and plumbed the flue through an existing small window, re-framing half the glass and using a wall thimble to separate the hot pipe from anything remotely combustible. I would have just gone through the wall but in our walkout basement it is cinder blocks filled with puffed mica and I did not want the mess, or the reduction in structural integrity. The stove’s hot air outlet in front is aimed, more or less, at the cold air intake of the furnace. Make sure that you install both a smoke detector (if you don’t already have one near the furnace) and a carbon monoxide detector in the room. Consider having the stove flue professionally installed if you aren’t certain that you can do it in a way that gives you a safe and decent looking result.
Instead of putting a thermostat on the pellet stove, I installed a 7-day multi-cycle programmable timer that provides thermostat-like contact closure at the times I programmed. This does two things. It helps to avoid too much repeated use of the self-igniting feature of the stove – often the first part to go bad and a costly part at that. Secondly, it assures that in the winter, the heat comes on long before we are awake so the house is fully warmed when my wife gets up. This part is very important because If Momma Ain’t Happy, Ain’t Nobody Happy (IMAHANH). James, you might want to add that to your glossary. [JWR Adds: Done!]
The timer starts the pellet stove and heats that room quickly. In a normal system this would soon tell the furnace thermostat that the house is warm enough and no action is required, but I want the blower to operate to spread the heat using the existing ducts throughout the house. So I installed a second mercury-switch type thermostat and placed it so that it could “feel” both the heat in the room from the pellet stove and the cooler air returning from the balance of the house when the furnace blower is on. Here’s the part that seems backwards – but it works perfectly. I used the “air conditioning” side of the thermostat and tied the switch in parallel to the furnace blower’s manual fan terminals. These are the wires that go closed circuit when you flick the house thermostat’s blower switch from “auto” to “manual.” Now I have two devices that can turn on the furnace blower and they operate independently without interference. I leave the house thermostat’s blower switch on “auto” so that it works with the furnace in those rare times that heat is required but my pellet stove is not on. But when my pellet stove heats the room, the new thermostat thinks that the room is too hot (above ~76F in my case) and it “turns on the air conditioning” which is actually my furnace blower. Voila ! My house furnace is spreading the heat from my pellet stove. When the timer tells the pellet stove to shut down – like as bedtime approaches – the utility room starts to cool down, aided by the cooler air returning from the rest of the house. When the room gets below the “air conditioning” setting the thermostat shuts off the furnace blower. If, during the night the house goes below the temperature I have set for the original furnace, it can come on and do its thing as before, but I set that nighttime temp quite low since we are sleeping in warm beds anyway.
Using this scheme, my propane bills have already dropped to around 25% of what they were and even with the cost of the pellets, my total heating costs are way down!
Yes, you need electricity to run the pellet stove timer, the pellet stove and house furnace blower, but in a TEOTWAWKI scenario I’ll be using my diesel generator to keep the food freezers and critical accessories “refreshed” anyway. The thrifty aspect is that the pellet stove’s timer has an internal rechargeable battery backup that it uses when turned off, so none of the parts of my new system produces “phantom loads” on my electrical network. I intentionally used a [traditional bi-metal style] mercury switch thermostat ($2 used, from Habitat for Humanity) because it has better hysteresis characteristics than newer solid state battery operated thermostats. A thermostat that controls a furnace is either off or on, with nothing in between. The thermostat is a system; the input is the temperature, and the output is the furnace state. If one wishes to maintain a temperature of 71 °F, a solid state thermostat will try to stay as close to that temperature as possible, often cycling the furnace and blower on and off many times per hour. This is both inefficient and hard on the furnace parts. Some mercury-switch units allow you to set the “width” of the hysteresis. So you could, for instance have the furnace go on when the temperature drops below 68 °F, and turn it off when the temperature exceeds 74 °F. This thermostat exhibits hysteresis. It keeps the added thermostat from cycling a lot after the pellet stove is off but the room is still warm enough that stopping the blower (and the flow of cooler air into the room) would result in the thermostat thinking it needs to” turn on the air conditioning” again and again.
All my best to you, James, and your family in this difficult time. Keep your powder dry and your Bible open - Ted
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Letter Re: Survival Notes from the Dominican Republic
Jim,
I've recently read several of your books and found them both interesting and educational. I would like to offer some personal insights based on my experiences from living in a small rural town one of the larger Caribbean islands. Most of my notes are cheap solutions used by people in developing nations all over the world. There may be better ways, but these work and cost next to nothing.
Water:
There is something especially disturbing about opening the faucet and hearing a sucking air sound. Not being able to shower, flush, or wash dishes is the worst.
One or more 55 gallon drums and 5 gallon plastic buckets are essential items to have. When you see that hurricane on the news, put the barrel it in the shower and fill it up right away. Add a few capfuls of bleach to make it keep longer. Expect the quality of water from the town water supply to drop. Rainwater collection should be set up right away. If possible the roof should fill a large cistern with a pressure pump. A gravity tank should be put on the roof.
Washing up from a bucket is easy enough. A small plastic cup and a five gallon bucket makes is easy. If the water is cold don’t try to heat up all the water. Bring a good sized cooking pot to a near boil and add it to the cold water. A person can wash easily in 2 gallons of water.
Pouring about two gallons of water rapidly into a toilet from a 5-gallon bucket will flush a toilet.
Washing dishes from a bucket without using gallons of water is tricky. It takes some practice to do it right. If you don’t stack your dirty plates and wash them right away, you only have one dirty side and no dried food.
It is very easy to contaminate your water supply. Dirty bucket bottoms and careless bathing are common causes, be vigilant.
Food:
Our community is an exporter of meat, milk, eggs, rice, vegetables and we have a 365-day growing season. Most families have a garden plot to supplement household food. Storing food is always wise but not nearly the problem it is in some other locations. Much of our farming is done with hand work.
Power:
We have daily blackouts here and most houses have invertors with battery backups. Since we have occasional power most people do not have generators but just charge when the lights are on. Most businesses have diesel generators.
A 2.5 KW inverter system with 4 deep cycle batteries will keep a few lights on, a laptop and a fan or two for about two days and costs about $2,000. The better systems run on 24 VDC. Here we are all very aware of vampire appliances [aka "phantom loads."]. All those VCRs, TVs, microwaves, wi-fi boxes, alarm systems, clocks, all pull a significant load. You need to learn your house circuits and unplug and turn off the breakers for things you don’t need. Low wattage bulbs are essential.
Running a generator for about 4 hours will charge most battery systems. Your generator will need to be at least twice the capacity of your inverter. Operating like this you can have basic lighting for the cost of about 2 or 3 gallons of gasoline a day. Running a refrigerator off a battery backup system is just not cost effective. Many people have put up both solar and wind systems as a way to produce some additional power to keep the batteries topped off.
A few simple solutions: Computer UPS systems usually operate on a 6 or 12 V battery. It is very easy to open one up and connect a large battery by running wires through the back of the case. This will give a much longer run time. While you have the case open, take a pair of pliers and crush the annoying power alarm beeper. The charger on these systems is very small and will take a very long time to reach a full charge. An off the shelf battery charger will speed things up. Alternativel,y your car can be used to charge the batteries (12 VDC only)
Guns:
While being armed is important, life is so much easier when there isn’t a conflict in the first place. Some people always seem to have problems wherever they go and need to pull out weapons while others seem to walk through the valley of death without a care in the world. Spend some time researching body language, and read books on interpersonal relationship skills. Besides improving your life right now, it could change a potential fatal firefight into a new friend.
Police:
When we have a crime wave, the police set up road blocks coming into and out of town. Rarely does this cause any real problems for honest people but you do need to have your paperwork for your car or firearms on hand. A smile and a friendly face makes things go much smoother. Acting aggressive or angry will get a messy and thorough search of your person, passengers and your car at a minimum. Knowing your local police makes a big difference. Sometimes we are asked to “help them out” which is code for a bribe. Either pay it with a smile, say sorry but you can’t today, plead poverty, or turn back. Fighting it just is not worth the trouble.
Crime:
Most traveling gangs are small and short lived. They rarely survive an encounter with police. It is very hard for a crime group to survive outside of their own neighborhood where they have local knowledge, a place to sleep and the support of family and friends. On the flip side the crimes committed by these people are usually the most brutal.
Local criminals gangs are much harder to control. Often these are well-connected individuals or gangs who are very good at remaining undetected. Some of them are drug smugglers, cattle thieves or burglars. Persons who are well liked and respected in the community are usually left alone. If you see large gangs forming, seriously consider leaving the country as it is a no-win situation.
Home Security:
This is a very safe country, but it is safe because people here do no depend on the police and protect themselves. With that in mind I have noted some of the more common security precautions here.
My experience here is that a house with lights on and occupied is the house that is left alone. Your best defense is to be the least interesting but hardened house in a occupied community. Vacant houses attract soft criminals and people who need a place to sleep. Most Dominicans always have someone home in the house. Night time home invasions are rare but they do happen. People who do this time of crime are extremely dangerous experienced and hardened criminals.
Isolated houses are at the worst risk for the most serious attacks. A gated community, walled yard, electric gate, bars on the windows, dogs, even armed security guards are all common place here. Country people live in small groups of three or more houses with the fields surrounding them.
Your most vulnerable time is being ambushed entering or leaving your home or car. When designing your landscaping, don’t build easy ambush points for attackers. This sort of thing doesn’t happen much in a small town.
Protests/Strikes/Riots:
Occasionally when the power or water is out too much, the citizens will organize a protest/strike/riot. Often the organizers are union leaders or other non-governmental community leaders. The usual format is to shut down the with road blocks and burning tires. Much of the bad behavior is more for show than reality but trying to pass the road blocks will result in getting your vehicle wrecked by the strikers. It is important to know why people are protesting and to be sympathetic to their cause (in many cases it is well justified). Their intention is to cause just enough of a disruption to get government the government to resolve the problem without getting arrested. Trying to pass the roadblock means that you are disagreeing with the reason they are striking. Know your local area for alternate routes and don’t try to travel during strikes.
Dogs:
Good dogs are essential. A pair of large dogs of a known breed are a very significant deterrent. Rottweiler, Doberman, German Sheppard, pit-bulls are recognized and avoided. Dogs differ widely in personality. Be sure yours matches your needs. Be aware and realistic of their shortcomings. I know too many people who depend entirely on a easily circumvented dog for security. Professional thieves routinely outmaneuver, poison, or shoot dogs.
Don’t overlook the value of small "yippy" and intelligent dogs like Chihuahuas. They are light sleepers, a second set of eyes and ears and are cheap to feed. They often work well with the bigger dogs.
Watch your dogs. If your dogs suddenly become sick, it may mean they were poisoned and you should expect a robbery that coming night or the following day. Look for your dog before you pull into your drive or get out of your car. If there has been an intrusion it may be hurt, nervous, missing or dead. This will often be your first indication of an awaiting problem.
Community
After a disaster (hurricane, flood, earthquake) the best thing for everyone is to keep the community together. Building a good reputation and personal relationships with neighbors and community leaders will make all the difference when resources are scarce and people are scared. The people who are capable leaders and community contributors often get first dibs on any help that does arrive and the right to make decisions on how goods are distributed.
Filling sandbags, organizing relief, passing out information, providing power, clearing roads, etc will make friends and build relationships that are not soon forgotten. This sort of thing can really bring a community back together in a hurry. We all depend on each other and leadership through positive action is a great way to rebuild. Just as looting is contagious, when people see others working together and helping, they are apt to join in. I have seen this numerous times here.
Transportation
Propane is subsidized here and is significantly cheaper than gasoline. Many people have adapted cars and trucks to run on both fuels using a special carburetor. As propane stores well this is a good emergency option for transportation, cooking, and power generation. Additionally propane machines can run on biogas and syngas.
While horses are very common here there would be a shortage if things really went bad. They did become proportionally more valuable as the price of fuel shot up.
I rarely see wood gasification mentioned as a alternative fuel supply. (See the Wikipedia page on wood gasification) This is an excellent modification that was used heavily in Europe in the 1940s. In my opinion, for most people this is the best solution to combustion engine power after a complete breakdown. Both alcohol and biodiesel require working farmland and refineries.
Post crash employment:
Anyone who can provide alternative sources of food, power, fuel or light will do well. A little Google work will show what technologies work on a small scale and provide business opportunities both now and after. Additionally, people here who can repair things never seem to make much money here but they always have work and food on the table.
Currency and hyperinflation:
After a major bank failure here, the currency here devalued by a factor of four in about two years. As the slide begins there are lots of opportunities to buy up things at old prices as many people price things based on what it cost them, not what the replacement value is.
As prices shot up, wages lagged way behind. Interest rates sky-rocked. Food prices shot up. Skilled labor prices went through the roof. The economy stopped dead because it becomes impossible to price things and nobody wants to work.
At the end of the slide the asking prices for everything got just crazy high, and the bid prices so low that almost no transactions took place except as acts of desperation.
Three years later, the currency has stabilized. Interest rates on loans are still slowly retreating. Merchants learned to price goods on replacement cost. Prices are often quoted in USD instead of local currency. Asking prices never really came down, but bid prices slowly rose up and as the spread reduces the economy starts to move again. Salaries are paid in local currency, but pegged to the USD for stability.
I wasn’t expecting to write such a long letter but maybe some of this will help people prepare and know what to expect. Sincerely, - S.H.
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Letter Re: Wood Stove Selection, Operation, and Safety
James,
You've had two good letters on woodstoves recently. I'd like to add a few thoughts based of heating and cooking with wood for a couple of decades in the Colorado mountains. I have never been more contented than when there's a blizzard raging outside and I'm inside next to a nice warm woodstove. That being said, woodstoves and chainsaws account for the vast majority of domestic emergencies in many rural areas and a constant source of amusement for EMTs.
As has been written, the importance of a properly installed chimney cannot overemphasized. Do get a quote for a good professionally installed chimney and then source the woodstove based on how much money you have left, not the other way around. A semi-okay chimney may not be a problem for years, but eventually that rafter up in the ceiling crawl space that's been getting too warm all those years will eventually cook off one cold winter night when the woodstove is nice and hot. Also get the chimney top nice and high and serviceable. Downdrafts will occur even if they are built to the 2'/10' rule if you have a higher addition near by and the wind is in the right direction. Smoke will also condense on the chimney top spark arrester and clog it up so figure out a way to brush that clean in a safe way. Best to do that as regular maintenance and not in the middle of the night when you find your chimney won't draw and the room is filling with smoke. Lightning will also find the chimney one day. Get a lightning rod installed before you're hit. Do attach a magnetic chimney pyrometer
to the chimney. It will tell you how the stove is doing by just glancing at the meter and will also alert you if things are getting too hot. My house did survive my youthful learning curve, but only just. Hopefully, some of your readers will profit from my experiences.
One thing that hasn't been mentioned is the area around the stove. I've seen red hot coals from resinous pine fly through a small slot in the air intake and all the way across the room. You'll never get a good night sleep if you just have a small fireproof pad around your stove. Woodstoves and carpet don't mix well. If nothing else the dirt tracked in from carrying wood will drive the wife crazy. If you do have carpet, pull it up and put down tile or stone flooring. If you have a modern springy framed plywood floor, a couple of layers of 1/4" plywood glued and screwed in alternating directions to the existing ply will stiffen it enough for tile.
Also, the wall behind the stove is equally important. Unless you're several feet away from a framed wall do something like this:
Cover the wall behind the stove with fire stop drywall a couple of feet above the top of the stove (or chimney if it exits through the wall). Install a steel lintel at floor level using large bolts screwed into the studs. Leave an inch air gap between the lintel and drywall using spacers. Lay up a brick wall on the lintel and tile over that. The air gap behind the brick wall allows a cooling draft. The brick also provides a good source of thermal mass which leads to a final point.
There's nothing much worse than getting out of a warm bed in the morning to start up a cold, dead woodstove. The stove that I owned when I lived in Colorado was made of Soapstone by a company in Woodstock, Vermont. They aren't cheap to buy but they are worth ever cent they cost. Once that stone gets warm, it stays warm for hours, even if the stove runs out of wood. I used to load my stove in the evening with whatever wood I had, generally pine, aspen or even hem/fir framing offcuts, not oak or hickory by any means and yet that great little stove heated the entire second floor of my house and the stove was still toasty warm well into the next day. Although I had been told this, I still was amazed at how a small properly built stove could heat such a large space and still not cook me out of the room it was in.
I cannot recommend highly enough the use of thermal mass over cast iron in a stove. There are other manufacturers of soapstone woodstoves
but if and when I move back to a cold climate, I'll be getting another Woodstock Soapstone Stove. Thanks again for the interesting blog. - LRM, Perth, Western Australia
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Lessons Learned from Hurricanes Ike, Rita, and Katrina, by TiredTubes
In September, 2008, Hurricane Ike--a Category 4 hurricane--pounded the Gulf Coast of the southern US. Some coastal communities like Crystal Beach no longer really exist. Inland, life was severely disrupted. For those of us on the South Coast hurricanes are a frequent reality. We were quite well prepared, but used the disruptions and dislocations as a test and opportunity to tune up our preparations.
1. Be ready to help others and to accept help We didn't need much during Ike, but the power went out before a neighbor finished boarding up his house. My 1 KW inverter, hooked up to his idling truck provide the juice for a Skilsaw and a few lights; allowing him to finish. Usually it is skills and not "stuff" that helps others and yourself. Besides strengthening a neighborly friendship, the number of damaged houses was probably reduced by one.
2. Keep your stuff squared away.. I repaired a few generators during and after Ike. I observed that every one suffering from lack of use; i.e. gasoline that resembled turpentine in the carburetor. People were at a complete loss to understand this. My daugher-in-law owned one of the generators that I repaired. She ignored my admonition to change the dirty oil ASAP and then once every 50 hours. Early in the next week it [ran out of oil and] threw a rod. She was in the dark for another week. Just a $2.99 quart of oil would have saved discomfort, ruined food, etc.
My portable genset, loaned to my daughter, was ready to go; fresh oil, filters, valves set, exercised, load tested. It started on the first try. I came to check it and change it's oil as soon as it was safe to travel. The first thing that I did was turn it so the exhaust faced away from the house! She had placed it so that the starter rope was in a convenient spot. At least she had, like I had asked, chained and locked it to a foundation pier.
After every hurricane Darwin gets a few through accidental carbon monoxide poisoning. Don't join them. If you have a generator, get a carbon monoxide detector in case the wind changes and wafts exhaust in your windows.
Our own [permanently-installed] genset uses natural gas (a tri-fuel generator)
which in the majority of cases is superior and much cheaper to operate. Over the 11 days that we didn't have power it consumed $100 worth of natural gas. I estimate that an equivalent amount of gasoline would have cost more than $300. I stopped it every 75 hours for oil and filter. If your genset doesn't have an hour meter, then add one. There are some inexpensive self contained hour meters made for lawn equipment that work very well and require no hard wiring. It's really the only practical way to keep track of operating time, without which, intelligent maintenance is impossible.
I noticed that many generators, some still in the box, on Craigslist following Hurricane Ike at bargain basement prices. I recommended to a friend he latch onto one of these and purchase a dual-fuel gasoline/natural gas carburetor] kit. Ants can profit from short-sighted grasshoppers.
It goes without saying have all your vehicles filled up and serviced so they can be depended upon with out much attention. Pay particular attention to cooling systems, oil changes, tire pressures, belts and battery terminals.
Develop a pre-event SOP: When we hear of a hurricane in the Gulf, we pick up loose items like branches that can be thrown by high winds and cause damage (aviators call this rubbish FOD), trim trees, check prescriptions, recharge everything rechargeable, treat the swimming pool with "shock" chlorine, get all the laundry and dishes done, get all the trash out for pickup, take “before” pictures, etc., etc., etc.
3. Have backups for your backups. The portable generator above was our backup to the natural gas-fueled genset. Then an inverter and ups. After that is a 100 Watt solar array I've been tinkering with to provide power for security lighting,etc.
My daughter spent up to two hours a day foraging gas, mostly waiting in lines. She found out that the problem with gasoline-fuel generators is gasoline! It's expensive, in short supply (when it is needed most), and it takes gas to go and get gas! Needless to say I rounded up the parts and the portable is now a dual fuel machine. Had it been able to use natural gas then she could have stayed home and been one less person waiting in line. And the machine still retains the capability to burn gasoline!
Since gasoline became hard to come by (it was impossible to get for a week after Rita) but diesel fuel was plentiful we did any necessary traveling in my old diesel Mercedes (which is EMP proof, BTW).
One important word on generators: Treat yours like it is the last one you'll ever get. Try and get a good one, I prefer either a Honda or Briggs Vangard engine. My Vangard portable is approx 10 years old and absolutely dependable. The difference is methodical maintenance. Keep the manuals, and read 'em ! Keep the oil changed, keep a fresh spark plug, keep spare [oil, air, and fuel] filters. Most importantly run it under load once a month. Unless it's new, pull off the cowling and clean all the dirt and dust from fins on the cylinder jug. Closely examine the starter rope, the fuel lines, et cetera. Replace 'em if they ain't perfect.
If you get a permanently installed generator carefully consider installing a manual transfer switch and other upgrades. With the exception of automatic "exercising" fully automatic generators these add a layer of complication and cost.
Don't store gasoline in the machine other than enough for one periodic test run. Develop a ritual on test runs: such as every other payday, or the last Saturday in the month, to reduce it to a ritual. I run mine monthly whilst cutting the back yard lawn. (The mower makes more noise.)
For storage between test runs: On portable gensets [with the ignition off, slowly ] pull the cord until you can feel that the engine is at the top of the compression stroke. This is where the engine feels like you are pulling it through a "detent". It puts the piston at the top of the bore and closes both valves. This protects the cylinder from moisture. If you store gasoline then use stabilizer, after six months burn it in your car and replace it. Few experiences are worse that trying to clean out a carburetor by a dim flashlight whilst being consumed alive by salt marsh mosquitoes. Trust me on this. BTW, I've had better results storing "winter" blended gas, since t has more light fractions and starts easier year round.
If you use gas cans; stick with metal, preferably safety cans. Plastics are slightly permeable and it will go bad much faster in a plastic can. On that note, [in humid climates] don’t keep spare spark plugs with the machine. This is because in outdoor storage the insulators can absorb moisture [and the metal parts can corrode]. Keep them inside or in a sealed can with some silica gel. An old one-quart paint can is ideal.
If you have a dual-fuel machine, then break the engine in on gasoline and make sure it operates properly on both fuels under load. Keep the necessary connectors for gas operation on the machine so that you don't have to go searching for that 3/8ths-inch pipe nipple with a flashlight.
Use high quality oils, and have enough. Don't forget to also store plenty of 2-stroke [fuel mixing] oil and chain oil if you intend to use a chainsaw. Maybe store some extra for your neighbors that are less prudent. I use Rotella brand synthetic oil and Wix brand filters, and have had good results with them.
Make sure you have enough oil, filters and plugs for at least two weeks (336 hours), or longer. Don't forget about your equipment after the crisis is over: There are valves to set, oil and plugs to change, etc. Even if you own two generators and have enough flashlights, automatic emergency lights, et cetera, things can, and may likely go wrong. Small children usually do not take kindly to being plunged into total darkness. Unless it is TEOTWAWKI, keep the candles in the cupboard, especially if there are small children about.
4. Double your plans for helping other people. Several relatives from coastal areas evacuated to our house (approximately 50 miles inland). I keep a 55 gallon drum of stabilized gasoline to fill up their cars to get them home. This was a lesson learned after the Rita evacuation cluster. How much food you will go through will surprise you. It finally dawned upon us that we almost always eat dinner (lunch to you Northerners) and sometimes breakfast away from home. So what we consumed whilst hunkered down seemed out of proportion.
We also sent some food home with people to hold them over. I was able to "lend" a retired neighbor enough generated power to keep his freezer, television, and fan going. He was genuinely happy. This also meant that he was one less person in line for ice, food, and so forth.
5. Keep a dial up phone line around, after 24 hours the cell phone tower generators started running out of propane, the cable modem (and the cable) went down with the power. Remember how to make that dial-up modem work.
If you're not a Ham radio operator, then find out where the local hams conduct their emergency nets, and listen on your shortwave radio (HF) or scanner (2-meter and 440 band) and you'll know a lot more that the local television news truck can find out.
If you have cable television, then keep a traditional antenna handy. If you live near a major market the local AM news station, then it is probably a good bet. Have a good UPS, plug the computer and the desk lamp into it. If you have a cordless phone, plug it into the UPS too. The UPS will take the "bumps" out of the generator's power; your computer will thank you. Make sure you test the UPS periodically by plugging in a 100 Watt lamp and pulling the plug on the UPS. I find I need to replace that UPS battery about every 2-to-3 years.
6. Plan for the guests. Have plenty of soap, have a small flashlight (preferably with rechargeable batteries) for each guest. Have things other than television to keep youngsters occupied. Try and get plenty of rest. You'll probably be plenty busy after you can poke your head out again. In this vein don't forget dishwashing supplies, laundry supplies, baby supplies, etc. If it's a predictable event such as a hurricane, have all the dishes and laundry done. before it hits.
A television in a room by itself will keep the racket contained from those who want to read, play games or just sleep. If you have the space, then a “quiet room” where people can just rest, read, be alone, have some privacy or get a fussy to baby to sleep cuts down on contagious stress.
7. Make sure you are medically prepared. Have a rather complete first aid kit that includes a backboard and splinting materials. There will be plenty of cuts,scrapes, bruises, sunburns and sore muscles in the aftermath. Have Band-Aids, 4x4s, neosporin, peroxide etc. Have plenty of acid reducer and immodium on hand (stress and unfamiliar cooking), have at least two weeks of prescription drugs on hand [and preferably much more for any chronic health issues]. Have a good assortment of Tylenol, cold and sinus preparations, BenGay [muscle ointment], good multivitamins, etc.
8.Be extra, extra, extra careful. You getting sick or more likely injured can really mess things up for everyone you have prepared for. Not to mention that the local fire/ambulance is probably already overtaxed. Be extremely careful handling fire and fuels. A lot of us are not entirely fluent in using chainsaws, small engines, fixing roofs, trimming trees and moving debris.[JWR Adds: safety equipment including heavy gloves, kevlar chainsaw safety chaps
, and a combination safety helmet with face shield and muffs
are absolute "musts"!] Don't get in a hurry unless there is a threat to life. Be hyper cautious, be very aware of your surroundings and things that can go wrong. Don’t toil alone. Make sure you have a clear path to beat a hasty retreat if things go wrong. Wear those gloves, safety glasses, boots and maybe a hard hat.
Don't overtax yourself. Getting a fallen the tree off of the roof today avails you little if it triggers a heart attack or heat stroke. Ask God's assistance and start over tomorrow.
Keep fire extinguishers near the gas generator, in the kitchen, and near the camp stove.
Avoid using candles at all costs, and absolutely prohibit smoking indoors for the duration. Have more than enough battery smoke detectors around.
9. Be ready to make temporary repairs.. The missing shingles, damaged windows, etc. Have some plywood, a few 2x4s, some Visqueen polyethylene sheeting, batting boards, duct tape, a tarp, some nails, and so forth around. If you happen to have a good cordless drill, then you'll find sheet rock and deck screws are very superior to nails. If you're squared away then you already have this stuff , but a neighbor might be in need, so buy extra.
Debris creates flat tires for quite some time after many events. Have a tire plug kit and a 12 VDC compressor in each vehicle. Repairs to structures, especially roof repairs guarantee nails in tires. Be ready for them..
Have everything rechargeable recharged. Make sure you have some traditional non-power tools, I have a handsaw that I've had for decades, a good bow saw, ax, maul, sledge and an old eggbeater style hand drill still get regular use.
10. If I had my choice of just one utility it would be running water. Fortunately where we reside is served by a well run rural utility district which has prepared well for hurricanes. Failing this, in addition to stored water I have a portable gas utility pump (Robin brand) that can pressurize our water system from our pool and has sufficient capacity for a fire line. The pool got a good jolt of shock a day before the storm hit.
11.Keep some cash money handy. For a few days [with no utility power] there were no functional ATMs, and no way to use credit or debit cards.
12. Keep a low profile. About a week after Ike a passerby indignantly asked "How'd you get your lights turned on?" This showed his ignorance on several levels. He seemed to think someone just had to flip a switch downtown and "shazam!" his lights are on. I couldn't make him understand there has to be an unbroken physical link between a power plant and consumer, this seemed to aggravate his obvious helplessness. Telling him that we had been making our own juice seemed to irritate him. I wonder who he voted for? People with this mindset (that the world owes them something) could be a genuine liability in a real catastrophe. (BTW on a news show during a piece about energy, I actually heard a lady refer to natural gas as “just another dirty fossil fuel”) and not be challenged on the facts. Little minds scare me. I think that the hyper-liberals would love to use the heavy hand of government to force the ants take care of the grasshoppers. Keep a low profile. The best advice I ever heard on the subject (I believe it was Howard J. Ruff
) was to "keep your principles public and your actions private".
13. Keep a notebook, keep a record of what happened, but especially keep a record of preps you overlooked or screwed up, or stuff you ran out of, or skills that need to be added or honed. That's where most of the preceding information came from! Also keep tabs on what's scarce after an event. Gas was scarce, but diesel plentiful after Rita. In contrast, after Ike there was plenty of fuel, but few operating stations due to lack of power. (There was a "mandatory evacuation" during Rita which turned out to be a fatal traffic jam for a few poor souls which quickly emptied the filling station tanks.) Out our way the local Wal-Mart made a heroic effort and opened up on locally-generated power, two days after Ike. The sheriff’s department was there to “maintain order”. (Let’s just say that they actually wear brown shirts here.). This event was a lifetime opportunity to study the varied behaviors of people under stress.
There were plenty of canned goods and auto supplies. But fresh fruits and veggies were a little thin, no meat due to lack of refrigeration for a few days, batteries, Coleman fuel, trash bags, paper plates, disposable diapers, formula, and nails evaporated. The pharmacy was closed.
Even with the numerous mistakes we made, we were able to stay safe, secure and comfortable and help others while "victims" were standing or idling their car engines in lines. It was an opportunity to try things out under more or less controlled conditions. WTSHTF there will not be controlled conditions!
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Letter Re: Lamar Alexander's Solar Homesteading E-Book
Jim-
Your recent link to an item in the Preparedness Forum (100 things that go first...) led me to other parts of the forum where I found a link to Lamar Alexander's Solar Homesteading e-book.
Besides the videos/pictures etc. an e-book is offered for $5. What a bargain! It is full of useful practical ideas, for example: a barrel-in-a-barrel digester that he uses to fuel his gasoline generator which he had converted to run on natural gas; how to dig a "driven-point" well; a solar dishwasher. And on and on. Your readers will want to get this e-book! BTW, I have no connection with LaMar Alexander. - Bob B.
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Letter Re: Wood Stove Selection, Operation, and Safety
James Wesley,
We have heated our current home with a wood stove and a pellet stove for ten years now. I disagree with one aspect of the recent article on your web site.
Our wood stove in the basement is set up to burn coal as well as wood. Where we live in Colorado there are a large number of dead trees -- from pine beetles -- that we can and do burn for free. However, with pine wood even the best stove will not hold the coals overnight. Hence the ability to use coal is a godsend. When the weather is only a little bit chilly we can place a basketball sized lump of coal in the stove and the stove will hold the coal -- burning slowly -- for up to five days. Hence in the mornings all we have to do is toss on a few pieces of wood and they will catch right away.
During the coldest part of the winter we can load the stove with a five gallon bucket of coal and it will heat the whole house for three days. Given the cyclic nature of our weather here (a couple of days of stormy weather, followed by a couple of days of biting cold, then a couple of days of sunny and warmer weather) we can clean out the stove during a sunny day as coal produces lots of ash.
Burning coal does one other thing as well. Pine wood has a tendency to produce a lot of creosote. But by using the coal, the creosote deposits in the chimney are burned off leaving a hard discoloration. Not burned off as in a chimney fire but apparently one of the chemicals in coal smoke reacts with the creosote and chemically burns it off of the inside of the chimney. At least this is how our chimney sweep has explained it to us when he shows up and inspects our chimneys every year.
Our pellet stove (upstairs) is good for those cool cloudy days in the spring and fall when firing up the wood stove in the basement will heat the house too much.
Now one warning -- our wood stove is designed to burn coal. Your typical wood stove is not designed to do this and the coal will burn through the sides/bottom of the stove. - H.D.
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Wood Stove Selection, Operation, and Safety, by Kevin K.
Heating with wood has been a “necessary” tradition for thousands of years, but with the advent of the industrial revolution, and the advancement in methods of heating homes and buildings, heating with wood became less and less popular. During the 1970s Energy Crises, there was interest in seeking “alternative” energy sources, and people started to rediscover the benefits of heating with wood. In the early 1990s, gas stoves and inserts took the place of traditional wood burning. People were just too busy to deal with the time and energy required with wood. In the last few years however, wood has come full circle, yet again. It’s funny how people go back to things that are simple, reliable, and secure, in times of uncertainty.
I am a former Technical Administrator for a Wood and Gas Stove manufacturer, and thought I might be of some help by passing on some of my experience and knowledge. Basically, I was the guy who trained “the stove professionals” at the places that customers buy their stoves.
Heating your home/retreat with wood can be very rewarding, especially in a SHTF scenario. It can literally mean the difference between barely surviving, and comfortably thriving. If a wood stove is not installed, operated, and maintained properly, there is a very real possibility that there can be substantial loss of property, and or life.
Fireplaces
While fireplaces do add warmth and comfort, they are far from being efficient. Most fireplaces are only about 10% efficient, in other words, 90% of your fuels’ BTUs are going straight up the chimney. If you do have a fireplace in your home, and would like to make far less trips to the wood pile, please consider installing a wood burning fireplace insert.
Selection of a wood burning stove
There are many types of woodstoves, and not all woodstoves are built alike, and there are a few features that are highly advantageous. Most stoves will burn wood effectively, that is, yes the wood does burn, but there is a bit more to it than that.
Catalytic Stoves – The king of wood stoves
A catalytic stove utilizes what is called a “Catalytic Combustor”. This combustor is similar to the catalytic combustor (converter) in a cars exhaust system. Its’ size can differ, but usually is 7” round, 7 x 9 oval, or rectangular, and about 2” thick. The combustor is a ceramic or stainless steel honeycomb on which is coated a catalyst. The catalyst may be a combination of one or more precious metals, including the following: platinum, palladium, rhodium and cerium. The catalyst chemically lowers the combustion temperature of the smoke from a wood fire, thereby allowing more smoke to burn, resulting in higher efficiency, and less creosote buildup. The active operating range is approximately 700-to-1,400 deg. F. The unit will glow red around 1,000+ deg., but is operating properly as long as it is in the active range. Catalytic Stoves come with a “Cat Thermometer” When operating properly; all that should be exiting the chimney is a white, steamy plume.
Pros
Saves Time and money
Dramatically longer burn times. Up to 40 hours on low setting (Blaze King Brand)
Much higher efficiency
Fewer trips to the wood pile
Chimney stays much cleaner, less chance of chimney fire
Greater burn control, resulting in more even temperatures in the home/retreat
Uses less woods
Cons
More expensive than traditional non-cats
Average life of converter is 5-9 yrs, depending on use and type of fuel burned
Replacement Cat’s are expensive. (This cost is made up by time and money saved)
Note: In worst case scenario (i.e. TEOTWAWKI) and the cat is no longer working, the by-pass door (not the loading door) can be left open and the stove will still operate. The EPA will say that it is illegal to operate the stove without the use of a properly operating catalytic combustor. If it is TEOWAWKI, I’m sure you will get a pass on this.
Non-Catalytic Stoves
Non-cats are more commonplace, yet they too, are not all the same. You have your basic type, that is, a box with a hole in the top, and you have others that employ what is called “secondary air”. Secondary air aids in better combustion of smoke, resulting in lower emissions.
Pros
Less expensive than Catalytic
Fewer parts to wear out
Cons
Shorter burn times (cold mornings?)
Less efficient
Uses more wood
More trips to the wood box
Thermostats
Woodstoves with thermostats are much better at controlling the burn, and maintaining a more even temperature in the house. They are incorporated into the stove itself. (Not on the wall) A thermostat is comprised of a “flapper” that is controlled by a wound, bi-metal strip. As the stove gets hotter, the flapper will start to close, thus controlling the amount of fresh air given to the fire, and conversely, will open up as the fire dies down.
A stove without a thermostat will generally have a manual air intake control, in the form of a plate that you can move to control the volume of air coming into the firebox.
Positioning of stove in the house
It is generally best to place your stove in a centralized area in the home. Natural air flow is a large consideration. Most average sized homes can be heated sufficiently with a quality woodstove, based upon layout and natural air flow. It is preferred to have the chimney within the envelope of the home and not routed on an outside wall.
Pre-Manufactured Chimney Systems
Most installations will utilize a pre-manufactured chimney system. It is important to understand that there is two different systems, one is standard residential, and the other is High Temperature Mobile Home/Alcove/Close Clearance. Normally, single wall pipe called a connector, is used to come off of the stove. This pipe must be 24/26 MSG Black/Blued steel stove pipe. (Do not use aluminum or galvanized pipe) Once reaching the ceiling, it will transition into a “ceiling box” that has Triple Wall (actual chimney), that runs the rest of the way.
Always follow the manufacturer’s installation requirements, and local codes. DO NOT MIX DIFFERENT CHIMNEY SYSTEM.
Never use more than a total of two 90 deg. turns in an installation. Any more than that, will significantly reduce your draft. If possible, use two 45’s instead of a 90. Furthermore, never slap a 90 deg. elbow right off of the top of a stove. Preferably, you would go a minimum of 36” up, before turning. Furthermore, if a horizontal run is needed, it should be 36” or less, AND have a slope of ¼” per ft., downward into stove. It is important and required, that the chimney extends a minimum of 3 ft. above a roof, and is at least 2 ft. higher than any area of the roof within 10 ft.
Note: Chimney sections should ALWAYS funnel into the stove collar, meaning the crimped end faces down into the stove. This allows for condensation/creosote to drain into the stove, and not leak outside of the pipe
Masonry Chimneys
If you have an existing masonry chimney, and are able to route your stove pipe into it, you can save a lot of money. A masonry chimney must be lined; the liner is usually made out of clay 5/8” thick min., and appropriate cement. A chimney liner should never be smaller than the cross sectional area of the stove collar, example: An 8” collar is approx. 50 square inches. A visual inspection of the chimney is needed prior to the installation of the stove. Look for cracks/holes, loose field stones/bricks, and mortar that is crumbling/deteriorating. Creosote patches are signs of fresh air being introduced through these cracks. Have a professional chimney sweep inspect and repair the chimney if you feel that this is beyond your capabilities/judgment. Overly large, unlined, existing chimneys often will not draft properly, will accelerate the buildup of creosote, and usually violate code and installation requirements. All installations require a thimble when the pipe enters the chimney through a combustible wall. It may be constructed of brick, or pre-manufactured.
Note: Make sure the ash clean out door on the outside base (if installed) of the chimney is closed. This will keep cold air from being introduced into the chimney, and reducing draft.
Creosote and chimney cleaning
Creosote is basically caused by smoke cooling and condensing on the chimney walls. It can be built up with the addition of ash and other large, unburned carbon particles. It can present itself as hard and shiny, or thick, light and fluffy. You should inspect your chimney and connector system twice a month during burn season. Pay close attention to the appearance of creosote patches inside of the chimney. The existence of these patches is an indication of fresh air leaking into the chimney, and should be repaired or replaced immediately.
Use only a tight fitting chimney brush to clean your chimney. Getting “Bubba” up on top of the roof with tire chains, hoses, and the pool skimmer, will not only result in unsatisfactory results, it can potentially damage your chimney. Remove the first section of pipe off the stove, and attach a plastic bag to the open end of the pipe. Again, follow manufactures cleaning instructions, if available. You cannot expect to get every speck of creosote cleaned off, so don’t lose any sleep over it. Just do your best to brush as much of it out as you can.
WARNING: NEVER INTENTIONALLY START A CHIMNEY FIRE TO CLEAN OUT THE CHIMNEY
“Magic” Chimney Creosote Cleaning Logs/Products
My experience has shown that nothing can substitute a tight fitting chimney brush for cleaning a chimney. While there are several products out there that claim to “clean” or otherwise break down the buildup of creosote, I would not recommend them.
Safe Operation of Stoves
Always follow the manufactures operating instructions, and procedures. If none are available, please consider the following:
Never leave the stove unattended with the loading door left open. Leaving the loading door open, then getting distracted by a phone call, or knock at the door, can have disastrous results. Once a loading door is opened, there is virtually an unlimited supply of combustion air available for the fuel. If left unchecked, especially if the stove has just been filled, the stove can reach temperatures exceeding that in which the stove is designed. This can warp the stove, or worse, cause a house or chimney fire.
Never use gasoline, kerosene, lighter fluid or any other type of accelerant, to start a fire, or to “freshen up” a fire.
Never mix, or substitute chimney brands/systems. If you are trying to save money by mixing and matching stove pipe, you stand the chance of losing so much more. Chimney Systems are just that, “systems”. They have gone through extensive testing for a reason, to save lives and property. Many have gambled and lost on this issue. Do not use aluminum or galvanized “duct” piping, they cannot withstand the high temperatures of burning solid fuels.
Use only solid, seasoned wood as fuel, unless the stove has otherwise been designed for such fuel. Do not burn coal, oil, plastics, wrapping paper, charcoal, railroad ties, particle board, and sawdust, painted wood, or anything else that is not dry, seasoned wood. Using unseasoned “green” wood will increase production of creosote, and make for poor draft up the chimney. Seasoned wood is wood that has been cut and allowed to “season”, or sit, for a period of usually at least 8 months. Saltwater driftwood can be death for a stove; it will [cause rust that will] eat right through it
If you are experiencing a chimney fire and it is safe to do so, then make sure the loading door is closed, turn down the thermostat all the way (or manual air control), evacuate your home, and call 911.
Check Loading Door Gasket twice during each burn season. You can do this by opening the door and positioning a dollar bill on the area where the door gasket meets the opening on the stove, now close and latch the door. There should be noticeable resistance when pulling the bill out. Try this in different areas around the door.
Ensure proper combustible clearances to the stove are maintained. Refer to your owner’s manual on distances. If your stove is bought second hand, and does not have the clearances and certification agency labeled on the unit itself, contact the local authority having jurisdiction, to verify code requirements.
I have gone through most of the basics regarding wood burning stoves, and I’m sure that I’ve missed a thing or two. What I have presented are just general guidelines. I cannot emphasize enough that you follow the manufacturer’s Installation and Operating Instructions, doing so will ensure best performance, with the lowest risk of danger. - Kevin K.
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Three Letters Re: Heating With Wood
James Wesley,
That was a good informative article by SGT B., however there was one glaring omission in the safety section : "Which brings me to the always wear appropriate safety gear rule. Always do. Period. Long sleeves and pants, boots, gloves, helmet with a face-guard or safety glasses, hearing protection."
He didn't mention Kevlar chainsaw safety chaps, which jam a chain in milliseconds are now considered required for wood cutting, one moment of inattentiveness and your thigh, shin, etc, can be hamburger. The least expensive, yet best ones out there are from Labonville.
Remember chainsaws don't just cut flesh , they tear it! There is a youTube video available for those who want to watch that shows that, thankfully demonstrated with butchered meat, not people. Sincerely, - Wayne B.
Sir,
I'd like to add to Sgt B.'s information. After doing all that he discusses for 40+ years, I would add the following: I put wood in my basement where I have a woodstove. The critters did emerge as he mentioned. I used Zodiac Advanced Insect Spray and that wiped them all out very quickly. A cat takes care of four legged types. I put wood in the basement for when I'm too lazy, tired, or the the weather is just plain nasty. Otherwise, I haul it in as necessary leaving the inside wood for those times mentioned.
Woodstoves: you really don't need to spend a fortune to get some decent heat. My basement is all masonry. The block and concrete soak up lots of the heat (versus a finished basement). Still, my inexpensive little woodstove gets that basement to 70 degrees. I got one from Northern Tool & equip. Sure, a much more expensive all cast iron or fancy one would get the basement and wood floors above a lot warmer but this stove only set me back a few hundred and arrived at my doorstep via freight. Do your homework if you are new to woodstoves. Buying used is okay if you can verify that it's safe. Check for any cracks and if the gaskets / rope are ok. One method of verifying if the gaskets are ok is to place a dollar bill one the backside of the door, close the door, see if the dollar slips out when you pull it. Gaskets kits are cheap and easy to replace. My brother bought a used/antique potbelly type and it has been in use for years.
Traditional fireplace / fireplace insert: The one I just pulled out was very attractive but they sure waste a lot of heat. I finally purchased a top dollar insert as a replacement last year for the ground floor of the house and it paid off immediately in terms of having to bring in wood, using up your wood pile(s), & time/labor. This replacement once hot, remains so all night. I was a great investment.
Log splitters: I'm on my second one. The first was a 20 ton and it was a workaholic. I sold it in one day. It was about 12 yrs old and still good to go. In 12 years I did replace the engine once and the detent valve. My new 37-ton spilts everything I feed it. You may have a hard time finding something it can't split. I had to use my front end loader to push the heaviest of oak under it and the splitter had no problem. This was another Northern Tool and Equipment purchase.
Chainsaws: Useful but dangerous. Be careful. Read the safety instructions if you are new to these items. If you are going to have something go wrong, it'll happen so fast that you won't be able to stop whatever mistake you made. I have two - a 15 year old lightweight 14" Poulan that still gets the little stuff done and a 20" Husqvarna that can handle just about anything. The best accessory item when working with a chain saws is a wedge (plastic, not the steel wedges used with manual splitting...) to prevent pinching of your blade/bar. I recommend using high test gas as 2-cycle engines prefer it for long term engine performance. I also purchased an electric chain saw sharpener which has paid for itself several times over. I can do it manually in the field also and you should be equipped for that anyway. Extra chains make life easy. If the saw is going to sit 11 months of the year, you'll have starting problems. [Use gas stabilizer and] start your 2-cycle engines monthly, warm them up and they'll be kind to you when you need it.
All things wood heating: I enjoy the outdoor time doing all this. It's both exercise and refreshing cold weather outdoor time. Note: it does require time and labor but the payoff is worth it. I cut my oil heat consumption back to one-third of the previous year's averages. Now I can spend more money on more wood cutting stuff. - Flhspete
James,
That was a good article on finding wood, but I would like to see you make a special invitation to a chimney expert or someone else with similar expertise to write an article on wood stove safety. That is something that is often overlooked, or just not understood, often with disastrous consequences.
My wife and I started our "back to the land" voyage back in the 70's with a small homestead in the Ozarks and for the next 10 years we heated only with wood. During that time we saw our neighbors down the road lose an infant daughter to smoke inhalation during a bad fire and our best friends came home on Christmas eve to find nothing left but the foundation, their house had burnt to the ground. Both were caused by skimping on chimney installations. Anyone who has lived in the boonies probably has similar stories to tell. It's okay to scrimp and save on a lot of things, chimneys [with regular chimney cleaning] are not one of them. You have a wild beast under partial control inside your home, one tiny mistake and it can escape and destroy your home and kill you. I don't mean to unduly scare people but I would like to see people have the appropriate amount of respect for the hazards they're taking on. Everything has to be done right up front and maintained properly to keep you safe.
BTW, the biggest drawback to wood heat is just the fact that in the winter you can never be away from home for more than 16 hours or so or the house will freeze up. No weekend trips and if the rig breaks down it adds another level of urgency to getting home. If possible, it's great to have a small emergency propane heater you can set to 45 degrees and run off a 100 pound tank so that if the temperature drops too low it will kick on and keep the house from freezing, it makes a huge improvement in giving you some freedom in the winter. - Bill S. in Oregon
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Heating With Wood, by SGT B.
I don’t know that you would call my father a prepper. He was more just in love with the idea of economic independence and living in the woods. When I was nine (after the woods behind us were clear cut for an apartment complex), we sold our house in the suburbs, bought ten acres far enough out that he figured the developers would never find us, and built a home in the woods.
We heated this house with wood, and as any of you who grew up with a wood stove can already guess, that meant I spent a good chunk of my young life cutting, splitting, hauling, stacking, and burning wood.
Here are some of the things I learned while I was about it. This will by no means be complete, but will reflect only my partial understanding of a subject as old as fire, and as varied as the trees.
First things first: Why wood?
Wood grows. Wood in one form or another grows in most of the inhabitable regions of the earth. If you own land, chances are you own some wood. If not, probably your neighbors have some. Wood heat is renewable energy that anyone can harness. It can be had when the economy is bad as well as when it is good, it is absolutely EMP-proof (although your stove may not be, if it uses electronic components), and so long as you harvest it yourself, it is tax-free. Wood is not necessarily the best or only way to go, and should be weighed against other options. Even for off the grid situations, heat can be provided through heating oil burning stoves (I assume) or through electric stoves if you have a generator or other form of power. That said, unless you have a super abundance of electric capacity, you probably have many other demands on your juice in any sort of emergency.
The downside of wood is that it is not free. You will have to spend either time or labor to get it. Depending how much you use, this could translate to a lot of labor. The other aspect of this is that if you are injured or disabled, you will have a rough time of it. When my father injured his arm badly, I was in school, and our wood stack was at a low point. We were supported by members of our church fellowship helping with wood, and by using on the grid backup systems. In our case this was merely embarrassing, in some situations it could be worse. I’d say follow the rule of threes and have multiple means of heat.
Other considerations: You will have maintenance and cleaning chores with this method. On the plus side they’ll be things you can do yourself with the right tools. Own your own gear for cleaning the chimney. Don’t burn chemically treated wood, and you can use the ashes in compost, but mix them with other stuff or they’ll just form a smothering layer of gray mud. Avoid burning trash for heat if you can help it. Chemically treated wood and plywood can also produce poisonous fumes, so keep that in mind.
Woodstove Selection
I am familiar with three ways of heating with wood indoors. There may well be others, but if so I don’t know them and am not qualified to speak on them. They are, a fireplace, a simple wood stove, and a wood burning water stove.
The fireplace: This is the most basic form of woodstove. They range from the small and basically decorative fireplaces of most modern suburban homes to the vast fire places of old manors, where large meals can be prepared at the hearth. Fireplaces are generally poorly situated to heat a home. They reside on one side of the room, radiate much of their heat directly up the chimney, or out through the sides, and are basically inefficient. That said, if that is all you have, it is well worth laying in a supply of wood for hard times. From a survival standpoint however, someone in such a position should probably focus more on securing their primary method of heat, with a generator or a supply of heating fuel depending what that is.
Free standing wood stoves. These are, at their most basic a big box with a fireplace in the middle, and with a stovepipe to take away the smoke. They can be situated anywhere in a room, and radiate their heat outwards. If properly designed and located, they lose much less heat up the chimney than a fireplace. They are not efficient for heating other rooms, and (like a fireplace) may be inadequate for heating a large home. Some designs can also provide a cooking surface and or an oven. I find this attractive enough to be a primary consideration, but you may feel differently. These stoves also require no electricity in their basic form. I’ve heard of designs that have some electrical features such as blowers, that can heat other rooms of the house, but I have no experience with them. (BTW, I have seen other posts on SurvivalBlog that speak of woodstoves that can handle coal. I don’t have any personal experience with this, but I think that it is a valid consideration during stove selection.)
Wood burning water [jacket] stoves. These are somewhat more complex. Essentially they are a woodstove wrapped in a water tank. Rather than radiate heat directly into a living area, they heat the water, which is then circulated through the rest of the house. They have some major advantages and disadvantages. This is what we had, so this section will be a bit more in depth perhaps.
Advantages:
- Can be located outside the living area, which offers benefits in terms of:
- Cleanliness: Lots of bugs live in wood piles, and they often hitch rides inside with the wood, no matter how careful you are. There’s also the risk of smoke drafting into the room, which is bad for you.
- Living space not occupied by stove.
- Safety, in that you do not have hot metal in the middle of your living area. If the stove is outside, which I have seen, it may reduce you fire risk, but you will need a shed to protect the stove.
- Can heat larger dwellings, either through radiant floor heating or through a more traditional central blower (via a heat coil). We had a very large house, two stories with vaulted ceilings and a lot of windows, plus a full basement, and we had very good heat.
- Can be used to heat your water through a heat exchange. The actual water around the stove is full of chemicals, but a heat exchanger can run it through a heat exchanger to heat your tap water without contamination.
Disadvantages:
- This system requires electricity and a water supply. That means that if the power goes out, you have no source of heat. For this reason it is imperative that you also have a generator. My family put that purchase off until Hurricane Fran waltzed into central North Carolina and left us without power for over a week. Needless to say there were ten no generators to be had for love or money. Fortunately it was summer. By the time we got to learn about blizzards we had a generator. Still, between running our well pump and the stove there was less electricity for anything else.
- You also can’t cook on these, so far as I know.
- Unless you have backup heat or water heating methods, you will have to burn wood anytime you want heat or hot water. This means at least some wood consumption year round. BTW, when I say some, I really mean a lot.
- Maintenance is more of a concern with these systems than with simpler designs, and there are certain unique things that can go wrong. For example, you have to monitor the fire to ensure than the water supply does no boil, or you will have “opportunities for fun” such as a flooded basement or a damaged heater, or both.
All said, my father, reluctant though he was to admit defeat, came to regret the water stove. It became a beast that swallowed a whole lot of our labor, and wasn’t particularly more efficient than living on the grid and using your labor for other things. Other pursuits, such as gardening, livestock, and hunting, suffered due to the need to feed the machine. Neighbors with regular wood stoves used much less fuel, had fewer problems, and had no need for concern with heat when the power was out. I do not recommend these unless you absolutely must heat the entirety of a large structure.
Woodlot Management
If you have a wood lot, you want to manage it. Second growth forests are often too dense for optimum growth, and culling and thinning the trees permits faster growth by the rest. I’ve heard it said that you can expect a cord a year, per acre, from temperate deciduous forest if you manage it well, but I don’t know it for an ironclad fact. Selecting which trees to cut is important. Unless you’re trying to clear a field (or field of fire) it is not a great idea to clear-cut. Pick out individual trees and cut those to clear space for other trees. Start with downed trees before they rot, and move on to wolf trees that take up a lot of space. Plan ahead too, and make sure you take advantage of downed trees on willing neighbors property. Also make sure they’re willing, otherwise it’s theft of a tangible resource. A significant chunk of our family’s firewood came from other people’s lands. People who have invested in woodlands but not yet built on may be particularly willing to allow you to take storm-downed trees. I know people with sizable woodpiles that only harvest other people’s trees. Coppicing is an interesting idea that is worth looking into, but I have no personal experience with that.
I won’t go into different types of wood here. My knowledge of that is limited and regional, and there is very good, technically detailed information out there about the burning properties of various woods. We always cut a lot of trash trees, because despite the poorer burning properties we wanted them gone from our land. YMMV, and watch for creosote buildup vigilantly. Removing trees that produce large quantities of fruit or nuts fall can reduce the presence of game on your land, and/or remove a significant emergency food source. In general quality hardwoods with long straight trunks are worth leaving to grow, in a pinch you can sell them or use them for lumber.
Cutting wood
I won’t say much about the mechanics of cutting down trees. I’ve never been much of a chainsaw artist, and others could tell you much better. I do recommend having multiple chainsaws in every size you use though, because it is darn hard to cut down a tree with a broke saw. Also, following major storms, at least one of your neighbors will want to borrow one, without fail, and it is an easy way to help someone out a lot. Barter is of course always a consideration as well. Other tools that are nice include come-a-longs, wedges and a heavy hammer - for freeing up a bound saw, log rollers, and a machete for clearing small branches and underbrush. Orange reflective tape on the ‘chete grip will save time wondering where you put it.
It is of course possible to bring down trees with hand-powered tools as well. Following the rule of threes I’d say have a felling axe and a two man cross cut saw in addition to the chainsaw. If you’re worried about noise for security or wildlife purposes, or if you live alone, you might also want a single man cross cut saw. Axes are pretty much the least efficient of these in my mind (but great exercise). Bear in mind that there is a difference between a splitting axe and a felling axe. Felling axes can also come in single bit (that’s the sharp part) or double bit (like the classic battleaxe) and can have curved or straight handles. I like the double bit, but that’s a matter of preference, and I am only modestly experienced at felling with an axe. I have no experience with two man saws, and therefore won’t comment on them. I will say that you should always have maintenance and sharpening equipment (and know-how) for any cutting tool you keep. Finally, machetes can also be used for bringing down saplings and underbrush, and can provide a lot of small wood. This can increase the depth you can see into the woods, and reduce fire risks around your home (so long as you clear away the hacked brush of course). Machete hacked stumps can be fairly sharp, like little punji sticks, and you may wish to break the points down with your boot as you cut to prevent future tripping and foot bruising.
Safety first when cutting (as always). Always clear any potential fall area of people when bringing down a tree, and bear in mind that a severed trunk can jab out backwards with a few tons of force behind it. That can kill you very dead. Also always check your root bole holes when cutting free a storm-downed trunk. A state worker got crushed to death while taking a squat in one after Hurricane Fran because his buddy didn’t check. Also make sure anyone you’re working with is practicing good safety and understands what they’re doing. A friend of mine got the side of his face caved in by the end of a log once because I instructed another friend poorly. He was lucky. A inch or so higher would have caved in his temple. Which brings me to the always wear appropriate safety gear rule. Always do. Period. Long sleeves and pants, boots, gloves, helmet with a face-guard or safety glasses, hearing protection. I’m losing my hearing and not quite 30 years old. I now wish I’d worn it. In very cold weather avoid steel-toed boots as they can promote frostbite. Remember too that after a tree has torn itself free of the surrounding canopy there may be sizable limbs left suspended that may come free and drop with a breeze. Dead trees can also break apart as they come down, or even with the vibration of the saw, so helmets are important.
Younger family members can be included in hauling small wood and burning brush and waste wood while you cut, but make sure you watch out for them. They can be hard to see, and may lack a proper sense of safety, or at least the attention span to remember it. You’ll also want to monitor horseplay. I busted a friend’s teeth out with a piece of firewood at the woodpile at the age of five, and got severely burned in a brush clearing bonfire when I was six. We weren’t working at that age, just horsing around in a work area.
When sectioning trees, make sure that there is sufficient clearance between the bottom of what you’re cutting and the ground for you to stop. Even occasionally grounding a moving chainsaw blade is too often. Also make sure the two sections won’t twist free of each other when you separate them and strike you or your assistant.
Splitting wood
For splitting wood you should have a variety of tools, because not all wood is created equal, and I’m pretty sure some trees were created specifically to build the character and fortitude of wood splitting youths everywhere.
Tools I used for various splitting tasks were a hatchet, a small axe, a large splitting axe, an 6 lb maul, a 14.5-pound maul, a sledge hammer and an assortment of wedges. Most of these are not used most of the time, but I recommend having them all, especially the wedges. Sometimes a large piece of wood will decide not to give back your maul. Small axes and hatchets can allow children to participate (and boy don’t I know it), but make sure you give them clear safety instructions and supervise them. After years of replacing handles I have given up and determined that I will never buy another wooden handled striking tool. I have not yet personally owned a fiberglass-handled axe, but plan to get one. With the heavy maul I use a steel handle.
I advise against using a chainsaw for splitting unless absolutely necessary, because it is a lot of wear and tear on the saw, and because it isn’t generally necessary. I also advise against splitting even small wood with a machete, you’ll have better control with a hatchet.
Remember to always bend at the knees when you bring down the maul/axe. This reduces the risk of back injury, and also ensures that if you miss, the arc of the maul will intersect with the ground rather than your shin or foot. I also advise against swinging from behind the back. I find that that increases strain on your back and arms and leads to significant injury. It also reduces accuracy and doesn’t add enough force to justify it. Others disagree. They have their ways and I have mine. I bring the axe gently to an overhead position, with a wide grip, and only then begin the swing, bringing my top hand down along the shaft as I swing.
I consider myself a minor artist with a maul, and am more conceited about it than anything but my fire building, but when I again heat with wood, I will have a gas powered pneumatic splitter. Yes, the purchase cost is high, yes, it requires gas. But it will save you many, many hours of labor. In my case it added days to my year when we rented a friend’s for just a week. Pick a centralized location, and then one person brings the wood to the splitter while the other one feeds.
I would however not be caught dead without the tools for the older methods. Gas runs out. Machines break. It would just about take an Arc Light [bombing] mission to destroy a steel handled maul. Also some times it is easier to use a maul than a splitter, and sometimes you just need to blow off steam by breaking things apart (I mean firewood, not people who stress you out).
Always wear boots. Always wear gloves. Always have extra gloves in depth.
Hauling wood
Own a good quality wheelbarrow. [JWR Adds: In addition to a wheelbarrow with an air free (foam-filled) tire, if you have an ATV, then buy a sturdy steel trailer for it. Unless you live on a mountainside, an ATV can get to the farthest corners of your wood lot.] Keep spare parts for everything but the bucket. You will need them. Always store the wheelbarrow upside down if you keep it outside. Always check for snakes when you turn it back up to use. For obvious reasons I recommend using a motorized vehicle for hauling long distance up hill. Even if you have to clear a path, it will save time. Plus, you also burn whatever was in you path. Even the trunk of a sedan can be used to haul a fair bit of wood. Human chains are great for loading/unloading operations. I advise resisting the temptation to toss the wood to one another, but for short, steep gradients, throwing wood down can save a lot of time. Just don’t try to catch it. Make sure to switch sides periodically to vary which muscle groups are getting the strain.
Stacking Wood:
Stacking wood is an art form of its own. There are many ways to do it. Just remember the basics:
- Never just pile the wood up for more than a short while. It will rot quickly on the bottom, and why should you lose wood you’ve already worked to cut and haul.
- Always stack on [scrap wood] runners. This permits airflow underneath and greatly delays wood wasting rot. It also reduces bugs, which is good if it’s by your house. It may provide runways for little furry critters, but they are going to be there anyway, so don’t sweat it. I recommend at least one full-time outdoor mouser. Bring her food in at night to encourage hunting and to reduce instances of being woken up by her fighting off coons and possums.
- Do sweat the snakes and spiders. Once more, always wear gloves. We had a problem for a while with a nest of copperheads. This taught us to always check the ground around the wood stack. It also taught us that in a hot enough stove, a copperhead can pop like a big meat popcorn. Remember to burn at least the heads, and that they can still bite when dead. Ant nests can be a problem too, and necessitate seeking out the wood they have built their home in and sending them on a vacation to a warmer place. Ants just sizzle though, they don’t pop. Sorry.
- Stack tight, and stack stable. Put the longest and the heaviest pieces at the bottom. Put oddly shaped pieces off to one side and then stick them on top. Think of the stack as a puzzle and make it tight. End posts are nice with permanent stacks. BTW, small stuff burns quickly, and can cause a fire to rage out of control, with a water stove, this can be a problem, causing your water to boil. Stack skinny bits of wood separately from the big stuff, or put them on top.
- Cover your stacks against the rain. If you use tarps, make sure they are taught, or you will wind up with pooling water that will reduce the life of your tarp and seep into your wood. I advise using solid overhead cover for at least your near term use wood. I feel that over time in a humid climate moisture and heat can build up under a tarp and permit decomposition.
- When bringing in wood from outside, keep an eye out for vagabond critters scurrying away from you into your house. If they enjoy eating your wood stack, they’ll likely love your nice warm house. Sweep up all debris when finished and throw it in the fire. And never store wood in the house. Things that are dormant under bark in the cold weather may revive in your cozy abode and frolic, to your detriment.
- Wood stacks can be used to provide tactical landscaping, as others on this blog have mentioned. In addition to providing cover or concealment, they can also block your fields of fire, or avenues of maneuver. Site them wisely.
- Rotate through your stacks on a modified FIFO basis. In general this means oldest stack first, but sometimes a newer stack may be drier. Use the dried wood first. The water in wood consumes heat energy as it evaporates, reducing useful output, and also add bulk to the smoke, encouraging it to flow back out into the house.
Timing:
Generally we cut down trees in the late Fall or Winter. It was a good time for hard labor with the cool weather, the underbrush is less dense and buggy, and the sap isn’t running in the trees. We would usually try and get the years supply down and cut into rough lengths. This lets it dry faster. Generally we would leave it in place or rough stack it in place and move on, and then collect it in a later season to haul to the house. This let us make the most of the time when the sap wasn’t running to bring down trees.
Once the wood is rough stacked you can leave it there for a while. I don’t bother to cover wood I leave in the woods. The rain won’t hurt the inside of the wood much, and it will have time for the outside to dry when I bring it to the house. This was an issue of space around the house for us. If you have a big wood barn, like one of our neighbors, there’s not much reason to leave it in the woods.
As for splitting wood, some say it’s easier when wet, some say dry. After trying it both ways I think it depends on the type of wood, but ceased to look into it once I discovered powered log splitters. I do know that wood dries much faster when split, and stacks better too, so I see no reason not to split wet wood.
Thanks to Mr. Rawles and to all the SurvivalBlog contributors. God bless you all and remember to change your socks. - SGT B.
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Letter Re: How to Make Your Own "Black Out" OPSEC Window Panels
James,
Another good product for light shades is Reflectix Insulation
.
Basically Reflectix is bubble wrap with aluminum foil bonded to one or both sides. I have used it to make thermal drapes for my home, and know that it blocks all visible light. You can buy it at most Home Improvement centers. It commonly comes in 25' rolls that are 16", 24", or 48" in width.
Last winter I bought a 4'x25' roll and had enough to do my entire house. (9 windows of various sizes) the cost was about $40.
Manufacturers claim that reflects up to 97% of all radiant heat, so not only will you save some energy, I would expect it to be somewhat effective against infrared and thermal imaging.
I know that the temperature in my old Mobile Home came up a good 10 degrees F in just the 45 minutes it took me to put up my blinds.
While I made my blinds so they can be rolled up during the day time, it would be very easy to find some way to anchor them on the sides and at the bottom so they would completely block all light at night.
Thank You JWR for a great site. - Fanderal
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Letter Re: Where to Store Food When There is No Simple Answer
Mr. Editor:
Like Margy, I also found myself building an 'above ground cellar' for temperature stable storage of food and other goods. Working with a detached three-car garage that had just a two-car door, I converted the extra 'bay' to a bonus room. With standard framing and insulation I noticed that that room remained noticeably more even in temperature throughout the day.
I also have warm summers, 100F and occasionally more. Winters rarely drop below freezing for more than a day or two.
I did some research once on passive temperature control and learned that water has a high specific heat and in significant quantity can stabilize the temperature of a given space. I acquired several 55 gallon plastic drums and placed them in a row along the interior wall of my room. I filled them in place with water I treated with bleach and sealed them. Within days I noticed that the temperature remained nearly constant regardless of time of day. The barrels are about 3' high by 2' deep, and it is easy enough to construct shelving above them.
I improved on this further by adding more barrels and increasing the insulation. I bought 2" thick foam panels at Home Depot, the kind with reflective metal coating. These I cut to shape for the windows and blocked them off. I also bought a box fan and some furnace filters. This I mounted in a window on a clock timer. The fan pulls cool night air into the space, pulling air through a furnace filter and an exterior screen. Now that the summer has passed I have disabled the timer and will cover the fan assembly with an insulation panel as the temperature drops. I may even use it to pull warmer afternoon air in during winter.
With these steps and no significant heat sources inside the insulated envelope I have found that with no energy consumption I have managed a cool place for long term storage.
Water is cheap and readily available. Once purified, it requires no maintenance when properly stored. - Vlad
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Where to Store Food When There is No Simple Answer, by Margy
It’s been almost two years now since I became serious about preparing for TEOTWAWKI. In that time I’ve followed the instructions of the Lord upon the death of my husband to “shore up and seal up my house” but there was always one haunting question. That was, where would I have enough space to store adequate food for my family that I could control the temperature.
Living in a mild climate in the heart of America, we have long hot summers that sometimes kiss the thermometer in excess of 105? making outdoor storage of any kind almost impossible. I’ve always stored extra paper products and a few canned goods in the garage but due to the heat, I knew I couldn’t successfully store food there for a long period of time. Soil in our region consists of a high content of clay so digging a root cellar is not a fruitful enterprise.
Although I have a relatively large three bedroom home, I wasn’t willing to fill closets with survival food, plus I wanted it to be hidden from eyes that didn’t have a need to know. I worried about this at length, feeling that I had been instructed by the Lord to make preparations for my family of eight.
A friend of ours who is a construction person often does odd jobs around the house for me. He is someone I trust like a brother and whom I attend church with. We were standing in my garage one day as I expressed my dismay over the food storage situation when he pointed to an alcove in the garage and said, “You have a closet right there. All you have to do is wall it off.”
I
couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen it previously, but the moment he said that it became very clear this would be “the” place. Within in a few days, I had my son in the garage with a measuring tape, pencil and paper and we figured the supplies I would need to make the closet come into fruition. He went to work and I went to Home Depot to arrange for a delivery of 2 x 4s, sheet rock, insulation, electrical boxes and wiring, light fixtures and screws and the complete list to make a well constructed, insulated closet with electrical outlets and ceiling fixtures where tool laden shelves once stood.
The process of moving all of the shelving and items stored on the shelves was exhausting, but I could see the benefit of this project and knew I would either get rid of what was stored there or find another place to put it. Luckily, most of the shelving was the heavy duty steel shelving on casters that we had bought at Sam’s a couple of years before. They were easily rolled across the garage and out of the way of the construction crew, their contents in tact.
The next weekend, my son and his friend came with tools in hand and began a long day of construction on a simple closet, fifteen feet long by five feet wide. Once their equipment was brought into the garage, the door went down and stayed there during the construction process. Although my neighbors are nice people, they are not on the same political thought process I am and I didn’t think they needed to know what was happening in the garage, nor did the city inspectors!
Two by fours were affixed to the concrete garage floor with a Ramset HD 22 single shot hammer device. Once the 2 x 4s were securely fastened to the floor where they would serve as the grounding base for the wall studs, the 2 x 4s for the studs followed and were stabilized by being attached to the ceiling. Next came the exterior sheet rock wall and insulation. I did hire an electrician to do the wiring of the closet as well as additional dawn to dusk lighting around the perimeter of the house. In addition to the extra lighting in the ceiling of the closet, we added two outlets in the interior and one on the exterior wall of the storage closet so I would not lose the capacity to plug in extension cords for electrical outdoor tools. The closet door I selected was a metal exterior door already set with a lock and key arrangement.
We installed a silvery [Reflectix] insulation that was about 1/4" thick with bubbles sandwiched between the aluminum-looking [mylar] layers. We completely wrapped the walls of the storage closet with the insulation in hopes that it would solve any temperature problems. We lined the room with it as tightly as if we were hanging wall paper, stapling it to the walls with an electric, heavy duty stapler. It looked good, clean and professional. My nine year old grandson stepped into the room and asked “Wow. What is this place for.” We dubbed it the “beam me up Scotty” room and have jokingly referred to it as that ever since. I put two thermometers in the room – one at each end – and watched with dismay as the red line continued to hold at 90?. This was a problem that would only shorten the longevity of the stored food.
Once the closet was done my other son came to begin building shelves. My original plan was for wooden shelves but he wasn’t long into the project until he convinced me to buy metal shelving from Home Depot. We purchased three sets of Workforce Five Shelf Heavy Duty Steel Shelving Units that would hold up to 4,000 pounds. These free standing shelves were easily put together, very strong, and by using two units, I could make them tall enough to go from the floor to the nine foot ceiling. Each unit cost around $89 which was a little more than I had originally budgeted, but now that they are in I’m thrilled with them and very glad we went to this plan. The shelves are clean, smooth and without splinters and I don’t worry about weight loads plus the shelves are adjustable if I so desire.
My hot water tank is housed in a small closet inside the food storage room. I knew we had put the tank in almost immediately after we had moved into the house eleven years previously and it was a ten year tank. While I had not had any difficulty with the tank and found it still supplied me more than adequate hot water, I felt as though it would be prudent to have the tank replaced now, before the closet was full of food and shelving units. Also, I didn’t want to take a chance on the tank going out over a weekend or some other rushed time and I would be at the mercy of an unknown plumber to come fix it. Instead, I bought the tank and hired my construction friend to install it at his leisure, knowing full well I could trust him to be discreet about the contents of the closet.
Continuing to be concerned about the lack of control on the temperature inside the closet, my son and I climbed into the attic and put a roll of pink panther R-20 insulation in the area immediately above the food storage room and then a layer of pressed wood over that for flooring, thinking it would also work as additional insulation. Because of the layout of the roof line and the fact that the support beams for the ceiling of the garage ran crosswise instead of lengthwise, we weren’t able to get the insulation into the low lying areas under the eaves of the house. This worried me and I stuck as much of the blue polystyrene foam insulation back into the small crevices as possible.
As the weather began to get warmer, my concerns for the temperature of the closet room grew. Although my son had heavily insulated the new wall when he built it and I had a circulation fan going in the room at all times as well as the added insulation in the attic and on the exterior walls, the thermometer was showing an increasingly large red line. I knew enough about the longevity of dried food to know this was not good and I would have to take evasive action.
My next venture was to add a stand alone room air conditioner. I did my research on line and bought one from a company in Austin, Texas. It looked like a great idea but looks weren’t enough! The information said it needed to stand near a window so it could be vented out like any other air conditioner. While I didn’t have a window in the room, I figured we could cut a hole in the wall of the water heater closet, run the venting tubing through that closet and up and out the vents in the attic.
My sister and I set about making this happen. In the early morning hours, before it got hot, she crawled into the attic with tools in hand and began cutting an opening through the ceiling of the hot water tank closet and pushing a very long length of flexible insulated dryer venting through the hole and then through the new hole we had cut in the wall of the closet. Pulling fifty feet of insulation isn’t an easy task, but we worked hard at the project and got it pulled through and affixed to the wall with metal brackets so it would be stable.
We followed the instructions on the stand alone air conditioner and attached the venting system to the flexible dryer vent and rejoiced when we turned on the unit and it dropped the temperature two degrees, almost immediately. We congratulated ourselves, went into the house and cleaned up and crashed in the family room. We were both very hot and exhausted but feeling good about our accomplishment as we drifted off to a well deserved nap.
A couple of hours later we went out to check our handiwork and were frustrated to find the room hotter than it had been before we began the project with the thermostat on the air conditioner showing 93?. We checked all points on the venting system to make sure nothing had come undone. I turned off the unit and set the fan back in the room; she went home. I thought about it over the weekend and tried to figure out what we could do to solve the problem. I had spent over three hundred dollars on the stand-alone unit that was only adding to the problem. Not only could I not afford that, it was maddening to think about.
After further research I came to the conclusion that the stand alone unit really is only a supplemental unit to be used in an area that already has some air conditioning but not enough. I’m sure it would work very well in that situation, but not in ours. On Monday, I called the company in Texas and told them I was returning the unit only to be answered by a Brian who wasn’t very nice about it and informed me that not only would I have to pay for the shipping back, which I expected, but I would now have to pay for the shipping to me as well since I wasn’t buying another product from them. That turned out to be about one hundred dollars down the drain. An expensive lesson in futility.
We were able to repackage all of the venting materials we used and return them to Home Depot for a refund, accompanied by a smile. At least they were nice about it which reinforces the virtues of buying locally.
Several years before, I had added insulation to the attic of my home so I called that same company and had them come out to add more insulation, this time to the area above the storage closet in the garage as well as the original garage walls. To do so, they had to drill holes in the walls but I didn’t think that mattered - the idea was to keep the room cool enough to prolong the life of the food. It was an arduous task to remove all of the food, shelves and supporting items from the closet into another part of the garage, cover them with thick plastic to hide the contents from unwarranted eyes. Once the insulation project was done, I had to reverse the process and put everything back into the room.
Even with the added insulation, the room still wasn’t maintaining temperature below 90? on the hottest days. Although this was frustrating, I now knew I had to install a wall unit in the room. I decided the only acceptable thing I could do was to cut a hole in the new wall and put a small, one room, 120 VAC air conditioning unit in. I felt this was a gamble as well, but I now had several thousands of dollars worth of food in the closet and I didn’t want to gamble with losing it and not having food for my family.
Adding the 120 VAC unit was the smartest move of all. While they, too, are designed for windows and to be vented outside, we’ve been able to make this work. The condensation from the unit drains into a small plastic pan I placed on a shelf under the unit on the garage side of the wall. After a period of accumulation I pour that water into an empty recycled bottle, mark it “distilled” and set it aside for my iron. I’ve hung a small clip-on fan on the metal shelves, also on the garage side of the wall, next to the air conditioner. The fan blows across the unit and downward where the hot air is picked up by a larger fan and blown toward the garage door that I keep raised about two inches for circulation.
All in all, the addition of the closet is amazing. I learned a lot of hard lessons along the way but knowing what I know now, I would have started with additional insulation as the second step in the entire process. The room is maintaining a temperature of 60 to 70? now, depending on how much I run the little air conditioner, which is normally shut off at night. I’m trusting by the end of September I won’t have to run it at all.
The closet has been constructed in such a way that I can completely disguise it by rolling steel shelves that we purchased at Sam’s several years ago in front of it. Those shelves are loaded with my husbands tools, chain saws, porta potty and anything else that is necessary for a normal life. In as little as five minutes, the garage can be made to look like a normal American messy garage where nothing could be found easily. Unless someone is looking for the closet with a metal detector, it would be very difficult to find.
The addition of the food storage room has cost me approximately $500 for building materials; $375 for additional insulation; $150 for wiring; $400 for shelving; $100 for air conditioning; $100 for shipping back the stand alone air conditioner, but the peace of mind is priceless.
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Net Producer-Net Consumer Equations for Self-Sufficiency: Getting Out of the Pit
In a recent phone conversation with one of my consulting clients, I was asked why I placed such a large emphasis on living in the country, at a relatively self-sufficient retreat. I've already discussed at length the security advantages of isolation from major population centers in the blog, but I realized that I've never fully articulated the importance of self-sufficiency, at a fundamental level.
In a societal collapse, where you are in "You're on Your Own" (YOYO) mode, it will be very important to be a net producer of water, food, and energy. This will mean the difference between being someone that is comfortable and well fed, and someone that is shivering, hungry, and thirsty, in the dark.
If you were to create computer models of a typical suburban home as compared to a small farm, they would probably present two very different pictures:
A typical suburban home is an energy pit. It generates hardly energy other than a bit of garden waste that could be used as compost, or fuel. A farm house on acreage, in contrast, can often be a net producer, especially if the farm includes a wood lot. (Standing timber that is suitable for use as firewood.) Properties with near-surface geothermal heat, coal seams, or natural gas wells are scarce, but not unheard of. I've helped several of my clients find such properties. For some further food for thought, see this article by Lester Brown over at The Oil Drum web site: The Oil Intensity of Food
A typical suburban home is a food pit. Just picture how many bags of groceries you tote home each week, month, and year. Compare than with the net volume of food produced by a small farm, or the meat produced by ranch. (For the latter, a ranch that is large enough to produce its own hay and grain is ideal.)
A typical suburban home is also a water pit, dependent on utility-piped water. But with a spring, or with well water and a photovoltaic or wind-powered pump, you can be a water exporter--charitably providing surplus water to your neighbors.
There are are of course some work-arounds for these limitations, such as installing photovoltaic power systems and rainwater catchments cisterns. But it is nearly impossible for a family to be a net producer of water, food, and energy, when living on just a small city lot.
Consider the inherent limitations of life on a "postage stamp" lot:
Limited acreage means that your house will always be a net importer of home heating fuel. Unless you live on acreage where you have a wood lot for firewood, you'll end up on the wrong side of the production-consumption equation. Photovoltaics are practical for lighting and running some appliances, but the big energy loads like space heating, hot water, and kitchen range cooking exceed what PV panels can produce, unless you are a millionaire. Yes, there are substitute energy sources, but most of those--such as propane-but those-are also "imported." Hmm... Perhaps it is worth the extra time and effort to find a retreat property that has a natural gas well, a coal seam or that is in a geothermal zone. At least buy a property with a wood lot, so you can heat your home and water with firewood.
Limited acreage and a location inside limits usually means restrictions on raising livestock. You might find a property that has been exempted or "grandfathered", but without the room required to grow animal feed crops, you will still be a net importer. (You will be forced to buy hay and grain, rather than grow it yourself.)
In many jurisdictions, it is illegal to have a private water well in a neighborhood that is served by a public water utility. This usually has more to do with maintaining a monopoly, rather than any genuine worries about a public health issue. There are of course exceptions, such as older houses with wells, that pre-dated the advent of a water utility. In many jurisdictions, the owners of these wells benefit from grandfather clauses. If buying such a property, make sure that the grandfather clause exemption is transferable. (Otherwise, you will have to cap the water well.)
One of the great ironies of urbanized life in modern-day America is that there has been a great inversion. In 1909, it was dirt poor farmers that lived on acreage, while wealthy people lived on city lots. But now, in 2009, owning acreage is something that most people only dream of, for retirement. In the more populous coastal states, the price per acre of land that is within commuting distance of high-paying jobs has been driven up to astronomical prices.
Have you ever stopped to think why there are large Victorian-style houses falling into disrepair in some Inner City ghettos? This is because at one time, those neighborhoods are where rich people lived. They were nice, safe neighborhoods, and were conveniently close to work, shopping, and schools. But times (and neighborhoods) change. These days, most of the wealthy have long-since moved to suburbs or to the country.
If you decide that you must stay in the suburbs, then I recommend that you at least relocate to a stout masonry house that is on the largest lot that you can afford. When you search through real estate listings, some key phrases to watch for are "creek", "grandfathered", "mature fruit trees" (or "orchard"), "secluded", and "well water." Another key word to watch for is "adjoins". It is advantageous to own a property that adjoins park land.
As I've often written, I recommend moving to a house on acreage in the country--that is if you can afford it, and your work and family situations allow it. But I'll close with one admonition: Don't bite off more than you can chew. There is no point on living on acreage if you have a large mortgage, and no working capital remaining to build up the infrastructure for genuine self-sufficiency. In fact, that would be "the worst of both worlds", since you would have higher commuting costs, a bigger mortgage, and perhaps even a bigger annual tax bill. Owning non-productive land may be worse than owning no land at all.
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Letter Re: Home Heating Oil Price Fluctuations--Time to Buy Low
Hi Jim,
Some older neighborhood houses [in the Pacific Northwest] have large oil tanks for heating under driveways, in basements, and buried under yards. Last winter, we saw our neighbors run dry during a rare 2-week snow/ice event that even chained fuel trucks couldn't get around in. Portland and Seattle are notoriously under-prepared for ice/snow on roads, and actually have a "intentional neglect policy" of letting it melt without salt/de-icer rather than clearing the roads. Prepare to walk on uncleared pavement and stay around home!
If the predictions of temporary global oil over-supply are correct and fuel oil drops to around $1.50/gal, filling or topping-off a 600 or 1,000 gallon tank at that price would be a prudent thing to do with any extra money in the budget or even savings beyond the 6-month emergency reserve. Over-supply and clearance-pricing will be temporary as OPEC and others throttle back expensive drilling and pumping operations while the supply chain clears and prices return to "normal".
Even if a person is a renter, having a full heating fuel tank is a good thing. Some rental contracts make heating the building and a maintaining a minimum heating fuel level a requirement. The fuel in the tank remains the property of the renter, minus the amount that was there when they moved in (or language in the rental contract), and can be sold to the landlord, next tenant, or sucked up and moved by an oil company truck for a fee.
Filling before heating season allows plenty of time for sediment to settle in the tank before drawing it into the in-line filter ahead of the burner. Anecdotal commentary by furnace service men indicates that furnaces that run on mostly-full tanks have fewer burner problems than those that use "bottom of the tank" fuel. Farm and trucking supply houses have "fuel polishing" additives/fungicides and pump/filter systems that keep tanks and fuel clean that might be safely added to a home storage tank system. Being able to fill a five-gallon can of stored/filtered Home Heating Oil from a valved-spout in the basement might be useful at some point in the future [, since Home Heating Oil can be substituted for diesel fuel, in extremis]. Cheers, - Karl in Portland, Oregon
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The 19th Century Home Retrofit, by Y. Cornelius
By now most SurvivalBlog readers have gone about your preparations for your
ideal home or retreat cabin, all storage food and tools acquired, fuel stored,
generators
ready, PV panels carefully concealed and hooked up to the battery bank. You
and your family or group are ready to handle the coming collapse, but are
you really? Are you ready to do without? Without that generator when
the fuel runs out, or a critical piece is worn out and a new one cannot be
had? At some point
your supplies will be used up, storage fuel consumed and there may not be any
to refill your tanks or more realistically you may be priced out, or it will
be too dangerous to “run-the-gauntlet” and get more. Can you manage
in your place without electricity? Can you cook with wood? Do you have space
enough to process the abundant food you grow and must preserve either by canning
or other means? Can you move throughout your buildings without being seen from
the outside?
My point, is your place set up to function as a 19th century homestead?
My wife and I bought an old New England farmhouse many years ago, it is nothing
fancy and looks like so many others in our area, it is a traditional connected
farmhouse meaning that the buildings are all linked-up, yet they have different
roof lines and are of different sizes. It is best summed up as a “Big
House,
Little House, Back House, Barn” and this is the title of a wonderful book
written by Thomas C. Hubka which details the reasons for the ways structures
developed. (If you want a leisurely read on the history of these buildings, I
highly recommend this book.) Anyway, we bought this type of farm house and have
been in the process of renovating it over many years, although the renovation
could more reasonably described as going back to the future. One of the many
wonderful things about an old house, and when I say old I mean over 150 years
old, is the ability to reuse much of the lumber in the walls, floors, and ceilings
or the masonry whether it is brick or stone, Ours is a timber frame with some
masonry on the exterior and is incredibly well built and has a brilliant house
plan. I realize that many people are not up to the task of going through this
sort of process, but you could build your current retreat or home to some of
these specs. Our home for example was built just after the War of 1812 it was
fully functional for a family of eight with room for boarders/labors and or relatives.
The kitchen is large while many of the adjacent rooms are small (less space to
heat) all the rooms are situated around two large central fireplaces and have
thimbles to allow for a small wood stove in each, the rooms can be closed off
when not in use, thus not taking valuable heat from other areas. In the basement
there is a large hole in the floor; it was a cistern, but was allowed to fill
in with junk, perhaps it was considered a “sump hole” by later inhabitants
since there was evidence of long overworked pumps in under the silt and gravel.
I have cleaned this up and now have a source of water right in the house, (this
water will still need to be treated since it is technically surface water being
only ten feet below grade), but it still offers water for cleaning or for our
animals.
There is a large “root” cellar to store food stuffs and
canned goods. (It could double as safe room or vault if needed and may well have
been at one point since the opening is nondescript and hidden from plain sight).
Also there is a summer kitchen, at first I wondered why this was necessary, it
appeared to be redundant, but further study enlightened me to the fact that this
area was a vital part the home complex. First it served to allow a large un-insulated
cook area that was necessary during the harvest time to allow heat to escape
from the constant fire in the cook stove during the canning, it was also a place
that field labors had their meals prepared and ate without having to clean themselves
up much and not dirty up the regular kitchen. The buildings between the summer
kitchen and barn (sometimes it is one long building divided only internally or
there are up to three distinct roof lines and end walls that divide them) any
how these areas were used in a variety of ways to allow a small cottage industry
to occur, in-fact these were simply work areas that were sheltered from the often
harsh and wild weather we experience. One could be for wood storage, for tools
(a sort of machine shop), or areas for processing wool from sheep. The point
is not to recreate that lifestyle but to utilize that mindset and build similar
multi-purpose structures.
Our Home:
We have “renovated” our home to fully function without electricity.
Now, we have multiple generators, a significant storage of fuels and food. I
and am currently finishing up with the PV panels and battery bank/inverter set-up,
going through all the motions to secure some sense of normalcy; but in-fact we
do
not “need” those items to exist here, they are an extra. We can heat
with wood and with a solar hot water system connected to baseboard radiators
as well as a copper coil running through the wood fired furnace [for when there
is not solar gain or during a heavy snowfall]. (The hot water moves via thermo-siphon
no electricity needed only check-valves to keep the hot water moving in one direction).
Our kitchen is “modern” but if the power is out we can cook on our
wood fired cook-stove, it is about 120 years old and with a little “TLC” is
now fully functional not to mention beautiful to look at. We can also bake in
a bee hive oven built into the massive central chimney which I rebuilt and lined
with modern flues. I left one of the original fireplaces, installed airtight
doors and an exterior air vent, while on the other side made the other fireplace
into a large wood storage container.
Overall, your retreat needs to be functional without electricity, things will
eventually break, or you simply run out. Focus upon knowing how to live your
life with little to no electricity or “conveniences”. The primary
goals must be on heating your home and preparing food without petrochemical
fuels, most modern homes are particularly horrible in this area. Change your
mindset; you cannot store enough for the really long haul.
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Life's Lessons and the Foundations of Preparedness, by A.B.
We may soon depend on all of what we have learned over the years. Putting
all of the threads of knowledge together into a tapestry of self-sufficiency,
and survival capabilities, is part of the lifelong quest for our family’s
security. We learn from many sources and experiences such as: family, church,
friends, teachers, teammates, co-workers, reading books and SurvivalBlog, and
hopefully from our mistakes.
Preparedness Skills from our Grandmas and Grandpas
The foundation for preparedness begins with my childhood in Michigan. We
lived in Lansing where my great-grandmother was next door and my grandmother
lived
next door to her. My father was born in great-grandma’s house after
the family moved to the city during the early 1900s. My sisters and I spent
weekends and summers alternately at my mom’s family dairy farm, which
was just outside of the city, and at my dad’s family cabin “up
north”. These were the richest times of my life. We knew all of our
grandparents and some of our great-grandparents very well. My great-great-grandfather
still
lived in the old log cabin when I was born in 1956. We have been fortunate
to have had five generations alive consistently from then until now. The
wealth of love and knowledge you gain from your extended family is irreplaceable.
The “old timers” told stories of hardship during the great depression
and the dust bowl era (we live an area that was the largest prairie east
of the Mississippi.) Memories of crop failures with tales of early and late
frosts
were passed down. There were also hunting and fishing stories passed down
as we learned to hunt and fish with older family members. There were bigger
than
life lumberjack stories and stories from Prohibition and the World Wars.
I learned to safely handle and accurately shoot a .22 rifle with peep sights
when I was six or seven years old. I walked the roads with my grandpa squirrel
hunting. We ice fished on local lakes and went to Tip-Up
Town USA every year.
All
of
this adds to ones persona and the early experience helps awaken the necessary “survivalist” traits.
On a working dairy farm you rapidly learn about life (and death). Animal
husbandry and caring for the land lead to sustainability. Animals do become
food and
harvesting the crops sometimes seems little reward for the hard work. The
milking must be done every day and chores do not wait. As a kid I learned
to drive
tractors and pick-ups to and from the fields. We mowed, bailed and then stacked
the hay in the mow. Alfalfa, oats and corn were the field crops. Pigs, chickens,
and sheep were raised along with the dairy cows and we cleaned the barns
and spread manure.
Knowledge is passed down from generation to generation such as when to plant,
where to plant, when to harvest, and how to raise the animals. There were
many topics of conversations at the Sunday breakfast table. Many things are
debated
and discussed after chores and before Church. Most times the conversations
continued outside the Church after the sermon. It was the only time you saw
the other farmers. When you are a little guy you tended to be quiet, pay
attention and learn.
Grandpa was a farmer and Grandma was a one room school teacher. Grandma also
taught vacation bible school during the summer break. Us kids learned how
to tend good gardens and helped preserve the food we raised. We took care
of the
barn animals while the uncles milked. We hauled water to the bull pen and
helped milk as we got older. Survival skill sets from the farm come from
being part
of a close knit community with a solid work ethic. There are strong religious
underpinnings with good people engaged in caring for one another as well
as the animals and the land.
Preparedness from "Roughing It”
The log cabin “up north” had a well-house for getting water and
an outhouse for getting rid of water. There was a wood fired cook stove for
heat and kerosene lamps to play cards under. There was a red checkered oilcloth
on the table with cane chairs around it. The place was originally homesteaded
by my great-great-grandfather in the late 1800s (a few electric lights
were added at some point.) We used to go up on Friday night after Dad or
Grandpa got out of work. The next morning started with an awakening trip to
the outhouse
and then fetching a bucket of water from the well house and kindling for
the wood stove. On a cold morning you stepped lively until the fire was going.
Once the stove was hot, Grandma would cook buttermilk pancakes on a griddle
that my great-grandmother had used in the lumber camp. Eggs and bacon sizzled
in a cast iron skillet. Clothes were washed on a washboard in a wash tub and
then
hung
out to dry. You took a bath in the river. During the summer we would fish
morning and evening and water ski on the nice days. The family summer vacation
was
spent camping in a tent along the river or at a state park. The old cabin
was also used for small game hunting in the early fall and deer camp in the
late
fall / winter. We would take walks in the woods and look for morels and other
edible things like may apples, hickory nuts or raspberries and huckleberries.
Animal tracks were learned and followed with hopes of a glimpse. Life was
considered sacred unless needed for food and being a part of nature became
obvious. A
leave no trace and waste nothing ethic was being born.
Opportunities for further wilderness and pioneering skill development were
provided by Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. My mom and dad were actively involved
in Scouting when I was growing up. Teamwork and sharing responsibilities
for the group were learned. Outdoor cooking and keeping things sanitary were
heavily
emphasized. Food poisoning is no joke – we had one patrol that damn near
killed us with their meal. We learned to wash our hands and boil the crap out
of everything. Hiking and backpacking skills were beginning to be developed
in the Scouts. We day hiked a 20 miler once a year on the Johnny Appleseed
Trail - the Scouts version of the death march. You had to carry a full pack
if you wanted the patch. We also hiked the Pokagon Trail in northern Indiana
and learned to camp in the winter.
While living in Pennsylvania (later in life) I started winter backpacking with
a few of my buddies. We went in the winter both for the solitude it offered,
and
to learn the special skill sets required for survival in the cold. There
are beautiful views from Seven Springs and other spots along the Laurel Highlands
Trail during the winter. This experience then led to the development of technical
mountaineering skills. The books Basic Rockcraft, Advanced Rockcraft and
Knots
for Climbers were memorized along with study of the book Mountaineering:
The Freedom of the Hills. Skills were practiced and ingrained.
My first solo backpacking / climbing trip came in the summer of 1980 in the
Organ Mountains of southern New Mexico. I later solo climbed most of the
4,000 and 5,000
footers in New England (many in winter). I met a like minded climber on one
of those hikes and we made a summit bid on Mt. Rainier in June of 1998. I
also began
the solo circumnavigation on the Wonderland Trail that year. I set the first
tracks both that year and when I completed the circuit in June of 2001. Map
and compass skills were required. Primitive camping
while carrying everything you
need to survive for two weeks is a tough proposition. It was tough in my 30s
and 40s. It’s even harder now that I am in my 50s. G.O.O.D. to
the deep woods is doable but it would be a hard life.
Responsibility and Teamwork
We learned to be responsible and self-sufficient during our childhood. We learned
to play without other kids around and had chores to do for our allowance. I
learned to gather the wood and light a fire as soon as I was old enough. You
pumped the
water and filled the reservoir if you wanted warm water for washing up. You
learned to use guns and knives as tools while you learned hunting techniques
and cleaned
the game for the table. Being a responsible hunter meant taking ethical shots
and using what you kill. Catching and cleaning fish, then cooking or smoking
them were all part of being a good fisherman. To go along with these survival
skills you also need the ability to share knowledge and work as a team.
Most of the skills you learn will help you to fend for yourself one way or
another. The only problem is summed up with the statement “no man is an island”.
You will need others sooner or later. My sisters and I developed basic teamwork
skills while setting up camp. The girls helped mom and I helped dad. We had a “system”.
This was carried further in Scouting. Some Patrols set up tents while another
set up the kitchen. These valuable lessons were used later in life as I went
through boot camp and during service in the military. I served on small boats
as part of a search and rescue team in the USCG.
Teamwork helps to overcome the steep learning curve and high risk of being
a self-sufficient survivalist. You can do things as a team exponentially quicker
and safer than you can by yourself. Your bunkmate becomes your partner in boot
camp and later becomes your shipmate. You learn “one hand for yourself
and one hand for the boat”. As a team you can survive what would kill you
alone. In a bad storm someone has to steer while someone bails out the boat.
One person couldn’t do it. Avalanche in the back country is another perfect
example - by yourself you are probably dead. Doing things alone is great - but
it may cost you your life. Skill and knowledge can’t cover your a** like
a buddy. It’s nice to have someone else on the rope with you; they are
your only hope.
Teaching everyone at least something you know and learning from everyone something
you don’t know can only make the group stronger. If someone gets sick
or is tired someone else can step up. CPR is
a good example here. In the back country one person can’t help himself.
One person helping may bring back the life but it better happen quickly. Two
people allow you to send someone for
help while
rendering aid until you are too tired to continue. Three people allow almost
indefinite support. Two can alternate CPR while waiting for the one who left
for help to return with the defibrillator. If help is real far away, then it’s
done. There is a point of no return. Remote locations usually cross that point
which is a distinct disadvantage (unless the SHTF).
Without teamwork you will usually die if something bad happens. Everyone has
to be a good shot. Everyone needs to be able to render first aid. The group
is only as strong as the weakest link and precious resources are spent covering
someone’s a** that’s not up to speed. Teach and learn and cross train.
Remember what you did as a kid and don’t sell the kid’s of today
short. Teach them the skills they need and allow them to grow into the responsibility.
Being part of a team or extended family that functions like a team is fun. The
action of being responsible for one another is at the root of any team.
The
Prepared Family
The family is the primary source of knowledge. Some survival skills to learn
right along with reading, writing and arithmetic are: swimming, knot tying,
fire building under all conditions, where to get water and how to make it safe
to
drink, safe gun handling and accurate shooting, hunting in fields and the woods,
fishing in rivers and on lakes, first aid, camping, boating, gardening, making
things “homemade”. You can’t start learning or teaching these
things too soon.
10 years ago we moved back home to Michigan after living all over the USA.
I had come home for my Grandpa’s funeral and was returning to New England.
Something was wrong and I couldn’t put my finger on it. That’s when
the light came on and as I drove it became apparent that I was going the wrong
way – both figuratively and literally. We were chasing the so called “American
Dream”. Losing my grandfather and returning to the north woods had shown
me where home really is. It is with family and God and where your roots are.
I had drifted away from the true values I had learned early in life.
I resigned my position, cashed out the 401(k), and bought the homestead from
grandma. We planted 24 fruit trees and installed irrigation systems for the
gardens. We
pruned the grape vines back and tended to the asparagus beds. My wife renewed
the old flower beds and I have replaced the split rail fence. We re-roofed
everything. The folks put down another well up the field and had another septic
system installed
for their travel trailer. We had a 100 amp power drop installed and we also
buried a power cable from the field to the trailer for a 12 volt system (small
scale
solar and wind).
I once again could use guns after living in the tyranny of Massachusetts. (I
refused to get an Firearms ID card so my guns never left the house in 16 years.)
I taught a niece
and nephew to shoot with the same .22 that grandpa used to teach me with almost
50 years ago. My nephew, now an 8th grader, got his first deer this past year.
No one believed him when he came home and told them. He did it on his own.
Things have now come full circle in our life. My grandma lives with us in her
old house through the summer. My sisters are both Grandmas themselves now and
they are taking care of our mom and dad. The kids have great-grandparents and
a great-great grandmother. My understanding wife of thirty years and I live
here on the homestead as stewards of the family heritage. The whole family
gets together
up here once or twice a year. We know how to provide for and take care of each
other. If the SHTF my sisters and the rest of the family will head up here
to the homestead and once again adopt the ways of our Great-Great Grandpa and
Grandma.
Everything we have learned through our lives will serve us well. Skill sets
from the north woods and from the farm are derived from living simple, living
manual
and living with nature as part of nature.
We used to fall to sleep on a feather tick mattress while listening to rain
tapping over our heads in the loft of the old log cabin. Bedtime stories were
told as
we drifted to sleep and the whippoorwills sang into the night. We didn’t
think that the day would come that just about all of what we learned from our
family and from our life would come into play. Thank God for our tight family
and all of the distilled knowledge passed down to us. I now live in a home
built over the site of the original log cabin and now we have 7 generations
since my
great-great grandparents first cleared this piece of land. It looks like we
will be talking of another “Great Depression” soon and the complete
cycle renews. Do we learn from our mistakes?
Preparedness Skills and Materials
We’re preparing for the future and I hope to teach what I can to as many
people as I can before it’s over. We can survive well if we draw on one
another’s strengths and knowledge. It starts with the family and moves
out to the extended family then to the neighbors and on to town folk and into
the blogosphere. Many people have grown up in similar circumstances and have
similar experiences. We must practice our learned skills and trades all of
the time to stay fresh and perpetuate our way of life. We must keep acquiring
new
skills and more materials for survival. Preparedness is a constant quest.
Survival trades that I've learned:
ASE Certified Master Auto Technician
Journeyman Machinist and Apprentice Welder.
Experience with all aspects of house construction from framing to finish work,
including house wiring and plumbing for water, gas and DWV systems.
Professional ditch digger and home brewer of beer.
Survival tools, equipment, and material acquired over the years:
Comprehensive set of Snap-On hand tools, diagnostic equipment and garage.
Several redundant computers and complete wi-fi coverage with satellite internet.
All of the carpentry, plumbing and electrical tools needed to build a house.
All of the tools required to garden both manually and with gas engines.
Fence building tools and supplies.
5,500 watt gas generator.
Wood stove and saws, axes, mauls, wedges.
Stores of food, bits of gold and silver, books and manuals, and lots of lead.
Survival firearms battery:
Auto-Ordinance Model 1911A1 .45 ACP (I qualified Marksman in USCG)
Stag Arms AR-15 with 20” Bull barrel, 5.56 (I qualified Expert in USCG)
Marlin .22 WMR (squirrel / varmint gun)
Mossberg .22 LR (shot this since 1962)
Ruger M77 Mk II .270 Win. (my deer rifle)
Winchester Model 94 .32 Win. Special (got my first deer with Grandpa’s
gun)
Mossberg 12 ga. 3 -1/2” Ulti-Mag in Camo (turkey / duck / goose gun)
Winchester Model 1897 12 ga. 2-3/4” (I've shot this gun since 1969)
Reloading equipment and supplies (loads for Barnes Bullets)
Survival Quest 2009 (the final pieces I'll need for grid down and
"zombies"):
Ruger M77 Mk II .300 Win Mag with optics
A manual water pump (the old pump is
gone)
Wind turbine and photovoltaic panels for water pumping and power generation.
Battery bank and inverter
More kerosene lamps
Night Vision for the AR-15
Radios
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Cold and Dark--An Account of an Ice Storm, by Steve S.
Preparations
In January, 2008, the outlook for people in the United States appeared bleak.
I told my wife that we needed to stock-up on food because I felt that the supply
lines were thin and vulnerable. I began my preparations by Internet search.
I found JWR's SurvivalBlog and I bought a copy of his novel. In the meantime,
I started buying cases of canned goods. I bought food that we generally ate.
I looked at the expiration dates of every purchase. I tried to buy what would
last through 2011. Not much would, so I bought with the idea of buying more
later, looking for one year at a time.
The pantry was full. I had read Jim's book, and had found many links
on the SurvivalBlog that helped me know how much of what to buy to be balanced.
I bought a freezer at Sam’s Club and filled that also. I noticed that
food prices were increasing at an alarming rate in August. They were up 18%
on same item purchases, on average. Later that figure would reach 35%. I only
talked about this to a trusted few. My wife was starting to wonder about me.
Soon thereafter, a Harbor Freight store opened in Jonesboro, Arkansas, my home
base. There, I purchased several more items I saw as essential. I got a two
burner propane stove with a center grill feature. I bought some LED flashlights,
ropes, staple guns, and other miscellaneous items. Being a hunter and former
U.S. Army officer, I had a lot of camping (survival equipment) on hand. Sleeping
bags were there, polypropylene long johns, butane lighters, three 20 gallon
and one 100 gallon propane tanks were filled. I use them for my barbeque grill.
I told my wife that we should buy a generator. She said that if I thought we
should buy it, that I should. I didn’t.
I found some water barrels at a local food processing plant. I now have eight
55 gallon drums. I found 4 red 35 gallon chemical barrels that were set aside
for gasoline. I had about six 5 gallon gas cans to operate my 4 wheeler, fishing
boat, and sundry other small engines like lawn equipment and field water pumps.
Day to day, I am an NRA certified training counselor/instructor. Starting in
November 2008, my business started to boom. I had a 300% increase in Arkansas
concealed carry classes. That hasn’t stopped to this day. I have a 35
acre facility that is a former bean field, surrounded by thousands of farmland
acres and two liquor stores. I have a 1,200 square foot building for classroom
and office space, a 52 foot trailer for storage. My plan for survival guns
was simple. All guns were to be military calibers. Handguns would be .45 and
.38 calibers. Rifles would be .22 rimfire, 7.62x39, .308 and .30-06 calibers.
Shotguns would be 12 gauge. Stocks of ammunition were increased starting early
in 2008.
Shelter, food, security. What is left? Communications. I bought a set of 25
mile range pair of Motorola hand held communicators with recharger on sale
for $38. Stores of batteries were laid in. Cell phones. Transportation was
what we already had. 2001 Dodge Durango 4x4 and a 2005 Chevrolet 4x4 extended
cab pick-up.
The Storm
January 28, 2009. KAIT –TV weather in Jonesboro, Arkansas is forecasting
a wet winter storm cold front with frigid weather following out of the Northwest.
When it began, the outside temperature was about 27 degrees Fahrenheit. Freezing
rain collected on everything in near biblical quantity.
I was awakened in the early morning of January 29th and you could hear branches
starting to snap with a sound like gunshots. Outside, you could see flashes of
light as one by one, the transformers on the light poles blew out. The power
was off. It was time to go to work. First, open the flue and light the gas logs
in the fireplace. Inside the house, the temperature had quickly fallen to about
40 degrees. I thought to crack a window for ventilation draft to reduce the chances
of carbon monoxide poisoning. Then I set up a propane heater and went about blocking
off all rooms except the den and kitchen, which were adjoining. I used 4 mil
plastic to cover two entrances to the den. The temperature quickly found about
62 degrees. We placed a carbon monoxide detector in the room to keep us from
being statistics. The propane stove was set up over the electric range for cooking
and a 20 pound bottle of propane was connected to it. I started thinking about
how I should have bought a generator.
By morning, we felt isolated in our home. Very few vehicles were moving. The
world outside looked like a war zone with ice-laden limbs and the things they
crushed. With no electricity, the phones didn’t work. We ate breakfast
normally. The whole world became our refrigerator. No cable TV so we cranked
up the radio and began to listen to the results. Reports of some break-ins started
coming in as people abandoned all electric homes for the designated shelters
in town. Outlying areas quickly ran out of gasoline and propane. Stores emptied
out their goods and shelves became bare. Generators and flashlights were nonexistent.
Batteries and power supplies followed suit. Many businesses were unable to sell
anything as their computers were down and lights and heat were out. Sadly, no
one has a backup plan for how to sell anything without electricity. Gas cans
were a faint memory. I checked on our neighbors to make sure they were coping,
and to exchange cell phone numbers. The telephone system actually works without
outside electricity if the type of phone you use doesn’t need 110 volts
from the grid. We had one emergency phone for that reason, and it was operational.
I wondered how many people knew about that?
The day passed relatively uneventfully. We had everything we needed to exist
in a minor disaster. Some people didn’t. A few died for their lack of
preparedness.
After the passing of the first day of “survival,” tree limb removal
became the priority, while everyone fought what southerners call severe cold.
It was the 30th of January. The temperature was unrelenting with nighttime lows
of 9 degrees and daytime highs of 20. I was able to venture out for things that
would be nice to have, like a generator. You see, with a generator, our gas furnace
would work. All you need it for is the electric blower. It was the only hole
in the preparations. I went in to the local Lowe’s, after checking a couple
of other stores. In the back of the store there was a line of about 13 people.
I asked why they were there. There was a truck inbound with 75 generators. I
got in line. Twenty minutes later I was in the electric department buying the
necessary wire nuts and power cords needed to hook my [newly-purchased] generator
to
the
power
panel in my house.
When I got home, the first thing I did was to disconnect the house from the grid
by turning off the main breaker, outside the house. You must do this before attempting
to connect a generator to your power panel. Failure to do so could kill workmen
repairing downed power lines and connecting transformers. To get things operational
quickly, I used the cord provided with the generator, which used four grounded
plug outlets. To operate the [selected] areas to connect, I bought 10
gauge wire. We turned off all appliances and I pulled out the circuit breaker
for the
selected
rooms. I disconnected the wire from the circuit breaker and wired it directly
to each wire with a male plug on the other end to mate with the wire from the
generator. I did this for the heater circuit, the den wall circuit, the kitchen
wall circuit, and the master bedroom wall circuit. The heater kicked on.
I offer one final note about using a generator. The operation book has a chart
in it showing the watts used by each type of appliance. You must calculate the
[load] amount used by your appliances. It has to add up to less than your generators
running wattage rating.
We were on a main highway in town, and we had our electricity hooked to the grid
after spending only a few nights without. Many in town were without electricity
for three weeks. In outlying areas, some are still not connected. The line crews
working to restore power were fantastic. Limbs still line the highways and yards
a month after the event began.
Lessons Learned
It was nice to be confident in the preparations that we had made. It was also
easy to see the holes in the plan. I now have the generator that I knew I would
need when the grid goes down. After the fact, I also bought the connections necessary
to hook up the generator just by turning off the main breaker, plugging the generator
to an installed wall socket, and cranking it up. Cell phones go down after only
a few days without a charge. I bought a portable power battery for that purpose.
If we had been out of power long term, the generator would have had to have been
used on a part time basis, at night. That means that daytime operations would
have been using only one or two rooms, again. When power goes down, the best
fallback is natural gas, if you have it. I am in the process of planning where
to install additional natural gas stubs for appliances that can be added. The
natural gas hot water heater was a blessing. It was on from the start. The warmest
place in the house was the utility room where the water heater is located. Remember
to have books and games for those evening hours when you would have been watching
television. Make sure all of your gasoline cans stay filled and stabilized. Make
sure
all of your propane bottles stay charged. Make sure you have plenty of batteries
for radios and flashlights. Make sure you have enough essential medicines. Roger’s
Rangers rules #1 rule is "Don’t fergit nuthin!"
I may have missed a few issues, but I want to talk about future plans. I am going
to install photovoltaic panels to run an emergency LED lighting system. This
would
be
a small solar panel, probably 45-60 watts [and a deep cycle battery], as a precursor
to getting
a more comprehensive system. LED lights use very little electricity and they
are
very
long lasting.
More technology will be added as it becomes available. Reducing reliance on the
grid is the ultimate goal.
Final Words
You can war game and "what if" emergency situations as much as you
like. It is good to exercise your plan. The problem is that real situations
have a
way of
waking you up to the holes in your plans. Do not wait to begin planning for the
next disaster. People in tornado and earthquake zones know about being ready
for these things, but Mother Nature will have a surprise for you no matter
where
you are.
Prepare for the worst and pray to God that it doesn’t happen.
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Letter Re: Alaska as a Retreat Locale
Mr. Rawles,
Although being an avid reader, this is the first time I have written your site.
The letters posted on your site today respecting Alaska as a retreat locale
raised a few possible issues in my mind. First of all, let me say that Alaska
is my favorite place in the world, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
However, as a retreat locale, one may want to think twice unless the situation
forces their location there. Also, it is important to remember that the conditions
and terrain in Alaska are very wide ranging, depending where you are. The
climate can range from arctic in the north to relatively mild in the south.
I have heard the climate in the south compared to that of the mid-Atlantic
states on the East coast.
Most parts of the state are totally without agriculture, but there is some
in the Matanuska-Susitna
Valley. The growing season is usually around 100 days
long, and can produce huge vegetables because of the length of the days. Some
vegetables do well there, such as potatoes, carrots and cabbage.
Therefore, if one intends to do any kind of farming in Alaska, the "Mat-Su"
Valley is where it is possible. However, there is a major drawback to this
fact,
from
the perspective of retreat logistics. The Mat-Su valley is one of the most
densely populated areas of the state. It has, as of late, been converting
to suburban communities for workers who commute to Anchorage. As we all
know,
the suburbs are a bad, bad place to be WTSHTF.
And even if one were to build a retreat in a section of the valley not yet
suburban, there is no way to
know that it would remain so for the next five years or more.
Prepping before the SHTF is
made more difficult by the state's isolation. Building materials, fuel,
food, guns, ammo, medical supplies and any other product must be shipped in
from the [continental] US or elsewhere.
This makes these
products not only
more expensive, but generally less available, especially outside of the urban
centers. Ordering off the web makes them easier to get, but the shipping
is still expensive. Fuel of any kind is the most expensive in the nation,
and
ammo is pretty over-priced, too.
Fuel, as one letter pointed out, is a major problem. Getting by without fossil
fuels is a main goal of most preppers, and it may prove more difficult in
Alaska. Solar is out, at least during the winter. Not only is there very
little light,
but it is less intense than elsewhere, due to the oblique angle at which
it hits the state (as it is so far north). I don't know a lot about wind,
so that
may be a possibility. If it was, any parts would be difficult to get. As
K.L.'s letter says, firewood is a possibility, but this raises three issues.
As he says, with no gas or diesel = no power tools to cut [and haul firewood].
Any broken hand tools would be irreplaceable, and even having extras is likely
not enough
when you plan to cut by hand and burn firewood for a very extended period
of time.
Hand cutting firewood is also time consuming.
Since it would need to be done in the summer, it would take up time for farming
and other chores. This might not be a problem if you are part of a large
retreat group, however. Also, felling trees, in any way, especially by hand,
is extremely
dangerous. I would strongly recommend a logger certification class for anyone
planning to possibly use firewood as a retreat fuel. Although the course
will focus on mechanical forestry, the safety principles are the same universally.
Third, unless one has a retreat on a very spacious lot, it is possible to
run out of firewood to cut. Trees grow much slower in Alaska People who
do not heat
their homes in this manner would be surprised at the amount of fuel a wood
stove can use in a winter. For instance, to heat the house on my family farm,
it
takes roughly 10 to 15 cords to get through the winter,
with a little to spare for safety's sake. And that is back in New York, not
Alaska. Imagine cutting
that much
firewood on a 25 acre lot for five years or more. One may be able to cut
off of their property, but that is a bad way to meet the neighbors, especially
after
TSHTF.
This letter ran much longer than I planned, and I would like to go on further,
but time prevents me from doing so. In short, think twice about a retreat
in Alaska. It is absolutely possible, but would present much greater difficulties
than other feasible places. In the lower 48, one can find the same type of
isolated area, but with:
Better farming conditions
Lower prices in general
A climate not requiring huge amounts of fuel for the winter
Ability to travel through the US without crossing international borders
(If they still exist after TSHTF)
And so forth...
If you think you can do it, then go for it. My wife thinks I'm trying to keep
it all for myself. - J. Galt
JWR Replies: Thanks for that input. I have my doubts about
the viability of the Mat-Su Valley in worst-case collapse. Its proximity to
the hungry, teeming
masses of Anchorage is troubling. Alaska cannot feed its population, even
in today's economy, and one can only wonder what it would be like grid-down,
with no
fuel available.
I encourage anyone serious about living in Alaska to look
at the
Delta Junction area, in Alaska's interior. I haven't been there since
the summer of 1980 (when I attended the U.S. Army Northern
Warfare School), but it struck me as a very productive agricultural
region.)
« Letter Re: The Gray Man in the Coming Storm |Main| Notes from JWR: »
How to Build an Inexpensive Forced Air Wood Burning Heater, by Marc S.
How to Build an Inexpensive Outdoor Forced Air Wood Burning Heater
If wood is available but you are unable to safely utilize it as a heat source
due to the fact that your permanent or temporary shelter happens to be a recreational
vehicle (RV), mobile home or travel trailer, then this idea may be helpful.
On the other hand, it may also have appeal to those who live in a home where
a wood burning heater could be safely used but for those who do not want the
mess associated with constantly transporting wood and ash. Those with large
homes and greater winter heating requirements should regard the heater as a
possible method of reducing heating costs and not as a substitute for your
current system. Two additional benefits of the forced air outdoor barrel stove
heater are very low initial cost and portability. I built mine for less than
$150 last year and can verify that it has been working splendidly since then.
For the first time in my life I have not been faced with expensive monthly
propane or heating oil bills. Granted, my residence is tiny but the winters
here are quite long and brutal. It is nice also to know that in the event
that I move I can easily disassemble the heater and take it with me.
These images pretty much tell the story:
I have excluded drawings of the blower and the flexible aluminum tubing that
connects to the horizontal air pipe ends with large hose clamps. Keep in mind
that each four foot section of flexible aluminum tubing will stretch to up
to eight
feet
in length. Run the tubing into your residence either through a window opening
that has
been partially covered with plywood or through a small port cut through the
side of your residence. A small blower connects to either one of the two tubing
sections just inside the window opening or wall port. Except for the barrels
and a small electric blower, all of the hardware required can probably be found
or ordered at your local hardware store. Ace Hardware is a particularly good
source for wood burning supplies, however, and most of their stores also carry
the Vogelzang Barrel Stove Kit. In the event that you can't find a small used
blower
locally,
try
Dayton Blower. They offer a number of reasonably priced small blowers that
would work just fine. If you are limited to twelve volt electric power you
might consider finding a used automobile heating and/or air conditioning system
blower. Should the nearest auto salvage supply company require you to go through
the long drudgery of pulling the part yourself then give the U
Need A Part (UNAP) locating service a try. I should warn you, however,
that auto parts dealers
can sometimes become irritated when one is unable to provide an exact part
description. If you can connect to someone via e-mail try saying something
like "virtually
any heating-air conditioning system blower - the more powerful the better" and
see what happens.
If there is someone in your area that owns a plasma cutter I would recommend
hiring him to make the barrel cuts. It will save a lot of time, effort and
metal cutting saw blades. Insulating the heater is an optional step but it
can obviously improve efficiency. I wrapped the sides (but not the ends) of
my heater with R-11 insulation. Make sure, however, that the paper backing
is removed beforehand. Although
fiberglass insulation is fireproof, the paper backing is not. If you
should decide to use insulation it must be covered with sheet metal to protect it from wind and rain. I used some aluminum
roofing material that had conveniently blown off the roof of a nearby
derelict barn erected 1913. Fortunately, the owner had no interest in
having the material returned since he was planning to have the barn
demolished soon anyway. I snipped a few pieces of the roofing material
to size and fastened them together with sheet metal screws. Note that I
created a drip edge on top made cutouts for both the barrel legs and
chimney pipe. The cover laces tightly together at the bottom with steel
wire. I had briefly considered using ample quantities of heavy duty
aluminum foil for the job but decided against the idea because it not
only punctures and tears too easily but could also blow off in strong
winds. I would not be surprised, however, if there is some sort of more
easily cut metallic wrap available from Menards or Home Depot, for
example, that would be far more convenient to use than sheet metal. At
the present time I don't use a thermostat. If I did I would try to find
one that could also turn the blower off should inside air temperature
fall below a certain level due to fuel exhaustion which unfortunately
turns the heater into an air chiller. If anyone can suggest how to do
that, then please e-mail the details to
the SurvivalBlog Editor.
The parts list is as follows:
Two clean 55 gallon steel drums
One small electric ("hamster wheel") blower
One Vogelzang Standard Airtite Barrel Stove Kit # BK100E. [Barrel stove kits
are available from Lehman's.
Search for Item # 17120106 ]
Three 4' sections of 4" diameter steel stove pipe. One section
will need to be cut to length. Avoid using aluminum chimney pipe or
elbows
Two 4" diameter steel stove pipe 90-degree elbows.
One or two 4' sections of 6" diameter steel stove pipe for the
chimney. A rain cap is optional, but recommended
Two or more 4' sections of 4" diameter flexible aluminum [clothes dryer
type] duct tubing. The number of sections needed will vary according to the
distance that heater is located from your residence and how you decide to route
the tubing after it enters your home. Keep in mind that when expanded each
section can stretch to 8'.
Approximately six large [stainless steel Aero-Seal type] hose clamps for the
air duct tubing
Two dozen short sheet metal screws
Duct tape and silicone sealant
Optional items would include a thermostatic fan cut-off switch and enough fiberglass
insulation to wrap the sides and thin sheet metal to cover the insulation.
JWR Adds: I strongly recommend that the bottom of the main
(firebox) barrel be lined with firebrick. Without it, the service life of a
barrel stove could be as short as two years with regular use. A rain cap for
the chimney is also a must, in my opinion. Without it, rainwater coming down
the chimney will cause a barrel stove to rust out with alarming rapidity.
Take appropriate safety precautions in routing the chimney, to avoid fires,and
to avoid the introduction of smoke indoors. Inspect the chimney and air ducts
frequently, to make certain that carbon monoxide from the chimney does not
co-mingle with the air passing through the ducts! The use of a carbon monoxide
alarm
is a must whenever using any sort of wood-fired heater.
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Letter Re: Home Invasion Robbery Countermeasures--Your Mindset and Architecture
Dear Mr. Rawles:
First and foremost thank you for your novel "Patriots" which
I am currently reading.
I live in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex. As of late there seems to be a rise
in the number of "home invasion" type of crimes in this area. Every
morning that I go to work I hear about a new incident in the metroplex. This
has led me to put inside locks on my bedroom doors and purchase my first gun.
I consider myself one of those "know enough to be dangerous" people,
but am planning on taking a handgun safety course . I'd like to know your thought
on preparedness for these "home invasion" crimes which are on the
rise. Once again thank you for your novel which has opened my eyes to just
how unprepared I am. Sincerely, - Geoffrey T.
JWR Replies: You've surely heard the phrase "caught
off guard." In
my opinion, almost the entire American citizenry has been systemically "off
guard" since
the end of the US Civil War. There are two fundamental weaknesses that make
American homes vulnerable to home invasions: a condition white mindset, and
appalling
architectural weakness. I'll discuss each.
Condition White Mindset
First and foremost is an almost universal Condition White mindset. This refers
to the Cooper
situational awareness color code for "unaware and unprepared".
The vast majority of the urban and suburban population spends 90% of their
daytime hours in Condition White. They do a lot of idiotic things, like failing
to keep their doors locked at all times, and failing to keep loaded guns handy.
Most folks lock their doors only just before retiring each evening. So most
daytime and early evening home invasion robbers simply stroll in to
unlocked houses and catch the occupants flat-footed. By adopting condition
yellow as your norm, and by taking the appropriate security measures, you will
tremendously lessen
you vulnerability to violent crime, including home invasions.
Architectural Weakness
Secondly, 150 years of relative peace, stability, low crime rates, and cheap
energy have worked together to push American residential architecture toward
very vulnerable designs. Modern American homes are essentially defensive
disasters. They have huge expanses of glass, they lack barred windows
or european-style
security/storm shutters, they lack defensible space, and they often have
no barriers for the approach of vehicles. Another ill-conceived innovation
is the prevalence of floor plans that situate the master bedroom at the opposite
end of the house from the children's bedrooms.
For the past 25 years, one of the hallmarks of "bad neighborhoods" in
the US has been the prevalence of barred windows and beefed-up doors. These
are neighborhoods where
the prevailing
crime rates have pushed the majority of the population into Condition Yellow
as a full time baseline mindset. Given the upswing in crime rates that will
undoubtedly accompany the coming depression, I wish that everyone in the ostensibly "good
neighborhoods" had this same outlook. I don't find
it all surprising that criminal gangs now specifically target wealthy suburbs
for
home
invasions,
for two reasons: A.) That is where the good stuff is, and B.) These
residents
are sheep for the slaughter (given the prevailing condition white mindset.)
One of the most chronic defensive lapses is American suburban architecture
is exterior door design. Typically, entrance doors either have widows immediately
adjacent, or set into the doors themselves. Even worse is the ubiquitous
sliding glass door. Nothing more than a
brick or a paving stone tossed through the glass and bingo, instant access
for home
invaders,
with
the fringe
benefit of instant fright and surprise for the occupants just inside, who will
likely be startled by the crashing noise and flying glass. SWAT and MOUT trainers
call this a form of "dynamic entry". There are umpteen variations.
You may recall the use of a piece of patio furniture in Robert
DeNiro's dynamic entry of Van Zant's
house in in the movie Heat. Another
is the vigorous application of a 5- or 6-foot length of steel pipe
or a
more specialized tool, in (the proven "break and rake" technique
preferred by the British SAS and SFOD-D
(commonly called "Delta Team") to quickly clear any protruding shards
of glass).
America in the Near Future = Welcome to South Africa
In South Africa, the crime rate has been so high for so long that it has changed
the way that people live in a day-to-day basis. Every stranger is viewed with
extreme suspicion. Automobile drivers regularly refuse to pull over if they
are involved in a minor traffic collision, for fear that it is a pretext for
a car jacking.
Threat Escalation and Proactive Countermeasures
Modern military planners often talk in terms of threat spirals. In
essence, a given threat escalates and it inspires a defensive countermeasure.
The ideal
situation is "getting inside your opponents threat spiral"--meaning
that your
anticipate your opponent's next escalation, and proactively take
countermeasures, insulating yourself from the future threat.With that in mind,
here are some
thoughts on potential home invasion threat escalation and countermeasures
(perhaps some SurvivalBlog readers would care to add to this list):
1.) More frequent home invasions. The worse the economy gets, the more crime
we can expect. Home invasions and kidnappings are likely "growth" areas.
2.) Use of dynamic entry tools by home invaders. We can expect them to use
commercial or improvised door entry battering
rams and Hallagan
tools--like those use by
police.
This
means that just standard solid core doors by themselves will be insufficient.
Switching to steel doors and.or adding sturdy cross bars will become common
practice.
3.) Possible use of vehicle-mounted battering rams.
4.) More frequent and elaborate police
impersonation by home invasion gangs.
5.) Larger, better equipped, and better organized home invasion gangs. Larger
gangs will be able to invade a home--conceivably even when there is a party
in progress.
6.) The potential use of cell phone
jammers.
7.) More elaborate ruses as pretexts to get homeowners to open their doors.
For example, not only will the "point man" be dressed as UPS driver,
but there will be a very convincing looking UPS truck parked at the curb.)
8.) More home invasions at any time of the day or night.
9.) More use of pepper spray and other irritants by home invaders.
10.) Use of large diversion such as explosives to draw law enforcement to
"the other side of town."
11.) More elaborate intelligence gathering by home invasion gangs--researching
exactly who has cash, fine art, gemstones, precious metals, or jewelry in
their homes. (BTW, this is just another reason to practice good OPSEC.)
Given these possible threat spiral escalations, you might consider
building a dedicated "safe room". I can think of no better way to
get inside the bad guys' threat spiral. Such a room could serve multiple
purposes,
including "panic
room",
gun and valuables vault, storm shelter, and fallout shelter. (And hence, provide
you family with solutions for multiple scenarios. The folks at Safecastle (and
other specialty contractors) can build these both
aboveground or underground, with special order inward-opening vault doors.
You mentioned putting a lock on your bedroom door. This is usually insufficient,
since most interior doors are hollow core, they typically use lightweight
hinges, and they have insubstantial strike plates. Most of these doors can
either be knocked
down or knocked though, in very short order. I recommend replacing your bedroom
doors
with
heavy
duty exterior type
doors (preferably steel) with heavy duty hinges and one or more deadbolt locks.
If your house has all the bedrooms isolated on one hallway, then I recommend
adding a heavy duty
door
at
the end of that hall, and keeping it locked at night. (Basically a "safe
wing"
for your house) Then, inside of that safe wing, you
should have a far more secure dedicated safe room that your entire family can
retreat to, before
the outer layers of defense succumb to physical attack.
Redundant communications
are important, so you can solicit outside help. Both the master bedroom and
the safe room should have hard wire ("POTS")
telephones that are serviced by underground lines with no visible junction
boxes. Be sure to test using a cell phone, as a backup, from every room.
Having a CB radio in your safe room also makes sense. OBTW, one of my consulting
clients in New Mexico intentionally installed a vertical
3"-diameter
air exhaust vent from the ceiling of his safe room/fallout shelter to his
roof. Using
a broomstick,
he
can pop
the slip-fit flapper valve loose, and then use the pipe as a conduit
for flares from his HK P2A1 flare 26.5mm flare pistol! He reported that he
has tested shooting meteor flares "up the spout",
and
it
worked fine. Very clever.
The Ultimate Solution: Designing for Security from the Ground Up
I most strongly recommend that the next time that you move, that you buy a
brick or other masonry house and upgrade its security, or better yet, start
with a bare lot,
and custom build a stout house with and integral safe room, from scratch. As
previously discussed in SurvivalBlog, two good starting points for house
designs are Mexican walled courtyards and building with square bastions (also
known as Cooper
Corners). These projecting corners eliminate the "blind spots" that are
common to typical square or rectangular houses.
For greater detail on this subject, I recommend Joel Skousen's book "The
Secure Home." My novel "Patriots:
Surviving the Coming Collapse" also has some detailed design
description for ballistically armored window shutters and doors, as well details
on constructing neo-medieval door bars.
If you are
serious about custom building or retrofitting an existing house for
increased
security
and/or
adding a safe room,
then I recommend
the architectural consulting services of both Safecastle and Hardened
Structures.
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Checking Your Preparedness with the PACE System, by Wolverine
I had been using the PACE system
for years, I just didn’t know that is
what it was called, or that it even had a formal name. I first read about the
PACE acronym over on the
Viking Preparedness site, in a post by Joe. Growing up we joked
that the system
was called
one’s good, two’s better, and three is about right. It is the same
spirit of "two is one and one is none" that the PACE system stresses.
PACE stands for Primary, Alternate, Contingency, and Emergency. It is a good
solid way to break down your preps to make sure that your survivability is high.
It
doesn’t have to be a long hard plan, it can be very simple. Ask yourself
the question for each major category of survival.
Water
What is your primary source of drinking water? If you are like most of us you
turn on the faucet. Okay, your primary source is covered. Most likely all of
us
have the primary items covered by our “normal” living. You throw
a light switch for lights, turn up the furnace for heat, and open the fridge
for food. We live with our primary supply system.
The first level of survivability is at the Alternate level. When the power goes
out-what next? For some it is 12 volt back up, others light candles, and still
others fire up the Coleman lanterns. The totally unprepared sit in the dark and
grumble. So what do you do when the power goes out and you can’t draw water
from the system?
I can tell you my plan. I had to use it about a year ago when I still lived in
town and the city put a No Drinking of Water notice on our block. I got the sealed
water cooler bottles I had stored and opened one of them for drinking and cooking.
The bottles cost under $4 each and hold 5 gallons of pure drinking water. There
is no chemicals added and they store well. I checked with the dealer and found
out that if I buy the natural water, same price, it will store well over five
years as long as it is kept in a cool and dark place. They said it might store
forever
but they couldn’t tell me that. I keep four of them stored as my Alternate
plan for water as well as several camping jugs, one gallon jugs and a couple
cases of bottled water.
If we go into a long term situation and I run out of my stored water I have to
fall back to my Contingency plan. I have a filter system that will allow me to
make lots of drinking water before I have to change the filter. Either rain water
or water from a point well can be cleaned and ready as needed. Another layer
of my contingency plan is water tabs to us as well.
My emergency water will come from the stream a quarter mile to the west of my
farm. I have a Katadyn filter to use to clear it and make it drinkable. We can
also boil water to clean it. I can draw the water from my hot water tank if needed.
We also have bleach. Our water back ups are more than just [three] PACE levels
because water is so important. Besides, it is not that hard to develop a few
good purification
methods for water.
Heat
Without power we lose the furnace and our heat. We heat with propane so I can
drop into the Alternate plan easily and turn on the fire place and the stove
to heat our “cocoon” room. If needed, we can live in our kitchen/living
room for days on end. While not really part of our PACE plan, it is good to know
that we can heat a smaller area and stay comfortable during cold weather. Our
contingency plan is to bring in the kerosene heater out of the barn and use it
to heat the cocoon room. If we are in a long term grid down situation I can pull
the fireplace insert and convert it to a wood burning fireplace in a matter of
minutes. We consider that our emergency plan.
Food
I will not speak much about food because if you have read any of the survival
blogs you know that you need to store food, canned and packaged, grow a garden,
store grains, harvest wild edibles, and plan on hunting and trapping.
Shelter
I am very fortunate to live at my retreat. I moved back to the family farm less
than a year ago. My wife and I had already stored a large amount of our preps
in the barn and had planned to bug out to here even if the house was not completed.
Our plan was to make as much of the house livable as possible if TSHTF. If that
was not possible for us than we would build living quarters in the barn. Unable
to do that we would put up a tent and camp out. Now that the house is complete
and we are living in it we have revamped out plans to stay in the house and moved
the living in the barn to our emergency plan.
Life in General
The PACE system is easy to understand and follow, and gets easier as you do more
of it. Pick any aspect of survival you want and work out a PACE plan. Say you
want to have weapons in your plan. Okay, primary will be your MBR. Your alternate
might be your shotgun or bow and arrow. Contingency, sling shot. Emergency, Atlatl
and spear.
Back ups to the back ups are a necessary part of life. You already use them and
probably never thought about them as an emergency plan. If your car dies what
do you do, call a friend for a ride, take the bus or ride a bike? More than likely
you are already PACE-ing yourself. Keep that mindset toward the forefront of
your thoughts and your prepping should get easier and deeper. - Wolverine
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Letter Re: Retreat Locales in the Eastern United States
Mr. Rawles:
I see that [in your Recommended
Retreat Areas page] you only list information
for retreat selection in 19 western states. Do you not think other states are
worthy
of
retreat locations?
We live on 300 acres in southwestern Missouri (Polks County). Not totally ideal
I am sure, but it is home, children and grandchildren are here and more over
we
feel placed here by our Lord over 35 years ago.
I would be very interested in hearing your thoughts pro/con on the state
of Missouri so that we might be better prepared. -- Paulette
JWR Replies: I consider Missouri marginal as a retreat locale,
primarily because of it population density. The state of Missouri is on the
safer (lower population density) side of the
Mississippi River but it is still
far from ideal, since the state is bisected by the
Missouri River and the dramatic
drop in US population density is west of
the Missouri. (As I will discuss later in this reply.)
My choice of reviewing retreat
locales
in just 19 western
states has been discussed
a
few times before
in
SurvivalBlog, but for the benefit of the
many
newcomers, I will reiterate:
After much consideration, all of the eastern
states were intentionally excluded for my recommendations because
they are all either downwind of nuclear targets and/or are in areas with
excessive population density. This wasn't just the result of subjective
bias. I try
to use the dispassionate mindset of an actuarial accountant.
Take a look at The
Lights of the U.S. photo
maps.
These montages of satellite photos make it clear that most of America's population
is east of the Missouri River and is highly urbanized.The population density
of the U.S. is dramatically lower in the west. In troubled
times fewer people means fewer problems. In the event of a social upheaval,
being west of the Missouri River will mean a statistically much lower chance
of coming face to face with lawless rioters
or looters When The Schumer Hits The Fan (WTSHTF).
The other startling thing you will notice when looking at the Lights photo montage
is that even in the western states, Americans live in a highly urbanized society.
Roughly 90% of the population is crammed into 5% of the land area, mostly
within
50 miles of the coast. But there are large patches of the west where there are
virtually no lights at all--particularly in the Great Basin region that extends
from the back side of the Sierra Nevada mountains to Utah and Eastern Oregon.
The average population density in this region is less than two people per square
mile.
As an example of the low population density in the west, I often like to cite
Idaho County, Idaho: This one county measures 8,485 square miles--bigger than
Connecticut and Rhode Island combined. But it has a population of just 15,400.
And of those residents, roughly 3,300 people live in Grangeville, the county
seat. Who lives in the rest of the County? Nary a soul. There are far more deer
and elk than there are people. The population density of the county is 1.8 people
per square mile. The county has more than three million acres of U.S. Forest
Service
land, BLM land, and designated Federal
wilderness areas. Now that is elbow room!
The northeastern states depend on nuclear power plants for 47% of their electricity.
South Carolina is similarly dependent. This is an unacceptable level of high
technology systems dependence, particularly in light of the emerging terrorist
threat. You must also consider that virtually all of the eastern states are
downwind of major nuclear targets. In a full
scale exchange, the eastern US would be a bad place to be. See the target
lists, fallout projections, and other data at Richard Fleetwood's excellent SurvivalRing
web site. Not only are there lots of nuclear targets in the east, but easterners
will also get considerable additional fallout carried on the winds from
strikes farther west--including SAC bomber
bases, the strategic missile fields (in Montana, the Dakotas, and northern
Colorado), Cheyenne Mountain (Colorado), Offutt AFB (Nebraska),
and others. The majority of the military targets are expected to be hit with ground
bursts, which are the type that produce fallout. Because of the Coriolis
Effect, the prevailing winds in most of the United States are from west
to east, so the farther east you live, the greater the accumulated fallout
that you are likely to receive. Sorry!
My general advice for easterners: If for one reason or another you are stuck
in the northeast, then consider New Hampshire or Vermont. They are both gun
friendly and
have more
self-sufficient
lifestyle. But unless you have some compelling reason to stay in the East,
I most strongly encourage you to Go West!
With all that said, there are some areas in the eastern US that will
be safer than others (like parts of Tennessee and Maine), and there are
ways
to mitigate the risks that I mentioned.:
Risk Mitigation
The
risk posed by the higher population density of the eastern states can
be mitigated by both carefully choosing your retreat property (look for bypassed
areas that are far from "channelized
areas" and lines of drift") and by having heavily-manned
24/7/360 armed
and vigilant security at your retreat. (See my novel "Patriots:
Surviving the Coming Collapse" for a detailed description
of what might be needed to mount such a guard.) This will of course mean
extra mouths to feed--which in turn dictates the
expense
of
extra
storage
food, extra gardening space, extra housing, and extra stored fuel. But
this could be
viable,
especially if you are wealthy.
The other obvious risk mitigation is to construct a blast/fallout shelter
with a forced-air HEPA filter.
If your house already has a basement, and you are willing to do some of the
work yourself, a retrofit can be done for
under $5,000. Constructing a new, dedicated shelter can be a $15,000 to $70,000
proposition, depending how large and elaborate you want to make it. The folks
at Safecastle
have extensive experience in building such shelters, tailored for all budgets.
They specialize in combination storm/nuke/gun vault shelters. I highly recommend
them.
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Two Letters Re: Using Natural Caves on Private Property
Greetings Jim, Memsahib, and Readers,
I wanted to mention a couple things regarding caves for shelter or storage.
Many years ago, in my youth, I became interested in Spelunking (Caving) and
was lucky enough to explore caves in Tennessee with seasoned Spelunkers with
fifteen years experience. Depending on your climate you will not only get
a 'wet
season' where you have to deal with a lot of dampness but you may actually
face the cave being almost totally under water. We found this out the hard
way when on one trip the cave we were going to explore a lower chamber we
found was totally submerged from the previous week's rains. We did manage
to explore a upper chamber that was well above the water line. Even though
the cave we explored was well hidden, as the one Linda H mentioned, others
had used the entrance chamber because of discarded beer cans and trash left
behind. And, yes, we packed out other's trash. Once we left the entrance
chamber signs of others having frequented the other chambers faded away.
But if you are curious about a cave, you can bet someone else has been curious
also. After our trek of nearly six hours into the mountain we thought we
found the end of the chamber's run. As all humans like to put their mark
wherever they go I found a name, that was not very legible, and a date of
1784 carved (heavily scratched) into the rock. After looking around we located
another chamber through a very small opening that had remnants of an old
hemp rope leading through what would have been the ceiling of the extended
chamber below us. Yep, we were reluctant to go farther or look to closely
into the chamber just in case we found the remains of the person who explored
before us.
To safely utilize a cave you have to have a very good knowledge
of yearly rainfall patterns, and it is best to have a compilation of several
years to give you a baseline of rainfall, and have a good knowledge of the
variations of the water table in the area. Using a cave for shelter or storage
in its natural state is one way to utilize a cave. However if the size of
the chamber is large enough you may want to expend a bit more energy and
expense if you intend to pass on the property to family later on. The perfect
example of the best utilization of a cave for long term shelter and or storage
is the old NORAD Cheyenne
Mountain [Command and Control] Complex. Within the natural cavern is built
a shelter system with all the comforts of home, and a few I wish
I had. Of course our tax dollars built it and to go to those lengths would
be problematic at best. But the basic concept of a shelter within a cave
is not a far stretch and would provide a lot of comfort and protection for
the occupants provided the cave is deemed habitable for the long term after
compiling the climatic data. You would have to weigh such construction against
not only costs but also to factors such as:
1. Would enlarging the entrance to accommodate construction materials, tooling,
and manpower (even immediate family only) compromise the location?
2. Would the cave/constructed shelter be susceptible to flooding during prolonged
rainy seasons?
3. Would the cave provide a source of water, or is there a close source of
water that could provide the needed water or water storage for the shelter?
4. What type of power could be provided? The cave we explored could potentially
provide hydropower if properly set up.
5. What are the range of temperatures through the seasons, and would prevailing
winds impact the cave's temperature ranges; especially during winter months?
You would have to consider ways of mitigating winter winds whipping through
the cave.
6. Will the cave need a ventilation system to make sure that you don't have
a buildup of carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide when occupied full time?
7. Does the cave, consistently or periodically, capture and retain any gases
such as methane or other harmful gases that can be emitted from deeper in the
earth from the geologic formation? And it would be a good idea to know the
basic geology of the area so you know the stability of the cave. A cave in
even with a constructed shelter within the cave could still pose a serious
danger. And you may want to reinforce the cave ceiling just in case the geology
slightly active (small tremors).
8. Is there an alternate or secondary entrance that could be utilized as an
emergency exit or could it prove to be an access point for others to enter
during a crisis.
9. If there is no other entrance or exit point, is it possible to construct
one as an emergency exit? I would be reluctant to have a single entrance and
exit point. If you have to dig an emergency exit you will need some very specialized
equipment and skills to prevent a cave in, or suddenly finding yourself flooding
the cave by hitting an underground spring or other high volume water source.
It would be too easy for an adversary to simply block a single entrance and
either starve you out or to fire on your position and use the rock walls to
ricochet around until they hit someone, or to build a fire at the entrance
to smoke you out. And a worse scenario would be for an adversary to cave in
the entrance and seal you in until you died of suffocation.
10. Could the shelter or the cave provide any method of hydroponic gardening?
If your shelter is the cave proper you will have to have access to an area
where you can garden if you intend to occupy the shelter over a protracted
period of time as the result of a nuke exchange or protracted pandemic.
These are just a few questions that come to mind and there are others that
must be answered depending on how you want to utilize the cave. If you want
to really kick your 'creative engine' into overdrive and see how mankind has
utilized natural and man made underground structures then watch the History
Channel program "Cities of the Underworld". It is absolutely amazing
how people through the centuries utilized natural underground formations, and
expanded them or built and utilized underground spaces. Mankind has covered
over entire cities over the centuries as new construction has been built over
old. Some of these underground areas have been done as far back as the Celtics
of Ireland and Scotland as well as through the Middle Ages and Renaissance
as well as the modern eras. There is one common thread, of different iterations
but a singular concept, which runs through all of the construction techniques
from the beginning; whether utilizing natural features or new construction
over old cities. And this thread is utilized today. But I'll leave that to
you to discover for yourself. - The Rabid One
Hi Jim,
The best way I know of to camouflage stuff (entrances, equipment, traps, etc.)
with respect to its environment is to paint it with spray-on adhesive, the
same kind that automotive upholsterers use, then simply take dry dirt and sprinkle
it all over the painted areas (some moving parts, etc. you would of course
want to mask-off, just like regular painting).
This provides an excellent base coat, even for things attached to trees, buildings,
etc.
I still think the best book on the subject is the US Army "Camouflage" field
manual (FM
5-20) from 1969: Regards, - Jerry E.
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Letter Re: Propane Heat and PV Power Solutions for RVs and Trailers
James,
I found this
site in my search for a way to heat that travel trailer (that I don’t
yet own). The guy with built his heating system for his RV out
of a car's heater core and attached it to PV panels for power of the pump motor
and fan, the
heating of the tank is [accomplished with] a propane [burner]. This might be
something of interest to your readers as it’s something I’m going
to need since the travel trailer I’m looking in to getting is older and
needs a new heater. I figure why buy new or reinvent the wheel, I’ll
find an efficient way to power and heat this travel trailer with minimum funds,
someone
has already
done this
somewhere and it’s out there on the Internet Thanks, - Fitzy
in
Pennsylvania
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Letter Re: The "Invention Nation" Documentary Television Series
Jim,
I don't know if this has been posted here or not. I have finished watching
a series on the Science Channel called "Invention Nation".
The show primarily feature inventors who are inventing ways to "go green".
Many of these inventions and ideas fit in perfectly with being self-sufficient.
Some of the topics are; used cooking oil for diesel engines, solar power technology,
passive solar for heating homes and water, bicycle generators, etc... The series
will rerun starting in March and may be worth a look for the preparedness minded. See
the Invention Nation web site. Thanks to you and your family for all you
do. - Randy G.
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The "Come as You Are" Collapse--Have the Right Tools and Skills
In the Second World War, the United States had nearly two full years to ramp
up military training and production before decisively confronting the Axis
powers. In the late 1970s, looking at the recent experience of the 1973 Arab-Israeli
War, the Pentagon's strategic planners came to the realization that the next
major war that the US military would wage would not be
like the Second World War. There would not be the luxury of time to train and
equip. They realized that we would have to fight with only what we had available
on Day One. They dubbed this the "Come as you are war" concept.
In my opinion, the same "come as you are" mindset should
be applied to family preparedness. We must recognize that in these
days of rapid news dissemination, it may take as little as 10 hours before
supermarket shelves are cleaned out. It make take just a few hours for queues
that are literally blocks-long to form at gas stations--or at bank branches
in the event of bank runs. Worse yet, it may take just a few hours before
the highways and freeways leading out of urban and suburban areas are clogged
with traffic--the dreaded "Golden
Horde" that I often write about. Do not make the false assumption
that you will have the chance to make "one last trip" to the big
box store, or even the chance to fill your Bug Out Vehicle's fuel tank. This
will be the "come as you are" collapse.
The concept also applies to your personal training. If you haven't learned
how to do things before the balloon goes, up, then don't expect to get anything
but marginal to mediocre on-the-job training after the fact. In essence, you
have the opportunity to take top quality training from the best trainers now,
but you won't once the Schumer hits
the fan. Take the time to get top-notch training! Train with the best--with
organizations like Medical
Corps, WEMSI, Front
Sight, the RWVA/Appleseed
Project, the WRSA,
and the ARRL.
Someday, you'll be very glad that you did.
The come as you are concept definitely applies to specialized manufactured
equipment.You are dreaming if you think that
you will have the chance to to purchase any items such as these, in a post-collapse
world:
razor
wire, body
armor, night
vision equipment,
advanced
first aid gear, tritium
scopes, dosimeters
and radiac meters, biological decontamination
equipment, Dakota
Alert or military surplus PEWS intrusion
detection sets, photovoltaics,
NBC
masks, and semi-auto
battle rifles.
Think about it: There
are very few if these items (per capita) presently in circulation. But the
demand for them during a societal collapse would be tremendous. How could
you compete in such a scant market? Anyone that conceivably has "spares" will
probably want to keep them for a member of their own family or group. So
even in the unlikely event that someone was even willing to sell
such scarce items, they would surely ask a king's ransom in barter
for them. I'm talking about quarter sections of land,
entire strings of
well-broken horses, or pounds of
gold. Offers of anything less would surely be scoffed at.
Don't overlook the "you" part of the "as
you are" premise.
Are you physically fit? Are you up to date on your dental work? Do you have
two pairs of sturdy eyeglasses with your current prescription? Do
you have at least a six month supply of vitamins and medications? Is your body
weight
reasonable?
If you answer to any of these is no, then get busy!
Even if you have a modest budget, you will have an advantage over the average
suburbanite. Your knowledge and training alone--what is between your ears--will
ensure that. And even with just a small budget for food storage, you will be
miles ahead of your neighbors. Odds are that they will have less than two week's
worth of food on hand. As I often say, you will need extra supplies on hand to
help out relatives, friends, and neighbors that were ill-prepared. I consider
charity my Christian duty!
I have repeatedly and strongly emphasized the importance of living
at your intended retreat year-round. But I realize that because
of personal finances, family obligations, and the constraints of making a
living at an hourly or
salaried job, that this is not realistic--except for a few of us, mainly retirees.
If you are stuck in the Big City and plan to Get Out of Dodge (G.O.O.D.)
at the eleventh hour, then by all means pre-position the vast majority of your
gear and supplies at your retreat. You will most likely only have one, I repeat, one G.O.O.D.
trip. If there is a major crisis there will probably be no chance to "go
back for a second load." So WTSHTF will
truly be a "come as you are" affair.
With all of this in mind, re-think your preparedness priorities. Stock
your retreat well. If there isn't someone living there year-round,
then hide what is there from burglars. (See the numerous SurvivalBlog posts
on caching and constructing hidden compartments and rooms.) Maintain balance
in your preparations. In a situation where you are truly hunkered-down at
your retreat in the midst of a societal collapse, there might not be any
opportunity to barter for any items that you overlooked. (At least not for
several months. ) What you have is what you got. You will have to make-do.
So be sure to develop your "lists
of lists" meticulously. If you have the funds available, construct
a combination storm shelter/fallout shelter/walk-in vault. It
would be virtually impossible to build something that elaborate in the aftermath
of a
societal collapse.
A closing thought that relates to your retreat logistics: The
original colonial Army Rangers, organized by Major Robert Rogers during
the French and Indian Wars of the 1750s had a
succinct list of operating rules. The version of the "Rules of Ranging" recounted
in the novel "Northwest Passage" by Kenneth Roberts started
with a strong proviso: "Don't forget nothing." That
is sage advice.
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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
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Letter Re: Light, Noise, and Smoke Discipline for Retreat Security
Sir:
Ianto Evans has a book called "Rocket
Mass Heaters". He
is a Welsh inventor, who was hired by the government of Guatemala to develop
a less polluting
wood
stove for cooking. It also had to be more efficient. Basic physics tells you
that exhaust heat is wasted energy. The smoke out of his stoves are cool enough
to put your hand in front of, and they don't emit visible smoke.
They use much less wood as well and can be made for under $100.
EndTimesReport.com has
interesting articles on the importance of kerosene heaters, as a way to avoid
unwanted attention, for short term unrest, before wood burners
are used.
Keep up the good work. - Dan C.
« Two Letters Re: Storage Foods for Vegetarians? |Main| Note from JWR: »
Letter Re: Light, Noise, and Smoke Discipline for Retreat Security
Sir:
I was reading your postings on light security and blackout curtains for a home
that would be secure in the nighttime. I thought about it on my way home after
work, and realize that you're right. I've
driven around my area during power outages and know who is home, due to their
having generators running and lights shining, or even just those using candles
or
lanterns of various types. As I was pondering those things, I pulled into my
driveway
and looked at my home and a question popped up immediately. Here in the Northeast,
(Maine) we're in the heating season.
If anything were to happen, it would be a dead giveaway to know who is home or
who isn't by looking at the chimneys and observing smoke coming out. Especially
when you're just starting the woodstove.
It has a tendency to create a lot of smoke until the stack temperature begins
to heat up and cause an updraft. Do you know of any way to decrease smoke from
a chimney, or any way to camouflage the
emissions?
Thanks for your blog and all that you do. Rob in Maine (Proud owner of an autographed "Patriots"
book!)
JWR Replies: Aside from burning only well-dried wood and
using your stove's damper judiciously, I don't know of any means of minimizing
smoke from a chimney. (It is rapid changes in damper position that
seem to generate the most smoke.) If you are in the habit of cranking up your
stove with an open damper for roaring hot once a week to burn out any accumulated
creosote from
the upper
reaches
of your stove, then do so only after dark. Ditto for cleaning out ashes and
re-kindling the stove.
« Dip Sealing Tools for Storage |Main| Note from JWR: »
Letter Re: Question on Two Cycle Oil Mixing Ratios
Dear Mr. Rawles,
Perhaps you could help me understand the mixing ratios for two stroke oil.
I remember buying the old Homelite oil, you could either buy it in a can
to mix with one gallon of gas or a can to mix with two gallons of gas.
Most of the new two stroke oils I have seen recently state that they are
50:1.
Is this mixture acceptable for my old Homelite Super XL chainsaw and other
two stroke equipment?
The rep at the Stihl store by us said that the new oils are so much better
formulated than the old oils, that 50:1 is good for all two stroke equipment--old
and new. Does he know what he is talking about? - Mark G.
JWR Replies: While it is true that some of the pre-1990 manufacturers'
manuals called out a 32:1 or even 24:1 mixing ratio, with modern name-brand mixing
oil, there is no problem using a 50:1 ratio in just about all two cycle chainsaws
and
other two cycle power tools that are marked 24:1 or 32:1 (such as leaf blowers,
weed trimmers, ice augers, et cetera). The modern mixing oils provide plenty
of lubrication at
a 50:1 ratio. You can use more oil if you'd like, but it would be
a waste of oil, and will also produce more
smoke.
OBTW,
I discovered that there
is an
interesting thread of conversation on this topic over at The Arborist Site
Forums.
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Letter Re: Useful LifeHacker Articles
Mr. Rawles:
There are so many great and not-so-great ideas on the LifeHacker site including
this one I found showing you how
to use C cell batteries in place of a D cell compartment
in an emergency situation:
There are some other interesting things on this site like creating make-shift
air conditioning systems using cold well water (others have made emergency
air conditioners using beverage coolers, fans and copper coils): DIY
Heat Exchanger and Make
Your Own Air Conditioner.
There is this one showing you how
someone made hand washing more efficient while filling the tank of his toilet.
[JWR
Adds: I would recommend skipping this one. The implementation shown
uses plywood which cannot be kept sanitary. It also might result in a smelly
toilet tank if you use an non-chlorinated water source such as well water or
spring water.]
And here's one with a video demonstrating how
one can cheaply acquire 8 - 1.5v button cell batteries from 1 - A23 12v battery:
Well, there's enough on this LifeHacker site to keep you busy for some time.
Enjoy!, - Tanker
« Three Letters Re: Providing Crucial Fats and Oils in Your Diet |Main| Note from JWR: »
Letter Re: Comments from a Like-Minded Virginia Prepper
Sir:
I found your blog about a month ago. I received a copy of your novel "Patriots" from
Fred's M14 Stocks and have probably read the thing about 20 times. It sits
by
the bed. I sometimes just pick it up, open and begin reading. Good stuff.
I am a former police officer (10 years) with sniper training, construction
company owner( I have built everything except a church) CPA with many years
public accounting and have military experience (like you in Military Intelligence.
I was what is now known as a 98C [- Signals Intelligence Analyst]). I shoot
a lot of IDPA both in local and state
matches,
am an IDPA safety officer and an NRA firearms instructor. My wife is a soon
to be a Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) Federal retiree. She shoots
also.
We have 58 acres in a rather remote area in the south side of Virginia.
We plan
on incorporating cisterns, gray
water septic et cetera in the building of the house that we will start in about
three months. The heating will be closed loop geothermal, radiant in the floors.
We have
a lot of experience in growing vegetable gardens (25 years to date). The wife
knows how to can and otherwise preserve food. We generally keep enough on hand
to see us through several months of problems. I would probably be better off
relocating further to the northwest but moving is such a pain that this was
as far as we want to go. We are about 200+ miles from [Washington] D.C.
I find your blog very informative and educational. Some of the weapon selection
I agree with, some I don't. That's okay. I just wanted to say hi and thank
you
for your efforts. Keep up the good work. - rb
« Three Letters Re: Chainsaws and Long Term Gasoline Storage |Main| Note from JWR: »
Reducing Your Sound "Footprint" by Countrytek
I've been lurking about SurvivalBlog for about six months now, and have found
a lot of useful information hereabouts. There are lots of good tips about
securing your retreat and making it less visible. One thing I have noticed
though is that there appears to be a blind spot. Why go to all the trouble
to screen your retreat location from view and practice nighttime light discipline
if you are going to announce your presence far and wide audibly?
One thing I've noticed lately is there is a lot of discussion on stocking
up on two-cycle and bar oil for chainsaws. For those of you who live in the
hinterboonies
already: Think back a few months to woodcutting season. I'll bet if you stop
and think about it, you would be able to locate your neighbors for a couple
miles around
- at least - based on the sounds of their Stihl and Husqvarna--nobody uses
Homelite or McCulloch anymore--chainsaws. For those of you not familiar with
life in the hinterlands yet: The crisp airs of autumn and early winter carry
the sound of chainsaw exhaust for miles. Those things are shrieking banshees
that scream "Here I am!" Not only do they announce your location
to the world-at-large, they also mask the sound of anyone approaching the woodcutter's AO.
So, even if you post a security detail around your work party, they are
going to be relying solely
on visual contact to detect approaching hostiles.
To me, the better route would be to leave the chainsaw in the emergency stash,
and do your woodcutting with a crosscut saw. Yes, the misery whip "sings," but
its slight ring doesn't carry nearly as far as the chainsaw's blare and shriek.
(For those who don't know -- The crosscut saw got the nickname "misery
whip" because an improperly set and sharpened crosscut saw is exactly
that: a miserable implement to spend your days with. Caution: Caring
for and using this device requires some skills.)
Side Note: You did notice that I didn't say "Forget the
chainsaws!" didn't
you? I live in 'quake country and - due to misguided forestry practices over
the
past century - anyone who lives outside of town these days lives in wildfire
country. When I want to get through the roof of a collapsed structure quickly,
I'm going to reach for my trusty Stihl, not a crosscut. And, two men with
chainsaws can clear a firebreak a lot quicker than two men with a crosscut.
Just save the chainsaws for the times that saving time and lives is more important
than keeping a low sound profile. There are always trade-offs to be made in
survival situations.
You don't give up all that much in efficiency - if you learn to use and care
for your saw properly - by using a crosscut instead of a chainsaw. I'm told
that wasn't until the 1960s that a chainsaw was able to beat a two-man saw
in log bucking contests. Those of you who take in logger rodeos know that those
bucking saws are the chainsaw hot-rods -- they're anything but stock.
If you have the personnel available, you could send out multiple three-man
teams with one two-man saw per team. The "odd man out" would serve
as part of the security detail for the wood cutting operation. The cutting
team would put their LBE and
rifles aside - but close at hand - while the security person would retain his.
(Yes, women can hang-to with men on a cross-cut once
they learn the pace. I'm saying men for language simplicity.) Every 15 minutes
the saw crew could take a 5 minute break and one of them could rotate with
the security man. That way, each man spends a maximum of a half-hour on the
business end of the saw before getting a 20-minute break. Once everyone is
used to the drill, the interval between breaks could be stretched to a half-hour.
By sending out multiple teams, you get a larger security detail, and it would
be most effective to stagger the breaks so you always have one - or more -
security man on point. This reduces the risk of everyone having to rely on
sidearms until they can fight their way back to their rifles. (Which is the
purpose of a sidearm, in my book: It exists solely to fight your way
back to the rifle you shouldn't have let get out-of-reach in the first place.
Or, to acquire another rifle when yours breaks or runs dry. Bad troopie! No
cookie!)
Don't have the personnel? Then use a one-man crosscut saw and have your lovely
bride or elder son be your security detail. Whatever you do, don't get
in the habit of sending out work details without a security detail! That's
the
easiest way there is to take casualties and leave the door open to deadly infiltration.
([They see someone wearing familiar clothing and say] "It's Okay! That's
just Bob coming back from cutting wood!")
I am wholeheartedly against "going it alone" post-TEOTWAWKI.
If you're single and alone in the world, you need to
build a support group of like-minded
individuals that you can rely on. They're just like finding
the perfect bride: They are out there. The problem is finding
them. Trust me - I know from experience.
I come from a large clan (We're Celts -- the term clan has significant meaning
for us.), so I'll be relying on family. My Dad insured that my brothers
and I were all well-familiarized with the crosscut saw as a tool for doing
real work. Along with the scythe, the #2 shovel, and a host of other "old
school" tools.
Once you become familiar with man-powered tools, you will be surprised what
you can do in a day.
One way to reduce your exposure is to cut your wood to cord length (4 feet)
in the woods, cold deck it, then transport it back to the retreat via horse
and sledge once the snows come. (Personally, I'd leave it cold-decked for a
year,
and
then transport it once it's seasoned -- much easier on the people loading the
sledge and the horses pulling it. You should have at least two years' firewood
stored at the retreat before TSHTF anyway.)
You can buck it to stove length back at the retreat with a one-man saw. Better
yet would be
to have a water
powered buzz saw at the retreat. Quiet, but much less work! Any cord lengths
that are too heavy to throw up on your shoulder to tote to the cold deck can
be hand split with a maul and wedges. Most hardwoods are much easier to split
green than once they've seasoned. This brings up another point: Using steel
mauls and wedges is just like ringing a bell. So learn how to fabricate a wooden
maul and wooden splitting wedges. It's not all that hard, and the benefit of
having your maul and wedges go "thwock" instead of having that
high-pitched ping of steel hitting steel is worth it. (The secret is to fashion
your wedges from green hardwood rounds, then set them aside to season for at
least a year. You can 'smith up some top rings for your wooden wedges and put
them on hot on the seasoned wedges that you've soaked in the rain barrel for
a couple days. The hot rings will compress the grain on the wedges so they
don't split when hit with the maul. You do the same thing on each end of the
maul head, but - of course - the rings are much bigger.)
Here are some sources for crosscut saws and the necessary tools to maintain
them:
If you want a good quality new saw at a bargain price, Woodcraft.com
carries
a five-foot German two-man saw for $74.99:
Lehmans.com carries
the saw
accessories that will allow you to maintain
your saw.
The Federal Highway
Administration has a series of articles on using and caring
for crosscut saws.
Have you caught on to the fact that when you live in the hinterboonies you operate
on
a
different time scale than the insane pace that city folk try to maintain? You
have to learn
to think and plan in a completely different manner when you are attempting to
be self-reliant for the long term. It's not an easy adjustment. That's why I
agree with Mr. Rawles: You want to be [long hence] settled in and living
at
your
retreat when
this post-modern world comes down around our ears.
One last admonition on "Sound Security:" Buy a [hunting] bow. Learn
how
to use it. Learn how to stalk and take game with it. Learn to have confidence
in
it
and in your ability to provide for your family with it. Learn how to make a bow
from wood from your woodlot, and learn how to make and fletch arrows. Then, when
the Schumer goes through the turbines, leave your rifle slung while hunting and
take your meat with a well-placed arrow. Rifle reports carry even further than
a chainsaw's banshee shriek. Save your ammo for the hostiles. - Countrytek
JWR Adds: I addressed noise discipline in my novel "Patriots:
Surviving the Coming Collapse",
but you are right that it has been insufficiently addressed in SurvivalBlog.
Thanks for sharing your comments on this subject. regarding bow hunting:
Keep in mind that most state game regulations prohibit carrying a rifle
when bow hunting, so your last comment would only apply to an absolute TEOTWAWKI situation.
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Letter Re: Masonry Stoves / Brick Ovens
Jim
I have been reading the SurvivalBlog for some time now and thought I would share
some information about a retreat technology that I have not seen mentioned. I
am referring to a brick oven for baking bread, pizza and a large variety of other
foods. Brick ovens have been around for thousands of years, they were very common
in Roman times. They are having a revival in the artisan baking community and
can also be found in many authentic pizza restaurants. They do take a little
work to construct, however it is very simple to operate (decidedly low tech)
and just needs firewood. These ovens generate a good deal more heat that most
modern electric or gas ovens. Generally around 700 degrees Fahrenheit, they can
bake a large number of loaves in a relatively short time. They have a large thermal
mass and stay hot for quite some time. For instance, you can bake several loaves
one day and still have enough heat to bake bread the next morning for breakfast,
all from one firing. This would be a valuable asset in a TEOTWAWKI scenario.
Also having fresh bread would be valuable for barter or charity for your neighbors.
Besides being a useful skill for home use, it could also be a valuable asset
for after the SHTF as people may have stored wheat but those fancy dual fuel
ovens will not work without electric power.
JWR Replies: We mentioned masonry
stoves several times
in the first year of SurvivalBlog posts. These stoves usually have a bake oven
compartment, although some
are purpose-built, just for bread baking. I highly
recommend masonry stoves. The higher initial investment is more than
offset
by their
great efficiency and versatility. There are a
few masonry craftsmen scattered across the US and Canada that specialize in
building masonry stoves.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: Hurricane Preparedness, by MFA »
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.
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Two Letters Re: Advice on Enhancing Cool Basement Food Storage
James:
For those looking to create stable and “passively” cool
storage in a basement, the book "How
and Why to Build a Wine Cellar" by Richard Gold is a well-thought, meticulously engineered
solution to many of the same issues faced by those seeking to store
food at
stable, cool temperatures. Regards, - Ben
JWR:
I have spent much of my adult life in the construction industry and
through experience and educational seminars, etc. I have acquired a
substantial amount of knowledge concerning moisture intrusion into
structures.
Water is the main source of problems in construction. Keeping it in,
keeping it out, and getting it out once it is in.
The components of a building that are constructed of concrete such
as basements, foundations and slabs on grade are very susceptible to
moisture intrusion. Concrete acts as a wick and when dry will actually
attract moisture and move it through out the structure under the right
conditions. For example a twenty-inch concrete column sealed on its
sides and standing in water will wick moisture hundreds of feet straight
up. A concrete basement floor set over a wet subsurface will continuously
wick that moisture up through the floor and allow it to evaporate into
the basement atmosphere, i.e., damp basement. For several hundred years
this condition has been referred to as "rising damp". The
modern term for it is capillary action.
To construct a dry basement in damp ground conditions requires some
planning and a little ingenuity. Choose as dry and well-drained location
as possible to build the structure. Once the excavation of the basement
is complete you should proceed with water management measures as dictated
by the conditions of your location. If you have a substantial amount
of groundwater or springs under the excavation you will need to install
a drain system around the outside of the foundation and under the floor
to move this water away from the basement. There is a lot of information
available on how to do this. If located in a hillside it is easy to
install a gravity flow system, dumping into a dry well down hill from
the basement. The only other alternative is to dump into a sump pump
installed in the floor of the basement and pump the water out away
from the house.
Now comes the important part. Once the drain system is completed and
the forms for the foundation and floor have been constructed you will
want to lay down heavy-duty plastic vapor barrier on the ground under
all areas where you will pour concrete. The barrier should cover the
entire floor, pass under the foundation and up the outside wall as
continuous as possible. Where you need to make seams, overlap the barrier
at least five feet. Applying a sealant between the layers at the seams
is advisable. The concrete will be poured over the vapor barrier only
after it has been completely sealed from the outside of one wall to
the outside of the opposite wall. Once the foundation and slab are
poured and the outside walls are constructed, the vapor barrier protruding
out from under the foundation is pulled up on the wall and adhered
using the standard basement wall sealant. The entire outside of the
wall is then coated with sealant. You should end up with basement that
is totally encapsulated in a plastic vapor barrier. Most builders
that attempt installation of vapor barriers ignore the foundation because
it takes a little finesse to do this right. This leaves a path for
capillary action to bring moisture into the basement.
Now that you have a dry basement don't forget to
properly ventilate it. It should be tied in with the rest of the house
ventilation system. If you construct a safe room in one corner it will
still be necessary to supply some ventilation to that room or it will
become very musty.
I am presently planning the construction of a small house for my wife
and I and will construct a safe/storage room as an extension of the
basement, which will extend out from under the house. It will basically
be an underground concrete room next to the house joining the basement
wall and will be totally sealed from moisture as I have described.
I will be able to easily hide the entrance through the basement wall
in the back of a utility room. Being outside of the house footprint
will also protect it from fire in case the house would burn down or
otherwise be destroyed.
Hope you find this useful, - JR
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Letter Re: Advice on Enhancing Cool Basement Food Storage
Mr. Rawles:
We are building a new house with a basement. I am planning
a food storage room in the corner of the basement that is the furthest
underground.
Can you guide me with details about how to plan that room, mainly
about temperature. I know that cooler is better. The basement has
poured cement walls. Should I insulate the [other] two walls [that are partitions]
inside the basement? The rest of the basement will be heated, should
I leave the vents out of that room all together? What about the
vent
that pulls air in for circulation? We are in Kentucky and have
cold winters and hot summers. I am excited to finally have enough room
to
prepare my family for anything. Any help you can give me will be
appreciated.
Thanks, - Linda
JWR Replies: To take best advantage of the ambient
ground temperature and isolate the food storage area from the heated
portion of your basement, you should definitely construct well-insulated
partition walls--preferably using 2x6s and two bats (two thicknesses)
of insulation. The thickness of the door through the partition wall
is not as crucial as it being relatively airtight--to keep the cool
air from "spilling out" from under the door. In my experience
you should omit any vents unless the humidity is high, but your mileage
may vary (YMMV).
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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
« Letter Re: Build-It-Yourself Pocketknife Kits |Main| Notes from JWR: »
Nuclear, Chemical or Biological Disaster Preparedness, by Brian A.
One of the recent phrases the media has used almost to exhaustion is,
"dirty" bomb. A dirty bomb, or radiological dispersion
device (RDD) is basically an explosive device with some element of
radioactivity attached, or
some other means of distributing radioactive particulate matter. When
detonated, it releases radiation in the form of dust or debris, which
is harmful mostly when inhaled, or introduced into the body by other
means, (eyes, open cuts, etc.). The main terror use of such a weapon
would be to contaminate emergency services workers responding to the
initial blast. In the 1990s, Chechen rebels reportedly placed such
a device in a park in Moscow, They used no explosive or other means
to announce
it's presence; they just let it sit there and expose passers by to
radiation until it suited their needs to tell the Russians it was there.
They could just as well have spread the material on the ground and
let people track contamination wherever they went.
What if you live near a nuclear reactor/facility? First off, the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission controls all nuclear facilities in the United
States. The NRC strictly controls and governs safety and security of
all nuclear facilities. They mandate a "layered" approach
to security systems, with redundant perimeter controls, and a dedicated,
heavily armed reactive force of trained professionals. The chances
of a successful attack on a facility by terrorists is slim and none,
and "slim" just left town. In addition, the safety systems
are layered to provide backups to backups, especially the critical
cooling systems. In the event of a release of radiation, the public
would be notified, and given instructions to follow, such as whether
to evacuate, or to stay in their homes.
Contrary to popular belief, a detonation/release of either type would
not be a "death ray, heat wave" type situation. In both situations,
the radiation would come in the form of particulate matter, and affect
the population according to proximity and winds at the time. For example,
in both situations, depending on the direction of the wind, you could
be five feet away from the release and not be affected, or be a half-mile
away and receive a dose. This is why winds are important, and are taken
into account by emergency officials when evaluating nuclear events.
This is why having both a "bug out" (which we will call,
dramatically, an 'egress' plan), and a plan to stay at home are equally
important. For example, have several routes planned for several different
areas in at least two opposite directions. This takes into account
wind direction, as well as other naturally occurring situations, (flood,
fire, riots, etc.)
I'm sure some of us remember the "duck and cover" days (no,
not me, I'm not that old), of the evil Soviet empire,
launching missiles at our cities, envisioning Hiroshima-like mushroom
clouds.
There is an important lesson in the philosophy of those times, be
prepared.
Have a plan to deal with emergencies at home, while keeping yourself
and your family safe, and one to leave your home, and go to a safe
area.
Here, we'll discuss two strategies, the egress plan, and the stay at
home plan.
Egress or "Bug Out" Plan.
In the event of a radiological release due to an incident at a nuclear
facility or a terror detonation of a RDD type device. (This plan will
also apply to natural disasters, rioting or other scenarios). Your
best option may be to evacuate, leaving your home or workplace for
a safer area as prompted by authorities. You'll notice I mentioned
home and workplace. What would you do if you and your
spouse are at work and the kids are at school? Do you have the means
to contact them
or retrieve them? What kind of emergency procedures do the schools
have in place? Find out. You need to have contact numbers and be sure
that everyone knows the plan. Another thing to keep in mind is that
if you are leaving, everyone around you also has the same idea. This
is why evacuation is to only be carried out if danger is imminent,
and planning of at least two different routes to your safe area is
critical. Picture rush hour with a "chicken little the sky is
falling" mentality, that's what roads exiting a disaster area
could resemble. A good idea is to have at least one of your routes
on secondary roads, staying away from highways, as they could be generally
congested. Your vehicle is critical. Keep it maintained. Think of
your car as you would your duty weapon if you were a police officer.
Take
care of it, and it will take care of you. This means a spare tire,
keeping gas in your tank and changing the oil, as well as regular maintenance.
Keep road maps in your vehicle as well as a spare quart of oil, and
spare antifreeze/coolant. A small emergency/bug out kit should be kept
in all of your vehicles, and contain the following:
Non-perishable food items, MREs/canned meats.
At least 2 quarts of clean drinking water.
Matches or a fire source
Multi-tool or "Swiss army" type knife.
40' of rope capable of supporting 200 Lbs.
Duct tape, string, nails, etc.
Survival or thermal blanket.
Small first aid kit (bandages, antiseptics, bug repellent, pain medications)
This is a small compact kit, which can be assembled with around $25.00.
You probably already have most of the items you will need in your garage.
There are many different sources for MREs and survival foods on the
Internet and in various publications, or you can pick up "SPAM" type
canned meats at your local grocery store for around $1.00 a can. They
have a shelf life of several years, and provide critical fats and calories
when you need them most. The rope can be obtained at a local shopping
center or sporting goods store. I picked up mine at a boating supply
store. All of these items can be placed in a small backpack or duffel
bag, or a great idea is a USGI surplus ammo can, also available on
the Internet or a local army surplus store for around $5 each,
They're airtight, waterproof, and strong. I use the ". 50 cal" can
in my cars, and all of the items listed fit with room to spare. The
idea here is to keep it compact, as it's going to stay in the vehicle.
Also keep in mind that temperatures in a car trunk can soar into the
triple digits in the summer and well below freezing in the winter.
Checking the contents at least once a month is a good idea, and if
you are using conventional tap water in containers, change the water
at least once a year, cleaning out the containers before putting the
fresh water in. I also carry a pair of good quality GMRS/FRS radios
for communication with extra batteries if needed for communication.
A large "bug out bag" should be prepared for each family
member and be stored in your home, or in cases of extreme heightened
awareness, kept in your vehicle, some items to be considered for that:
Non perishable food for three days
Portable water for three days
Matches or other fire source.
Flashlight, spare batteries and spare bulbs.
Portable AM/FM radio with spare batteries
Survival type or thermal blanket.
Multi-tool or "Swiss army" type knife.
Portable pocket saw.
Small first aid kit, including insect repellent, and needed prescription
medications
Small backpacking type, "pup tent" for shelter.
3 strong plastic garbage bags.
"Isolation" or particle/dust protective masks.
These items should be packed into a portable waterproof backpack, and
need to be checked and maintained at least once every few months. (Author
uses a frame type hiking pack) The Isolation masks can be purchased
at a medical supply store and will provide inhalation protection against
particulate matter; "Dust Masks" will also work for this
application, and can be purchased at a hardware store. While these
do not provide the level of protection as "Gas Masks", and
Self Contained Breathing Apparatus, they will work for particulate
matter. And, besides, personnel that wear this equipment are trained
and individually fit tested for the equipment. Improper use of such
masks can be more harmful than helpful. The author also recommends
the use of chemical light sticks. Available from surplus, camping supply,
and sporting goods stores for around $1.00 each. They are portable,
bright, safe, and last for up to 12 hours. They can provide a good
source of light for an area or can be used as a marker. Keep in mind
that these should not be used to replace a flashlight and spare batteries.
Stay at home plan.
In some scenarios, leaving home may not be the best thing for you or
your family. In those situations, you need to be prepared to stay in
your home and be self sufficient for up to a week. A good idea is to
have precut plastic sheeting cut and labeled for the windows and doors
of your home. These can be affixed with duct tape and will prevent
particulate matter that may contain harmful radiation from entering
your home. Precutting the sheets and labeling them with marker will
speed up the application process. It may be necessary to isolate your
water supply from the outside, to prevent the introduction of harmful
elements, know where your shut off valves are. Also keep in mind that
you probably already have a 40-gallon fresh water supply in your house,
your hot water tank. Most hot water tanks are equipped with a drain
valve in the bottom and an intake shut off valve. Know where these
are. In the event of a possible contamination of the water supply,
you may need to turn off the flow of incoming water, and be able to
use the water in the tank. A good idea if you are going to do this,
however, is to purge you tank regularly. Sediments will build up in
the bottom of the tank, and can be drained by the valve in the bottom.
Just keep draining the water until it comes out clear. I have a couple
of "camping style" 10 gallon blue [plastic] containers that
are made for water that I keep filled in the event they are needed.
These
have
handles for ease of transport and do not affect the taste of the water
during prolonged storage. The Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recommends at least
one gallon of water, per person, per day, for at
least three days. I feel that this is a good guideline, as studies
have shown that three days is the average time it takes for outside
aid to reach disaster areas and begin distribution to the public.
Food is also crucial. Again, you will need enough food for each family
member for at least three days. It's a good idea to keep a supply of
non-perishable food items for all family members in portable plastic
storage bins; these can also be purchased at a local department store
for a few dollars. This will provide ease of transportation in the
event relocation is required. You will need to check and rotate food
stocks to keep them fresh and current.
One of the most important tools you can have during an emergency situation
is communication. Local authorities already have contingency plans
in place, and will pass the info on to you. However, you need a means
of getting that information. A battery-powered radio is one of the
most important ways of getting this information. Power supplies may
be interrupted by disaster situations, accidents, or terrorist activity
which makes self powered devices important.
All communities around nuclear power facilities as well as most major
population centers have an emergency broadcast system, which may consist
of sirens, public address (PA) speakers, television and radio broadcasts,
and activation of local authorities. It's up to you to know what the
audible
sirens
represent, and when to take action. Remember the words of George
Santayana "Those
who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
Words to live by.
JWR Adds: In my opinion, having just a three day supply of
food is overly optimistic. FEMA is not likely to come cahrging to the rescue in every neighborhood in just three days. So a three month supply of food with a three week supply
of water (and the means to filter additional water that is gathered later)
is more realistic. Also, it is important to consider charity for your neighbors. A
five year supply of storage food for one family can also be a three month supply
for
20
families, or a three day supply for 200 families.
Brian mentions sheet plastic and duct tape. Completely
sealing a room (which of course he is not suggesting) would be suicidal.
Commercially-made shelter air pumps and HEPA filter
systems are sold by a number of Internet vendors including Ready
Made Resources and Survival
Logistics. (Please mention SurvivalBlog when you order.) Instructions on
how to build improvised air pumps
and
filters
can be found in the book Nuclear
War Survival Skills, which is available for free download,
courtesy of the Oregon Institute
of Science and Medicine. Keep in mind that your air filter box must be
isolated and/or shielded from the occupied portion of your shelter, since it will
accumulate radioactive particulates.
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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.
« Letter Re: Supporting SurvivalBlog |Main| State and Federal Lands--Poor Choices for Short Term Retreat Locales »
Letter Re: Observations on the Recent Missouri Ice Storm
Mr. Rawles,
I live in Southwestern Missouri. Did you followed the ice storm that
buried the Midwest? We got hit pretty hard. We get hit hard every
four or five years. Which brings me to my point. I have never seen
so many unprepared people in all my life.
After day two of the ice storm power was out (for a month in a lot
of places like Springfield). There were no gas cans to be found at
any store. Batteries, disposable propane bottles, flashlights, milk,
and meat were missing from the shelves of every store. Even Wally World
[Wal-Mart] was bare. Kerosene shot up to as much as six dollars a
gallon just before the pumps went dry. And generators? Forget it. Blood
sucking
companies were trucking in generators in 18 wheelers then selling them
in parking lots for outrageously inflated prices.
I work part time at a nation wide auto parts store so I got to see
some ground level action. Folks were buying seven dollar flashlights
just for the two D cell batteries in them. I watched a guy buy a twenty
dollar torch kit just for the three dollar bottle of propane it came
with. I know we're not talking about TEOTWAWKI or WTSHTF.
We're just talking about a relatively short period of time without
any utilities
and day to day comforts.
It was business as usual at my place. We had plenty of food, warmth,
and lights.
I have several ceiling mounted light fixtures in my house with 12 volt/75
watt bulbs in them. Two batteries in the garage power them. I used
my fireplace for heat. I have Plenty of stored water. I keep lots of
those disposable propane bottles around for my lantern and cook stoves.
A gas stove and a gas hot water heater are a must. I would never own
a home with an electric kitchen. A few number 10 cans of bulk food,
a few MREs, and even some frozen meats and foods took care of our meals.
My scanner and my Wife's small palm sized TV kept us informed of the
weather and police activity in our area.
We never missed work, we never missed any meals, we never missed a
hot shower, and we never got cold. All because of a few simple things
I did years ago. What I did wasn't expensive, hard, or complicated.
Any one can do it.
[Odds are that] in another four or five years we will be hit by another
devastating ice storm. I hope that the folks around here have learned
something.
- Bob F. in Missouri
« Letter Re: Veterinary Antibiotics and Medical Freezers |Main| Notes from JWR: »
Letter Re: Observations on the Recent Oklahoma Ice Storm
Jim:
Well, I just got back online. I had to go up to the roof and thaw the
wireless [Internet] antenna with a heat gun. It seems the ice grounds
out the antenna. It was an easy fix with my heat gun for heat shrink
tubing. More precipitation is on the way but colder. It will
probably just be snow. We never
lost power but
were ready anyway. I have friends with no power and they
have been without power for days and no idea when it will
be back on. The further
out you live, the less chance of getting back on line. Power is also
out at the feed mill so feed stores are short on feed and they say
that they no idea when more will com. We bought extra and can always
supplement with
more hay or alfalfa. We could butcher the pigs early or sell some
cattle if needed but all of our preparation this Fall is paying off. Think ahead!
Wall-Mart is out of propane cylinders and no extra tanks around.
We have plenty
of tanks and are set to fill from the bulk tank here as needed. You
always need an alternative means to do everything. Redundancy is
the word
for survival. I have some friends with no heat. They report
46 degrees in the house. Standard fireplaces put out very little
heat. [JWR Adds: Yes, in fact they have been documented
to put more heat up the chimney than into a room!] We have electric
heat, woodstove,
and propane heat. Redundancy means you will always be warm. We lost
some branches and the storm knocked down my 160 Meter loop antenna
but it works almost as
well
on the ground. (Thanks to the design and the antenna tuners we can
just re-tune and are up and running.) Repair should take about 2
to 3 hours since the antenna is set to go up and down at each pole
for
maintenance. Hint: the design was well thought out and therefore
easy to fix. Think ahead. Of course we have 4 or 5 ways to receive
and
transmit, plus the mobile radio. Again, redundancy. Our
[photovoltaic] solar panels were covered with ice but still function,
and we have more
in the barn
to use that are thawed. We continue to look for weak spots and all
I came up with is the need for more batteries and more power. We
have tow or three ways to do everything so if one system is down
we just go to the next. Sure makes you feel good that instead
of driving new
vehicles we [instead] have heat, power, water, and food and backups
for each. No worries about heat is a big relief. One of
my friends has
a generator, but no heat. Although he knows the items he needs
to provide heat, there is nothing available. It is all sold
out. Guess that is why
I take
those
old propane heaters and put them in storage. Backup for the backup.
We are looking forward to the snow--better than ice. We have wood
to pick up today at the lumber mil. (We get the slabs from the mill,
load
on
the trailer banded together and take them home. We cut it [for fuel]
as we need it. More in the woods [hereon my property] but I will
leave it for more backup. Keep
preparing. Do one thing each day and it will all add up. Anyone got
a good milk cow? We need a new one, since even livestock gets worn
out and old. God Bless,
- Alphie Omega
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Notes From JWR: »
Pre-Crisis Survival Skills, by D.A.L.
Pre-crisis survival skills: The only tool more valuable than knowledge
is an attitude of self sufficiency. The mere willingness to provide
for your own needs can pay off everyday, even absent any “end
of the world as we know it” event. In fact, simply being willing
to provide for your own needs can pave the way for not only learning
valuable skills, but saving money to boot!
By way of example let me tell you about a recent experience with the
steam heating system at my lady friend’s house. It is a Victorian
house and the main boiler furnace was replaced five years ago as it
was in poor condition and needed a new boiler. This is a single pipe
steam
system not a closed hot water system so it needs regular water replenishing.
The other thing of note is her water is very hard locally with lots
of dissolved minerals.
So the story begins with the first cold afternoon of the season. The
thermostat had been turned on and the pilot light was working that
morning so she figured when she got home everything would be toasty
warm. Well she got home and had no heat, and so called the heating
man to come and see what was wrong. He came and checked over the system
and got it going. He said it was a plugged flue so he cleaned that
and put in a new low water sensor lead which appeared corroded and
leaves her with a $100 bill, an hour later. To me this says
the burner is carbonizing and not burning cleanly for a gas fired boiler.
No other future recommendations besides call them if there are any
other further issues. Okay, I didn’t have to do anything so no
real complaints.
A week later no heat and again she calls, a second service tech is
there and 60 minutes later she has heat and another $100 bill. This
time
it is a low water condition and he fills the boiler manually but couldn’t
read the level in the site glass so just filled it till it started
running again, but he says everything is okay for now and maybe you
will have to replace the lower water controller at a future time.
I finally say enough I am going to take look at it. So a quick search
on the web on boilers and a basic plumbing book I had on the shelf
that I got at a garage sale the year before for a dollar and I now
have some basic information for trouble shooting, then I go down to
start with a survey.
The first thing I see is the main drain valve installed by this same
company five years ago on the new boiler, has the valve handle removed
so it can sit right up tight next to the water heater that stands beside
the boiler. Funny after 100 years the boiler no longer needs periodic
draining to remove scale even though the owner has been systematically
doing it for 15 years per the previous recommended service people.
So the tech has had to use a pair of vise grips to open the value to
drain the boiler to test the low water sensor. Not that this 2nd tech
would consider replacing the valve and putting in an elbow to turn
the valve away from the hot water heater so a proper draining could
be done in the future, and maybe he should consider cleaning the sight
glass which was so coated with crud inside you couldn’t see the
water level properly anyway.
I having been a maintenance engineer for two years so I said "Okay
lets fix this baby."
So I spent $9 for a new elbow and valve, and had at hand some
Teflon pipe dope and assortment of wrenches, a proper work light and
bucket to sit on to take the weight off my knees as this might take
a while and I can only squat for so long and I was ready to start.
Now I see why the tech took so long to trouble shoot the boiler issues.
They had to drain the boiler into a bucket, one bucket at a time to
get out the 40 odd gallons in the systems at $85 dollars an hour, nice
work if you can get it, emptying boilers manually, gee isn’t
this the 21st century, wow maybe I am in the wrong business, anyway
so I get a bucket and put in an electric sump pump I have to hand and
hook up the garden hose and then by draining the cooled boiler water
directly into the bucket continuously and running the sump pump I put
the water out through the hose and I drained the system in fewer than
5 minutes. Wow maybe I should be giving the certified plumbers a lesson
in efficiency.
First improvement: Bucket, pump, hose for draining and testing.
Then when the water was emptied, I had my lady friend move the water
heater a 1⁄4 inch with a 8 foot long 2 x 4 so I could remove
the old drain valve and put in the new elbow and a new drain valve,
I guided
her effort as we just had to move it a little and even though it was
also full of water, it was a 40 gallon tank, she was able to move it
just enough to not disturb the connecting piping or vent. Now I had
enough room to hacksaw off the stem of the bad drain valve, so I could
unscrew it to install the new 90 degree elbow and put in the brand
new drain valve after doping all the threads with Teflon pipe dope.
Second improvement: better clearance, new elbow, new valve for speedier
draining.
Now that we could drain the boiler properly and efficiently, you should
have seen all the crud that still came out after the second filling
and draining to test out the new drain valve. Now that I could drain
and
fill the system, the question of course was how high was the water
level to be, too low and the low water sensor tries to turn on the
auto fill valve, too high and you get water hammer in the pipes as
the steam tries to force it’s way up an overly full pipe and
surges. So the next thing was, let’s see if we can clean the
sight glass and get a handle on water level since there doesn’t
seem to have been any issues with either electricity or gas to the
furnace at this point.
So with the sight glass cleaned up we can now visually monitor the
water level in the boiler… a little gentle wrenching and some
silicone spray on the seals after working them loose to make it easy
to reassemble. Then using a small rod with some fiberglass insulation
wrapped around it and I was able to clean the tube almost as clean
as new, a kind of home made test tube cleaner, the fiber glass wouldn’t
scratch the sight tube as it was also made of glass, but it was abrasive
enough without leaving any residue, to scrape the brown built up baked
on sludge off the inside of the tube.
The two shut off sight valves stems were badly corroded and leaking
past their packing, so it was time to gently take them both apart and
lightly
emery cloth around the stem to create a new sealing surface, and then
I dug out the baked packing inside the cap nuts with a nice dull straight
bit screw driver. The material which looked like window glazing compound
was all dried out and so it was useless to try and tighten the nuts
to try to get them to clamp down on the packing to create some sealing.
After removing all the old packing I did a little wipe down with some
silicon spay of the cap nuts with a clean rag and then I gently reassembled
them with some new Teflon packing wrapped around the stems and I put
a little Teflon bicycle bearing grease on the stem threads and the
cap threads. They went back together as smooth as if they were new.
After refilling the systems there were no leaks anywhere and the new
drain valve works smoothly and allowed for proper service draining
and I can now see the water level is correct and we have heat.
Third improvement, emery clothe, grease, silicon spray, and Teflon
packing.
I had my son working with me, watching what was going on so he was
involved. I was asking him as I worked what is wrong with this before
starting the emery on the valve stems, then showed him the final product
after five minutes work and mentioned you could use old sand paper
that had lost most of it’s grit or even a pocket knife in a pinch,
that there are lots of different ways to fix things, we could have
even
used the bench lathe at home and burnished the valve stems if we wanted
a superior sealing surface, and I talked to my son of the process of
discovery, and of what to look for, as all things have a story to tell
of misuse or poor maintenance if one only looks close enough. I did
this as I was cleaning things so he could learn as I was learning how
things come apart and go back together. Then we filled the boiler and
could actually see the water in the sight glass and now have a more
manual control of things. Besides saving money I used the opportunity
to teach a valuable life skill to the next generation.
So on to the final step was the auto water level control. Now
this unit sit on the water inlet to the furnace and gets a signal from
the low water level sensor to put more water in the boiler, called
make up water, after taking off the cover of the control and reading
the settings for the small dip switches I see they have it set to come
on after 2 minutes and to run for 2 minutes giving only 2 gallons of
make up water. The problem was it seems one to be turning off and was
over
filling. So after turning off the power even though this is 24 volt
control circuit and not a 120 circuit, I took apart the controller
and carefully put aside the screws and cover and with small paper labels
marked the two power leads to the solenoid. Then I took the solenoid
off knowing there would be a magnetic plunger and return spring inside.
Setting those aside and checking for wear and corrosion I found the
rubber diaphragm sealing seat covered in scale from the hard water,
which was preventing the seal from shutting off the water at the right
time and allowing the boiler to over fill, which is why I found the
manual water feed valves in the off position after the last service
tech left. He obviously knew he would be back for another service all
after turning the valves to the to off, it would only take a few days
for the system to run low on water and for the furnace to stop running,
nice to be able to plan future service calls. I took everything apart
slowly and carefully and didn’t use any sharp edged tools so
as not to scratch or tear anything. I eased the diaphragm off and cleaned
it with Armor All [rubber/plastic treatment spray] so as to preserve
the synthetic rubber seal. Then using CLR [Clear Lube wire pulling
lubricant]
and
a soft
wood
piece
I trimmed
off some scrap wood, I worked it around the brass sealing seat scrubbing
the
scale
off.
No
holes,
no
gouges. Everything looked good to me. I also made note
of the part number of the gasket and the serial number of the controller
so later I might e-mail the company and get some back up parts. So
after reassembling every thing I refilled the boiler part way then
lowered the level till the controller demanded water. The value worked
and filled the boiler perfectly to right below the high water line
with setting the timer to four minutes. I re-did the whole cycle again
just to test it. So instead of a $650 replacement controller and $100
service call, I did all the work for the price of a cup of tea provided
by my sweetheart, some Armor All and 2 cents worth of CLR. I think
this would come out to almost $300 dollars and hour. Wow, I really
am in the wrong business.
Fourth improvement, CLR, Armor All, wood chip.
So nothing high tech or even hard, a few hours worth of work and it
is in better shape then when the service people left it after $200
of professional work. Besides the end result of improved and better
running equipment, the first return on my investment of time and labor
was an immediate saving of $750. I can use that to buy things that
I can not make myself. For instance $200 would more than pay for a
used 22 rifle and a thousand cartridges, or as much as a months worth
of food for the whole household if spent very carefully.
Now both I and my son and my lady friend understand better how the
system works and can in an emergency override the auto controls with
the manual valves and I can teach the 2 kids what to do when there
is no heat on in the house. And we are learning to work as a team and
to figure things out and to communicate and to think on our own. The
best survival skills I feel I could give my kids is teach them to think
outside the box and work things through using that uncommon thing often
called common sense.
Another important point is a little maintenance goes a long way, the
two sight glass valves are so corroded into their respective feed pipes
I am not sure I could have gotten them out with out lots more piping
complications, if I was to try to replace them which is why I am sure
the service people didn’t.
I grew up learning to fix things from my grandfather and my father,
so by gently refurbishing the sight glass valves in place I saved a
service call and further repair work.
Now that I am done I will digital photo the whole set up and print
it off to go in the furnace file with dates and notes when this work
was last performed so I also know how long my repairs are holding up.
Thinking back and as to how I learned to be self sufficient, when I
was growing up I watched my grandfather service a bicycle wheel bearing
while he sat in a folding lounge chair cleaning parts in kerosene,
out doors on the cement patio of a used bike my parents had obtained
for us. He was teaching me to wipe off the old hard grease and explaining
that 5 cents of grease will make the bike run like a million dollars.
I must have been all of 10 and am now 52 this year, and recently I
helped my 13 year rebuild his first bicycle wheel hub and I said to
him 5 cents worth grease will make it run like a million dollars. I
can see my grandfather still and remember his patience as he showed
me how to clean and assemble that hub so many years ago and that simple
lesson still brings value today 40 plus years later. Thanks grandfather
and you are remembered in a story to your great grand son you never
met but knows where and what I learned, to do things carefully and
the right way, and I hope he teaches his grand son or daughter and
tells them about me and how I learned from you.
I take this same approach to being prepared with extra food stores
and clothes and knowing how to use tools be they an ax or a buck saw,
how to build a camp fire or always carrying a first aid kit in the
car, and a spare flashlight and owning a box of candles and hard rations
and good boots and the value of good socks, and knowing who to call
and where to go in an emergency. It is all in the knowledge one carries
in one’s head be prepared and be knowledgeable.
So the lesson is to know your equipment. If we ever are without heat
and snowed in and the service people can’t come for days, like
just what happened in Buffalo [New York] last week in my home town,
we could now that we are familiar with the system possibly get it running
again
One other important note all the work was done with the power shut
off and the water turned off at the main. None of this type of work
should be undertaken without some real knowledge of the basic safety
required around any power equipment. - D.A.L.
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Letter Re: First Hand Observations on the Recent Pacific Northwest Wind Storm
Background: I am an 11 year veteran peace officer
and survivalist, or in more politically correct terminology, a POP – Preparedness
Oriented Person. I work in a moderate sized city in the Seattle area.
On 14-15 December,
the Tacoma-Seattle-Everett metropolitan area suffered one of the
most deadly and damaging windstorms in recorded history. The storm
easily eclipsed the last major deadly blow on Inaugural Day, 1993.
That storm had been identified as a “once in a century” type
storm. At the peak, over 1 million people did not have power.
This storm was modeled and forecasted with accuracy five days before
it occurred. Yes indeed, people had five days to prepare. Weather forecasters
warned viewers and listeners to be prepared. They were right. Gusts
ranging from 55 to 70 mph were recorded in the area. Sustained winds
exceeded 40 to 50 mph in many areas. A top gust of 135 mph was recorded
at a ski area near the North Central Washington city of Wenatchee.
A month of record rain coupled with several preceding days of heavy
rains led to many more trees than normal being toppled. An unusually
violent (for the area) thunderstorm produced heavy rain and ground
strike lightening. At this writing, 4 deaths have been directly attributed
to the windstorm. Three were from collisions with trees in the roadway
and one from a tree crushing a mobile home. Additionally, the storm
left clear skies and cold weather. The three following days after the
windstorm had nighttime temperatures that were at or below freezing.
One death was attributed to carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning and over
100 people have been treated for CO poisoning. The one who died from
CO
poisoning,
he was running a gas generator inside his home. Several
homes and business have been burned, either from direct electrical
line contact to roofs
and buildings or from candles igniting surfaces or being knocked over.
Observations: Gosh, where do I begin? In watching the news, it was
easily apparent that so many were ill or unprepared. This continues
to befuddle me, as the citizens of this area are involved in frequent
windstorms, power outages, and other natural disasters or events. Watching
the news showed how stupid people were. In one instance, a major eastside
of Seattle city was 80% without power. This meant no power to stores,
homes and other businesses.
Grocery stores: Stores could not sell as the computer driver point
of sale terminals were down. People could not readily buy supplies.
My local Albertson’s lost over $60,000 worth of cold and frozen
goods as the power was off for 18 hours and by law, they could not
sell the slightly warmed foodstuffs. People were traveling as far away
as 30 miles to find an open store. Many stores that were opened
quickly ran out of staples. Again, my local grocery was at minimal bread, paper
goods, fuels (including the supermarket wood bundles) and batteries.
While I spoke with the manager, I overheard one woman on her cell phone
loudly complain that it was her third store that did not have wood.
Gas stations: stations without power could not pump. Those stations
that could pump saw long lines and quickly ran out of fuel. One fellow
was ingenious enough to stand beside a road in an affluent city east
of Seattle and advertise that he was selling 25 gallons of gas for
$15 dollars a gallon! And he sold it all! Expecting
the worst, I refilled some gas cans and my vehicle on Thursday morning
after I got off work.
At the local gas station, a citizen who knows me made a snide comment
about if the world was coming to an end. That citizen now sits in his
home, four days without power. It was reported that those stations
that were the only ones available quickly raised their prices to 20
to 30 cents above market prices, in reflection of demand. The state
will apparently investigate whether these stations were gouging.
Alternative power: boy howdy! You can certainly tell
who has alternative power. I could easily see their houses all lit
up long before I heard
the generators. A local firefighter I know half-humorously stated that
he could make his retirement if he had some generators for sale on
Craigslist.com right
now. He is right. On a news report today, a local Home Depot had people
waiting in line, just to buy a Coleman portable
generator. Home Depot sold out of two pallets worth of generators in
a very short time. Around here, folks would rather have that High Definition
42-inch
plasma screen rather than a solid generator. POPs like me should look
for a whole slew of lightly used generators for sale come springtime.
Alternative heat: a majority of homes in this region do have working
fireplaces. However, you would think they are decorative as I heard
of so many people looking for firewood. Local firewood dealers were
busy selling and stocking. Additionally, many new homes being built
do not have real working fireplaces but instead have what amount to
nothing more than decorative gas fireplaces (which look nice but produce
little usable heat). During the daytime, you could tell who did not
have power and heat due to so many fireplaces burning. The chimney
sweeps in this area should have a good spring.
Security: while patrolling, I was amazed at how many people in power
out areas left their garage doors open. I was told by a few that they
left them open because the power was out. When asked about the manual
disconnect, they seemed generally amazed that there was such a thing
on mechanical garage door openers . . . In addition to security, I
was also amazed at how many people ran their generators in
their front yards! Easily accessible and in less than 20 seconds, gone.
Where are the cops, firefighters, public works, etc? Folks, I can
tell you everybody was out there (who were scheduled). My small fire
station, which usually handles about 20 calls for service in a 96 hour
block, saw over 150 calls during the same period, most storm related.
A tree branch damaged one of the firefighting rigs. Cops were out there
and stretched thin. Between doing road closures and stopping yet another
knucklehead
who could not read the "ROAD CLOSED" sign, they were busy. A couple
of my fellow officers had to do traffic stops on people simply driving
reckless around down trees, power lines, etc. People in this area simply
got "a case of the stupids" when the weather went sideways. Public
works crews from all the cities had their hands full. I know of one
case
where
a woman nearly went to blows with a crew simply because they were cutting “her
tree.” Of course, her tree was fallen across a street and blocking
it. Again, the stupids. One public works worker I know told me of a
story of a downed power line, hanging chest high in a roadway. They
were blocking one side and flashing their headlights and amber rotators
at people. One fellow stopped his car on the other side of the live
lines, walked underneath them and ambled up to their truck to tell
them that the lines were down. (The same ones he had just walked under--which
were also the ones they were parked next to and trying to keep people
from driving into .)
Power distribution: one of the things preventing having everyone up
and running is short order has been the interactions of trees, lines,
poles and crews to get things cut up. Per policy, public works crews
are not to cut a tree until the downed power lines are declared safe.
However, some lines cannot be declared safe until the trees are partially
cut. Add to the mix that many power poles were snapped. No utility
in the area had enough poles stockpiled so they have to be shipped
it from the east. With the mountain passes suffering blizzards and
some occasionally extreme weather, trucking becomes a challenge. Why
power lines are not brought underground in this region is a mystery
to me. Perhaps can enlighten me as to why.
As for my family, and me we took the warnings seriously. I made sure
I had plenty of fuel in the cans, generator and cars. My battery/inverter
setup was fully charged and ready. I had plenty of firewood stacked
and ready. I purposely bought a house that has gas appliances and a
fully normal fireplace with a heat exchanger system (with low wattage
power blower – works great on just the inverter setup). I had
my supplies established and weather the storm with ease. I did not
have a tree fall on my house and the tree limbs I collected (that many
people were disposing of with either services or green waste) made
for a huge stack of logs to be seasoned for next winter. Best Regards – MP
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Two Letters Re: Build Your Fallout Shelter From Barter Goods, by Mr. Yankee
Jim:
Regarding Mr. Yankee's article: Salt in some water softeners is potassium
chloride, not sodium chloride. Both are 'salts' but they behave differently.
Be sure
you
are storing
the sodium chloride variety.- SF in Hawaii
Mr Rawles,
Hope this finds you and your family doing well. I'm not sure if this link has
been disclosed in the past, and I am certainly no expert in this field, but
this seems like a
well thought out presentation for a fallout shelter. Keep up the good
work, - R.C.
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Three Letters Re: Build Your Fallout Shelter From Barter Goods, by Mr. Yankee
Hi Jim.
Just felt the need to re-emphasize the point you made with regard to
Mr. Yankee's ideas about an improvised fallout shelter.
First, I applaud his view that one should not count on being able to
pull together an adequate expedient shelter when the need arises. As
simple in theory as it seems, in practice, few would end up with a
shelter they would want to rely on to save the lives of their loved
ones.
Second, as far as the point you made, Jim, it is indeed very important
to over-engineer any sort of structure that will be bearing the loads
necessary for a fallout shelter.
I need to point out that I want to do everything in my power to encourage
folks to buy or build their own shelters, whether it is from us or
not. Why? I feel it's very possible that the number of adequate shelters
in the USA will go a long way toward defining our future viability.
So I always hesitate to discourage folks in any way when they talk
about what they feel are good, easy shelter ideas ... but really are
simply short cuts that as you pointed out could end up killing them.
To anyone thinking about this, if you're going to build your own fallout
shelter, then be darn sure it is built to last for decades under the
most stressful conditions you can imagine. (Better yet, under conditions
a structural engineer can imagine.) If it turns out you need to spend
any time at all in your shelter, you sure don't want to be thinking
about how you cut some corners to save a few bucks, or that you did
just enough to probably hold up when you have to start topping off
the loads.
A "for instance": There are a lot of arm-chair, Internet
shelter designers who like to propose grand designs for underground
shelters made of storage containers. Bad idea! They
may look great as you are backfilling and burying them, but they are
not built to
withstand subterranean forces. They will catastrophically fail at some
point--probably sooner than later. Believe me, if they would work,
there would be plenty of us selling them as bargain-basement solutions.
As I said, I want to encourage folks to do the best they can to provide
a decent shelter for their loved ones. It's important, and when you
get it done well, it's peace of mind that you can't otherwise buy or
manufacture. If you're going to do it at all, do it very, very well.
Besides the need for Mr. Yankee to think seriously about shoring up
his floor overhead and perhaps his walls, I'd ask him to try not to
get too clever with what it is that will serve as his shielding mass.
Salt will work, as will any material (including air), but the key
is how much will get the job done? I suspect that one would need a
whole lot of salt to provide the needed mass.
A quick rule of thumb many can benefit from when looking at how well
to shield their survival space: Shielding that reduces gamma ray intensity
by 50% includes .4 inch of lead, 2.4 inches of concrete, 3.6 inches
of packed dirt or 500 ft of air. One should aim for 10 times the halving
protection using these guidelines when constructing your fallout shelter
... such as 36 inches of earth or 24 inches of concrete or 4 inches
of lead (not practical) or say, 12 inches of concrete and 18 inches
of earth. This is a minimal level of protection, I feel. Of course,
overkill in shielding is great as long as the supporting structure
is built to withstand it. - Vic at Safecastle
Hi Jim,
I applaud Mr. Yankee for starting to think about constructing a Fallout
Shelter. Over the past few months, I have been giving some consideration
to the very same thing. But, after researching various “expedient” shelters
such as the one described by Mr. Yankee (available in FEMA publications),
I came to the conclusion that these are inferior, last minute, “make
do” constructs. Given the time available to plan, it just makes
sense to do the job properly.
Time and Space
I am constantly amused at how little time people think that they will
be spending in a fallout shelter. Somehow, they seem to equate a nuclear
incident with that of a passing thunder storm/tornado. The problem
is that while a storm does its thing and moves on (or dies out), a
nuclear event has two components: The Blast and the Fallout. What most
folks do not realize is that it’s the Fallout that is “the
gift which keeps on giving” (gamma radiation). And, in most cases,
people will need to create Fallout Shelters to protect and shield themselves
from the gamma radiation contained in the Fallout. Those who live in
target rich areas should consider building a Blast Shelter.
Figuring on a minimum of two weeks (but more likely a month) in the
shelter to allow the radiation to taper off, leads one to consider
not only
providing for clean Air, Food, Water, Clothing, Beds; but also Sanitation,
Exercise, Entertainment. Now, add an average family of four people
into the equation and things become more interesting.
I am reminded of the old gag question: "How many college students can
you fit into a telephone booth?"
A 12’x 8’ (and what height?) basement room is not going
to be enough physical space to handle the family and all the other
things they will need for the duration in the shelter. - Douglas in
CT
Dear Jim,
I believe Mr Yankee is unclear on his terminology. Concrete or other
mass won't stop fallout. Air filters stop fallout, which is radionuclide
particles. These generally precipitate out in a few hours/few days.
A good soaking of the surrounding ground with soap solution will
wash them into the soil and lessen the danger of inhalation/contact
(from stirring up the dust). The reason nuclear residue from weapons
is dangerous is because of its high energy. At the same time, that
high level of radiation means it has a short half life. There are
long term risks of cancer and such, but the immediate risk is quite
controllable. An expedient method is to tape windows shut and use
dryer lint between screens as air filters, drawing up from under
a cover. A sprinkler over the intake to create a water curtain will
improve effectiveness. Obviously, HEPA filters are preferred, if
available.
Direct radiation (Which is what I believe he means by "fallout")
is stopped by concrete, compacted Earth or other dense materials such
as lead. Most modern military warheads are efficient enough that exposure
to lethal levels of radiation means one is already within the radius
of overpressure or thermal blast. Obviously, improvised devices are
not so clean, and there is danger near the edges of an explosion where
one can be exposed to dangerous levels. He is correct that food cans
won't stop such radiation. On the other hand, metals will. Lead is
the classic choice, but gold, silver, copper (you might see where that
is going) and even steel are of some effect, as is the mass of the
house and any outside walls--radiation travels in straight lines, and
if the blast is directly overhead, you won't feel a thing. Copper plates
overhead, with a layer of brick or such, plus the outside walls of
the house, a berm, trees, nearby terrain features or intervening buildings
will all absorb some of the radiation front.
I would recommend against storing materials one plans to use so they
can double as shielding. The shielding can absorb neutrons and re-emit
them as ionizing radiation. This is very unhealthy. The copper, lead
or steel used as such needs to be avoided after the fact, especially
on the blast side. It would be a decent gesture not to trade such materials
off to the unsuspecting to get sick and die from.
I agree on over-engineering and then covering with concrete or compacted
Earth. Something mentioned here before that is quite affordable is
a used CONEX box, which is designed to take high weight on the edges
and corners. A fairly simple bracing atop it (Any mechanical engineer
or even a good construction contractor should be able to calculate
what's needed) will support more than enough mass to act as shielding.
This can be planted outside the basement with a drainage bed of gravel
underneath, accessible from inside, and reducing the risk of the house
collapsing atop the shelter. - Michael
Z. Williamson
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Letter Re: Emergency Shelter Air Filtration
Hey Jim,
Just a couple of articles [over at the Alpha Rubicon site] that you might find
interesting:
Safe Room Fan
and,
HEPA Filter
Regards, - S.C.
JWR Replies: For any SurvivalBlog that might have overlooked
it at my Links
page, I highly
recommend the wide variety of practical free references available
at the
Alpha Rubicon web site.
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Letter Re: Emergency Shelter Air Filtration
Most of the modern home vacuum cleaners have pretty decent high
efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters in them nowadays. Assuming
you still
have power (a big if) you could
seal
a
room to
the best of your ability and leave your vacuum cleaners running (with
the air intakes off the floor). If you have a bag type, remember
to put a new bag in. Presto, filtered air, McGyver style. If all
you have is an older style vacuum cleaner with no filter, then put
a damp rag (and keep it damp) over the air intake, but be careful
not to overheat the vacuum with too thick a cloth. The point of the
water is that the majority of dust won't fly when wet. If you want
to be more creative, see if you can attach the air intake to a makeshift
"bong" (or
buy one from a "head" shop. Just ask a local teenager). This
will pull the room air though a larger quantity of water. A
standard bong would not do much as the bubble size would be too large
and keep the majority of the air from contacting the water, but putting
an aquarium bubbler at the submerged end of the bong stem will reduce
bubble size and make it more effective. You could also think about
adding a surfactant to the water to decrease surface tension making
the bubbles smaller again. Perhaps some soap would work.
This would be the best option as it's the tiniest particles that are
the most damaging as they can pass through your lungs directly into
your bloodstream and the kind of HEPA filters on vacuums won't stop
these. Of course if power goes out, then even a pricey safe room air
filtration system would be useless if it wasn't running on battery
or backup. - SF in Hawaii
JWR Replies: Thanks for that suggestion. Some household
vacuums use water pipe type filtration. One example is the Rainbow
brand. This is the type of vacuum that we use on a day-to-day
basis here at the Rawles Ranch. These Rainbow vacuums are quite expensive
if purchased new,
but
can sometimes be found used
at reasonable
prices.
(You might
try
a "Want
to Buy"
ad on craigslist.com.)
One
advantage of the vacuum cleaner approach is that by sourcing outside
air, it provides a positive
overpressure for your shelter. This will make up for any
minor inadequacies in tape sealing your windows and doors. Keep in
mind that in a nuke
scenario (nuclear bomb, a sub-critical "dirty bomb", or
a nuclear power plant melt-down) that your filter media will gradually
become
occluded with fallout dust and that dust will be very "hot." This
means that the filter must be isolated with shielding from
the occupied portion of your shelter. (A double thickness stack of
ammo cans filled with ammunition
should be adequate for this task.) A variation of the vacuum cleaner
approach that requires no elctricity is a hank crank-powered or bicycle frame-powered squirrel
cage fan. These fans can be salvaged from discarded house furnaces.
Just
ask
your local heating contractors for a couple of discards. Your local
welding shop can improvise a sprocket attachment for powering the
fan. For general information on shelter air supply and filtration
systems, see Cresson Kearney's indispensable book "Nuclear
War Survival Skills".
(Available for free download at the Oregon
Institute of Science and Medicine web site.)
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Letter Re: Storing Coal for Home Heating at Your Retreat
Jim:
Regarding he recent thread on coal storage, old factories and military
installations that used coal (some barracks were coal heated and
still have bins
outside)
often
have large amounts (suitable for the survivalist or amateur
blacksmith) of coal that's not cost-effective for the operation to
do anything
with.
If
one offers to clean it up, it might be available free. I know there's
lots of anthracite coal outside old barracks at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin.
Perhaps someone in the area would be able to salvage it. I'd appreciate
a load for
my
forge for the referral if anyone does this. - Michael
Z. Williamson, (in sword maker rather than sci-fi writer mode)
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Two Letters Re: Storing Coal for Home Heating at Your Retreat
Jim:
As a retired firefighter I want to mention that stored coal must
be kept dry. I you do not, is will start an internal combustion fire
deep in the center. To put it out, you must dig down to where it is
hot. Regards, - G.C.P.
James:
You brought out some very important points about the differences
between eastern (anthracite) and western coal.
Most coal stove manufacturers recommend using only anthracite coal.
A few go so far as to void the warranty on their stoves if you burn
anything
but anthracite.
My pantry is located in an outbuilding and even though it is double-insulated
and heated with 220 volt baseboard heaters with a propane-fired furnace
as a backup, I believe in redundancy and installed a wood/coal burning
stove "just in case". I bought the unit from a friend who
was demolishing an older home in the area. The stove is heavy welded
steel plate and carries a manufacturers tag stating it is rated for
wood and coal.
Even though I have easy access to an almost unlimited amount of seasoned
wood, I purchased a ton of (western) coal from a local mom and pop
mine for $20. ("You-Load"). While the stove burns effortlessly
with wood, it is a nightmare with coal: dirty, smelly, hard to
regulate. The
only real use I can see for coal is to damper the stove down at night,
toss in a few lumps of coal and let it smolder overnight. The fact
is, my stove was just not designed to burn coal, the firebox and flue
are simply not up to par with that of a stove designed from the ground
up to use coal.
The second problem I have with coal is deterioration. I put my coal
outdoors on a plastic tarp. Within a year, the lumps and chunks of
coal had been reduced by weathering to a coarse, almost sand-like consistency.
I've found that even if I fill a couple lunch bags with this material
and toss it in, it burns much faster than solid chunks and is not suitable
for overnight use.
If I were seriously interested in burning coal, I'd do two things:
1.) purchase a genuine "coal-stove" and 2.) construct a weatherproof
coal-bin. - Hawgtax
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Storing Coal for Home Heating at Your Retreat
James;
One thing I haven't seen discussed at SurvivalBlog is coal.
It is an excellent survival fuel. I would recommend purchasing ten
tons
of
coal
for your
survival
retreat. When the SHTF, you would basically have over a three year
supply of energy, with no trees to chop. Best of all, there are no
storage problems. You can leave it in a pile, or bury it in a hole.
It will keep and will not degrade.
Coal is very cheap. If possible, get a low sulfur anthracite coal.
However, if your budget is tight, you can get a higher sulfur coal.
The concern would be corrosion in your stove pipe. But even if you
use high sulfur, a 3 year run shouldn't be a problem. If you want something
real cheap, try to get hold of petroleum coke. It used to sell for
$5/ton. Great for heating, but it will be high in sulfur. A lower sulfur
form is called needle coke or anode grade coke. You might attract some
suspicion ordering a large load, so you might want to stress the farmer
approach. Also, coal is used as a filtering
media, so you can claim you are using it for bio-diesel production.
Claim it absorbs the glycerin. Or just purchase smaller lots. Filter
grade anthracite is readily available in 1-ton super sacks. This will
cost a little more though.
Regards, - J.D.P.
JWR Replies: We have indeed mentioned coal in the
blog, but not in quite a while. For any of our readers that have never
burned coal, keep
in mind that coal burns very hot and hence a typical woodstove
grate may burn out when you switch to coal, which could put
your stove's firebox at risk. Make sure that your stove has a cast
iron
grate that
is compatible
with coal. (Talk to your local stove dealer if you aren't sure.) OBTW,
if you own a home without a coal bin, you can sometimes order coal
for delivery in pallet boxes. (Often this is a bit less expensive than
bagged coal, and the boxes are easier to store in bulk quantities
if you don't have a basement
that is already set up for coal delivery and storage, or if your planned
coal storage exceeds your existing bin's capacity. A few of these
big pallet boxes stacked two-high in your barn is an investment in
peace
of
mind, since coal
stores
indefinitely.
Ironically, even though there is more coal mined in the western U.S.
than in the east, home heating coal seems to be more expensive west
of Ohio, and coal for the consumer (home heating) market is downright
hard to find in some western states. (And what we have here
is nearly all
low
sulfur lignite or sub-bituminous coal, since
that
is what is principally mined in the west.) I know one gent in Nebraska
that insists on burning only Anthracite, and he mail orders it from
Lehman's in
Ohio. But that is a "spendy:" way to buy coal. For some background
and practical "how to" on heating your home with coal,
see
the Anthracite
Coal Forum.
Lastly, I should mention that if you plan to have a home blacksmithing
forge, you should lay in a supply of coal and coke, even if you don't
plan on heating your home with coal. Here
is one handy resource on home blacksmiths.
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Four Letters Re: Uses for CONEXes at a Retreat
James:
We used some CONEXes
to build a workshop. We built a wall halfway down the box with a door
in it, insulated the front half, and put in power
and air conditioning. It works fine, [but] the back half gets really,
really hot. I'd recommend painting the container a heat reflecting
color, try to put it under some trees out of direct sunlight, build
some
kind
of roof over it or something
to cut the heat like trellis planted with vines. We use the Rough Neck RV roof
mounted air conditioners. I would recommend cutting a hole in the side
and mounting a regular window mount air
conditioning unit. - Mosby
Jim:
The main site for the use of buried ConEX containers for survival
purposes is Undergroundcontainer.com/.
It is also fun to see other this that have done with these such as
housing like
at this British site or this
one in New Zealand or this "fabprefab.co"
site in the U.S. They are also used warehousing. See "a
warehouse on wheels" and this
site in New Zealand.
Also remember, this idea isn’t completely new, people have been
using other means such as culvert (as
suggested at Walton Feed) and old
school busses.
All in all, ConEx containers seem to be a good choice.
Following the
teachings of Mike Oehler (also a survivalist at heart) – I
think it is important to keep in mind that flat roofs leak,
especially if buried. Therefore, keeping
in mind the weight limitations (dirt and by 30 to 114 pounds per cubic
foot depending upon makeup and moisture), you should put down hard
insulation foam board, plastic or rubber roof over it and drape all
the way over
the edge and down and out, the put down some clean (nothing sharp to
puncture) dirt on top, maybe 18 inches in the center and 6 inches on
the side creating a pitch – and then plastic over that. Now put
the final dirt over that again, leaving at least a slight pitch as
ground level for drainage away from the center of the underground structure.
Your uppermost plastic sheet (or rubber roof material) should fan out
at least 3 feet past the sides of buried structure to get water further
away from it. Remember, with a 40’ footer (and get the hi-cube
variety if you can) – you may need to brace with the weight
at the center as these were not made to be buried, they were made to
be
stacked – so
the strength is in the corners. This is all done presuming
the area you put it drains well – and is not in a floodplain
or in any danger of flooding. The one thing an underground bunker
can not protect you from is a flood.
As for cutting them open and making modifications, joining them, just
like with a steel building or pole barns, cut straight, and cover edges
with “C” channel, and then secure (probably weld in this
case) and seal water and weather tight with silicone or whatever works
for you. I have thought about making mobile homes on steroids this
way as well. However, there is a lot of steel work involved and I personally
lack the skills, equipment, etc. Still – there may be economic
opportunity here for someone who has an “in” to make this
work. Here’s the idea – since ConEx containers stack – put
one down to be your basement or cellar, and put the next one, the ground
level mobile home right on top of it. You still move the upper one
and put another one in its place (but it might take a crane). Secure
the upper one to the lower one with cables, etc., so that extreme forces
will not separate the two, no matter what. Maybe even weld them together
at the corners. The amount of work to cut in windows, and insulate
is substantial though – but look what you would get – a
mobile home that would be the last or only one standing after that
tornado, or whatever else comes through, with a storage basement. Note
that a standard stairwell is a space killer in tight areas – you
may want external main entry and a simple latter an hatch in a closet
for emergencies. Note, you could even earth berm up to the bottom of
the windows of the upper unit, and then put a little insulation and
siding over the exposed parts, and still have an earth roof on it.
This could make for a great cheap retreat. - Rourke
Sir:
There are some really architectural and elegant solutions using
these containers for homes on
this site. There are also many other pre-fab ideas that are fertile
ground and food for thought in retreat building throughout this very
creative site. Many ideals are very thrifty and unusual architectural
uses of common materials. Jim, please keep up the impeccable work and
folks, if you are reading this, please sign up for the Ten
Cent Challenge! Really… I’m
serious! - ANETPROPHET
Jim:
Here are two good sites with info/photos and ideas for modifications
of shipping containers to be used as housing or storage.
Containerbay: Database of various conceptual projects or real world examples.
Global Portable Buildings Inc.: Supplier of pre-modified units, good pics and
info on various options...
Regards, - S.H.
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Letter Re: James Kunstler at Midwest Renewable Energy Fair
Dear Jim:
I was also at the Midwest Renewable Energy Association’s (MREA)
Energy Fair, just about in the exact center of Wisconsin near Steven’s
Point, a week ago. For me, the home tour was the most interesting part. For
about $20 they load you on a school bus and take you to 4 local homes that
had alternative energy incorporated into them. This included things like solar
panels for electricity with a battery bank, heat pumps with in floor hydronic
heating systems, soap stone fireplaces (like the Russian design) that burn
2 hours and radiate heat all day (some with a built in usable oven too, pretty
cool http://www.vermontwoodstove.com, they said 3 cords a year heated their
1,700 sq. foot home), passive solar design, rain water collection drums, and
very high insulation values, as high as R30 walls and R72 ceilings. I also
noticed that every home we went to had a metal roof. The real benefit of doing
this tour was to speak with the owners as to what worked for them, what did
not, and what they would do differently to do it over. The main thing said
was to work with an experienced contractor. There were also useful product
tips, for instance the owner of a solar system had had bad luck with his initial
batteries which only lasted a few years. He now recommends the Deka brand.
In another home, the owner discussed how heat pump could be used with a forced
air or hydronic for heating (in floor system circulating water/gel) – BUT
for cooling, it could only be forced air since it would lead to condensation
all over the place otherwise. They had chosen hydronic, thus foregoing air
conditioning. The initial cost layout and excavation for a heat pump, which
had several 500
foot
runs, was substantial. In fact one of the homes built a few years ago came
in at $180 per square foot construction cost, pretty high. Another thing I
noticed was that each of these folks had very impressive backyard fenced-in
gardens, and all but one was a on a 10 acre plus lot backup up to forest.
The energy fair is well done, informative, and friendly. The volunteers are
fantastic, and they and the vendors are there to promote alternate energy,
and are a wealth of information. You can get a lot of questions answered. One
thing that I wasn't aware of for instance was the methane generating power
plants running off cow manure. There are 3 in Wisconsin in the megawatt plus
range. The joke is you need about 5 cows per person for power. It takes about
800-1000 cows per megawatt if I heard the stats correctly. Note these are million
dollar plus operations, but if TSHTF,
it would be valuable to know where such mini-power plants operating on self-sustaining
energy are near you. This goes
for windmills and solar arrays too. Your local power utility, for Public Relations
reasons, will probably be all but too happy to tell you and take credit for
their efforts.
Note there are programs designed to help you go off grid, but they literally
very by each utility company. Most are up to 25% payback on your initial costs,
and many set limits on that also, usually around $2,000. Still, if you are
going to go off-grid, or at least putting in enough power generating capacity
to "run your meter backwards", it is worth your while to check into
these programs. As many utilities charge power line fees beyond 150 feet, if
you are on a very rural lot, you may have to pay several thousand to go on
grid. A friend of mine was quoted $19,000 for his rather remote lot. This is
where the economics of going off grid instantly make sense, as $19,000 would
buy a nice system. For those who think they can “profit” from running
their meter backwards, you will probably be disappointed to learn that while
you save yourself money at retail cost, if you go beyond that, they will only
pay you wholesale, which is far less, and not profitable, thus your on-grid
strategy should be to zero your bill.
Some of the speeches about energy use got a little political and preachy for
me and weren’t worth sitting in a crowded hot tent. Big oil and GW Bush
were certainly topics and targets of chastisement. However, there was some
equal opportunity political bashing going on as some ardent liberals had to
acknowledge their disdain for Ted Kennedy who has right now put a Federal stop
on the building of windmills for, as many surmise, the purpose of merely stopping
windmills going into ruining (for those rich folks there) the lovely Cape Cod
area of Massachusetts. I would assure them that the Ocean probably makes far
more noise, since there are 200+ foot wind miles 30 miles from me now, and
they aren't loud when I pass them. However to some, windmills are apparently
an eye sore and ruin the lovely view of other people's undeveloped land that
they the viewer are apparently entitled to. I'm also not into the self loathing
types who decry American's unfair use of World resources (that the U.S. pays
for in money and blood), and lament on how this isn't fair or right. If Mr.
Kunstler were a purist he would go to China, India, and parts of Central and
South America and stop them from falling into the trap of becoming an “easy
motoring utopia” like the USA, rather than flying around burning up fossil
fuels on book tours like this, or promoting his PG-13 web site. Problem is,
every other country pretty much aspires to do as the U.S. does. The automobile,
or
actually more so the SUV,
is the ultimate instrument of freedom and luxury. The alternatives may be quaint
to someone who thinks they want to live "on
Walden's pond" but don’t every actually take the bus themselves.
The dangerous thing is the persuasive affect a guy like this can have, and
not the part where some people are coaxed into alternative energy use, that's
good, it’s the part America self-imposes restrictions leading to loss
of competitive advantage and thus eventual economic downfall. God willing we
make it that far anyway. The best answer is to strive for economical self-sufficiency
to the point possible, for each of us, and for each nation. As a survivalist,
depending upon where you are, solar, wind, and wood are probably your first
and best choices as they are easily scalable, but many other possibilities
exist and should be considered, such as small scale hydro-electric, geothermal,
wood burning, coal burning, mature, or whatever natural resources you have
around you. Thus find out and know what is near you as for as to alternate
energy power generation and resources, there is probably more than you think,
as I just learned.- Rourke
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A Survival Retreat for Under $1,000, By Wolverine
Call it a survival retreat,
hunting cabin, or summer cottage, a place away from the crowds and turmoil
of the cities is a dream most of us
share. Some folks plan out a survival retreat in such detail that long-term
storage, over lapping fields of fire, and fuel supplies are worked out. Others,
like myself, approach it as a vacation spot that can be readily converted if
need be to an alternate living location.
Back in the late 1960s my family had a small two-room cottage on a lake in
northern Michigan. The cottage had no electricity, no running water, or no
heat. What
it did have is nostalgically called a “bath with a path.”
This cottage did however provide what we needed. A few steps from the back door
was a pump with clean, clear, cool water. All that was needed was a strong arm
and a few minutes to fill the bucket. Cool summer nights were warmed by the glow
of the fuel oil lantern that was hung over the dinner table. This lantern produced
enough light to fill the cottage and allow card games to be played well past
a normal bedtime. The heat from the lantern warmed the place and fuel was cheap.
Dinners were usually planned around the nightly campfire, but the old propane
stove would serve if needed.
During those periods of time that my father was laid off from work we would spend
a week or two stretch of time at the cottage. Living was easy and cheap. Fish
from the lake provided many meals and nuts and berries from the woods around
the place were gathered and baked into pies. Fall small game season produced
meat and poultry in the form of rabbits, squirrels, pheasants and grouse. My
Dad and I talked often about living up at the cottage if the world went to h**l
in a hand basket.
After high school and moving into the world of college and working, my trips
to the cottage were few and far between. Usually they were only to go up and
help Dad secure the place from the last break in that occurred. Sadly, I let
the cottage fall into neglect and vandals took care of the rest. Broken doors
and windows let the weather in and after a few years the cottage became uninhabitable.
Mom kept the land after Dad’s passing and I started taking my sons there
for a few weekend camping trips. Soon the idea of getting the cottage back in
shape was talked about, but the northern winters did a good job of making the
place beyond repair. The approach of Y2K and
talk of chaos renewed my thoughts of a survival retreat. I discussed this with
some buddies of mine and ideas of
small barns to large military tents were discussed. Like the old saying about
when all is said and done, there is more said than done, Y2K came and went and
still nothing was done about the cottage.
One of the guys that I had discussed the ideas of a cabin in the woods with called
one fall afternoon and suggested that I drive out to his campground and look
at a travel trailer that they were giving away. Giving away, free for nothing,
giving away? Yup, just make sure it is gone before Halloween.
My youngest son and I drove out and looked at the place. I couldn’t believe
my good fortune. Although it was a 1955 travel trailer, the interior was clean
and bright. The wood finish on the walls was unstained and the place showed signs
of good upkeep. I drove home and talked the idea over with my wife and my Mom.
The wife had to agree for us to take it, and my Mom had to let us put it on the
lake. Both agreed, and my sons and I started planning on getting it up north.
My wife and I agreed that a budget of $500 was all right to spend. We knew that
we couldn’t build a lawn barn to use up there for that much money.
Calls to find a mover to haul it north for us were made. Prices ranged from $700
to over $3,000. I was taken aback by this and did a total rethink. The guy that
helped us find the trailer to begin with suggested I try the guy that moved his
out to the campground he was at. That turned out to be a cold trail, but I did
find a company in Indiana that was willing to do it for around $200, PROVIDING,
I put new tires on it so that it would be pretty much guaranteed to make the
trip.
They no longer make the same size tires for travel trailers that they made in
1955. After countless phone calls to any kind of a place I could think of I was
referred to a place that dealt with a lot of farm equipment. They informed me
that the size I wanted was no longer made but they did have a cross-reference
tire that should work just fine. $135 later a pair of the tires were mine. The
bad news was I needed them put on the rims and the rims were still on the trailer,
60 miles away. Several more phone calls to repair stores and a place was found
that would put them on at the site, but the cost would be around $200.
Getting the tires on proved easier than anyone led me to believe. Even though
they were old fashion split rims, the job took just under an hour and the cost
was around $170. [JWR Adds: Always use
a safety cage when
working with split-rim
wheels. If you don't, they
can be killers!] This
put
the
cost
of
moving
the
retreat
at
the
$500
level
we
had agreed would be reasonable for our budget. I was very pleased and at 11:30
in the morning I left the north central Ohio campground headed for northwestern
Michigan.
Thankfully the trip was uneventful. Ben, the very nice driver that the transport
company assigned to the job did an outstanding job of getting the trailer to
the lake and spotting it where I wanted it. We had to chop out a couple of small
trees to get it parked in the sheltered area I wanted, but the job went easy
and we were done before darkness set in. The last act of the night was to finish
putting the lock and hasp on the door of the trailer before I headed north to
my friend's cabin for the night. I figured it was easier to drive a little farther
north and stay at a buddy’s cabin than make the long drive home.
Mediterranean, Southwestern, early American and assorted other styles of furniture
are discussed in the finest design magazines. We settled on what my sister termed “early
garage sale.” The propane stove came from a travel trailer that was being
scrapped out. The chairs for the kitchen table came from the roadside garbage
pickup in the neighborhood. The table was a gift from my sister’s basement.
Some pots and pans and silverware came from the local Goodwill store. Two sets
of bunk beds came from a buddy in the Reserves that worked for a college that
was recycling the bunks they had in dorms. The picture pump for the well came
in trade for some home repairs done for a neighbor down the street. All in all
the cost of the retreat was under $600. Some expenses that will be incurred soon:
a new coating on the roof to insure it stays water-resistant and plywood shutters
to secure the windows during our absences.
We now have a three-season retreat that allows us to fish, swim, hike, and hunt
in the outdoors. We can practice our survival skills, such as fire building and
outdoors cooking, and not look like we are doing much more than having a family
camp out.
We are away from crowds and turmoil of the city. Our friends and family think
of it as our “vacation” home, but we know that in a time of crisis
we have a survival retreat to go to, and under $1,000 cost.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Two Letters Re: Firearms Training and Subsequent Practice »
Letter Re: Sources for Greenhouses and Coal Stoves
Jim:
First, I have no interest in either of the following mentioned companies other
than that I'm a satisfied user. I recently got a
bigger greenhouse for my birthday and have used it for this
years garden plants. A little over 200 plants so far. They have two models
on sale right now. I do recommend completely caulking every panel with adhesive
caulk. The large one took 30 tubes.
I have ordered this
stove to heat my greenhouse in cool weather and through the winter.
I keep two tons of coal for the house coal stove anyway.
This combo will be much better than my old greenhouse system. With them, it
is cheaper to heat and I have more available space. With a lot of stored heirloom
seed and canning from
three
gardens we will have plenty of food. - D.M.
JWR Replies: Those are both good suggestions. I can vouch
for Northern
Tool & Equipment
as
a reputable dealer, (as I've done business with them for many years and they
are one of our affiliate
advertisers),
but be forewarned that a fair portion of their merchandise is made in mainland
China.
Because both stoves and greenhouse have high shipping weights, I recommend
that readers
shop
around and try to find a good price in their local area before resorting
to mail order. My favorite mail order stove dealer is Lehman's,
headquartered in Kidron, Ohio. They have a fascinating line of traditional
non-electric merchandise, originally developed to service a primarily Old Order
Amish clientele.
OBTW, for anyone that wants to place an order with Northern
Tool & Equipment,
please use our
Northern
link so that SurvivalBlog will get a modest affiliate commission. Thanks!
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: Backup Generators and Well Pumps »
Letter Re: Banking a House for Winter
Memsahib Rawles::
Banking a house for the winter is a fairly common practice where I grew
up in Canada. Often the leaves were raked and bagged in the fall and placed
along the house for the winter. Other times square bales were stacked against
the house to insulate for the cold winter months. The only drawback from
this way of insulating was the fact that you would often get a large amount
of unwanted house guests (mice and voles) who were attracted to the warm
shelter! Keep up the informative writing, - T.S.
« Letter Re: Backup Generators and Well Pumps |Main| #1 Son's Quote of the Day: »
From The Memsahib: Alternative Home Heating Fuels and Banking a House for Winter
In the event of TEOTWAWKI,
fuel will become very important in regions where the winters are severe and
long. We can learn some survival ideas from pioneers in on the
treeless prairies. Some used alternative fuels such as cow chips, corn cobs,
ears of corn, twisted grass, or a mix of straw and manure manure called "mist." (The German
word for Schumer.) In 1881 the magazine Warren Sheaf said that three
acres of corn would provide the average house
of the time with
fuel
for
the
year.
Straw
burner attachments were designed for cook stoves. These were oblong tubes
18 inches in diameter and 28 inches high. The covered tube was placed over
the stove holes. If properly packed they had enough fuel to burn an hour. The
draft was regulated by shifting the tube off or over the stove hole. Larger
ones were available that attached to the rear of the stove. Another
innovative idea of the time was
"banking.:
In
the
fall
the
pioneers
would
start
insulating
the outside of their houses by banking up straw, leaves, dirt, hay, corn stocks
all the way up to the window sills. In a severe winter one pioneer banked his
home all the way up to the eaves!
