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Four Letters Re: Brumby Compressed Air-Powered Well Pumps
James,
Your comments about the relative efficiency of compressing air with a windmill are spot on. Most of the energy would be lost. In the real world, air compressors are only about 10 to 15% efficient at best. This is because air heats when it's compressed. In fact, since more energy is converted to heat than to mechanical energy, a compressor is actually better at heating and cooling a house as a heat pump than it is at compressing air. So unless you could figure out how to drive the Brumby well pump and utilize all the waste heat at the same time, a wind-driven compressor would not be the way to go. - Kenneth L.
Hi Jim,
Here is a link to Airlift wind pumps. I have not used one of these but I have seen a lot of them in Arizona. It seems like a good idea. Regards, - Paul
Jim:
I found the following over at Amish News: "Almost any electrical appliance can be adapted to work off of alternate power, such as compressed air. Some Amish women have been using compressed air to power blenders in the kitchen for years. In one house, compressed air powers a water pump, sewing and washing machines, and drills and saws in the shop. Some Amish businesses have as their specialty adapting such appliances so they can be powered by compressed air."
From: the Unity College web site: "This particular plant will make small-to-medium turbines for farm-scale installation, each turbine connected by an air hose to a large compressor tank. By both saving lots of air in storage tanks, and by scheduling manufacturing and other shop work for breezy days, the Amish can have compressed air without doing what they normally do, which is run a small gas engine to run the compressor. Gas has been expensive lately, and not all Amish church meetings allow the use of gas engines, so there's reason to think that wind compressors will be welcome additions to the Amish toolkit."
From OtherPower.com: "There are many tools that can be run on compressed air. Many of the Amish use compressed air for kitchen appliances, fans, shop tools etc. A no-longer-certified propane tank makes a great air tank with large capacity.
Why not make a windmill that powers an air compressor? By storing compressed air I could reduce the size of the battery bank I need. Air tanks have a far longer service life than batteries and cost much less to purchase. Used tanks can be acquired for next to nothing."s
I suppose that to obtain the higher pressures a reduction system would need to be used to obtain enough torque to drive the compressor. But what if a sail type windmill similar to the Dutch pump mills was used. I imagine those huge sails generate incredible torque. Here is a small mill that only generates up to 30 PSI intended for aeration of a pond.
And here is an air lift pump for pumping from a well. (But there is no data on the pounds per square inch generated).
Regards, - Len S.
Sir,
Regarding Mike B. in Florida's question on compressed air and wind turbines, I recommend that he research the combination of a Trompe and a Savonius wind mill. A trompe produces compressed air from falling water. A wind mill may be used to lift surface-stored water (pond or tank) to a suitable height to produce the falling water. I suppose any wind mill design would suffice, but I recommend researching the Savonius as it is supposed to perform well in areas with low wind speed such as Florida (ignoring the occasional tropical storm and hurricane). I do not know how much water must be lifted to what height to produce the quality of compressed required, but it may be worth looking into. Both devices are relatively simple (a trompe has no moving parts) and very reliable. - d'Heat
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Letter Re: Brumby Compressed Air-Powered Well Pumps
Dear Captain Rawles,
Are you perchance familiar with Brumby Well Pumps? They work using compressed air and are being manufactured in Australia. From what I can tell, this is a good idea if you can get compressed air to the pump. This leads to the next question: Is there a practical way of operating an air compressor with either a wind turbine or a mechanical means not requiring the grid or a gasoline engine of some sort?
When I lived in Germany I saw a number of old Volkswagen air-cooled engines that had been converted to serve as air compressors. (These operated off of two cylinders and compressed air with the other two). That would work if you had gas, but after the Schumer hits, gas will be too valuable if it can be found at all.
I'd appreciate your advice and maybe some of the readers are familiar with a means of compressing air, off the grid. I know that you have extensive experience at water wells, pumping etc.
Best Regards, - Mike B. in Florida
JWR Replies: The Brumby design is fascinating. I don't yet have any experience with them, so perhaps some readers that do would like to chime in.
In answer to your question: Yes, it is conceivable that an air compressor could be powered by a wind turbine, but that might require a gearing arrangement to achieve the requisite compression. And I can't help but wonder about the relative efficiency of compressing air with a windmill to drive a Brumby pump, rather than using traditional direct drive to raise and lower a sucker rod. My gut level instinct is to opt for simplicity, and my suspicion is that adding another energy transformation is almost certainly less efficient--due to friction losses, if nothing else.
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Letter Re: Last Minute G.O.O.D. Versus Well-Considered Early Relocation
James -
We think along similar lines, as my wife and I relocated to Central Idaho in 1995, raising and homeschooling our four children here. We're electrically functioning off the grid, engage in animal husbandry, grow what vegetables we can, and stock up on essentials we cannot produce and always meticulously rotate the stock. And we hunt, big time.
I read the entry on your site today about the fellow who intends to travel ore than a thousand miles in a blink of an eye, and use this blur to make a life-changing decision based on distorted glances at sixty miles an hour. Though I agree with essentially every bit of advice regarding location considerations, and in particular what to avoid, perhaps you should suggest to this fellow to split his trip into two or three, perhaps even four excursions so he can really evaluate what he is looking at.
I've lived in the west my entire life, a witness to the destruction of Colorado as we finally fled the far reaches of the West Slope for here. Knowing that one simple mistake in terms of selecting a location can be fatal in and unto itself, we began looking in 1993 and through 1994 before making our selection. Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. Distance from population centers was number two on our criteria list, but as you well know, the number one priority must be water.
People in the cities haven't really a clue as to its relative scarcity. Turn on the tap. Our criteria was "live, year-around creek" on the prospective dirt, or it was scrubbed from the list. At 8.37 pounds per gallon, you can't realistically haul enough any distance for survival if survival means growing food if TEOTWAWKI actually occurs. Maybe not enough to use just to satiate thirst if you are too far from the source.
Let's face it. If people have to actually "Bug Out", the "End" is happening, right there and then. Think: water, water, water, and location, location, location.
I wrote a piece about "relocation" a few years back for a Peak Oil web site that generated several thousand comments, the vast majority of them were positive. The negatives were from the Gold's Gym-type jerks who thought I was trying to come off as some kind of tough guy, which I wasn't. "Realism" offends people. You cut one cord short on firewood before winter and the snows get hip-deep, you are dead. Sometimes you have "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" with large critters equipped with teeth and claws. I killed a damned lion at six feet inside my barn who was upset that I was upset that he had killed my milk goats. A bear at thirty feet on top of one of our sheep who was none too happy with me either. The wolves are here constantly, and that's just a time bomb waiting to go off. We've had jerks from cities show up on the place acting, and to be kind here, just a little "weird". Occasionally and unfortunately what followed were "in your face" armed confrontations, required to convince them getting the hell out of here was a damn good idea.
Which leads to another situation that is always notably absent from writings about "Getting out of Dodge". Why isn't it mentioned that people are already "out there", and even if a person chooses to relocate before the fan is blowing manure that it takes a couple of years before the indigenous outlanders accept your presence. These pre-existing folks, as you well know, traded off the easy living the cities offer for a harder lifestyle that almost guarantees austere living. The F.N.G. is a newcomer, and no one knows whether her/she is a curse or a blessing. The number of drug-laden scum that has floated in and out of here over the years is pretty amazing, let alone the flood of retirees who ain' t worth knowing. A third of them want sidewalks along Forest Service Roads.
And then when things go south, some guy, regardless of what color collar he wore to work, abandons his 52" widescreen HDTV, his Budweiser and the N.F.L. Package, throws his "Git-R-Done" stuff in the 4-Runner. Off he goes, carrying just enough with him to guarantee that where he ends up, thieving and murdering is going to be happening. Why? Because he's in a panic regardless of how "cool" he thinks he is. In truth, if you don't already live "out there", you aren't prepared. City folk are waiting to run, and they are running to nowhere. For that matter, half the people who are already "out there" aren't really prepared. But City Folks simply cannot take with them what is needed long-term to survive, and even short-term if winter is upon them. So, he is going to become a thief and a murderer. Where he's headed he doesn't own dirt, has no roof over his head, and he hasn't got the food to last a month. The most moral man in the world will become the worst of sinners when facing starvation. Add a man with his woman and a passel of kids, and you've got a desperate man. "Honey, I starved the kids!" I don't think so.
So, what do you think folks around here are thinking anyway? Putting out the "Welcome Wagon" for an exodus of people who refused to sacrifice ahead of time? Those who have been living easy and going to Applebees every Friday night? The wife blowing money at the mall every Saturday with the rest of the "girls"? People who thought, "I'll stay here doing the 9-5 because the woman insists, and then we'll go if we have to." Here's another good one: "We didn't want to move and have to change schools. The kids really liked it there."
The foregoing mean that the "Old Lady" and the "kids" have been dictating his life anyway, right? You ever seen these women go through "Mall Withdrawal"? Good God, it's a terrible sight to behold even under good conditions! At least when things are "normal" they can head over the pass for a methadone-like "Mall-Fix" up in Missoula or head to Idaho Falls. Shoot, you go and "Cold Turkey" a mall-dependent woman and h**l doesn't even begin to describe the price that must be paid! It's viral too, I swear.
Seriously though, is there some assumption that such "exodus scenarios" aren't discussed by the locals down at the cafe's in Salmon, Challis, and Elk, Bend, and North Fork over morning coffee, as well as at the Sheriffs Departments around here? My understanding is that the roads in and out of here are to be closed, which is fine by me. There isn't much bounty here to begin with, and adding a bunch of instant vagabonds will simply be making meager pickings that much slimmer.
Fools rushing for the hills. There's a steep learning curve and most aren't going to make it. Best regards, and keep up the good work - John M.
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Seven Letters Re: Advice on Deep Water Wells in a Grid-Down Era
Hi James,
There is a mission-oriented web site with a tutorial on making valve leathers at this site. There is other useful water well-related information on the site, too.
Where John C. is living, if the static level is 400 ft., then he will be looking at needing a fairly deep well. If he gets by with less than drilling a 500 foot well I'd be surprised. Water wells here locally have a 350-400 foot static level and run 700-800 feet deep. The depth, quantity, and quality of water you find all depends on the area you live in, the underlying geology, and hydrologic conditions within the aquifer.
I agree that the submersible pump is the best choice for a deep well. In a grid down situation, a wind mill is probably your best bet. It is possible to install both systems in one well. Basically, you set the submersible some distance below the wind mill's pump cylinder. One thing you'd need to do is adjust the submersible pump so that the water level in the well is not drawn down past the top of the pump cylinder. One very important aspect to keep in mind when using a deep well with a sucker-rod type pump: use a open top pump cylinder (working barrel) where you can pull the rods, replace valve leathers and/or work on the pump valves, without pulling all of the tubing from the well.
As you mentioned, pulling up 400+ feet of 2-inch pipe from a well by hand is a challenge. It can, however, be done. Keep in mind that a 400+ ft. deep water well is actually much deeper than many early-day oil wells. Searching through old oil field related documents, photos, and museum displays can provide a wealth of very basic, mostly home built, technology that a water well owner can utilize.
Need a derrick to pull rods or pipe from your deep well? Check out what the Canadians used.
Tripod derricks were used in Canada and the U.S. in early oil fields. They were made from peeled trees, power poles, or pipe. Simple winches were used to hoist the rods and pipe from the hole.
Need a pumping jack to lift the rods in your deep well? You can't get much simpler than these or these.
Once the jack is balanced, it doesn't take a whole lot of power to lift the rods and pump the well. - Jeff B.
Hi Jim;
My wife and I are the founders of Woodhenge, an intentional community in the northern, rural part of New York State. We practice and teach self-reliance skills. One of the products that I've designed is a deep well hand pump that can be built from mostly off-the-shelf parts found in a hardware store. I sell the complete instructions for $20 and a pre-machined parts kit for $250. The kit contains all of the parts necessary for the 2" PVC cylinder and the modified pitcher pump. One of the things that makes this pump unique is that it doesn't use a rod to connect the piston in the lower part of the well to the handle but
a stainless steel cable and return spring. I do not include the cable or draw pipe...I don't know the depth of the well. I do not know if my pump design could handle the static depth of 400', but it easily handles depths of 150'. I recommend that the draw pipe diameter be reduced to keep the weight in the column of water to a manageable amount. I recommend that shallower deep wells (over 30' to the static level of the water) use 1-1/4" draw pipes, over 100' dropping to 1" diameter, etc. I will offer a big discount to the guy with the 400' well if he wants to experiment with my kit. The frictional losses of water in a smaller diameter pipe are the only factor I don't know how to calculate. My pump easily delivers about a cup of water per stroke. Further information on my pump as well as other things
we're trying to do are available on our Woodhenge web site.
I am "the King of Scrounge" mentioned in your blog a few months ago. My book "The High Art and Subtle Science of Scrounging" is now available through me. Inquiries and information are available by contacting me at jsjuczak@gisco.net. Thank you for what you do. - James S. Juczak
James,
I've a reasonable amount of experience in electrical engineering and pumps in general so perhaps could give John C. some additional advice on deep wells.
First just a general note:
The work an electrical pump or any other electrical device needs to do requires a certain amount of electrical power which is Voltage X Current measured in Watts. As James correctly points out, a 24 volt pump requires considerably larger wires than does a 240 volt pump (to deliver the same amount of work) since wire size is determined by current (amperage). In this case figure a 24 volt system would need roughly 10x the circumference of the wire that a 240 volt system would need. Note: It's the circumference of the wire that's at issue not the area since current flows mostly along the outside of the wire. A simple way to think of electricity is to compare it to a river. The speed of the river flow is the voltage. The size of the river bed is the amperage. Both together determine the power.
Now, regarding deep wells:
Most deep wells in the west have low infiltration rates so my advice is to use a fairly small size 110 or 220 volt AC submersible pump of good quality (Grundfos make the best). The water pumped out of the well goes directly into a cistern which can be most any tank of a few hundred gallons. Mine was a 1,000 gallon fiberglass tank in the basement, which I installed before the floor was put in. Anyplace is fine as long as freezing temps are taken into account.
A simple automatic fill system is installed in the tank to turn on the submersible when you use some part of the tank up. This system allows the well to refill and also allows the pump to work better and last longer by avoiding frequent starts.You also have a ready source of stored water, if needed. You have to know your well infill rate and the depth of water over the pump inlet to determine how much to pump at any given time. Never allow a submersible pump to run dry and always install protection in the pump start control.
Since the cistern tank is unpressurized [, unless you can position it up on a hillside] you'll have to provide a centrifugal pump to charge the household lines. You can then either pump out of the cistern tank into a small pressure tank or use a demand system that turns on a small centrifugal pump every time you open a faucet. Either way works fine and all of it is cheap to buy and easy to get at to maintain.
If there are any bacterial contamination issues a small ozone generator can be installed in the cistern. They killed 100% of bacteria and spores such as Giardia when I used one to clean a Colorado stream water source. They add nothing to the water itself since the ozone turns back to oxygen within seconds of it's being generated. An ozone system does need constant power, but it's a very small amount. Essentially it's just a small UV light in a box with a tube into the water. A venturi off of a tiny pump like those used in ornamental fountains pulls the ozone into the tank.
In this system the submersible pumps into the cistern tank at "zero head" and you can get away with a smaller pump motor than you would normally use for a pressurized system. That's not only a cheaper pump, but it's easier to pull if needed. Also, since a well pump is frequently the largest power requirement in a household if you go off grid a smaller pump means a smaller generator- or something like this http://www.solarpumps.com.au/category7_1.htm.
Don't forget that a pump requires a larger starting amperage than its nominal rating. Again check with the supplier. It's important to have the pump operating in it's ideal range which is based on total lift (head ) and water (GPM) required, so check that yourself too. The charts are easy to read.
In John C's case, the water is at 400', so he'll need a well that's around 500'. Put the pump at the bottom and that's a safe 50 gallons of water available to be pumped.
Based on a 5 minute Internet search, a Grundfos 10SQ 1/2 HP pump costing $600 retail would give around 6 GPM pumping into the cistern. A 1,200 watt generator could drive it. Add a 400 gallon tank, 1/4 HP centrifugal pump for pressure, controls and it's a done deal. The well itself is going to cost around 10 grand, and hopefully you'll find water down the bottom of it.
Kind Regards, - LRM, Perth, Western Australia
JWR,
I have some experience in this area in that our well has been solar powered for 5 years at our off the grid ranch.
We elected to put our well on top of a hill about 120 feet in elevation above the house. I did this because I did not want to pump my water twice and deal with a pressure tank in a separate building that I would have to heat and use additional solar power to keep up the pressure. Our four water tanks, 2,600 gallons each, are on a step, just below the well. A Pitless Adaptor allows water to be pumped into the water tanks at a depth of four feet underground for freeze protection. All pipe on the ranch is 3 feet underground, with freeze proof hydrants at key locations. There is enough thermal mass in the tanks that they do not freeze. There is 50 pounds of pressure at the house from gravity. Remember, it is always cheaper and easier to store water rather than electricity. Big water tanks are a good thing.
Our well is 300 feet deep and the pump is set at 240 feet. Static water level is 185 feet.
Having said that, a 400 feet deep well on solar power is no problem. There are two types of solar pumps I would recommend, www.lorentz.de/ and www.grundfos.com . I have a Lorentz pump. The Grundfos is also a very good pump. The Grundfos has the advantage in that besides solar power, you can hook up a wind turbine and have both wind and solar power going to the same pump. There are plenty of solar dealers selling these pumps. I have been served exceptionally wall by Dennis Austin at Solar Power and Pump Company. He always has time to help you out via phone with any questions. He does not publish his prices because they beat everyone else.
The controller on the Lorentz pump converts the DC power from the solar panels to AC power to go down the well to the pump. I am not sure how the Gurndfos system operates. Both these pumps are used extensively by aid organizations around the world to provide clean drinking water for less fortunate people in third world countries. They are pretty fool proof.
One additional consideration is that putting your solar panels on a dual axis solar tracker, will increase water output as much as 40% in the summer when you need water the most. We have a Wattsun dual axis tracker from www.wattsun.com . Their company has been around a long time and since they are active trackers with gears, they are not affected by wind like the Freon-balanced trackers.
Thanks Jim for all your hard work in helping us all out. - PD
Sir:
My water has been off the grid for 12 years and while my well depth is shallower I offer my experience. The system described provides 5 GPM at 50 PSI for household laundry, bathing, and kitchen needs but I would not recommended for lawn or garden use.
I have 360 watts of solar panel and 340 amp hour of batteries [storage capacity]. The head of my well is 160 feet and I use a Sunpump SDS series well pump that draws 2 gallons per minute (at 0 pressure) to fill an 1,100 gallon cistern. The current draw is 2 amps at 24 volts. The current price for the pump is approximately $900.
The matching pump controller/current booster is a must. Note that the Sunpump SCS series is rated for 700 feet. The good news is the water pipe is ½” plastic roll pipe, bad news is the pump will need major service after about eight years.
The house is pressurized by a Dankoff Flowlight booster pump that draws from the cistern. Standard well system pressure tanks and switches complete a very reliable system. You can find the recommended 10 micron intake filters here.
The Cistern is a tank made of potable water grade plastic (made from the same mold used for septic tanks). This gives me 1,100 gallons of water that is not hot in the summer, freezing in the winter, safe from bullets, and was a fraction of the cost of an elevated water tank.
Extra battery power feeds a Magnum Energy inverter that saves some on the electric bill. - Jon in Texas
Hey Jim,
I would like to throw in my thoughts on pumping water in a power grid down situation.the wide variety of situations with water sources makes for a wide variety of solutions. I am a retired water well contractor, over twenty years residential, farm and public supply, doing both the well drilling and pumping equipment installations.
First off, if no one reads further, the best [short-term] solution is a generator powering your present system, it's how it's done, by the homeowner, farmer, by contractors, and small utilities. Larger utilities use a direct drive to the gear head on a line shaft turbine, but you won't see that on smaller systems.
To get to the situation discussed in the article, a 400' water table is considerably deep, so many times, folks think that the depth of the well is related to the depth of the water table, that's just not so, I have drilled wells 300' with static water levels 20 or more feet above the well head, hence, a naturally flowing well, and by contrast, 300' wells with 150' water tables, but generally, most levels in the 60' range in deep wells in my neck of the woods. However, water wells are as varied as the land and aquifer you are looking to get the water out of.
So to go after the logistics of getting water out of the ground and then out of your faucet, you'll have to start with the source, deep well, most common for private water systems, and the subject here, but don't write off shallow wells, cisterns, lakes and rivers or rain catchment, it's just that water out of a deep well will be free of organic compounds and safe to drink, but you should have it tested, another subject all together.
Well depth is part of it, but most important for using that well is the water table and capacity in gallons per minute. The diameter of the well will affect production to a certain extent, but mostly the diameter will determine what pumping equipment you can use, deep wells for private use will tend to be 4' or 6' steel or plastic casing, with open hole in the rock below that picking up water by capillary action and fissures, or even a screen for loose formations that produce water. A typical well install for me would be around a hundred foot of 4' well casing, down to the bedrock, then open hole down into the floridan aquifer, ending up around 200', to produce 20 gallons a minute or better with a water table about 50' and a submersible pump set at least 10 feet below the water table, and another variable, if you pump more water than your well delivers, called "drawdown", you'll be setting your pump below that drawdown level of the water table.
Submersible pumps are a great way to get water out of your well, they "push" the water to the surface, and produce good "head" with their many impellers, "head" translating to how far up the pump is pushing the water from the water table, to theoretically how far above the point of use is, that's your water "pressure"a pump that makes 300' of head will pump from a 100 foot water table and be able to pump 200' more feet above ground level, that would be more than enough to provide you with 50 or 60 pounds of pressure in your tank and at your faucet. Very efficient, generally run on AC current, and either filled with FDA-approved oil or sealed with epoxy and such to keep the electricity isolated from the water. I have heard of DC submersible motors, but never saw one, let alone installed one, something to research, I guess, may be as much to do with having an AC power grid as the the drawbacks inherit in DC motors in general. Last word on that is submersible pumps can pump from very deep water levels and are reliable, but replacement would be tough without specialized equipment,
Above-ground pumps are less efficient, but easier and cheaper to fix, especially for the do-it-yourselfers, which would be very important in a grid down economy. most common are jet pumps, one or two impellers and a jet either installed below the water table or on the face of the pump if the water level is within 30' of the surface, very important distinction there, you can only lift water, "suction" 33 feet "'one atmosphere"} vertically. Beyond that, the vacuum required will cause air bubbles to separate out of the water and you'll lose the ability to pump the water. So, the "jet" a nozzle and venturi are placed in the well, with the pump cycling most of the water thru it, lifting an additional amount of water and producing the head pressure at the same time. I could envision a DC motor on a an above ground pump, imagine they're available, if even to have one as a standby, but then again, do the math, if you're wanting run a one horsepower DC motor that'll turn the needed 3,400 rpm and to do it on twelve volts, you'll soon see the cost and sizing differences are huge.but at least everything is right there where you can work it. again, a generator or a very large solar or wind system would work as well.
In a grid-down situation, a properly sized generator would run it, but to look to solar or wind power, just do the math, I did, by the time you size something that will start and run that pump, you've got a ten thousand dollar or more system, if you want to do your house or other uses, you could use the same system to power your pump when the need arises.
If you are lifting the water less than thirty feet, the possibilities wide and varied, a straight centrifugal pump or positive displacement pumps, such as diaphragm or piston, etc. which don't need the rpm's of the impeller pumps and can even be hooked up in multiples or series, depending on power source or what you want to do with the water. To have the ability to pump out of a shallow well, or even a surface water source, this would give you water, if only for irrigation or other uses, or to be purified and then used for drinking water, "potable water".
The most viable pump system in a grid down situation, in my opinion, would be a sucker rod pump, or a pump jack, I worked on many of them, but generally just pulling them out and replacing them with submersible or jet pumps, or to abandon the well by pumping it full of grout. They are the pump systems you generally see under the old Aermotor windmills, the tall long levered hand pumps, and the much larger pump jacks used in the oil fields. The smaller sucker rod pumps are very simple, the up and down motion of the rod is transferred down the well and into [a pump cylinder under the static level of] the water, where it lifts the water one stroke at a time, very simple, with multiple power options, directly from the wind, human power, or motor driven electrically, or other, which could include about anything you could dream up as you only need to turn a pulley, the amount of power required would be widely varied as the rpm can be varied so much and it'll still pump, less water, but water. One particular model I was looking for, but didn't find is the old Crane Deeming pump jacks, a staple on the old farms, designed more for a power source other than the windmill or pump handle, although you could hook it up if the power was off. it would run on about any motor you hooked to it, as far as horsepower and rpm, "revolutions per minute" within reason, including electric, piston, or even the power take off (PTO) from your tractor. Also of consideration is that with a very low yield well, the ability to pump to a cistern or other holding device, and then to pressurize the water from there with another pump, old technology from when people made do, before our era of throwing technology and money at it till you're happy.
Here's a link to an article on building a pump jack. It drives the sucker rod that's in the well, but depending upon where you're at, the terms are kind used interchangeably. Go to the home page, browse around, or do your own search, lot's of choices out there.
My thoughts on this, if I wasn't going to use a generator if the power is down, is to have a separate well with a pump jack, or if you have a six inch well or larger, with a submersible pump in it, install a pump jack right beside it, no, I have never done that, and the easy way would be to call your local well driller or pump man, but dual pipe well heads are available, and the two systems shouldn't interfere with each other, the two possible problems would be with the submersible pump itself, or the power wire to the pump, but then, I imagine I would set the submersible pump and then the sucker rod and pipe above it,
Anyway, if you're wanting alternatives, they are out there, sounding complicated, but actually quite simple, especially if you prepare in advance, the simplest power alternative is still the generator, I know I said it again, but I also have six solar panels at 175 watts each, and a wind generator at 400 watts, with all the controllers, battery bank six by 120 Amp Hour 6 volt and a 2,400 watt inverter, which would not be adequate to run my 1hp 220 volt submersible, but a 1/4 horsepower motor on a pump jack would work, too bad I didn't keep any of that old stuff, but anyway, short of the generator, or fuel for it, would have to go with the pump jack, or for shallow water, a positive displacement pump. Would be willing to continue this discussion, if you'd like. - Mickey
JWR,
I am a recent "convert" to the survival mentality. Thank you for this blog. All I can say is that it is excellent. On to my point: I too am grappling with this conundrum of how to pump water out of my deep well for my house water, although mine is more shallow (200ft). I currently have a 220 VAC 1/2 HP Gould deep well pump with a 33 gallon pressure tank to round out my water system. I've been researching the deep well pump made by Grundfos. The model is called the SQFLEX. According to the manufacturer, it can run on either AC or DC and will pump from depths of 650ft. Whole systems can be bought here http://solarwellpumps.com/solar.htm . I'm not sure if these are the real deal or not, but they have definitely piqued my interest. I spoke with one of the reps and she indicated that these pumps are used for residential use with a pressure tank (mine is 30gal). The pressure tank is also a problem. I would rather have an elevated storage tank like you recommend. The only problem with that is, for "flat-landers" such as myself, those who live in the midwest without hills. Then what do you do? Do you build a tower for all your neighbors to see (forget about OPSEC) or do you use a water storage tank and place it amongst your house rafters/trusses (which definitely won't hold up because they are of 2x4 construction and once you cut a large "idiot hole" [for post-construction passage of a large tank] you lose the structural integrity). So there I am. Not sure what to do. I would like to hear some thoughts. "Patriots" was an excellent and fast read. Sincerely, - JJ
JWR Replies: My only brief comment on installing a water tank in an attic is: watch out! When you calculate the weight of just 55 gallons, at 8.33 pounds per gallon, that is 458.15 pounds, not counting the weight of the tank itself! Definitely consult an engineer before installing any tank of substantial capacity.
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Letter Re: Advice on Deep Water Wells in a Grid-Down Era
James,
I know that I have seen posts about deep water wells, but when I search I really don't see that many applicable posts. I am looking at a property where water [static level] is about 400 feet down. In a "grid-up" scenario, this isn't really a problem, but I am looking for "grid-down" options for using a well at this depth. Not knowing much about the specifics of wells, I am not having much luck searching with Google, either. Would you be able to cover some deep well basics and some options for grid down/solar/backup pumping, specifically for deep wells?
Thanks so much for the blog. I have been an avid reader (pretty much daily) for two years and have several copies of your book to loan out to friends. - John C.
JWR Replies: As per your request, here are a few deep well basics:
Solar and wind power are the best solutions for deep wells in a grid-down collapse. If you live in an area with reliable winds, a windmill used in conjunction with a large gravity-fed tank or cistern, is relatively inexpensive and trouble-free. Photovoltaics are getting less expensive with each passing year, but system complexity is an issue, especially with systems that use a battery bank. (To maintain water pressure during hours of darkness, you will either need to store water in a gravity-fed cistern, or you will need a battery bank, so that you can operate your well pump. )
Deep wells can be pumped with submersible AC pumps, but not submersible DC pumps. This is because the "line loss" (voltage drop) in DC cabling is tremendous. Even with fat, heavy gauge DC cables, if you start out with 24 Volts DC (VDC) at your battery bank, you will likely be down to just two or three volts at 400 feet! Given that sad fact, there are two good solutions:
1.) Use a DC-to-AC inverter top-side, and run AC cabling down the well shaft to an AC well pump. (Note: Many of these pumps require 220 VAC, so you will either have to use a much more expensive 220-capable inverter, or replace the pump with a 120 VAC model. (You may be an electrical neophyte, and asking "What type of pump do I have?" Take a quick look at your AC circuit breaker box. If the breaker labeled "Well Pump" is a pair of breakers that are ganged-together with a wire loop so that they'll be actuated simultaneously, then the chances are 99% that you have a 220 VAC pump.)
or,
2.) Install a jack
("cricket") type pump or a windmill to
actuate the sucker rod pump cylinder. Traditionally, sucker
rods were made from hardwoods
such as white ash.
More recently they've been made with metal or fiberglass. Even with ash wood,
their service life is measured in decades. The pump cylinders are made of brass
and
will last
many decades.
However, the pump
leathers will eventually wear out, so you should consider buying a
couple of spare sets and storing them someplace safe from mice and moisture/mold.
Unfortunately changing all of the leathers on a down-hole sucker-rod actuated
pump means yanking the entire sucker rod and then the
weight of all 400 feet of your service line. That is a lot of
weight, requiring a heavy duty hoist and of course all the usual "mind your
head, fingers and toes" safety precautions and protective
gear. Lifting a 1-1/2"
or 2" diameter 400 foot long
pipe is no problem for a pump company, but it would be a challenge for a typical
rural
family working with an improvised hoist. I recommend that you watch your
pump company man carefully as he installs the pump in your well for the first
time. You will notice that the crucial piece required is the flange that catches
the
pipe
unions
on each 20+ foot long section of service line pipe as they are raised or lowered
in the well casing.
I've previously owned a jack type pump, and in my experience I
found them problematic. I would much rather use an AC
submersible pump.
Shallow wells (say, 50 feet or less) can be pumped with a DC submersible pump. I generally advise my consulting clients to "hang" both an AC pump and and a DC pump, one above the other in the same well casing, for the sake of versatility an redundancy.
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Letter Re: Diverters and Pre-Filters for Roof Rainwater Catchment
Mr. Rawles,
Regarding the filter design suggested by "Dim Tim": Consider replacing
the modified stockpot with a sink. A deep stainless utility sink would
be ideal, would require little alteration, and could be
set up outdoors
at the downspout to drain directly to a retention barrel or bladder. In a
SHTF scenario,
an existing indoor sink could be modified by removing the trap underneath
the sink. Collected
water
can then
be poured
into
the sink,
filter through, and drain underneath (a food grade plastic five gallon bucket
fits quite nicely.) Regards, - Tamara S.
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Diverters and Pre-Filters for Roof Rainwater Catchment, by Dim Tim
I have had this idea floating around in the back of my mind for some time
now, and with all the posts on the subject here lately, I decided it was time
to share it with everyone. I hope some of you find it useful.
What got me started to thinking about this was a movie on DVD that I watched
recently, titled Twenty
Years After. (2008) It is about
people that have survived a nuke war, the disease and death that follow, and
the hope that humanity will still survive. It is not the best post-SHTF movie
that you can watch, but as I watched it, I had little flashes of insight to
some aspects of survival and preparedness that I thought would be useful, and
this is one of the ones that I want to share today.
In the movie, a mother, and her very pregnant daughter, have claimed a house
for their place, only to find that the owner has returned to claim some of
his things. He makes his presence known to them by pouring a bit of water down
a downspout that they have rigged up to send the rainwater to their living
space in the basement, where they collect it and store jars of water on some
large shelves.
This got me started thinking about the subject of rainwater catchment, and
I have a good number of files on the subject, so I did some extra reading on
the subject. There is a lot of information out there on it, and all the commercial
products that go with it, but what do you do when you have ZIP to start with
?
Start at the beginning.
So, the rain falls on the roof of a building, it runs down the roof to
the gutters, then down the downspout to be flushed away from the building.
And now you decide to catch the runoff, and put a barrel at the end of the
downspout to catch the extra water. So far so good. But what about the bird
poop, asphalt chemicals, etc, that are going to be in the water, not to mention
all the other germs and nasty pathogens that occur
naturally ?
This is where the diverters come onto play, you divert the first couple minutes
of the rain water, to get rid of the grit, dirt,etc, and then divert it back
to catch the rest. I see this as a waste of water that could be used to keep
you and your family alive a bit longer.
You will most likely be filtering the water to drink anyway, so the dirt and
germs are going to be dealt with in the filtering process. The filter will
only be able to deal with so much in the way of contaminates, so there are
a lot of folks who agree that a pre-filter is a good idea to extend the life
of the main filter itself, and here is where my idea came from. I know that
there are commercial pre- filters that may be a whole lot cheaper to buy from
the point of view on the cost of this subject, but this is about constructing
your own from found, scavenged, and recycled materials in a SHTF type situation.
The list of materials that you will need is as follows :
A large stockpot.
Cheesecloth or fine mesh nylon or brass window screening.
A dozen bags of kids marbles or flat marbles used for decoration.
A couple shovels full of builders sand. ( Children's sandbox sand is a different
type of sand, and has some questionable chemicals in it, so do not use this
type of sand. Builders sand is just that, SAND. so be sure to use only this
type for your pre-filter )
And a good supply of charcoal.
Tools that you will need are:
- A drill, and a good assortment of drill bits.
- Center punch.
- Heavy machinists hammer or a small, one-pound or two-pound sledgehammer.
- A
piece of 2x4 scrap lumber, about two feet in length.
- A good pair of safety
glasses [with side guards]. This is the most important piece of equipment
you should have when you build this, because your
eyesight is
very
important
to your survival. Wear them!
- Four bricks, or 2x4
blocks.
- A large funnel.
To start, place the stockpot on the bricks or 2x4's like you were going to
build a fire under the stockpot for cooking or heating water.
Then, take the two foot 2x4, and your hammer, and place one end of the 2x4
into the center of the inside of the stockpot and give a couple of good sharp
blows to the top of the 2x4 to make a depression in the center of the pot to
allow for complete drainage of the filter. A slight depression of the base
is better than a flat bottom, because it will allow the water to drain at the
lowest point and not to run all over the bottom and drop off the edges instead,
Now, take the stockpot, and turn it over so that the outside bottom is now
face up. Take your box of drill bits, your center punch, and your drill, and
use the center punch and your hammer, to make a punch in the approximate center
of the stockpot. Now take and punch six or seven more around the center, remembering
to space them about an inch and a half apart from each other. These will be
drilled out with a half inch drill bit to form the drain for the filter, and
the whole thing needs to have an area of holes about the size of one of the
downspouts. This will allow for good and proper drainage of the filter. Once
all the holes have been drilled, take a larger bit, and use it to ream out
the holes, so that there are not any sharp edges or metal shavings to cut your
fingers, etc, and the screen material.
Once you have this done, take the stockpot, and turn it right side up again.
Now take the cheesecloth or screen, and mold and form it to fit in the bottom
of the pot, and going up the sides, and over the top, to form a sort of inner
bucket of screen.
Now you are ready to fill the filter with the filtering medium.
Start by grinding up the charcoal to make charcoal powder. !00% pure charcoal
should be used only. If you lay in a supply of bagged charcoal, then you will
have to determine how much that you will need for further replenishment of
the filter, as well as the other materials needed to make it, so that you will
be able to replace or repair any of the components as time goes on. If you
don't have a good supply of charcoal laid aside, you can always make your own
using these sites to help you.
Place about 3-to-4 inches of the charcoal in the pot, tamp it down firmly
and evenly as you go. Then once you have that done, form another set of screen
material like the first one for the charcoal, and place it in the pot on top
of the charcoal filter medium. Fill the pot with 3-4 inches of the sand, just
like you did with the charcoal, tamp and level as you go. Now, make one more
screen set to go on top of the sand, and place it in the pot.
Now you are ready to add the marbles. Same thing as with the charcoal and sand.
Place enough in the pot, to get about 3-4 inches of marbles on the top if the
filter mediums.The marbles break up the churning action of the water as it
hits the system, and the sand and charcoal act as the filtering agents. By
separating all the component mediums with the three screen elements, you are
able to lift the materials out separate from each other for refill and repair
as needed.
Now that you have the filter completed, you are ready to install it into your
system. You can install it at the front of the system, where the downspout
pours into the marbles, and the drain fills into your storage barrel, or the
barrel drains into the filter, before you send it to the main purification
filter. Either way will work fine, and if you want to, you can make two of
these and do both. It is your choice on this one.
When you set the filter into place for either one, you can take the large funnel,
and set it under the pot to catch and direct the water draining off the filter,
so that you catch every drop.
After you have filtered the water through this pre-filter, you can then send
it on to the main filter, and know that the main filter will not have to try
to strain out the extra dirt and germs that would come without doing this pre-
filter first. A good one like the Berkey filters will last a lot longer before
you have to replace their filter elements, just by making and using one of
these. The most important part to remember about this filter construction,
is to use as fine a screen material as you can find. Double or even triple
up your cheesecloth or screen if you have to, or even use a combination of
both if you want. It is up to you, but you need as fine a screen as you can
get.
Here are a couple of sites that I found for material source reference. These
are not set in stone type of suggestions, they are for visual aid only, to
give you an idea of what to look for. Marbles can be found in all sorts of
places, and the same goes for the pots. Stainless steel would be the best choice.
The ones to stay away from are the ones with the non-stick surfaces.
A source for marbles:
Glass
Gems & Marbles from Wholesalers USA
A source for stockpots:
Stainless
Steel Stock Pots @ Yahoo! Shopping
When you use the pre-filter, remember to change the sand and charcoal in
the system from time to time.
A recharge every 1-to-3 months should keep everything working fine, and you
should be able to make the thing work and last for a very long time to come.
Hope
that this helps some of you out there doing the rainwater catchment thing
to add to your survival and preparedness plans. Watch for a couple of other
posts
that I will send later, on some other thoughts that I had for some other
items that will come in handy after a SHTF event.
Be Prepared! - Dim Tim
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Letter Re: A Practical Tip on Using Roof Catchment Rainwater
Mr. Rawles-
I sincerely appreciate your site and all of your efforts. In researching rain
water collection recently, I came across a
manual on rain water harvesting published by the Texas Water Development Board. While some of the
data is Texas-specific, I found the overall information and descriptions of
various harvesting systems to be extremely helpful. I suspect some of your
readers may as well.
In addition, I have received notice from the good folks at Safecastle that
their next Mountain House [long term storage food] sale will take place between
May 23 and June 5 and will include a 25% discount for [Safecastle Royal] members.
I have done business with Safecastle
in
the
past, and was quite pleased. Please note, I will not receive anything for making
this sale known, so I have nothing to gain. Respectfully, - Hunkajunk
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Two Letters Re: A Practical Tip on Using Roof Catchment Rainwater
JWR:
In response to today's post, I would like to offer an alternate method
to avoid going outside in the rain to flip the value after five minutes.
Cut the down drain pipe into about 5 feet from the discharge elbow. At the
elbow end install a blank over the opening. Drill a small hole in the blank,
perhaps 1/8th inch diameter, and reattached the outlet ducting to a container
to catch the runoff.
At the above cut in the drain pipe, install a "T" and an ell to move
the water downward into a barrel.
[During each fresh rain shower,] the pipe that is blanked off should hold the
initial water that would contain bird droppings and other unpleasant things
before
it starts
to
run
out the "T" above
into the clean water receptacle. This method gives you clean water for drinking
and dirty water for the garden. Of course run your clean water through the
Berkey before drinking.
I wish I could take credit for this method, but the thanks will have to go
to Mel Tappan. - JH in Arkansas
Jim,
I found a rainwater diverter that
looks interesting.
It can be turned on and off in seconds so you can let the first few minutes
of rain wash the bird poop off the roof before you start collecting water.
I imagine with a rain sensor and a little effort, it could be made to start
diverting water automatically a few minutes after it starts raining. - Matt
R.
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Letter Re: A Practical Tip on Using Roof Catchment Rainwater
Jim
There are simple old time solutions to the possible problem of collecting and
using "polluted" roof gathered rain water.
Add a splitter, (an upside down Y shaped piece of pipe), to the downspout before
the pipe runs into your cistern or rain barrel. One side of the "Y" goes
to your catchment, the other to the ground or drain. Add a simple flip value
to the inside of the splitter. During the first 5 minutes of any rain, turn
or flip the valve to run the water out onto the ground or into the usual drain.
Once the roof and gutters, (and air), have been washed clean of any dirt, debris
or pollution, flip the value over to fill the rain barrel or cistern. Keep
the barrel or cistern tightly covered so animals or mosquitoes can't get in.
At least once a year completely drain the barrel or cistern and scrub clean
with bleach and water. Rinse well and drain. Then refill. This ensures a clean
supply of "soft" water that should be safe to drink, (and incidentally
is especially good for using in steam irons and washing hair ). - Jim Fry,
Curator, Museum of
Western Reserve Farms & Equipment, Ohio
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Letter Re: Concerns About Toxicity in Water From Roof Catchment Rainwater
Mr. Rawles,
I searched the forums to no avail on this topic. In the Pacific Northwest,
a common roof setup is untreated wood shakes with copper ridge caps and flashing.
The rain hits the copper which leaches chemicals onto the wood shakes to inhibit
moss growth.
On other sites I'm reading conflicting thoughts on whether this amount of
copper renders the water unsuitable for rain catchment into a water barrel
for vegetable garden irrigation or a cistern for human consumption. Some folks
seem
to think there is more danger from the concentrated nitrogen in the water (bird
droppings, raccoon feces) than the minute traces of copper. Others believe
any amount of copper renders the water useless, no matter what purification
steps
one might take (filters, Aerobic 07, etc). - What is your take? - Scott J
JWR Replies: The copper itself is not the issue, since after
all most residential water pipes are copper. But if lead solder was used for
any
joints,
that would be
cause for concern.
Personally, I'd be much more concerned about any wood preservative treatment
chemicals impregnated in the shingles. Some of those chemicals, such as copper
naphthalate,
are nasty!
But
if your roof was built with plain, untreated cedar shingles and copper sheeting
without lead joints, then the catchment water should be fine for domestic use,
once it is properly
filtered
and treated
for microbes.
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Letter Re: Learning the Details of Self-Sufficiency
Jim,
I'd like to add an additional perspective on the letter on "Learning the Details
of Self-Sufficiency" -- the conscious
competence learning model. I'd like to pull back the shade a bit on why 'just
buying stuff' and reading books isn't going to cut it when the balloon goes
up.
Many folks are 'buying things', reading books, searching the internet with
the thought that when the time comes, they will begin living the self-sufficient
lifestyle in the country. The aforementioned letter points out the folly of
this approach. I just want to take a step back and look at why so many people
are taking an unproductive approach -- it has to do with how people assimilate
new skills.
With a new skill set (like self-sufficient living in this example) a person
at first is unconsciously incompetent (stage #1). Here a person doesn't even
know what they don't know. They certainly don't understand the ramifications
of not having mastery of the things they don't know. Most people stop right
here. They feel safe. In fact, it's not until they go a bit further into consciously
incompetent (stage #2) when they begin for the first time to understand some
of the things at which they are incompetent; and begin to realize the impact
of their incompetence on their desired outcome.
Stage 2 lasts a long time because the more a person learns, the more necessary
skills they uncover, which skills they have no experience whatsoever. It's
not until you actually eat the beans you've canned, which were stored in the
root cellar you made; which beans grew in your garden, which garden you protected
from insects, which plot you cleared from the forest, fenced from the deer,
amended the soil, selected the correct variety of bean seed, planted at the
correct depth,with the correct spacing, at the right time of year, with the
proper sun exposure, etc. Then and only then will you have begun to
have some gardening experience -- for beans. Then you can begin to appreciate
that beans
are not carrots. Carrots have different needs, and hey, wow, I wonder if all
these different vegetables, grains and fruits have different requirements?
Gee, what would happen if I grew my garden in 'compost' I bought from a local
garden center and the entire crop failed, and I couldn't buy my veggies from
Wal-Mart? Last example was a true story for me as a local nursery sold me 10
yards of 'compost' which [later] tested almost zero for N, P, & K. My crops
bolted and died within three weeks.
Stage 3 is conscious competence. This is when you can perform a skill reliably
at will. I can put up more beans this year, I know how to do it; I know how
many rows of what dimension and how much seed I need. I want to put up some
dilly beans, I know how to do that too. I can cook using the blanched and frozen
beans I grew last year.
Stage 4 is unconscious competence. This is where you aren't even aware of the
skills you are using to produce the desired result. People who reach this level
of expertise often can't teach another person how to do what they are doing
because so much ability (not knowledge -- big difference) is assumed. Have
you ever seen a craftsman produce a beautiful result, and make it look easy?
Then you
tried and found, "Hey, this is harder than it looks!" That's what
stage 4 is, and where you need to be before you risk your family's life on
homesteading in the midst of a crisis.
We've only talked about beans so far; how about production quantity gardening
for the 20 or so veggies, fruits, and grains you're going to need? How about
producing pork? Chicken? Rabbit? Lamb? Can you breed, select, grow, cull, harvest,
process, store, and prepare all of these? How about dairy operations? Retreat
security? Redundant water systems in place? Redundant power systems in place
and functioning? Productive relationships with neighbors? Suppliers? I'd like
to give you a more complete list, but I've been doing this for years now, so
I don't even know all I know!
If you aren't doing these things right now, then you won't be any good at them
in a time of need. The only way to gain new skills is by doing.
Take advantage of whatever time we have left before things get much worse,
and go do it! -
Mr. Kilo
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Letter Re: Some Preparedness Lessons Learned
James,
The need for usable skills in tough times, goes without need for embellishment.
The grand question is: which skills are the most valuable? In any situation
the basic needs are obvious – food, shelter, and clothing. Choosing what
I would concentrate on learning, became predicated on what I could do, and
what the community could provide in stressful times.
I moved some time ago from the gulf coast to Tennessee to retire and begin
preparing for the coming events. I moved into a community which is pretty much
self sufficient, mostly by religious choice. Livestock husbandry ranges from
cattle (mostly for milk), goats to chickens, hogs and horses.
I began to raise goats several years ago, starting with Boer cross. After several
discussions I have crossed them with a strain of milk goat to reduce the size
(and therefore the quantity of meat to be preserved) and gain the benefit of
milk products. I researched the process of cheese making and using products initially
supplied from New England Cheese Makers, learned the processes. It was very interesting
to discover that the rennin (for assisting in cheese making) actually comes from
the stomach of ruminators, another by product of the goats.
Preserving meats became my next concern. When talking to many folks, they believe
that they will just run out and kill fresh meat when needed. Not only will the
game be decimated in no time, but without a method of preservation it is wasteful.
Preferred methods around here are smoking, honey and salt boxes for curing and
preserving. The use of honey as a preservative turns out to be one of the very
best. Honey has a natural bacteria inhibitor, and curing smoked meats in honey
just makes life better. This in turn has determined the need for bees – My
neighbor already has a couple of hives which produces enough for now. The use
of honey reduces the dependence on obtaining sources of salt. In addition they
are many maple trees in the area which folks tap during the winter and early
spring. Many families have ponds a raise fish, which are canned by cold packing
or salting and drying.
Having fresh water is a paramount concern. Even with a spring the water quality
can change with the amount of rain causing algae blooms. These can range for
digestive distress to just foul taste. The stream water cannot be used without
treatment, as we have otters, beavers, coyote, foxes, and a whole range of other
critters, so amoeba type problems are probable. Boiling water is the surest,
but is often not the most practical. Any numbers of excellent water filters are
available, but the Big Berky is the most popular here. In any case the water
has to be pre-filtered to remove organic matter. This can be done by straining
through
a clean cloth, then passing through/over a disinfecting agent such as a silver
compound, or the addition of non-detergent bleach. The next best is a cistern
collecting rain fall, but even this can have issues as it tends to clean smoke
dust and pollen from the air on its way down.
As for the vegetable gardens the goats do help with the fertilizer which is composted
and added to the garden. The area I live in is pretty much a “rock farm” so
there is a constant need to remove the rocks from the garden areas and add in
soil from the hills behind us. This soil is usually pretty acidic with all of
the hardwood trees. Most folks use lime from the feed stores – haven’t
found a good substitute yet.
Clothing is one of the details that I have struggled with. The ability to produce
cloth is beyond most of us. Wool makes for great outer wear, but lousy underwear.
Goat hair can be made into quite durable garments, somewhat at the expense of
comfort. We have chose to use GI surplus wool socks, sweaters, BDUs
(because they are very durable) and purchase and store long and regular underwear.
We
do have a real cobbler in the community that does make very nice shoes/boots,
but I still have a back up pair. Many women here weave or quilt (using discarded
clothing as well as new cloth). I do keep some “unisex” clothing
on hand for whomever – mostly in the form of overalls. They are fairly
cheap and commonly worn in the area, and during the cold weather are an additional
layer. We have had most days at or below freezing and night down to zero. I have
looked into tanning leather – it is a noxious process and can be done.
I am choosing to have the hides tanned while I still can and store them against
the future need as clothing.
Our cabin is solid cedar timbers, and smells great! The downside is that there
is a constant need to stay on top of the chinking and calking, to reduce drafts – I’ve
used 22 tubes already this winter. We thought that pellet stove would be a great
idea – wrong. First it requires electricity. With the
power out you have to fire up the generator which is noisy and uses expensive
fuel. Second the stove
can burn corn or compressed hardwood pellets. Corn is food or the animals and
us, and tough enough to grow enough as is. Besides using the corn leaves the
odor of burned popcorn as exhaust. Compressed wood pellets are used on an average
of 80# per day at a cost of ~$9.00 / day. Pulling the stove this spring and going
to a straight quality wood burning stove that can be used to cook on. To back
up a wood burning stove an axe, buck saw, splitting wedges or a maul, and or
chain saw are required based on how much free time you can devote to it. Setting
aside wood requires a year round effort to keep from killing yourself. Although
we have electricity I do have a pitcher pump ready to install in the event it
is needed. And have simple kerosene lanterns for light. I prefer the straight
wick models, as the mantels have become very had to come by recently.
Health concerns in rural living also means, that you have to have a working knowledge
of first aid and basic medicine. The Red Cross has good courses on first aid
and the older Boy Scout manuals give an acceptable knowledge as well. Around
here there is a good deal of herbal medicine practiced. This is good for preventive
and minor issues. I have chosen to invest in some older college texts on anatomy,
physiology, and pharmacology, and a physician’s desk reference. These books
help in diagnosing, but will be of minimal help if/when the main line drugs are
not available. They are great for showing how to stitch and bandage wounds more
severe than the first aid books cover. We keep a well stocked medicine chest
with off the shelf medicines, and rotate them as needed. As we find local remedies
that are effective, we also include them (i.e. willow bark tea as a substitute
for aspirin).
I have learned rudimentary blacksmith skills, and collected some of the tools
as well as books on the subject. I can fashion horseshoes, wheel rims, forge
weld, make cut nails and a few other tasks as required. There are many better
skilled in this community and it will be more time efficient to trade/buy their
services.
I have a full time gunsmithing business which has been sorely needed in this
area – seems like everyone has one that they need fixed. So much for a
retirement business….
The acquisition of books, and how to reading material can spell the difference
between existence and some degree of comfort. In addition it is my considered
opinion the education of young people is severely unbalanced. The possession
of text books, classics, and recreational reading allows one to educate children
when contact is limited. The community has a long history of home schooling.
These kids routinely pass the high school exit exams (same tests as the state
requires for graduation) with higher scores, and at an earlier age. Most parents
seek out folks whom are well versed to teach the children. Oh yea, one by product
is that the kids are very respectful, and thoughtful.
In conclusion I thought that preparation for tougher times meant more beans,
bullets, and bullion. As it turns out, the retraining of my mind and attitudes
has presented the larger challenge. Understanding how you store food, is nearly
as important as what you store. What you can make is as important as what you
can do without (toilet paper?) Knowing that one person cannot do all that is
required, only means that you learn the skills to assist your community which
will supplement everyone’s survival/ quality of life. I thought that being
retired would allow me to kick back and enjoy some good libations. It has turned
out to be the greatest learning curve of my life – and I love it. Jim’s
preparedness course is a great place to start. But the real preparedness is in
the doing! - Dennis S.
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Letter Re: A Source for Potable Water Storage Tanks
Jim,
I enjoy your blog. Recently a few friends and I started to look for potable
water storage tanks for long term storage. Most tanks either were not designed
for long term storage
or the retailer does not have enough information. (Ever since the bottled water
cancer scare, the composition of the plastic has taken on a new importance.)
Wanted to pass on to you a link to WaterTanks.com,
a company that has really been great leading us through the process and willing
to sell us 1 or 100 tanks. Our sales rep is James Opferman.
We are going to pick up the tanks ourselves and save on the sizable shipping
costs. I thought your audience might be interested. They also have a cool rain
barrel configured with a nice strainer on the top. Keeps out the roof debris
and bugs.
I'm off, to read more of your site. - Jerry A
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Letter Re: Hardening a Home Against Small Arms Fire
Sir,
I wish to inquire about hardening a home .I n a firefight, when in a "normal" home,
shots would traverse the walls. Being a simple farmer here in southeastern
Idaho I am a little concerned about the current turmoil and possible Golden
Horde.
I know
that when I was in Rhodesia, we built earthen berms around the home like big
flower boxes along with 2"x4" mesh wire to stop RPGs.
We also had built two perimeter fences and placed crushed white stone inside
the two fences ([each] nine feet high).
Also I am interested in how to pump water here when there is no grid power
for myself
and family and 30 head of animals. I have some supposed "no freeze" hydrants
now but they do freeze. Go figure. I have only been in Idaho for two years.
Thanks for any help. Also, I wanted to say that your novel was great. Sincerely,
- Charles B.
JWR Replies: Retrofitting a house for ballistic protection
can be an expensive proposition, if it is done in a manner that is aesthetically
pleasing in the present day. Sand bags are inexpensive, but as one of my distaff
consulting clients noted, "There is a big difference between Better
Homes and Gardens and your Harder Homes and Gardens.")
I generally recommend starting with a masonry house with a metal roof.
They are nearly fireproof, and aside for their windows, quite resistant to
small
arms fire. As I described in detail in my novel "Patriots:
Surviving the Coming Collapse",
given sufficiently heavy hinges and stout hinge mounting points, steel shutters
can be added to windows, and then wood veneer added, to make the shutters look "decorative." Adding
steel plate to doors overstresses their hinges, so it best to build bullet-resistant
doors from scratch. Again, that is described in my novel. And the novel even
includes a formula for calculating the weight of plate steel. (It does add
up quickly. Parenthetically, special safety precautions must be taken when
lifting and positioning plate steel. (See: ANSI A10.13-2001.) The oft-quoted
"32 feet
per second-per second" of acceleration is a law not to be trifled with! Watch
your fingers and
toes.)
Water pumping is best accomplished by a
traditional Aermotor windmill if you
are in a windy region, or via photovoltaics elsewhere. In either case, I recommend
constructing a large cistern to provide gravity flow for domestic use, gardening,
livestock, and firefighting. OBTW, the folks at Ready
Made Resources offer
free consulting on photovoltaics and other alternative energy systems.
Regarding your frost-free hydrants. They were possibly installed incorrectly.
Since the valve body is buried below frost depth, they should not freeze is
buried at sufficiently deep. (This depth varies, depending on latitude and
solar exposure.) Properly, they should have at least a cubic foot
of gravel around the base, where
the valve's weep
hole drains
the water
from the standpipe portion of the hydrant, each time that that the water is
turned off. It is uncommon, but the weep hole can become plugged,
especially by heavy clay soil. It is also possible for frost to be "driven
down" to unusual
depths by
the proximity of vehicular traffic or even large livestock tromping around
a valve. BTW, be very cautious if you decide to excavate to check to see if
there
is
enough
gravel
there.
It
is easy
to
break
Schedule
40 PVC pipe
with a hand shovel. (I speak from sad experience!)
« Two Letters Re: Alaska as a Retreat Locale |Main| Notes from JWR: »
Bloom Where You're Planted, by Gertrude
I write this to encourage everyone to begin preparing right now, whatever your
financial situation and physical location in life. We are one of the many
families that don’t live in a sparsely populated western state and
don’t
have a retreat that is fully stocked, off-grid and off-the beaten path. But
we are very aware of the precarious situation that our country is in and we are trying as best we can to be prepared. Doing a little
bit consistently every day will add up very quickly and you will be better
prepared every day as you go along. Doing this will also do wonders for your
mental outlook.
To give a little background: our household consists of my mother and myself,
along with four cats, three dogs and a flock of chickens. My mother is 79 years
old and I’m a retired 57-year old woman. My sister and brother-in-law live about a half-mile
away and our niece and her husband live next door. Both of my parents grew
up on farms and we always had a big garden and plenty of fruit trees when I
was a child. We live in a semi-rural area about three miles from a small town.
There are no interstate highways nearby.
The people here in our community are pretty self-reliant. People still hunt,
fish, and grow and preserve their own vegetables and fruits (although not as
much as in the past). We have about five acres of land with a small fruit orchard
and garden area. We don’t have any mortgages or car payments to worry
about, but we also don’t have the financial resources to retreat to another location. Are we fully prepared? Of course not. I don’t
think anyone is ever fully prepared, but we are much better prepared than we
were last year and we were better prepared last year than we were the year
before
that. This is because of consistently doing something every day to prepare.
As I sit here typing this, our supper is cooking on the wood stove while my
mother is in the living room quilting and our alarm systems--our three dogs--are
outside keeping an eye on things. The coffee pot is ready to go on the stove
for supper later. The chickens are happily occupied in their area. Our pantry
is stocked with wheat, rice, beans, store-canned goods as well as home-canned
vegetables, fruits, and meats and various other food and non-food items. We
have another separate storage area for paper products, medical supplies, batteries,
cleaning supplies, etc.
We didn’t have the wood stove, chickens or bigger-than-average pantry
storage a few years ago. Back then I would have said we were above-average
in “preparation mentality” but my eyes were opened when I began
doing research on the subject of preparedness. It began when I wanted to be
prepared
to
survive a possible flu pandemic. I quickly learned of other things, such as the possibility of EMP strikes,
electric grid
going down in general, Peak
Oil problems, you name it. My first reaction was
one
of panic, but that subsided as my mother and I began “putting feet on our
prayers.” We started small, buying more food each week when grocery shopping.
Then we decided to go “whole hog.”
The first thing we did was buy a wood stove. We now have three heating systems:
[a heating] oil furnace, gas logs operated on propane and the wood stove. We
use the wood stove most of the time in the winter now. Although it’s
not a [broad-top] cook stove, we do very well cooking meals on it. We perk
the coffee for supper most nights even if we don’t cook the main meal
on it. We have lots of wood on our land, but aren’t physically able to
cut the wood ourselves so we buy it locally, and my brother-in-law has supplied
us with wood (my sister and he have a wood stove too). We have three able-bodied
men in the family (brother-in-law, nephew-in-law and nephew) who can and will cut wood if need be.
The next thing we did was install a manual well pump. We’re on well water
but we needed a way to get the water if the grid goes down. I began researching
manual
well pumps and my brother-in-law installed one for us. Last summer, we
worked on what has probably been the biggest project of them all: building
a chicken house and fenced-in chicken yard. Our chickens are what I suppose
you’d call semi-free range. They have a 24x24 foot yard to roam in. My
mother was the chief architect. She designed the chicken house herself. We
first had to clear the land, then we prepared the foundation for the house.
After that came the actual building of the chicken house.
Although we have a pick-up truck, my nephew was using it at the time, so I
would go to the local Big Box building center and buy as much wood as I could
fit into the car and bring it back. We’re proof that you can pretty much
do what you set your mind to do if you’re determined enough. We worked
steadily every day except Sundays at building the chicken house and got it
done. Then we had to clear the land for the chicken yard, and after doing that
we began digging the holes for the fence posts. The only thing we had any outside
help with was installing the poultry wire for the fence. We needed my niece
and her husband to help us get that pulled tight enough. We finished the entire
operation by putting netting over the entire chicken yard to keep out hawks.
We now have a great flock of chickens. As I write this, we have about eight
dozen eggs in the refrigerator. We share [the eggs] with my sister and husband,
my
niece and her husband and my nephew and his wife. The dogs also get a scrambled
egg dinner about once a week. We haven’t bartered any eggs yet, but we
know that’s a possibility down the road if economic conditions warrant
it.
Somewhere in the midst of all this preparation, we bought a Country
Living grain mill (the manual kind). Mother has done most of the grinding
so far. She’s baked whole-wheat rolls and loaves of bread with the wheat
we bought and ground ourselves – yummy!
Our garden suffered last summer, because we were so busy getting the chicken
flock project set up. Our goal for this summer is to have as big a garden as
we can manage. We do have a stock of garden seed laid back. We’ve already
stocked up on lots of canning jar lids. We already had a good supply of canning
jars and rings but I plan on stocking up on those, as well.
One of the big things we need to do next is prepare in the area of self-defense.
We have a rifle and recently bought a S&W 9mm handgun. We also have my
late father’s 38 Special revolver. We have magazines and ammo and plan
on stocking more ammo. My brother-in-law (a former Marine) is going to train
me on the handguns and rifle. If there is one thing I regret in life it is that I didn’t take advantage of the fact that my
late father, who was a police officer, wanted to train me in the use of firearms,
but I was a wimp. I’ve always believed in the right to bear arms, but
was actually a little afraid of using guns, mainly because I’m so nearsighted.
But I’ve gotten over that now. After one very short session with my brother-in-law
going over firearm basics with me, I’m excited about getting proficient
in their use because I can actually understand how the darn things work now!
I believe we’re doing pretty good at blooming where we’re planted.
We can garden, sew, quilt, cook (don’t laugh – a lot of people
don’t
know how to do that!), crochet, can and preserve food, and we’ve don
pretty well at carpentry. In addition to my retirement pension, I also have
a second
stream of income doing manuscript typing at home.
To summarize, I encourage anyone who feels paralyzed by current events to
get up and get going. Start small: buy a few extra groceries each time you
shop; stock up on non-perishables; prepare a first aid kit; and take a first
aid course. Pay attention to what’s going on around you. And, most importantly
of all, never stop learning. Before you know it, you’ll be a lot more prepared than you ever knew you could be. - Gertrude
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Solar Water Disinfection and Pasteurization, by Ariel
This article describes so me simple and practical methods for providing drinkable
water in disaster situations. They fit with my motto: "Keep calm, and carry
on!"
According to the EPA, if you can’t
boil water, you can disinfect it using household bleach. Do not use non-chlorine
bleach
to
disinfect
water.
Typically, [when freshly-purchased] household chlorine bleaches will be 5.25% available chlorine. Bleach will kill
some, but not all, types of disease-causing organisms that may be in the water.
If the water is cloudy, filter it through clean cloths or allow it to settle,
and draw off the clear water for disinfection. Add 1/8 teaspoon (or 8 drops)
of regular, unscented, liquid household bleach for each gallon of water, stir
it well and let it stand for 30 minutes before you use it. Store
disinfected
water in clean containers with covers. There are two big disadvantages of treating
water with chemicals. First chlorine can be potentially dangerous if used improperly
and it may not be readily available when you need it. But there is a safe, chemical-free, and inexpensive option
for disinfecting your water.
Cardboard and aluminum foil are unlikely tools for disinfection water until
you factor in sunshine. Solar water pasteurization uses the heat of the sun
to raise the temperature of water to a point where microbial pathogens are
destroyed. Disease-causing organisms in water are killed by exposure to heat
in a process
called pasteurization. Water that has been heated to 165 degrees F is free from living microbes including Escherichia
coli, Rotaviruses, Giardia and the Hepatitis-A virus. [JWR Adds: The water need not be "held" at a boiling point for ant period of time. Just make the water reach 165 degrees F, and it is done]
Although traditional fuels can be used to pasteurize water, on sunny days
solar energy is the better choice. A major problem with boiling water for
disinfection
is its energy consumption in relation to cost and availability of the fuel
supply. If you do not have electricity you might not be able to sanitize your water..
With full sunshine, it can takes up to two hours to reach 165 degrees F pasteurize two liters of
water. In order to determine when water has reached pasteurization you will
need to
invest in a simple device called a Water Pasteurization Indicator (WAPI).
The WAPI is a simple reusable device containing a special soy wax. The wax
melts
at the same temperature as the water is pasteurized. The tube hangs on a
string inside the container with the wax end up, and once the water around
it becomes
hot enough to kill the bacteria the wax melts, running from the top part
of the tube to the lower end. Although it is designed for solar pasteurization,
the WAPI can be used for pasteurizing over most fuel sources including gas,
wood, and charcoal. WAPIs generally cost between $5 and $10.
As described previously in SurvivalBlog, SOlar water DISinfection (SODIS)
involves filling clean PETE (Polyethylene
Terephtalate) transparent plastic bottles with
water and exposing them to full sunlight for six or more hours. [JWR
Adds: Do not use polycarbonate water bottles,
such as those made up until recently by Nalgene, since that type of plastic
blocks ultraviolet (UV)
light!] The combination of UV-A radiation and raised water temperature disinfects
the water.
There
are a few drawbacks to this method. SODIS efficiency depends on the physical
condition of the plastic bottles, with scratches reducing the efficiency of
the SODIS process. There has
been some concern over the question whether plastic drinking containers can
release
chemicals
or toxic
components
into water, a process possibly accelerated by heat. A solar cooker will make
the SODIS process more efficient.
While pasteurizing will solve a lot of disease problems, it does not remove
other things found in the water such as chemicals, pesticides and heavy metals.
You can purchase elaborate solar cookers or build one using simple materials.
You can find a large number of solar cooker building plans at SolarCooking.org.
I have included instructions for a simple windshield shade solar cooker as
an addendum to this article. I have also included instructions from Needful
Provision, Inc. on how to
construct a simple solar water-distilling unit.
Building and testing a solar cooker also makes an excellent school science
project. The last project I worked on with my child was, “Can you bake
cookies in a solar oven in North Carolina in the month of January?” The
conclusion was yes. Solar cookers should certainly be one the items at the
top of the list for TEOTWAWKI. They
are portable, use only the sun as an energy source and they work!
This is one of the easiest cookers to make
and it works great. You can make it for less than $10:
Kathy Dahl-Bredine's Auto Windshield Shade Solar Cooker
Materials Needed:
Reflective accordion-folding car sunshade
Wire frame or grill)
4 inches of Velcro
Black pot
Bucket or plastic wastebasket
Plastic baking bag
1. Lay the sunshade out with the notched side toward you.
2. Cut the Velcro into three pieces, each about one inches long.
3. Stick or sew one half of each piece, evenly spaced, onto the edge to the
left of the notch. Attach the matching half of each piece onto the underneath
size to the right of the notch, so that they fit together when the two sides
are brought together to form a funnel. If using stick-on Velcro, you can
align the two pieces easily like this: Stick down one side of the Velcro, then
press
the two pieces of Velcro together, fold the shade into the funnel shape and
stick down the second side.
4. Press the Velcro pieces together, and set the funnel on top of a bucket
or a round or rectangular plastic wastebasket.
Place a black pot on top of the rack, placed inside a plastic baking bag.
A standard size rack in the U.S. is 10 inches. This is placed inside the
funnel,
so that the rack rests on the top edges
of the bucket or wastebasket. Since the sunshade material is soft and flexible,
the rack is necessary to support the pot. It also allows the suns rays to
shine
down under the pot and reflect on all sides. If such a rack is not available,
a wire frame could be made to work as well.
Tips:
1. The funnel should be tilted in the direction of the sun.
2. A stick placed across from one side of the funnel to the other helps to
stabilize it in windy weather.
3. After cooking, simply fold up your “oven” and slip the elastic
bands in place for easy travel or storage.
Source: SolarCooking.org (A
modification of a design by Kathy Dahl-Bredine, Oaxaca, Mexico)
[JWR Adds: As Reader William B. pointed out, distilled water is NOT good for you, for any length of time, as the minerals your body needs, have been effectively removed! Consider it a very short term contingency method!]
The Needful Provision Solar Water Distiller:
Select a place with good access to sunlight. Dig a hole in the ground about
the size of 2-bushel basket, then smooth the bottom of the hole, and add
about an inch of sand as necessary to cover any objects that have sharp edges.
Line
the hole with black plastic (10 mil if possible), and leave about 10 to 12
inches of the plastic around the outside edge of the hole. Use rocks, gravel,
or course dirt to hold this edge to the ground. Fill the hole half-full of
polluted water (or salt water). Then float a clean, potable water-tub, with
open top, on the water. Use ropes and ground-anchors to secure the tub in
a center position while floating on the polluted water.
Once the preceding steps are completed, place a siphon-type tube (suitable
for potable water) so one end is anchored on the bottom of the tub--and
one end
extends
a few feet beyond the edge of the hole. Now add a clear sheet of plastic
over the hole, and allow enough plastic to extend 6 inches beyond the black
plastic
around the edge of the hole. Place a small, round rock in the center just
over the above-described tub, so that the top plastic sags to within 4 to
6 inches
of the tub. Now seal the edges of the top and bottom plastic using a layer
of dirt at least 6 to 8 inches deep. Cut a circle of white cloth, or similar
material, a few inches larger than the collection tub, and then place this
over the tub, on top of the plastic, and under the rock (this covering should
act to shade water in the tub).
By means of solar water distillation, pure water vapor collects on the underside
of the clear plastic where it re-condenses and forms water droplets. The
water droplets slide down the plastic, and fall off into the collection tub
just
below the rock. The siphon tube is then used daily to drain-off the daily
ration (1 gallon per person day) of potable water. Hole sizes may be adjusted
to meet
the water demands of a particular family, as well as adjusting for changes
in climatic conditions. If the same water distillation hole is to be used
on a regular basis, then a tube and funnel system should be included to add
more source water daily, without the need to move dirt or the plastic cover.
Pure, potable water was the result of all our prior uses. We do know that there
are
2 or 3 chemicals that may evaporate at about the same temperature
as water.
If such chemicals were present in the source water, then potable water may
not always result.
Source: Needful Provision, Inc.
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Letter Re: Lessons from the January Ice Storm
Jim:
The Ice Storm that just plastered Kentucky brought some reminders of just how
bad things can get and how being prepared - in advance - is critical. Within
a few hours, everything became coated with a half-inch to an inch of ice:
roads, cars, trees, power lines - everything. Throughout the night, we heard
crashes as our neighbor's trees lost massive limbs. We knew it was only a
matter of time before trees limbs (which are not properly trimmed back by
our utility company in an attempt to cut costs) collapsed on power lines
and caused widespread outages. In the morning, everything had turned to crystal.
About a quarter million people were without power in our county, but almost
everyone in the western half of the state had lost power.
Our county actually did a good job of plowing and salting roads. Unfortunately,
it didn't help as hundreds of traffic lights weren't working. Traffic was snarled
badly and travel times easily doubled. Hundreds of businesses are closed and
loosing money every day the power stays off. Looking for a generator at the
local big box home and garden center? Forget it, quickly sold out. Ice scrapers,
gone. Gas cans, gone. Driveway salt, gone. Snow shovels, gone. The sales guy
told me they weren't going to get restocked for the rest of the season.
My daughter called from the university she attends about a four hour drive
to the West. Their whole city was without power and water. The university asked
students
to leave, if possible, and those who couldn't were sheltered in the campus
auditorium. They didn't have any cots so you had to sleep on the floor or in
the auditorium chairs. She wanted me to come pick her up, so as I headed out
the next morning on a full tank of gas, my plan was to stop at each significant
town on the way to check their power and gas pumping status. Each stop was
the same as the next - dead. As I neared the half-way point on my gas gauge,
not one city on the way had electricity. It's as if a nuclear ice bomb had
been dropped on the state. I turned back.
It's amazing when you fully realize how dependent our society has become on
electricity. We are being told it will take up to 7 days to completely restore
service in our county, which is completely urban. Out in the rural areas, they
say it will be two weeks or more. Temperatures have been dropping into the
teens at night. Lots of people I know have no alternatives to heat their homes
or cook food. Fireplaces, like mine, are electrically controlled gas logs.
I can't even light it manually. I've learned a lesson: get
what you need before you need it. Get extra. I will be buying a dependable
generator once this crisis
passes. My next home will be better equipped with alternative sources of heat
and power. - J.S.
JWR Replies: Events like the recent ice storm underscore
the need to be self -sufficient: Think things through, and prepare systematically:
Wood or coal fired
stoves with a horizontal cook top. Kerosene lamps and plenty of fuel, a backup
power
generator,
again
with
plenty
of fuel. Extra stored fuel for your vehicle (which would have allowed you to
make that 8 hour round-trip). Often overlooked in winter is the need for a
backup water supply, and water filtration,
even
if it mean
melting
buckets
of snow--which
is
agonizingly
slow and laborious.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Two Letters Re: The Thin Blue Line »
Letter Re: Colonial New England Community Blockhouses as a Historic Precedent
Hello Jim,
Mosby's description of defense tactics was common all along the
frontier in the 18th Century including western Pennsylvania. As defense
against indian raids, a small blockhouse was
built on a farm in a central location. A spring [or shallow well] for water was a necessity.
When news of local raids spread, people
would gather as many possessions as possible and head to the blockhouse for
the common defense. This is an instance where much can be learned from history.
While these small forts where rarely overrun, the abandoned farms were wide
open to burning and pillage. Destruction of property, livestock and crops
were the norm and could cause food shortages. Also, often the danger of raids
would
last for months at a time and while forted up this made it difficult to tend
to any crops and livestock not destroyed. Groups of people would travel to
abandoned farms for short periods to try to work the land as much as possible.
Some providing security while others worked. What goes around comes around
but I hope things never get this bad again. - Jeff in Ohio
« Four Letters Re: The Thin Blue Line |Main| Notes from JWR: »
Hurricane Lessons Learned and Some Advice on Getting Prepared, by Ken on the Gulf Coast
Sometimes it is not an option to relocate so you have to get prepared wherever
you are located. I am located on the Gulf Coast 60 short miles from New Orleans,
Louisiana. We were ground zero for Hurricane Katrina, so I have a first hand
experience of what can happen I will describe some things that I did right
and some things that I did wrong.
We were unable to relocate to a place like Idaho as we had elderly parents
who could not and probably would not relocate to a more appropriate survival
area.
My mother was born in 1930 the daughter of a sharecropper in the Louisiana
delta. They lived a survivor lifestyle as a matter of everyday life. She instilled
in me a fear of having absolutely nothing. Until her
death in 2007 she refused to run a dishwasher or air conditioner. She could
not bring herself to waste electricity, water, or anything for that matter.
She would not waste anything.
Although not as dedicated to thrift as my mother, I did inherit her fear of
hunger, and vulnerability to the unexpected. She died in fear of depression
era conditions returning. When she died I lost a valuable
source of survival information.
Because of my mother's influence, the day after Hurricane Katrina, we were
one out of 75,000 or so who had lights and running water 36 hours after the
storm. The following is what most people did wrong:
A lot of people had generators, the problem was that they only had a couple
of cans of gas. So they were all without power in less than 24 hrs. All of
the gas stations were disabled. No gas means no
power!
Nobody had enough food, they recommend three days, it took almost three days
just to get the roads clear.
No guns! I had friends who did not "believe in guns" that ended
up borrowing some weapons.
No dogs! Without dogs, you have no warning of intruders. Alarm
systems don't work after the batteries are dead.
The following is what I did right:
I had a natural gas generator installed. I was up and running less than 36
hours of the storm. It was also a mistake to select natural gas as a fuel source.
Upturned trees broke gas lines all over the region, it was only blind luck
that left me with gas pressure. A propane system would have been better.
I had drilled a water well. I was able to provide water pressure to my house,
city water was out for weeks. I tied the system back to the house by a simple
water hose going from a faucet on my pump to one on the house.
I had lights and water. Here is what I did wrong:
I evacuated the elderly mothers and dogs to an area 100+ miles north. Electricity
was out over the entire state, my motor home generator powered my sisters house
where I left our parents and dogs. I left the dogs at my bug out location before
I returned to the disaster area.
Mistake #1:
I sent my dogs elsewhere.
The other thing I was unprepared for were refugees. I call them refugees because
they would have gone hungry without the food in my pantry and freezers. I was
totally unprepared for the 16 families looking to me for
food and direction.
Some other things I did wrong:
I did not have enough food. I fed a lot of people. In a real end of life as
we know it scenario, I would have been forced to choose who I would have to
turn away. It's one thing to take care of people when you know help is on the
way, quite another when there is no help in sight.
Weapons: I loaned my old shotguns to all the people who did not believe in
the private ownership of guns. When gangs of illegal aliens and welfare recipients'
were roaming the streets, the folks who didn't believe in guns didn't hesitate
to request assistance.
I did not have a fuel source independent of the grid.
The following are changes that I have made:
I now have a Bluebird Bus motor home. It has a huge fuel tank that I can use
to run the house if the natural gas generator quits. It’s diesel generator
can put out 12 kw for a long time.
I have a much larger store of food.
I have a photovoltaically-powered water supply.
I have a bug out vehicle that has a 1,200 to 1,500 mile range. It has a propane
refrigerator. It has a water
system that can provide water pressure to my house.
I have dogs. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, thieves were cranking up
lawn mowers and pushing them up next to running generators after the storm.
They would then shut down the running generators and leave the running lawn
mowers while they absconded with the generators. You cannot stay awake
24 hours a day. Dogs do not miss much if anything. I can’t recommend
a breed of dog, but the following work for me: Miniature Schnauzers, Australian
shepherds, Catahoula Curs. If you live in the south and have some land you
cannot beat a Catahoula Cur. An Australian Sheppard is a close second for all
climates.
I have ten acres and good soil, I am putting in a very large garden. However,
I do not feel that I can overcome the huge welfare population we have here,
If things get out of hand, I plan to bug out. I now have an RV that has a tremendous range. It has a propane refrigerator, and full facilities.
I can literally live on the side of the road for weeks or months. It is equipped
to pull a full-size 4WD with
trailer. I have several bug out locations within four hours where I can evacuate
to. When I leave I will have dogs, food, tools,
and arms. I also have shortwave radios.
You have to develop a survival mentality,
you have to add to your preparation everyday. Each trip to Wal-Mart is an
opportunity to add to your supplies. The one thing I learned is that when the
storm hits,
its too late to think about being prepared. You have to think: if
a disaster strikes, how long can you feed and protect your family? I add
to my provisions
every day.
Start to prepare now. Think: food, food, and more food,
ammo, bandages, and unless you can
go without sleep 24 hours a day don't forget the dogs!
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Field Gear on a Shoestring Budget: Ten Project Examples, by George S.
The following are some hopefully useful field expedients, substitutes and
spares, all
of which can be had for a buck to about ten bucks each:
#1: Drywall Saw: if you don’t have one of those all-purpose $49.95 survival
knives or field shovels from Gerber or Glock with the accessory root saw, or
you’ve found that the finger-length saw blade on a Swiss Army folder
leaves a lot to be desired when cutting a 2x6 [board] down to size? A bow saw
or flexible survival kit saw are a couple of possible candidates that may be
up
to the
task, but so too is an inexpensive drywall "stab" saw. The blade
on the one I got for a buck in the closeout tool bin at my local Big Box store
hardware department has a blade just a smidgen under 7 inches long and saw
teeth that cut on the push stroke on one edge and reversed teeth that work
on the
draw stroke on the other. It also has a sharp enough tip on the blade point
to poke through drywall or thin wood paneling, hence the term "stab" saw.
The handle on mine, made/distributed under the GreatNeck
brand, P/N 4932, is
hard plastic and black rubber, comfortable enough to use for repeat cutting.
Though that handle included a molded-in flap pierced for a lanyard or hang
cord, the handle itself is stout enough to be drilled at the butt end for a
hole for a wrist lanyard or dummy cord. So I modified mine to eliminate any
chance of the cord tearing through the molded flap. I also did a little reshaping
of the handle on my saw with a file to get it to better fit my hand, so there
is enough material molded around the blade at the handle end for personal modification
to suit.
In addition to the obvious uses for field carpentry, mine’s proved useful
on the rib cage and pelvic bones when field dressing whitetail deer. There
are certainly other times in the woods when a nice quiet saw is to be preferred
to noisier if sometimes quicker tools like machetes or hatchets, as well as
being lighter in weight. A drywall saw is easily carried in a homemade or improvised
leather or nylon web belt sheath, or a short length of metal tubing can be
squashed flat and the saw blade inserted, both for protection for the blade
from other residents in a toolbox and to keep the saw from chewing holes in
a pack or rucksack pocket. Mine also fits in a scabbard meant for an M7 bayonet
for an M16 rifle,
which I picked up for a couple of bucks in the junk box at my favorite army-navy
surplus store. That has the total cost for my saw under
five bucks, so I went back and bought two more, one for a pal and one as a
spare for myself. Using a saw to cut those little figure-four release triggers
for small game snares or dead
fall
traps beats doing that task with most knife
blades, by the way, though setting snares in the cold is not real high on my
list of fun things to do. But if
you’re going to try it, I suggest you first practice setting the things
when it’s warmer out...and using a saw instead of a knife to build your
hare-trigger releases. (Yes, that spelling was intentional!)
#2: Snow Camo Overwhites: I live in snow country where sets of military over-white
trousers and parka can be useful during the white time of the year, and yes,
I have a good set. But my back-up plan consists of a large white vinyl trash
bag that can either be used for its intended purpose or can instead have neck
and arm holes poked into it in a pinch, then to be worn to help keep drizzle
and sleet off. It’s considerably more glossy and shiny than I care for,
which can be cured either with a few vertical stripes of flat white automotive
spray paint, or an XXXXXL white t-shirt can be added over it- unless, of course,
you are a XXXXXL T-shirt size as is, and you have to use a white pillowcase
or kiddy bed bed sheet substitute instead. Really large used T-shirts go for
50 cents each at my local Goodwill thrift store, and since I’m not planning
on wearing these against my skin, I’m not the least bit squeamish about
getting one that’s been used. And while I was there I found a pair of
much-dripped-on white painter’s pants for a buck, too, oversized and
baggy, just right for wear over warmer trousers underneath. A few shots with
the ol’ 99-cent can of flat white spray paint, and I was right in business.
Admittedly, they were still loose enough on me that I needed a pair of elastic
carpenters’ suspenders to help hold them up, and those suspenders were
available only in blue or red, not white. Out came the flat white spray can
again, which took care of that, backed up by a wrap or two of white athletic
bandage tape over the too-shiny buckles, which both locked them in place and
ensured there wouldn’t be any giveaway shine even if the paint flaked
a bit. It didn’t hurt to have that pair of short lengths of tape handy
should they be needed for other uses, either. That white spray paint also works
real well on surplus store desert helmet covers to whitenize them for winter
wear, then useable either as field jacket or parka hoods, or as, of all things,
wintertime helmet covers.
#3: Inexpensive Lockblade Folding Knifes: I like nice pretty folding knives,
both factory and custom, and some are so pretty and beautifully crafted that
it seems like sacrilege to drop one in a pocket, let alone open it up and actually
use it; the one I got as a present a couple of years back is like that. So
in my pocket rattling against my keys instead is the cheapie $1 lockblade folder
I picked up in the sporting goods/camping supplies department at my local Wal-Mart.
Packaged as "Ozark Trail #3074," the knife’s 31⁄4" blade
is jinked (partially "sawtoothed) along the rear third of its belly
edge, is marked "stainless," and is retained by a screw, making sharpening
and other maintenance simple. The knives’ handles/scales are a hard black
plastic that’s sufficiently impact resistant that of the dozen or so
examples I have none have yet suffered breakage or cracking, though one that
came in contact with a hot Jeep exhaust manifold melted and blurred a bit.
Now that one’s a "parts queen" donor for any of the others
that might have a blade chip or snap a point. That hasn’t happened yet,
the only replacement so far needed on my stable of cheap Chinese folding pointy-sharpie
things having been that of a replacement blade pivot screw that came loose
on one and got away in my pocket. The scales are a little squarish for my taste,
easily fixed by rounding off the edges and corners with a file or sandpaper,
and yep, there’s a well-placed hole for a dummy cord lanyard or key ring.
One so equipped resides on a spare bootlace that goes around my neck when I’m
kayaking in the summertime, and twin brothers of the cheapie Wal-Mart folder
live in the glove box of each of my vehicles, my tool boxes, in one pocket
or another of most of my rucks and daypacks, on my key chain and there’s
one in the drawer of my computer desk where it does double duty as letter
opener and box tape slicer. There are some users who don't care for the idea
that the
knife can be disassembled and have concerns that parts can become
unattached and lost. I haven't had that happen yet, but I figure screw tightness
checks are routine maintenance,
and I will use a threadlocker if I think it's necessary.
#4: Singlepoint Balance Sling: I had always wanted to be a high-speed, low
drag, tactical operations operating operator, but had never been able to come
up with one of the $35-$50 3-way HK or
Vickers slings that all the gun shop commandos and SWAT Team
guys who’ve never fired a shot in a real world
gunfight keep insisting to me that all the real professionals use. Adding a
center-of-balance attach point for a centerpoint sling is a simpler alternative,
and can be accomplished with nothing any more complicated or expensive than
a screw-in eyebolt at the point where the wrist of a shotgun’s butt fits
into the gun’s receiver, an expedient that goes at least as far back
in historic use as Doc Holliday’s sawn-off double-barreled scatterguns.
For the sling itself I used a five-foot length of black 1-inch wide tubular
webbing as used for rock climbing harnesses, also very useful for belts and
regular weapons slings. The advantage of using the tube web in this application
is that the tube web is hollow inside, and inside went a 48-inch-long elastic
bungee cord. The hook of one end of the bungee’s elastic shock cord was
then crimped to the front snaploop of a very used AK-47 sling
that had pulled out the oil-rotted threads holding it on, though all sorts
of alternate snaps
and swivels [or a 550-cord loop] could be used instead. The ones found on $2
surplus Swiss gas mask bags are especially excellent, with or without the bag
strap attached. The hook then attaches either to an AK or other rifle’s
front sling swivel, or at the new midpoint location if the hardware for that
application is installed. A friend who saw and tried my centerpoint sling on
my AK wanted one for his new M4 configuration
AR-15, and since he already had a sling attach point installed as the stock
locking plate of his CAR-15,
all I had to do was add the sling’s body loop and the strap with the
swivel snap. In his case, that snap was made from a pear-shaped key ring mini-caribiner,
after threading a short piece of clear plastic gas line tubing over it to keep
it from scratching the rifle finish and keep potential rattling silenced.
At the other end there’s a loop just large enough to go over the user’s
shoulder across the chest front, again with the elastic cord keeping it snug.
With the sling snap attached at the midpoint I can hold my rifle in both hands
and extend it out to arm’s length in front of me, and the elastic and
slightly muzzle-heavy weight with a loaded mag in places returns it to a muzzle-down
port arms position. This allows a fast transition from carbine to handgun,
handheld radio/cell phone, or my ice cream cone, depending on my priorities
at the time. I really prefer to have web or leather slings on weapons that
may be fired enough to get more than a little warm, since nylon slings can
melt through if they come in contact with a hot barrel. I’ve also had
my doubts about the general utility of balance point slings, but this is my
opportunity to try one out for a while, and there do seem to be two situations
in which mine has proven useful for me. One is while standing around with the
weapon at ready for long periods of time, as when at a guard post or waiting
to hit the firing line on a hot range, probably why they’ve been so popular
with some troops in Iraq. The other is when aboard a motorcycle, snowmobile
or ATV and the right hand is occupied with operating the vehicle, which would
be a really nice time to have a shorty bullpup weapon instead. But when what
you’ve got is what you’re going to have to use, I’ll admit
the springy sling may be worth being fitted.
#5: Gear/Armor Carrier Vest: Now that I had my new SWATzie sling I now needed
a black tactical vest and armor plate/pad carrier to go with it, and $2 seemed
to be a good price to give for the basic start for one. That was for two of
the polycloth black shopping bags from my local Wal-Mart store at a buck each,
offered as an alternative to the usual flimsy plastic variety. Aside from the
low cost, their big attractions were their 12" x 12" square size,
and the pair of 11⁄4" wide straps that serve as the bags front and
rear handles. Cutting away the stitching that held the end of one strap at
the mouth of one bag left an attached double strap that was long enough to
go over my shoulder and connect the first bag worn in front to the second one
across my back. The other strap was similarly modified, but on the other side
of the handle, giving a strap on either side to connect to the other bag, one
on the front left side of the front bag, and the other on the right rear of
the same bag. The straps on the other bag were modified the same way, but alternated
in mirror-image reverse, so that the outside left strap of the front bag’s
strap connected to the outside left of the rear bag, and the inside straps
likewise went to the attach points of their respective counterparts. In my
case, just the straps of one bag worn draped over my neck probably would have
been enough to position the front bag high enough in front that the bag’s
open top came to about the height of a field jacket’s front collar button.
That configuration is very similar to the old Military Armament Corporation
(MAC)
Ingram M10 submachinegun carry bags [made of then military-standard olive drab
canvas] that unfolded for wear beneath the user’s neck, the inside
of the MAC bags being lined with a Kevlar pad. I wanted protection and other
features
in back, though, so initially went with the twin bag approach. The bag in back
rode high enough that it too left just enough room for a jacket or shirt collar
to fit beneath it, and it covered my upper back and shoulders nicely. Both
bags rode high enough that an equipment belt can be worn underneath, and the
belt can be put on either first or after the vest is in place; others of different
body sizes may find they’ll need more of the adjustment provided by lengthening
both shoulder straps. Alternately, a set of padded shoulder straps salvaged
from a day pack or ALICE ruck
shoulder straps could be used instead.
Inside the rear face of my front bag went a used and expired Kevlar soft vest
obtained in a trade from a retired cop neighbor of mine. Inside the front face
of that same pouch went a military SAPI plate,
hopefully capable of withstanding rifle fire--or maybe not as effectively as
desired:
the military
has been replacing them with a newer E-SAPI version--an enhanced SAPI plate.
I also added a "kangaroo pouch" extension extending from the bottom
of the front bag, [made from a third black cloth shopping bag folded in half
top-to-bottom, giving a 6-inch extension and raising the basic cost of the
rig by another whole dollar. The Kevlar padding from another soft vest went
in the bag in back. I can add yet another "kangaroo" drop pouch location
on the bottom of the rear bag, should another 8" by 12" SAPI or E-SAPI
plate come my way and I feel like spending yet another dollar, and depending
on whether I want the extra SAPI protection low over my kidneys and spine,
or higher at my shoulder level. Until then the ballistic pad from a vest fired
into for testing rides at a height in between, sealed in a large vinyl pouch
to prevent the pad from becoming soaked if I get caught wearing the vest outside
in the rain, or go for an unplanned swim. No, you shouldn’t use expired
or damaged vest inserts or material. Yes, you ought to spend the bucks for
the very best body armor you can afford, and if you’ve developed tastes
based on personal experience, go with it. But if all you have on hand is less
desirable material, it may be better than nothing, so long you’re under
no illusions about its lessened effectiveness.
At the bottom edge of both the front and rear bags’ exterior I added
a left and right-side horizontal black nylon strap [sections left over from
building the sling described in section #4 above] and quick-release buckle
to connect the front and rear bags at my waist. The buckles came in a package
of three from the craft section of my local fabric shop, and one had been used
on a holster project, leaving the two I needed. I notice, however, that these
not only appear identical to the ones used on grocery shopping cart kiddy seat
belts and will fasten with the cart buckles just fine, but also are even identified
as having been made by the same manufacturer. [Ask nicely at your grocery when
they change their shopping carts’ seatbelts for newer ones less frayed
or for ones with a newer advertising message and you may get a grocery bag
full of the old ones for free.] In any event, the bottom straps do a fine job
of keeping the bottoms of the vest bags from flopping around, and mine can
be adjusted for anything from t-shirt weather to opened up enough to fit over
a parka or field jacket with winter liner. Velcro attachments would probably
work just as well.
Upgrades and enhancements: I also added velcro at the edge seams of the bags
to help the bags maintain their flat and square profile when other items like
my cheapie overwhites and poncho are added inside between the ballistic panels.
Likewise I added matching facing velcro straps to the former cloth handles,
now over-the-shoulder straps, which helps them stay together to be slid through
the adjustment buckles for them, which are former metal sling adjustment keepers.
The Velcro came from the craft department at Wal-Mart in a strip about 3⁄4-inches
wide by 3 feet long for a little over a buck. Yes, there are uses yet to come
for the leftover hook-and-loop pieces.
I wanted a way to carry ammo and other goodies with my cheapie vest, and since
they’d be a bit difficult to get to with the vest padding inside, that
meant pouches for them on the outside surface, leaving the bag interiors to
function as a drop pouch for empty magazines or clips or other non-disposable
novelties. The solution to hanging external pouches or other accessories was
easy, and all it took was a bunch of 12-inch long black nylon inch-wide straps
laid out in horizontal rows across each bag’s outside face, separated
by about a half inch. If that sounds like MOLLE rack
webbing, it should because that’s a good approximation of what it
is, though spaced primarily for ALICE gear
rather than MOLLE. Accordingly, the
critical dimension is not the
spacing between the straps, but the distance from the bottom edge of each lower
strap to the top edge of the upper strap, which should be from about 2-1⁄4
inches to no more than 2-3/8 inches, the inside height of an ALICE fastener.
The front face of my vest wound up with nine rows of webbing, seven at the
bottom and two at the top for first aid packet or compass pouches. On the back
outside face, it’s also covered top to bottom with nine rows of the webbing,
allowing anything from a Camelbak canteen pouch, a couple of 2-liter GI bladder
canteens or ammo pouches to be fitted. The spacing for the vertical stitches
that hold the straps to the fabric is approximately 1-3/16ths inch apart each
and I made up a spacer from a narrowed wooden paint-stirring paddle to keep
them in a reasonably uniform vertical line. Note that the metal ALICE clip
fasteners will chew through web straps fairly rapidly, since they’re
really meant for use on the heavy- duty web of a pistol or LBE belt.
One answer for this is to use the commercially available and relatively inexpensive
ALICE
strap-type adapters; another is the old airborne unit trick of replacing each
ALICE clip with at least two separate loops of parachute cord, knotted tight
and with the ends at the knot fused by heat to prevent the knots from working
loose. Now if you come across a military vest or armor carrier with the MOLLE
straps worn through, you’ll have a good idea as to the likely cause,
and how to prevent a repeat if you adopt the vest and repair the damage.
As an added benefit, the resulting ALICE/MOLLE web slots are just large enough
to allow the body of a 12-gauge shotgun shell to fit, with the shell’s
rim keeping the round from dropping through. That inspired me to build a second
vest primarily for use with a shotgun. Lacking the bottom extensions it’s
accordingly shorter and more compact, and so can be worn reasonably concealed
beneath a GI field jacket. The old Second Chance Z9 that was the first vest
I owned back in the 1970s rides in front in this one, and I’m still looking
for another castoff vest for the back pouch. Additional boxed ammo carried
in pouches in back helps balance the load on my shoulders, and helps prevent
me from kicking myself for not bringing more ammo along for those parties that
last longer than anticipated.
A third, similar vest was made at the request of a friend for carrying .50
caliber rifle ammo, among other items. It’s similar to my second "shotgun" vest,
with a few variations described later. Other specialized applications may well
come along, and I expecting that vests to serve as at least temporary expedients
for dealing with them can be launched at a cost of around two bucks each, for
a start.
The triple-magazine ALICE pouches
for M16 magazines fit very nicely at the bottom corners of my first "rifle" vest,
though M16 magazines aren’t
what are in them. With the two inside top anti-rattle strap tabs that separate
the three magazines removed, an M16 pouch is just right for an 8-round M1
Garand clip of .30-06 ammo laid flat. Alternate the bullet ends left to
right as more loaded clips are added, and they’ll hold eight clips, nine
in some if an extra one is crammed up into the pouch cover before snapping
it shut. I’ve
got two pouches so filled on the back bottom corners of my long vest and another
up front, [and a holstered handgun where a fourth ammo pouch could go] giving
me 192 rounds in 24 clips carried in three pouches. Conveniently, my Garand
ammo is stored in 192-round cans, in clips; isn’t it splendid how such
things sometimes work out?
A load like that with the added weight of vest pads and plates can get heavy
after a bit, so I added some of that black nylon webbing along either side
of both of the adjustable straps to help spread the weight; padded pack straps
are a possible solution for this problem, too. Those leftover short sections
of Velcro strip were added to three of the webbing rows approximately centered
on the front panel on the third, fourth and fifth rows from the top. Their
mating sections were added to the back of a largish US flag patch, which I’ll
continue to consider wearing so long as this country and its Constitution remain
at least partially workable institutions. Since situations in which wearing
a bullet-resistant tac vest with a couple of hundred rounds of Garand ammo
are not only possible but appear to be becoming more likely of late, there
may be some question as to how long that "workable" consideration
will last. Others may find flags of state or local jurisdictions, their religious
or veterans organizations, or family or group identification symbols or name
tapes to be more suitable or to the point.
Oh yeah: the black Wally-World bags come with the motto "Paper or Plastic?
Neither", and "Wal-Mart" printed across their front. Various cures for this
can be as simple
as just facing those slogans inward, turning the bags inside-out placing the
lettering in the inside where it won’t be seen, to a few shots with the
trusty 99-cent spray paint can, the flat black one in this case. I found that
the paint solvents softened the bag lettering enough to allow the printing
to be scraped away, but turned one inside out for better access to the stitching
of the handle straps anyway. If you don’t care for the black colored
bags, blue ones from Kroger grocery stores can be used instead, or bright orange
ones from the Big Lots retail chain. I’m sure that the selection can
vary depending on what stores are in a particular area; I haven’t found
suitable bags in winter white yet, but either a white cover can be added to
the front and rear faces of the pouch sections, or that ever-handy can of flat
white spray can be again called to duty. An inexpensive camouflage bandanna
can be used as a sewn-on cover before ALICE or MOLLE
webbing is added instead, for those wishing to match their other field gear
or maintain uniformity with
group camo; likewise the remaining material from the back of a camouflage shirt
blouse or lightweight T-shirt could be used. I've also found that the
JoAnn Fabrics shop chain offers
a very similar bag in a Loden/British Racing Green for a buck each, and a few
of them may be the beginning of my next project.
Those who’ve seen how glaringly black vests fluoresce in current night
vision equipment seem to be less enthusiastic about using all-black gear, but
television and movies have done their best to condition their zombie audiences
to accept those in the black tac vests as being the ultimate in authority figures.
That
kind of mass conditioning may be helpful to domestic concentration camp guards,
but the cowering habits of sheep-like GDP en
route to the slaughterhouse may also be utilized in making one’s
exit from such locales by other individuals or groups wearing the black vests,
at least until the urban inmates discover that many of those in the black outfits
may not have their best interests at heart.
As for sourcing components, I happened to get a deal on a couple of a hundred
18-inch sections of nylon strap from the industrial surplus outlet of a manufacturing
plant. New web from commercial sources can be used instead; one pal of mine
used a couple of cheap nylon dog leashes to make his, and inexpensive import
nylon slings are another source of alternate potential raw material. Those
wanting olive drab straps instead of black can use the material from the Swiss
military web straps offered by Sportsman’s Guide, 6 of them 31 inches
long and 14 that are 66" each, all with plastic pinch-release buckles,
and
under $15 for all 20, their item # 124510. Sportsman's Guide also offers 1-inch
wide nylon strapping in 125- yard rolls as their item
# 132816,
but you don’t get any buckles with that deal. My ballistic pads and inserts
have been collected from a variety of sources and applications over the years,
but those looking for their own suppliers of those components should check
with the offerings of BulletproofME.com or UsedBodyArmor.com as
possible sources.
Previously I’ve never cared for vests for much other than the specialized
ones for aircraft survival gear, [which can be slung over flight deck seats
when not in use] M79/M203 ammunition or photographic gear. The polyvalence
of having body armor and ballistic plate carriers do double-duty as attach
points for web gear is too obvious to avoid, however, particularly since the
armor carrier makes the use of web gear or LBE suspenders underneath both hot
and uncomfortable, and can restrict access to gear carried underneath. Two
bucks [or four] for a pair of shopping bags as a starting place for an armor/gear
carry vest seems like a good bargain to me, though you’ll have considerable
time and hand work putting one together after you decide just how you want
it arranged.
The vests made from 12"x12" bags front and rear work out a little
short so far as complete lower torso coverage goes, but that can be an advantage
for those who expect to spend lengthy periods seated in vehicles or elsewhere.
Adding the extensions like those I used for my SAPI plates provides an additional
6-inch deep pocket that runs horizontally completely along the front of the
vest, long enough inside for double-taped "royal" AK or RPK magazines,
full-length Sten, Swedish K or Thompson SMG magazines,
or for use as a "drop
pouch" for expended magazines or recovered clips in the case of my Garands.
Those without such concerns can use the long horizontal space for chem-lights,
highway flares or pop flares, pistol mags or a gas mask or night vision device,
as available.[JWR Adds: I do not advocate taping rifle of
SMG magazines "end for end" . This often results in the downward-pointing
magazine getting jammed full of mud when you jump down prone. So instead, tape
the pair together parallel (with both tops pointing upward.) You can
use a short length of dowel, and a pencil, or even a couple of thicknesses
of MRE spoon
handles between
the magazines, to make them angle apart from one another, to provide the necessary
magazine well clearance.]
Those who are really tall might want to consider the possibility of stacking
two bags piggyback, front and rear- four bucks worth, again. Alternately, that
open space beneath the rib cage not well covered by a single bag [or the small
of the back, for the rear bag] can be used for a front- attached drop magazine
pouch or reversed fanny pack, or in back, for an extension for a poncho or
sleeping bag carrier that rides below the 12" x 12" dimensions of
the bags. If a fanny pack is used low across the back, the waist straps from
it can be used for the waist/belt line connecting straps between the front
and rear bags, saving the separate addition of those components. It’s
also a common feature on commercial vests to include multiple belt loops extending
beneath the vests’ bottom edge at the belt line, allowing an equipment
belt to be supported by the vest itself. Such can be added and used if that’s
your preference.
One additional word of warning: the allegedly recycled plastic-weave material
from which the raw material shopping bags are made does not seem to be especially
fireproof or fire-resistant, and the nylon straps added for gear attachment
certainly are not. A dunking of the vest in one of the commercially
available fireproofing chemical mixtures could be a wise final finishing step
once the vest is completed but before other equipment is installed. That may
be more of a consideration if you’re an armored fighting vehicle crewman
or plan to hang around the exhaust downdraft on either side of a CH-47 "Chinook" helicopter
exit ramp, but do be cautious when close to campfires or other open flames,
and try not to excessively antagonize anyone operating a flamethrower.
#6: Too-big, worn-soled Moccasins fix: I’d been watching for a decent
pair of mocs for most all of last year’s yard sales, but all that turned
up [at the last yard sale of the season, of course!] was a pair that was way
oversize and had both soles worn through. No worries, for 50 cents for the
pair, they were a bargain, just a quarter apiece. I spent part of the winter
cutting away the worn-through bottoms and peeling off the glued-on strip of
finest plastic beading in the decorative native pattern of the Made in China
tribe. On Memorial Day weekend, off I went to the Buckskinners' and Revolutionary
War Reenactors’ Rendezvous where the sutlers and craftsmen had set up
their booths and tents on Sutler’s Row. I found the guy I was looking
for, a leathersmith who offered a resoling service for mocs, with buffalo leather
soles for $2 per sole. That gave me a pair of newly-resoled slightly oversize
mocs for just under 5 bucks. I added a pair of glue-in padded insoles, let
them dry, and then checked their fit: still floppy. The next addition was a
pair of $1.98 cotton booties, which I installed by wrapping my feet in plastic
shopping bags and then putting on the booties, and then liberally slathering
rubber cement over the booties and the places inside the mocs I could reach,
pretty much everywhere once I had them turned half-inside-out. Insert glue-coated
bootied foot in moccasin, allow to dry, and then repeat on the other foot.
While I was waiting for the second foot’s new addition to dry, I carefully
removed my other foot from the first one, leaving the bootie and plastic bag
inside. I then had at it with my paramedics’ shears and cut away all
of the former bootie that showed outside the edges of the moccasin, then slowly
and gently began peeling away the remains of plastic bag from the moc’s
interior. Again, by the time I had finished with the first foot the glue had
set up enough for me to begin on the second. I set them aside to cure up overnight,
and as it turned out, they had all weekend. When I tried them on again, the
fit was just right, tight enough to stay in place without flopping or raising
blisters, and loose enough I could nudge one off with help from the toes of
the other foot.
The insulation from the cold provided by the cotton bootie bottoms was a nice
feature, but one I’d have rather avoided for extended summertime wear
or for wear in situations in which the things were likely to get soaked. If
I hadn’t had the services of the rendezvous craftsman, I could have likely
have done a fair job of resoling them myself, or could have let a local shoe
repairman- getting harder to find nowadays- do the job. But he did a very tidy
job, had materials that were unavailable to me, and the skilled experience
he had at doing dozens of pairs of mocs at each of these events he attended
far outweighed the cost of his very reasonable price. Interestingly, that leatherworker
who did my resole work had another pair he was working on when I picked mine
up. Belonging to a big feller pushing over 350 pounds or so, the addition to
his mocs included the bottom of a pair of flip-flop shower shoes added as a
cushion to the underside of his mocs before the buffalo skin retread went on
and concealed that decidedly non-period padding. That combination would indeed
help keep ground dampness from morning dew or a light rain off the bottom of
one’s feet, though, and if needle and flax or waxed linen shoemaker’s
threads weren’t available, at least some similar work could probably
be managed with a tube of shoe-goo and/or some staples. And maybe an old pair
of cast-off donor flip-flop shower shoes.
Yeah, during this year’s yard sale season, I kept my eyes open for any
more good deals on moccasins, with no real sweet finds. But now I’m happy
to find any good deal on mocs whether they’re my size or if they happen
to be a bit bigger, and smaller ones go into a "trade goods" bucket.
Any time I can get a pretty good pair of mocs for under a couple of bucks,
I figure I’ve done okay; I spend a lot of time in the things, indoors
and out, so spending another five dollars or so on a pair to extend their service
life and improve their fit seems like money well spent. That’s not only
much less than what a decent pair of even imported lined mocs will run new,
but I suspect those buffalo hide soles are going to last me a good long while.
And interior padding added to a pair of oversize shoes or boots when nothing
else is available could save someone an awful lot of blisters.
#7: Fifty Caliber Spare Ammo Carriers: When a pal of mine managed to scrape
up the bucks to get the .50 caliber long-range rifle he’d wanted for
some time, he came to me for advice and counsel on ammo and accessories, since
I’d gotten myself one as a 50th birthday present a few years back. Could
I make one of those two-dollar tac vests [#5 above] for him, but set up for
.50 x 99mm Browning MG ammo for his Big Rifle instead of shotgun shells or
MOLLE gear? Why sure, I told him, it being just a matter of having three rows
of loops per row of shells, the one at the bottom consisting of smaller bullet-diameter
loops to keep the cartridge cases from dropping through, the rimless but bottlenecked
.50 cases not being as well retained by the top row of webbing as rimmed shotgun
shells are. I believe it would have been no great problem to space rows of
eight cartridges across the 12-inch space available, but he was happy with
a pair of rows of six shells each, with a little extra space in front, a configuration
that does make removing them from the loops a bit easier and keeps the vest’s
weight down. On the back, he specified an all-web covering, giving him the
option of carrying additional ammo in pouches, or canteens, Camelback water
bottle, or other useful goodies back there. I don’t expect he intends
to do much crawling beneath barbed-wire fences for long distances, especially
on his back, while he’s equipped with his big long-range noisemaker.
A dozen rounds is a good beginning for an ammo load out for the big loud rifle,
but a way to easily increase that amount by double or triple was still needed.
In the big box in one gun shop I visit pretty regularly all sorts of used holsters,
pouches and cast-off accessories from trade-in guns can be found. Though I’d
pawed through the contents before and noted an odd trio of residents therein,
I’d never had a use for the particular items I had encountered and had
no immediate use for them. Apparently, other customers had felt the same way,
because there they remained, despite price tags of five bucks each. Now they
had suddenly become useful; I paid for the three and picked up a fourth one
new in the packaging, at a cost more than the three used ones combined. The
items in question were vinyl plastic "Sidesaddle" 12 gauge shotgun
shell holders meant to be bolted to the side of Mossberg 500 series scatterguns;
similar models are available for the Remington 870 and Winchester 1200 guns,
and several other models. The problem is that with the aluminum receiver of
the Mossberg guns, the receivers can be warped inward if the sidesaddle attaching
bolts are overzealously tightened. The previous owners of the guns traded in
with their spiffy tactical ammo holders still mounted had apparently found
that out the hard way.
One simple answer if using the things on a shotgun, especially if it’s
a gun other than the model the device is meant to be mounted upon, is to attach
it to the stock instead, using wood screws and/or multiple wraps of tape. In
this case instead, the ammunition holders were fitted up to each other, back
to back, with a short section of seat belt webbing removed from a junked car
mounted in between as a spacer. The spacer web extends just far enough from
either end of the two shell carriers to allow a pair of grommets to be added
at the corners of both ends. This allows a carry strap with snap hooks to be
hooked to them for carry in either a vertical or horizontal position. The strap
I favor for the purpose is the one that’s used for the U.S. military
2-quart bladder canteens, since it’s wide, adjustable and comes with
a snap hook at either end; the Israelis are also real fond of using these as
top-mounted M16A1 rifle slings. Since the ammo being carried is a dozen rounds
of .50 caliber instead of a dozen lighter-weight shotgun shells, the wide strap
is advisable since it helps spread the load across the shoulders.
With the six-.50 rounds of one carrier facing forward and the others pointed
to the rear, [or up and down, if a horizontal carry position is used] it’s
a simple matter to peel off individual rounds as needed, either to load the
noisy rifle, top up a magazine, or refill the vest loops. If the user prefers
to have them all face in the same direction, they can be inserted in that way
instead. There’s a possibility that rounds could drop out or be knocked
off inadvertently, since the .50 rounds are much longer than the shotgun shells
that were fully covered when in the carrier slots. That leverage of the longer
ammo can be taken care of by having a pouch on the belt into which the carriers
can be dropped when on the move, one on either side, or velcro or snap-on covers
can be made and installed.
Those who don’t have a .50 but are looking for a means of carrying a
dozen extra reload rounds for a shotgun may also find that fitting two of the
sidesaddle carriers mounted back-to-back is a suitable way of doing so, especially
if an over-the-shoulder strap is added. That allows a quick "grab-and
go" procedure of quickly taking up the shotgun by its sling in one hand
and the dozen-round ammo carrier in the other, then tossing the ammo carrier’s
strap over a shoulder to free up the hand with the ammo for other purposes.
#8: Knife Handle Repair: While at the local thrift store looking for really
big undershirts, white painters’ pants and worn-out, torn or ugly belts
[a buck each, and dandy material for knife sheaths or reinforcing cheap import
book bag/backpack shoulder straps for more severe duty] I made my usual search
of the used kitchen cutlery box; this time I struck pay dirt. With items ranging
from 25 cents to an extravagant $2.50, I zeroed in on a 7-inch blade Ontario
Knife Co butcher’s knife, with a 50 cent tag sticker on it; when
I picked it up I found out why: the wood around the rivets on the starboard
side grip
scale had split and required repair or replacement. Can do!
Yep, I could have just whittled and sanded a twin of the good one, drilled
out the remaining rivets, replaced them, and it would have been almost as good
as new. I could even have just epoxied the old handle back on, good for at
least a short-term fix, but probably a repair that wouldn’t survive hard
use. Instead I took some of that black nylon web strap material left over
from building those $2 tac vest/ armor vest insert carriers, and cut a section
long
enough to go from the back of the blade’s edge along the handle where
the grip scale had been, wrapping around the butt of the handle at the end,
then back again along the other side to match where I’d begun, but on
the other side. Then I cut another one, same length. Mine worked out to just
over 91⁄2 inches long; shorter or longer handles would of course require
shorter or longer sections. The point, though, is that the length of strap
material that covers both sides is made from one continuous strip of web.
The next step is to liberally coat both sides of the knife blade where the
handle rests with epoxy [knives that have a short tang instead of full-blade-width
material for grip attachment get a different fix, discussed later] and to press
the web, not along the sides of the grip where the wood scales
had been, but along the top and bottom, again, wrapping around the butt. When
the epoxy has
tacked up sufficiently to keep the web in place, fold the material sticking
out to the sides down against the handle area. Don’t worry if there’s
a gap, but if a dry test fit before applying epoxy shows any overlap, you may
want to trim a little off the edges so that they neatly butt against each other.
At this point I begin wrapping the handle area with plastic shopping bag material
cut about a half-inch wide, overlapping each wrap just snug enough to hold
the webbing tightly against the handle. When you get up to the end try to tuck
the section wrapping around the handle’s end in as tightly as you can;
if it won’t cooperate, there’s a cure for that after it’s
dried.
Once you’ve completely covered the handle with the plastic bag material
wrap, you’re ready for the next step, which is a single-layer wrapping
of more of the bag material around the entire handle. At this point, I add
a pair of corrugated cardboard pads over the handle area- you may not need
it. I then put my handle in a vise and tighten that sucker good, squeezing
the epoxy into the nylon web and getting a good bond to the metal beneath.
I let it set up overnight at least, a weekend if possible- the directions for
your epoxy, room temperature and your experience with your favorite flavor
of epoxy may vary. When it’s nicely set up and cured a couple of days
later, I peel away the plastic bag strip, and if necessary I’ll then
hold that butt section momentarily over a candle if needed to get a good fit
on that back-end fold. The idea here is to heat the material just enough to
soften it, not for it to catch fire. Again, squashing it in a vise while it
cools may help, but if you don’t have a vise, you can do about as well
by setting the handle on the edge of a brick on it’s side, using another
brick on top for pressure, and adding a concrete block on top of the upper
brick for
additional weight.
The next step is a repeat of the first, but using that second strap you cut
to size, except that this time the web will be placed flat on the handle sides
instead of the edges the first strip covered. This time you do really want
as good a fit as possible at the back edge of the handle, and this time, since
the epoxy is going to bond web-to-web, my first wrapping to secure the web
in place while it sets up is a covering of black nylon fishing line. Then I
add the plastic bag strip, then squish that feller real good in the vise, and
go away for a day or two. Or three.
Unwrapping the bag material is like Christmas, I’m surprised almost every
time, sometimes good, sometimes not. If the repair is to your satisfaction,
good on you. If not, some more carefully applied heat, a little more epoxy
here and/or there, and some more of that fish-line wrap may fix your problem.
If not, you can always get out the rasp or a wire wheel on a drill and start
over. Or use leather from those cheap thrift store belts instead, though it
doesn’t wrap around the ends as well and heat won’t help shrink
it to fit- you may be better off cutting a separate piece for each side’s
handle if you use leather. I’ve repaired the handles of around a dozen
knives and one hammer using variations of this method, some of ‘em toolbox
knives that get knocked around and rattle in the box quite a bit. So far, I
haven’t had to redo any of the ones I’ve reworked this way, and
some of those repairs date back to 2000. Though some folks like to use a loose
wrap of cord around the handle so that it can be unrolled and used for alternate
purposes in an emergency, I’d rather have the most secure handle possible
and carry spare cordage wrapped around a knife’s sheath and as a sheath
tie down. That personal preference is up to the user, but I’ve yet to
run out of cordage and regret not having access to that epoxied to my knife
handle.
As for those knives with narrow tangs or less than full-length material where
the handle attaches: I’ve done the same sort of thing with a cord-and-epoxy
repair, except that in this instance I use heavy nylon cord [trotline cord
from the Sporting Goods department] instead of flat web. If there’s a
hole through the tang from a previous attach rivet or screw, I start on one
side there, go through any existing or added hole to the other side, and then
both radial wrapping and back-and-forth linear runs of cord begin. Once it’s
built up enough to act solidly enough as a handle again, a cover made of a
short section of that black hollow-center tube webbing can be used if flattish
grip sides are preferred. If not, just go at it with more and more trot line,
and again, finish up with a finer fishing line or even heavy carpet thread
in the color of your choice if desired.
The application of composite cord/epoxy handles is not limited to knife blade
repairs of course, but may also be of use to those looking for a way to utilize
hacksaw or Sawzall blades made for cutting metal as emergency hand tools. The
back-up plan to this application is to use a pair of vise-grip locking pliers
as an expedient handle for a metal-cutting saw blade, allowing later use of
the blade in the tool for which it was designed if desired or possible, but
the added permanent handle is certainly more comfortable for extended in-hand
use. Neither should the possibility of adding a handle to a worn-out or broken
saw blade reground to a knife edge be overlooked; power hacksaw blades are
particularly nice for this application. Those who wish to build their own survival
knife with saw teeth on the blade spine and a sharp belly edge can begin with
a new power blade, rework that blade to the length and shape they prefer, and
add a handle as per the above. Their resulting tool will be at least reasonably
capable of either whittling or cutting metals.
#9: BugOut Bag folding fork and spoon [or "Spork".] This one is an
idea that’s
neither new nor original, but like the others is one that’s been further
modified to fit my particular needs and the material available to start the
project.
In this case, I wanted a compact fork and spoon for use with both my personal
bugout bag, as well as extras for the 30-day supply bags carried in my vehicles.
My first attempt consisted of simply shortening a pair of the utensils in question,
then drilling a hole in their shorter handles for a connecting lanyard or key
chain. But they rattled.
During the Second World War, some German troops were equipped with a
mess kit fork-and-spoon combination that had the handles of the utensils shortened
even
more, then were joined by a rivet that served as a pivot, allowing them to
fold and nest into each other nice and compact. When folded out, the opposing
tool became the handle end for its partner, allowing shorter handles than if
they had been separate items. I cut the handles of
my first-draft unit down further, drilled them for the pivot and joined them
together. Opened, the utensil’s fork was sturdy enough to assault combative
peas, or, with the other end, the spoon was ready for the annihilation of soups.
Folded, the unit was compact enough to slip handle-first into the side of a
first-aid or compass carry pouch, through one of the webbing loops of a tac
vest or armor plate carrier, or, temporarily, in the top of one’s boot
if the cuffs are bloused into it.
I began my initial limited production run of enough of the folding utensils
for my BugOut Bag, 3-day pack and 30-day packs, plus one each for the glove
boxes of each of three vehicles, and a couple of spares. Improvements/additions
included grinding a flat screwdriver tip on the end of either handle just past
the rivet, one that is narrow enough to service M1911 grip
screws and my pocketknife blade pivot screws, and the other a bit wider. Adding
a second pair of smaller
holes further down the handle with another rivet set into one handle so that
the rivet’s head acted as a detent into the mating hole in the handle
of its partner made the lockup of the unit more positive when in the open position.
And naturally I added a small hole for a dummy cord lanyard to prevent loss
either from dropping or absent-mindedly setting it down and forgetfully walking
away from it. This is why they’re called dummy cords.
It turned out that the first dozen I built for myself weren’t enough:
others who’ve been around me when I’ve been using mine have asked
me to build one or more for them too. I’ve also got a simpler variation
that simply consists of a fork-and-spoon pair riveted together end-to-end but
doesn’t fold. That version goes along with bulk packages of food in storage,
along with a P-38 military folding can opener. The two items can be connected
together by key chain, one of the ubiquitous mini-carabiner snap links or a
chain repair link, or on a lanyard cord long enough for the useful tools to
be carried or temporarily draped around a user’s neck.
#10: Shoestrings. Speaking of hanging things on a cord around one’s
neck: I frequently keep a quarter-sized "button" compass and small
pocketknife around my neck on a spare bootlace; and some of us old-timers include
a military
P-38 C-ration can opener as well, even though the days of the issue of C-rats
are long gone. This used to be a common practice when I was in the military,
threading the bootlace cord into the plastic protective tubing we put over
our dog tag chains to keep the cold chain off our bare skin. I’ve yet
to really need these minimalist survival tools, though I’ll be glad enough
to have them if I do suddenly have a critical use for them, but the extra boot
lace has come in handy numerous times. Sometimes that’s actually been
as a replacement for a shoelace that’s broken on a shoe or boot, but
there’s a swell flash of realization when you really need a short length
of strong cord and then remember you’ve got one handy right around your
neck.
Variations on this idea include using braided nylon #550 pound test parachute
suspension line, also known as "parachute cord" instead, or using
fisherman’s
twisted cord trot line, both of which are available in a variety of colors
and sizes/strengths. The #18 twisted nylon cord I use is rated at 113 pounds
test, and the thicker #36 cord is listed as good for 320 pounds; if anything
stronger is required I reach for my roll of parachute suspension line. Short
sections of any suitable cordage are useful as "dummy cord" lanyards
for weapons, knives or other critical gear, especially when in or around boats,
snowmobiles, or motorcycles. Cord can be such an excellent replacement for
the metal ALICE equipment clips for U.S. belt equipment that some military
users pitch all their metal fasteners; just be sure and use at least two separately
knotted cord loops as the silent and nonmetallic replacement for each ALICE
clip if you do this- and three per is better.
I’ve also known one trooper who used military issue WD-1/TT commo wire
as replacement boot laces in a pinch; the civilian-world equivalent would be
stereo speaker wire. Clearly, he didn’t have an extra bootlace worn around
his neck...
.
Final thoughts: My adaptations, field expedients, and shade-tree modifications
are ones that were suitable for the tasks I’ve had at hand, the tools
I’ve had available, and the skill levels and experience I’ve got
at working with the tools I had for what I was doing. Changing materials or
methods may be perfectly suitable for your needs, you may conclude that some
of the items or modifications just aren’t worth the trouble, or that
the expenditure of a few more bucks on more specific-purpose items is a better
idea- and for you, that may well be. For others, some of these adaptations
may be the only gear that fits a minimalist budget, or that allows the purchase
of other necessities. In other cases, some of the items presented here may
serve as spares, with better top-grade [and top-dollar!] equipment better used
for the job at hand until it fails from overuse or is otherwise expended- and
my low-bucks methodology may give you a back up plan to turn what might have
been a disastrous shortage into an inconvenience. As with all things, your
mileage may vary, and remember that all of my demonstrations have been performed
by a professional on a closed course.
Way back in the early days of World War Two, when wartime shortages and
rationing began to affect stateside consumers, a motto appeared by which many,
perhaps most of those recent survivors of the Hoover-Roosevelt Depression lived.
Some thirty-five years later it was revived and applied to those living in
politically [and physically] embargoed Rhodesia, also engaged in a war, theirs
simultaneously against foreign invaders, domestic terrorists and sellout politicians
[in England and] within.
Now there may be another resurgence of the applicability of that motto, and
we may soon be in a much better position both to more clearly understand and
appreciate the creativity and resourcefulness of those who lived by those words
earlier, as well as finding a few of their earlier methods and techniques useful
in our time as well: "Fix it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without!"
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: Field Test with a MURS Band Dakota Alert Intrusion Detection System »
Letter Re: Precipitation and Growing Season as Retreat Locale Criteria
Sir,
Regarding your Retreat
Areas recommendations: I grew up on a small multi-crop
and livestock farm in north western Iowa, with 24 inches of precipitation
and 180
frost free
days.
I have been living in California Eastern Sierra since 1982 , but soon will
be leaving.
I respectfully submit that your assessment of the agricultural capability
of many of the low precipitation/low humidity areas of the western US is vastly
overestimated. Western states such as Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico
are not farmable
by amateurs using conventional means available during any TEOTWAWKI scenario.
Obtaining water rights and controlling large scale irrigation is not some thing
you can learn after a crash. Northeastern Oregon, Southeastern Washington,
and the Snake River plain of Idaho are exceptions.
Your frost free growing season data [at state level over-generalizes] for
many states. For example, eastern Oklahoma has 200 - 220 [frost-free] days.
For the vast majority of readers, Interstate 90 should be their northern limit
if they wish to grow any more than a small garden and areas south of Interstate
80 would be preferred.
If you plan to grow enough row crops to feed yourself, or if you want to trade
with the local farmers, you will need an absolute minimum of 18 inches [of]
precipitation
(preferably during mid spring and summer) and 140 frost free days.
JWR Replies: I
have always recommended that readers do detailed study of micro-climates before
relocation. Start with the Gale Publishing Company book "The Climates
of the States" (in the reference section of many libraries), and
then do detailed climate and soil studies using data from the
NWS,
NRCS, and various online resources.
My general guidance is to avoid areas that require irrigation, with the exception
of the very few locales that have an end-to-end gravity fed irrigation
infrastructure in place. As I've mentioned many times, if and when the power
grids go down, many parts of the western US will quickly revert to desert.
Hence, my preference is for "reliable rain" or "dryland farming" regions--that
is, areas where crops can be reliably grown with regular spring and summer
rains. But here is the rub: Many of those regions are heavily populated and
might might not be safe in the event of a major societal disruption. So your
choices will be narrowed to ""a subset of a subset", if you
are looking for an ideal retreat local. There are just a handful
of places that
I consider ideal lightly-populated locales
for
retreat
self
sufficiency.
Two
notable ones
are
the Palouse Hills
region (straddling the border of eastern Washington and north-central Idaho),
and the Montpelier, Idaho region. So, taken together with other important criteria
like crime, taxes, gun laws, and so forth, it is no wonder that Idaho
is at the
very top of my list for retreat locales.
With the exception of the immediate
riparian tracts, I do not recommend Idaho's
Snake River Plain, because the
majority of the region depends on electrically-pumped irrigation water, much
of it from deep wells. When the grid
goes down, that area will revert to sagebrush. That, by the way is a clue
to remember: When
you are traveling in search of potential retreat properties, observe the
native vegetation on the non-irrigated hillsides. What you see is what you'll
get, when the grid goes down. Again, in much of the West, the only exceptions
will the
few and far-between places with end-to-end gravity fed irrigation. And
BTW, if you plan to live "in town" the same logic applies to municipal water
supplies. Very few of these are gravity fed from
end-to-end. (Ironically, the City and County of San
Francisco is one such locale. (Its water comes from the Hetch Hetchy reservoir,
high in the Sierra Nevada mountains. But given its population density, San
Francisco can hardly be recommended!)
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Letter Re: Small Volume Water Purification with UV from Sunlight
Jim,
I recently learned about a water
purification system that is being promoted by Rotary International for
Third World areas without safe drinking water. Simply put: fill a plastic bottle
with water, and leave it in the bright sun for six hours. The ultraviolet (UV)
light kills the pathogens, and the water is safe to drink. [JWR Adds: This
method only works well with fairly clear water. UV light cannot penetrate very
murky water, and it will not sterilize any plant matter suspended in the water.
So be sure to use a pre-filter when treating water from open sources such as
ponds, lakes, or streams. ]
Sound too good to be true? The Swiss-developed system has been saving lives
for 17 years. It is fastest in the tropics, where increased water temperature
assists the process. Winter use in temperate zones may want to consider using
solar ovens or greenhouses to achieve adequate water temperature. Even in bright
cloudy weather, the process is effective after two days.
I might not want to make this my first potion, but if stranded in the wilderness,
of stuck for an extended period without a reliable water supply, I’d
give it serious consideration. Regards, - Ben
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Letter Re: Seeking Advice on Assembling Web Gear
I love the questions on web gear. Best advice I can give, having gone through
multiple iterations of trying this and that, is to divide up your load. What
do I mean by this?
In the military they have a “combat load” and an “approach
load” concept. Your “combat load” is the web gear that you
see troops with all the time – their “battle rattle.” On
the other hand the “approach load” is similar to what we would
refer to as a survival load (roughly).
The major problem with web gear is that it does not work with any backpack
that has a waist belt unless you set it up to not carry anything on the pistol
belt unless it is carried with a drop leg (thigh) type of setup. Oops, no ammo
pouches or canteens on the pistol belt. That means that forget the cheap ALICE
gear etc. unless you plan on walking only for a day and not even spending the
night in bad weather. You have to go with a vest type setup right out of the
gate if you want to use a large backpack.
Personally, I have used an Enhanced Load Bearing Vest (ELBV)
and H-harness that can carry eight M16 magazines in chest mounted pouches,
or a no-name (custom
made)
survival vest that carries magazine pouches on the belly with some success.
I prefer the ELBV as
it can take all the cheap ALICE gear in a pinch. It also does not dig into
me when I go prone like the other vest (which I only use
when I am out hunting any more as it makes the perfect day pack with minimal
survival gear – which is what it was designed for). I then have my pistol
in a drop leg holster so that it rides below both the pistol belt and the backpack
waist belt. On the other side I have a knife in a drop sheath and pistol magazine
pouches in a drop leg configuration (holster and magazine pouches from Black
hawk).
Water is in a hydration bladder inside the backpack as well as two one quart
canteens (you can’t beat the old canteen cup and canteen cup stove with
any modern gear) and two two quart canteens in or on the backpack. I would
recommend
people look at the Kifaru line of backpacks – they are rock solid (mine
has survived three trips to the Middle East and one swing through Afghanistan)
and built by the guy that started Mountain Smith. They are pricey but they
don’t fail in the field and wear like a dream.
I also carry on the outside of the backpack a Camelbak hydration pack with
100 ounces of water. It has just enough carrying capacity to make up for the
butt pack that I used to carry on my pistol belt (poncho, some food, and SERE gear).
In a fight I can ditch the backpack in under a minute, get the Camelbak on,
get one of the two one quart canteens clipped on, and shove the Russian
Spetsnaz shovel into the loops on the Camelbak (designed to carry
ice axes) after I take it off of the larger backpack. So, while not perfect
it is the
best thing I have found to date.
A couple of tips no matter what brand/setup you go with. First, go prone and
roll around on the ground. Your magazine pouches should not dig (try to land
on one if it digs into your diaphragm …) and at least some of them should
be accessible regardless of the position you are in. Second, you should be
able to roll over and over and low crawl with the rig. I saw one kid with a
ton of gear not be able to get low enough behind a street curb one time and
he ended up a casualty. [JWR Adds: One reason that I prefer
traditional pistol belts and suspenders is that by simply unbuckling the
pistol belt latch, any pouches in the front can be pushed to the sides (putting
all the weight on the suspenders), allowing the wearer to low crawl effectively.]
Remember that hard objects in your backpack become shrapnel when hit by bullets.
Third,
when
you
jump up and down you should
not
make any noise.
When you are done with your web gear buying and backpack buying and you start
to load up, keep this in mind. On your web gear you only want those things
that you will need in a fight.
The Colonel that was portrayed in the movie “Blackhawk Down” now
has an infantry battalion in Iraq. Because of his experience with the [Mogadishu] “Blackhawk
Down” affair
he now never leaves his compound without having at least 30 loaded
magazines on him. Plus he carries a combat lifesaver kit. This
outfit has the best ones on the market today. - Hugh D.
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Letter Re: Seeking Advice on Rainwater Catchment and Filtration
Sir:
I am an environmental
engineer. You posted a
letter that inquired as to whether a ceramic water filter
was capable of removing chemicals that leach from plastic containers. The
answer is no, a ceramic microfilter will not remove the chemicals.
Aside from reverse
osmosis, which requires pressures that are too high [for treating large volumes
of water] in a survival situation, the best choice for treating water with
chemical contaminants is
to use activated
carbon. Activated carbon is very cheap, widely used by municipal water treatment
plants, and is highly effective at removing many organic contaminants (through
adsorption). I am not sue about the specific compounds leached from plastic
containers, as some compounds are not removed well by activated carbon. In
general though I would highly recommend it. A simple web search for activated
carbon will yield some suppliers. Please note that the starting material
the activated carbon is made from will effect its properties, such as pore
size.
A good water purification strategy is to chlorinate the water, filter through
the microfilter, and then filter it through activated carbon. If the water
is very dirty I suggest chlorinating after microfiltration but before activated
carbon filtration, as the chlorine can react with compounds in the water
forming harmful disinfection byproducts. The activated carbon will remove the
chlorine
also. I have a Katadyn hand held ceramic microfilter that also has an activated
carbon cartridge accessory, but it is a bit expensive. - Jorge
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Two Letters Re: A Vehicular BoB
Mr. Editor:
I have been a reader of this blog for a little while now and one of the earlier
postings I read caught my eye: In regards to a vehicle “bug out” kit.
That list was certainly a good place to start, but it was missing a few items,
so I thought I would put my “two cents” worth in.
To give you a little bit of background, I would describe myself as essentially
being a realist. I watch the news, I read the papers. I know what is going
on around me. I am aware of today’s political and economic climate, and
I understand what that does (and can) mean; not only for today but for tomorrow
as well. In my opinion preparation and knowledge are the keys to not only surviving,
but for nearly anything in life.
I have worked both white-collar and blue collar jobs. I have been a soldier
(an NCO – I
worked for a living), and I have been what I term a “survivalist” for
a little over a decade now. Along the way I have managed to learn some of the
lessons the easy way; reading books, talking to people, experimenting, and
practice, practice, practice. While other lessons were learned at the school
of “hard-knocks”; try sitting on the side of the road in the middle
of a blizzard for six hours on Christmas Day with three children praying for
someone else to come along to help (I’m not kidding about that one) – all
because you thought “it could never happen to you”. I am an active
outdoorsman; camping, fishing, hiking, small game, etc. To date I have been
lucky enough to live through them all. Sometimes with a few bumps and scrapes
along the way, and sometimes with little more
than a bruised ego; but I have survived nonetheless. Not surprisingly on my
journey I have picked up a few things: “must have” items, advice,
knowledge, and most of all experience.
As for geography I have lived in the cold and wet of Washington state; the
extreme cold of Colorado; the hot and dry of West Texas; and now the hot, wet
and hurricane-prone area of East Texas; and this list contains items that have
literally saved my life on more than one occasion, while making crisis situations
a whole lot easier to deal with in others.
While I am not going to lay claim at being an expert on the subject of survival
or preparations; I have seen a done things that may genuinely surprise some
people (while possibly boring others) and could probably go on for hours on
end; but that is not my point here today. I now possess [what I feel] is enough
knowledge that I can speak with at least some authority. My point in this
is to allow others to learn from
my own mistakes
in the hopes that they don’t find themselves forced to repeat the same
errors that I have made. Learn from others – that is the point in all
of this.
As I write this I am proud to say that none of my vehicles are ever without
the bare essentials. In my opinion it is one of the things that everyone should
do, survivalist or not. I rank properly equipping my vehicles right up there
with having them registered, insured, and inspected, to me it is simply a necessity,
a requirement. In an attempt to make sense of this I broken the lists down
into four basic areas:
Vehicle Supplies
Personal Supplies
Glove-Box Miscellaneous (loose throughout the vehicle)
General Miscellaneous
While there is some repetition between the 4 areas, this is done so for a reason – it
is always a good idea to have a backup.
1. Vehicle supplies (most will fit in a small “duffle” or reasonably
sized “tool bag”, kept in trunk, cargo area, or under the seat)
Jumper Cables (get the good ones)
Tow Rope (at least 1)
2 cans of “fix-a-flat”
Air compressor (cigarette lighter plug in)
Roll of Duct Tape (if you can’t fix it, duck it)
100ft of parachute cord (550 cord)
X style lug-wrench (more torque, safer, and more versatile than the ones that
come with cars today)
2 1⁄2 ton bottle jack (again safer, and more versatile than the ones
that come with cars today)
Roadside Flares (3 minimum)
Hand-held spotlight, plug in type is fine
Electrical Kit with:
Spare Fuses – vehicle specific
Spare Bulbs – vehicle specific
Small roll of Red Wire (14-16 GA)
Small roll of Green Wire (14-16 GA)
Small Assortment of Butt Splices
Circuit tester (Screwdriver type)
Electrical tape
Spare belts – vehicle specific
Spare hoses – vehicle specific
Spare thermostat – vehicle specific
Assortment of hose clamps, at least two large enough for your coolant hoses
Flashlight (2 minimum – generator type are best, LED Generator types
are better)
Spare batteries – 1 set for each flashlight in the vehicle (if needed)
Tarp (8 x 10’ is usually sufficient)
Hand Tools:
Screwdrivers (4 minimum, 2 standard 2 Phillips-head)
Crescent Wrenches (2 minimum, 6” and 12”)
Slip-Joint Pliers
Needle-Nose Pliers
Wire Cutters
Channel-Locks (12”)
Socket set (basics only, 3/8” drive, SAE and Metric)
Combination Wrench set ((basics only, SAE and Metric)
Allen Wrench set
Small Hammer
Hatchet (axe)
Folding Shovel
Plastic Trash bags (2 minimum)
Coffee Can full of Cat litter (with lid)
Basic First Aid Kit, with the following additions:
Aspirin
Tylenol
Motrin
Antacid Tablets
Water purification tablets
Small tube of Neosporin
Additional alcohol pads
Additional band-aids (common sizes)
Cravat
Razor blade
Matches
Can of Sterno (large)
Wire coat hanger
Roll of bailing wire
Box of matches (at least 1 box)
Cigarette lighter (disposable, spend the buck and a half and get the Bic brand,
you can’t beat them)
Water bottle
Pen(s)
Small notepad
A small stash of cash ($50 to $100)
Spare compass
Rain poncho – 2
Emergency Blanket (foil type) – 2
Candles – 6
Sunscreen
Basic Fishing kit:
Hooks
Sinkers
Fishing Line
Bobbers
2. Personal Supplies (with a little patience and forethought, this will all
fit inside of and/or attached to a medium sized book-bag, i.e. backpack)
Basic First Aid Kit – duplicate of the aforementioned kit
1 pair of socks
Flannel shirt
Windbreaker
Baseball cap
Multi-tool
“Swiss Army” knife
Fixed blade knife
Basic Camping Mess Kit
Travel Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Toilet paper
Tissues
Sunscreen
Flashlights (2 minimum)
Compass
50 ft of parachute cord (550 cord)
Can of Sterno (small)
SPAM – 1 can
Tuna fish – 1 can
Rice – 1⁄2 lb
Lintels – 1⁄2 lb
“Gorp” (Trail mix) – 1⁄2 lb
Packet of powdered Gatorade
Zip-lock bag with:
Sugar packets
Salt Packets
35mm film canisters full of All-spice
Tea bags
Bullion Cubes
Vitamin Pills
Energy bars (3 minimum)
P-38 can opener
Rain poncho
Poncho Liner
Tarp – 5 x 8” is usually sufficient
Candles – 3
Matches
Cigarette lighter
Emergency blanket (Mylar foil type) – 2
Signaling mirror
Basic Fishing kit:
Hooks
Sinkers
Fishing Line
Bobbers
Small Hikers Trowel
Plastic trash bag (2 minimum)
A small stash of cash ($40 to $50) [JWR Adds: I recommend that be
in rolls of Quarters, so you can also use pay phones.]
Water purification tablets
Canteen
Canteen cup
Web Belt
3. Glove-Box Miscellaneous (kept loose in the glove box, in the vehicles console,
or in door pockets)
Package of Tissues
Cigarette Lighter
Small Multi-tool
“Button” or other small compass
Map of local city you are in, and the state(s) you are traveling – or
expect to travel.
Small tube with a mix of aspirin, Motrin, and Tylenol.
Pen(s)
Small notepad
A small, durable pocket-knife
Small Flashlight
One $20 bill
4. General Miscellaneous
Fuel can – store empty; you never know when you will run out of fuel
two miles form the nearest gas station. If you are evacuating, fill up as you
leave – this will reduce your risk of fumes/explosion.
One gallon of potable water
1 Qt Engine Oil (minimum)
1 Qt Transmission Fluid (minimum)
1 Pt Power Steering Fluid (minimum)
Assortment of “bungee” cords
Now I am sure that I have probably missed a few items here, but this list is
fairly comprehensive. Please feel free to add items to it – I am always
eager to learn more.
If you look through it, you should be able to think of one (and most of the
time multiple) uses for each and every item on this list. With this setup you
basically have what you need whether you are accompanied or alone and whether
you stay with the vehicle, leave the vehicle, or are for some reason forced
to separate your party (never a good idea – remember there is always
strength in numbers). But you get the point.
In colder climates, add more food, and more warmth items (sleeping bag, snow
boots, candles, or a heavy coat?). In warmer climates add more fluids and more
shade (bottled water, additional hats, or maybe an umbrella?).
On to the next topic – How much does all of this cost? Well that can
vary widely. Many of these items can be had at the local dollar store, while
other may take a little bit of searching. Check Wal-Mart, your local Military
surplus dealer, the flea markets, and pawn shops. You might be surprised just
how far you can make your dollars go. Plus don’t try to do it all in
one shopping trip – you will just frustrate yourself. Keep your eyes
open when you are at the grocery store or out doing your normal shopping; pick
up a few items here and there, and just slowly equip your vehicle. Within a
month or two you will suddenly find your vehicle is much better equipped than
it ever was before.
As to the vehicle preparation mentioned in the earlier post, this is all good
advice. But again I would add to it. Create yourself a short checklist of items
that you check weekly and monthly. Follow the owners manual that came with
the vehicle, they tend to be fairly comprehensive.
Some tricks I have learned include:
Remember to check the air pressure in your spare tire regularly. A spare doesn’t
do any good if it is flat too.
Don’t forget to check the brake fluid, power steering fluid, and windshield
washer fluid too, these are often over looked.
Never, ever overfill any of your vehicle’s fluids.
Keep all of your lights clean, headlights, brake lights etc. The better they
work, the better you see, and are seen.
Whenever adding accessories to your vehicle: make additions that work, and
that matter before you worry about “pretty”. Think of it this way
- which is more important (and useful) on a full-size truck – a good
trailer hitch, or a pair of fancy mud flaps? You get my point.
When adding electrical accessories, always use the next heavier gauge wire,
it will handle to load better, last longer, and prevent not only short circuits,
but fires as well.
A good CB is
always a wise investment, but make
sure that it is installed properly.
Engine and Transmission oil cooler can extend the life of your vehicle – and
mean the difference between getting there and getting stuck – especially
in hot weather and heavy traffic. They are definitely worth the money.
Own a truck, van or SUV? Look into an oversized fuel tank and/or a spare fuel
tank with a transfer pump. It may be expensive, but it will pay for itself
over time; between having the ability to fuel up for a cheaper price per gallon,
combined with the extended range the vehicle will now have – it is definitely
worth at least considering.
Consider installing an aftermarket, oversized fuel filter. Cleaner fuel means
longer engine life. Plus some of the newer vehicles don’t even have an
inline fuel filter – they are mounted inside the tank itself. Who was
the genius that came up with this gem anyway?
If your vehicle doesn’t have them, install tow hooks both front and rear.
They do not have to be conspicuous, but they need to be there.
Don’t skimp on wiper blades, buy the good ones and replace them often.
If you can’t see, you can’t drive.
Keep the engine bay clean – it makes finding a leak a whole lot easier,
and makes life a whole lot more pleasant when making repairs.
It also it isn’t a bad idea to add seasonal items to your kits. For example
if you live in area prone to snow, you should probably have a set of tire chains/cables
with you in the colder months, but then why would you want to carry them in
July?
Lastly a few words of advice:
First: know how to use everything you put in your kit. Practice with it before
you put it in the vehicle – few tools are as dangerous as the ones in
the hands of the uninformed.
Second: check your local laws on exactly what is considered a weapon,
and what is considered concealed. You may want to think twice before you run
out and buy that shiny Rambo knife with the 12 inch blade and have it strapped
to the outside of your back pack sitting under your seat.
Third: in regards to knives, multi-tools, hand tools and the like – you
generally get what you pay for. That cheap knife at the flea market is normally
just that – cheap. It may be better than nothing at all, and the truth
is that if that is all you can afford – then fine. But understand that
up front.
Fourth: when choosing the storage bags to put these items in – think
about the size, shape, and color of the bag you buy. There is not a right or
wrong here, get what fits your situation. And think about the straps. There
may be a situation where you find yourself forced to carry these bags, so good
shoulder strap are important. And just as with knives and hand tools – you
generally get what you pay for.
Lastly, a word about any and all foodstuffs you keep in your kit: remember
that all food expires sooner or later – a even water can only sit for
so long before it is no longer fit to consume. Trust me when I tell you that
yes, even SPAM can and will go bad with time (you really, really don’t
want to know how I know that). So rotate your foodstuffs regularly.
The long and the short of it is that some sort of vehicle kit really should
be in each and every car, truck, SUV, or van on the road. With a little bit
of thought and not a whole lot of money we can all prepare ourselves better.
No traveler should be without what they consider to be the basics. - David
H. in Southeast Texas
[JWR Adds: Thanks for those great lists! The only additions
that I'd make to your lists are a fire extinguisher, and depending on whether
off-road travel is anticipated, more robust pioneer tools. These should include
an ax,
pick,
shovel,
and if space permits, a Hi-Lift jack.]
Jim,
Hugh D. sent in a good letter about using his trailer as a large bug-out kit.
The concept isn't bad (as long as he's on the road and off again before the
masses figure out something is wrong) but then he said this:
"This has been overcome with careful planning on our part. First, we have
mapped out likely hide spots for ourselves and the trailer – mostly campgrounds
on National Forest lands," and then regarding some cabins near the campground, "...we
can move into a nice, if rustic, survival retreat."
No offense, but I wouldn't exactly consider this careful planning. If Hugh
doesn't think that for every marked camping site in America there aren't 100
guys (who also own guns) already thinking about that same site, he's crazy.
Worse, he has no claim of "right" when it comes to those cabins.
He is no more entitled to a cabin there than the next guy that comes along
and wants to evict him and take it for himself. Furthermore, he's got kids
in diapers (I do too) - he isn't going to be able to defend both his family
and his "stuff" in a public campground whose location is published
on every map and travel guide in America.
I'd suggest that Hugh reconsider his plans. The trailer is good but find somewhere
else to go. As an example, I live in the Dallas area and have friends who own
a ranch about three hours away in central Texas and can be reached using a
number of combinations of country roads and state highways. It's on 500 hilly
acres twenty miles from the closest town, whose population is a couple thousand
people. You can't see a single building on the ranch from the state highway
- you have to drive a winding county dirt road a few miles to get to the houses
and barns. My friends who own the ranch think I'm nuts (they aren't survivalists
by any means, but retired city folk who wanted to run a peach orchard in retirement).
Nonetheless, they have agreed that if I need to get out of town I can come
down there with no prior notice. - Matt R.
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Letter Re: A Vehicular Bug-Out Kit
One thing that I have not seen properly addressed anywhere online is an appropriate
kit for the bug out vehicle.
You folks in snow country can reply to this with some recommendations for that
scenario. Please do.
I survived five hurricanes , one of them in the Virgin Islands, over the years
so I consider myself an advanced student of the Bug Out Vehicle.
First and foremost.
Cars are useless without fuel. They make a decent shelter but they're tough
to carry with you. I haven't seen a backpack that would hold one.
Get yourself as many large cans as you can fit reasonably in (or on)
the vehicle and keep them full at all times. [Because of fire hazard in the
event of a collision, if your car has a gas engine, these cans should normally
kept at home, in an outbuilding. Consult your local fire code.] Rotate your
fuel. Fill the car and cans one week and the next time
you
need
gas, then
empty
some
of
the cans
(say
2
out of
4
six gallon
cans) and refill them immediately. My kit includes 5, six-gallon
cans of diesel and one full of water in case of radiator problems and to provide
drinking water. I have a roof rack so they're a non-issue.
Cars are very hard to drive on flat tires. I recall after Hurricane Andrew
in 1992 the chaos at
any store that had anything in stock. There was no electricity for weeks so
no gas
available, for the most
part...or much else.Oh, and remember that no electricity = no credit cards.
Got your cash stashed
?
Having all of my supplies already (always have-always will) only saw a
need for one very important thing that I had overlooked.
Nobody else saw it since they were focusing on food, water, plywood,Coleman
goodies etc. They looked at me like I was nuts when I got to the checkout.
What was the one thing ? Tire repair equipment ! Yep. I bought two cases of
Fix-a-Flat, a radial plug kit and about 50 plugs.
Glass, metal, roofing nails, wood, you name it was everywhere on the roadways.
I used that all up and more over the following month. Get some!
Cars with automatic transmissions can not be push-started. Even if your battery
is fairly new, go buy yourself a top notch, deep cycle battery and install
it. The other one will make a good spare.You can also carry it with you and
use
the
deep cycle battery [at home] at night, running an inverter, to watch a television,
use a computer or whatever. One of my cabins runs all night (8-10 hours) with
television,
VCR, and
3-to-4 Compact fluorescent bulbs on a deep cycle battery that is solar-charged.
Belts. Repeat the above scenario and make sure you have tools in the car at
all times to change belts. If you don't know how and what tools you
need , then hire a mechanic
to teach you. Don't forget the jumper cables .
These are the basics. My kit is more extensive but I live in the middle of
nowhere in Central America (I've already bugged out) so I cant raid a junkyard
in case of an "event". Oh, and don't forget the guns. Pura Vida!
- Mr. Tico in Costa Rica
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Letter Re: Seeking Advice on Rainwater Catchment and Filtration
Mr. Rawles:
When constructing a
rain-catch such as this one, which the good folks at Lowe's [--a major
hardware store chain in the US--] suggest for economically watering your garden,
is
there any instance where it would
be
okay to use this as a backup for drinking water?
Obviously, one would be foolish to drink directly from containers that are
not food-grade or if the water has been sitting for too long a time. But, my
question is does that change if you plan on running the water through a purifying
process such as through a Berky or this
economically priced alternative.
It looks like these filters might not last as long as the Berky filters, but
are quite a bit cheaper and have a higher flow rate (this is what I was told
- YMMV). A representative of the manufacturer claims to train the "second
largest disaster relief organization in the world" who "use this
filter exclusively" and that it is used by missionaries in 38 countries
around the globe. I was also told that it was nominated for a World Health
Humanitarian Award for 2008. Also, it supposedly outperformed the Berky in
a trial run by Johns Hopkins University, but I have been unable to verify that
claim. I can verify that Johns Hopkins University did give it a passing
grade; as did the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) under Standards 42 and
53, AEL Laboratories, Analytical Food Laboratories, British 5750 Quality Standard,
and England’s Water Research Council standard.
So, my two questions are:
1.) Is it safe to drink rainwater caught in a non food-grade vessel, provided
you filter it through a sub-micron apparatus first?
2.) What are your thoughts on the aforementioned filter? Thanks, - J.S.C.
JWR Replies: In answer to your questions: Rainwater catchment for domestic water is very popular in Hawaii. There, most families do little more than use a sediment filter and bulk chlorination. You should of course
never re-use something like a fuel tank or a toxic chemical tank for a water
barrel.
As
I explained previously in SurvivalBlog, the issue with "non-food grade"
HDPE plastic
buckets and barrels is that some of them are manufactured using toxic injection
molding release compounds. Whether or not a ceramic water filter would remove
any
such trace
chemicals goes beyond my expertise. Perhaps a chemist or a water quality
specialist amongst the SurvivalBlog readership could enlighten us.
We have a Big Berky here at the ranch, and love it. The two-bucket ceramic
filter that you mentioned is remarkably similar to the
improvised Berky clone that I detailed in a SurvivalBlog post back in May.
Both their design and mine have similar cost, similar do-it-yourself labor
requirements, and they will process a comparable volume of water. This isn't
like comparing
"apples to oranges".
It
is more like
comparing
Bartlett Pears to D'Anjou Pears.
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Letter Re: A Suggested Checklist for Preparedness Newbies
Here's a beginner's list I made for my [elderly] father today:
Food
{Brown pearl] rice does not store well. Neither does cooking oil so that needs to be fresh.
No, Crisco doesn't count.
Coconut oil would be your best bet.
Wheat berries - 400 pounds - bulk order at your local health food store
Beans - 400 pounds - bulk order at your local health food store
Mylar bags
Spices
Salt
Country Living grain mill
propane tanks, small stove and hoses to connect
freeze dried fruits, vegetables, eggs and meat if you can find them.
Water
500 gallons
of water [storage capacity. Rainwater catchment is a common practice
in Hawaii]
Water filter
Cooking
Cast Iron Cookware
Firearms
FN PS 90
10 PS 90 magazines
5.7 handgun
10 FN 5.7 handgun magazines
5.7 ammo
Training: Front Sight four day defensive
handgun course. (Note: eBay sometimes has
course certificates for $100!)
Body armor: Nick at BulletProofME.com
Medical
Personal medications
Augmentin antibiotic
Up to date dental work
Painkillers
Bandages
Iodine
Anti-fungal spray
Finances
$10,000 cash in small bills
100 one-ounce silver coins (GoldDealer.com or Tulving.com)
Transport
Gasoline in 5 gallon cans or better yet, this.
Gas stabilizer
Mountain bikes
Air pump
Miscellany
Flashlights
Rechargeable Batteries
Battery
charger
Hand held walkie talkies
Topographical map of your area
Spare eyeglasses
Shortwave radio
Home generated power
12 volt battery system
Good backpack
Good knife
Good compass
Good shoes
Bar soap
Toothbrushes
Dental floss
Toilet paper
Fishing kit
Salt licks
Connibear traps
Regards, - SF in Hawaii
JWR Adds: The following is based on the assumption that SF's
father also lives in Hawaii: Because of the 10 round magazine limit for handguns,
I recommend that Hawaiians purchase only large
bore
handguns for self defense--such
as .45
ACP.
Both the
Springfield
Armory XD .45 Compact or the Glock Model 30 would both be good choices. The "high
capacity" advantage of smaller caliber
handguns
is not available to civilians in Hawaii, so you might as well get a more potent
man stopper, given the arbitrary 10 round limitation.
« Two Letters Re: Adapt to Survive, by Elizabeth B. |Main| Home Security Lessons Learned: An: Unwelcome Intruder, by R. in Utah »
Letter Re: Mexico as a Retreat Locale and Advice on Water Filters
Hello Folks,
I just completed going through a portion of the SurvivalBlog archives and look
forward to exploring the site further. I especially liked the animation about
Libertarian
philosophy. Very well done with excellent points to consider.
I have recently returned to the US after having spent four years in a small
village in Mexico outside of Guadalajara. I am an artist and teacher of art
and semi-retied there after having had my medical insurance increased a number
of times to the point of being ridiculous. I just got fed up and moved south.
Two years earlier I had spent a year or so living on a boat in the Sea of Cortez
and so had some language and culture skills.
I had
one of the Berky models sent to Mexico and proceeded to use it as my primary
source of drinking and cooking water. I also used the 24 oz. portable version
when traveling. I used the system for four years and was so confident that
I began distributing them to local orphanages through a local Rotary Club.
I liked the idea of not being dependant on electricity or a plumbing hookup.
I lived on a lake and on occasion would use lake water if the municipal system
was not providing water, which was quite often or if the utilities would not
provide electricity, which was quite often. Although the Black Berky filter
is classified as a water purifier by the manufacturer, it does not remove viruses.
I would add either iodine or chlorine to the water to kill viruses. The filter
would then remove the iodine or chlorine from the water.
I read an article in your blog about adaptation as a primary means of coping
with changing circumstance. Mexicans are extraordinarily adaptive. Living with
a history of political and societal instability for generations and with strong
roots in indigenous cultures, they are experts at finding ways at making one
thing substitute for another. I remember one time coming back to San Diego by
sea from the Sea of Cortez, I was running low on fuel and had to stop in Turtle
Bay about half way up the west side of the Baja Peninsula. I didn't have enough
cash
and Turtle Bay was way way off the beaten path. I had to hitchhike 125 miles
through
the
baja
desert on a seldom used road to get to a bank to get the cash. One the way back
I hitched a ride in the back of a pickup truck traveling with an old semi carrying
supplies. The semi got stuck in a place where the road turned into a salt flat
and while stuck, one of the tires went flat. We discovered the only spare was
also flat and un inflatable. If you've ever tried to re-inflate a semi truck
tire you know that it is not easy without a means of keeping the tire against
the rim. We had nothing with which to do that. Instead, the Mexican driver had
his
compadre get some gas while he got the tire off the truck, patched and ready.
He had the
compressor hooked up and running and had his partner sprinkle gas on the inside
of the tire and throw in a match. The tire blew up with a whoosh, sealed the
rubber against the rim and the inflation began. All we had to do then was get
unstuck--which is another story.
My ancestors on my mothers side were Mennonites and I have spent some time on
the colonies. Surviving since the 1500s in small groups throughout
the world, they have devised a system of cooperation that leaves them able to
adapt easily to the winds of change. I'm sure there is much that could be learned
from them and look forward to spending more time on their farms. Last time I
was there they were making home-made root beer that was like nothing I've ever
tasted.
Well, anyway, congratulations on a great blog site and for all the valuable
information. Best of everything to you both, - Daniel N.
JWR Replies: I highly recommend Big Berky water filter.
They are just about idiot proof. However, as they come from the factory in
gleaming stainless steel, they are fairly expensive. Especially for your circumstances,
I recommend manufacturing your own to sell or to distribute for charitable purposes.
I
described how to do this in a SurvivalBlog post a few months ago.
« Letter Re: Advice on Driveway Alarms for Retreat Security |Main| Notes from JWR: »
Letter Re: 11th Hour Preparations: It is Not Too Late to Start
Jim:
It is not too late to prepare for the hard times that are coming. But
time is short, so I am going to be brutally blunt. Prices are going up. If
you don’t
already expect double digit inflation, you haven’t been paying attention.
If you are just realizing that you need to prepare for the future, forget buying
barter goods. Forget precious metals to swap for what others may be willing
to sell.
The idea of buying things so that you can swap them for other goods or services
later is bad policy. That’s right. I’m advocating that you buy
no precious metals and no barter goods. Instead- you need to prioritize purchases
of things that you need right now. Sitting on a pile of sewing needles, can
openers, or thousands of dollars of face value in gold or silver is not going
to stop you from starving to death, freezing to death, or dying gasping in
your own fluids.
This is not a slam on Mr. Rawles' excellent advice to invest in tangibles.
It is not even a criticism of his recent post on barter items to acquire, or
of
his advice to invest in precious metals. JWR is a voice of reason in a world
gone mad. This letter is a reminder that all those things are good advice only
after you have squared away your personal needs. Only after you have
duplicate sources of potable water, shelter, a substantial food supply, a deep
medicine
chest, and ample supplies of sturdy clothing and footwear should you invest
in barter goods or precious metals.
Here are your priorities:
You need breathable air to live. Most of us expect that to be available for
free. Your next priority for sustaining life is shelter from extreme elements
(your home and a way to heat it during winter), then potable water. Let me
make this explicitly clear. Unless you have clean water to drink, you will
die in a matter of days. It is not the government’s job to make sure
that you stay alive. It is your responsibility to care for yourself and your
dependants. You are responsible to ensure that you have access
to clean drinking water or a method to filter, boil, or collect it. If you
have no method to
do so, go get one. At the very least, plan on a way to boil water over an outside
fire.
After air, shelter, and water – you need food. Come what may, you and
those who you love will need to eat. Buy food. The cheapest food that you can
get will keep you alive, but my advice is to buy extra of what you already
eat. Oatmeal, grits, rice, pasta and potatoes are all relatively affordable
and life sustaining. Potatoes will store for months. The others will store
for years if properly packaged. Yes these alone would make a very bland diet.
Use them to stretch your regular grocery meals while the other supplies last.
What next? Get over-the-counter medicines. Diarrhea will kill you. The stomach
flu will kill you. Pneumonia will kill you. Allergic reactions will kill you.
There may not be any 911 to send help. There may not be an emergency room to
flee to as a last resort. There may not be a pharmacy with inventory to sell
at 3 a.m.. Buy vital medicines now. Look in your medicine cabinet. If you do
not have the medicines to treat an allergic reaction, stomach flu, and a chest
cold; go buy them today. $10 spent on medicine could save
your child’s
life. It won’t if you can’t give it to them. Go buy it before you
go to sleep tonight.
If you can avoid getting sick that’s even better than treating illness.
Hygiene is critical to health. Buy toilet paper and tissues. You will need
them, why don’t you already have them?
You should have sturdy warm clothes and footwear for each member of your family.
And yes, you should also have a means of defense and forage. A simple shotgun
and shells for it will let you defend your doorway and harvest birds and bunnies
if need be. If you are contemplating buying your first firearm then I strongly
recommend that you take an NRA-sponsored firearms safety course as soon as
possible. Firearms are a vital tool, but whether you ever
need to defend you home, you
will need to drink, sleep in a dry place, eat, and stay healthy. God has given
you the resources and wisdom to prepare, the rest is up to you. Now pray for
wisdom and go take action. - Mr. Yankee.
« Letter Re: Cheap is Good, But Free is Better |Main| Note from JWR: »
Letter Re: Water Storage and Crash Course Advice
Jim,
First off let me say I continue to enjoy everything you post on SurvivalBlog.
I believe that, given, recent events, my extended family is coming around
and is wanting to finally start getting prepared (let us hope its not too
late).
Second, in reference to the WaterBOB that
someone cited recently: what preferred method of treatment do you recommend
in storing the water in the mentioned
device for long term?
Third, what 'crash course' advice can you offer for those who may be too little
too late in getting prepared for WTSHTF? Or for those recently converted who
want make it through the tough times ahead?
And lastly, I am sure myself and others will continue to look for your insight
and input in the days ahead, as events unfold and the Schumer really does
hit the fan.
Please expect a long and very overdue 10
Cent Challenge voluntary] soon. God Bless,
- Zach
JWR Replies: The WaterBOB is not designed for long term use.
But it is food grade, so if you find a used bathtub (perhaps through Craig's
List) and can
store it someplace dark (like
in a basement), then a WaterBOB in a bathtub should work fine. About 2 teaspoons
of plain (unscented) Clorox bleach would be about the right amount to add for
that amount of water.
Inspect
it
once every six months (visually, and a sniff test). The water should store
for several years.
I may be biased, but I recommend that you get a copy of my "Rawles
Gets You Ready" preparedness course. Coincidentally,
for the first time in nearly a year, it will
be offered at 1/3rd off, starting on Monday. The course is centered around
the concept of stocking up for a family, by making well-planned trips to a "Big
Box" store.
« From FerFAL in Argentina: A US Crash that Will Parallel Argentina's? |Main| Notes from JWR: »
Letter Re: Some Practical Notes on Third World Living
Jim,
As this is not a competition entry, it has not been reviewed by an outside
set of eyes yet, and I'm sure its kind of disorganized, but this is some
info about third world life, as I can see it here, after things
stabilize.
My wife is from Peru. She was born during the Peruvian hyperinflation and transition
to its next fiat currency, the Nuevo Sol. (Yeah, we're young whippersnappers)
She recently started to help out in getting ready. What helped her was comparing
the current economic climate here to Peru. This allowed her to correlate things
that occur in her former patria with our situation. She is a source of info
on the Third world medium sized city way of life.
In Third world Peru, everyone cooks with propane camp stoves, with big seven
gallon bottles. There is no space built for an American style range, even
in
nice
houses. All water is boiled before ingestion, except [commercially] bottled
water. Trucks come with semi-clean water and people line up to fill up their
buckets
for
washing and drinking. (after boiling) Hopefully you have a big tank on your
roof to
gravity feed it through your pipes, as the power goes out regularly, and your
personal well and pump wont work.
Everyone had bars on every window and door. Houses not made of cement block
are broken into through the walls. They're also too cheap/poor to put enough
steel in the buildings, so they fall down easily in earthquakes. Re-bar is
[used] only in the corners. Nobody has an exposed to the street yard. A courtyard
inside
larger places is the norm, off street parking, if you can afford a vehicle,
is a must, or you wont be parking anything soon. Inyokern told me this concept:
When things go really sour, everyone steals everything so often that everyone
ends up with the same trash that nobody wants to steal anymore. e.g. I have
a nice bike, it gets stolen, I get a new bike but not as nice as the first,
it gets stolen, I buy the worst looking bike I can find. It stays. This is
very true. People with nice hats walk around with a hand on their head. Political
corruption is the norm. Most any government official can be
bought for a couple hundred nuevo sols. Farmers carry guns. People
walk on your roof at night.
Just about everyone is self employed. Selling food in the streets, tricycle
and moto-taxis, home based Liquor stores, etc. Often if you sell higher "dollar" stuff,
your customers don't even come in your building, money and product are exchanged
though the door bars. Keyed locks on both sides. There is no such thing as
a big box store. Even disposable diapers are bought one at a time.
People wear sandals
called yanki. These are said to be made out of used car tires,
but most tires I know of are steel belted, and you can't cut that with a knife.
My two
pair are made
from rubber mining belt I think, as the tread pattern is cut by hand. The poor
wear them, and they supposedly last a loooooong time.
In Peru, the power goes out all the time. Candles are common. People don't
stock up there, the stores I guess have sufficient on hand to handle the outages
and subsequent candle runs. The stores here are obviously not prepared for
that.
Traffic in her small town is nearly non existent, but traffic in Lima is suicidal.
Regards, - Tantalum Tom
« Letter Re: AVGAS as an Alternative Source of Gasoline During Spot Shortages |Main| Letter Re: Some Practical Notes on Third World Living »
From FerFAL in Argentina: A US Crash that Will Parallel Argentina's?
Hi James,
These are hard times, indeed.
The parallels between the days before our own economy [in Argentina] collapsed
and what’s
going on today in America today are very hard to ignore.
Our local television seems to be getting some kind of sick kick out of all
this.
They showing the comparisons, even editing politicians and economists speeches
showing how similar they were to the ones the American politicians and economists
are using right now. In some cases, they even said the exact same line, the
only difference being the language.
About the article “Letter Re: What Are the Economic Collapse Indicators
to Watch For?” I’d like to make a few comments.
Some of the signs we could actually verify during our own 2001 crisis;
*Limits to withdraw amounts per day. This happened just one or two days before
banks actually closed.
*Sudden inflation. A few weeks before, but careful, it only turned into hyper
after banks closed.
*Rumors of default. Those had been going on for a while and that’s when
we slowly started investing elsewhere and slowly moving the money out of the
accounts.
*Limits to moving fund out of the country
*Limits to the transactions. At the end you could just withdraw like $250
per week, if you found an ATM with money. Otherwise
you had to suffer the terrible lines at he bank.
It’s just impossible to know exactly when it will hit, when banks will
say bye bye, but careful, timing is everything.
In my case, we had dropped by the French Bank and asked for $2,000 USD.
The employee talked to the manager and the manager came to us looking nervous
and said they didn’t have that kind of money right now, to come back
tomorrow.
“Wait a minute.. you’re telling me you don’t have 2,000 lousy
dollars, in the entire bank?”
”No.”
That same day we went down town to other banks, closed the couple accounts
left and one or two days later the crash hit and banks closed their doors.
Just a few days later, my wife’s father lost a 6 digit figure, their
fallback life savings.
He was an elderly man, but the bank didn’t care at all of course. He
died without seeing that money returned to him.
Do not expect any kind of mercy or sympathy from banks. You wont be getting
any.
People needing medical treatment have died in this country before court orders
came out demanding the bank to give the money to the person because of life
or death situations.
Some people have died of heart attacks at the bank’s closed doors, hitting
them with pans and fists.
Not trying to be dramatic here, but it did happen that way, and it’s
important for people to understand how serious this is.
I know a run in the banks is something you’d like to avoid. But remember,
that money is yours, and banks won't be giving it back to you if they
close, you’ll loose a rather big percentage, and if the economy goes
down, it will only be returned to you after months, even years.
Maybe it would be a good idea to take another look at the
Wikipedia page that summarizes our 2001 economic crisis.
People should try to remain clam, but take the necessary precautions given
the circumstances.
Take care James. God bless you and all the readers, grant them the peace of
mind needed in these
trying times. - FerFAL
« Letter Re: Expect Delays and Confusion During FDIC Settlements |Main| Letter Re: Storing Multipurpose Castile Soaps »
Letter Re: Recommendation for Water BOB Bathtub Water Storage Bladder
Dear Mr. Rawles,
All the stories recently about power failure and storing water in bathtubs
have encouraged me to write to you about the WaterBOB.
It's a heavy duty plastic bladder that you put in your bathtub and then fill
with clean water from the tap. It comes with a siphon so that removing the
water is easy. IMO, The greatest advantage of this product is that the water
remains potable, even though a bathtub is generally not suitable for storing
drinking water. The WaterBOB holds 100 gallons.
Prices have increased substantially since I first bought mine a year or so
ago, but if purchased in quantities of 20+, the price drops significantly and
shipping is minimal. A group could order together, or someone might want extras
for gifts.
I recently ordered a quantity shipment for family birthdays, Christmas gifts,
some upcoming anniversaries, and wedding/housewarming gifts. It's a pretty
sure thing that most folks don't already have one!
Thanks so much for all you do. And our prayers continue for your Memsahib's
complete recovery. Sincerely, - SaddleTramp
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Two Letters Re: Advice for City Folks on a Budget? »
Letter Re: Questions on Short Term Survival in an Urban Office Building
Dear Mr. Rawles,
First off, I just want to say that I really appreciate what you're doing with
your blog site. I've learned so many useful things and feel that I am beginning
to have a basic understanding of how to prepare for and live in and a survival
situation.
Second, I'd like to give you a quick bit of background about myself so you
can hopefully help me with my dilemma/question...
I am a young adult working on the 9th floor of a large building in Manhattan
[on Long Island, New York City, New York]. I do not own a car and so I use
public transportation, typically the subway. My apartment is about a 30 minute
walk from work. In my
apt I have
started
building
up my survival gear, food, Bug Out Bag, etc...But I realize that I spend most
of my days not in my apt but in my office, working. So I've decided to start
planning
my office survival gear because if Manhattan was ever attacked with some form
of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons, and I'm still alive, I don't believe
there would be time for me to get back to my apt before being affected (as
subways, buses, and foot traffic will be clogged and slow). I figure my best
bet for survival would be to hunker down for the first 48-to-72 hours in my
building probably the library.
What are your thoughts/advice on staying in the building??
Also what kind of survival gear can I bring to work that would be discreet
but really help me in my first 48 hours of survival?
This is what I have so far, which my employer has provided in a fanny pack
for everyone:
[Mylar] bags of water. (We also have water coolers)
flashlight and batteries
goggles
emergency blanket
small first aid kit
mask
whistle
Any advice would be appreciated and thank you for your time. Regards, - Flora
in New York City
JWR Replies: Hunkering down in an urban environment can
be difficult. We've
addressed that before in SurvivalBlog.
Your office or cubicle
probably has a locking desk, file cabinet, and/or a credenza. Typically,
with
the high
turn-over
rate
in
most corporations, keys for furniture gets lost. Ask your
facilities
department to either re-key your locks, or have them cut new keys for them,
based of their manufacturer's code numbers. (Typically stamped in small digits
next
to the lock key way.) With this semi-secure storage space available, there
is no reason why you cannot gradually build up a substantial supply of food,
and
have a place store items such as a flashlight, sleeping bag, foam mattress
pad,
and
so forth.
Even the interior of modular cubicle walls have a remarkable amount of space
for items up to two inches thick. (One advantage of being an over-worked
technical writer for many years was that it gave me a lot of late night
hours to explore
such possibilities. You would not believe what I stored inside my cubicle
walls!)
Keep in mind that in a blackout, your building will be quite cold, at least
for half of each year So be sure to store an insulated pad, down jacket, a
pile cap, and gloves in your office.
Buy a USGI protective
mask (preferably an M40 or a recent USAF MCU series) and at least four spare
filter canisters, from a reliable vendor such as JRH
Enterprises. Since these only filter the
available air, they are not nearly as capable as a compressed air system
like firefighters
typically use. The latter will operate even in oxygen-deprived environments,
but a mask will at least increase your chance of getting out of a
high-rise building alive, in the event
of a fire. One trick, BTW, is attaching two filters simultaneously
(on both sides of the mask), to increase the available air flow during heavy
exertion.
Find out where any extra bottled water for your building is stored.
There, or near there, is the logical place to find your "hunker down" room.
Scout out your building thoroughly. It might be worthwhile getting to know
someone on your building Facilities Department staff. Buy him lunch, and have
a chat. Find out where the roof accesses are, and if they are kept locked.
See if there are
any
back
rooms,
machinery
rooms,
or
passageways that are not well known. These rooms are often kept locked. One
little-known method if gaining access to such spaces is to climb up through
a suspended (or "drop") acoustic panel ceiling, go over a partition,
and climb back down into the locked room. You might even keep a small
folding
ladder
such
as a QuikStep
ladder handy for just
this purpose. (Tres Batman.) For some ideas on discovering unused spaces
in buildings, see the Web
Urbanist site, and related "urban exploration" web sites and their forums.
(Of course, all the
usual
legal
disclaimers apply.)
Weapons
that are legal to possess in New York City have been discussed previously
in SurvivalBlog. If nothing else, you should keep a cane or stout full-size
umbrella in your office at all times. BTW, it is also wise to carry either
of these
whenever you are on city sidewalks or on the subway. They will look quite
innocuous, but with the right training will give
you
a great
advantage
in a
brute force
fighting
situation. For training, start with the Gordon
Oster DVD, and the book "Raising
Cane" by
Octavio Ramos. Then take a FMA
cane
fighting class. Those would all be money well spent!
« Letter Re: Making Alternatives to Commercial Chemical Light Sticks |Main| From The Memsahib: Saving Your Life and Saving Your Relationships--Don't Drive Your Loved Ones Away »
Letter Re: Advice for an Unprepared Greenhorn
Hello Mr. Rawles!
I love your blog, and visit at least weekly, more often
daily.
The current economic situation is sickening. I mean, actually making my
stomach hurt, as I am not prepared. I just recently was hit
on the head with
the motivation
to get prepared. The only problem with that is that I don't even know where
to start. Food? Weapons and Ammunition? Medical supplies? I am the patriarch
of a family of 4. My wife and I, and our two children, both 10 and under. What
I could use your advice on is just what I mentioned before, where does someone
like me start. We have very little money, we live in the city, and we have
no supplies except a Remington 870 Express [12 gauge shotgun] with a couple
boxes
of
ammunition and food from the grocery store for a couple weeks and our camping
supplies
which amount to a couple days in the woods. I'm extremely worried that I simply
won't be able to help my family survive the coming collapse. I want to be prepared,
and I'm motivated.
Thank you for any time you could donate with your advice! - MWS
JWR Replies: Start out by getting a good quality water filter
such as the Katadyn VARIO currently on sale at Ready Made Resources and
stocking up
on canned foods.
If you don't yet already have one, buy a
spare riot "Police" length
20" barrel with rifle-type iron sights for your Model 870, with "IC" (improved
cylinder) choke, or better yet the "Rem Choke" removable choke tubes.
These
barrels are
available
with
a
durable
finish
to match your "Express" variant.
Buy at least 200 rounds of #4 buckshot, 25 rounds (five boxes of 5) of rifled
slugs, and when you can budget for it, a case of #6 birdshot shells for bird
hunting
and
small
game
hunting
Since your resources are limited, your greatest opportunity to increase your
chances of survival will
be
teaming up with like-minded folks in your area. For some suggestions, see my
static page on Finding
Like-Minded People
in Your Area.
Be sure to take advantage of low cost training through the American
Red Cross,
the Appleseed Program, and the WRSA.
Pray hard, study hard, and train hard.
« A Girl Scout Troop Leader Wants to Get Her Girls Prepared |Main| Letter Re: Home Canning and Stocking Up »
Letter Re: My Hurricane Ike Experience
Dear Mr. Rawles,
First of all, my heart goes out to all those who truly suffered with loss of
life or property as a result of Hurricane Ike. I only had the minor inconvenience
of being without electricity in Houston for five days. (There are still over
one million in Houston and the surrounding area without power.) So I had a
taste of what it is like to be off-grid and learned a few things to share with
your readers. It seems a lot of people here had generators which burn lots
of precious gasoline. But after a few days the gasoline runs out. We toughed
it out. I did have small camping-type battery powered fans and several flashlights
but can't imagine what we'd do in a situation without power for the long term.
You can have only so many batteries and then what? We had water drawn in bath
tub to use for flushing toilet, as water plants use electricity to pump water.
Also had many frozen plastic milk jugs in freezer and big igloo to keep some
things cold for a couple of days. Ice was very hard to come by. Grocery stores
were closed for a couple of days and there were lines just to get into the
stores when they did open. They let in a few people at a time for crowd control.
I was lucky to have my nonperishable food stockpile. Remember to have extras
for relatives. Gas stations were slow to reopen and had hours to wait when
they did open. (Many buying gas for their generators). We had full tanks in
advance of the storm. One important item we used was the car charger for the
cell phone. Be sure to have one that fits your current phone model. Also, many
don't realize that cordless land line phones use electricity so you need to
have a standard corded phone (which I had) if you want to even find out if
your land-line works. To heat water for coffee we used sterno called Canned
Heat and it worked very well. I know this is merely a temporary solution to
heating. I told my husband recently that I wanted to buy a camp stove and now
he may agree with me. And of course no television or computer which is really
tough. I used my television band radio a lot to get information.
I am now more afraid than ever of what it is going to be like if the power
goes off frequently or stays off in a worse-case scenario. Luckily I didn't
see civil unrest, but what if power stayed off longer? If there was any way,
I would move out of the city. Since I can't leave, I will continue to prepare
the best I can. Please continue to remember the trapped-in-the-city dwellers
when you post ideas for survival. I think we need the most help. Thanks for
all you do, - Nancy B.
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Letter Re: An Expedient Toilet Flushing Method for Grid-Down Situations
Salutations,
[In a recent letter to SurvivalBlog,] Jeff in Ohio mentioned filling the toilet
tank with water in order to flush it, however, this is not necessary. You
can
flush
by pouring
about
a gallon
directly into the bowl. (Don't dribble it in, but also don't get carried away
and slosh it in at once . . . unless you really want to use more water to mop
the floor.) I learned this from my military service in Okinawa in the late
70s where we had water rationing with running water only every other day. On
water days we filled 55-gallon drums with water and then used one-gallon coffee
cans to flush the rest of the time. (If you live in an area that tends to lose
power, you do fill your bathtubs with water prior to storm onsets, right?)
Give it a try today, for the sake of familiarity. There's nothing like indoor
plumbing, until you lose it. - Home's Cool Mom
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: Recommendation for the Cool Tools Web Site »
Three Letters Re: Tropical Storm Ike's Devastation Works its Way North to Ohio
Hello Jim,
This note is in reference to the letter from Melanie and Rick in
Columbus about the woman who never thought of using the grill to cook. I had
a similar experience with my mother-in-law. While we had power and water, she
had lost hers. I offered to bring buckets of water to her house so she could
manually refill the toilet tank to flush with(she has septic).
Not only did she not think of that, she couldn't understand the concept. She
ended up going to a hotel for a couple of days. People like this will not last
long in a prolonged crisis. Just goes to show the most critical piece of gear
is your brain and knowledge. Take care, - Jeff in Ohio
Hi Jim,
I just finished reading Melanie and Rick's letter and what they faced during
their 'hurricane' event in Columbus. The conditions they experienced sound
very similar to what I related to you was occurring in Cincinnati a few days
ago. I just wanted to make a few comments regarding the need for self-defense
and owning a gun to do so. Rick was concerned about someone who was driving
by coming back to 'liberate' his generator. That would concern me too, so here
are a couple of my thoughts on the situation. First, it is a good idea to conceal
the fact that you have power when the rest of your neighbors don't and it's
pretty obvious at night. So close the blinds, black out the windows and do
what you can to conceal the fact that you have power. Second, do what you can
to muffle the sound of your generator with sound baffles or a soundproof enclosure.
Third, "nail it down" and secure it as Rick did with chains and locks.
Now to the more important issue, protecting the generator using deadly force.
A couple of years ago when concealed carry was first permitted in Ohio, I completed
the required course to get my permit. While not a lawyer, I do remember the
most important lesson taught regarding the law in Ohio is this; you can use
a firearm to protect human life, but you may not use a firearm to protect private
property. So to Rick's point, if he did have a gun and used it to protect his
generator from a would be thief and actually injured or killed them during
the event, he could be prosecuted should he cause injury or death to the intruder.
It does go without saying however, if Rick was threatened and feared for his
life or the life of someone in his family while and intruder was trying to
steal the generator, he could defend his or their life with deadly force. Personally,
I always feel my life is in immediate danger anytime someone invades my home,
regardless of their intentions, but simply threatening someone with bodily
harm using a firearm is also currently illegal and depending upon the circumstances
and the court and lawyers involved, one could potentially face some time in
state provided accommodations. There have been a few cases reported where people
defended their property by shooting a fleeing intruder in the back while trying
to escape and were found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon. For someone
to be attacking you they must be facing you. However, one could certainly detain
the intruder for the police if the police could be successfully contacted (communications/availability
might be an issue) and would actually show up to make an arrest.
With this said, I believe everyone should own and trained to safely use a firearm(s).
When the defecation impacts the rotating oscillator the laws may not change,
but the circumstances will definitely change for the worst...so when you have
only seconds to make that life-or-death decision you will be more likely to
successfully do so while waiting for the cops are just minutes, hours or even
days away!
It is essential to be prepared for the worst, but hope - and more importantly,
pray for the best. - Larry in Cincinnati
Sir:
I am an ex-cop, who served in St. Tammany Parish, just above New Orleans.
(On the other side of Lake Pontchartrain). I was there during [Hurricane] Katrina.
Believe me when I say I have many stories to tell, and I am sure I will,
eventually.
However, I have been lurking on your web site for a while, and I had to comment
in a recent post.
The people in Ohio who almost had their generator stolen made me remember a
looter we had in Post-Katrina St. Tammany Parish. He would bring a lawn mower
in the middle of the night, turned on and throttled down, to your house. He
would put it near the generator, and over the course of 10 or so minutes, throttle
it up. Then he would simply turn off the generator and trundle away with it,
leaving a similar noise behind. The cold air from air conditioning would last
long enough for his get-away. If I remember correctly, he stole about 36 generators
before being caught.
We even had a gennie stolen from the Sheriff's LEC (Law Enforcement Complex),
three nights after Katrina. And one of the jail's large generators was given
to the hospital when theirs died. Essentially, hide them, do not use them at
night if you can avoid it, and think about putting a muffler on it to hide
the sound. And buy a gun.
Any questions? Thanks, - Joshua
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Observations on a Life on the Gulf Coast During the Hurricane Season »
Letter Re: Some Thoughts on Practical Preparedness -- Things That Work
Jim:
To follow-up on the last two e-mails that you posted from me, here are some
random thoughts that I'd like to share on preparedness for when the Schumer
Hits
the Fan
(WTSHTF):
Use an eyeglasses "leash" (lanyard) to prevent the loss of glasses and reduce
the risk of damage.
Buy janitorial-size rolls os toilet paper, without perforations. Each roll
is 1,000 feet long, and a box of 12 rolls measures about two feet square.
These take up just a fraction of the room required to store the same length
of toilet paper in standard household rolls.
Use a kiddie-type pool to collect water from rainwater downspouts. The pools
with hard-plastic sides and vinyl bottoms are fairly durable. A six foot diameter
pool that is 15 inches deep holds 211 gallons of water.
Light-emitting diode (LED) lights are superior to traditional [filament] bulb
designs. They last much longer and are much more resistant to impact. When
used LEDs, batteries last much longer. LED headlights are close to ideal for
doing chores, since they keep your hands free. Tactical use requires a hand-held
or
weapon-mounted
light [with an intermittent switch.]
Krazy Glue [cyanoacrylate adhesive] is great for closing small cuts [after
they have been properly cleaned.] Steri-strips are the next step up in holding
ability.
Water Filters - Culligan's
new EZ-change Level 4 [under-sink] filter [cartridge]
is rated to treat 500 gallons. That is five time the volume of most compact
backpacking filters. With a self-contained design, it would be easy to attach
a pump. The are available for $38 through Amazon.com. Most [other] under-sink
filters could be used the same way, but the Culligan design is preferable because
it is fairly compact.
For "ready made" backpacking filters, I prefer the First Need brand filters.
These are rated to remove viruses and radioisotopes.
Ball-shaped pin on magnetic compasses are compact, but they are more fragile
that the type designed to clip on to a watch band, such as the Brunton and
Suunto brand compasses.
Dental health is very important for long-term survival. Wal-Mart now sells
a dental kit including a mirror with scaling tool and pick, from Dentek. They
also sell Temparin temporary filling repair kits. These come in three-application
containers.
Temparin is far superior to the old standby of packing a lost filling void
with zinc oxide.
A big part of survival is preventing injury. In a post collapse word, an injury
will reduce available manpower, and something that would be considered just
relatively minor in the present day could prove fatal. Proper safety equipment
and training in the safe use of hand tools is crucial. Gloves, eye protection,
preventing falls, fire safety, and so forth should be stressed. Hygiene and
proper sanitation are equally important.
I believe that a good foundation for long-term family preparedness is learning
the basics of wilderness survival. Having a solid understanding of the first
four critical basics--water, food heat and shelter--helps set priorities in
developing a larger plan for long-term preparation. It is also the final "fall
back" position [in the event that you are forced to abandon your retreat or
in case you never make it there]. These basics are also foundational in making
important decisions.
« Letter Re: Tropical Storm Ike's Devastation Works its Way North to Ohio |Main| Letter Re: Advice on Get Out of Dodge Vehicles »
Letter Re: Some Thoughts on Fuel Conservation WTSHTF
Jim:
To follow-up on my last e-mail, here are some random thoughts that I'd like
to share on fuel conservation, for when the Schumer Hits the Fan (WTSHTF):
Water Pasteurization Indicators (WAPIs) - Often used in the Third World
to save fuel and time when treating drinking water. Water that is heated to
149 degrees for a short time is free from living microbes. Water does not have
to be boiled for 10 minutes. A WAPI is a simple, small and low cost tube with
a special soy wax that can show that water has reached a safe Pasteurization
temperature. These are available from SolarCooking.org.
(By
the way, they also several nice solar oven designs.)
Solar ovens and Solar Showers - For cooking, water Pasteurization, and hot
water for hygiene needs. There is also a "solar puddle" design available
on the Internet for large scale water Pasteurization.
Oven and Meat Thermometers - Prevents waste of fuel [and nutritive value]
by cooking foods to higher temperatures than necessary.
Pot Cozys - These are insulated wraps for cooking pots. You heat the pot and
contents to a desired temperature and then set the pot off to the side, wrapped
in a pot cozy. Thus insulated, the food continues to cook until done. [JWR
Adds: For more on this topic, see KBF's
article in SurvivalBlog on Thermos cooking.]
Reflective Wind Shields - When used for cooking on a stove indoors or outdoors,
these will shorten the time [and hence reduce fuel use] required to reach the
desired temperature. - Doc Anonymous
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: Some Thoughts on Fuel Conservation WTSHTF »
Letter Re: Tropical Storm Ike's Devastation Works its Way North to Ohio
Good Morning, Jim,
And yes it is a good morning at that. I'm here in the suburbs
of Ohio between Dayton and Cincinnati. Our power has returned. I read Larry
in Cincinnati's post this morning, and I know his thoughts and feelings all
too well. Like him, we had the preparedness mind set already in place, and
fared a bit better than some of our neighbors. I only caught the tail end of
your interview on AM 700 WLW in Cincinnati in my truck as I was heading to
work ( the company I work for is on a different power grid and was up and running)
Monday, and I could not help but think of some of the posts since I have been
coming to SurvivalBlog, and some of the things that you have discussed on the
site.
Like Larry, I hope this will be a wake up call to folks, but sadly, I
know that only a small portion of them will get it. One of the things that
I found to be spot on, was the part about the things that were stripped from
the shelves of the few stores that were open. I did not see them first hand,
but a few of my neighbors had gone to them, and they were an exact carbon copy
of the list. One even told of folks heading to the toy department, to snap
up all the Hannah Montana kids' flashlights. Yep, batteries, camping stoves,
lanterns, canned goods, candles, etc; Like I said, the list was so dead on
it gave me a shiver. As I stated earlier, we were a bit better prepared, so
we had no need of anything to get us through this minor inconvenience left
over by the storm.
Folks down in Texas are going to be without power, water,
food,
and other needed supplies in some areas for many weeks to come, so our prayers
go out to them more than the folks down the block who lost a small bit of food
in their refrigerator because the power has been off for a little less than
48 hours. There was some talk of the possibility that it could have been out
for a whole week, and this would have been a pretty bad thing for sure, but
the thing that I voiced the most concern to my neighbors about, and the one
that none of them had thought of was, that if it did take that long, there
was a good possibility that the water tower that sits on the hill above our
house would run dry, and without power to run the pumps to refill the tank.
But, we were okay here, because we had filled half of our five gallon water
cooler jugs
a few days before this happened, and I had gone to the grocery on Friday, and
had bought a case of 20 oz. bottles for my son to take in his school lunches.
Cooking was not a problem, we have a charcoal grill,and I have a Coleman white
gas fuel stove and a good supply of fuel for emergencies such as this. Plenty
of flashlights, a battery powered lantern, spare batteries, oil lamps and oil,
and candles with good sturdy candle holders for light, and a couple very good
multi-band radios, and plenty of batteries for them as well.
I hope that
others here in our tri-state area that were affected by this will see the need
to prepare for things like this. I know that a few of my neighbors will be
a bit better prepared for things by talking to me, and seeing how we were set
up at my house for this. Now this is not to say that I was totally prepared.
I saw a few "flaws in the slaw ", but preparing for these types
of things is a constant and on-going process, and we do the best we can with
the hand we have been dealt. The rest, we can adapt if we put our minds to
the problems and keep a cool head. - Dim Tim
« Letter Re: Advice on Gauging the Safety of Individual American Banks |Main| Notes from JWR: »
Letter Re: Some Thoughts on Water Conservation WTSHTF
Jim:
Here are some random thoughts that I'd like to share on water conservation,
for when the Schumer Hits the Fan (WTSHTF):
Latex or nitrile gloves - Minimizes the use of water for cleaning up after
a dirty chore. The nitrile gloves sold by Costco seem to be the strongest and
do not oxidize like latex. [JWR Adds: The cost of nitrile
gloves bought in bulk is so low, that they are well worth using. They are particularly
important to use when handling dyes, paint, strong acids (such as during battery
maintenance),
strong bases (such as when making soap or when putting lime in an outhouse
pit or a carcass pit), pesticides, herbicides, fuel (filling kerosene lamps
or transferring gas to or from cans), or motor oil. (Used crank case oil is
of particular concern, since it has been identified as a carcinogen.)
Reynold's Oven Bags - Use inside a cooking pot to minimize clean-up. They
can also be used outside a solar cooking to to retain moisture and heat. These
shorten the cooking time for both solar and conventional ovens. hey are strong
and thin. They can also serve as an impromptu canteen. (Put a couple of them
in each outdoor survival kit.)
A small rubber primer bulb for out bard motors - Use as a foot pump for tubing
from a water source to a water basin.This provides controlled"one person" water
delivery. I use vinyl tubing connected to piece of 1/4" diameter copper
tubing that was bent nearly 90 degrees for the "faucet." This uses
just a small fraction of the water that is normally expended with a traditionally-plumbed
sink.
Funnels. - Buy several of these of various shapes and sizes, to reduce spills.
Garden pressure sprayer - Buy a new, clean one (not contaminated with chemicals)
to rinse kitchenware. BTW, we found that they had too fine a spray for use
as a bathing shower.
Clothes wringer - Efficiently wrings gray water out for wet clothes. This
water can be re-used for toilet flushing.
Basins - Use plastic basins to wash and rinse dishes or to hand-wash small
batches of laundry .This again saves gray water for re-use.
Whitewater Rafting Dry Bags - Can be used to prevent items from getting wet,
or can be used as a "clothes washer." Add hot water
and powdered laundry detergent and agitate.
- Doc Anonymous
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: Advice on Gauging the Safety of Individual American Banks »
Letter Re: Recommended Preparedness Focus for a Dentist in Kansas?
Dear Sir,
It was James Howard Kunstler who alerted me to the problems that has caught
so many other people unawares in early 2002. Alas, although we're light years
ahead of our fellow citizens in terms of preparedness, we're many parsecs
behind the majority of your readers! We do have about six months of food
on hand (which keeps growing each day), plus containers for water storage
and
filters for water purification. We have some basic medical supplies. Our "battery" has
been augmented including the storage of several hundreds (although not thousands
yet) of rounds of ammunition. Soon, I'll have a basic reloading set up. I've
been buying whatever high-quality tools I can find, whether it's a 1930s
#8 Stanley plane or a King of Spades shovel. Our organic garden is growing
each year. We're not squeamish so we'll probably be gray-watering and humanuring
as soon as it is feasible. My wife is a green thumb and is becoming an expert
on foraging: she knows every edible plant/mushroom in Kansas!
So all hope isn't lost but there is so much to be done. Which brings me to
my point: thanks ever so much for this incredible resource!
But I have one question: knowing the little that you do about us (family of
four, in rural Kansas, slightly-prepared but not much) what would you recommend
as being our first priority? What products/skills should I spend the next year
focusing upon? Thanks again, - SF, DDS, in Kansas
JWR Replies: My recommendation, particularly
for anyone living in the Plains States and most of the western US is that
water should be your top priority, including
roof
downspout rain barrel conversions, and
locating
any nearby
creeks or reservoirs where you can
collect water, and the means to transport and treat it, even if you are ling
"Grid Down" and don't have gasoline available to operate motor vehicles for
hauling water..
In the next year, take advantage
of as much free and low cost training as your schedule permits. (Red Cross,
WRSA,
et cetera.) Next, move on to more sophisticated training, as your budget
permits. (Medical Corps, Front
Sight, OnPoint
Tactical, et cetera.)
Since you are a dentist, you might think in terms of operating
a minimalist general dentistry and dental surgery practice without grid
power.
Stock up on expendable supplies. Search for old-fashioned/alternative equipment.
Buy a full-up photovoltaic power system if you can afford it. You might even
be
able to
find a
foot-powered dental
drill. These are now considered museum
pieces, except in
the Third World, where
they are still in limited use.
As
I've previously mentioned in SurvivalBlog, I have some very strong
reservations about the humanure approach. To be done safely, it
takes very close temperature monitoring, and that might prove difficult
in a grid-down post-collapse environment.
I also consider it unfeasible for handing waste at a remote retreat that
is only occupied for part of each year. (Ideally, it would best done at a rural
farm or ranch that has at least five residents that are living there year-round.)
In my opinion the risks far outweigh the rewards for most of us.
« Letter Re: Substantially Higher Food Prices at Warehouse Stores |Main| Notes from JWR: »
Letter Re: Should I Get a Bigger Property and a Bigger Mortgage?
JWR,
I currently live in a crowded subdivision in a moderately nice house that
is worth $240,000. We owe approximately $120,000 on it, and have $120,000 in
equity. Based on
much of what I read here, we were looking for a house with some land, and recently
found one for $370,000 (it's only 2.5 acres, but that's much more
than we have now). If we buy it we will owe $370,000 -120,000 = $250,000).
I currently make around
$120,000 per year, in a job in the
medical field that should not be too hard hit by financial
crises.
So what do I do? Buy the country house and assume a larger mortgage (but
have some space, and a water well, plenty of room for a garden, and less crowding)?
Or do I forego that plan and just stay where I am, even though it's crowded,
because it's cheaper, and I can get it paid off in 2-to-4 years?
The economy has me worried, so this decision has been a difficult one for
me. Your site and its links makes a lot of sense to me, but when I read other
things
online (i.e. the main headlines) it all seems to say that "Everything
will be okay, just give it time, you're in good hands..." When can we
expect the major crisis/crises to hit?
Praying for your wife, thanks for all you do, - Perplexed in the Midwest
JWR Replies: If your job is truly stable, then it might be
safe making that move. Just by itself, having well water is
a huge plus. (I've described numerous hand pump and solar well pump
alternatives in the blog.)
But
with
the economy presently looking the way it is, having that level of debt
should
be
reason
to give you pause.
One alternative to consider is instead of the "halfway measure" of
moving to a house on a bigger lot--but still in a relatively high density area--is
the concept of buying a dedicated retreat with a house on much more acreage
(10+
acres) that is way
out in the country, preferably in one
of my recommended retreat regions.
You
could
simply
tell
your
family
and
friends
that
it is
a "vacation cabin."
My general advice to my consulting clients is to buy their retreat properties
with cash, and leave their primary residences mortgaged. That way, if the economy
totally tanks and you lose your job you can move to your retreat and essentially
abandon your house to the bankers. (The phenomenon they now call "jingle
mail".)
At your retreat you will then only have to worry about paying your property
taxes.
In answer to your other question: I don't give "timing" predictions.
All that I can say with certainty is the the current economic instability is
the worst that I've
see
in
my
lifetime.
So just be
ready.
« Letter Re: Pre-Assembling Charity Food Packets for Storage |Main| Note from JWR: »
Letter Re: UV Light for Sterilizing Water
In my reading about water purification one of the things that I read about
was ultraviolet (UV)
light purification. I discarded it because I live at a fairly high northern
latitude (lower intensity light) and it is fairly cold here most of the year.
I just noticed something though. Sitting next to me
I have a "halogen gooseneck desk lamp" with a 20 Watt halogen JCD
bulb in it. While looking at the glass piece that sits between the light and
outside world I noticed that it says "UV Filter 001". This
got me to wondering how much UV light this bulb is throwing off, and if it
could be used for water purification (assuming power is present and water is down or contaminated). I wasn't able to find much info
on UV output of halogen bulbs, other then G.E. claims that their bulbs put
out very low amounts of UV.
Near the bottom of this page I did find a
nice set of tables talking about how much UV is needed to kill various micro-organisms.
- Ben
JWR Replies: To sterilize water, it is best to use a light
bulb that is optimized for transmitting the UV portion of the light
spectrum. As koi fish fanciers
discovered
a
decade ago, UV
light does a great job of sterilizing water.It actually does not kill all
the bacteria, but it renders them harmless by making them incapable of reproduction.
(Typically, folks
with koi ponds
use a water pump to circulate water in conjunction with a UV light that shines
on a clear plexiglas section of water pipe, gradually treating all of the
water in the
pond.
On
a smaller scale, the same technology is used with the SteriPen device made
for
backpackers.
(SteriPens are available
from SafeCastle, Ready Made
Resources, and many other Internet vendors.)
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Note from JWR: »
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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Packing The Vehicle G.O.O.D. Bag, by Ryan S.
This is a brief outline for preparing a vehicle-borne Get Out of Dodge (G.O.O.D.).
bag or Bug Out Bag (B.O.B.).
We are all hopefully suitably prepared at our homes
or retreats, but what if you find yourself away from your retreat WTSHTF? Recent
events and some blog readers have mentioned the importance of having a G.O.O.D.
bag in your vehicle. The floods in the midwest as well as the wildland fires
in my neck of the woods, speak to this necessity. what ever the situation you
are facing you should be able to get back home or at least remove yourself
from immediate danger should vehicle travel for whatever reason become impossible.
The basic idea for a G.O.O.D. or B.O.B. is to be self sufficient without outside
support for 72 hours (three days). Your individual bag must have everything you
need within immediate grasp. If you have to look around for a missing piece
of kit
it could mean the difference between getting away from danger and being stuck
in a worse situation.
The first item to consider is the pack itself. Invest the money in high quality
gear. Your bag must be large enough to carry all of your equipment, but not ungainly.
Especially if you are not used to carrying a load on your back over distance.
I am a fan of Maxpedition brand packs. I use a Condor II pack regularly for all
types of activities. (The Condor II is probably too small for use as a G.O.O.D.
bag.)
The MOLLE straps
on the outside of many kinds of tactical type packs are great for securing additional
gear or clothes. Packs with internal drinking water bladders
are also good to look for.
Ultimately you will have to experiment with different types of packs to see
what is most effective for you. You may also consider getting a more generic
looking
pack to avoid unwanted scrutiny that a distinctly military looking pack may draw.
You might want to supplement your pack with a vest along the lines of a photographers,
safari or fishing type. Vests are great for storing small items you will need
frequently or quickly. Things like a compass, small snack foods, pistol magazines,
or things it would be impractical to store in your pack. It would not be good
to stop and take your pack off every time you want a snack or need to take a
compass reading. Digging in your pack for a pistol magazine when you really need
it could be disastrous.
Water is the most important consideration. You will suffer some without food
for three days but going without water for three days will probably kill you.
During high heat physical exertion your body may require a gallon of water a
day. Its not practical to carry three days worth of water. Water is heavy! Weighing
8.2 lbs a gallon, most people cannot carry 32.5 lbs of water along with their
other equipment. Keep extra water in your vehicle to hydrate yourself with before
you
abandon your vehicle if time and circumstance allow. Look for small air force
flask type canteens to stuff into pockets as well as a CamelBak-type water bladder
or a pack that has an internal hydration bladder. Ever bit of water you can carry
is important!
Depending on where you live you may not have to rely as heavily on water you
carry. Keep in mind depending on the situation presented you may not be able
to stop and purify or boil water. It is still a good idea to carry as much water
as you can.
Because water is heavy and keeping in mind "The
Rule of Threes", you
need to carry some sort of method of making water you encounter suitable to drink.
Water Purification tablets are small and light weight but don't do anything to
remove the big chucks or discoloration. You can use a bandanna or a T-shirt to
improvise a filter that will get some of the stuff, but obviously won't remove
everything. A better method would be to use the bandanna or T-shirt then use
some sort of compact hiker type mechanical water filter. The best you might encounter
would be to use tablets as well as a mechanical filter.
If you find yourself having to abandon your vehicle, grab your G.O.O.D. bag and
set off overland your already in a pretty tight spot. You don't want to make
your situation worse by risking an intestinal bug, which in this case could be
life threatening. Basically its like this:
The best water you have is what's already with you.
The next best water is treated then filtered. Or boiled for at least 10 minutes.
The next best is water that has been filtered or treated.
Untreated or unfiltered water is very hazardous. Even the most pristine looking
mountain stream has all kinds of potentially bad parasites in it. We all know
what bears do in the woods, and they do it in streams too!
If your situation gets bad enough you may have to do what you have to do, just
keep in mind the possible repercussions.
The next thing to consider is food. There are a lot of options for this consideration.
Everything from Meals, Ready-to-Eat (MREs) to freeze dried foods. For my own
G.O.O.D.
bag
I
have
a
mixture of MREs and Humanitarian Daily Rations (HDRs) I break them down and
keep only the items I know I like, as well as to save space. Keep in mind that
high heat drastically reduces shelf life of MREs and HDRs. Your going to be
keeping this pack in your trunk or truck in the summer sun. Rotate your items
out at the very most every six months.
Freeze dried foods such as Alpine Aire or Mountain House are another option.
They are much lighter than MREs or HDRs but require water--usually near boiling
hot water-- to prepare. I prefer MREs because you can eat them cold or use the
the chemical heater with military MREs. Making a fire or using a stove could
compromise
your OPSEC. You can eat an MRE and keep moving.
You should supplement whatever food you decide to use with small prepackaged
snack foods. Journeys overland expend huge amounts of caloric energy requiring
constant replenishment. Additionally circumstances may dictate that you might
not be able to stop and prepare a meal and having readily available snack food
will help keep you going until you can stop. Try to avoid foods that are high
in sodium. You will have to drink more water.
The next thing to consider will be shelter. Your shelter will depend on the weather.
Try to keep weight to a minimum. You will be mobile. You may not have time to
make a very substantial shelter. Keep it basic. Just something to keep the rain
off while you sleep. You must take into account the type of environment you will
likely face. Keep in mind where you are, where you are going and what's in between.
You should consider the season as well. You probably won't need as much during
the summer months. It makes sense doing a seasonal rotation of your kit to fit
the current season. Doing a seasonal rotation allows you to inspect your entire
outfit and ensure everything is in good working order.
I feel it is important to keep fitting seasonal clothing with your bag in your
vehicle as well as some good boots. You must be able to move comfortably over
distance and you might not be dressed appropriately for you current situation.
Make sure your boots are well "broken in".
Depending on your environment and or skill level you may be able to improvise
shelter from what's around you. You can include a couple of contractor grade
garbage bags to improvise shelter or shade. You could also use clear plastic
construction
sheeting but this won't be effective for shade. I prefer a small tarp. I use
a brown colored one as opposed to the typical blue. Brown blends into the landscape
better.
Mylar space blankets are very thin and probably won't hold up well when utilized
as shelter. You should include one or two to use as intended and could probably
be used as a back up in a pinch. Be sure to include some packable rain gear in
a neutral color or at least an emergency poncho. A better choice would be both.
The next thing to consider is navigation. The idea of vehicle G.O.O.D. or B.O.B.
is to allow you to get from point A to Point B with body and spirit intact. If
you don't know how to read maps, learn. I feel the best maps are USGS topographical
maps but is impractical to carry a large number of these maps. You should have
some road maps in your bag. I carry a regional map (e.g. Western U.S.) a state
map (e.g. Oregon) and a compact national atlas. If you have room put in adjoining
state maps. If you are planning a road trip put in those states as well. The
situation you are in may require you to completely avoid roads but you can use
them as a reference point.
Global Positioning System (GPS)
receivers are very nice to have but require batteries
and
can
be
affected by environmental conditions (e.g. canyons, overhead cover) GPS can
fail. Do not rely entirely on your GPS. Get a compass, and learn how to use
it. If you have a compass get another one for a spare.
We all know the shortest point between two points is a straight line, but this
might not be the best one. Determine the navigational hazards between
you and your destination. Remember choke points, mountain passes, bridges and
depending on circumstance cities and towns. Try to learn the areas you travel
frequently. That will help you a great deal. Learn terrain features the routes
you travel frequently to help determine direction and distance. Forget about
using moss and other axioms to determine direction. They are not reliable.
The next item is fire. Fire could have been included with shelter but I felt
it important to mention individually. You should include three separate means
of making fire. Whether you use a butane lighter, matches and a fire tool. Use
what works for you.
Fire is an important survival tool. It provides heat, can be used for cooking
and provides a means for making water suitable to drink. Learn how to make fire
in adverse conditions and practice it. Actual skill is better than gadgets. You
should also include a metal cup suitable for cooking or boiling water.
Remember your OPSEC.
If you are trying not to be noticed, then lighting a fire is not
the way to do it. You will have to figure out an alternative or take the risk
if your situation requires it.
A small stove could be a viable alternative to lighting a fire. Keep weight and
fuel in consideration. I have included a small Esbit stove in my pack. They are
very small and can carry some fuel inside the folded arms.
There are also some other miscellaneous items you should include in your pack.
These are usually along the lines of tools. A good quality multi-tool such as
a Gerber or Leatherman is a good idea. A small folding shovel might be good for
making your fire less obvious as well as doubling as a hatchet with the edge
sharpened. Toilet paper is a must. Handling the call of nature with leaves is
not fun.
A good quality compact first aid kit is absolutely required. Any medications
you must take have to be included. Over the counter pain relievers and medications
for common ailments should be included as well. A good idea I saw somewhere was
a small plastic tackle or crafts box to contain your medications with the lid
labeled to keep it all organized.
Be sure to include a couple of small flashlights, and extra batteries. I also
have included a couple of small LED key chain lights. They have a surprisingly
bright light for the the size.
Make sure to include a couple of knives. I have a surplus Mora sheath knife in
my pack as well as a folding pocket knife.
Some people may want to include a firearm of some sort. This is a question that
can be a little sensitive and is full of personal opinion and legal questions.
I personally have included a firearm. For me its not a question because I am
legally permitted to carry a firearm concealed. You will have to examine your
personal
situation and decide to act as you see fit.
In conclusion I hope I have given you a good base to start from. A large part
of having a well prepared G.O.O.D. pack is trial and error. Remember to practice
beforehand. The middle of a crisis is not a good time to apply a new skill
set. Remember to keep it simple. You can't carry everything you will need to
meet
every
set of circumstances but you can use what you have and improvise. Hopefully
you won't find yourself in a situation where you will have to abandon your vehicle,
but maybe with a well-designed G.O.O.D. bag, you can make the best of it.
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After 10 Years--Some Observations and Lessons Learned by a Y2K-Era Prepper
It was June, 1998. Y2K was
a salient topic of conversation. It got my attention. When the electricity
went off and there would be no water to drink, and no
fuel to move food to the JIT grocery
stores, I could see things getting very ugly. I had been willing to fight
for this nation as a member of the US Army.
Now it was time to fight for my household. I bought a Springfield Armory
M1A. I bought a safe to store it in. I bought another M1A (for
the spousal unit of course!) I bought ammo. Lots of it. I bought gear. I
bought food.
I became awakened to the idea of being self-reliant.
That was 10 years ago. Y2K didn’t cause a global melt down. (Although
I have a friend in the service that sat in a command bunker holding his breath
at Y2K – the
government didn’t know what was going to occur.) I
have not had to live through or endure Hurricane
Katrina. No participation
in the 9/11 attacks.
In fact, I can’t claim a campaign ribbon for any
disasters. Am I upset or sorry that I have changed my life to follow a path
of self-reliance? Most definitely, absolutely not!
Let me share with you the good and the bad of what I have done in the last
ten years. So often, people new to self-reliance are like ants at the foot
of a mountain staring up with their head touching their back wondering how
in the world they will ever be able to replace modern society and be able to
take care of themselves WTSHTF.
Well, truth be told, you can’t do it
overnight unless you’re Warren Buffet. I am walking, talking living proof,
however, that you can make significant progress. Let me show you!
In order to show you that you do indeed have cause for hope, let me share
a
few of my screw-ups. How about the initial purchases I made
while in a state of “marked concern” when I became “self
aware” with
regard to self – reliance. The money I invested in self-reliance was
my spousal unit’s “down payment on a house”. Do you think
this view of “my nest” versus “the world may end” led
to some intense “discussions”? You bet your last dog flea it did.
For much of the intervening 10 years I have been the one prepping while my
wife harbored a severe grudge against the entire topic because I spent our
money for the house down payment on crazy self-reliance materials. A grade
of “F” to
me for consensus building. She is just beginning to come around in the last
two years. Poster child example of a bucket of wet sand. (If two guys fight,
they belt each other like two crazed wolverines. Eventually they realize they
were stupid for fighting, shake hands, forgive and are back to being friends.
Kinda like a cow urinating on a big flat rock – big splash and splatters,
but it dries up pretty quickly. Get in an argument with a gal and it is like
pouring water into
a bucket of sand – the surface may dry after a bit, but it stays wet
down in that bucket for a long time.)
I very religiously squirreled away Gillette Atra razors because that is what
I used each day. The handle that you click onto the blade cartridge gave up
the ghost after many years of faithful service. The stores don’t sell
them anymore! Now I have three dozen packs of five cartridges with no way to
use them to shave! Fortunately, I did find a second/spare handle in my stores
and
will
be able to use them up. Did I re-learn some valuable lessons? You bet!
Two is one, and one is none.
You need to see what you have (inventories!)
Store what you Eat/use – I did great on the cartridges, but forgot
spare handles!
In the run-up to Y2K I bought a dozen 6 volt golf cart batteries to be able to
set-up some kind of power system in the house. Great intent. No photovoltaic
panels No wiring until last year. They have been “stored” sitting
on pallets in a friends storage building for 9 years because I have not been
able to get
to the replacement power system yet. I could have used that money for a higher
priority item.
The spousal unit and I built our home last year. We did many things very right.
Some learning experiences occurred, however. Maybe chief amongst them is my
underestimation of the massiveness of the size of this endeavor! I joke with
friends about not being free from the To Do list to be able to get into trouble
for at least five years! Fix the septic pond berms. Sort out the “scrap” lumber.
Put a deck on the back of the house so the [building] code Nazis will give
us the permanent occupancy permit. Fix the leaking pressure tank in the basement.
Fix the DR
mower. Mow. Clear 30 trees dropped to get the septic pond clearance (not done
with that one yet). Cut and split and stack firewood. The list goes on. Don’t
get me wrong – I would not trade my homestead back for city living for
anything. Was I able to foresee the "second & third order effects” of
the change to a country homestead? Nope. Not even having read Backwoods Home
magazine for 8 years. Thank God I listened to my in-laws and did not try
to finish the upstairs interior construction while living downstairs!
Prior to Y2K I tried very hard to create a group. It failed in many ways. Had
Y2K caused the feared problems, we would have been road kill. Okay, we would
have been the third or fourth critter on the highway run over by life, but
we were
nowhere near ready to deal with WTSHTF/TEOTWAWKI.
The Yuppie Queen and her husband went right back to spoiling their princess/daughter,
buying Jaguars, clothes,
and hair implants. You know - living the typical American city life. The other
couple moved out onto 20 acres in a very rural county and raise goats and chickens.
I am on 20+ acres and moving in a self-reliant direction. Two out of three
ain’t
bad!
I endured the gauntlet of multiple careers trying to find a fit for who I am.
Thankfully, my spousal unit was trained well by her farmer parents. We never
carried any debt other than the mortgage. One thing we did do smart was under-buy
on our home with a condo (sixplex) in town. No car payments. No credit card
payments. We kept 3-6 months of expenses in savings. One business venture was
as a franchisee for Idiotstate. Massive mistake. Four years with no income
for me and a net loss of $60,000 overall. What preps could you get done with
an
extra $60,000? I am certainly not happy I put one in the “L” column.
I am not proud of failing. I am proud of jumping into the fight and giving
it my 110%. As they used to tell me in the military, “What an opportunity
for character building!” Learning lesson for me was that I should never
have stopped Soldiering. I simply have green blood. I have returned to the
Army by working as a tactical/leadership contractor at a nearby Fort and getting
reappointed into the National Guard. Will a deployment take me away from directly
protecting The Lovely Spousal Unit (TLSU)? Yes. Does staying employed doing
what God designed me to do mean we’ll have a steady income? Likely. Does
a pension check from age 65 on make us better able to care for ourselves? You
betcha. The world may not disintegrate in 30 days. It may actually remain fairly
normal. One has to prepare for that contingency as well.
By now you have to be thinking “What a knothead! This guy couldn’t
find his fourth point of contact if you put one hand on a cheek!” Well,
not so fast there Skippy! I have a thing or two that should go in the “W” column.
I should give you a massive dose of hope! Let me describe to you in a quick
overview where I have come to in my 10 year quest to become more self-reliant.
First, about our home…
Home
Your home is your castle, right? Well mine actually kinda is. It sets on a
chunk of land that is 20+ acres. The terrain is rolling and 95% wooded. It
butts up against a cemetery to the north, a 900+ acre conservation area to
the south, a river to the west, and a section line to the east. The home is
an Insulated Concrete Form (ICF)
structure. The walls are 1” of concrete
fake rock veneer, 2.5” of foam, 8” of reinforced concrete, 2.5” of
foam, 5/8” of sheetrock. It is “round”, being made up of
12 wall sections each 8 feet in width. Two stories with a basement. About
1,800 square feet of living space. (2,700 with the basement, however, that
area is not finished yet.) Geothermal heating/cooling and a soapstone wood
stove.
Metal roof. No carpeting – oak floors and tile. The wellhead
is inside the home so I don’t have to worry about winter breakdowns or freeze-ups,
nor losing access WTSHTF. We are running at top speed towards the 20% equity
checkpoint in order to get rid of the bankster-invented Private Mortgage Insurance
(PMI) extortion racket. (We have a credit rating of 804, so the “risk” the
bank incurs by carrying our note is a freaking joke!). It suits our lifestyle
very,
very
well. Our intent was to have a very low maintenance home. Having lived here
one year in two more weeks, it looks like we have a very big check mark in
the “W” column. More details on the design/floor plan in a future
article!
Weapons & Training
We have an M1A set-up for combat, and one set up for long-range precision work.
The Glock 21
[.45 ACP] is the base pistol for the household, with one for each of us and
a G30 [compact Glock .45 ACP] as back-up. The Lovely Spousal Unit (TLSU) doesn’t
carry a rifle or carbine, just the pistol. (More on that later.) Training for
both of us
includes Defensive
Handgun 1 and Team Tactics with Clint and Heidi Smith at Thunder Ranch. I have
also had General Purpose, Urban, and Precision Rifle with Clint. I completed
a special symposium at Gunsite (pistol, rifle, shotgun, carbine). I am an NRA Certified
pistol, rifle, and home defense instructor. I have several other weapon platforms
as a “Dan Fong” kind of guy. The two rifles with
accoutrements, and the four pistols with same were certainly not cheap. Nor
was the training. I do, however, know how to properly employ them now.
Food & Supplies
The spousal unit & I could stretch the on-hand food to cover two years.
Canned freeze dried is 45% of it, bulk buckets is 45%, and “normal use” food
is the last 10%. We have built a rolling rack set of shelves for the 3rd part
to ease rotation of the canned goods with each grocery store trip. No, I haven’t
found the secret spy decoder ring sequence on how to rotate the bulk and freeze-dried
stuff with our normal, both of us work, lifestyle. The sticking point for this
area I see is that WTSHTF, Mom & Dad in-law, Sister-in-law, Brother-in-law
with wife and two princesses (one with hubby), and my Mom & her husband
will
show up on our doorstep. That makes for an even dozen mouths to fee
Security
Now for a bit more detail. First topic up, IAW my military training, is Security.
The base of everything here is God. I have chosen to bend my knee to Jesus
Christ as my Lord and Savior. I can amass all the weapons, ammo, food and “stuff” you
can imagine, but He is the one ultimately in charge. I am charged to be a prudent
steward of His possessions - my family, property, vehicles, food, weapons,
ammo, etc.. I am definitely striving to be the ant storing things for the winter.
If you ain’t right in this area, it will really matter in eternity.
Part of your security is weapons. There are sheeple, wolves, and sheepdogs.
I am definitely in the 3rd category. In today’s world your “teeth” are
your firearms. I plan from a Boston T. Party paradigm of having a battle rifle.
Hence, the M1A. Were I starting over today, I would likely go with a FAL, but
now "I will dance with the one that brung me". Or maybe just accept the brilliance
of the M1
Garand at $620 delivered to your doorstep from the Civilian Marksmanship
Program (CMP).
I do have two of these. Hard to argue with .30-06 ball. I renovate Mausers
as my hobby and so have a .35 WAI scout rifle. A second one in the
more common 7.62x51 chambering is in work now. I laos have a Mossberg 835 [riotgun],
two Ruger 10/22s (one blued, one stainless), Ruger MKII stainless .22 LR pistol,
S&W
625 pistol in .45 ACP/.45
Auto Rim, a few Enfields, and a couple of Mosin-Nagants round out the field.
Let me detail for you the path to get to the Glocks. I think it may save you
some of your money. I received a Colt Gold Cup [M1911]
.45 ACP pistol from my Dad as a graduation gift from the Hudson Home For Boys
[aka USMA West Point].
Great
intent. A weapon as a gift – how can you ever be wrong in doing this?!
However, a terrible choice as a combat weapon. The Gold Cup is a target pistol.
Tight
tolerances.
Feeds only hardball, and that can be tenuous proposition. I carried it on the
East-West German border leading patrols. The rear sight broke twice. The front
sight shot off once and tore off twice. It was a jammomatic. I hated it. Sold
it to a guy that wanted to target shoot.
Took that money and bought a stainless Ruger P90DC. Sack of hammers tough.
always goes bang when you pull the trigger. Inexpensive as far as handguns
go. After some marked de-horning, you could even make it run in a fight without
shredding you at the same time. One marked problem. Two [different weight]
trigger pulls [for first round double action versus subsequent round single
action.]. This started to teach me to throw the muzzle down as I pulled the
trigger in
double
action.
This nasty habit caused a problem when you were firing the 2nd through X rounds,
as now it operates as a single action. TLSU had a heck of a time with it at
Thunder Ranch. Clint loaned her his G21. No more trigger problems.
Still bowing at the altar of the 1911, I bought a Kimber Compact to carry instead
of the Ruger. (I still have the Ruger – it is still “the gun that
my Dad gave me” and no one buys the P90 used for anywhere near it’s
initial cost, so I can’t sell it without taking a significant bath on
it.) The Kimber was going well. Then I got a little too aggressive at slamming
magazines home in the shortened grip and jammed it. Then the recoil rod unscrewed
itself during an IPSC run
and seized the gun while messing up the trigger. Off to Kimber. Free warranty
work and 48 hours without my self-defense pistol.
Now I have no confidence in the pistol. I Loc-Tite’d the recoil rod
and staked it so it wouldn’t come undone again. Then I sold it.
Glocks cost roughly one-half of what a Kimber does. Crummy factory sights,
but all my pistols wear tritium anyway. No ambidextrous safety required. My
short fingers are
mated to big palms, so I can handle the grip. TLSU has been trained on the
Glock Model 21 (G21). It ain’t an issue of psychological derangement
like many guys get about their 1911/Glock/H&K/Springfield, but it is a
comfortable and working relationship between Glock & I. I have a G21 and
a G30 for both of us. They always go bang accurately and they have never rusted.
I am
not
pleased
with Gaston [Glock]’s refusal to take responsibility for any mistakes
they make in manufacturing. No problems with the G21 however. A pistol is what
you
use
to fight your way back to your rifle, which you shouldn’t have laid down
in the first place.
M1As hit my safe because it is what I knew from the service. They also fire
a full power cartridge, 7.62x51. It makes cover into concealment. I don’t
have the other 10 guys in an infantry squad fighting with me so I can maneuver
under their covering fire. I have to hit the bad guy with a powerful blow once
and move on to the next wolf/bad guy. Mouse guns firing rabbit rounds don’t
scratch that itch for me. To each his own. My two are old enough to have USGI
parts and good quality control. Here are the mods I made to my “combat” M1A.
Maybe they will help you:
Krylon paint job to disrupt the "big black stick" look
M60 [padded] sling
Front sight filed down so that zero is achieved with the rear sight bottomed
out
Handguard ventilated
National Match trigger group, barrel, and sights (came as a “Loaded” package
from Springfield)
Rear aperture drilled out to make it a ghost ring
Skate board tape on slick metal butt plate
For the “Surgical” M1A (it shoots1/2 minute when I do my part):
National Match loaded package
Trigger assembly additionally tuned at factory
Unitized gas system
Factory bedded
Stainless barrel
Swan rings and QD bases
Leupold M3 3.5-10x40 scope
Handmade leather cheekrest
Other weapons - I have two M1
Garands. Both were bought from the CMP. One
is stored offsite with a "Bug-In Bag" (BIB). One is a Danish return, less
wood, that I re-stocked. TLSU has claimed this one as hers. Ammo from the CMP
is
cheaper
than any
other cartridge out there, save the communist surplus stuff. An M1917 Enfield
(also
from CMP) is in the safe, along with a 2A, a #3, and a #4. A VZ24 is stored
offsite. The first Mauser I renovated is sitting there as an additional .30-06
with a Trijicon 3-9x40 tritium-lit scope. A Remington 700 with Leupold VX-II
scope is in the safe, but likely to be sold soon. A Mosin-Nagant (M44 or
M38) ride in each vehicle.
I formerly had [Ruger] Mini-30s. I could never find any 20 or 30 round magazines
that would function reliably. I sold them and got SKS carbines. When I quit
holding out
for TLSU to become a Warrior and carry one, I sold them off to fund other
toys. I am pondering the purchase of an AK folder because it is a sack of
hammers
tough and can be transported discretely. I don’t know if I have ever
come out on the positive side when selling a gun. Now I have to re-buy an
AR-15 to have one for training purposes. The SKSs could be useful for arming
the
family showing up on your doorstep. Hindsight being 20/20, I would caution
against selling any gun you buy. (The 700 mentioned above is a 2nd precision
weapon and I have no AK to train with. Still deciding.)
Ammo is required to feed these weapons. I have over 10,000 rounds of 7.62x51.
I have over 10,000 rounds of .22 LR. No, I don’t think these amounts
are enough. Now that the costs of ammo have risen to heart stopping levels,
I really don’t feel like I bought enough in the past!
I need to plus up the quantities/smatterings of other cartridges that I have
like .30-30 Winchester, .270 Winchester,
.40 S&W.
The location of my home is the best I could get balancing competing requirements.
It is as far from the city as we can get and still stomach the drive to work.
It is between two major line of drift corridors – 12 miles to the major
one, 8 miles to the secondary one. It is bordered by neighbors on only one
side. The folks in the cemetery don’t say much. The critters in the
wildlife area are more vocal - the ducks, turkeys, geese, hoot owls, loons,
coyotes
sound off regularly. We don’t mind. About 95% of the property is wooded.
A few hickory, lots of oak. walnut, (unfortunately) locust trees are all
there.
The local river comes out of it’s banks about every other year and
blocks our driveway for several days, but never comes near the house. The
German Shorthair
is long in the tooth for security, but she is there. A new pup is in the
pipeline.
I would feel a great deal more secure if the homestead was picked up and
dropped into Idaho or Alaska. It is about as good as we can do, though, staying
near
a major city so we can have decent paying jobs. There are some improvements
we can make though. I just bought a weather alert radio from Cabela’s
today. Tough to hear tornado sirens when you live miles away and have 1 foot
thick walls! We need a driveway monitor/alarm. Again, the superior insulation
of
the walls means we hear nothing outside. I can see the utility
of sandbags if things got really ugly. Some more land line communication
assets would be
useful. I think an AR-15 for training people would be useful, as would an
AK. Overall, I think we have done pretty well in the security arena.
Our Home
We started the 10 years in a condo. It was part of a six-plex set on a small
pond. I hate Homeowner’s Associations and their covenants! We could afford
the mortgage on one of our two paychecks. Good thing! I didn’t get a
paycheck for four years. We scraped by. Two years after re-entering the job
market we built our house. We worked on the plans for five years. Beware! Finding
a property piece and building a non-shoebox home on it is not for the feint
of
heart!
You effectively are funding the construction of a mini town. You build and
maintain mini roads (your driveway). You must build and maintain a mini sewage
plant (Your septic system/pond). You must build and maintain a mini water plant.
(Your well.) You must perform mowing and tree removal for the mini parks of
your town (Your “yard”/acreage). I will write a separate article
detailing our construction woes.
Let me highlight some of the self-reliant features of the house for you. We
did not want to spend a constant stream of Federal Reserve Notes [FRNs]on
maintenance. We used insulated concrete form (ICF) construction for the structural
strength
and the energy efficiency. The metal roof should outlast us. The geothermal
and
the
R-50 walls
of the
ICF are paying us back the initial investment in construction costs. We opted
for no carpeting due to the track in mud nature of the property, having a dog,
and me having allergies. Wood and tile floors don’t hold dirt like carpets
do. Less fire hazard as well. We used commercial steel doors for the exterior
and security-need spots. They have ASSA
[high security] locks. They have peepholes.
The basement has a 10’ square root cellar for the storage of canned produce
from the garden. It also has a safe room/shelter. 12” of concrete overhead.
The well head is enclosed in it. Land line telephone and power service into
it via buried lines. Food stored in it. DC wiring
in place to the attic for when we get to the photovoltaic [PV]
system. We also ran DC wires to each room in the house for the use of LED lighting
off of a battery system. The soapstone
wood
stove
augments the electrically driven geothermal. (In spite of several damaging
thunderstorms this past year, we have not lost power so far – great job
juice Coop!)
The stairwell was kicked out onto the W/NW of the house. This shields the house
from the hottest part of the day’s sunlight, and the coldest winter winds.
We made the stairwell an extra foot wide. What a huge nice difference that
foot makes to walking up and down each day, not to mention moving stuff up
or down them! The mud porch/entry was set up for coming in with muddy boots,
or for snow covered coats. We should have made it 1’ wider, as it can
be a little tight. The bench is great for donning/doffing boots. The tile is
easy to clean the muddy paw prints, human or canine, off of.
Windows were one of the few areas that caused some fireworks. TLSU wanted a
green house in order to take advantage of the great view of the property. I
wanted firing ports to defend against mutant zombie hordes. I am still hugely
uncomfortable with the nakedness the windows leave us with. Yes the view is
great, but what about when we experience incoming rounds, or more mundanely,
when someone comes out to the property while we are away from the house all
day at work and they help themselves to our stuff? Some relief is in sight,
however. We are pricing Shattergard vinyl film for the ground floor windows.
Things That are Still Need on the Home
The great thing about the R-50 ICF walls is that they are R-50 and pretty tough.
The bad thing is that they are R-50 and pretty tough. We can’t hear anything without
a door or window being open. Hence the just purchased weather alert radio for
us from Cabela’s this week. It is kind of eerie waking up at
0200 hours and having no idea if the thunderstorm is just a thunderstorm or
if it is a tornado. The television is useless when the rain is so heavy that
the dish won’t get a signal. With regard to 2-legged varmints, a driveway
MURS Alert
system is on the purchase list as we have had multiple invited guests show
up, beat on the front door, and have to walk around to the living room
windows to get our attention so they can be let inside. Okay for invited guests – certainly
too close for uninvited varmints!
The entry hallway was one of TLSU’s “must haves” in the house
layout. It has worked out well in terms of traffic flow and such. The security
door at the foot of the stairs is a tough choke point to deal with at 0500
in the dark. No light installed there means nothing is visible through the
peephole.
I will have to install a camera and/or light so I don’t open it to let
the dog out in the morning and get rushed by 2-legged varmints.
So far, the only commo needs are between myself and TLSU. When the sister-in-law,
brother-in-law, parents-in-law and my Mom show up and we start pulling
security, we will need to be able
to talk more. I have an old set of TA-312 [field telephone]s and wire for the
primary LP/OP,
but obviously will need more in this area. Just not a sexy/fun area to spend
FRNs on for a combat arms kinda guy, but I am working on the self-discipline
needed.
We did look ahead and sink the FRNs into running 12V wires in the home for
future installation of PV panels and batteries. Obviously things like the Shattergard
film, more food, more Band-aids, etc., are of a higher priority though. We
are working our tails off to reach the 20% equity mark to get rid of the PMI
extortion as well. I still have an ASSA lock to install on the shelter door,
and one to put into the basement door. Other projected door enhancements include
armor plates for the front, outside basement, shelter, and outside storage
doors. There just never seems to be enough $ to go around, does there?
The other major source of fireworks during the home design/build was on-demand
water heaters. Having taken a 30 minute hot shower with one in Germany for
5 marks while on an FTX, I well understand what a brilliant piece of technology
they are. TLSU, having never been outside of CONUS cannot give up on the electric
water heater. She still doesn’t believe that the electricity will ever
go out for more than an hour or two. Wouldn’t it be great to be able
to draw hot water at the kitchen sink, and take a hot shower from a propane
fired on-demand heater? She doesn’t get it yet. Obviously not something
to break up a marriage over. We really did very well on the whole house building
thing. The opposite of what everyone warned us about. I am pretty proud of
that performance!
Food
We started a garden this spring. So far, it is an endeavor run by TLSU. Spinach,
onions, carrots, lettuce, potatoes, beets, and some herbs. I have not been
able to convince her to expand the size. She wants to learn in steps and I
am the whacko that orders 100 seedlings at a time from the conservation department,
which then overwhelms us in the planting department. For example, the first
iteration of this tree-planting endeavor, we got them the Thursday before Easter
weekend. Friday night and all day Saturday we planted our buns off. TLSU was
indeed a great Trooper about it, planting right along with me. Sunday was spent
at church
and pigging out at family’s homes for Easter. Monday I had shoulder surgery
to grind off bone spurs and remove cartilage chips. Too much, too fast. But
at 7 FRNs per 12 seedlings, how can you argue? I have to admit though, that
after two years of the 100 seedlings, I am ready to give it a rest. This year
we settled for seven apple saplings. Initial inspection of the cherry, pecan,
oak, walnut and persimmon seedlings around the house reveals about an 80% survival
rate. Only another 10 years and we will be getting food from them!
The initial freeze dried and bulk storage food needs to be rotated. Anyone
figured out how to do this kind of at home cooking when the two of you work?
The canned/”normal” food is now being rotated with each grocery
store trip. We have canning jars for this year’s veggies and the root
cellar has a robust collection of shelves to store them on. How much is enough?
I
don’t know. Four geographically separate and secure stashes of three
year’s
worth of food for all of the family? Who knows!?
Medical
I have Boo-boo kits just about everywhere now. You know, the band-aid and antibiotic
salve with ibuprofen kit that handles 90% of life’s issues in this area.
Now comes the high-dollar investment stuff. The combat blow-out packs for gunshot
wounds or serious car wrecks. I did go along on a buying trip to a medical
warehouse and got some catheters, sutures, gauze pads, etc.. I did get in on
the last great iodine buy before our loving big brother government banned the
sale of iodine to us mere citizens. (It is a stewable ingredient to make drugs,
you know – “we must deprive/punish all to protect you from a few.
Oh, well, you don’t need to be able to sterilize water anyway – we’ll
take care of you on that too….”)
TLSU and I eat very healthy food – locally raised beef with no antibiotics
or growth hormones. No growth hormone dairy products from a local dairy. Spinach
from the garden. There are sugar detectors on the doors. Also, no chips allowed.
We get to the dentist regularly. We both do Physical Training (PT)
. She jogs 3 miles, 3-4 times per week. I run over lunch at work about 4 miles,
4-5 times
per week
and
lift
weights twice per week.
“Needed Still” list includes: Blow out kits, more bandages, more
hospital type stuff, more medicines, syrup of ipecac, more antibiotics, more
feminine
stuff (think of a vaginal yeast infection with no drug store open), drinking
alcohol, poison Ivy soap and remedies, athlete’s foot cream, more baby
wipes, more hand sanitizer, all forms of baby stuff, get the bone spur ground
smooth in my other shoulder and the cartilage chips taken out, get rid of the
cat (allergies).
Vehicles
We still have the same vehicles we had in 2001. A 1998 Toyota Corolla bought
with 30,000 miles, and a 1999 Ford Explorer bought with 45,000 miles. Both
were
paid in full when bought. Both avoided the 25% loss of value when driving a
new car off the lot. The Corolla gets 37 MPG.
I hate it. Every bit of plastic on it has broken – the car door locking
mechanisms, the trunk lock, the ventilation system fan. It gets 37 MPG. I can’t
find anything to touch that. The Ford is too big to get decent mileage, and
too small to really be
a useful truck. It is paid for and has AWD/4WD.
It always starts. Both vehicles have BIBs and gas masks in them. Both have
trunk guns. Both have roadside gear
to help ourselves out of a jam. We are saving for the replacement of them both.
We are going to be saving for quite a while. We need more cash in the BIBs
and Bug Out Bags (BOBs)
All of the preps in this section were done via Cabela points. I bought gas
and paid for business expenses - everything I could pay for with a credit card
was paid for with the Cabela’s credit card. You get points at some sickening
rate of $.01/FRN spent, $.02/FRN in the store. However, when you buy $6-8,000/month
of stuff between personal and business stuff, it adds up! The gear for the
BOBs & BIBs, weapons gear and parts – a significant percentage – 85%+
- came from Cabela [credit card bonus] points. When I got birthday or Christmas
monetary gifts I spent them on self-reliance items. We did this never incurring
any
interest
penalties because we zero the balance out each month. Our BOBs are set-up to
sustain us for 10 days. They are packed in Cabela’s wet bags for load
out in five minutes. Originally I sought to wear a tactical vest and ruck.
After two unsuccessful winter BOB campouts where I could barely waddle one
mile with
both of them on at the same time, I dropped the vest. TLSU’s back is
in tough shape due to scoliosis, so she is not humping any mammoth rucks with
the extra three mortar rounds and can of 7.62 linked. We also decided that
the G21 was what she could carry and dropped the SKS and chest pouches of 10
round stripper clips. Her ruck is a Camelback Commander. That is as big of
a ruck as she can hope to carry without killing her back. We are not leaving
home to go on a combat patrol in Hit or Fallujah. We are fleeing some kind
danger and have every intention of avoiding additional entanglements, to include
government hospitality suites in stadiums.
The Lovely Spousal Unit (TLSU)
I started self-reliance the wrong way. No consensus development. I saw a danger
and acted. I am a male/sheepdog/warrior type. I am not sure that I could have
ever persuaded her to participate in any meaningful manner before Y2K. She
has only recently begun to do so after eight years of seeing me provide for
and protect her. I was, however, stubborn/strong enough to do what I thought
was
the right thing and to heck with what was popular. Most “males” check
their gender specific anatomical gear at the wedding alter and continue on
in sheeple status. I get that females are the nurturers. I get that they work
from an emotional starting point, not logical. Not wanting the tornado to destroy
the house or the hurricane to wreck your and the adjoining three counties is,
at best, the French method of addressing life. TLSU is finally helping me to
rotate food via the grocery store purchases. She no longer rolls her eyes or
sighs disgustedly when I spend my Cabela points to buy gear. Once I explained
to her that I was planning to shelter and feed her parents and siblings and
that our one year of food wasn’t going to feed all of them for very long,
she started to get on board. She even likes spending the points off of her
Cabela’s card now. She is running 3-4 times per week and gets some PT
from work outside in the garden. She has come a long way. As best as I can
tell, she will not ever be a warrior. We have come a substantial distance from
sleeping on the couch each time a self-reliance topic hits the table of discussion
though. A definite and growing check mark in the “W” column!
Skills
Skills that I have acquired:
Rifles – renovating Mausers and training at Thunder Ranch helps
your ability to use these tools immensely.
Soldering – fixing plumbing leaks myself vs. paying a plumber $200
to show up and start billing me for work
Building – I invested 13 full work weeks of time during the building
of our home helping the contractor. Some of it was the nubby work of cleaning
up the scrap and sawdust. Some of it was banging in joist hangers. I laid
all the tile and 95% of the wood flooring in the house.
Fix-it – the DR Brush mower has long passed it’s warranty
period and while performing quite admirably, does need attention every now
and then.
The 1974 F100 demands attention regularly. Each of these repair work challenges
teaches me a little more about mechanical items and taking care of things
myself.
Sewing – Yes, my dear Grandmother taught me to sew buttons, and
my Mom taught me to survival sew/repair things. A 1960 gear driven Singer sews
nylon
gear though!; )
Skills still needed:
More First Aid – it appears that a first responder or wilderness 1st
aid course may be in the cards for this year.
More Hand to Hand – my goals and objectives list has had this goal
on it for several years. Good news – I got started on knocking it off the
list. Bad news, it revealed an “old man” shortcoming in my shoulder.
Good news, I am getting the shoulder fixed (hopefully) during “normal” times
versus after Schumerization. I just may get ambushed and not have my trusty
M1A in hand. Having unarmed defense skills means never having to be a steak
dinner/victim.
More riflesmithing – each birthday or Christmas gift of money has
been partially apportioned to the purchase of gunsmithing tooling. I need more
practice
with the tools I have. I still need more tooling. I recently secured Parkerizing
gear, but have not gotten the metal stands for the tanks built. Still,
progress is progress and I can already do more to maintain weapons than
95% of the
population.
Knife making – I just cringe at the idea of spending $300 for top
quality knives. CRKT is my friend. Even better is learning to assemble the
scales and
blank myself. Eventually, knowing how to forge blanks myself would be useful.
Mill lumber – with 95% of my property wooded, I have the material
to be self-reliant with regard to my lumber needs. I need a way to saw the
tree into lumber though. First, the mill, then the skill to use it. Then
I have
the gear to diversify my income and help others.
Have I always done the smartest thing? Absolutely not! Much to the crazed
satisfaction of a former operator buddy, I have cycled through the “best/high
dollar” gear
approach to the “sack of hammers USGI/AK” school of self-reliance.
Don’t get me wrong – I ain’t surrendering my Kifaru rucks
anytime soon! However, there were a great number of FRNs spent on those self-reliance
tuition payments! Have I learned a lot? Absolutely, yes! Am
I better able to maintain my independence and protect and provide for my
family? Absolutely,
yes! Could you do better than I did? Good chance. Have you
done as much as I have in the last 10 years? Only your freedom, loved ones,
and the quality
of your life post-TEOTWAWKI depend on the answer to that one.
« From David in Israel Re: Some Preparedness Implications of Rapidly Escalating Fuel Prices |Main| Note from JWR: »
Two Letters Re: Some Observations on Recent Flooding in the US Midwest
James,
I got this from a friend in Indiana:
All is well at our house but the town is suffering. Here are a few comments
for your edification.
- Small rivers come up fast with 10 inches of rainfall. Unknown to me, but
if I had delayed another 30 minutes in going home, I would not have been with
my family where I was needed.
- This was the first time other than snow events when I could not leave town.
All roads underwater, including interstates and state highways.
- My Chevy 4WD pickup will go through deeper water than most cars. Don't purchase
any used cars from Indiana for awhile.
- The portable generator worked great. With smart load management I could essentially
run the entire house including frig, freezer, microwave, geothermal air conditioning,
and lights. Total power off time was 12 hours with less that 6 hours of generator
run time. Now I want to have more fuel on hand. A quieter generator would have
been a plus.
- When the power went off and it was expected to be off for the duration of
this emergency, we all immediately took showers to use the available hot water.
Sometime later the city water pressure went way down but not completely off.
Toilets remained operational.
- The hospital was flooded and will be closed for an indeterminate length of
time. All patients were evacuated. Plan your medical emergencies accordingly.
- I'm in the market for a battery powered AM/FM radio with headphone jack so
I can listen to local news without disturbing others during the night. Local
radio seems to be the best source of information. Cable went off line. The
weather band radio was useful as they routinely give river level conditions.
- The middle school and later the high school were opened for those seeking
shelter. I'd rather sleep in the woods.
- My brother lives 30 miles away but works here. He was stranded and spent
the night with us. He appreciated the hot shower, clean bed, dinner, etc. He's
now thinking that a bug out kit would be a good thing. He would have slept
in his truck rather than go to the shelter. Drinking water would have been
his first issue.
- Cell phone communications stayed up but were overloaded. Too many folks use
them for non-essential communications. Same for 911 calls. I don't have a good
work around but will give this some thought.
- There was no car or pedestrian traffic in our subdivision during the night.
I anticipate this would change if the situation had stretched for several days.
With no street lights or city ambient lighting, night vision [equipment] would
have been helpful.
- The headlamp on a headband really makes the odd jobs in the dark much easier
to manage. LED flashlights
are a good thing. Surefire [flashlight]s were kept in reserve.
The town is in clean up mode now. Thanks and Best Wishes, - Bill N.
Mr. Rawles
Hello from a long time reader. Thanks for all the info. I thought I could
give everyone a heads up on what is happening in the new Wisconsin
wetlands. First off it is amazing how foolish people act when a disaster strikes.
There a literally hundreds of people walking around in backed up sewer
water which
is waist deep. Without even shoes? People think that if they drive
their
sports car fast enough through the water they can make it. People who
live within sight of a river are on television saying how shocked they are.
Didn't it ever occur to anyone that if you live within 20 feet of a body
of
water
it
might rise someday?
My house is fine, on a hill in the higher part of town. Our Bug Out Location
(B.O.L.) is fine too, just called and got the"okay" word. It is nice to know
which ways
to take
out of town
in
the event of a flood for next time. Make a note of this it might come
in handy. People are helping each other sand bag their homes and businesses.
I wonder
how long people will work together if food were to not be trucked in.
It
was funny to watch my neighbors load groceries into their house in
the pouring
rain. Preps come in handy on a rainy day, literally.
There has been lots of damage around all of Wisconsin, I had to take an alternate
route to work as they shutdown a few of the lower roads. Seeing the damage
first
hand
is sad
and at the same time I think is good for people because it makes them
realize how
quickly everything can be lost. Coming home from my in-laws' house, I
had a man hole cover blow off two feet from my truck, due to the water pressure.
The next
day there was an article in the local paper on how one woman's SUV was
totaled because
she wasn't so lucky.
Now I'm just waiting wondering if I will have a job, if the d**n on Phantom
Lake goes, so does the building that I work at. - Bill C. in Wisconsin
« Letter Re: A Clash of World Views--Socialism Versus the Libertarian Ethic |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day: »
Letter Re: Advice on a Budget Water Filter
Mr. Rawles,
I just graduated from college this month and am still under the huge weight
of college loans. I want to get prepared, but my budget (for now, at least),
is very tight. You said that water should be the highest priority.
I agree with the wisdom of that. I'd like to buy a [gravity ceramic] Big
Berky [water] filter, but they are way too expensive. Even an Aqua Rain [filter]
would be too much of an expense. Are there any lower cost alternatives for
water filtration? Thank You, - R.T.D.
JWR Replies: The least expensive option is to make your own
filter. In my experience, the much-touted field-expedient sand and clay filters
are only effective for use as a pre-filter. Their output still
has a brown-tinged pond water look to it, and since the filter media is so
coarse, they do not remove all harmful bacteria. (So their
output still has to be treated either chemically, or by boiling.) You can,
however, buy Berky filter white ceramic filter elements by themselves from
a number of vendors including Ready
Made Resources and Lehman's.
With these elements, you can build your own bargain basement "Berky Clone".
This consists of a pair of food grade plastic buckets, stacked one above the
other. The top bucket has one or more holes drilled in it, to accept the Berky
spare filter elements. Each element by itself costs around $40 . To get decent
volume production from your filter, I recommend that you buy at least two elements.
(A set of four is best.)
Materials:
4 - Food Grade HDPE food storage buckets (three to six gallon capacity), with
lids
1 to 4 - Big Berky White Ceramic Filter Elements
Construction:
Drill one to four 1/2-inch diameter holes near the bottom-center of the upper
bucket. (The same number of holes as you have filter elements.) Space the holes
at least two inches apart and no closer than 1-1/2 inches from the edge of
the
bucket perimeter.With clean hands (to avoid contaminating the filter pores),
insert the filters in
the
holes,
screwing
down their nuts
on
the bottom
of the upper bucket. The nuts are plastic, so do not over-tighten them.
But they must be tight enough to compress the o-ring seal, or the seal may
leak--and this would be a contaminating leaks. (The filters point upward into
the upper bucket, to avoid damage and to allow them to be cleaned periodically.)
Using a jig saw, cut a 7-1/2-inch diameter hole in the center of the lid of
the
lower bucket.
A third bucket is used to carry water. The fourth bucket is used as a pre-filter.
This has a piece of tightly-woven cloth that is wired or taped over the top.
Since the cloth will be saturated and will drip over the edge the pre-filtering
step is best done outdoors, or in a large laundry sink. If treating
river, stream on pond water, be sure to use a pre-filter.
Just using a couple of thickness of T-shirt material will greatly extend the
useful life of your secondary filter element(s).
Use:
Set the bucket with the hole in the lid on a low, stable surface.
Stack the bucket with the filter element(s) on top of it. Gently pour
pre-filtered water into the upper bucket, until it is nearly full. Note:
Be very careful not to spill any water down the exterior of the upper bucket,
or you will contaminate the water in the bucket beneath. This is a
slow filtering process, so be patient. Even with four filter elements, it will
take a considerable time to filter six gallons.
« Letter Re: Ammunition Reloading for Survival |Main| Letter Re: Retreat Locales in the Eastern United States »
Letter Re: Do It Yourself Coffee Roasting
After reading
some information in SurvivalBlog about roasting green coffee beans I thought
I could offer some useful info on the subject, since I’ve been a coffee
supplier and roaster for about 10 years.
Let’s assume the grid is down---how does one roast coffee? You can do
it over an open flame such as a propane burner, or campfire. In the days of
cattle drives the cook would roast in a cast iron pot just stirring the beans
constantly. If you do that then a peaberry type coffee bean works best because
they are more round, and my research tells me that that’s what many of
the old cooks packed. Regular beans have a flat side and have a tendency to
burn some of the beans on that side regardless of how much you stir.
But here is the method I’ve tried and it worked reasonably well. Use
a good heavy duty wok pan. (Avoid a Teflon-coated wok pan at all costs). Place
6-to-8 ounces of green beans in it, and over the hot fire flick it forward
like a
chef does,
doing
so constantly. In a few minutes the beans heat up and you can hear the first
crack of the beans, it’s not very loud so listen carefully. Keep flicking —chaff
comes off, and when the first crack has stopped you can stop the roast. For
future roast adjust from the stop of first crack---you can go on into a less
audible second crack in a minute or so for darker roast. Going to the end of
second crack will give you a French roast that some like. Understand that this
will give you a decent roast, not perfect as some beans will roast up unevenly,
but you will definitely like it better than canned coffee, I guarantee it,
because it’s fresh roasted.
Now here’s a vital point to your roasting: when you have it just where
you want it---end of first crack, or into second crack, whatever, the beans
have to be cooled as quickly as possible. The most practical way I found was
dumping them back and forth in two colanders, 3 or 4 minutes at least. If possible,
allow the beans to degas for at least a day, but don’t roast up more
than you’ll need for a few days. Store in Ziploc type bags in a dark
place, but leave a small opening in the zipper to release the built up CO2
or the bag could burst. After that keep it sealed between uses. Have a hand
grinder, or as the cowboy cook did, mash between two hard objects. If you’re
just throwing your grounds into hot water use a course grind, and don’t
boil the coffee, let it steep for about four minutes.
I am not trying to present myself as an expert coffee survivalist, but with
some practice you can make excellent coffee truly from scratch. But why wait
til for a collapse? Practice doing it now. Charlie at Cme
Brew Coffee.
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The Precepts of My Survivalist Philosophy
In the past week I've had three newcomers to SurvivalBlog.com write and ask
me to summarize my world view. One of them asked: "I could spend days
looking through [the] archives of your [many months of] blog posts. But there
are hundreds
of them. Can you tell me where you stand, in just a page? What distinguishes
the "Rawlesian" philosophy from other [schools of] survivalist thought?"
I'll likely add a few items to this list as time goes on, but here is a general
summary of my precepts:
Modern Society is Increasingly Complex, Interdependent, and Fragile. With
each passing year, technology progresses and chains of interdependency lengthen.
In the past 30 years, chains of retail supply have grown longer and longer.
The food on your supermarket shelf does not come from local farmers. It often
comes from hundreds or even thousands of miles away. This has created an alarming
vulnerability to disruption. Simultaneously, global population is still increasing
in a near geometrical progression. At some point that must end, most likely
with a sudden and sharp drop in population. The lynchpin is the grid. Without
functioning power grids, modern industrial societies will collapse within weeks.
Civilization is Just a Thin Veneer. In the absence of law
an order, men quickly revert to savagery. As was illustrated by the rioting
and looting that accompanied disasters in the past three decades, the transition
from tranquility to absolute barbarism can occur overnight. People expect tomorrow
to be just like today, and they act accordingly. But then comes a unpredictable
disaster that catches the vast majority unprepared. The average American family
has four days worth of food on hand. When that food is gone, we'll soon see
the thin veneer stripped away.
People Run in Herds and Packs, but Both Follow Natural Lines of
Drift. Most
people are sheep ("sheeple").
A few are wolves that prey on others. But just a few of us are more like sheepdogs--we
think independently, and instead of
predation,
we are
geared toward protecting and helping others. People naturally follow natural lines
of drift--the path of least resistance. When the Schumer hits
the fan, 99% of urbanites will try to leave the cities on freeways. The highways
and freeways will soon resemble parking lots. This means that you need to be
prepared to both get
out of town ahead of the rush and to use lightly-traveled back roads.
Plan,
study and practice.
Lightly Populated Areas are Safer than High Density Areas. With
a few exceptions, less population means fewer problems. WTSHTF, there will
be a mass exodus from the cities. Think of it as an army that is spreading
out across a battlefield: The wider that
they
are
spread,
the less effective that they are. The inverse
square law hasn't been repealed.
Show Restraint, But Always Have Recourse to Lethal Force. My
father often told me, "It
is better to have a gun and not need it, than need a gun, and not have it." I
urge readers to use less than lethal means when safe and practicable, but at
times there is not a satisfactory substitute for well-aimed lead going down
range at high velocity.
There is Strength in Numbers. Rugged individualism is all
well and good, but it takes ore than one man to defend a retreat. Effective
retreat defense necessitates having at least two families to provide 24/7 perimeter
security. But of course every individual added means having another mouth to
feed. Absent having an unlimited budget and an infinite larder, this necessitates
striking a balance when deciding the size of a retreat group.
There are Moral Absolutes. The foundational morality
of the civilized world is best summarized in the Ten
Commandments. Moral relativism and secular humanism are slippery slopes.
The terminal moraine at the base of these slopes is a rubble pile consisting
of either despotism and pillage, or anarchy and the depths of depravity. I
believe
that
it takes both faith and friends to survive perilous times. For more background
on that, see my Prayer
page.
Racism Ignores Reason. People should be judged as individuals.
Anyone that make blanket statements about other races is ignorant that there
are both good and bad individuals in all groups. I have accepted The
Great Commission with sincerity."Go forth into all nations" means
exactly that:
all nations. OBTW, I feel grateful that SurvivalBlog is now read
in more than 100 countries. I have been given a bully pulpit,
and I intend to use it for good and edifying purposes.
Skills Beat Gadgets and Practicality Beats Style. The modern
world is full of pundits, poseurs, and Mall
Ninjas. Preparedness is not just about
accumulating a pile of stuff. You need practical skills, and those
only come with study, training, and practice.
Any
armchair
survivalist
can
buy a set
of stylish camouflage fatigues and an M4gery Carbine
encrusted with umpteen accessories. Style points should not be mistaken
for genuine skills and
practicality.
Plentiful Water and Good Soil are Crucial. Modern mechanized
farming, electrically pumped irrigation, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides
can make deserts bloom. But when the grid goes down, deserts and marginal farmland
will revert to their natural states. In my estimation, the most viable places
to survive in the midst of a long term societal collapse will be those with
reliable summer rains
and rich
topsoil.
Tangibles Trump Conceptuals. Modern fiat currencies are generally
accepted, but have essentially no backing. Because they are largely a byproduct
of interest bearing debt, modern currencies are destined to inflation. In
the long run, inflation dooms fiat
currencies to collapse. The majority of
your assets should be invested in
productive farm land and other tangibles such as useful hand tools. Only after
you have your key logistics squared away, anything extra should
be invested in silver and gold.
Governments Tend to Expand their Power to the Point that They Do Harm. In
SurvivalBlog, I often warn of the insidious tyranny of the Nanny
State. If
the state where you live becomes oppressive, then don't hesitate to relocate.
Vote with your feet!
There is Value in Redundancy. A common saying of my
readers is: "Two
is one, and one is none." You must be prepared
to provide for your family in a protracted period of societal disruption. That
means storing up all of the essential "beans, bullets, and Band-Aids" in quantity.
If commerce is disrupted by a disaster, at least in the short term you will
only have your own logistics to fall back on. The more that you have stored,
the
more
that
you
will have
available for barter and charity.
A Deep Larder is Essential. Food storage is one of the key
preparations that I recommend. Even if you have a fantastic self-sufficient
garden and pasture ground, you must always have food storage that you can fall
back on in the event that your crops fail due to drought, disease, or infestation.
Tools Without Training Are Almost Useless. Owning a gun doesn't
make someone a "shooter" any more than owning a surfboard makes someone a surfer.
With proper training and practice, you will be miles ahead of the average citizen.
Get advanced medical
training. Get the best firearms
training that you can afford. Learn about amateur radio from your local
affiliated ARRL club.
Practice raising a vegetable garden each summer. Some skills are only perfected
over
a period
of years.
Old Technologies are Appropriate Technologies. In
the event of a societal collapse, 19th Century (or earlier) technologies such
as a the blacksmith's forge, the treadle sewing machine, and the horse-drawn
plow
will be
far easier
to re-construct than modern technologies.
Charity is a Moral Imperative. As a Christian, I feel morally
obligated to assist others that are less fortunate. Following the Old Testament
laws of Tzedakah (charity
and tithing), I believe that my responsibility begins with my immediate family
and expands in successive rings to supporting
my immediate
neighborhood
and
church, to my
community, and beyond, as resources allow. In short, my philosophy is to "give
until it hurts" in times of disaster.
Buy Life Assurance, not Life Insurance. Self-sufficiency
and self-reliance are many-faceted. You need to systematically provide for
Water, Food, Shelter, Fuel, First Aid,
Commo,
and, if need be, the tools to enforce Rule
308.
Live at Your Retreat Year-Round. If your financial and family
circumstances allow it, I strongly recommend that you relocate
to a safe area and live there year-round. This has several advantages,
most notably that will prevent burglary of your retreat logistics and
allow you to regularly
tend to gardens, orchards, and livestock. It will also remove the stress of
timing a "Get Out of Dodge" trip at the11th hour.
If circumstances dictate that you can't live at your retreat year round, then
at least have
a caretaker and stock the vast majority of your logistics in advance, since
you may only have one trip there before roads are impassable.
Exploit Force Multipliers. Night vision gear, intrusion
detection sensors, and radio communications equipment are key force
multipliers. Because
these use high technology they cannot be depended upon in a long term collapse,
but in the short term, they can provide a big advantage. Some low technologies
like barbed wire and defensive road cables also provide advantages and can
last for several decades.
Invest Your Sweat Equity. Even if some of
you have a millionaire's budget, you need to learn how to do things for yourself,
and
be willing to get your hands dirty. In a societal collapse, the division of
labor will be reduced tremendously. Odds are that the only "skilled craftsmen" available
to build a shed, mend a fence, shuck corn, repair an engine, or pitch manure
will be you.and
your family. A byproduct of sweat equity is muscle tone and proper body weight.
Hiring someone to deliver three cords of firewood is a far cry from
felling, cutting, hauling, splitting, and stacking it yourself.
Choose Your Friends Wisely. Associate yourself with skilled
doers, not "talkers." Seek out people that share your
outlook and morality. Living in close confines with other families is sure
to cause friction but that will be minimized if you share a common religion
and norms of behavior.You can't learn every skill yourself. Assemble a team
that
includes members with medical knowledge, tactical skills, electronics experience,
and traditional practical skills.
There is No Substitute for Mass. Mass stops bullets. Mass
stops gamma radiation. Mass stops (or at least slows down ) bad guys from entering
a home and depriving its residents of life and property. Sandbags are cheap,
so buy plenty of them. When planning your retreat house, think: medieval
castle.
(See the SurvivalBlog Archives for the many articles and letters on Retreat
Architecture.)
Always Have a Plan B and a Plan C. Regardless of your pet
scenario and your personal grand plan of survival, you need to be flexible
and adaptable. Situations and circumstances change. Always keep a G.O.O.D. kit
handy, even if you are fortunate enough to live at your retreat year-round.
Be Frugal. I grew up in a family that still remembered both
our pioneer history and the more recent lessons of the Great Depression. One
of our family mottos is: "Use
it up, wear it out, make do, or do without."
Some Things are Worth Fighting For. I encourage my readers
to avoid trouble, most importantly via relocation to safe areas where trouble
is unlikely to come to visit. But there may come an unavoidable day that you
have
to
make a stand to defend your own family or your neighbors. Further, if you value
your liberty, then be prepared to fight for it, both for yourself and for
the sake
of
your progeny.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Notes from JWR: »
Getting from Point A to Point B, by E.I.D.
You’ve got your Bug Out Bags (BOBs) all packed. You’ve prepped
your house for
whatever reason you’re leaving. You’ve made contact with what family
you could, and you trust the rest to meet you at your designated meeting place,
whether it’s your retreat or just a spot along the way where your two paths
converge. Everything is set. Or is it? Points A and B are ready, but how do you
plan to make the trek between them?
Walking is always an option, but probably a last resort. Most people aren’t
in good enough shape to walk ten miles, let alone 100 and over the course of
a few days. Cramps and blisters become unbearable, and joints seize up. Adverse
weather, whether hot or cold, can become lethal. Other humans (travelers, police,
military) can be dangers, and so can feral and wild animals. Not to mention,
you can only bring what you can carry. Walk if you must, but don’t let
it be plan A. In fact, keep it at plan D or further.
A bike is a good option, but again, requires some level of fitness. Bikes can
be fitted with cargo containers on the front and back (as well as new packs that
strap to the frame), and thus allow you to carry more than you could on foot.
However, a bike presents a new group of possible problems that must be addressed,
and therefore you should always attach the following to your bike frame or in
an attached pack or basket: a tire pump (foot pumps are best as they are smaller),
a tire patch-kit, a small can of leak-stop, and tools to reset the chain should
it pop loose. Reflectors and a headlight for your bike is a must for night-riding,
and some are available that are powered by your pedaling, much like a hand-cranked
flashlight. Otherwise, pack extra batteries. There are solid foam rubber inner
tubes that will eliminate your need for a patch kit, but there are many mixed
reviews on these tubes, because they tend to also decrease energy efficiency.
A mountain bike will allow you to ride off-road should the need arise, but again,
you lose energy efficiency over a road bike. If you’re in excellent shape,
efficiency might not be as big an issue for you – likewise if you’re
not too far from your retreat. Take all this into consideration. A bike with
multiple gears is better for energy efficiency, but it also presents more moving
parts which can break along the way. To maximize your chances of making it on
a bike, fitting your bike with a small gasoline powered engine is best.
These small gasoline engines turn your bike into a virtual moped. You get up
to speed by pedaling and then engage the engine. These engines can get up to
250 miles per gallon going 25 mph on flat road. Unfortunately, they may only
hold a gallon of gas. However, you can easily fit a 2 gallon jerry can (or jug,
if you’re in a hurry) of gasoline in the back basket of your bike, and
refill along the way, if your destination is further than 250 miles. You might
say “motorcycles get good miles per gallon too” and you would be
right, but they also require a lot more investment and maintenance than a bike,
and aren’t as easily strapped to the back of a larger vehicle. If you’re
considering buying one, ask yourself “Do I want a motorcycle because it’s
a practical form of transportation, or because I think its cool?” I would
ask you to reconsider and look into a newer-model moped. They can go fast enough
for practical purposes, get great miles per gallon, and if they break down, they
simply turn into a bicycle! I call that insurance. Unlike a motorcycle, you can
carry
a moped across otherwise impassable obstacles (such as streams or deep
mud),
and
if you crash, you don’t have to worry about it crushing you. Mopeds get
100-150 miles per gallon, and most only hold a gallon of gas. Is your bug-out
site 100 to 150 miles away? If not, can you easily and safely carry enough gas
to make up the difference? If not, how far will you be pedaling the moped after
it runs out, and on what kind of terrain? You can always pedal in the straight-aways
and down-hills, saving your gas for the difficult stretches, but this is still
not your best option, obviously. Ideally, you want an automobile.
An automobile is something you don’t want to be without in a bug-out scenario,
if you can help it. Most of us have vehicles, but not every vehicle is created
equal. However, I’m not going to discuss what vehicles are the best, because
not many of you are going to go out and buy a new vehicle to prepare for an arguably
improbable contingency, and anyway, plenty of good articles already exist on
the subject of bug-out vehicles. Any vehicle is better than no vehicle, but there
are things you can do to your existing vehicle
to make it not
only
better
prepared
for bugging out, but also better prepared for everyday life.
First, how many miles per gallon does your car/truck get? What size is the fuel
tank? Multiply your MPG by the size of your tank, and that’s how far you’re
going to get before your car becomes nothing more than a metal tent. For example,
my car gets 24 MPG on average, and I have a 15 gallon tank. That means I can
probably drive about 360 miles, but that’s going to vary depending on weather,
wind, temperature, terrain and even how much I’ve packed. I recently spent
a minor amount of money on a tune-up, lube, tire-rotation, and a few small items
that improve my vehicle’s MPG. These included a fuel magnetizer, a performance
chip, and an air-intake insert. Each item is supposed to improve MPG by about
2, but in reality, they might raise my MPG to 25 or 26. Still that would extend
my viable mileage to roughly 390 miles. That’s an extra 30 miles on the
same tank of gas, and that’s nothing to scoff at! Don’t you think
that’s worth it? [JWR Adds: Magnetic "fuel economy" devices have been tested extensively by Popular Science magazine (and others), and have been proven to have no effectiveness. Don't bother.] In the meantime, with rising fuel prices, you’ll
be saving gas and money… so why wouldn’t you invest in these things?
There is more I can do, as well, including getting a better air filter, keeping
my tires at the correct pressure, using a fuel-additive, keeping my tires aligned,
and practicing my “light-foot” driving, meaning attempting to keep
my RPMs
at a low constant while driving. There are probably body modifications that will
improve airflow, and replacement parts that will perform more efficiently
than the stock parts currently under my hood. All of these are sound investments
during the current fuel crisis, even if you never have to bug out. Perhaps a
more automotively informed reader can compile a list of these parts and modifications – I,
on the other hand, will merely encourage you to seek them out and invest in them.
However, we are assuming that gas stations will either sell-out, close, or be
so inundated with customers after a crisis that you’ll have to rely on
a single tank of gas. If you don’t think this is realistic, just look back
at what happened on 9-11. People sprinted to the pumps so fast that many stations
ran out, had lines around the block, or, in the case of a certain establishment
in my home town, raised prices 300% and illegally reaped the benefits of the
panic. If that happens, and you’ve only got a quarter tank, it doesn’t
matter what your MPG is, as you’re only going to be able to go 1/2 of your
total distance. You can avoid this by filling up your tank more often. You’ll
pay the same amount, but in smaller portions and more often. Try filling up every
time you get to half a tank, and then eventually every time you get down to 3/4
of a tank. You may find that you prefer it, as it doesn’t feel like you’re
just dropping fifty bucks into your fuel-tank. You’ll also rest easy knowing
you can easily drive nearly your vehicle's full range at a moment’s notice.
If you have a gas can at home for fueling the mower, keep it full as well. Fill
it every time you see gas prices drop, and tell yourself you’re just saving
money by stocking up while the prices are low. If you suddenly have to leave,
you can use rope or bungee cables to strap the gas can to the luggage rack atop
your car, or throw it in the bed of your truck. Try to avoid putting it inside
the car with you, as this is very dangerous on many levels, but if you have
to,
you can put it in the trunk as a last resort. Be sure to open the trunk every
so often to allow any possible fumes to dissipate (or open the windows if you
keep it inside the cab), and pour it into the main tank as soon as the tank will
take it, rather than waiting until you run out.
What about the other problems
that are possible with an automobile? In order to build a list of priorities,
first ask yourself “What could happen to
my car that would make it impossible for me to drive it?” Then, go down
the list and say “Which of these things has ever happened to me? Which
have happened to people I know? Which are probable? Which can I possibly prepare
for and fix on the road?” For example, you simply can’t prepare
for total engine failure, brake failure, transmission failure, a broken axel,
etc… unless
you perceive these as likely problems with your specific automobile, in which
case you should get them fixed before an emergency occurs, because problems
like this are next to impossible to fix in the field (for an average Joe like
me,
anyway).
What
common problems can you prepare for? Easy ones include: flat tires, blown
fuses, low fluids, dead battery, burned out lights, leaky hoses and low fuel
(which we’ve already discussed).
Preparing for these problems will allow you to save yourself from the hassle
and cost of towing your vehicle, and possibly even the cost of taking it to
a mechanic, depending on the severity of the problem and the quality of your
repair.
Obviously, some problems will have to be addressed by a mechanic, but a quick
fix on your part can get you out of a sticky situation. For example, if you
break down on a small highway outside a small town and there aren’t any mechanics
open on Sunday, then you’re faced with either paying a huge towing fee,
or spending the night in said small town until the next day, at which time the
mechanic will surely overcharge you because you’re a know-nothing townie
who’ll never be back that way again. It’s not like you’ll have
many options at that point.
To begin, ascertain the current qualities of your car regarding its current
equipment and space for additional storage of emergency supplies. Does your
car have a
spare tire? Is it a full size tire or a donut? If at all possible, you should
have a full size spare. Next time you get your tires replaced, have the one
in best condition placed in your trunk as your spare, or purchase a cheap refurbished
tire for the same purpose. Give the donut to the mechanic for a discount. A
full
sized spare will allow you to carry on as before after changing a flat, unlike
a donut which will require you to drive slowly and avoid adverse terrain. If
you can’t fit a full sized spare in your car, then consider repairing the
flat with a patch kit. A patch/plug kit is cheap, easy to use, but will also
require the purchase of a tire pump. Small electric pumps can be purchased that
will plug into your cigarette lighter and take up very little space. If you don’t
like to rely on your car battery, you can get chargeable emergency-starter/air-compressor
combo units that work great, or you can simply pack a bicycle foot pump (yes,
it will take a while to fill a car tire with it, but that’s what they did
in the old days, and you’ll do what you have to do when the need arises). “Where
should I keep all this stuff!?” you ask.
Does your car have extra cargo storage in the spare tire compartment, in or
around the spare? Are there other side compartments in the trunk? Drivers of
trucks
won’t need to worry about this, and should merely get a metal truck-toolbox,
plastic toolbox, or cargo box to store their supplies in. If you don’t
have storage space, a smaller cargo box can also be purchased (or built) to fit
in your trunk. I would suggest including the following in that box:
1. Non-electronic tire gauge
2. Extra fuses
3. Roll of duct tape for securing a cracked window or fixing a leaky hose (or
a million other things)
4. Hand crank LED flashlight
(or standard bright light and extra lithium batteries)
5. Jumper cables
6. Tire plug/patch kit
7. Small electric air compressor, or a foot-pump, if you’re a hoss
8. A couple extra head/tail light bulbs
9. Small bottles of replacement fluids (oil, coolant, power-steering fluid
with leak-stop, transmission fluid)
10. A couple of rags
11. Lock de-icer (which does you no good if you leave it in the car during
a freeze. If you suspect cold weather and a possible freeze, keep it outside
the
car.
12. Some strong rope. How much? Enough to tie your trunk down, tie something
to the luggage rack, or tie to the car to pull and dislodge it if stuck.
13. A fuel siphon hose and pump (inertial pumps are cheap and work well)
14. Bungee cords
If there’s room, you could also put your car-BOB in this box. You should
also keep the following in the glove box: an electronic tire gauge, a small
flashlight, an ice scraper, and a solid multi-tool with a knife blade. The
pliers-style multi-tools
are best, as they can be used to break out the car windows in an emergency.
Just grip the pliers’ handles together, holding them upside down, and
smash the nose end of the pliers against the window with a hammer-fist motion.
The
localized force should make short work of the window, though repeated blows
in the same spot might be necessary.
Everyone should also keep wet-naps and napkins in their glove-box, as they’re
not only useful for everyday cleaning, but also for limited first aid applications:
clean the wound with a wet-nap, cover it with a few tightly folded napkins,
and hold this down with some duct tape from the trunk. I also suggest that
everyone
put a magnetic key-box under their car with a spare key in it, because your
fancy keyless entry is worthless when its attached to your keychain…and
you lose your keys or lock them in your car. Don’t put the magnetic key-box
in an easily visible and accessible spot where any Joe can look under
your car
and see it, but in a safe, inconspicuous spot such as on the top surface of
an exposed portion of the frame or any metal component, between the gas tank
and
gas tank shield (if your car has one), or under/behind a bumper. If Joe is
looking for a key-stash, he’s likely moving quickly. He’s going
to look under many cars, quickly, until he finds an easy target, or a car with
an easily seen
and easily accessible key-box.
There are a few optional tools you might consider to further your preparedness,
the most logical and pragmatic of which is the battery jump-starter. They aren’t
cheap, but they aren’t expensive either, and depending on the environment
and circumstances in which your battery dies, you may either not see another
passerby or you may not want to see another passerby. A dead battery is one
of those problems that require a second, working battery in order to give it
life.
In place of a second, running vehicle driven by a stranger, you can purchase
a battery jump-starter. Most will simply plug into your cigarette lighter or
home wall socket until charged, and in the event of a dead battery, will jumpstart
the car. Most also have sockets to run electrical appliances for a short time,
such as your electric tire compressor, if your car’s electrical systems
fail. In older cars, this is no big deal, as the car will still run with a
dead battery or bad wiring (as long as you can jump-start it). I once had a
car in
which the electrical systems fried while I was driving. Everything electrical
shut off, and smoke poured out of the dash and from under the hood. However,
the car was already running, and I easily drove it across town to the mechanic
(with the windows down). In newer cars, where the engine and electrical systems
are interdependent, an electrical failure could mean that your car isn’t
going anywhere. Many of the higher-end battery jump-starters actually have
air-compressors, lanterns, and even radios built right in. That way, you can
save money and cargo
space by consolidating.
Another practical device to have on hand is a handheld CB radio. I have one
that fits into a box about the size of a bible and plugs into the cigarette
lighter.
There’s a magnetic antenna that you put up on the roof, and then you’ve
got instant communication. This is a good option for maintaining communication
while traveling with other cars in case your cell phone either loses service
or runs out of power. I’ve personally used it during a traffic jam to
listen in on the truckers as they informed one another on the situation. It
can also
be used to ask other unknown drivers for directions, stop suggestions, and
even to call for help in the event of an emergency. It’s also good, in
addition to the poncho and cold weather gear undoubtedly already in your BOB,
to keep
a good pair of athletic shoes in the car. If you are forced out on your bike
or on foot, you don’t want to be stuck wearing the dress shoes you had
on at work when you were forced to flee.
So, what’s the best practical option for bugging out? Max out your vehicle’s
MPG, equip it with a BOB and an emergency box, buy a bike rack for the back
of your vehicle, buy a good bike and equip it with cargo baskets, an emergency
repair pack and a small gasoline moped-motor, buy a large gas can and a small
gas can and keep them full in your tool shed. Ride the bike when running short
errands to stay in shape. Use the moped motor on your bike to run medium range
errands, pedal when you can to stay in shape, and bring the groceries home
in the cargo baskets. Drive your car on long errands and save money because
you
maxed out the MPG. Put your bike on your vehicle’s bike rack and take
it with you on long trips; ride your bike around the downtown area of wherever
you’re
going, or perhaps just from the hotel to the nearby restaurant. Save Gas. Stay
in shape. Have fun. Can you argue with any of that? Can you!?
Boom. The Schumer hits the fan. You’ve got to get outta town. No problem,
your gas tank is 1/2 full. You top it off with your large gas can, and put
the remainder in your bike’s moped-motor. You attach the bike to the
bike-rack and bungee the small gas can into its cargo basket. You load up and
you’re
on your way. You have a flat outside of town. No problem, you change the tire
and you’re on your way… or you would be, but the car won’t
start. No problem, you use your battery jump-starter and you’re on your
way. You have another flat. Son of a… no problem, you patch the hole
with your patch kit, air up the tire with your small electric compressor, and
you’re
on your way. The car starts to overheat. No problem, you refill the coolant,
turn on the heater, open the windows and you’re on your way. You stop
make a quick stop the urinate by the roadside…oh wait, you locked your
keys in your car. No problem, you’ve got a spare hidden under the back
bumper, and you’re on your way. You’re getting pretty low on gas,
so you go ahead and pour your small gas can into the car’s tank. A while
later, you’re getting low again, but before you can do anything about
it, you look up from the gas gauge in time to see a sedan stalled in the middle
of the
road. Too late.
You smash into it, totaling your car. You have a gash on your left arm from
the window, but otherwise, you’re okay. The seatbelt won’t unbuckle,
so you get your multi-tool from the glove box and cut it. You also bandage
the gash on your arm with napkins and duct tape. You can do a better job later
with
the med-kit in your BOB. The car’s power is still on, so you plug
in your CB and
check all channels. Nothing. No problem, you top off the charge of
your battery jump-starter using the car’s battery, and load it and your
CB into the cargo basket of your bike. You use your hose and pump to siphon
the fuel from your car into the small gas can. You try to do the same to the
sedan,
but it’s got a valve in the fuel intake preventing you from doing so.
No problem, you check to make sure the sedan’s engine is cool, and then
use your knife and cut the fuel line. Being careful to avoid the initial spray,
you
drain what you can into the small gas can, and bungee it into your bike’s
other cargo basket. You plug your CB into the jump-starter and set it on scan.
You strap your BOB onto your back [or mo-ped cargo rack] and your athletic
shoes on your feet, and start pedaling down the road, saving the motor for
when you
get tired.
Eventually, you do get tired, and you ride a few hours on the motor. A day
or so later, and you’re out of gas. Luckily, you can still siphon fuel from
any abandoned vehicles you find, or walk the bike up the hills and then jump
on and coast down the other side. Eventually, you make it to your destination.
No, obviously not all of these problems would occur in such rapid succession.
Maybe none of them would, or perhaps one or two… or maybe more. This
story illustrates, however, how a little planning can prepare you for any combination
of likely problems that stand between you and your destination. You never know
when a problem will occur or and what problem it will be, and spending a little
money now on things that will benefit you regardless in the meantime
will save you from uttering the following words in a real emergency: “Aw
crud… if
only I had…”
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Letter Re: Using Dry Chlorine for Water Treatment
Jim::
To answer Steve W.'s question: "How much dry chlorine would be
needed
to make a one gallon batch of standard 5.25% chlorine bleach?":
In the conversion of dry hypochlorite to liquid (bleach), since all
the percentages are by weight, it is easy to calculate the amount needed
to reconstitute
5.25%
hypochlorite bleach. Since dry is about 55% active, it should be diluted
roughly 10-fold by weight (one pound to 10 pounds water). So, you would need
8/10 pound
or about 12 ounces per gallon of reconstituted liquid bleach. Then the standard
formulas could be applied for the final mixing with water for sanitizing.
Safety Warning: Be very careful when mixing dry hypochlorite
with water, add it slowly and watch for overheating and beware of splashing. Wearing
goggles for eye protection is mandatory! Cheers. - JB in Nashville
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| The ABCs of WTSHTF, by Mark B. »
Letter Re: Caustic Chlorine Troubles, and Using Dry Chlorine for Water Treatment
Dear Jim:
As you know, ordinary chlorine bleach is an item with a multitude of potential
uses in survival situations. In addition to its common use in the laundry to
brighten our whites, it can also purify drinking water and serve as a general
disinfectant to sanitize food preparation areas and control the spread of disease
causing bacteria.
Liquid chlorine bleach, however, is inconvenient to store. Only about 5.25%
- 7.5% of each eight pound gallon is active sodium (or calcium) hypochlorite;
the rest is just water. Yet because of the potency of its active ingredient,
and the flimsiness of typical plastic bleach bottles, it poses a constant risk
to everything stored near it.
One potential solution is to store concentrated dry chlorine granules; commonly
available as swimming pool shock treatment. Available in a wide variety of
sizes, swimming pool shock treatment typically contains from 50% - 60% active
calcium hypochlorite, making it much lighter in weight and 10 times as concentrated
as liquid bleach, but not susceptible to spilling and leaking risks. Theoretically,
it should be possible to make your own chlorine bleach by simply combining
the proper amount of water and dry granules.
I quickly discovered, however, that storing dry chlorine poses hazards of its
own. Initially, I purchased two 1 pound plastic bags of swimming pool shock
treatment and stored them in a small closet along with a variety of other preparedness
items. The granules generated a strong chlorine smell in the closet, but when
access was needed, opening the door for a minute or two would reduce the small
to a tolerable level.
About a year later, however, I went to reorganize the closet, and was startled
to find many things badly corroded by fumes from the granules. Several storage
tins were badly rusted, some 200-hour emergency candles in tins were nearly
rusted clear through, and the steel ends of some batteries were also corroded.
Surprisingly, even some lightweight cardboard boxes were so badly degraded
that they virtually disintegrated when handled, and a 10-page document (about
emergency water) which had been printed on our computer's inkjet printer was
virtually erased!
To combat these problems, I bought a fresh supply of (HTH brand $3.35/lb. at
Wal-Mart) chlorine granules and stored them in an all-glass canister with a
glass top, rubber ring, and spring wire snap latch ($4.44 at Wal-Mart) . That
has solved my storage problem.
In an article on emergency water purification, in addition to the old 10 drops
of bleach per gallon of clear water or 20 drops per gallon of cloudy formula;
I found this recipe for using granular pool chlorine:
For use in purifying drinking water, first prepare a stock solution of one heaping
teaspoon of granules dissolved in two gallons of water. This may then be mixed
at the
rate of 1 part
stock solution to 100 parts water for disinfection purposes. That would equal:
1 quart for 25 gallons, 6 1/2 ounces for five gallons, or 2 Tbsp. per gallon.
Jim, I wish you could help me find out: How much dry chlorine would be
needed to make a one gallon batch of standard 5.25% chlorine bleach?
I haven't been able to find that information anywhere! These HTH granules are
54% calcium hypochlorite.
Perhaps you or one of your chemistry-savvy readers could figure-out the correct
formula. Sincerely, - Steve W
JWR Replies:
It is best to keep your sodium hypochlorate in powdered form until just before
it is used. Once it is put in solution, it weakens over time. This
can create confusion
about its remaining concentration when it is eventually used to treat water. Back
in June of 2007, SurvivalBlog reader Terry M. kindly provided some
useful details on treating water with both commonly available forms of hypochlorate
powder. Perhaps some readers would care to chime in about the dry measure
required for making each gallon of liquid bleach. (I'm not a chemist!)
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Family Learning for Preparedness, by T.D. »
Letter Re: Advice on Purchasing Priorities For a Tight Budget
Mr. Rawles,
Hello again! Hope you and your family are doing well. I have had some questions
on my mind lately, and was curious if you would mind helping me. (I know you
must
be tremendously busy with our "strong" economy!). My wife and I are
both college students in Santa Cruz, California, and we have a very limited amount
of
storage space and limited income. Are there any tricks or pieces of advice you
have
for individuals like ourselves? I recently spent my tax refund on some firearms
(which
were from
a federal firearms dealer :-[ ) and now I was curious about the next step. I
contacted "Wiggy's" from your web site about some sleeping bags, but
feel like a water filter would be a better investment at the moment. Thanks
for your time!
OBTW, I feel like California is turning into a commune, I literally have
less freedoms than I had recently thought. - V. from California
JWR Replies: Given the mild climate on the California coast,
a water filter is much more important than cold weather gear for your next
purchase. I recommend the American-made Aqua Rain brand. These are similar
to the Big Berkey
(imported
from England),
but they only cost half as much. (The US Dollar's recent slip versus the British
Pound
has sadly further widened this price gap.) Please compare prices with our advertisers
such as Safecastle, JRH
Enterprises, and
Ready
Made Resources,
before buying
elsewhere. Next, consider buying from our affiliate advertisers like
Lehman's and
Nitro-Pak.
OBTW, if you contact any of our advertisers, then please mention where you
saw their ad. Thanks!
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: Using Natural Caves on Private Property »
Getting it All Together, Or, The Worst Pencil is Better than the Best Memory, by Sled238
If you are even moderately past the first stage of becoming prepared, you have
(or will have) the experience of finding things you had forgotten you had bought.
Yeah, Christmas! I thought, until it occurred to me that if I had needed that
item really, really badly, I would have just screwed up, big time. Cancel Christmas.
After the third – or was it sixth? – time reading "Patriots:
Surviving the Coming Collapse", it occurred
to me there was one thing I wish had made it into the book: the Gray's notebook.
Their preps notebook, to be more specific. Only thing I remember is the lists
on the
chipboard
Jim has been kind enough to share an abundance of gifts. In my opinion, one of
the
greatest
of these gifts is the List
of Lists.
What I had, was a pile of papers, which is not really useful
at all. So, I just got a bunch of clean paper, some pens, three-ring binders,
and here is what
I
did,
and how it got done:
Print out the Rawles List
of Lists, writing the title of each at the top of a
sheet of paper.
This page will be the rough draft page, and the info put on it will be used on
a separate template with the same name.
Lay out each rough draft paper where you can see it (I had the entire dining
room table, couch, and coffee table covered).
Go through your giant pile of disorganized papers, placing each article, story,
list, clipping, on the appropriate sheet, being sure not to cover the heading.
(Some files are really big (Flu pandemic PDF files
come to mind); set these aside
to be put in a reference binder – but make a note that you have this reference
On the page with the heading.)
Now, for those of you with awesome PC skills, format a template page as follows
(if no PC skills, pencil and ruler for you! LOL):
Heading, bold capital letters at top. WATER, for example.
Under this, make a section about one third of the sheet of paper (this section
is called info/notes/goals). Leave space for hand written notes, and make a horizontal
line at the bottom of this (again, this is about one third the way down the page).
Below this, the remaining two thirds of the page has two columns:
On the left: next steps, with a numbered list below.
On the right, three sections one atop the other:
Short term, with room for a few listed items;
medium term, with room for a few listed items;
long term. with room for a few listed items.
Something like this:
WATER
==================================
Info/ notes goals
==================================
Next steps short term
1 1
2 2
3 3
4 Medium term
5 1
6 2
7 3
8 Long term
9 1
10 2
11 3
(With a vertical line between the two columns.)
Print one of these forms for each list subject heading.
The real work begins.
We have a rough draft sheet with WATER written on it in pen, and also a template
with WATER in the heading.
I took the rough draft page, and really quickly, listed every thought I had about
water as it concerns my preps. Something like …I have about 8 big water
cooler bottles in the basement; have two hand water filters, one is not made
anymore, the other I can still get filters for; have a base camp filter, do not
remember what type of replacement filters it takes; want a big berky filter,
need to find best price; can you drink swimming pool water? I need to stock more
bleach, can you use dry bleach as well?...
This is your rough draft page, questions page, and brainstorming page.
Do this with every heading.
So, now, on my fancy template, in the first section, is info about drops of bleach
per two liter bottles for purifying. Also, is a reference to a PDF form about
sand water filter construction, kept in a bigger, separate binder called Reference.
In the bottom right section, under short term, I have listed the amount of water
I have on hand or have immediate access to.
Under Medium term (middle box), I have my various filters listed with prices
for replacement filters.
Under Long term, I need info on a manual pump for my well, possibly a solar powered
setup, if feasible.
Move to the left, to next steps.
I know I have to rotate the stored water, so I write "Enter water rotation
date on master yearly calendar list". I also know I need a little more bleach,
so I note that. I might put in a note to price filters, and one more to see how
much power my well requires to pull up water, so as to further develop or drop
the solar power train of thought.
Now, do this with every heading.
With a new sheet of paper, flip through the notebook, taking at least two next
steps from each heading, and make a quick and dirty "Next Steps" list.
This will not be pretty, because you will, I am sure, be crossing off the next
steps in a lively and methodical fashion. Those of you in the know will understand
how this list can become a "thickly padded clipboard". (An inside joke,
if you have not yet read "Patriots".)
Pretty simple, I know.
I would say "The end", but we all know we are just now entering the
beginning.
Now, go and execute your next steps. - Sled238
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Letter Re: Observations on Chest Freezer Efficiency
Hi Jim,
I was reading Monday’s letter regarding “Sizing a Retreat AC Power
Generator”, and a thought came to mind when the author mentioned super-insulating
a freezer for extended cooling durations. There are basically 2 types of freezer;
the upright and the box, (what we call around here, the “coffin” freezer).
Given the same basic amount of insulation included with each type, to the point
where both manage the loss of cooling at the same rate, the “coffin” appears
to be more efficient during access.
Cold air sinks. When the door of an upright freezer is opened, the cold air
inside will pour out, much like you would expect water would pour out of it
in the same circumstances. The cold sinks and falls out the front, and is replaced
by warmer air from above. While the contents of the freezer chill the incoming
air immediately, and give the impression that things are staying cold due to
that same recently-chilled air passing over your face, in reality, heat is
being absorbed by everything inside the freezer.
When you open the door of a box freezer, the cold has nowhere to go. There
is disturbance of the upper layer of air as the door opens, and there is also
a heat exchange effect at the boundary of the two layers, the vast majority
of cold air remains in the box. A box freezer thus saves on the energy needed
to take the temp down to its set level after opening the door.
Here’s a tip for preserving low temps for those with upright freezers.
Keep as much food as possible inside the freezer. The more frozen stuffs you
have, the less space warm air has to occupy. Cold food loses temp much much
slower than displaced air does, and with this practice in place, the door may
remain open for longer periods as junior tries to decide on rocky road or vanilla
(the only real flavor on earth…) ice-cream. The remaining low volume
of air will chill much faster after the door has been closed, and the energy
required to do this will be less as well. This is good for post-TEOTWAWKI as
well as everyday living.
We prefer our “coffin” for bulk storage. It’s easier to keep
our prey “on ice”. - Randy in Central
California
JWR Replies: I agree wholeheartedly that it is important
to keep a chest freezer full. Not only will it mean less cold air spilling
out, but their thermal mass will also provide more of a time lag before defrosting,
in the event of a
power failure. Here at the ranch, we fill up any extra chest freezer space
with used one-gallon plastic milk jugs that have been 3/4ths-filled with water.
« Letter Re: Practical Bookbinding for Your Downloaded Survival References |Main| Letter Re: Sizing a Retreat AC Power Generator »
A Flooded Basement - Friends You Can Count On, and Lessons Learned
Mr. Rawles,
Once again, thank you for your research and SurvivalBlog posts.
I have been a [10
Cent Challenge] contributor for a couple of years and have gotten more
than my money's worth. Thank you.
Last night my group and I met at my home. Here in New Hampshire we received
a record amount of snow fall this year. (Over 108 inches!) That is the fourth
largest
every
recorded.
Yesterday it was warmer then normal there for a lot of snow melt. Last night
it rained.
As the group was getting ready to head to the range for night shooting I went
to my basement to get my ammo. I found 18 to 24" of water down there.
All the water was running in off the roadway and into my basement.
Thank you for your writings. [Because of advice in SurvivalBlog] everything
was in Mylar bags in five gallon buckets, floating. I went to turn on my submersible
pump
that
I have not
had
to use
for years
and it did not work. I started bailing with buckets. We attempted to get a
siphon going with out success. My son went to Home Depot--one of the few stores
still
open--and was
able to rent a large 2" diameter pump. That emptied the basement in about two hours.
The hot water heater was damaged. I had sand bags that we used in the basement
to keep the water in one area once it started to rain again. It was like a
water fall coming in the basement at time. The sand bags worked great creating
a pool in that area for the pump to work. We dug a trench out side in the driveway
to get the water to go into the back yard. Using spades, shovels and axes that
we had on hand. We dug out the culvert that that the highway department should
have kept opened and that I should have kept checking. Once that was open it
stopped raining
but it should keep the water out with everything else we did.
One of the members of our group is a tech for a propane company and he was
able to get the hot water heater up and going with the tools and supplies we
had on hand. He was able to make sure the furnace was going well.
A couple of lessons: You need good people that you can trust.
We were going over our bug out plans and storage plans for the retreat prior
to heading to
the
range. You have to plan for the future but live in the here and now.
We have different people with different skills. Once is a propane tech, one
is a mechanic, one an administrator, one good in first aid and one security
- defensive
person. All of them have various skills that are needed. I had a stash of cash
on hand to purchase or rent the pump and anything else needed last night.
Having a good working pump would have been invaluable. I have a stream that
flows all year long in my yard and I could even use a good pump for fire control
if needed. That will be on the list now.
I once again thank the Lord for his providence. - New Hampshire Hillbilly
« Four Letters Re: Sizing a Retreat AC Power Generator |Main| Notes from JWR: »
Unconventional Bug-Out Transportation Methods, by A. Taylor
I read with interest the inquiry about, what I term a "Bug out Boat".
I made this recommendation several years ago, in numerous survival forums.
Most
readers seemed unable to process the potential for this kind of plan or it
seemed to
be impractical
to them
compared
to hunkering
down or egress by vehicle. I would advocate that the more eclectic methods
of egress from chaos may hold greater potential for success than some mainstream
ones. Traditional modes of travel in the modern age are easily controlled by
the powers that be, accidents, infrastructure break down, computer problems,
electricity (can you say "grid down"?), etc. How many have actually
considered (much less planned?) on using the following practical means of getting
from
Point A to B (whether a short or long distance).
1. Walking- hard work but very quiet and stealthy. Drawback- slow.
2. Bicycle. As long as you can keep your tires inflated, you can travel [at
least] three times as fast than as on foot. Drawback- awkward to carry equipment unless you buy a trailer or stroller for the back.
3. Boat/canoe- Who is going to blockading the river or watching it? The river
does the work for you if your are going down steam. The preferred method of
choice for hundreds of years by Native Americans, trappers, traders, frontiersmen,
market hunters, settlers and soldiers.
4. Snowmobile- Don’t worry about the roads being open. Just try to follow
me in/on anything else. Drawback-seasonal.
5. Skis- No trail, no problem. Drawback-seasonal.
6. Motorcycle- Easy to get around that road block isn’t it? Just try to
follow me through the woods in your squad car.
7. Ice skates- many frontiersmen/trappers traveled this way up river systems. Drawback-Seasonal.
8. Roller blades-the modernized society equivalent of ice skates. Drawback-Seasonal and depends upon roads and sidewalks being in place.
9. Horse/Horse and wagon/Horse and sleigh - has both advantages/disadvantages, accessibility issues, and disadvantages, but you won't need electricity to keep them going. Drawback-you have to pay to feed/house them.
10. Dog sled- For those in the far North. Drawback-Seasonal.
11. Para-planes –fuel efficient, no license needed, can land in small areas.
12. Light aircraft- expensive but they are what they are.
13. Freight trains/barges/cargo ships- It seems no matter how much chaos a country descends into, occasionally a train, barge, cargo ship goes somewhere. Drawback-Can be Seasonal depending on low water levels, ice, snow.An undependable mode of transport to plan on using.
The reason you haven’t considered these methods is because we as Americans
are too d--n lazy and we carry around too much stuff. If your supplies are pre-positioned,
you will need very little physically on you.
We as Americans are pre-conditioned to think first and foremost of the family
vehicle almost exclusively. Unless you have a full tank of gas when the grid
goes down or an EMP-resistant
vehicle, you're screwed for any number of reasons. Your going to be thrust down
a channelized highway of horrors (just ask anyone
who has fled a hurricane inland). This highway can easily be barricaded by law
enforcement, the military, gangs, or a group of local idiots. Accidents, traffic
jams and lack of fuel will prevent you from getting out of the area at the speed
which you anticipated.
Not only may you be stripped of your dignity, you may be stripped of all your
supplies, valuables, clothes and chastity. If you are counting on the herd to
protect you from harm, I have news for you, they will readily look on while you
are assaulted (and hope it doesn’t happen to them) and/or they will participate
in plundering your belongings (see Katrina stories). If psychologically less
than 5% of the population is prepared to act as a warrior or protectors of the
flock, which leaves potentially 95% of the population as someone who will not
come to your aid or will prey upon you given the situation. I prefer to believe
that there is a percentage of 20% of Christians, rural or generally good people,
that may not physically risk their life for you, but are none the less, good
people who might assist you in other ways. Your car may be a false hope that
ends up getting you into a more dire situation or delaying critical choices that
need to be made before you start out.
For our purposes I am going to concentrate on canoes and Jon boats. Those heavy
ski boats, yachts and sailboats will only work for limited distances or in limited
places. If you live near the ocean or the Great Lakes , they will work just fine.
If your only using you ski boat to go across the lake or 20 miles down the river,
it may work out for you. Do not, however, plan on using them
to navigate the Missouri , Mississippi , Ohio River 's drainage basins. Those
rivers have locks
and dams
aplenty that you may not be able to portage or pass through in a worst case scenario.
Many of the rivers in the Northwest and Southwest are in a similar state except
the dams are bigger and often not designed to accommodate navigation (Think of
the Bonneville Dam at the Columbia River Gorge, Grand Coulee Dam and over 225
others in the Columbia River Basin . Hoover/Boulder Dam. Upper Mississippi has
38. The Ohio River has around 30, but the Lower Mississippi has none. Missouri
River
has none from St. Louis to Sioux City Iowa, but the headwaters have numerous
Dams
and Reservoirs). If the locks have no electricity or they have been told by the
military or police not to let anyone through, you’re a sitting duck and
it may be game over.
In many parts of the country the boat may be a preferred method because it is
stealthy, uses little fuel, can be suitable entirely without fuel, will never
be subject to the same amount of usage demands as the highways, will be noticed
less by the public/looters/law enforcement/military. The majority of motors out
there should be 2 cycle. These are more EMP-resistant
and easy to work on.. Most boats will
still remain functional
even
while
leaking or having holes shot in them. You would have to be taking on a lot of
water from holes below the waterline to make it untenable to remain afloat.Many
boats will contain buoyant materials designed to keep the boat afloat.
A Marina
may be more likely to have fuel available than any gas station. (Note:
Kevlar was sometimes used as a hull material for some larger and more expensive
ski boats, since it stronger than fiberglass.)
Most of the major river systems are about a half mile across. If you stick to
the middle of the channel, anyone trying to shoot at you will have make a shot
of an average of a quarter mile. Call me optimistic, but most of the people shooting
at you from that distance are more likely to hit you by accident than on purpose.
An old USGI Kevlar
vest will provide some ballistic protection for your motor
or
fuel
supply. Most bridges will not be suitable for either looters/military/police
to set up on, and fire directly down upon you, unless the entire bridge is shut
down to traffic. In most cases, anyone trying to get at you will not have any
guarantee of actually boarding your vessel. Even if they managed to kill you,
your supplies would continue to float down stream and out of their reach. This
may discourage any but the most criminally motivated elements of society. I happen
to believe that I have a better chance to survive in the water as on any interstate
or major highway. If you should happen to run into a motivated criminal element
in speed boats, either flee, beach your craft and run, or turn and fight with
everything you have. Chances are they won’t want to mess with heavily armed
elements on a flat surface with virtually no cover. A bow-mounted belt-fed Browning
[Model
1919A4
machinegun or semi-auto equivalent, mounted on a larger boat] would chop any
attackers
watercraft
into
matchsticks
in
no
time
at
all.
(I
am
not endorsing it. I’m just saying it’s a nice idea to consider.)
In the first two weeks of a catastrophe, a miniscule number of people are going
to be watching the rivers or lakes. They will be down looting televisions and
liquor. The cops will be at roadblocks and chasing looters and arsonists.
Your
main antagonists are likely to be; federal employees manning the locks/dams,
Conservation Officers (since they already have lots of boats, the military (probably
a naval reserve unit) or in certain instances, the US Coast Guard. None of this
group is usually looking for trouble on the water and Conservation Officers are
notoriously cautious when working alone. It's too easy for them to just "disappear".
The larger the body of water (in square miles or distance from shore), the more
distance or greater buffer you can put between you and anyone who may wish you
harm. Night travel by water with no running lights and your motor off, will make
you nearly invisible to 99% of the population. Watch out for logs, snags and
sand bars and keep a watch out for other boats or you might well be sunk. Night
vision might be handy if traveling at night. Many duck and goose hunters have
metal supports for blind materials that could come in handy for camouflaging
your boat
if you choose to lay up during the day at some creek or island.
Your average inner city gang member doesn’t know how to operate a boat
and cant swim anyway, but don’t count on it. Even criminals near a resort/sailing/boating
area are sometimes familiar with boats. Ever heard of pirates and drug runners?
You could potentially carry much more equipment or personnel with you by means
of a boat. Several Jon boats/canoes can be lashed together or roped in parallel
(with the front boat pulling all the others in line). In this way you save fuel
and have spares engines at hand in case a motor conks out. A boat can theoretically
carry quite a load (much more than a car or small truck). However, remember anything
you put into a boat may have to be portaged across any barrier. If you don’t
like the idea of lugging it in and out of the boat many times, then don’t
take it along. If you read a book about fur traders or Lewis and Clark, they
often
spent an entire day (or days) at a portage site.
Say you come to an inoperable lock/dam, you find an area to unload, carry the
boat across land to a suitable location, carry the supplies to the boat, and
resume your journey. This will be fraught with peril and hard work. You will
need a crew. A minimum of one individual is needed to watch both locations (point
A to B) and you will need the individuals necessary to carry everything between
those points. The only way to avoid that is to do it so fast nobody notices or
take a canoe and only what's in your pack. If you try to navigate smaller rivers,
you will find yourself having to portage across every log jam. It's no fun, it's
frustrating and it's slow. You might be better off walking at that point unless
you will break through to a larger body of water that will make the endeavor
worthwhile.
In a freshwater area, you will have a supply of drinkable water (albeit full
of herbicide, fertilizer, and pesticide or toxic waste depending on the area).
This
is why you have a water filter, right? Food can be supplemented by fishing or
trolling (dragging a line behind the boat as you go). A small island might be
a good place to stop and cook lunch or dinner. Waste can be dumped over the side
or [better yet] buried p[when you go ashore.]
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Two Letters Re: Thoughts on Overseas Retreat Destinations
Sir,
I concur with David in Israel regarding overseas retreat destinations. Before
any of this discussion was brought up for survival locations, I entertained
the idea of relocating to New Zealand, but not for survival reasons. As much
as I am attracted there, I rule it out now. I also served in the Middle East
as a soldier and served in Moscow, in a different capacity. I spoke fluent
Russian at that time. Residing in a foreign country is just that, foreign.
Don't kid yourself, in a real situation, you don't have much of a chance,
even with family. Your best bet is to stay here and circle the wagons. Plus,
since you're reading this blog, we 'survivalists' all need you here so that
we can help each other. - Flhspete
Hi James,
I disagree with Tonga as a retreat location. I
spent six weeks sailing through and visiting most of the islands from the Ha’apai
group south including Lifuka, Oua, Nomuka, Kelfesia and Nuku Alofa. These islands
are small,
low lying and hit with tropical storms, including cyclones almost yearly. There
is severe lack of fresh water on most islands to the point that the Tongan
Navy has to supply some islanders with fresh water by boat. There is no way
for most of the islands to be self sustaining for more than a few dozen people
without resorting to “the other white meat”. Guns are heavily restricted,
and there were recent riots. The place is ripe for a coup.
Sail or fly there for a visit. You will have fun as the people are very friendly
and the water sports are very good. But don’t even consider it for a
retreat location. A far better choice would be the Marquesas islands. Even
though they are French controlled, the islands are very mountainous, sparsely
populated and have rich
soil. They are also out of most cyclone paths. Regards, - Bert W.
JWR Replies: Most of the islands in the Marquesas have unreliable
rains, and hence are overall worse than Tonga, in terms of water availability.
Like the rest of French Polynesia, residents of the Marquesas are
subject to some
draconian gun control laws, including universal registration. For that reason,
I don't recommend any of the French-administered islands. At least Tonga is
an independent, sovereign nation. I included it on the list mainly because of its reputation as a tax haven.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| The Credit Collapse--The World's Bankers Revert to Saying "No" »
Two Letters Re: Thoughts on Overseas Retreat Destinations
Mr. Rawles,
In looking through your great web site I can't tell if you've ever addressed
the issue of having a non-US retreat. There are some notable characteristics
of the USA that make it a less then optimal location in a TEOTWAWKI type
scenario. I think specifically of very heavy reliance on personal vehicles
and fossil
fuels, a general ignorance about growing food, preserving food, raising livestock.
There is a tremendous demographic heterogeneity ("diversity") that
in a crisis situation would become a very sore spot and possibly a source of
violence. Also a Federal government that has shown an inclination to trample
the rights of citizens when it is expedient to do so.
Having some familiarity with central Europe, I can tell you that the rural
peasantry will fare very well in a crisis situation. Agriculture is still animal-powered
in many areas. Self-sufficiency is the norm rather than the exception.
I would love to see you assess and evaluate various foreign sites as possible
retreat locations. The analysis that you have already done on the western states
is superb. Thanks much - Dr. R
Mr. Rawles,
First, I'd like to thank you for your work and dedication with SurvivalBlog.
You've been a guiding light in darkening times. Second, I'd like to ask about
your
thoughts on relocating to a retreat abroad?
For some context information, I'm a college student at a local private university;
by working two jobs, I've managed to avoid the average $30,000 in student loans
my peers have accumulated, and am down to only $9,000. I pay off my interest
as it accrues, and set aside about as much as I can spare for prepping every
paycheck. Last year, I started talking with my family about survivalism in
relation to our current times, and they're happily on board and setting things
aside as much as they can, as well. We've made it our goal to purchase our
retreat this year- we actually start looking at bookmarked properties the third
week of March - but as that I was assigned by family vote the family task of
deciding which properties we see, and where we look, I feel the express desire
to weigh as many potentially good options as possible.
Recently, the grandparents of a friend retired in Mexico; I had the opportunity
to meet them and discuss the venture, and was amazed to hear that, paperwork
aside, they were able to purchase several acres, build and furnish their own
home, as well as obtain several head of livestock, for under $80,000! In a
TEOTWAWKI situation, would one even perhaps be better off in a remote location
in Mexico that's already mostly self-sufficient in terms of agriculture, with
the advantage of being able to afford more for the money, than in the US?
Or, for that matter, in other such places in the world of similar condition,
like Romania, rural western Russia, (and etc.)? Admittedly, if there is ever
a popular anti-foreigner sentiment, that could be a key worry- the biggest
concern I've come across being that the foreign state could take away your
property at any time... but does that worry not also apply to the US, with
Eminent Domain? I understand that there's no quick or easy answer to this,
but I'm hoping that I might glean some better understanding through your experience,
and that of your readers.
Wishing well, - S.L.K.
JWR Replies: Becoming an expatriate retreater requires some
very careful study, consideration, and prayer. Many of the highly touted offshore
locales suffer
either from high crime rates, or have a high population density that would
be an issue in a grid-down collapse. Many of these same countries also have
restrictive laws on private firearms ownership,
so
that
makes self defense problematic. Despite these and other drawbacks, there are
a few offshore destinations that rate high on my list. These include New Zealand
(South Island), the Cook Islands, Niue, Tonga, Vanuatu, Bolivia, Chile, rural
portions of the Czech Republic, and the lower elevation cantons of Switzerland.
I would also
recommend Finland if it were not for its harsh climate.
I generally do not
recommend most of Latin America and the Caribbean because of high crime rates
(most notably property
crimes and murder.) Even Costa Rica, which is often touted as a "peaceful
haven", has a murder
rate higher than the U.S. (6.23 per 100,000, versus 5.9.) It also has a
nearly four times higher robbery rate, but a surprisingly low burglary rate.)
A lot of the Pacific Islands are not on my list because of either
draconian
gun
laws
or
a high level
of
systems
dependence.
Many of them are now dependent on food imports. (Nauru is
perhaps the worst in this regard. It could not even supply enough fresh drinking
water for its residents if international shipping
were to cease.)
I generally recommend moving to countries that share your language. But if
you have an "in" somewhere--namely relatives or close friends
that speak the native language and if they would be living on
the same property or contiguous property--then the language barrier is less
of an issue. But regardless, learn the local language and customs quickly.
You
should
consider
that education practically a full time job for your first few years.
The bottom line is that there is no single "perfect" retreat locale. There
are advantages and drawbacks wherever you go. Climate, taxes, gun laws, population
density, and crime rates are all trade-offs. Many of the locales that would
be idyllic in a grid-up situation might be a nightmare
if
grid-down.
But some countries might do very well in the absence of "the modern conveniences."
You will note that I have quite a few Pacific Islands on my list. In these
island
nations,
if
grid
power
were
interrupted,
I anticipate
that the locals would quickly revert to traditional fishing, gardening, gathering
fruit, hunting (bats, of all things!) and raising pigs.
« Letter Re: My Preparedness Plans Just Took an Unexpected Turn |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day: »
Self-Sufficiency in Northern Nevada
Over at the Bison Survival Blog (formerly called the Bison Newsletter), editor
Jim Dakin recently posted an interesting piece titled "Economics
of Self-Sufficiency." I recommend his blog, although it is with the
caveat that there is a lot of foul language posted there, especially in some
of the comments posted by readers.
For several years, Jim Dakin has advocated
the low cost retreating approach of
buying an
inexpensive
piece of land (what he calls "junk land"), and living very frugally,
with a large used travel trailer for shelter. Jim Dakin presently lives in
Carson City, Nevada, in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains. This
is an
area
that is in uncomfortably
close proximity to California's teeming masses. (38 million+, in a recent
estimate.) I wrote the following response to his post:
Jim:
Another reader wrote: "Moving to a homestead property is not for 'theorizing'
about.....it takes years and years to work out the bugs, and get a place in
shape enough to where
one
could actually survive on it without outside resources." I agree! Finding
plants that do well in your climate can take years. Growing fruit and nut trees
to producing maturity will take years! Unless it is a wet
climate, then you will have to live there year round to tend to your saplings.
Raising small livestock takes experience. You won't get that experience living
inside city limits.
I can attest from experience that it does indeed take several years to build
up a homestead to anything approaching self-sufficiency.
If high commuting costs are an issue, then I recommend that you do some research
and see what the farthest reach of the county commuter bus line is. In your
case, I wouldn't be surprised if the bus line goes as far as the town of Stagecoach
or perhaps all the way to the Lake Lahontan junction. If that doesn't work
out for you in Carson City, then do some research for Fernley, Winnemucca,
Ely, Tonopah, and perhaps Elko. Those locales might be more realistic.
Forget Garnderville. Your chance to buy land there ended a decade ago. Ditto
for the Washoe Valley and Lamoille. The only relatively cheap agricultural
land that I ever saw in northern Nevada was around Lovelock and Fallon. (That
was
five years ago. I'm not sure about
the prices there now.) I have my doubts about those towns in a grid
down situation--since
they are highly dependent on electrically pumped irrigation. At least Fallon
has a good irrigation ditch.
I also have my doubts about being so close to the I-80 corridor Golden
Horde route. (From a defensive/isolation standpoint, Ely or Tonopah make a lot more
sense.)
The real sticking point in Nevada is water. Generally, if you are close enough
to haul drinkable surface water (ponds, lakes, rivers), odds are that the land
will be too expensive to fit your "cheap junk land" model. In most
of the Humboldt basin the surface water is so alkaline that it isn't drinkable.
And if you buy land with a well, then you have the pumping issue. Photovoltaics
are expensive. Perhaps you could find a place with a traditional water-pumping
windmill.
Soil fertility is a huge issue in desert regions. It is realistic to expect
to be able to build up the fertility of a small plot for a vegetable garden.
(But again, that takes time.) However, bringing up the fertility of a whole
field for raising grain is a lot more problematic. Bottom line: Plan to buy
a lot of wheat to store.
Your situation is a lot like mine was, five years ago. My eventual solution
was to pull the plug completely from the wage earning/salaried world, and move
way out to a very lightly populated region, where the cost
of living is very low. But that isn't realistic for everyone. My advice is
to start looking for jobs in other cities where there is "junk"-priced
land nearby. Ely and Tonopah are probably your best bets. Because of the gold
mining boom around Elko (the "Carlin Trend" region), land prices
there are insane. I wish you the best in establishing your retreat.
« Letter Re: Homemade and Expedient Vegetable Oil Lamps |Main| Two Letters Re: Is Grain Sold as Seed or Animal Feed Safe to Eat? »
Three Letters Re: Frozen Livestock Water Tank Woes
Hi Jim,
I have not tried one
of these yet. But it seems like a good idea. - Paul D
Jim,
I came across this
interesting product while surfing the Internet a couple
of weeks ago. It is one possible solution to the problem of freezing livestock
tanks. The web site also mentions that insulating the sides of the tank helps
retain the heat. - Jeff
Good Evening Mr. Rawles;
In reference to the posting regarding heating a livestock tank, please review
this
web site.
I purchased one of these tubs and stoves several years ago but not for livestock
use. I do remember my grandfather having something similar at our farm when
I was growing up. When I visit my retreat in the winter and temperatures are
in the 0 degree range, I can fill the tub with well water and have it heated
to 100 degrees in about four hours. Maintaining the temperature is then relatively
easy, albeit the tub is covered with an insulated cover when not in use. Also
tubbin' temperatures are warmer than required for livestock watering temperatures.
As a secondary benefit, I keep the tub full during the non-freezing months
as it makes a great back-up source of water.
I am not affiliated with this vendor, just a satisfied customer.
Also, another note to those that use programs like Quicken to track their
financial date, putting the 10
Cent Challenge in your Scheduled Transactions, will insure
that you keep up to date on the Challenge. It helps me keep my subscription
current. Thanks for all of your work on the site. - S.N.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: Homemade and Expedient Vegetable Oil Lamps »
Letter Re: SHOT Show Report
Jim,
I just returned from the SHOT
Show held in down in Mordor (Lost Wages,
Nevada.) Here are my top three favorite innovations that I saw there.
1) This product is number one by a long shot. It is a huge monumental leap
in technology for night vision. My buddy just back from Iraq fell over
when he saw it. SuperVision(tm)
Digital Night Vision. Forget the blurry and hazy green from the past. The
new generation shows clear blue-gray out to 300+ yards. Its clarity is
impressive
and the cost is half of the current top offering of night vision. www.xenonics.com
for live video.
Downside-only have handheld unit-working on rail mount for front of scope-due
soon.
2) A 5 inch by 3 inch water purifier that purifies up to 2000 liters, and costs
only $59.95. It fits in the palm of your hand--very small and compact. Made
by Middleboro
Water,
LLC ph. (508) 947-6824
3) A multi-tube Magazine located in fore-end stock of a semi-auto shotgun.
When one tube is empty you rotate the stock to engage a new tube. Total capacity
is
16 rounds.
Made in Meridian, Idaho. See: SRM
Arms PDF and Defense
Review article. [A hat tip to Ron A., for sending those links.]
Cool factor: Beretta Pistol with 1000 diamonds embedded in the pistol grips.
90 carats total. And of course, a Perazzi shotgun set: a .410, 28, 16 and
12 gauge shotgun
set costing a mere $447,000. Pocket change!
The 2008 SHOT Show had 7,000 vendors and new overflow tents in the parking
lot. As you can guess I only saw a percentage of the show in two full days.
God
Bless, - B.
« Letter Re: Is Grain Sold as Seed or Animal Feed Safe to Eat? |Main| Jim's Quote of the Day: »
Letter Re: Keeping a Low Profile is Crucial for Preparedness
Jim,
My missus and I have been into "prepping" for about 15 years. Our
house has a basement and it is practically wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling
with shelves--with just narrow aisles in between. The shelves are chockablock
with storage food (all labeled and organized "FIFO"-style),
medical supplies, assorted "field" type gear, tools, barter/charity
stuff, ammo cans, propane cylinders (that fit our camp stove and camping lantern),
reels of field phone wire, paper products, and so forth. Following the example
of Mr. Whiskey (from your "Profiles")
we have recently built up 27 sets of designated "charity duffles",
each packed in a cheap Made-in-Taiwan nylon duffle bag. Each of these contains
a Dutch Army surplus wool blanket, a Chinese knockoff of a Leatherman tool,
a pair of gloves, a pile ("watch") cap, a half dozen pairs of socks,
a thrift store man's jacket, room for four days worth of food (which we would
pack from our FIFO inventory, as needed), a collapsing plastic water container
(the type that Campmor sells), a waterproof match container, a tube tent, and
a hand line fishing kit. ("Teach a man to fish...")
When we moved back to California in 1998, we picked our house specially because
it was built in the 1940s. It is the oldest and sturdiest house on the block.
(The neighborhood built up around the house, when the property was subdivided
in the 1960s.) It has a basement and its own water well, which
is now "off the books"--since the house is now on "city" [metered]
water, but the well is still functional with a 24 VDC submersible
well pump. I have four flush roof-mounted Kyocera PV panels
(cannot be seen from the street) and six deep cycle batteries. The cables are
run series-parallel to provide both 12 VDC and 24 VDC outputs.
Even though we live in a standard suburban neighborhood, none of out
neighbors are any the wiser about our preps. At the core, I
consider my preparations my own business. When the time comes to
hand out the charity duffles, we will do so through an intermediary,
like our church. (We are Methodists.)
After seeing what
happened to that guy in Norco last year, I am glad that I keep a low
profile. The specific measures that we have taken to keep a low profile are:
1.) We take no UPS deliveries
at our house. Nearly all of our mail-ordered goods are sent to our private
mail box at the local UPS Store (it was formerly a "MailBoxes, Etc.")
From there, we take the boxes home in our minivan.We are always sure to unload
the van from inside my garage, with the garage door shut.
All of the empty boxes have the "to" and "from" address
labels cut out with a box cutter knife. I discard the flattened boxes in the
cardboard recycling dumpster behind the office where I work. (I'm a sales engineer
for a medium-size company.)
2.) We don't subscribe to any shooting or hunting magazines. We get all of
the gun information we need online. To "stay in the fight" politically,
I do make regular anonymous contributions to the GOA, JPFO and
CRPA [The California Rifle and Pistol Association, a firearms rights organization],
via Post Office Money Orders. (BTW, I do the same for the SurvivalBlog [10
Cent] Challenge. Shame on any of you that read this blog regularly but
don't pony up the 10 pennies a day!)
3.) We access all web pages via Anonymizer,
with no exceptions.
4.) Most of of our preps purchases are either made F2F,
with cash, or with Post Office Money Orders if ordering by mail. This eliminates
the "trail of paper" from writing checks or using a credit card.
We buy a lot from Nitro-Pak, Ready
Made Resources, Major
Surplus, and Lehman's.
5.) All of our guns, ammunition, gun gadgets, targets, and cleaning supplies
are bought "private party", mainly at SoCal [(Southern California)]
gun shows. Also, needless to mention, these are greenback transactions
only! In
California, we can still at least buy rifles and shotguns that are more than
50 years old
without having to buy through a [licensed] dealer. We have two [M1]
Garand rifles, and a FN.49, also [chambered] in .30-06. I'm still looking
for one or two more of those, but they are scarce, and even harder to find
private party. We also have three [Winchester] Model 12 pump[-action] 12 gauge
shotguns, two of which have had their barrels shortened to 18.5 inches. Handgun
buys in California all require paperwork, but by Divine Providence
I bought several Glocks
and [Colt Model] 1911s when
I was living in Arizona for a couple years, back in the late '90s. [JWR
Adds: That loophole was recently closed for Californians. Anyone moving
into the state must now register their handguns. Drat! But at least there was
a grandfather clause.] There is isn't much to do out in the desert except shoot,
so I bought a lot of guns when we were there.
6.) We signed up for an identity theft and credit report checking protection
plan three years ago. I noticed that SurvivalBlog just started running an ad
from Comprehensive Risk
Solutions. Their service has more bells and whistles and a lower subscription
cost that our current provider, so we will switch [to them] when our current
subscription lapses. [JWR Adds: I highly recommend this service.
It is cheap insurance to prevent what would otherwise be a very costly incident.]
7.) We use a TracFone
whenever
calling a mail order vendor. (No calling history paper trail.)
8. ) We don't mention our preps to anyone outside of our family.
We have coached our kids from an early age to keep their lips zipped.
9.) Whenever we have anybody visit our home, the basement door stays closed
and locked. (It is a keyed deadbolt lock.) The basement has
no windows. Most of our friends and relatives don't realize that we
even have a basement. (Basements are actually rare in California
tract neighborhoods.) To anybody that visits, the basement door just looks
like a locked closet.
10.) We don't leave anything "suspicious" out where it can be seen
in our house and garage.
These precautions might seem kinda "over the top", but put yourself
in my shoes. In the People's Republic of California it pays to be a bit of
a Secret Squirrel. I does cost me about $300 per year to get my mail and packages
at the UPS Store, but I consider that a small price to pay for my privacy.
I plan to retire to the mountains of central Nevada in nine years, but for
now, I am making do in my present circumstances. - F.L. in Southern California
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: Is Grain Sold as Seed or Animal Feed Safe to Eat? »
Three Letters Re: Advice on Uses for a Disused Underground Cistern
James,
If the location is right, install what looks like access to a septic
system. I'd use it for a big cache or a root cellar. Seal the entrance with
concrete which can be busted out with a sledge hammer, or perhaps use lumber
or brick to cover the walls of the entrance and use the original access for
another purpose to hide it's original intent such as a cache of lesser importance.
- E.L.
Jim,
You wrote: "In particular, ideas on camouflaging the entrance trap door
would be appreciated."
I wasn't able to clearly visualize the trap door in the garage. But if the
trap door is near a wall, or is recessed at or just below the floor level I
might cover the area with one of those 1/8 inch thick oil drip catching sheets
of metal available at most auto stores, etc.
If I didn't need regular access to the entry, I would add some Kitty Litter
to the metal sheet and perhaps set a push lawn mower on top of that.
A little easily-visible used oil added to the kitty litter for effect would
probably help too. - KMA
Sir,
The first thing I would do is make sure this is not an old converted septic
tank. If it were I'm sure you would already know that! If it is going to be
an occupied shelter: The first thing I would do is to make an emergency exit
to the 'room'. Dig a tunnel from the outside of the garage down to the room
about half way up a wall from the yard and fill with sand. About a foot down
from the yard hole place pressure treated plywood then dirt then grass. Keep
a small axe, a sledge hammer, cold chisel, hack saw with metal cutting blade
and a small folding shovel in the room at all times. If you ever get trapped
in
there
you
can break
the wall out, let the sand fall out in the room, dig some sand out, and escape.
You must always have an alternative exit an any situation.
The second thing I would
do if its a room is coat the walls, floor, and ceiling at least twice with a
waterproof sealer.
The third thing I would do is run a six inch PVC pipe
out one wall and have it come out in the yard, screen the yard end and place
a large planting pot
over it with false bottom with holes in the pot. For heavier safety you could
build a cement planter with holes that look like weep holes. Place a false
bottom in it, and fill with plants. Inside the room you can add a hand crank
squirrel cage blower. [JWR Adds: And a HEPA filter if
you want the space top double as a fallout shelter.] You will need to repeat
the same for exhaust air. What comes in must go out. Air,
water, food goes in and comes
out!
The fourth thing I would do is stock it up: water, food, blankets, sleeping
bags, guns, ammo, sealable drums for poop bags, first aid and all the goodies.
The fifth thing I would do is start spending nights in it--first one, then
two, then three. Make it familiar. You may find you freak out after a few days,
and yet
it takes
weeks for radiation half life to dissipate. Get used to it, you don't want
to do that under stress.
The main entry can be concealed with a lightweight fake shelf made from balsa
wood. A metal plate can be hinged, fastened to the floor, covered with a rubber
mat, and the light shelf bolted to the metal door from below. You can glue
stuff to it to make it look like a used shelf. Rings can be welding to the
under side of the metal door so chains can be installed to hold it down to
keep the 'bugs' out. Just a quick thought. - Jesse
« Letter Re: Best Items to Store for Barter and Charity? |Main| Note from JWR: »
From the SurvivalBlog Archives: Start With a "List of Lists"
Start your retreat stocking effort by first composing a List of Lists, then
draft prioritized lists for each subject, on separate sheets of paper. (Or
in a spreadsheet if you are a techno-nerd like me. Just be sure to print out
a hard copy for use when the power grid goes down!) It is important to tailor
your lists to suit your particular geography, climate, and population density
as well as your peculiar needs and likes/dislikes. Someone setting up a retreat
in a coastal area is likely to have a far different list than someone living
in the Rockies.
As I often mention in my lectures and radio interviews, a great way to create
truly commonsense preparedness lists is to take a three-day weekend TEOTWAWKI Weekend Experiment” with your family. When you come home from work on
Friday evening, turn off your main circuit breaker, turn off your gas main
(or propane tank), and shut your main water valve (or turn off your well pump.)
Spend that weekend in primitive conditions. Practice using only your storage
food, preparing it on a wood stove (or camping stove.)
A “TEOTWAWKI Weekend Experiment” will surprise you. Things that
you take for granted will suddenly become labor intensive. False assumptions
will be shattered. Your family will grow closer and more confident. Most importantly,
some of the most thorough lists that you will ever make will be those written
by candlelight.
Your List of Lists should include: (Sorry that this post
is in outline form, but it would take a full length book to discus all of
the following in great detail)
Water List
Food Storage List
Food Preparation List
Personal List
First Aid /Minor Surgery List
Nuke Defense List
Biological Warfare Defense List
Gardening List
Hygiene List/Sanitation List
Hunting/Fishing/Trapping List
Power/Lighting/Batteries List
Fuels List
Firefighting List
Tactical Living List
Security-General
Security-Firearms
Communications/Monitoring List
Tools List
Sundries List
Survival Bookshelf List
Barter and Charity List
JWR’s Specific Recommendations For Developing Your Lists:
Water List
House downspout conversion sheet metal work and barrels. (BTW, this is another
good reason to upgrade your retreat to a fireproof metal roof.)
Drawing water from open sources. Buy extra containers. Don’t buy big
barrels, since five gallon food grade buckets are the largest size that most
people can handle without back strain.
For transporting water if and when gas is too precious to waste, buy a couple
of heavy duty two wheel garden carts--convert the wheels to foam filled "no
flats" tires. (BTW, you will find lots of other uses for those carts around
your retreat, such as hauling hay, firewood, manure, fertilizer, et cetera.)
Treating water. Buy plain Clorox hypochlorite bleach. A little goes a long
way. Buy some extra half-gallon bottles for barter and charity. If you can
afford it, buy a “Big Berky” British Berkefeld ceramic water filter.
(Available from Ready
Made Resources and several other Internet vendors. Even if you have pure
spring water at your retreat, you never know where you may end up, and a good
filter could be a lifesaver.)
Food Storage List
See my post tomorrow which will be devoted to food storage. Also see the recent
letter from David in Israel on this subject.
Food Preparation List
Having more people under your roof will necessitate having an oversize skillet
and a huge stew pot. BTW, you will want to buy several huge kettles, because
odds are you will have to heat water on your wood stove for bathing, dish washing,
and clothes washing. You will also need even more kettles, barrels, and 5 or
6 gallon PVC buckets--for water hauling, rendering, soap making, and dying.
They will also make great barter or charity items. (To quote my mentor Dr.
Gary North: “Nails: buy a barrel of them. Barrels: Buy a barrel of them!”)
Don’t overlook skinning knives, gut-buckets, gambrels, and meat saws.
Personal List
(Make a separate personal list for each family member and individual expected
to arrive at your retreat.)
Spare glasses.
Prescription and nonprescription medications.
Birth control.
Keep dentistry up to date.
Any elective surgery that you've been postponing
Work off that gut.
Stay in shape.
Back strength and health—particularly important, given the heavy manual
tasks required for self-sufficiency.
Educate yourself on survival topics, and practice them. For example, even if
you don’t presently live at your retreat, you should plant a vegetable
garden every year. It is better to learn through experience and make mistakes
now, when the loss of crop is an annoyance rather than a crucial event.
“Comfort” items to help get through high stress times. (Books, games,
CDs, chocolates, etc.)
First Aid /Minor Surgery List
When tailoring this list, consider your neighborhood going for many months
without power, extensive use of open flames, and sentries standing picket
shifts exposed in the elements. Then consider axes, chainsaws and tractors
being wielded by newbies, and a greater likelihood of gunshot wounds. With
all of this, add the possibility of no access to doctors or high tech medical
diagnostic equipment. Put a strong emphasis on burn treatment first aid supplies.
Don’t overlook do-it-yourself dentistry! (Oil of cloves, temporary
filling kit, extraction tools, et cetera.) Buy a full minor surgery outfit
(inexpensive Pakistani stainless steel instruments), even if you don’t
know how to use them all yet. You may have to learn, or you will have the
opportunity to put them in the hands of someone experienced who needs them.)
This is going to be a big list!
Chem/Nuke Defense List
Dosimeter and rate meter, and charger, radiac meter (hand held Geiger counter),
rolls of sheet plastic (for isolating airflow to air filter inlets and for
covering window frames in the event that windows are broken due to blast effects),
duct tape, HEPA filters (ands spares) for your shelter. Potassium iodate (KI)
tablets to prevent thyroid damage.(See my recent post on that subject.) Outdoor
shower rig for just outside your shelter entrance.
Biological Warfare Defense List
Disinfectants
Hand Sanitizer
Sneeze masks
Colloidal silver generator and spare supplies (distilled water and .999 fine
silver rod.)
Natural antibiotics (Echinacea, Tea Tree oil, …)
Gardening List
One important item for your gardening list is the construction of a very tall
deer-proof and rabbit-proof fence. Under current circumstances, a raid by deer
on your garden is probably just an inconvenience. After the balloon goes up,
it could mean the difference between eating well, and starvation.
Top Soil/Amendments/Fertilizers.
Tools+ spares for barter/charity
Long-term storage non hybrid (open pollinated) seed. (Non-hybrid “heirloom” seed
assortments tailors to different climate zones are available from The
Ark Institute
Herbs: Get started with medicinal herbs such as aloe vera (for burns), echinacea
(purple cone flower), valerian, et cetera.
Hygiene/Sanitation List
Sacks of powdered lime for the outhouse. Buy plenty!
TP in quantity (Stores well if kept dry and away from vermin and it is lightweight,
but it is very bulky. This is a good item to store in the attic. See my novel
about stocking up on used phone books for use as TP.
Soap in quantity (hand soap, dish soap, laundry soap, cleansers, etc.)
Bottled lye for soap making.
Ladies’ supplies.
Toothpaste (or powder).
Floss.
Fluoride rinse. (Unless you have health objections to the use of fluoride.)
Sunscreen.
Livestock List:
Hoof rasp, hoof nippers, hoof pick, horse brushes, hand sheep shears, styptic,
carding combs, goat milking stand, teat dip, udder wash, Bag Balm, elastrator
and bands, SWOT fly repellent, nail clippers (various sizes), Copper-tox, leads,
leashes, collars, halters, hay hooks, hay fork, manure shovel, feed buckets,
bulk grain and C-O-B sweet feed (store in galvanized trash cans with tight
fitting lids to keep the mice out), various tack and saddles, tack repair tools,
et cetera. If your region has selenium deficient soil (ask your local Agricultural
extension office) then be sure to get selenium-fortified salt blocks rather
than plain white salt blocks--at least for those that you are going to set
aside strictly for your livestock.
Hunting/Fishing/Trapping List
“Buckshot” Bruce Hemming has produced an excellent series of videos
on trapping and making improvised traps. (He also sells traps and scents at very
reasonable prices.)
Night vision gear, spares, maintenance, and battery charging
Salt. Post-TEOTWAWKI, don’t “go hunting.” That would be a
waste of effort. Have the game come to you. Buy 20 or more salt blocks. They
will also make very valuable barter items.
Sell your fly fishing gear (all but perhaps a few flies) and buy practical
spin casting equipment.
Extra tackle may be useful for barter, but probably only in a very long term
Crunch.
Buy some frog gigs if you have bullfrogs in your area. Buy some crawfish traps
if you have crawfish in your area.
Learn how to rig trot lines and make fish traps for non-labor intensive fishing WTSHTF.
Power/Lighting/Batteries List
One proviso:
