I know I've touched on this before, but as winter nears, my time to complete projects runs short. Every day in the mail I get catalogs with new fancy gadgets, expensive firearms, or super jiffy products that do things that I didn't even know I needed to do. Most of us can construct a similar item that will work as well as, or even better than these high-priced gadgets. The first question you have to ask is, "Can I live without it?" and then ask yourself, "How much easier will that make my life or my survival?". If your answer to both questions is satisfactory enough to you that you need that item, the next thing to look at is "What job does it accomplish?" and "Are there other ways to accomplish that job?". Now obviously most of us cannot build our own pocket GPS device, but most of us can or have been taught how to use a map and compass. For the number of times I've actually needed it, a map does me fine.
The more skills we teach ourselves, the less we become reliant on other people or products. Welding, Mechanics, gardening, canning, sewing, the list goes on of things that can be easily learned but will help you immensely both NOW and IF something were to happen that you had to become reliant on yourself and those close to you. A jack of all trades you might say. You'll be amazed at how easy some things are to pick up on, and once you learn the basics, every similar project adds a little more to that vault.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Trading
There are a few items that I keep for my regular stockpile that I horde lots extra because of the fact that someday they could be worth their weight in gold. And I don't mean that literally. I have friends that horde silver or gold coins for this same reason, but I haven't seen much logic in that. We may all need a few basic items to survive a coming crisis, and from my standpoint, I would not take 10 pounds of gold for any one of those items if supply was running short. Food, water and self protection will be the at the top of every ones list, or a way to create or preserve those items. Ammo is by far a great choice. Again, .22 rim fire ammo is cheap, easily stored and could make great trading stock, and if the need never arises, you can still use it for your own use. Another item I feel is often overlooked, at least in my part of the country is salt. Not only is salt needed to stay healthy, but is a must for preserving any meats without refrigeration. In the Northwest mountains, I would have a terrible time coming up with a natural source of it. Canning jars and lids are another excellent example of a stockpile item that you can use yourself if needed, or the spares can be traded off. Jars are bulky to store, but will keep forever. Lids-not so much, as I've seen lots of rusty looking lids come out of new looking boxes. Cool and dry as with most anything you store.
Coffee, alcohol and tobacco may also make great trading items, but storage on the latter two may be difficult. Keeping the items around for a home-made still may not be a bad idea. Alcohol can be used as fuel in some instances, has medicinal qualities, and makes a great trading item in a pinch. Nearly anything can be distilled into alcohol, but not everything is suitable for drinking. Read all you can on this subject before undertaking this. Its also my understanding that distilling alcohol without a license is illegal at the present time, but owning the parts to build a still is not. A small inexpensive still can be built from a stainless steel pressure cooker, a little copper tubing, and silver solder. I have a 1 gallon sized one (1 gallon or smaller for water only is legal) that I use for distilling water and it works great.
An important note on trading...Consider each trade carefully. There was a nationwide Ammo shortage not long ago. Primers and any military style ammo (9mm, .45 auto, 5.56 mm etc.) disappeared first. Many people (myself included) were trading less common ammo (.380, .357 etc) for the other needed items. This left me short on the uncommon ammo because it was available at the time. Once the military style ammo started coming back, I was still short on this other ammo, and am still short today trying to make up for a deficit in my stockpile. Again, what I'm trying to say is, what might be common and easily obtainable today, may not be so tommorow. Whenever trading, look at the long term, and make sure you keep enough for yourself before getting rid of anything you cant do without down the road.
Coffee, alcohol and tobacco may also make great trading items, but storage on the latter two may be difficult. Keeping the items around for a home-made still may not be a bad idea. Alcohol can be used as fuel in some instances, has medicinal qualities, and makes a great trading item in a pinch. Nearly anything can be distilled into alcohol, but not everything is suitable for drinking. Read all you can on this subject before undertaking this. Its also my understanding that distilling alcohol without a license is illegal at the present time, but owning the parts to build a still is not. A small inexpensive still can be built from a stainless steel pressure cooker, a little copper tubing, and silver solder. I have a 1 gallon sized one (1 gallon or smaller for water only is legal) that I use for distilling water and it works great.
An important note on trading...Consider each trade carefully. There was a nationwide Ammo shortage not long ago. Primers and any military style ammo (9mm, .45 auto, 5.56 mm etc.) disappeared first. Many people (myself included) were trading less common ammo (.380, .357 etc) for the other needed items. This left me short on the uncommon ammo because it was available at the time. Once the military style ammo started coming back, I was still short on this other ammo, and am still short today trying to make up for a deficit in my stockpile. Again, what I'm trying to say is, what might be common and easily obtainable today, may not be so tommorow. Whenever trading, look at the long term, and make sure you keep enough for yourself before getting rid of anything you cant do without down the road.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Power Generation
I have looked at every conceivable power source available to mankind and have come to one conclusion. There are no cheap sources of reliable, usable power. The gas generator is nice, but has one major downfall...gas. Gasoline, since the takeover of unleaded fuels, is a short term storage item. Sure, you can add a stabilizer to it, and maybe get a year or two out of it, but then you have numerous other storage and hazardous issues to overcome. Underground storage is probably the best bet as far as concealing your hoard and for safety issues, but a container large enough to hold a decent amount of fuel that can handle being buried for an extended period of time is not an easy item to come by, not to mention condensation and several other issues that need to be worked out. Diesel seems to keep better, but the storage issues are the same.
Solar, wind, and hydro energy can all be reliable sources, once the initial expenses are overcome. From most peoples standpoint, they work great to supplement your current power bill, but you have to become very energy conscience to convert completely over and get off the main power grid. I know several people that live solely under solar power, but they are single, work all day, and still have to occasionally start a generator after extended periods of cloudy days. This may not be such an issue for those that do not live in the Northern states. Those of you that rent, or even live under a homeowners association, solar, wind or hydro are not even an option.
Also, the concealable factor comes into play. If your area is without power for an extended period of time and you have your roof lined with solar panels, it could bring some unwanted attention.
I've also looked into steam power. Living with a national forest in my back yard, I thought converting a BTU from wood to electricity would be a no-brainer. No way. The initial cost and engineering is outrageous unless you are a machinist and the up keep is even worse. I have looked into the many rumors of building them out of old 2 cycle engines and air conditioner compressors and have yet to see one that will reliably function on steam. You-Tube videos are full of "steam" engines that run on compressed air, but add the heat and moisture from steam, and your in a whole different ball game.
Also, stay away from the "build your own" magnetic generators. Small ones make great toys, but as of to-date there is not a large enough, reliable generator run by free magnetic power.
What it boils down to is that providing minimal power to run small items is best accomplished by 12 volt power - Automobile batteries. If you tune your power needs towards 12 volt power, then you can use an automotive battery or several of them wired in parallel. The 12 Volt battery is fairly easy to come by, can be stored for long periods of time, and takes surprisingly little to recharge. If a battery were to be used for emergency purposes only, it could be recharged with a 2 amp solar panel available at any auto parts or RV dealer. For more frequent use, a simple charger can be built from an old 10-speed bicycle and a car alternator. I built one for my boys to use out by their tree house, and as long as you can pedal, you can get about 45 amps of juice to your batteries. By adding more batteries, and wiring them positive to positive and negative to negative, you basically double the amp hours of your batteries. This is called wiring in Parallel. If you wire positive from one battery to the negative of the other, and then draw your power from the two open posts, you will get 24 volts. LED lights work great, and put very little drain on your battery. Also, by picking up a JC Whitney catalog, you will not believe all of the 12 volt appliances that can be had. From coffee pots to refridgerators.
The slower you recharge a battery, the better it is on that battery. Never store a drained battery, and keep them from freezing and they will last for years and years.
Solar, wind, and hydro energy can all be reliable sources, once the initial expenses are overcome. From most peoples standpoint, they work great to supplement your current power bill, but you have to become very energy conscience to convert completely over and get off the main power grid. I know several people that live solely under solar power, but they are single, work all day, and still have to occasionally start a generator after extended periods of cloudy days. This may not be such an issue for those that do not live in the Northern states. Those of you that rent, or even live under a homeowners association, solar, wind or hydro are not even an option.
Also, the concealable factor comes into play. If your area is without power for an extended period of time and you have your roof lined with solar panels, it could bring some unwanted attention.
I've also looked into steam power. Living with a national forest in my back yard, I thought converting a BTU from wood to electricity would be a no-brainer. No way. The initial cost and engineering is outrageous unless you are a machinist and the up keep is even worse. I have looked into the many rumors of building them out of old 2 cycle engines and air conditioner compressors and have yet to see one that will reliably function on steam. You-Tube videos are full of "steam" engines that run on compressed air, but add the heat and moisture from steam, and your in a whole different ball game.
Also, stay away from the "build your own" magnetic generators. Small ones make great toys, but as of to-date there is not a large enough, reliable generator run by free magnetic power.
What it boils down to is that providing minimal power to run small items is best accomplished by 12 volt power - Automobile batteries. If you tune your power needs towards 12 volt power, then you can use an automotive battery or several of them wired in parallel. The 12 Volt battery is fairly easy to come by, can be stored for long periods of time, and takes surprisingly little to recharge. If a battery were to be used for emergency purposes only, it could be recharged with a 2 amp solar panel available at any auto parts or RV dealer. For more frequent use, a simple charger can be built from an old 10-speed bicycle and a car alternator. I built one for my boys to use out by their tree house, and as long as you can pedal, you can get about 45 amps of juice to your batteries. By adding more batteries, and wiring them positive to positive and negative to negative, you basically double the amp hours of your batteries. This is called wiring in Parallel. If you wire positive from one battery to the negative of the other, and then draw your power from the two open posts, you will get 24 volts. LED lights work great, and put very little drain on your battery. Also, by picking up a JC Whitney catalog, you will not believe all of the 12 volt appliances that can be had. From coffee pots to refridgerators.
The slower you recharge a battery, the better it is on that battery. Never store a drained battery, and keep them from freezing and they will last for years and years.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Storage Thoughts
I have never been accused of wasting anything. In fact, I could be considered a borderline "hoarder". My reasoning for keeping most of the junk in and around my home is that "someday" I can build (fill in the blank) out of that old (fill in the blank). A perfect example: My lovely wife is nicely asking me to clean up the driveway for the umpteenth time. So I'm standing there, looking at an old stainless steel mailbox (the rural kind about 3 feet x 3 feet) and an old wood stove with the insulating bricks burnt out of it. After about an hour of debating whether to haul them to the dump, and another hour of construction, I was able to build a nice cold smoker out of the two of them and 12 feet of 6 inch pipe. Its big enough to smoke a couple of hams in or lots of fish. The smoker will come in handy now for some nice flavored meat, OR come in handy should I need it to preserve meat if I lose the benefits of a freezer.
Everyone has their "thing". Some people like to collect stamps, some people live to ski, or boat or fish. The more of a "Jack-of-all-trades" you can become, the more it will benefit you down the road. There are people out there among us who live to survive, meaning, as some of us have a hobby of collecting coins, or skiing, some people's "thing" is to be a survivalist. In that everything they do has some survival ulterior motive. I have found through my experiences, that these people become more and more paranoid of our government, or their neighbors. As the years go on, the more they actually wish that something bad would happen so that they can show off all their preparations.
My advise to you: Dont become one of these people. Its okay to make preprations, and its okay to have an ulterior motive in your day to day projects, but mainly, simply keep survival prepreations in the back of your mind while doing projects that you would be doing anyway. If you have the time and money to build a full out "bomb shelter", then by all means, go for it. For the rest of us, you could simply back fill with dirt around the outside corner of your basement that you would most likely have to hole up in, plant a flower garden in it to make the wife happy, and you have an improvised shelter. I guess what I'm trying to say is, when you think of a project that needs doing, think of the other uses that project may accomplish IF it were needed. Sometimes no modifications are nessesary, but more times than not, a few minor adjustments to your plans will make it all come together in the end.
Everyone has their "thing". Some people like to collect stamps, some people live to ski, or boat or fish. The more of a "Jack-of-all-trades" you can become, the more it will benefit you down the road. There are people out there among us who live to survive, meaning, as some of us have a hobby of collecting coins, or skiing, some people's "thing" is to be a survivalist. In that everything they do has some survival ulterior motive. I have found through my experiences, that these people become more and more paranoid of our government, or their neighbors. As the years go on, the more they actually wish that something bad would happen so that they can show off all their preparations.
My advise to you: Dont become one of these people. Its okay to make preprations, and its okay to have an ulterior motive in your day to day projects, but mainly, simply keep survival prepreations in the back of your mind while doing projects that you would be doing anyway. If you have the time and money to build a full out "bomb shelter", then by all means, go for it. For the rest of us, you could simply back fill with dirt around the outside corner of your basement that you would most likely have to hole up in, plant a flower garden in it to make the wife happy, and you have an improvised shelter. I guess what I'm trying to say is, when you think of a project that needs doing, think of the other uses that project may accomplish IF it were needed. Sometimes no modifications are nessesary, but more times than not, a few minor adjustments to your plans will make it all come together in the end.
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