Be Prepared

Disaster prepairdness is something everone should have information about. It is something I try to take very seriously. The reality is that the majority of western soceity just does not care until it is to late. Our modern lifestyles have put us all at risk . We are accustomed to climate controlled buildings, food at the local store , gas readily avaliable and cell phones to yap with. The list is endless of things we now depend on everyday . All it takes is a short disruption of just one thing to make our lives miserable. Power outages occur durning storms yet people still complain that they can not watch MTV . Hurricane Katreana showed western soceity how vunerable and illprepaired we are. Do not forget the large power blackout in N.East USA and S. East Canada a few years ago. If the power was out longer, we would be rioting in the streets.

Everyone must do their share for prepairdness. To me, the 72 hr supply is a start but not enough . Have plans for at least a weeks provisions at all times. Ensure you have the right tools and skills along with the basic food . If you do not have any idea what to do, then buy at least a few books on survival and prepairdness . Look online at many web forums for information. There is no sush thing as too much information . Sooner or latter your lives will depend on it.

[The Reaper]

Winter weather will soon be arriving.

Are you prepared?

In 2002, we experienced an ice storm that took out power for days.

Are you ready?

If it happens, will you be safe and sound, in relative comfort, or lined up at the grocery store fighting over flashlights, batteries, toilet paper, bread, milk, eggs, etc.?

Remember that an ounce of knowledge is better than a metric ton of high speed gear that you cannot use.

The time to think about this is now.

As far as this thread goes, we have about ended the medical supply discussion.

Is there anything left that people want to chat about further?

Breathable Air
First Aid/Medicine/Escape gear
Defense
Shelter/Warmth/Light
Water
Food/cooking
Sanitation
Commo
Power/Fuel
Tools
Transportation/Mobility
Entertainment

If not, I would request that members who experience preparedness situations (even brief ones) provide us as much feedback as they are able to help others prepare.

TR

I have a small question TR, to other QP's, and to any US Military personnel that I am hoping can answer.

I own two pairs of the "Mickey Mouse" boots, one white pair and one black pair. Both of which we all know are very heavy but also very warm. My question is this: "Are their any other pairs of boots out there that is both lightweight and have the same cold weather rating as either the black or white pairs?"

[mugwump]

I posted instructions for a water purification system here.

"Pros: Cheap; no fuel consumed; no labor expended in the purification process (once you hump the water); the system is suitable for long-term storage without component degradation; simple, with no moving parts or consumables; large volumes purified quickly (3-4 gallons per hour, faster than a Berkely/Katadyn gravity filter); light weight; very long usage life span.

Cons: a bit bulky (but then this isn't a backpacking system)"

I'll add another "con" of this system: the fast filtration rate is driven by a siphon that is started by sucking on the discharge tube. This means you have to pre-treat the fist (small) volume of water used to start the siphon. If you don't pre-treat, you could get a mouthful of Hep A virus as you start the siphon (viruses are not filtered out -- they are killed by the chlorine from the hypochlorite in the final step). Also, the first time you use the filter you need to apply some hefty suction (not quite the level of golf ball/garden hose, Las Vegas keno girl/chrome trailer hitch but still significant) to start the whole process. But once you get it going it runs like a champ and can produce large volumes overnight (assuming your source and destination containers are big enough).

At the cost of a slower filtration rate -- approx 1-2 gallon per hour -- you can build a cheap, ceramic drip-filter system that relies totally on gravity. The kit can be purchased here. You supply your own plastic buckets. It looks like you could add another ceramic filter and double the flow rate.

You're essentially getting a Berkely for $20 and a bit of your time.

img_5478_medium.jpg

[The Reaper]

Originally Posted by mugwump

You're essentially getting a Berkely for $20 and a bit of your time.

Attachment 8455

Not exactly.

I was with you till I hit the ordering page.

I found $13 to ship something that small, inexpensive, and lightweight a bit steep, especially from a company that helps people build their own yurts.

Ouch!

TR

[mugwump]

Originally Posted by The Reaper

Not exactly.

I was with you till I hit the ordering page.

I found $13 to ship something that small, inexpensive, and lightweight a bit steep, especially from a company that helps people build their own yurts.

Ouch!

TR

Yikes. I actually put the text together a while back and just got around to posting it (I've got trunking-scanner and comms ones in the queue that need cleanup and posting, too.) I'll check, but I didn't pay any $13.

Shipping ripoffs are real pet peeve of mine. They must have 60" plasmas in their personal yurts.

ETA: They say they had to raise shipping to pass through increased charges due to the box size needed for the filter plus padding (the filter is very brittle). He knows they're losing sales, but won't budge. The filter is about the size of a roll of toilet paper; seems fishy but then who knows...

[The Reaper]

Originally Posted by mugwump

Yikes. I actually put the text together a while back and just got around to posting it (I've got trunking-scanner and comms ones in the queue that need cleanup and posting, too.) I'll check, but I didn't pay any $13.

Shipping ripoffs are real pet peeve of mine. They must have 60" plasmas in their personal yurts.

ETA: They say they had to raise shipping to pass through increased charges due to the box size needed for the filter plus padding (the filter is very brittle). He knows they're losing sales, but won't budge. The filter is about the size of a roll of toilet paper; seems fishy but then who knows...

I hear you. It looked like a great concept.

All I know is that I was ready to order till I saw the shipping cost.

Then I decided to try and figure out what the filter is made for, and try to find the darn thing at a local supply house.

Really, they would be better off pricing the filter at $25 and charging $8 S&H. $13 strikes me as a shipping rip-off.

TR

[echoes]

Originally Posted by The Reaper

If not, I would request that members who experience preparedness situations (even brief ones) provide us as much feedback as they are able to help others prepare.TR

Peeking in here slowly...

Am constantly re-reading this thread, as it is full of great information.

For those of us who park outside, and not in a garage...Windshield wiper blades.
During the winter, always have a spare set in the vehicle in case the ice and snow disable one while the vehicle is parked or while driving in the weather.
(And know how to replace it, of course. )

My Dad brought this to my attention when I moved back here to the midwest.

A very small thing, but when you have to be somewhere, very handy.

Holly

[PSM]

With the recent wildfires here in SoCal, it should be noted that some houses were saved by the early application of sodium polyacrylate gel. It’s basically the stuff that fills absorbent diapers. Some fire departments carried this gel to cover homes in the path of the fire.

At least one manufacturer of the gel, Barricade, sells a homeowner kit for about $330. It can be applied at least 6 to 8 hours ahead of the fire insuring that the water pressure will probably still be high enough to apply it. The shelf life is 3 years.

Pat

[kachingchingpow]

Just after Y2K, I was able to pickup a 5kw generator for a steal. Knock on wood, I've only had to use it once due to an ice storm that we're so famous for here in the south. At anyrate, I'm having a new HVAC unit installed and I ask the installer how I could hookup the furnace to run from my generator quickly. He'd never thought about it before, so we kinda put our heads together on this. Here's a synopsis of what I'm planning to do over the weekend. We both agreed that it was a small enough job that "being prepared" ahead of time would be easy.

I'm going to cut the female off a 25' extension cord and wire it as a pigtail to the main electrical box in the furnace. Prior to doing so, I'm going to install a switch between the pigtail and the box, so that I don't have a hot plug dangling around.

I think that's it. At first I was thinking I'd need another switch on the main electrical line coming into the furnace to prevent a backfeed, but that's already in place on the wall.

Can anyone think of anything else? Any experiences pos/neg you can share?

Echoes,

I also know of a bunch of cops who park outside too. And in the winter time they lift the blades off of the windshield so when they come back out eight hours later they aren't trying to free them. All they have to do is scrap and heat the front window and the wipers are good to go.

[RTK]

Originally Posted by MAB32

Echoes,

I also know of a bunch of cops who park outside too. And in the winter time they lift the blades off of the windshield so when they come back out eight hours later they aren't trying to free them. All they have to do is scrap and heat the front window and the wipers are good to go.

Something I learned in the field at Fort Carson and a TTP I teach new scout LTs is to take cut up MRE boxes and place them on the outside of the windshield between the wiper and the glass on our HMMWVs. Since the gunner is scanning, it does not deplete force protection. Not only that, in insulates the inside of the vehicle to a certain extent. On real cold nights we place it on both the inside and outside of the windows so the condensation from normal breathing doesn't frost the inside of the windows. When it's time to go, we tear it off and drive.

[echoes]

(2nd times a charm.)

Thought I was prepared for the "Ice Storm" that hit. Woa was I wrong,
but knew it would be okay.
In a 24 hour peroid, my AO was turned upside down.

I learned that when one is alone in bed at night, with ice falling, power lines snapping, and transformers lighting up the night sky, there are no worries...
"The back-up plan" was going to take effect:
(also, red-neck engineering comes in handy right about now!)

Needless to say after four days of no heat, power or running water, (and when wanting to sacrifie a lamb in the front yard to the "power-gods",) the truth becomes clear...

Always have a "Back-Up Plan!"

Mine saved my a** from becoming a casulty popsicle.

Hence the reality of this story...this thread saved my a**.

[echoes]

Now that my pulse has slowed, I wanted to share some small things I learned from this experience:

1. Have a great ice-scraper for your vehicle...not good, but great!
(And keep it inside your residence...not in the vehicle.)
2. Have a back-up phone, if you are like me and connect the home phone though the cable company...Hint: When IT goes out, so does the phone.
3. Know the status and location of loved ones. When a rescue is needed, it will be to your benefit to know the exact location and resources available, to render them to safety.
4. Finally, understand the situation as a whole. This will benefit you in all areas...from checking your family into hotels, to dealing with clean-up crews. The more you know, the better your chances of a succesful survival.

And yes, I did have extra wiper blades.

Holly

[Pete]

Originally Posted by echoes

.....And yes, I did have extra wiper blades.

Holly

Holly/All;

I was raised in the UP and learned at an early age to turn off everything before you shut off your car in the winter. On a real cold morning if you have everything on high and turned the key through the Acc. position you could drain it just enough to be stuck.

On another note on this subject. If you shut off your car but leave the wipers "On" during an ice or snow storm the blades can freeze to the windshield. When you jump in the car to turn it on so it can warm up while you clean off the ice you can blow the fuze to the wipers.

Some of those fuze boxes are at the darndest angle down there near the floorboard.

Pete

A power down, extra fuze, flashlight plug.