Be Prepared

[The Reaper]

While you can construct shelter of indigenous materials almost anywhere, most of the time, I would expect sufficient salvagable building materials to be available to permit building some sort of weather resistant, if not weatherproof structure. For that reason, axes, hatchets, prybars, etc. for material salvage would be invaluable.

Anyone in an area prone to wind or hurricane damage who does not have enough Visqueen or tarps available to cover the entire roof is IMHO, unprepared. A couple of staplers or a box of roofing nails and a couple of roofing hammers complete the package, and will help prevent further water damage to the structure, at least temporarily.

When traveling by vehicle, the aforementioned space blankets, shelters in a bag, tarps, ponchos, etc, are great resources for temporary shelter, or to improve on expedient or existing shelters. Remember the 550 cord, bungies and stakes to set-up the shelter, and practice it once or twice ahead of time to make sure that you have everything you need to make it work.

If you are on foot, any of the above will work, if you can handle the weight and bulk of the gear. Ideally a tent or improvised shelter and a poncho liner or sleeping bag would be available.

For warmth, consider the environment. If you are in a climate which never gets below 70 degrees, you may need nothing but a poncho liner. If it is regularly below freezing, you are going to have to have sleeping bags. If it is in between, some combo of poncho liners, improvised bags, newspapers, trash bags, sheets, extreme lightweight sleeping bags, etc. may work. Look at the homeless and how they stay warm on the streets in the winter.

Fire is a definite asset for cooking, water purification, etc., as well as heat. You can make a fire in most climates from local materials and a spark source. I would carry a small amount of tinder and a lighter of some source. Up the scale of comfort would be a camp stove, like the excellent MSR stoves, preferably a multi-fuel version that will burn unleaded and kerosene or diesel. You could also use a Coleman multi-burner stove, or a gas grill. Those who have gas kitchen stoves with a pilot light will be fine till the gas runs out. Good reason to keep the tanks topped off and possibly a spare cylinder on site. Remember that many of these devices are not intended for indoor use and are carbon monoxide generators.

For warmth, you can have an open fire, but a good radiant kerosene heater is hard to beat. The typical ones, like an excellent 10,000BTU model sold at Northern are adequate to heat a room or two and will run all night on less than a gallon of fuel. Kerosene will store safely and will keep much longer than gasoline. The downside is that the stoves are either on, of off, there is no thermostat, so you have to open windows or vent heat to the rest of the house to control the temp.

Hope this helps restart this discussion.

TR

[mugwump]

Reaper's back.

We live in N Illinois, and while the winters have been getting more moderate we still get the odd -20F night or two. I remember ice storms knocking out power and then a rapid drop into the deep freeze a couple of times when I was a kid, so this isn't just academic. We always have sleeping bags, heat packs, water, food, flashlights, hats, gloves, etc. in a pack in the trunk and we have good, heavy car-camping sleeping bags for use in the house.

I've standardized on propane for my emergency cooking and heating. I have an unused dog house out back full of 20 lb propane cylinders and many cases of 1 pound cylinders in the garage. I also have a couple of adapters for using the 20 lb cylinders with units designed to use 1 lb cans.

For emergency space heating I have a Mr. Heater MH9B. We'll all be sleeping in the same room but we'll be warm.

MrHeater.jpg

From the promo literature:

* Runs for up to six hours on one disposable propane cylinder
* 4,000 or 9,000 BTU radiant propane heater
* Low-oxygen shutoff system operates automatically
* Designed for indoor/outdoor use
* Uses the standard 1-pound disposable propane cylinder

For lighting I have a couple of Coleman propane mantle lanterns, various flashlights (from Surefire L4, several G2s, Some really nice Sam's Club LED AAA jobbies, LED dive lights, etc. all AA, AAA or CR123A) and rechargeable AA and AAA batteries. Lots of CR123As. I also save unused but old vegetable oil (old stuff not rotated into use in time) for expedient oil lamps.

mugwump

[The Reaper]

Good plan.

Most people are not aware that you can tap gas grills and small stoves into the main LP or propane tank with the right knowledge and adaptors. A 500 or 1000 gallon underground tank can provide energy for a very long time and save a lot of money over the 1 lb. and 20 lb. cylinders.

Obviously, it makes a lot more sense to seal off one or two rooms for nighttime use and just heat the space you need. Body heat of several people in one room is not insignificant either.

For lighting, LEDs are definitely the way to go. You can be assured of light with a ten-year shelf life on the lithiums like the 123s, or if you have a generator, use the rechargable lights or rechargeable AAs to power them.

TR

[CPTAUSRET]

Great thread!

[mugwump]

A really great LED flashlight I got at Target a while back:

RockRiver.jpg

Being a flashlight junkie, I got it after reading a very favorable review at flashlightreviews.com.

It provides a surprising amount of light (over 8 hours of room-filling flood light on 4 rechargeable AAs) esp for its size. And the price was right -- $20.

mugwump

[mugwump]

Sorry for the backtrack but the 2006 free versions of Where There Is No Doctor, Where Women Have No Doctor, and A Book for Midwives have been released (Spanish and English) here.

Edited: This is the correct link for the books:

http://www.hesperian.org

[Peregrino]

Originally Posted by mugwump

Sorry for the backtrack but the 2006 free versions of Where There Is No Doctor, Where Women Have No Doctor, and A Book for Midwives have been released (Spanish and English) here.

MW - Great article but where're the books? Peregrino

[mugwump]

I should shut up about heating/lighting because I really want to get to comms (I know...Water, Food/cooking, Sanitation come first).

Now that Surefire has raised their price to $2 for a CR123A I thought I'd post what I've been using lately:

TitaniumCR123A-100.jpg

They are only $1 apiece at Amondo Tech and have gotten a very good review at flashlightreviews.com. They actually got better run times in an L4 than Surefires.

I have no association other that as a satisfied customer: two orders filled promptly.

mugwump

[mugwump]

Originally Posted by Peregrino

MW - Great article but where're the books? Peregrino

Wow, I messed something up badly. One post disappeared and its link appeared in another post. My bad...

This is the correct link for the books:

http://www.hesperian.org/

Sorry for the confusion.

mugwump

[mugwump]

This came out today:

DETECTION AND ISOLATION OF HIGHLY PATHOGENIC H5N1 AVIAN INFLUENZA A VIRUSES FROM BLOW FLIES COLLECTED IN THE VICINITY OF AN INFECTED POULTRY FARM IN KYOTO, JAPAN, 2004.

"Our results suggest it is possible that blow flies could become a mechanical transmitter of H5N1 influenza virus."

mugwump

[mugwump]

Time article on risk. I didn't know that New York was considered the second biggest insurance risk for hurricanes after Miami.

Floods, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Wildfires, Earthquakes ... Why We Don't Prepare

mugwump

[PSM]

Originally Posted by PSM

I live in a densely populated area and this is a big concern of mine. Our freezer is stocked, at any given time, with 20 pounds of beef, 5 to 8 pounds of pork, 6 to 8 chickens, 2 turkeys, 2 to 3 packages of corned beef (thanks to St. Paddy's day sales ), a duck or two, several game hens, etc. We don't need electricity except for the freezer and perhaps battery chargers.

We have a natural gas quick-connect for the grill. I looked into doing a "3 fuel" conversion for a gasoline generator but that would let my neighbors and would-be looters know that I have electricity and something I want to keep cold. Refrigerated items are less important unless they are medications.

I'm leaning steeply towards an inverter and deep cycle marine batteries and a small, quiet, generator to keep them charged.

Pat

While the thread is quiet, I thought I’d follow up on this post.

While the use of marine deep-cycle batteries and inverters was feasible, it dawned on me that it would not be practical in a bug-out scenario.

I discovered that RVers have found that Honda genets cloned by the Chinese (Chondas) are inexpensive, reliable and reasonably quiet (68 dB at 7 meters according to the manual).

I bought a Champion 4450k/3500k unit at a local auto parts store for $300. Last week, while our floors were being refinished, my wife, son, large dog, and I moved into a couple of rooms off the deck and practiced power-out living. Camp stove for cooking, and generator for electricity (except for the hot tub ).

The genset has 240/120 VAC and 12 VDC. The flooring guys had a 220 sander that used the generator’s power for the first 30 minutes. I repositioned the generator to the side of the house and connected the refrigerator/freezer, stand-alone freezer, SAT receiver and TV, two 75w lights, laptop, 2 box fans, and 2 cell phone chargers.

During the 11 hours we used it, it seemed rather louder that I had hoped given the tightly packed neighborhood we live in. I experimented with several soundproofing methods. Using open foam cotton-covered deck pads, the sound level became acceptable, at least to us (with the windows closed we could not hear it). I had no way to measure the actual levels, but I was able to compare it to normal local noise levels.

The un-shrouded generator was much quieter than a UPS truck, banner-tow aircraft and a Stearman flying between 1500’ and 2000’, and a leaf-blower. Standing next to a box fan on high I could not hear the generator 20’ away. The sound level was comparable to a small GA aircraft flying over at the above altitudes (although I could still hear the generator because of it’s lower pitch). All helicopters, except the Coast Guard’s HH-65A, were louder. My next-door neighbor was not home so I’m not sure if it would have bothered her. My neighbor across the street works at home and did not hear it. The generator’s exhaust was uncovered, but was deflected, and pointed right at his home-office.

I can’t speak to reliability yet, since it’s only has about 20 hours on it.

Any soundproofing tips will be appreciated.

Pat

[The Reaper]

Pat:

Sound insulation for engines without water or forced air cooling normally impedes air flow and causes heat problems. Watch the temps.

TR

[PSM]

Originally Posted by The Reaper

Pat:

Sound insulation for engines without water or forced air cooling normally impedes air flow and causes heat problems. Watch the temps.

TR

Roger that, TR. With the 12VDC I can use some of the leftover computer fans I have, if cooling becomes a problem

Also, I need to clarify that the sound comparisons were made before the foam pads were put in place.

Pat

[mugwump]

Originally Posted by PSM

I discovered that RVers have found that Honda genets cloned by the Chinese (Chondas) are inexpensive, reliable and reasonably quiet (68 dB at 7 meters according to the manual).

I bought a Champion 4450k/3500k unit at a local auto parts store for $300.

Thanks for this, Pat. I looked at these on the net and the 6.5 hp and 11 hp Chinese copies of Honda's engines do indeed get decent reviews. I'm assuming that at $300 these are not inverter-style generators and therefore produce less-than-perfect AC, but I'm sure it's good enough for keeping the sump pump running as well as laptops/lights/etc.

While rooting around I found the web site below, which sells a $189 kit (Kit 'C' is a "no-drill" adapter kit) that allows these Chonda engines to be tri-fuel: gasoline, natural gas or propane. They claim that switching between fuels is as simple as closing a valve and that running off natgas/propane extends engine life.

In this neck of the woods, if power is off for an extended period (and anything that exceeds the life of your sump pump's battery backup constitutes "extended") you are looking at a flooded basement. It looks like I could pop the natural gas line off of my grill, attach it to the generator, and keep the thing running as long as necessary.

http://www.propane-generators.com/a-c_kits.htm

mugwump