Be Prepared

[x SF med]

Here in the Northeast - storing gasoline is now a problem - ETOH causes it to gum rather quickly - (I have to make sure to run the motors on my boat and dinghy to keep the carbs clean if I haven't used them in a couple of weeks) which could cause issues in CARB or near-CARB states. OTOH- ULSD Diesel stores longer and better - I'm glad I own a diesel car (not just fuel storage, but mileage)

[The Reaper]

Originally Posted by x_sf_med

Here in the Northeast - storing gasoline is now a problem - ETOH causes it to gum rather quickly - (I have to make sure to run the motors on my boat and dinghy to keep the carbs clean if I haven't used them in a couple of weeks) which could cause issues in CARB or near-CARB states. OTOH- ULSD Diesel stores longer and better - I'm glad I own a diesel car (not just fuel storage, but mileage)

Have you tried Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer?

I am thinking about running stored fuel through a filter before using it.

The other problem is that injector are much more delicate than the old carbureted systems and have very low tolerance for gunk.

TR

[x SF med]

both boat (outboard) engines are carbuerated - the issue is that even with sta-bil, the ETOH gums the nozzles and leaves gunk at the lowest points in the carb, and in the lowest lines in the fuel system - nasty stuff. Even the mechanics hate the new fuel, it creates lots of repetitive work.... What happens is that the4 ETOH evaoprates in the system leaving some of its organic components behind which causes the carbon in the gasoline to gel - not completely unlike cold weather gelling of diesel, but harder to get rid of, heat won't do it, because of the organic recompounding - you need a solvent to break it out.

[mugwump]

This is "Chapter 9 - Food" from the 1986 update to Cresson H. Kearny's classic Nuclear War Survival Skills: http://www.oism.org/nwss/s73p920.htm

It includes an expedient grain "mill", cooking w/ minimal fuel, stored food requirements, vitamins and avoiding deficiency diseases, etc.

[Roycroft201]

How many times since midnight on Thursday, 12 Oct, did The Reaper's Be Prepared thread flash thru my mind ?

Too many to count.

Anyone who is putting off "until next week", or whenever, to purchase ANY of the items you know you need in case of an unexpected emergency please trust me when I suggest DO NOT PROCRASTINATE ! You never know when an early snowfall (1 - 3 inches predicted) turns into a major storm (some areas received up to 24") of heavy, wet snow that will take down trees and power lines in unprecedented numbers.

How many times did I kick myself during the 3+ days I was without electricity, tap water (the pumping station went down for some of us. It was back up in 24 hours but we still have to boil it.), heat (temps dipped into the low 40's - high 30's at night), contact with the outside world (Did I have enough "D" batteries ? Nooooooooo ), fully charged cell phone battery (cordless phone needs electricity), cash (ATMs don't work), full tank of gas (Didn't matter when there was a State of Emergency but it is an unnecessary concern, nevertheless. ), etc. etc. ??? Most assuredly I called myself a 'dumb a**' more times than I care to mention.

Of the over 400,000 people without power, it has since been restored to just under 200,000. (Mine was restored late last night).

When neighbors said they weren't prepared, I told them I will be giving them a website addy that has an incredible amount of information.

I am still kicking myself (but I now have LOTS and LOTS of "D" batteries ). This lesson was learned the hard way.

RC201
(aka Dumb A**)

[x SF med]

RC-
Experience is the best teacher. Chalk it up to a learning experience, and go on from here. I'll admit it took more than one trip to the field in winter to get my kit straight (not too much, not too little) and more than one weekend trip on the boat to figure out what was needed and what was a luxury. Now that you've been 'snowed in' you won't forget....

[The Reaper]

Potpourri for $200 Alex, breaking news drives me off schedule to discuss it. Winter storms and earthquakes are making news. Be prepared or be (un)squared away.

Covering these because they are the topics you mentioned, if you (or our Hawaii contingent) have any more, ask away.

Batteries:

Alkaline "D"s are fine, but rechargeables are better. I like this company http://www.thomas-distributing.com/index.htm especially thier MAHA chargers, and keep a ton of the PowerEx rechargeable AAs on hand. Avoid devices with AAAs if AA versions are available, the smaller AAAs hold only 1/3 the power. If you are not going with rechargeables, the Lithiums are the way to go with long-term storage for high-power demand items. Buy the freshest ones you can and consider a solar panel for the rechargeables. The solar panels can also recharge cell batteries, but once the towers lose battery back-up or generators, you are sunk. The GMRS/FRS radios are great for keeping a channel open with someone in the immediate area. I also recommend a good multi-band radio that gets shortwave. At least one (if not two) flashlights per person are a must. All of those come in AA versions. Standardize as much as you can, plan for flexibility, estimate usage/power requirements and buy batteries accordingly.

Light:

Candles are a much more efficient nightlight, as long as they are the proper kind, used safely and correctly. The people who do not follow those rules burn down a lot of houses in this country every year.

Water:

Once you hear that the storm is coming and think that you may lose water, make sure that you have your camping stove ready and have plenty of fuel. Bear in mind that you can fill the tub to store a lot of water,, the lines in the house can be drained frm the lowest outlet (if you crack a higher tap), and if desperate, you can use the water in the toilet tanks (if you do not use a bowl cleaning product in the tank) and the hot water heater (turn the HWH power off first so that it does not burn up when the electricity is restored.

If you had the filter system mugwump laid out, or a MIOX, you would not have to boil it. Get a filter system, and learn how to use it now. Print out the instructions while you can, and keep them handy.

Warmth:

We are presently running a Kerosene radiant heater we got from Northern Tool for just over $100. http://www2.northerntool.com/product..._200316426.htm The radiant aspect means that it radiates heat from the front, so it can be placed along a wall, unlike the convection heaters. You can feel it in on your body, just like a fireplace. So far, the wife loves it. On nights when the temps drop below freezing, the radiant heater helps take the load off the heat pump, which as you may be aware, has to use electric heating strips when the outdoor temps drop too low. Then, you are buying some very expensive heating. Our stove puts out 10,500 BTUs, which is more than enough to keep the 2000 sf house we live in comfortable in anything above 30 degrees. If it got really cold, you could close doors or tack up the plastic sheeting or tarps to "shrink" the size of your heated space to something you could manage. Our houses are usually too big anyway, and I figure that we could collapse the four of us to one bedroom, the living room, the kitchen, and one bathroom. It burns K-1 kerosene at about 1 gallon per 12 hours. I have not had to burn it for more than 4-6 hours at the time. A five-gallon can of Kerosene should last for 5-10 days if you use it judiciously, or you can buy an extra can per week of anticipated needs. It does require D batteries for the igniter. I would stock an extra wick and an extra igniter, and spare D batteries. The smell is noticeable only when starting or extinguishing the stove, then only for a few minutes. About the only downside is that it is either fully on, or off, there are no intermediate positions. You need to open a window or door if it is too warm, or turn it off for a while. It also produces small amounts of carbon monoxide, which means that if you are going to use it while sleeping, and want to be safe, you should have a good carbon monoxide detector as well. Hell, you should have one of those and a good fire extinguisher or three anyway.

Cash:

If you do not have at least a month's expenses on hand (or as much as you can afford) in cash, you are wrong. You will not lose enough interest on it to miss. Get a fireproof safe or strongbox and bolt it to a structural member. Store the cash in it in small bills and gold or silver coins. The person you are trading with will never have change for a $100 or a $50, trust me.

HTH, if you wish, more than happy to chat about anything else you missed.

We now return you to our regularly scheduled broadcast.

Emergency food and cooking requires (DUH!) storable food, and a heat source.

Stoves:

As mentioned above, there are a number of camping type stoves like the multi-burner Coleman that will do almost as good a job as your range, except for baking. You do need to know how to operate it and to cook on it. The cooking requirements for a bachelor are significantly different from a family of six. Have the right gear for the job. In a pinch, you can use your gas grill (or charcoal, for you purists, but outdoors only) to cook, and you can fix simple meals with a small portable camp stove, like the MSR or Coleman offerings. I prefer a multi-fuel stove to the gas cartridge type due to my usual luck at finding odd items when I really need them. If need be, I can siphon enough gas to cook with for a week. You will not be running your range from the generator, though you could easily use a hotplate, toaster oven, or crockpot. Cooking over an open fire takes a lot of practice to get it right. Don't count on being good at anything beyond Smores and hot dogs unless you have tried it. My bride frowns on ash in her eggs.

Food:

For a day or two, most of us can get by on leftovers and takeout boxes. After that, you better have a plan. There are a couple of routes to select from here, or a mix of them. The high-dollar solution is to go with all freeze-dried, which is also very tasty and requires only hot water. Most cannot afford that for very long. You could lay in MREs, but unless you are getting them from Uncle Sam for free, will be about as expensive as the freeze-dried option. Some people have taken the least expensive approach, which is to buy a year's supply of bulk food. For those unfamiliar with this, it includes staples such as wheat, beans, milk, salt, and honey or sugar. The stuff is inexpensive (except for shipping), but the diet is very monotonous, time intensive to prepare, and you better be accustomed to cooking from scratch like an Amish wife. Many of the plans, when closely examoned, will provide enough calories and nutrients for you to survive for a year, but you will look like a survivor of Dachau or a Size Zero model when the year is up. The other option is to accumulate extra supplies of things that you normally eat, plan and create an inventory control, and rotate stock as required. This is the easiest, the least expensive, and requires no acclimatizing of your family to the taste. For me, I would like to have a week or so of freeze dried or MRE's in case of an evacuation, some staples in case of long term disruption (especially perishables like wheat for flour, dehydrated milk and eggs, canned butter and cheese, canned meat, etc.), and several months of extra pancake mix, pasta, oatmeal, peanut butter, and so forth in tje cupboard. The food can all have an extended shelf life if stored properly. A vaccuum food sealer, bags, canning jars, and a cool basement would do wonders here. The local Mormon Church has a lot of expertise at this as well. Note that freeze-dried suppliers are running a serious backlog due to bird flu preparations, and the bulk food suppliers are having some challenges meeting needs as well. Plan early, and remain flexible without becoming completely limp. Semper Gumby.

Just my .02, YMMV. Anyone else have any thoughts?

TR

[The Old Guy]

Reaper,

Outstand discussion and input on a subject that many people have just begun to investigate.

A hearty THANK YOU.

The Old Guy

[Gypsy]

Originally Posted by Roycroft201

fully charged cell phone battery (cordless phone needs electricity),

Well, TR covered things so comprehensively (thank you Sir!)

The only thing I can think to add is get yourself a regular "old fashioned" phone. I have one (along with cordless and cell) and as long as phone lines are still working you at least have a form of communication...

[Roycroft201]

TR -

As always, your suggestions are excellent and spot on.

The lesson learned was that we are often lulled into a sense of 'everything is fine' and I can wait until 'next week' or 'pay day' or any one of our many reasons to put off getting everything needed for an unexpected situation.

Having some of the things that have been discussed in this thread was a big help, but missing many other pieces of the plan (not really costly - just important) certainly became evident to me very quickly.

X_sf_ med - I really should know better when it comes to snow storms. I survived the "Blizzard of '77" here. ( I was stranded and ended up staying with nuns in their convent for 3 days.....and I'm not even Catholic ! It was really an experience ........but I found out later that the male teachers, who spent the 3 days in the priests' quarters, had steak, cigars and played poker while those of us ladies in the convent seemed to be going to prayers in the chapel all the time ! )

And Gypsy, you are right about the old fashioned phone. A friend is passing along one of those old "Princess" style phones they still had, in case this happens again.

Let my mistake be a lesson to anyone else with plans to "Be Prepared".....don't procrastinate on completing your entire plan.

Roycroft201

[x SF med]

[QUOTE=Roycroft201]X_sf_ med - I really should know better when it comes to snow storms. I survived the "Blizzard of '77" here. ( I was stranded and ended up staying with nuns in their convent for 3 days.....and I'm not even Catholic ! It was really an experience ........but I found out later that the male teachers, who spent the 3 days in the priests' quarters, had steak, cigars and played poker while those of us ladies in the convent seemed to be going to prayers in the chapel all the time ! )/QUOTE]

RC- are you admitting that it's good to be a guy? I'd have been much happier eating steak, smoking cigars and playing poker for 3 days - I bet they had scotch and beer too......

Ok, those priests were prepared!!!

Back to the real thread. I need to rotate stock for the stored foodstuffs, and run to the store for a recharger (lots of AA devices, using high output alkalines currently, like TRs recharger idea).

[The Reaper]

Originally Posted by x_sf_med

Back to the real thread. I need to rotate stock for the stored foodstuffs, and run to the store for a recharger (lots of AA devices, using high output alkalines currently, like TRs recharger idea).

The rechargable AAs will hold four to five times as much power as an alkaline AA cell, and cost less than two bucks each. I'd call that a pretty good bargain. Having bought cheap Chinese knockoffs and the real deal PowerExs from Thomas Distributing, I can say that you get what you pay for. The only downside is that like any rechargable, they self-discharge over time (3-6 months). All you have to do is recharge them every few months, and you do not have to buy batteries again for a long time. For just over $20, you can get the charger, AC and DC charging cords, four NiMH rechargables of at least 2000 mA, and a battery case to keep them in. OTOH, $20 will get you about a dozen high end DuraCells. If you order the system, get another couple of packs of the 2000-2500 mA batteries, and look for the specials on the site. You can get eight more good rechargables right now for less than $20. The 2700-2900mA batteries bring a premium right now, and aren't that much more powerful. Why go buy the recharger? Let UPS drop it at your door. One stop rechargable shopping.

Good point about rotating food stocks. Time to go check the inventory.

RC, we don't just have to complete the plan, we have to start executing it, especially the long lead time items like training. Things like keeping your car's gas tank at least half-full at all times just requires a change in the way we live. I don't want to be the guy in long lemming lines for gas, ice, bread, eggs, milk, etc. when the disaster strikes. I want to be the one sitting at the house already prepared for it. Anyone who has ever seen the stores in the South when they announce a few flakes of snow are on the way understands this.

Glad to be of assistance.

TR

[x SF med]

TR-
Not to beat this to death - diesel vehicles (currently the only really affordable ones are VWs right now) are great for escaping. I drive a VW Golf TDi - 90 hp with 165 ftlb low end torque - don't laugh at the horsepower, the car moves, and will crawl itself out of most situations in low gears and steady 'go pedal' pressure. How many others out there get 44 mpg @ 80 mph fully loaded in an automatic? At 'normal' driving speeds I've gotten up to 49.5 mpg. I consistently drive from NJ to NC on one tank of fuel, and can toss in heating fuel, biodiesel, or, if it's warm out, vegetable oil (if you have a saponification kit, you can make your own biodiesel). Low maintenance - oil and filter changes every 10k, fuel filter every 20-30k, air filter at 40k, no tune ups, timing belt/ water pump change at 80k, upgrade to 120k timing belt at first change. This is my rolling sail locker - so most of my gear is in the car - foulies, knives, tools, sleeping bag, clothes, extra shoes and boots.... 95 % of the maintenance can be done with a short list of tools too.

If you want the shizzle for an SUV - the V10 Taureg TDi 4wd is your vehicle. 350 Hp, 550 ftlbs of torque - you can tow an Abrams with this beast. Alas, it only gets about 28 mpg hwy. at about $68K it ain't for the financially faint hearted - but it's sister ship is the Porshe Cayenne (same vehicle!!!) which strts at $80k for the 2wd version with a 6 cyl gas engine.

OK, now back to our regularly scheduled preparedness programming... this was not paid for by VW, but should have been.

[The Reaper]

Can someone explain to me why non-highway taxed kerosene is running $.30-.50 per gallon more than taxed diesel?

I thought that the reason they put the dye in K-1 was to keep sneaky diesel drivers from using it, but at a HIGHER price than DF, why would you want to?

TR

[x SF med]

Originally Posted by The Reaper

Can someone explain to me why non-highway taxed kerosene is running $.30-.50 per gallon more than taxed diesel?

Can you say home heating season?
Expect diesel to increase by 15-18% over the next month, for some reason the oil companies/refineries will not add more diesel capacity, but will straight crack unleaded gasoline... Kind of a waste as you can still get the 3rd level distillates after the 1st levels (diesel, kero, Aero) have been skimmed. The thermal efficiencies of the cetane scale fuels should be enough to convince most people to use them rather than octane based fuels. Oh, yeah the soot lie - cetane exhausts can be scrubbed, and a good turbo will reburn most of the junk anyway. ULSD is on the way, a biodiesel mix and you gain back the cetane and the lubricity, while losing the soot and reducing the NOx

Europe sold 52% diesel passenger cars this year..... America less than 2%.
The expectation is 55-58% diesel sales in Europe next year. There will be an offering of 10 diesel powered passenger vehicles in the US next year - and none available in CARB states. Of those diesels offered in the US, only 3 are even close to affordable by the common driver - if they can find them.

TR you should not have let me get started on the diesel / cetane / biofuels rant - the general American public is ignorant of the choices the Europeans have had for years. Oh, yes, ignorance implies choice, even if the choice was not made bt you, but for you by the Oil and Auto Industries.

I'm done for now, please don't use the "D" word for a while, I might relapse.