10 Common Prepping Mistakes

Urban Survival Site ^ | 4/9/11 | Urban Alan

[Kartographer]

With the abundance of bad info out there, it’s easy for new preppers to make a lot of mistakes. I, myself, am a new prepper by some standards. I’ve made many mistakes and I’m sure I’ll make more, but that’s part of the learning process. To help you speed up this process, here are some common prepping mistakes you’ll want to avoid:

[mouser]

not just water pumps but about anything for a non power life this place caters to mainly Amish and such lot of neat stuff

http://www.lehmans.com/

warning do not let wife/girlfriend spend too much time looking at oil lamps

[GlockThe Vote]

I live in the Bronx, NY. I have TSHTF bags in the car, house, and office.

Each is tailored approriately. the one in the house has a lot more gear than the car, the one in the office has a lot of crap plus I have water and food, guns and ammo in the office and home, and the one in the car is a maxpedition bag stuffed to the grillas with a katadyn filter.

[goodwithagun]

Thanks- I'll keep that in mind. Berkey actually suggests adding a bit of bleach to non-tap water and then using the filtration system to get out the dead yuckies (it's a technical term) and the bleach. I'm not crazy about the idea of feeding my kids bleach, so using the Berkey is preferable to me. It was expensive, but I think of it as an investment. Plus, we can use it when we take the kids camping. My main prepping objective is to provide for my family should disaster strike. My secondary objective is to show my children where their food comes from by gardening with heirloom seeds and collecting rain water for gardening (and potentially human) use.

[GlockThe Vote]

Another thing I have been thinking about - cell phone chargers!

So far, I have gotten extra batteries for the cell phones as well as the ETON Radios. I have one I got at Radio Shack for $49.00 that is a crank radio and has usb ports.

Amazing little radio. Really great piece of equipment for $49.00.

[RC one]

my situation is that I live in an urban area with my girlfriend in her house but I own my own house out in the country. My house is the “base-camp” but there’s 75 miles between me and it. Our urban dwelling, as it happens, is about 20 miles from the Davis Bessie nuclear power facility. That seems more significant to me these days for some reason. I spent 8 years in the infantry learning one set of survival skills, 6 years in college learning another, and I have been an RN for 5 years now where I am developing a third set of skills. I think I can survive just about any calamitous situation... except maybe Barack Obama. God help us all.

[mad_as_he$$]

Great idea. My tractors are diesel and I have not explored running them on other sources.

[mad_as_he$$]

There is but they cost about as much as a solar set up. (might be a business opportunity).

[Vendome]

Yes. Right next to the Freeze Dried Ice Cubes for cooling drinks in the summer heat.

LOL

[Vendome]

Lifesaver bottle can “PURIFY” up to 4000 or 6000 Liters depending on the configuration - on the go and anywhere.

Drip into Katrina type water and you will get pure clean water.

$179 bucks for the 6000 liter version is cheap when you are thirsty.

Filters are a must, like Katadyn, but they are filters and will not deliver PURE water.

http://www.lifesaversystems.com/

[Vendome]

For those of who have not done so, I would encourage you to buy a water purifier.

 

On the order of things, it really isn't expensive and i

 

Last week, in an American city, 2 Million people are boiling their water, due to a break in their primary water main.

 

In Katrina, people were walking through water they could drink but for a purifier.

 

In Haiti, the water was contaminated and a water purifier would have helped stem problems associated with fouled water.

 

In Tennessee the floods took out the clean water supply but again, a water purifier would have delivered clean water.

 

Please note there is a difference between filtered water and purified water.  Filters are fine for backwoods hikes, for the most part but, a water purifier in a grid down situation is an absolute must.

 

NACN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HasTWSZVYtU&feature=player_embedded

 

CNN

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/02/boston-area-communities-under-boil-water-order/

 

I personally have the Lifesaver bottle for just such an emergency.

 

It can purify 6,000(1,500 gallons) liters of water on one filter.  That's Katrina water that everyone was walking through.

 

It will remove germs, chemical, effluence, etc and return pure water that is drinkable and can deliver 2.5L per minute.

 

“ The smallest bacteria are about 200nm (200 nanometers) in size, the smallest viruses are about 25nm. The holes in LIFESAVER membranes are 15nm so nothing is getting through.”

 

FAQ's

http://www.lifesaversystems.com/faqs.html

 

 

                      

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They also offer a jerry can version that holds 18 liters and filters 20,000 liters(next on my list)

 

                    

 

 

                      

 

 

 

These things aren't cheap but hey, When you are thirsty you will be glad you invested in these and so will your family

 

The prices are as follows:

 

6,000 liter  Lifesaver bottle =  $179.99

 

20,000 Liter Lifesaver Jerry Can =  $399.00

 

 

 

 

[Kartographer]

Built my own over the weekend less that $120.00. Plans in my Manual.

[RC one]

Treating Water with a 5-6 Percent Liquid Chlorine Bleach Solution

Clear/Cloudy Water Volume to drops of bleach to purify

1 quart/1 liter 3 drops if clear - 5 drops if turbid

1/2 gallon 5 drops if clear - 10 drops if turbid

1 gallon 1/8 teaspoon if clear - 1/4 teaspoon if turbid

5 gallons 1/2 teaspoon if clear - 1 teaspoon if turbid

10 gallons 1 teaspoons if clear- 2 teaspoons if turbid

Cloudy water should be filtered before boiling or adding bleach.

Filter water using coffee filters, paper towels, cheese cloth or a cotton plug in a funnel.

Place the water (filtered, if necessary) in a clean container. Add the amount of bleach according to the table below.

Mix thoroughly and allow to stand for at least 30 minutes before using (60 minutes if the water is cloudy or very cold).

Cloudy water should be filtered before boiling or adding bleach.

Filter water using coffee filters, paper towels, cheese cloth or a cotton plug in a funnel.

[Stormy_MS1]

Just printed out your manual. Thanks!

[RC one]

Then there's this, the Solar Still, one of my favorite ad lib survival devices:

with this you can purify the water out of a vehicles radiator and drink it. http://www.energywhiz.com/experiments/solar_still.htm

[ResponseAbility]

****My main prepping objective is to provide for my family should disaster strike. My secondary objective is to show my children where their food comes from by gardening with heirloom seeds and collecting rain water for gardening (and potentially human) use.****

Which are great ways to teach self-reliance and true freedom. Your children are blessed.

[Kartographer]

"Just printed out your manual. Thanks!"

Did your printer start smoking? ;-)

[Vendome]

There are two articles at the bottom of the original article from this post and in one of them they actually advise against a solar still.

Sheesh!

I don’t care how little water they produce anything is better than nothing

[RC one]

downloaded. Thanks. Question? I’m experimenting with dehydrating right now. I’m currently dehydrating blanched potatoes, milling them into flour and then adding salt to the flour as a preservative to extend shelf life. I’m wondering if I could A.) use kosher salt in order to filter it out at the time of use or if B.) the large salt particles would be ineffective at inhibiting bacterial activity and if that is the case, then C.) how much fine salt would be necessary to act as a preservative? Any thoughts?

[Vendome]

How long does liquid bleach store before losing efficacy?

A friend opened on of his storage shed and found two 1 gallon containers of bleach. They have probably been there 2 or 3 years.

I told him to toss them as bleach losses it’s effectiveness after only 1 year.

What say you?

[Vendome]

Sorry, what did you build over the weekend?