First Things First: Key Questions Facing The Beginning Prepper

SHTF Plan ^ | 5-15-20124 | Mac Slavo - Norse Prepper

[PA Engineer]

I personally have seen the temperature in my location get to -60 degrees below zero with a wind chill of over 100 below. Many in my surrounding area will die of exposure unless they can be in my living room. I honestly don’t know the answer to the question of what will I do when people in my area are freezing and there is smoke coming out of my chimney. Anyone who has driven past a house burning wood in the winter knows it is fairly impossible to not alert people to a nearby source of heat. To me, this poses one of my greatest threats. Suggestions here would be helpful.

I'm glad I only have to heat down to -20.

My suggestion is to get a good catalytic wood stove insert for the fireplace. A good description can be found at Catalytic Wood Stoves vs. Non Catalytic Wood Stoves.

[blam]

"They can then be charged during the day when the generator is running."

Try these for daytime charging, silently. They can be bought for $149.00. (And, they don't use gasoline either.)

[Iron Munro]

Something to read

Online survival fiction

"The Union Creek Journal - A Chronicle of Survival"

http://unioncreekjournal.wordpress.com/2011/12/07/the-new-normal-november-2-2014/

Sample:

November 2, 2014: The New Normal

I’m looking out the window and the first snow of the season is falling. The flakes are nearly as large as the tip of my thumb; they’re slushy and coming down hard and fast. It’s early November and the snow bespeaks the promise of a long, hard winter. The Farmer’s Almanac on my kitchen table suggests as much – a winter colder and wetter than average.

The one thing the Farmer’s Almanac didn’t predict is probably the single-most important thing in our lives these days – the fact that this will be the first winter in modern history where hundreds of thousands or millions of people could literally freeze to death in their homes. I know that may sound strange. Given all of the modern conveniences of the twenty-first century, how in the world could the majority of citizens of the northernUnited Statesbe at risk of freezing to death?

Technically, I suppose it’s not just the citizens of the United States that are at risk. I’m pretty sure that nearly anyone who lives anywhere in the world where the temperatures drop to freezing or below is at risk as well. I have to assume, though, as we really don’t have much contact with the world outside of North America. For that matter, we really don’t have much contact with people, period. Air travel, automotive travel – travel over any significant distance at all – is pretty much out of the question. Electronic communication is all but gone too, with the exception of a few short-wave radios and Ham operators. We’re living in a virtual stone age. The skeletons of modern conveniences are a constant reminder of what used to be. The harsh reality is that the world has devolved to a point on par with the early nineteenth century in many ways.

[Ladysmith]

I wondered if I would ever find another who has read “Earth Abides.” I think the fellow in the book had it a bit easier as most of the population had died first. If things break down for us, it’s going to be messy!

[Charles Martel]

small, portable car starter type battery setups. I have a larger one, and a smaller one, the small one, when fully charged will run a 75 watt florescent (hooked up to a 225 W inverter) for over 12 hours.

Silent lights.

They can then be charged during the day when the generator is running.

Look into the solar battery charging stuff they sell at Harbor Freight - you can recharge a car battery or equivalent with one or two of those, silently.

Another thought is the various home-built DC-AC generators that can be built from garden edgers, power washers or lawnmowers - pretty clever and made of extremely abundant components. I first saw the design on www.TheEpicenter.com, which is an informative site to have bookmarked.

[Charles Martel]

I see we’re on the same page regarding the Harbor Freight solar panels. I’ve been trying them out and am very pleased with the performance. I’m currently building a mobile radio box with PV panels and battery for my mobile Ham rig.

[publius911]

Bookmark

[outofsalt]

Propane is a good idea for that early period in that harsh of a climate. The good thing is that few zombies will come your way and many will leave. I too have several 15 pounders in the shed (many bought at garage sales).

One fairly easily obtained fuel is Coal. Search the web for “bulk coal”. A pallet of bagged anthracite is not crazy expensive and burns hotter than most other fuels. It won't degrade as quickly as wood and takes up a lot less space.

If wood is available in your area you are lucky but it is a lot of work to store up a large enough supply for a long winter.

[blam]

"Propane is a good idea for that early period in that harsh of a climate. The good thing is that few zombies will come your way and many will leave. I too have several 15 pounders in the shed (many bought at garage sales)."

Excellent.

I must have 25 of the 20 pounders (I think that's what you mean too) bought at garage sales.

It is amazing how much prepper 'stuff' can found at garage sales on the cheap. I'm probably up to 30 cases of canning jars to @ about $1.25 per case average. Even if I never use or have to use them, they'll still be good barter items.

I've read an estimate that all the cooking for a month for a family of four can be accomplished on one 20 pound propane cylinder.(that's pretty good, if true)

[GOPJ]

If wood is available in your area you are lucky but it is a lot of work to store up a large enough supply for a long winter.

You're right. I heated a log cabin with wood one winter - years ago. People who think it's easy have absolutely no clue...

[blam]

(Ahem)

File this under:

It's Always Something (IAS)

There Are About 4,700 Asteroids Close Enough To Smash Into Earth

There are roughly 4,700 asteroids — give or take 1,500 — that come close enough to Earth to pose a hazard, new estimates from NASA reveal.

[Iron Munro]

I wondered if I would ever find another who has read “Earth Abides.”

I read it many years ago and have re-read it a few times in recent years. I have also shared it with a number of people over the years.

With the exception of a few changes in technology it reads as if it could have happened last year - or next year.

The basics of life are immutable.

[samiam1972]

Ping for later.

[metmom]

While there may be three million Americans preparing for a paradigm shift which promises to change our very way of life, that leaves roughly 99% of our population that has failed to take any serious steps to insulate themselves from catastrophe.

Not entirely accurate. One person could equal an entire household.

[outofsalt]

Some time ago the EPA lowered the capacity of the 20# cylinder to a max of 15# due to expansion of the gas if exposed to heat. They still call them 20 pounders but, all propane tanks, regardless of size, are subject to rules based on safety and can only be filled to about 80%.
Also the tanks need to be recertified so if your tanks are older than 2000 you might wish to do an exchange. Here is a good site for propane info.
http://www.propane101.com/propanecylinderfilling.htm

[DuncanWaring]

Was it Ben Franklin who said “He who chops his own wood is twice warmed”?

[blam]

So...because of tradition, we still call the 20 pounders but they're really 15 pounders, eh?

Thanks, I didn't know that.

[DuncanWaring]

I don’t know about the “weight” rating, but when I get mine filled they take about 4.5 gallons.

Also, once they are 12 years old, they can’t legally be refilled, but if you find one that’s 11 years old, you can probably get it for a good price (”It’ll be unfillable in a year - only good for scrap metal - give ya a buck for it.”), fill it one last time, and store it.

[BlueMondaySkipper]

Some time ago the EPA lowered the capacity of the 20# cylinder to a max of 15# due to expansion of the gas if exposed to heat.

That is not accurate.

The "20 lb tanks" have expansion room even with 20 lbs of gas inside. What happened was that the government requires all tanks be equipped with an overfill prevention device (OPD), which is a new valve that prevents the tank from being overfilled. These devices are simply floats that stop the inflow of propane at a certain point. Since that point can vary from tank to tank and valve to valve, it turned out that in many cases you could no longer get 20 lbs into a tank before the OPD stopped you.

Once that was realized, the propane industry could no longer sell them as 20 lb tanks because that would violate weights and measures laws (shorting the customer). The propane industry now (typically) says they are 17 lb tanks so they can't be accused of short changing the consumer. If the valve allows a full fill to 80% (20 lbs) the tank could still get that much when it's filled.

As background, I spent a year working in the propane industry while between (career) jobs back as the OPDs were coming in and the non-OPD tanks phased out. I have personally filled thousands of tanks and performed valve replacements and/or re-certifications of hundreds of others. The tanks themselves haven't changed and they have always had room for 20 lbs of propane when filled to 80%, which allows for expansion.

[BlueMondaySkipper]

Also, once they are 12 years old, they can’t legally be refilled,...

Exchange it.

The propane company that refills it can re-certify it and keep it in the stream. IIRC, visual recertifications are good for 5 years. When I worked in the industry we would scrap the junkers (broken feet, excessive rust, dents, etc.), re-valve those in need of an OPD or with leaking valves, and sandblast/paint those that started to get surface rust.

If you start inspecting various tanks you encounter, you will likely see some with hand-engraved dates in addition the the stamped manufacturer dates. That indicates they have been visually re-certified and are good for another 5 years. You might see multiple engravings on older tanks indicating they have been re-certified more than once. This engraving is more common with the larger tanks (100lbs for example) because they are generally much older than those for grills.