lets discuss preps for disasters

[kcflhrc]

Unfortunately the dooms dayers/preppers will be the first targets from the unprepared when things go really bad. So like I said early on, before you use up all your bullets make sure you keep one for yourself.

 

[RDrancher]

Lots of good information on here, especially some of the things I had never thought about like bleach and vinegar.

I heard somewhere that the Mormons are really big on keeping food and supplies stored to last at least three months. They sell to the public and you can buy in bulk from them. I have never compared their prices, but think they have a lot of research into this for what works.

https://www.lds.org/topics/food-storage?lang=eng

One of the worse things that I think happened to the idea of being prepared was that show on TV about preppers. Every one of them was an end of the world nut job wanting to be rambo during a zombie movie fighting off hordes of invaders. The stupid factor made it impossible to watch for very long, and very disappointing. I was looking for real world ideas to get through natural disasters or at least something reasonable that might happen. Now when you talk about prepping, it's almost like admitting you are afraid of being kidnapped by aliens instead of being responsible in planning ahead to take care of your family and livestock in case something happens.

I agree with you Eddie. Seems like every good idea for a reality show gets herded toward the wacko side of the pasture. Too bad, there could have been an opportunity there to provide some real world emergency information. Instead, being a "prepper" is now viewed as one belonging to a loosely knit band of nut jobs.

 

[s219]

Instead, being a "prepper" is now viewed as one belonging to a loosely knit band of nut jobs.

Luckily, those of us on TBN are only a loosely knit band of loose nuts when it comes to tractors.... :confused2:

 

[RDrancher]

good luck with your move.

my dream is to get one of those shipping / roll off containers. even one of the short ones. great storage..

Thanks! The short containers are in pretty high demand and it's reflected in their price. The longer models are a much better value. I had a 20 footer at my place is CA that only cost me the price of moving it off a friend's property. I was surprised how quickly it filled up with just my concrete tools. I'll be going with a longer one this time...maybe two, with a covered breezeway between them.

 

[SirReal63]

A funny thing, to us at least, when we started doing this we were surprised at the large numbers of people in our area who are doing the exact same thing. In the Austin area, there are several large "prepper" groups. Unfortunately there exists in those groups the "doomsdayers" who give everyone a bad name. Fortunately the majority are more the homesteading type who are not the nut jobs but people who understand. We have an LDS store, it is usually sold out on a consistent basis, but it is a great resource for bulk items. Prepping has become big business, and there are a lot of people out there cashing in on it. I would encourage everyone to research the correct ways to store food and what items to keep to ensure what you will need or want to have.

 

[kcflhrc]

Thanks! The short containers are in pretty high demand and it's reflected in their price. The longer models are a much better value. I had a 20 footer at my place is CA that only cost me the price of moving it off a friend's property. I was surprised how quickly it filled up with just my concrete tools. I'll be going with a longer one this time...maybe two, with a covered breezeway between them.

Depending on the size of shelter you are looking for there are some simple shelters that will bolt right to your Garage floor. Saw a segment on the local news about them.

 

[paulharvey]

remember florida 04 or 05 that huge storm that parked over the entire state for a couple days.. a sat image showed a big swirling cloud south of georgia, north of cuba.

That was Frances or Francis,

 

[Soundguy]

Lots of good information on here, especially some of the things I had never thought about like bleach and vinegar.

I heard somewhere that the Mormons are really big on keeping food and supplies stored to last at least three months. They sell to the public and you can buy in bulk from them. I have never compared their prices, but think they have a lot of research into this for what works.

https://www.lds.org/topics/food-storage?lang=eng

One of the worse things that I think happened to the idea of being prepared was that show on TV about preppers. Every one of them was an end of the world nut job wanting to be rambo during a zombie movie fighting off hordes of invaders. The stupid factor made it impossible to watch for very long, and very disappointing. I was looking for real world ideas to get through natural disasters or at least something reasonable that might happen. Now when you talk about prepping, it's almost like admitting you are afraid of being kidnapped by aliens instead of being responsible in planning ahead to take care of your family and livestock in case something happens.

yup,, I think that was ? history channel that did prepers, and yeah.. I agree.. they kinda messed it up by taking only the most fanatical people to interview.

remember the guy that made the compound out of storage containers ( hey.. I like the idea of containers.. just not how he set them up and used them ).

then he fired at them to test if they were bullet proof.

I notice he only used a 22lr.. He declared it fully bullet proof after that test... I got sad news for him...

 

[Soundguy]

Thanks! The short containers are in pretty high demand and it's reflected in their price. The longer models are a much better value. I had a 20 footer at my place is CA that only cost me the price of moving it off a friend's property. I was surprised how quickly it filled up with just my concrete tools. I'll be going with a longer one this time...maybe two, with a covered breezeway between them.

sounds sweet.

I'd love to see pics of whatever you come up with, when you get around to implementing it.

 

[farmer2009]

Well, it looks like we'll be closing on our new place further out in the sticks on the 15th. As soon as we get settled, I'll dig and pour a few concrete piers and have a 40' container delivered. Welded to straps in the piers, it should do pretty well in the event of a tornado. It will be set next to the barn and the exterior finished to match. All of the emergency stuff will be stored in there. Weather is my first concern, but WROL...especially with the state of our nation right now ranks second. Our new place is at the top of a hill with a 360* view. One of the many reasons I chose it. Lots of good info so far guys. Keep 'em coming.

I don't think I'd use that container as a safe room for the family but if it'll just be supply storage it should fair pretty well.

Wife wouldn't allow a container here. It's not pretty enough.

Sounds like you have a nice place coming.

 

[Soundguy]

Wife wouldn't allow a container here. It's not pretty enough.

Bury it after some surface prep..

 

[RDrancher]

I don't think I'd use that container as a safe room for the family but if it'll just be supply storage it should fair pretty well.

Wife wouldn't allow a container here. It's not pretty enough.

Sounds like you have a nice place coming.

Yes, just a safe storage for supplies. I have a contractor's account for storm shelters, so we'll have a semi buried concrete model incorporated into the side of a raised concrete patio. The place will be nice when it's completed, but it will definitely be function over looks for awhile. I gave up on keeping up with the joneses quite awhile ago. I'm excited to finally be able to put into place all of the ideas for emergencies, work space and storage that I've had in my head for a long time.

 

[RDrancher]

Bury it after some surface prep..

I understand your comment is in jest, but quite a few preppers have found out the hard way that storage containers are strongest on their corners and not meant to hold vertical loads anywhere else. Without bracing from corner to corner and across the top they can collapse when they're buried.

 

[Soundguy]

Only if burried in contact . All you need is a poured formed cavity.

 

[dmccarty]

I have been looking at foods that store well from a being on a long boat trip perspective. A LONG crossing would take a month or so but one should have a couple months worth of food on board in case there is a problem. The bigger, more realistic problem is having food you like that you won't be able to get in some places. You should be able to get some food but it might not be the food you want or crave.

• Dried peanuts are pretty cheap, provide quite a bit of calories, protein and nutrients.
• Dried beans are cheap and a five gallon bucket will last a LONG time.
• Rice or pasta takes up little space and is very low cost.
• Flour is low cost and take little space.
• Canned meats of course but especially something you have canned yourself.
• Dried fruits and veggies.
• Dried/powdered cheese. I have bought a couple flavors of powdered cheese to try at home. It looks to be what is used in the boxed macaroni and cheese boxes but tastes better. Lasts along time without a fridge.
• Dried cream. What is the point of coffee without cream? :confused3: This stuff is pretty good but real cream is better.

Technology has allowed boats to be very self sufficient. Solar power and wind generators can provide most if not all of the power needed on a boat. Even making drinking water from salt water can be done with DC power. Boats are not completely self sufficient of course, they need man made products like sails, lines, fuel, parts, filters, etc but a boat can survive for a very long time with what it has on board.

Later,
Dan

 

[forgeblast]

Instead of bleach buy pool shock, make sure its not uv treated. One bag treats 50000 gallons (if i remember correctly). The water storage kits that come with the two dropper bottles contain pool shock.
Bulk food that you will eat, be prepare.com has 6 gallon bucks of beans rice etc.
We planted a lot of hazelnuts and have an oil press/lights and cooking. Black walnuts not ready yet.
Rock salt, we use it on our driveway every year and have a few hundred pounds.
Water filter, we have a good one and a make your own kit like the Berkley.
Storing supplies, do not use totes, one mouse will get in and rip it all to shreds......it was a mess.
We use 5-6gallon buckets with gamma lids, and beprepared.com has bulk storage kits like the metallic bags and 02 depleation pouches that you throw in and seal and it sucks up all the 02.
A water distillation device is something easy to build.
Reusable canning lids and seals there is a company that makes them.
My big thing I am saving up for is a hand pump on our well. we have a deep well and its going to run 1500 to put it in.

 

[Garandman]

I agree with you Eddie. Seems like every good idea for a reality show gets herded toward the wacko side of the pasture. Too bad, there could have been an opportunity there to provide some real world emergency information. Instead, being a "prepper" is now viewed as one belonging to a loosely knit band of nut jobs.

Whereas I can remember weathering 4-7 days without power as a kid without any special "preparation" at all. Everyone's dad in the neighborhood was a WWII vet and a snow storm was a pretty minor inconvenience compared to crossing Germany, Italy, or the Pacific.

 

[flyerdan]

Another thing to consider: some have mentioned having water to flush the toilet...that's well and good if you're on a septic system, but if you are on a municipal sewer system it requires pumping to keep it moving. Look around you and see if there are any houses at higher elevations and remember what rolls downhill. If you want to keep the house habitable, it might pay to block the toilets with plastic, rags, or whatever stopper you can come up with. It won't have to hold a lot of pressure, just enough that the 'artesian wells' spring up in another house(s) on your level. Of course sinks will be affected as well; the bathroom sinks with the overflow vent will probably need to be blocked at the trap while the kitchen can be closed with a less permanent measure so it can be used to determine the condition of the situation. Maybe on a sortie an empty place can be found where the cleanout trap can be opened to use their yard as a leech field and restore use to your plumbing.
Generators do make a lot of noise, now is the time to source a length of flexible exhaust pipe and weld fitting on it and the muffler so that it can be directed (ideally underground through a gopher tunnel) or some other makeshift silencing medium.

 

[paulharvey]

Another thing to consider: some have mentioned having water to flush the toilet...that's well and good if you're on a septic system, but if you are on a municipal sewer system it requires pumping to keep it moving. Look around you and see if there are any houses at higher elevations and remember what rolls downhill. If you want to keep the house habitable, it might pay to block the toilets with plastic, rags, or whatever stopper you can come up with. It won't have to hold a lot of pressure, just enough that the 'artesian wells' spring up in another house(s) on your level. Of course sinks will be affected as well; the bathroom sinks with the overflow vent will probably need to be blocked at the trap while the kitchen can be closed with a less permanent measure so it can be used to determine the condition of the situation. Maybe on a sortie an empty place can be found where the cleanout trap can be opened to use their yard as a leech field and restore use to your plumbing.
Generators do make a lot of noise, now is the time to source a length of flexible exhaust pipe and weld fitting on it and the muffler so that it can be directed (ideally underground through a gopher tunnel) or some other makeshift silencing medium.

In most cases it should run out of the man holes and or lift stations before it backs up; unless your city has a pressure or vacuum system. If you do get back flow, pop your clean out, and let it loose in the yard.

 

[paulharvey]

Double post