Survival Preparedness

[2dogs]

A new product QuickClot is on the market. It is getting rave reviews from the tactical market. The Army and Marines are using it, the marines intend to issue it to all combatants. I've ordered 2 battle packs for myself. It might be worth a look.http://www.z-medica.com/

 

[2dogs]

Sorry. I don't know why a link didn't form. Z-medica (860)662.2201

 

[Brock]

Hey snakebite, I also use my car as a backup to my solar, 5kw genset, 1kw genset, and homebrew 12v genset. I put 4 gauge from just outside my garage to my battery bank, fused it at 100 amps and put a 130amp alternator in one of my cars. The nice thing about the car is, it is really quiet compared to all my other gensets, but I am sure it isn't very efficient. Actually it is better then my homebrew 12v lawnmower unit, and probably better then my 1kw unit. Of course I have 12kw of battery and dual 5kw inverters. To keep my freezer and fridge going.

 

[Lighthouse]

Hi All,
Another thing to consider when using chlorine & I presume other chemical methods of water purification is water temperature. IRRC the warmer the water, the quicker the purification process. Of course if you were to follow this logic completely, we could just make sure that the water is up to 100 degrees C and not have to worry so much about the critters, just the contaminants.

 

[Lighthouse]

Snakebite,

How about a source and cost for some of those "dirt cheap" inverters? Thanks.

 

[Lighthouse]

AlbanyTom,

Regarding the drops per gallon to PPM conversion, I recall seeing that particular item address in Equipped to Survive. Equipped.org do a search on water purification and bleach. Seems to me it was about 4-5 months ago.

 

[Lux Luthor]

Brock, Snakebite,

Do you guys know anything about those small gas powered generators? I saw a lot of RV users using these over the Summer up at Lake George. They're really small, and run nice and quite. I'm sure they would be way more efficient than running an inverter off a car, but they're probably a lot more expensive.

I've also heard of people converting generators to propane, and wiring them to kick in when the main power goes off.

 

[Brock]

I am not sure which small gas powered generators your referring to. I know Honda made a new one that generates DC then varies the engine speed to match the load, and then converts it back to AC 120 via an internal inverter. Those are supposed to be really quite, unless you load them up full.

The larger gas or diesel genset are the most efficient, some even have an option for heating water to recover even more energy.

Usually the smaller you get the less efficient they are, especially it they are 2 stroke.

 

[Dain]

Hey Lux, is this the generator you were thinking of? The WisperGen system

 

[budlight]

Who did you order it from? The website only had an email address.

Mike-

 

[Lux Luthor]

Brock, Dain,

I know they were Hondas. I think they were the EU2000i model. The funny thing is, almost every single RV user I saw there (over a period of months) had this same generator. So I'm assuming it's a popular model, but I don't know much about the subject.

 

[Lux Luthor]

Originally posted by Albany Tom:
...On food - A mistake I made was checking out the food, and checking out the stove, but not the two together. If you have a camping stove, you should try cooking some of your survival food on it, at least if your cooking talents are as poor as mine. It was tricky keeping things boiling w/o overflowing, thickening sauces w/o burning, etc. Oh, and don't forget to try cleaning the dishes w/o power, too!...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">On weekends, I'll take one or two of my stoves with me and cook some food, heat water, etc. I've been doing this since the Summer, and I've definitely gotten better at it. One thing I would recommend is to get a stove that will simmer. I've come to view this as critical for me, and I'll never buy another stove that doesn't do this.

About clean up. I can't stress enough how much more convenient it is to use quality nonstick cookware. You can literally just wipe them clean with a paper towel, and if necessary add a little water. Then you can repack everything cleanly, reuse them, and when convenient (or possible) clean them with soap and water.

I also eat out of the pans when practical, and your post has now gotten me thinking that I might use one of the nonstick aluminum frypans that came with my Trangia as a plate. I also use Lexan utensils, and a small nylon spoon and spatula. I no longer use any heavy stainless steel camping utensils, and don't see a need for them.

 

[brightnorm]

Originally posted by 2dogs:
Does anyone else think this might be a good stand alone column?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I think this is one of the most important threads ever posted on CPF. It would be a public service to have this as a stand alone or sticky.

Also: Waste disposal, both food and human is much easier in a suburban/rural environment than in a dense urban area without working plumbing, especially if garbage pickup is temporarily suspended. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

(Thanks to those who responded to my water questions)

Brightnorm

 

[Albany Tom]

The agency I work with used to use generators in the field sometimes. The favorite was by far the Hondas, because they were very quiet, and light weight. They're also expensive. Being around a noisy generator is a pain, though.

Using a car as a power source isn't a bad idea, but most cars probably don't have enough 12V capacity at idle to run more than a couple of hundred watts. (I'm betting that dual tank pickup had an extra duty alternator.)

On food - A mistake I made was checking out the food, and checking out the stove, but not the two together. If you have a camping stove, you should try cooking some of your survival food on it, at least if your cooking talents are as poor as mine. It was tricky keeping things boiling w/o overflowing, thickening sauces w/o burning, etc. Oh, and don't forget to try cleaning the dishes w/o power, too!

Thanks for the "drops" info, I'll look into that.

Now a question for you solar guys: How could I make enough juice in our dingy New York winters to power a radio or LCD TV, or charge some AA's? Without spending a fortune?

 

[Wolfen]

Anybody have one of these Honda EU1000i?

http://www.hayesequipment.com/honda/generator/generator_buyers_guide.htm

 

[lessing]

Yes, I used them at the trade center site. They also sell a version with a light attatched to the front, looks like an atv headlight. They are not too loud, but do not put out much power. They are very good for constant loads, if the load varies thier super clean power fluctuates a bit. This may be a newer model, but it looks to be the same one. NYFD uses them and SARC had them. I would look for something bigger, because that is not even one standard house circuit worth of power. As I recall, we retrofitted one to hold a thousand watt par can to carry into ground zero and it did not like being used at full load for full duty cycle. We ended up modifying bigger generators that were easy to carry by two firemen with conduit uprights that held two par 64 cans on a mast and one mounted to the frame. Those little ones we abandoned because a par 46 500 watt was not a huge improvement on the stock lamp.

 

[snakebite]

odd lots,sams club,walmart,ebay ect
the truck i did this with had a seperate 200 amp
alternator with a home built 3 stage charge regulator just for radio gear.
to get good output i ran the engine at 1500 rpm by cranking up the idle stop screw.
it worked well but using a 360 ci v8 to run an alternator is a big waste.
i built a unit with a wisconsin 5 hp and a gm internal reg alt.
very quiet and cheap to run.
would have used a cheap briggs or tecumse but got the wisconsin free as it got dropped in shipping and had a chunk missing from the mounting flange.
the folks i get my parts from had it in the junk pile.fixed it up with aluminum repair rod and a mapp gas torch.
these can even be built with a junked lawnmower.

Originally posted by Lighthouse:
Snakebite,

How about a source and cost for some of those "dirt cheap" inverters? Thanks.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">

 

[KC2IXE]

Originally posted by lessing:
Yes, I used them at the trade center site....snip....

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">lessing,

You were down at "B6"? I never had the "pleasure", but a lot of the guys I vol with spent way too much time down there (I joined NYC ARES in January due to 9/11 - we support the Red Cross). I avoided the site totally until 9/11/02 I got within a block or two, but never felt the need to go see it (felt that gawking was way too disrespectful)

I even felt uncomfortable being there for the 9/11/02, but I was asked to work on of the Red Cross tables, so I went. It was an emotional day

I still avoid the area - the closest I like to get is Broadway/Fulton area

To make this On topic for the thread - I've always carried SOME gear with me - small first aid kit, water, leatherman, some 550 cord and the like. Since 9/11, I carry MUCH more stuff. I went through a lot of thought of what I would have wanted with me if I was either in the lower floors, or if I had to help folks who were in the area, or if I had to respond form "where ever". It's gotten a bit silly, I now carry 30+ lbs of gear in my backpack EVERY day, and it's rare to see me in anything but cargo pants with the pockets loaded. I've also taken a whole stack of new and refresher training - which is really as important as the gear. I try to take at least one of the FEMA courses a month, and I have had a basic First Aid refresher - Now to get the more advanced training

 

[James S]

I was doing some reading last night on Hurricane and flooding in the area where I'm moving to. I would encourage everyone who is planning on staying in to weather some big storms or floods rather than immediately evacuating to have a look at the http://www.fema.gov/ site. You can purchase a flood plane map for only $1.50 if you're willing to download the ~30meg that most of them are. Where your house is located in the flood zones should be a big consideration in if you plan to run or stay behind during bad storms of any kind! It's certainly worth a buck and a half to find out.

I also ran across this link to a septic mains shutoff valve:

http://www.disasterresistant.com/

I'll certainly be looking into putting one of those in as I've heard horror stories about the sewers backing up into your house. The animated gif on the front page of that website certainly makes the point very clear and should generate some good laughs for folks around here. It could probably be shrunken and made into someone's signature

 

[Lighthouse]

Snakebite,
Thanks.