Jan, First let me say that I believe you have a good start toward off grid heating.

Now please let me ramble on like the professor I used to be.

There are basically two parts to the heat equation as it applies to heating a house.  One of course is the generation of heat and the other is the conservation of that heat.  Simple things such as opening the door to the outside for the shortest time and good insulation in the walls and attic all contribute to a warmer house.

In any event, one way to conserve heat is to put plastic film over your windows.  3M Indoor Window Insulator Kit, will provide you with enough material to do five 5X7 windows.

Jan, You might like to view this website.

http://www.cylinderstoves.com/

James,

Those look very well built.  I love the little oven you can install on the pipe !  Innovative

Insulation will also act for a cooler house in summer.

We placed NRC Space Blankets--the heavy ones not the thin EMT style--in between our curtains or drapes and the linings to further insulate against the heat robbing glass.

We keep the drapes open during winter days and closed during summer days.  Glass is the worst insulator.  A typical modern tri-pane window is about R5 with low E glass and gas buffers whereas a single pane, older window is maybe R1.5.

The Trombe wall works great but the skylights have to be covered otherwise the heat is too much in the summer so we used rigid foam insulation and 1x2s to form snug fitting inserts in them and in the basement windows as well during winter.

Air locks work well on the major entries and our most used door (between garage and house) has those split panel plastic drapes that you see in butchers or cold storage rooms.

NEWS-Michigan Loses ‘Right To Farm’ This Week: A Farewell To Backya...

sad

Just another case of our freedom being constantly eroded away.

Just letting you all know.  Our member Jay does a survival show at  9:00 on Mondays.  Prepper Broadcasting/Network .  I will have the chat here going but listening to him also so join us !!

Every Thursday this month is devoted to EMP preparation.  I want to be listening to that

As the move to living more with less takes hold this professor takes part in a project even I could not imagine

living in a dumpster project?

Hey everyone! Anyone out there doing food storage? I have been buying up as much as I can afford in can goods every week. I also have bought rice, flour and other staples that need to be stored in a way that they cannot be adulterated by bugs and whatnot. How do you store your food and other items long term?

Comment by Jan Carter on June 22, 2016 at 18:44

Ron,

I use a pretty simple method.  I buy a large bag which would last us about 6 months.  I break it into quart size mason jars, when I open the last one I start over.  It means I have some on hand at all times but it never gets "old" or buggy. For flour though you might want to check out Mylar bags.

Do not forget, if you have to go beyond your storage be sure you have stored seeds for growing some veggies

Food, a way to control the masses. If it gets bad enough to use your preps, and defend your home and supplies, by now the government will be in control, and even after the collapse is over, they will not willing give that control back to the people.

Food may be the way they keep the control. And yes, it may even come down to a new economic system, that may be cashless. 

I did add about 35 cases of FEMA type MREs to my stash. Got them for $20 a case, which is dirt cheap, and is about $1.50 a meal. These are 14 to a case, and you can't eat for $20 a week. This gives me around 50 cases, along with a few boxes of tuna, spam, canned ham, and other stuff. I'm probably good for a year. 

I am looking at 10 acres out of town with some fruit trees, a stocked pond, small work shop, shed for animals. But the house is a mobile home, and probably not very bullet proof from looters. The only problem I have, is working 2nd shift, and one never knows when you will come home to find everything stolen. 

I'm planning on retiring in about three years, so this place may make a good home to live out my golden years, eat fruit and garden veggies and some tasty fried fish.

Ron,

Have you considered an underground larder?  I ask because I have thought about putting one behind the house.  I am not talking a "bunker" more along the lines of a root cellar but modern LOL.  I was thinking setting one of these into the side of a hill would be inconspicuous   

I think that would be a good option, If you could get it put in place without anyone knowing about it, would be a big plus. I thought about putting a 40 foot cargo container, with a 26 foot container on each side, connected together and doorways cut. And then covered with about 5 feet of dirt. But doing it would be hard without everyone in the area knowing about it. 

I am thinking just a small underground spot, to hide supplies and needed items would be best for me. 

I would love to dig a small storage area..root cellar. I need to get permits and have it done up in a plan. There goes any secrecy. The cargo containers are a great idea but I have read the do not do well underground. I was thinking of pouring a concrete box 6 by 6 and burying it in the back yard. It would probably fill with water over time and it would just be a big pool lol

Ron...

Dig your hole to make the top of this concrete box at ground level. Four inches below the top place your access entrance frame. Then three feet blow this pour your floor. Around the floor dig now 24" and fill with rock the size of marbles for drainage. After this pore the sides as one setting on top of the floor. Latex cock around the interior base of the walls. Attach your stainless door and frame to the entrance. Place you survival supplies inside, latex cock the door frame and bury the sides including the door. You can spray the door and entrance with "Flex Seal". Use a double coat.

Then use the top of the box as a grilling area or shaded patio. All it looks like is a concrete slab for entertainment. You can dig you door out with little effort.

I got a 7'x8'x28' reefer box off an old meat delivery truck that came with metal shelves already installed...Dug a slightly sloped ramp into a small hill, placed pea gravel and weeping tile on the bottom, ran an electrical cable, placed the reefer box atop, filled in the hole (except for the door) and had an instant root cellar...A very small electric space heater (on a thermostat) is kept burning all the time during the winter just to keep the temp above freezing.

Built a second, insulated door 3½' behind the first to act as a buffer from the cold and an area to keep things frozen...Dug it in IIRC in 1986 and it's still going strong.

Clint! Making it look like an outdoor entertaining area is a great idea! This may work well for James also.

James, 

I could not do any of it without the neighbors knowing but if I did it in the winter only the three fulltimers would know and that would be ok.  It would be the summer visitors I would worry about

Shlomo,

I was wondering how in your area you would keep from the freezing aspect!

This my friends is your laugh for the week.  California has decided they need to cut the production of methane gasses  Read here to see how

Jan,

It is estimated that the population of Los Angeles is now more than four million. Given that average human being creates and releases between 1 and 1.5 liters of methane each day that means Los Angeles alone is adding from four million to six million liters of methane each day. I don't know what that equals in tons, but it helps us understand why California stinks so bad.

James,

LOL, being born and raised in California those figures scare me.  They may try to get you all to do what they are doing for the cows!

Jan,  It would be no surprise to me if CA passed a law that everyone had to wear a hazmat suit with a compressor on the back to collect the methane. 

Guess what? I'm moving to Arizona. 

James

Thanks for doing California a service by reducing the methane by more than three hundred and sixty five liters a year. Much appreciated!

If you get a chance READ this article.  It is amazing!LOUISIANA OFFICIALS DEMAND THAT SELF-RELIANT LOCALS STOP SURVIVING ...

Jan, that is just another example of how our government wants absolute and complete control over us.  We are rapidly becoming a dictatorship in this country.  Not a one person dictatorship, but a dictatorship none the less.

BUSHCRAFT AND SURVIVAL SKILLS WEEKEND WITH DAVE CANTERBURY AT SMOKY...

And yet another example of stupid!  A man goes to jail for a wind turbine on his own property

http://www.fox9.com/news/29437001-story

Stupid is as stupid does!  How do we get so much stupid in our government?

If teenagers today need to locate something on Google Maps, no problem. If they need to locate something using a traditional map, they’re probably screwed.

Skills such as being able to read a map or start a fire were once considered essential for everyday life. Now, however, possession of these skills is increasingly rare.

A study conducted last year by Ordnance Survey—the national mapping agency for Great Britain—showed that the British believe the following 20 basic skills are now in serious danger of dying out among their people, and among most peoples in the developed world:

1. Reading a map
    
2. Using a compass
    
3. Tie a specific knot
    
4. Darn socks
    
5. Looking something up in a book using an index rather than “Googling it”
    
6. Correct letter writing technique
    
7. Understanding pounds and ounces
    
8. Knowing your spelling and grammar
    
9. Converting pounds and ounces to grams and kilograms
    
10. Starting a fire from scratch
     
11. Handwriting
     
12. Understanding feet and inches
     
13. Knitting
     
14. Recall a friend or relative’s phone number from memory
     
15. Recall a partner’s phone number from memory
     
16. Identifying trees, insects and flowers
     
17. Touch typing
     
18. Baking bread from scratch
     
19. Taking up trousers
     
20. Wiring a plug

Granted, in the technological and consumerist culture of the developed world, knowledge of these skills has declined in large part because adults perceive that children can survive without them. But as Hilaire Belloc once said, people are blinded by their immediate past. There are no guarantees that the world as it is now is the world as it will be. Things can change, and many of these skills could once again become crucial.

My survival knife of choice is perhaps a bit odd. When I was serving in the U.S. Army in 1969 in Vietnam, I had my brother send me a family heirloom. Our Uncle Raymond sent a lot of souvenirs home from Europe during WW2. One of the items was a RAD Hewer. The knife is like a bolo/bowie/hewer. It was issued to the RAD labor corp workers. They used it as a tool to chop tree limbs, nail up posters, clear brush, kill snakes, whatever came up. It wasn't actually a "fighting knife" although I'm sure some blood was spilled by RAD Hewers. After returning home from Vietnam, I returned the knife to my brother and he later traded it off for something we can't remember....nor who he traded it to? Ever since then....the early 1970's, I've wanted to locate that RAD Hewer or one very much like it.

It's taken me 45 years but today I got to mark that knife off my "bucket list". I found a nice hewer on Gunbroker and was able to make a deal with the seller to "buy it now." He shipped it immediately last Friday the 9th of December and I received it today, Monday the 12th of December. Pretty fast shipping by the seller.

I'm so proud of the "new to me" RAD Hewer that I'm still shaking a bit. Did any of you ever do that after getting a prized knife? Here are "before" and "after" pictures of me wearing the RAD Hewer in Vietnam in 1969, and then a picture of the 68 year old me with my "trophy RAD Hewer". I seem to be a bit heavier now than I was back in Vietnam? Or does this knife just make me look fat?

Before:

"AFTER"

Well you have not changed much Michael and the knife is sweet!  Finally holding one again?  Priceless!

"NEW" Solar Knife™ By Solo Scientific (Patented 9364959B1)

The Solar Knife™ (patented) by Solo Scientific is a revolutionary knife that can be used as a traditional knife to cut or chop and can also be used to start your campfire using solar energy!

The Solar Knife™ has a very innovative ergonomic handle (scales), that not only serve to hold the knife in one's hands, but one side of the handle (scale)is also a very shallow parabolic reflective surfaces that is able to focus the sun's energy to a singular point above the knife to ignite combustible materials and start your campfire!

To use the Solar Knife™ to start a campfire the user simply aims the handle of the knife towards the sun and positions the fire starting tinder at the singular focus of the parabolic handle. To aid with positioning of the tinder, the Solar Knife™ itself is also a blue print that allows the user to fashion a precise tinder holder arm using any branch or twig that mounts quickly into an angled receptacle also machined into the Solar Knife™. Once in position, the end of the twig is split and wild tinder is wedged into place at the end of the twig. This firmly holds wild tinder at the exact focus of the parabolic handle above the knife! This maximizes efficiency without the need to carry extra parts! Talk about bridging man with nature!

Unlike optical magnifying glasses the parabolic reflector has no spherical aberration and is highly efficient focusing every photon to a singular point is space igniting combustible materials in seconds! Works great with char cloth and wild tinder such as dry leaves!

The Solar Knife™ is constructed using high quality materials. The full-tang blade of the Solar Knife is made from 420HC (high carbon) Stainless Steel that has been fully hardened to give both great edge holding and sharpening capability.

Specifications:

The handle (scales) are made from light-weight aircraft aluminum and are coated to prevent oxidation (may also include sacrificial anodes).

Blade Length: 4 inches (full tang) 3/16" thick

Overall Length: 8.5 inches

Metal: 420HC Stainless Steel

Includes High Quality Belt-Mount Sheath

So what do you think, is it useful for all it is intended?????

What if it is a cloudy day or at night?  Sounds kinda like it might be more of a gimmick than a useful tool.

The concept of "The Solar Knife" is sound and interesting. The sheath shown looks to be lacking a great deal. Thanks Jan great job. I think I will check this out for an article in one of two survival magazine I write for. Yes I get some of my ideas from you fine members of this site.

I loved Michael's RAD Hewer posting. Great story Michael.

As far as cloudy or night time use, Charles makes a valid point. My point would be The Solar Knife would be a good backup to traditional methods of starting a fire. I like repetitive backup methods for survival.

I would like to see the "Solar Knife" in action. The parabolic reflective surface of one side of the grip is a novel idea, instead of using some sort of magnifying lens which might get broken. About that cloudy day....duh...just use your tactical LED flashlight to shine on the knife?( I told you I was funny! ) Maybe I need to refresh my physics knowledge, or lack thereof. But now I'm wondering if you can somehow harness the sun's ultraviolet rays even on a cloudy day....you can get a sunburn on a cloudy day. Why not a campfire burn?      

Michael, you can't get a campfire burn on a cloudy day because the sun's light is made diffuse by the clouds, which means the light scatters & travels in all sorts of different directions. In order to get a burn through focusing sunlight (via magnifying glass, or in this case a polished parabolic surface on a knife), the rays of light must first be traveling parallel to each other -- as they do when there are no clouds between the sun & the focusing surface. A sunburn is an entirely different mechanism, & the diffuse UV rays can still cause a sunburn on the skin, because this requires much less energy. If they required the same amount of energy, you wouldn't get a sunburn even on sunny days -- unless someone was focusing sunlight on you with a magnifying glass or highly polished parabolic surface. As far as the solar knife goes, that handle is made of aluminum, which I doubt would be very comfortable, especially in cold weather, & the sheath they provide wouldn't give much protection to that polished surface -- even the rivet of the retention strap would likely scratch it, thus reducing its efficacy. It's an interesting concept, but the execution leaves me preferring a much cheaper magnifying glass or more flexible fresnel lens in addition to whatever knife I would be carrying (the 420 blade & sheath are not the focus of this knife, the parabolic mirror handle is).

Dont forget to join us tonight http://prepperbroadcasting.com/ 

Up-Coming on Survival & Tech Preps 6/5/2017

Part 2 of Country SHTF , the CONS!

6 Gifted Preppers Sitting at The Round Table and the Subject?

When is this event: Friday 7/28/2017 at 9:00pm/Est 8:00pm/Ct 6:00pm/Pt

lessons from the great depression

Great article with some no nonsense, common sense suggestions

Esee 6 vs Esee 6HM (steveknife)

There will always be challenges to not living within a well populated area.  It has been an interesting 48 hours up on our mountain with 48 to go before we know if our youngest member will survive.

Sunday morning our neighbor reached out to me that she was on her way to the emergency vet, an hour out of town.  Her 14 year old golden had woke up bleeding profusely from one of her ears and it would not stop. I was the back up to take care of the 3 year old cat that we affectionately call the puppy kitty because he plays with all the dogs as well as the other cat up here.

Turns out she had a tumor that burst and Monday she went to her regular vet to be set up for early Tuesday surgery.   By the time all is said and done and we get her home last night about 6, her owner calls me and she is on the way back to the emergency vet.  This time the cat has a bite on his foot and is screaming in pain.  Turns out a copperhead bite will do that.  She spends the night in Blueridge because the ER vet closes at 7am and there is no one to take care of the cat.  So at 630 the cat comes back to the Hiawassee vet to be taken care of for the day and then back to the ER vet after they close because they have no one there at night to monitor him.  Snake venom has about a 72 hour period that it can suddenly turn deadly to the cat and most vets wont give anti venom to a cat unless it becomes necessary because it also can prove fatal.

So even if you decide to go just a little out of the way and not actually “off grid”, make sure you know how to protect the animals you can and how to treat those that do get critically ill.

Rattlesnake Vaccine for Dogs

Great article by Fiddleback Forge...never too early to teach them to survive

So much talk about tourniquets these days...  ;P

https://www.theonion.com/report-majority-of-americans-would-jump-at...

5 things to make with old tool cases

Pretty good reuse of those old tool cases

Why does YOUR link take me to MY Gmail account?