Emergency Supplies

[MediumTex]

While we're on the topic, any Burt Gummer fans here?

[craigr]

While we're on the topic, any Burt Gummer fans here?

That setup won't get any attention.

[MediumTex]

That setup won't get any attention.

He got more cartoonish as the sequels piled up.

He was probably at his best in the first movie, before Heather (Reba) left him.

[6 Iron]

As for firearm knowledge and safety, I took a two day handgun course at Frontsight a few years ago as a complete rookie, and it was phenomenal.

http://www.frontsight.com/

Easy access from Las Vegas.

Feeling a little queasy about not owning a generator, though.

[MediumTex]

Feeling a little queasy about not owning a generator, though.

If you are thinking about something small, the Honda EU2000i is really amazing.

There is a kit you can buy to connect two of them together to provide 4000 watts of power.  With this setup you would have gobs of power, as well as a spare generator if one of them went down.

I certainly wouldn't think of buying anything less than a 2000 watt generator.  There is a lot of stuff smaller generators won't do.  The EU2000i will run a small window unit air conditioner or a small space heater.  Anything smaller wouldn't do either one of these tasks.

It's also pretty quiet (as generators go).

[Coffee]

Here's the Chinese generator I bought:

http://www.google.com/products/catalog? ... CEcQ8wIwAw#

All of the RV guys rave about 'em, for the price. 

I've still got mine in the box, but a buddy in Baltimore bought one at the same time, had it wired to his house and used it to stay toasty in the last big snow storm when the power went out.

Another thing you might want to put on your list: Blue 55 gallon water drums.  I bought two off Craigslist for $55 (for the two!) with the undercarriage/rollers, wrenches and a hand pump.  Some guy had bought them, never used them and then decided to sell 'em. 

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.as ... en-US&Sp=C

[craigr]

Feeling a little queasy about not owning a generator, though.

If you are thinking about something small, the Honda EU2000i is really amazing.

There is a kit you can buy to connect two of them together to provide 4000 watts of power.  With this setup you would have gobs of power, as well as a spare generator if one of them went down.

I certainly wouldn't think of buying anything less than a 2000 watt generator.  There is a lot of stuff smaller generators won't do.  The EU2000i will run a small window unit air conditioner or a small space heater.  Anything smaller wouldn't do either one of these tasks.

It's also pretty quiet (as generators go).

I second the EU2000i. I used it to charge my camper when the sun wasn't enough or able from the solar panels. It is very quiet and reliable. I'm a little leery about buying used gas generators unless you are sure they have lowish hours on them. Unfortunately the Hondas don't have an hour gauge. Diesel generators generally have much longer lives, but they are very heavy and generally not at all portable. Plus they tend to be louder.

[moda0306]

How do you guys rotate through your "bad" gas if you hold a lot in reserve?

[MediumTex]

How do you guys rotate through your "bad" gas if you hold a lot in reserve?

The gas in your car's gas tank is your reserve.  That's why you want to have a hand pump available.  It's also why you want to keep your car's tank relatively full.

I also keep a five gallon can in my garage for my lawn equipment, which I treat with a fuel stabilizer.

[moda0306]

How long can one of those Honda generators run on 1 gallon of gas?

[MediumTex]

How long can one of those Honda generators run on 1 gallon of gas?

The tank on the generator is less than one gallon and depending on the load, it will run 5-10 hours.

[moda0306]

Good idea with the auto tanks.... really convenient way to keep good gas and plenty around with 2 vehicles.

If you have an average of a half tank per, and a few 5 gallon tanks, and a syphon, that gives you plenty of capability to either use them on your generator at home, or hit the road and get tons of miles under your belt before you need a stop.

[gizmo_rat]

This is one thread that I don't know how to take, googling "Anti NWO" was an education though, thanks.

[MediumTex]

This is one thread that I don't know how to take, googling "Anti NWO" was an education though, thanks.

The key thing to understand when discussing these topics is that about 55% of it is pure entertainment.

[craigr]

This is one thread that I don't know how to take, googling "Anti NWO" was an education though, thanks.

The key thing to understand when discussing these topics is that about 55% of it is pure entertainment

About 95% of what I read on the topic of "survival" is pure fantasy. It's way too easy to get wrapped up in buying a bunch of gear and not have any ability to use it. A lot of what I've seen advocated seems wholly impractical and if you try some of the stuff in the field it may just get you into bigger problems.

I've read advice in very popular outdoor survival books for instance that is guaranteed to get you killed if followed in some areas. I intend to put up a video showing the errors and also how many of these so-called experts are just cutting and pasting each other's advice without having tried it themselves. The errors are just propagated in other books as gospel.

[Coffee]

How do you guys rotate through your "bad" gas if you hold a lot in reserve?

The gas in your car's gas tank is your reserve.  That's why you want to have a hand pump available.  It's also why you want to keep your car's tank relatively full.

I also keep a five gallon can in my garage for my lawn equipment, which I treat with a fuel stabilizer.

If you have a modern car, apparently the put some type of mechanism that prevent you from siphoning gas out.  This is to prevent the gas from coming out in case of a roll over and also to prevent gas theft.  At least that's what I read over at AR15.com.  And you know... if it's on the internet, it must be true. 

[Coffee]

Craig:

Why are so many of these guys buying the Big Berkey for their water filter/disaster preps?  I bought one and sent it back.  Filter seemed way too delicate and the unit leaked. Plus... the water tasted horrible.  I'm not sure why, but the stainless steel seemed to develop rust on it, too.

More to the point: Something like the Katadyne Base Camp is about 1/6 the price and would seem to fit the bill just as well, wouldn't it?

[MediumTex]

How do you guys rotate through your "bad" gas if you hold a lot in reserve?

The gas in your car's gas tank is your reserve.  That's why you want to have a hand pump available.  It's also why you want to keep your car's tank relatively full.

I also keep a five gallon can in my garage for my lawn equipment, which I treat with a fuel stabilizer.

If you have a modern car, apparently the put some type of mechanism that prevent you from siphoning gas out.  This is to prevent the gas from coming out in case of a roll over and also to prevent gas theft.  At least that's what I read over at AR15.com.  And you know... if it's on the internet, it must be true. 

The AR15.com group is usually pretty knowledgeable.

I will have to give it a try with my little hand pump and hose.

[craigr]

How do you guys rotate through your "bad" gas if you hold a lot in reserve?

The gas in your car's gas tank is your reserve.  That's why you want to have a hand pump available.  It's also why you want to keep your car's tank relatively full.

I also keep a five gallon can in my garage for my lawn equipment, which I treat with a fuel stabilizer.

If you have a modern car, apparently the put some type of mechanism that prevent you from siphoning gas out.  This is to prevent the gas from coming out in case of a roll over and also to prevent gas theft.  At least that's what I read over at AR15.com.  And you know... if it's on the internet, it must be true.  ;)

Actually I can confirm this is true at least on a dodge diesel. I tried to siphon out of my truck once and the hose simply couldn't be inserted into the tank. Something was stopping it. You'd have to go under the vehicle and probably drain it from the fuel outlet to the engine.

[craigr]

Craig:

Why are so many of these guys buying the Big Berkey for their water filter/disaster preps?  I bought one and sent it back.  Filter seemed way too delicate and the unit leaked. Plus... the water tasted horrible.  I'm not sure why, but the stainless steel seemed to develop rust on it, too.

More to the point: Something like the Katadyne Base Camp is about 1/6 the price and would seem to fit the bill just as well, wouldn't it?

I've never used the Berkey stuff. Personally I'd keep around a Katadyn. I know they work and they're portable. The pocket version is very tough as well. It's expedition quality and very reliable. They can also be cleaned in the field. The base camp is also gravity fed if I recall like the Berkey.  For me, if I'm going to buy "survival" gear my first stop is likely to be REI. Camping gear is usually pretty well tested and if it's been around a while it's probably reliable.

I think it's really important to use the gear you have for emergencies to know it works. As I said earlier, my "bug out" gear is basically my multiple-day hiking gear. As long as I have food and water I can last a long time. I know what I have in my pack works because I use it. Thing is that having a bag like this for each family member is not that expensive and you can use it for family camping trips all year.

[l82start]

i have one of these for my jeep it works great for filling from 5 gallon cans and for siphoning (i haven't tried it on a new car) it has an internal mechanism that creates the suction by shaking it up and down, so no swallowing gas...

[craigr]

i have one of these for my jeep it works great for filling from 5 gallon cans and for siphoning (i haven't tried it on a new car) it has an internal mechanism that creates the suction by shaking it up and down, so no swallowing gas...

I own the exact same model. It's awesome. Just shake the copper end in the tank and it starts siphoning.

[Coffee]

Check.  Got it, too!  
(This is fun.)

Craig: I've been thinking more and more of converting our bug out bags to more of a backpacker set up, with the primary addition being a solar cellphone charger.  I can imagine waking up in the middle of the night to find the house on fire, grabbing the bag and the cell phone... and then having no way to charge it.  

Of course-- the backpacker set up may be way overkill, if it's only a personalized emergency and you end up sleeping in an extended stay hotel for a couple of months-- in which case, less of the backpacker stuff and more of the modern day tech gear would be appropriate I guess?

Let's put something together and call it: "The Permanent Bug Out Bag".  

...Or not.  ;)

[craigr]

Yeah a full backpack setup may be overkill. I don't intend to use it to hide in the woods. But my thinking is the basic gear will allow living out of a car, evac shelter or hotel for some time if those accommodations are around. Worst case is staying out of doors for a few days. Who knows?

I do have a folding Brunton solar charger. I have used it to charge my phone with no problems but haven't really taken it out multiple days yet. I will try it more this season. But I often don't do multi day hikes with my phone on to save power so I've not had a huge need for power yet. Brunton has a built in battery so you can let it charge up all day and let it charge your devices all night in the dark. It's a slick setup and charges with a USB port. It's also fairly light and compact. There are other similar designs as well from others.

[MediumTex]

www.powerenz.com has some nice portable solar/battery setups.

Lots of companies do this sort of thing, but this site has some neat videos.