Part 14 of an ongoing series by forum member Cutter
At this point there is just no getting around the fact that you must have equipment. A lot of things can be improvised for short duration situations, but 30 days is beyond short term. Consumables are fine for short term situations but become too expensive, space intensive, and unreliable in the longer term. For instance, you can store enough batteries to power Cleveland if you have room but they will just be dead weight if they are far enough out of date that they are dead.
So, let’s get down to it. We will start with water. If you have the space and inclination to store 60 gallons of water per person to cover 30 days, go for it. It isn’t a bad idea. An easier and smaller way is to have a means to provide safe water for yourself from other sources than storage. This also can potentially increase your available water far beyond the 2 gallon per person per day recommendation. To borrow a line from one of the other members of this board, a means to purify water can put you in a position where your attitude could be, “Don’t waste it, but don’t be afeared of using it either.”
Common water filters like Brita are fine if you are sure the water you procure is already marginally safe to drink, but can you be sure? They cost more, but the filter you really need is one that will filter out impurities, chemicals, and biological pathogens. You can see mud and even evidence of things like heavy iron and sulfur content, but you can’t see things like E. Coli.
The second way to purify questionable water is a multi-step process. First, you filter through a cloth to remove solids. Second, you boil the water for at least 10 minutes. Third, you filter the boiled water through a couple of inches of crushed charcoal from burned wood. Fourth, you boil again. It is a long process, but works. It is a generally safe method and definitely beats drinking questionable water untreated, but isn’t foolproof. Some pathogens are not killed at the 212 degree boiling point. A pressure cooker can raise the boiling point of water in it to 240 degrees which will kill most dangerous pathogens. The boiling times remain the same as open boiling. This is a better and safer variation of the multi-step process, but even this isn’t foolproof. Best to have a good filter and use it for as long as it will do its job. Don’t forget replacement filter cartridges and plenty of them. Cartridge capacity varies with manufacturer and model, so make sure you have enough that their stated capacities will cover the quantity of water you will need. It would be wise to have additoinal filters to at least double that quantity.
The next thing to consider is how to cook all that food you have stored. Again, propane and liquid fuel stoves are great for short term emergencies. They are convenient and fairly portable. To use them for the long term, you must consider the logistics of a much larger fuel supply and the service life of their components. When a component fails, your only options are to repair or replace the component or scrap the stove. In my opinion, 30 days is about the practical limit for such stoves as they apply to the urban and suburban prepper without re-supply due to fuel requirements.
Liquid fuel stoves would be out of the question, with the exception of alcohol stoves. Then again, if you can run a still to make alcohol, you already have a heat source to cook with and don’t need to be making moonshine for fuel. Propane stoves can be fed with bulk tanks which make them viable for much longer. If you are willing and able to keep (5) 20 pound pigs or a 100 pound canister, you can extend a propane stove’s usefulness to 5 months or so with careful use. Five hundred and 1000 gallon tanks could last you a few years.
A wood burning heat source is the way to go to cook. You have fuel that renews itself anywhere there are trees. That includes most habitable areas of the world. Backyard fire pits are very popular these days. We have one that we cook on in all seasons. We use real wood but charcoal works well too. In fact, if it will burn and is not toxic, it is a viable fuel to cook on.
A wood burning stove or fireplace in the house serves the double purpose of providing a means to cook and a heat source for your home. It is money well spent and is a single effort that serves more than one purpose. I cooked many a hot dog and toasted a lot of marshmallows in the fireplace when I was growing up. In my Boy Scout days, I cooked a lot of meals in a fireplace with a dutch oven.
You have the same concerns with light sources. Lanterns suffer the same fuel limitations as stoves and heaters. You are going to have to find another way to get light. You can still use your battery lanterns and flashlights. It was mentioned in an earlier article to use medium base, 12 volt light bulbs powered by 12 volt deep cycle batteries. So long as you keep extra light bulbs, these can work indefinitely if you have power. There is the problem. Rechargeable batteries are the first half of the answer. Deep cycle batteries are rechargeable by definition but have a standard life cycle of 6 years once the acid is added. Extra batteries stored “dry” with the acid kept separately for future use is the answer to that.
The second half of the answer is a power source to recharge your batteries. You have a range of answers. They include solar power, wind power, hydro generators (water driven), and human and animal power. For the urban and suburban prepper, animal power is probably not viable. Solar power is the easiest and most compact of answers. A few hundred dollars will buy you a solar array kit that will provide you with limited charging and the components to connect it to your batteries. Harbor Freight has a 45 watt semi-portable array that works well for the purpose, but you can build your own.
Your trauma kit can last you for a long time if it is extensive enough and well enough stocked, but one serious injury might just wipe it out. The only answer to this is knowledge and resourcefulness. You are going to have to find alternative materials to replenish the items from your kit. It is still a good idea to double or triple the supplies you have. So long as the items are kept dry, sealed, and out of sunlight and temperature extremes, they can easily last 100 years. That time span should cover a person’s lifetime.
Tools are a must now. These need to be manual tools. A power saw will do you no good if you don’t have power. A rototiller won’t turn your garden plot if you have no fuel. Shovels, picks, hoes, axes, hand saws, and “ancient” tools like a brace and bit (the original cordless drill) are the order of the day. Hand tools can do everything power tools can do. Power tools just make the work go faster and easier. Sometimes, the old way is still the best way. A long term emergency is one of those times. A word of caution, hand tools come with their own hazards just like power tools. You must take time and trouble to become skilled in their use to be safe and effective with them.
Your greatest concern is shelter. A tent is great to cover you while bugging out or during repairs if your home is damaged, but it just isn’t a viable long term shelter solution. Yeah I know the Hebrews did it for 40 years in the wilderness, but I’ll bet they didn’t like it. Permanent, enduring shelter is what is called for. There is no substitute for four walls, a roof and a floor. If you do not already own your home or haven’t already started toward that goal, this is the time. When you have finished your 30 day store, start putting back that down payment. Use up to half of your prep budget if you must but take solid steps toward owning your own home. With the 30 day store, you are ready to weather fairly major emergency situations. You have bought yourself a lot of time. Now is the time to make sure you have a place to make it count.
Of course, your entire prep budget would probably amount to enough to put you in your own home in 50 years or so. Given that, you really should re-think your finances in such a way that most of your home buying money comes from your non-prep funds. Using some prep funds is justified but should not be your primary money source for the purpose.
The importance of a solid home base cannot be overstated. You must have a permanent, solid place from which to operate or you cannot adequately guarantee your safety. If your safety is compromised, you are in more trouble than you can imagine. Without safety, none of your other preps can be considered reliable.
Now another word on Murphy’s law of refugees. They will always find resources they lack…yours. The whole point of preparedness is to provide for your wants and needs when bad turns to worse. The needs and wants of the unprepared are the same as the needs and wants of the prepared. The difference is that we have and they have not. The have nots will find the haves when the balloon goes up, I guarantee it. Provided they live long enough, they will search until they do.
This is the other part of the choice I mentioned in the last segment. Food is not the only thing they will need. They will also need shelter, clothing, and all manner of other things. They will likely be desperate and desperation can motivate a person to do great and terrible things. It can also motivate a person to do great and wonderful things. You have a choice, take them in or turn them away.
If you choose to take refugees in, you must have the means to provide for all the things they lack. If your plans include taking in refugees, you best be prepared to provide shelter for them, food and non-food consumables, alternative consumables for long term scenarios, and tools and equipment for them to work. You will want and need them to work. You might be able to do the work of 10 people, but that won’t provide for 20. You will need their help and they will need the implements in order to help you.
If you choose to turn refugees away, you best be prepared, both in equipment and mindset, to repel them. One or a few might leave in peace with a little grumbling and posturing but a group is very liable to put up a fight. Such a mob will literally be fighting for their lives and so will you.
Even if you take refugees in, they may force you to turn them back out for any number of reasons. You best be ready to do that too. This is an especially dangerous situation because they are already “inside the wire.” Depending on how much freedom you allow them and how much of your preps and plans you have shared with them, they could be just as well equipped as you, and with your own equipment no less!
Make the refugee choice with the utmost of care. It could be the best or worst choice you ever make. It could also be the last choice you ever make if you choose poorly.
Good luck, happy prepping, and most importantly, happy home making.