Survival Gear

[Richbirdhunter]

I live about a half a mile from grapevine lake I can drive over grab a few buckets of water bring them home and boil them. There's also a bunch of long horns across the street so during the zombie apocalypse I can still BBQ

What happens if gas isn't available? Are you going to walk the half mile?

I'm game planning the following scenario. The economy collapses. Grocery store shelves are empty. The city water system isn't working, because electricity is down or the city can't afford to keep the pumps running. Gasoline isn't available, because all the nearby gas stations have shut down, because no one can afford to buy gas any more. You're basically on your own. You can survive in your own home for up to six months until things return somewhat to normal. Lots of blankets in the winter. Open all the windows in the summer. The two things you cannot do without are food and water, and water is super critical. You can only survive three days without water, and that water has to be purified. You can survive three weeks without food. If you have food, you can ration it and survive a little longer. But nothing can be refrigerated, because electricity is down. What do you do?

We have a pond behind the house that feeds into Grapevine lake,that's water that we can use too. I'd use it for toilet flushing and washing etc. I would think that the ppm of contaminants at GV lake would be lower to start with then the creek behind the house.

As far as food goes, I can hunt and fish.

[gljjt]

I've got 2 diy berkey setups, a 2.5 gallon in the kitchen for tap water (toilet fill valve keeps it full) and a currently stored but ready to assemble 20 gallon stack using 4 berkey blacks.
If you are considering using Creek water with any significant degree of turbidity you might want to look at a couple cartridge type pool filters for a pre - treat stage, the will significantly reduce your maintenance interval on the ceramic super filters.
My 20 gal setup uses 2 blue syrup barrels from the local coke plant, the hardest part is getting the filters inside the barrel but a long thin dowel rod helps. I use short hoses from the filters to the 'clean' barrel which makes setup a lot easier. The cartridge pool filter attaches to the bung on the top barrel with a rubber boot and hose clamps - the whole thing is probably 5 foot tall but it makes plenty of water for our family of five in a pinch.

The best piece of prepping advice I can give, and it's one I preach to my group constantly - test and evaluate frequently. I see a lot of people, especially People just getting in to preparedness - they buy a bunch of stuff and throw it in a closet and think they'll be fine when things go funky.
If you take some time to practice with your gear you have a better chance of finding solutions to problems without having to go mcguyver.

Yeah, I really need to test my Berkey system.

[WildBill]

I've got 2 diy berkey setups, a 2.5 gallon in the kitchen for tap water (toilet fill valve keeps it full) and a currently stored but ready to assemble 20 gallon stack using 4 berkey blacks.
If you are considering using Creek water with any significant degree of turbidity you might want to look at a couple cartridge type pool filters for a pre - treat stage, the will significantly reduce your maintenance interval on the ceramic super filters.
My 20 gal setup uses 2 blue syrup barrels from the local coke plant, the hardest part is getting the filters inside the barrel but a long thin dowel rod helps. I use short hoses from the filters to the 'clean' barrel which makes setup a lot easier. The cartridge pool filter attaches to the bung on the top barrel with a rubber boot and hose clamps - the whole thing is probably 5 foot tall but it makes plenty of water for our family of five in a pinch.

The best piece of prepping advice I can give, and it's one I preach to my group constantly - test and evaluate frequently. I see a lot of people, especially People just getting in to preparedness - they buy a bunch of stuff and throw it in a closet and think they'll be fine when things go funky.
If you take some time to practice with your gear you have a better chance of finding solutions to problems without having to go mcguyver.

Yeah, I really need to test my Berkey system.

Proper planning and practice is part of emergency preparedness.

[gljjt]

I've got 2 diy berkey setups, a 2.5 gallon in the kitchen for tap water (toilet fill valve keeps it full) and a currently stored but ready to assemble 20 gallon stack using 4 berkey blacks.
If you are considering using Creek water with any significant degree of turbidity you might want to look at a couple cartridge type pool filters for a pre - treat stage, the will significantly reduce your maintenance interval on the ceramic super filters.
My 20 gal setup uses 2 blue syrup barrels from the local coke plant, the hardest part is getting the filters inside the barrel but a long thin dowel rod helps. I use short hoses from the filters to the 'clean' barrel which makes setup a lot easier. The cartridge pool filter attaches to the bung on the top barrel with a rubber boot and hose clamps - the whole thing is probably 5 foot tall but it makes plenty of water for our family of five in a pinch.

The best piece of prepping advice I can give, and it's one I preach to my group constantly - test and evaluate frequently. I see a lot of people, especially People just getting in to preparedness - they buy a bunch of stuff and throw it in a closet and think they'll be fine when things go funky.
If you take some time to practice with your gear you have a better chance of finding solutions to problems without having to go mcguyver.

Yeah, I really need to test my Berkey system.

Proper planning and practice is part of emergency preparedness.

I have tested most of my 'stuff' but not the Berkey. Thanks for the reminder!

[gljjt]

I also have a 'Water Bob'. It's a short term tool. Basically, as soon as whatever happens actually happens, you put this bladder in your bathtub and fill it with potable water. 65 gallons of drinking water while gravity fed delivery of municipal water still works. Don't forget your water heater. Usually about 40 gallons of drinking water. More than a few days? Berkey is you friend.

[WildBill]

I also have a 'Water Bob'. It's a short term tool. Basically, as soon as whatever happens actually happens, you put this bladder in your bathtub and fill it with potable water. 65 gallons of drinking water while gravity fed delivery of municipal water still works. Don't forget your water heater. Usually about 40 gallons of drinking water. More than a few days? Berkey is you friend.

Good reminder about the water heater. Never heard about the Water Bob, but sounds like an expensive good way to store it short term.
I remember once I filled a bath tub with water, but didn't have a good stopper. It all drained out.

[ScottDLS]

If I were going to "bug in" in my suburban home, rather than bugging out to a remote location, I think that water and fuel would be critical, then food. I have a 25000 gallon pool, which if covered could probably hold water for about 6 mo. If I had power I could rig the pumps to send it into the house. I'm thinking of getting a diesel generator and a couple hundred gallons of diesel. That and ammo and food.

[WildBill]

If I were going to "bug in" in my suburban home, rather than bugging out to a remote location, I think that water and fuel would be critical, then food. I have a 25000 gallon pool, which if covered could probably hold water for about 6 mo. If I had power I could rig the pumps to send it into the house. I'm thinking of getting a diesel generator and a couple hundred gallons of diesel. That and ammo and food.

Have you thought about a natural gas generator? I think most of the time gas is available even without power.

[ScottDLS]

If I were going to "bug in" in my suburban home, rather than bugging out to a remote location, I think that water and fuel would be critical, then food. I have a 25000 gallon pool, which if covered could probably hold water for about 6 mo. If I had power I could rig the pumps to send it into the house. I'm thinking of getting a diesel generator and a couple hundred gallons of diesel. That and ammo and food.

Have you thought about a natural gas generator? I think most of the time gas is available even without power.

I did, but I was thinking if it gets so bad that the city water is out then, the gas will be out too. Depending on the situation it may not be ideal to shelter in place in suburbia, but I was looking for a range of options...might go with a propane/NG capable generator and then have propane tanks. Eventually if the refineries are down long term, I'll need to to have Solar Backup...

[suthdj]

If I were going to "bug in" in my suburban home, rather than bugging out to a remote location, I think that water and fuel would be critical, then food. I have a 25000 gallon pool, which if covered could probably hold water for about 6 mo. If I had power I could rig the pumps to send it into the house. I'm thinking of getting a diesel generator and a couple hundred gallons of diesel. That and ammo and food.

Have you thought about a natural gas generator? I think most of the time gas is available even without power.

I did, but I was thinking if it gets so bad that the city water is out then, the gas will be out too. Depending on the situation it may not be ideal to shelter in place in suburbia, but I was looking for a range of options...might go with a propane/NG capable generator and then have propane tanks. Eventually if the refineries are down long term, I'll need to to have Solar Backup...

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_ ... +generator

[nilly]

We are rural and have been making preparations for bugging in. Fortunately we have 2 wells on our place so water will not be an issue for us. We will have to rig a device to get water up from the well if there is no electricity but that shouldn't be an issue.

We have a couple generators but won't be using them much due to the noise that make and the fuel they consume, I don't want to let people know where we are at. My current goal is to get my husband on board with a small solar system to run the refrigerator and freezer.

We currently grow a lot of our own food and have been buying extra and and storing dry goods for about a year now, I also enjoy dehydrating fruits and vegetables. I love finding new foods to dehydrate and see how they turn out.

[gljjt]

I also have a 'Water Bob'. It's a short term tool. Basically, as soon as whatever happens actually happens, you put this bladder in your bathtub and fill it with potable water. 65 gallons of drinking water while gravity fed delivery of municipal water still works. Don't forget your water heater. Usually about 40 gallons of drinking water. More than a few days? Berkey is you friend.

Good reminder about the water heater. Never heard about the Water Bob, but sounds like an expensive good way to store it short term.
I remember once I filled a bath tub with water, but didn't have a good stopper. It all drained out.

I think the water Bob was about $20.


Edited to add: http://www.waterbob.com/Welcome.do?gcli ... aQodqYYJWg

[WildBill]

I also have a 'Water Bob'. It's a short term tool. Basically, as soon as whatever happens actually happens, you put this bladder in your bathtub and fill it with potable water. 65 gallons of drinking water while gravity fed delivery of municipal water still works. Don't forget your water heater. Usually about 40 gallons of drinking water. More than a few days? Berkey is you friend.

Good reminder about the water heater. Never heard about the Water Bob, but sounds like an expensive good way to store it short term.
I remember once I filled a bath tub with water, but didn't have a good stopper. It all drained out.

I think the water Bob was about $20.

I meant to say a good "inexpensive" way.

[ScottDLS]

Windmill, well, water tower...is I think the way rural folks did it on the "old days". That would be pretty good and allow for pressurization of the pipes (via water tower).

[WTR]

We have a couple generators but won't be using them much due to the noise that make and the fuel they consume, I don't want to let people know where we are at. My current goal is to get my husband on board with a small solar system to run the refrigerator and freezer.

You need to look into a 24V freezer designed to run off batteries and solar panels. A normal frig or freezer draws too much power for a small solar design.