Saturday, October 27, 2012

Emergency Cooking, Part Two



Dear Preppers and Survivalists,

A couple of weeks ago, I started writing about emergency cooking. The post sucked.

Oh, well.

Let me try again.

Single Burner Propane Stove

For me, the simplest modern emergency method of cooking is the single burner propane stove. All you need  They cost a little over $20 at your local China-Mart. The box will contain a burner and a stand. All you need to complete your kit is to purchase some small bottles of propane.

I suggest the fat short bottles; they're more stable then the tall skinny propane bottles.

The picture to the left is my 'kit' from about thirty years, ago. I am using a short fat bottle of propane. Yes, the bottle of propane is also thirty years old, too.

Propane never goes bad, as long as; the container is in good shape.

Notice, the canteen cup easily fits on the burner. This set-up is perfect for heating hot water for some hot cocoa, coffee, or ramen noodles.

Needless to say, you don't need to buy or have a canteen cup (Plus, it would suck trying to cook a meal for a family of five) to heat some water. You can use your regular pots and pans.

The picture to the right shows, I think, a two quart pot. My family and I use this pot to heat a couple cans of veggies for our family meals.

You will notice, that is about as big a pot as you want to use for the single burner propane stove.

Unless, ...

You provide some support for the larger pot.

Note: I had to take the stand off to be able to get the propane stove under the pot.

The red pot is a five quart enameled cast iron pot


By the way, the supports for the pot are landscaping blocks I pulled from my partner's garden for the photo.

Double Burner Stove

A more expensive option is the double burner stove. These stoves use to burn only two types of fuel, propane or 'white' gas. Now a days, two burn stoves can burn unleaded motor fuel.

And, that's the one my family and I have, a Coleman Dual Fuel stove. The Dual fuel family of camping products will burn Coleman fuel (white gas) and unleaded gasoline.

This picture shows the compact model.

By now, you might be thinking about how we store our Coleman Fuel/unleaded gasoline.

We don't. We store propane for our cooking needs.

Yep, you read right. Propane.

We are able to do that because of these nifty little converters. The converter slide into the same hole as the liquid fuel tank.

Cool, eh.

One stove, three possible fuels to cook with.

Spare Parts and Accessories

As you can tell, we have more than one converter for our stove. We also have other stuff.

 In this picture, you will see the two converters with spare parts for the liquid fuel tank pump.

The pump pressurizes the tank, so the fuel will flow into the burners.

We also have two fuel filters and some lamp shade nuts. The nuts hold the shade for a Dual Fuel lantern.

The whole reason I posted this picture?

Notice the coil of black hose and the brass 'thingy' in the middle of the hose.

The brass thingy is a propane filler coupler. It allows the hose to hook up to the propane converter, so my family and I can also use five gallon (20 pound) propane cylinders.

Yes, the same cylinders you use for your ...

Propane Grill

Who thought grilling was prepping, too?

This grill has a small burner and a main grilling area this grill will allow my family to heat their food for important physical and psychological reasons.


Trust me, nothing is better then a warm drink on a cold day.

Link:
Wikipedia - Naphtha
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naphtha


Didn't Fit the Narative

Needless to say, there are some photographs that didn't get included in the article.

Coleman Dual Fuel stove with two 2 quart pots. This is the 'compact' model. I think there is a larger size for more money.










The same stove with a five quart pot. Notice, the stove won't fit another pot.

By the way, those flaps on the side of the stove are to protect the stove from the wind. A breeze will push the heat away from the pot; causing the pot to take longer to heat.




I was really worried about the pot when I took this picture. It looked like it could tip over the whole time; I was taking the picture.

Just think, if the pot was full.








This picture shows two types of canteen cups. The one on the left is a United States stainless steel canteen cup dated around 1954, with a solid flip up handle.

The one on the right is a French aluminum canteen cup, with wire handles this one is very close to the later model of United States canteen cups.

Old timers like the canteen cup on the left because it won't tip back and spill coffee like the wire handle model. Plus, these United States canteen cup is stainless steel; it's a lot more durable (less likely to bend) then the French aluminum canteen cup.

P.S.
If you go looking for a propane converter, please consider Campmor. I have done business with them, off and on, for over 20 years.


Link:
Campmor -  Century Propane Conversion Kit
http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___86801

Saturday, October 20, 2012

BOB, GOOD, GHB, and 72-Hour Kits


Dear Preppers and Survivalists,

I was over at The Survivalist Blog reading a post by Mr. Creekmore titled 'Preparedness Priorities.' Go read the post, the link to Claire Wolf's article at Backwoods Home, and then come back.

Just so you know, I didn't read Claire Wolf's article before writing this article because I thought her articles were about getting prepared frugally. I was wrong, but you still need to read her articles on preparedness priorities.

Either way, on with the article


Most folks in these United States of America drive to work. Heck, some of us drive over two hundred miles a day, to and from work.

So, you need to carry some supplies in your car.

Yes, it will add weight to your vehicle, possibly reducing your fuel mileage, but it may save your life. Plus, you don't need to get all spendy on this; all you need to do is look around the house for your stuff.

First, I like having something to hold all the supplies, so the supplies aren't rolling around in the truck. This container could be a cardboard box or a plastic bag. For me and my partner, it's a plastic box; I bought at Target many years ago.

The Blue Box

Needless to say, the box holds supplies that are specific to me, so the box holds stuff to keep me warm. The blankets are garage sales finds. The coat is a German military coat; I hate to wear, everyday.

Inexpensive Blankets with a Warm Coat

If I am stranded in my car during a winter storm, I also have candles and matches to warm the inside of the car. I went a little crazy and added a tube of fire ribbon because I had it laying around.

Candles, Matches, and Other Stuff

Of course, more likely then not, I greatest threat I will probably ever face in my car will be changing a tire on the side of the road. I have three warning triangles; I bought at a truck stop many years ago. I have only used them once. I was on 1-70 in Kansas at 2:00 am. It was nice having the 18-wheeler move over a lane.

Three Warning Triangles, Jumper Cables, and Two Ice Scrapers

The gas can is just in case because I almost always fill up before my gas tank is half full.

OK. here's a picture of the my car kit.


Did I leave anything out?

P.S.
Yes, I'm trying to get y'all to comment.

Link:
The Survivalist Blog - Preparedness Priorities
http://www.thesurvivalistblog.net/preparedness-priorities/

Backwoods Home - Preparedness Priorities, part I
http://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/ClaireWolfe/2012/10/17/preparedness-priorities-part-i/

Backwoods Home - Preparedness Priorities, part II
http://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/ClaireWolfe/2012/10/18/preparedness-priorities-part-ii/

Backwoods Home - Preparedness Priorities, part III
http://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/ClaireWolfe/2012/10/19/preparedness-priorities-part-iii/

Friday, October 5, 2012

Week Sixteen - Readings



Quickstart:

Call a friend or family member and ask how they are doing. Try and talk to them about what they are doing to prepare for the current financial difficulties.

Depending on their answer, you will know, give them the url for this blog and tell your friend/family member you will call them next week.

Blog Post:

This is the end of my 16-week effort to inform friends, family members and others on how to prepare for everyday emergencies and the possible emergencies we will face in the future. I plan to continue doing research and posting those finding about the topics I have discussed over the last 16 weeks.

I don't know if I will rewrite each week or update the information in that particular post. I might do something else entirely different.

So, I will see you next week!

PS. Below, you will find links to some fictional short stories on the internet. The first short story "When Autumn Leaves Fall" by Andrew Zarowny is a rebuttal to "The Gray 90s" an online book by James Rawles. I think that "When Autumn Leaves Fall" is a more realistic tale than "The Gray 90s." Just so you know, "The Gray 90s" has been rewritten many times and is know called "Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse"

The second, very long, short story "Lights Out" by HalfFast is the fictional account of an EMP attack on the United States. The author describes the efforts of a community to survive, as a group, an electricity deprived scenario.

The links in the links are three books found on Google books. They all provide excellent information on surviving emergencies.

Links:

http://books.google.com/books?id=8gYJ8wR720QC&pg=PA364&lpg=PA364&dq=5+gallon+Bucket+clothes+washing&source=web&ots=tZT4vovNQN&sig=U5GQtnM6PFoYEIvlCGXFHu4cyDQ&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PPP1,M1

http://books.google.com/books?id=8vqp_XLfNKYC&pg=PA44&lpg=PA44&dq=5+gallon+Bucket+clothes+washing&source=web&ots=OY9b4gRt6O&sig=AR7fFp0Zfeb08yKAbHu8t7lEbeE&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result#PPP1,M1

http://books.google.com/books?id=ESFR32yr0SMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Survival+Secrets&ei=ioC0SOLpJ4HCigGP9OEX&sig=ACfU3U1N0iWzi8G8XD3dCoqRmfWJEPwWKQ

Short Stories on the Internet

When Autumn Leaves Fall by Andrew Zarowny

http://members.tripod.com/~AZarowny/index.html

When Autumn Leaves Fall - Chapter One

http://members.tripod.com/~AZarowny/Chapter1.html

Lights Out by HalfFast

http://survivalmonkey.com/SF%20books/LightsOut!/LightsOut-Current.pdf

Lights Out by HalfFast

http://survivalmonkey.com/Lights%20Out.htm

Forums

Equipped to Survive

http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.php

AR-15

http://www.ar15.com/forums/board.html?b=1

Frugal Squirrel-Archives

http://wwwfrugalsquirrels.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi

Survivalist Forum - Survival Gear Reviews and Self Sufficiency Articles

http://www.survivalistboards.com/index.php

The Mental Militia - Forums

http://www.thementalmilitia.com/forums/