Dr. Acula and Friends: Emergency Winter Prep Tips!!! (411)

Everyone remember that the Eskimos survive off of a diet that is rich in content of pure fat/blubber

They have little vegetables, almost all meat but their mainstay to survive the extreme cold is FAT.

YOU my friend are correct!!

I live for years in my youth with only kerosene heaters for heat. You NEVER let them run out of fuel.

Don't know if anyone saw this, sounds like a great tip!

YOU SIR OR LADY ARE NOTHING SHORT OF AMAZING!!!!

YOU.......I SERIOUSLY THANK FOR YOUR INPUT!

YOU ARE A TRUE SURVIVOR!!

KUDOS TO YOU AND MANY THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR NOVEL IDEAS.

EATING PURE FAT IS JUST AWESOME AND I WILL REMEMBER THIS.



Much thanks. :D
I am Lisa Pleased to meet you.

Off of Walmarts website. search on Rocky Heavyweight Fleece pants. Actually long underwear. I wear it 24/7. Absolutely the most comfortable and warm stuff on the market. $19

Don't need to prep when your right with God and know the fate of this world.

The frozen fog that recently blanketed this area under a temperature inversion was beautiful (ice crystals hanging in the air glittering in the lights like fairy dust) but really, really cold. And, as it settled in a shimmering curtain on the ground, amazingly slippery.

Be aware of your footing in icy conditions. Walking with hiking poles can save your hip or leg:

[link to www.rei.com]

•They provide better balance and footing.
•On downhill hikes especially, they decrease the amount of stress on your legs and joints.
•On uphill climbs, poles transfer some of your weight to your shoulders, arms and back, which can reduce leg fatigue and add thrust to your ascents.
•They make crossing streams, loose rocks and slippery surfaces such as ice and snow patches easier and safer.
•They help you establish a walking rhythm.
•They can push back overhanging vegetation from the trail and probe soggy terrain for holes and boggy spots.

used to be until I got the new and improved Coffin-o-matic 3000 comes with heating/cooling, wifi, HD touch screen computer droid thingy and space age comfort foam

makes being dead suck a lil less

lol lol

10 degrees F here with a windchill of -9 F

is right lol

4 ltr

The windchill this morning is 5 here in Northern VA. It's bitter cold outside, so much so, my Newfie doesn't want to stay outside longer than to do her business. Please be sure to bundle up your children before sending them off to school, especially the walkers. I will be driving mine and the neighbor children. Now I need to remember to hit the autostart on the van 10 minutes before we leave.

its 7 degrees here with a -10 windchill
i was just outside taking care of a few thing and its miserable lol

yeah bundle those youngins up! :)

Last Edited by Dr. Acula on 01/22/2013 07:08 AM

Wool Socks

Wool Glove Liner

Wool Baselayer for bottoms and top

Synthetic Fleece insulative layer for bottoms and top

Soft Shell Pants

Synthetic Shirt

Event / Goretex Jacket and Pants

Wool Balaclava and fleece hat.

Maybe a fleece facemask


Absolutely no COTTON.


Cotton traps moisture and holds it close to your body robbing you of heat


Only wool and synthetic fabrics can be used outside. Because they are wicking and fast drying.


You may use Down Feathers for extra insulation. But take care to never get it wet.

I dont use my large Down Parka unless its below freezing.


But I do wear a Down insulative jacket and pants when I sleep in my hammock.

My hammock has a down underquilt that hangs below my hammock. I sleep with a topquilt over me.

Over the entire hammock I have a tarp.


Yes I can sleep outside in freezing temps with this type of gear.

(This OP has been updated several times and will continue to be updated as info comes in... Figured I would just add several tips to the OP to have it all in one spot...)

I can recommend a hot water bottle --

[link to www.amazon.com]

Each of our family members has one. It can make
going to sleep in the cold easy since otherwise,
it seems, shivering will keep you awake for hours.

I use them camping also and boil water up on my
Coleman one burner stove --

[link to www.amazon.com]

-- you can use the hot water bottles for sitting
around, or toss them in bed as a bedwarmer prior
to going to sleep also. They make great gifts, are
low tech, but extremely effective. Children love
them also, but make sure they are not as hot or
covered with an old t-shirt or water bottle cover
for them.

Of course, LOTS of hot cocoa makes you feel better too.

[link to www.amazon.com]

One other important consideration is that using a toilet
inside during power outage can get smelly very quickly.
We have "luggable loos" and use them out in the garage
where we will not have to live with the serious stink after
about 3 days of no power.

here are some good options. I got the luggable loo lid
and put it on a bucket higher than a 5 gallon bucket. I
found them at the recycling center for free --

[link to www.amazon.com]

Thanks for sharing so many other great ideas too.

I friggin hate the cold and have long since declared war on it lol

this is my assault on it! lol

Good morning Dr. A / everyone else on the thread.

There are some really good ideas presented here - it's really good to know folks are thinking for themselves.

We strive to turn every situation possible into a learning event, and since any accumulated products and wares are useless without the appropriate skill sets, and skill sets are only acquired and polished through time and exposure - try to use the winter weather as testing and proofing. We can create/ recreate most any training event or environment - with the exception to weather. When the inclement weather exists, instead of waiting it out inside while parked in front of the TV - take advantage of it and create your own learning event.

Use the winter weather to gain an appreciation for working outside, how your body responds to cold, and to acclimate to working outdoors - especially with those tasks requiring more focus and dexterity.

You can use an outdoor grill or even a fire pit for safety (especially in more urban housing situations), but practice making fire in cold/ wet conditions. You will gain a greater appreciation for what the cold does to your fire material, how quickly your various tinders actually attract moisture, how some lighters may not work, difficulty in striking "waterproof" matches, as well as how loss of dexterity due to cold hands effects the equation.

If it's snowing; go out and make a fire.
If it's raining; go out and make a fire
If it's sleeting; go out and make a fire

Fire = Life; learn and know the "Fire Triangle"
Fuel, Oxygen, and Heat/ Combustion source

Once you've mastered a particular means of lighting fire, learn another. Once you gain a skill set, you have to use it in order to retain it. Even at home I try to keep my rule of creating fire two or three times each week using different primitive methods. Either creating a small fire in the grill just for my own benefit, or creating such fire as a starting bed to add in wood and/ or charcoal if I'm grilling instead of lighter fluid and fussing over commercial charcoal. Anything that will freshen your mind with the uses(s) of a particular skill set will only benefit you should you actually NEED to use those skills at some point down the road.

You can combine these exercises with creating a familiarity with boiling down ice, or reducing snow down to water (make sure you wipe away the top-most layer of snow so that you get only "clean" snow, thereby creating "clean" water). Time yourself from the point of placing tender to the point of fire, as well as to the point of having water reach a boil. This will put a whole different perspective on how valuable fire is, as well as how much effort (calories) & time will be consumed in it's creation.

Whatever you do, just learn something. Don't be lazy and rely on that pack of Bic lighters and a piece of TP that will likely fail you in these conditions.

We too have luggable loos, awesome for camping. We have liner bags that do a pretty good job of keeping any odor down, gels the liquid waste too.

awesome advice!

Some more excellent advice and knowledge from ClydeX. Thanks for posting in these threads, your skills are top notch..

And Great thread DR. Acula, I learned a bunch just reading the opening post, I know there is some knowledge in the replies as well, time to read the rest of this.. thanks for making it.

awesome! glad you picked something up from it!

GREAT JOB DOC..Winter has finally arrived..let's all stay safe and warm..

with all the nasty weather this could be a lifesaver, So I have pinned this..

Thanks for the kind words, gentlemen

An education is never free, and I've surely paid for mine - if we
can use threads like these to save someone a bit of the expense I've paid at times, then I'll pitch in all I can.

Next one: My absolute favorite fire starting material: DRYER LINT

The use of dryer lint should really not be big news to most, but I wanted to share the way we collect it. We tape a large freezer bag to the side of the dryer. Each time we clean the lint basket, we just put it into this bag.

These keeps us from having to dig through the garbage can to retrieve it (like when someone forgets to not throw it away), and as this large bag fills, we remove the lint, place it in smaller bags/ containers (35mm film canister/ medicine bottle).

You may have used them years ago but the poster is correct.If you dont burn it off it will smoke up your house and give off an odor.I have used kerosene for heat the last 5 years during the whole winter.Have my kero heater going now and has been since the colder weather begin.If you dont burn this off once every week or two its gets the wick hard and gummy and the wick should always be soft.The wick will not burn without fuel so once it runs out the hard part gets crispy so you can brush it loose and remove it.I only change my wick once a year and could probably go longer but just change it every season so I start the winter with a new one.
Always let the wick adsorb fuel for a couple of hours the first time you plan to light it.If you dont maintain your wick you will have a stinky,smoky house.
Also be sure to check the stations for the type of fuel.There is a lot of difference even it it states K-1.
The fuel I use is crystal clear and has been filtered 4 times.There is never an odor from my heaters.I have a small one and a larger one to use depending on how cold it is.
I spend on average $150 during a cold month because fuel is $4 per gallon now.But we are much more warm and toasty than using the electric heat at 2 or 3 times the cost.
The best tip is set your heater on a little trolly.I have one for each heater so it can rolled where needed and to a safe place for refueling.
It took me till the second year using it to prefect using it.After the first year I repainted and cleaned everything because I had some smoke.Not really visible but there if you started cleaning...and yes you have to burn them down to dry.

and the most important thing regarding a kero heater.

Always have a carbon monoxide detector.If the heater isnt burning at a proper temp it releases carbon monoxide.Many people try to burn them to low to save fuel or when its not as cold..Dont do that..Use a lower btu heater or shut it down.

Thanks for the Pin! :)

Hope lots of folks get to see this and hopefully learn something that will help them out and/or save their life!