Recession Proof GLP... Preparedness Shopping A Few Great Finds | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 408770 United States 05/24/2008 10:15 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
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Jdd (OP) User ID: 347452 Canada 05/24/2008 07:25 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Greetings, everybody. We've now re-positioned this thread under the "GLP Recession Proof" umbrella, which is quickly growing into a family of super-excellent threads. Thanks to everyone contributing there. Here's today's collection of 'shopping finds': Essential Oil Distillation: [link to www.crucible.org] It's hard for me to imagine going into a meltdown world without a good supply of Oregano Oil, one of the most potent natural antibiotics known to man. Oregano is very easy to grow, but extracting pure, potent oil from it is a lot more complicated. Buying it at the health food store is expensive $30 for a 2 oz. bottle, where I am. Aside from growing/making my own, pure oils will be a great barter item in the days ahead. I think Oregano Oil will be especially valuable, because everyone's immune system is liable to get smacked due to anxiety. One solution is to buy your own steam distillation system. You could even get a little consortium of friends together to pitch in for one. My research led me to this as one of the best, most cost-effective units. If you're clever, and got an A+ in chemistry, you might be able to build your own based on the drawings here. ($399.00) The Water Bob: [link to www.dehydrated-food.net] Those of you who listen to the Armchair Survivalist show on Saturday are probably familiar with this item. It's basically like a water bed liner, shaped to fit in your bathtub. If you think you're about to get nailed by a storm that will result in losing water services (electric off, water main broken) or if trouble hits, this will allow you to quickly dump your hot water tank into a clean and more accessible receptacle. The quality of the Water Bob bag is great and it's equipped with a good hose and pump system for filling, transferring and emptying. ($29.99) With a little work, this item can also double as a good means to move a lot of water overland. Here's our plan: we'll nail a few heavy-duty skids together and attach two steel runners underneath (like a sled). We'll build a long box (roughly the same length & width as a bathtub) and secure that to the skids. Inside, we'll line it with heavy Styrofoam or some cushioning material. Throw a couple wool blankets in the bottom, overlapping the sides. Now you can haul this apparatus to a stream or spring, put the Water Bob in the frame and fill it up. Tie it to your truck hitch or pull it by horse or other means, and you've got an easy way to transport 100 gallons, store it, and use it as needed. If you need to move the Bob out of the box, just pick up the blankets, which should support it for transport to another spot indoors, or whatever. (Of course, water is very heavy (8.3 lbs/gallon), so you'll be needing lots of help to move one of these plastic whales.) Affordable Wind Turbine: [link to www.alpinesurvival.com] Instead of relying on a single alternative source of energy, our plan incorporates solar (regular panels and Fresnel lense) along with wind. If the day's sunny or stormy, we still pull down a good bit of energy into the battery bank. All the wind turbines I found were very expensive, but this one is really affordable, and high quality. Has a PLC controller that maximizes energy transfer to batteries, it's quiet, and easy to get a secure installation. The company has a whole range of more expensive models, too. ($725.00) Hand-crank Cellphone Charger: [link to www.guardianangelpreparedness.com] A battery-free, hand crank charger for your cell phone. While you may not keep your cellphones long after TSHTF, this could at least serve you well during your bugout trip. Murphy's Law being what it is, your cell phone battery will probably be run right down just about the time you have to hit the road. For me, this is a must-have item for cruising around in the bush. Crank for two minutes to get six minutes of talking time, and you can crank & chat endlessly. This is a good, durable unit, unlike some of the cheap-o hand-crank flashlights and radios, which have handles that break after the first dozen cranks. ($24.99) Happy hunting. |
Jdd (OP) User ID: 347452 Canada 05/24/2008 10:41 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | How portable to be want to be, exactly? Something you can carry in a fanny pack? A backpack? In your car? There are many solutions, but you should start with the size/transportability requirement. I would like some advice on a portable water filter. Thanks... Quoting: Anonymous Coward 408770 |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 439127 Netherlands 05/25/2008 01:10 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Thank you, Jdd, for so many good ideas we can think about. Great thread. I am reminded of Redheaded Stepchild's thread from a couple of years ago, where she and her husband used a clay pot to make a heat source. She gave us pics of how it was put together, then of the finished product, which I saved. I've put off getting the metal braces that holds up the pot. Best be getting to it. . |
Jdd (OP) User ID: 347452 Canada 06/01/2008 12:47 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Here are this week's bugout shopping winners: Food Grade Water Hose [link to beprepared.com] Not only is it unpleasant to have to drink water that tastes like an outdoor garden hose, it's not healthy. Most garden hoses are made from petroleum products. When they lie in the sun full of water, the contaminants seep into the water. Then your thirsty kid comes along and drinks it, or gives it to the dog. Not good. It's easy enough to just spray water until you've emptied the hose, but if you're in an emergency situation you won't want to waste all that water. Here's the solution. These food grade water hoses are 50 feet long, and are quite affordable compared to regular high quality garden hoses. ($25.95) Pocketknives, Bowie's, etc. [link to search.ebay.ca] I had been searching for a new pocketknife for sometime. I wanted something really durable that would fit my (female) hand, hold a good edge, and be enjoyable to use. I found this Ebay'er selling beautiful hand-made knifes. I'm now buying several different styles for the 'kit'. The auction ad text is in German (seller is in Canada), but you can use this online translator to convert text to English [link to translation2.paralink.com] I'm really pleased with the quality of these knives. They're done in 200-layer Damask steel, in a beautiful 'wave' pattern. Super-well constructed. If you really track the auctions, you can pick one up for cheap. ($30 to $80) Flashlight 'Comparison Shopper' Reviews [link to www.flashlightreviews.com] This person has put together an excellent research website on flashlights. He obviously knows his stuff, and is a diligent user and tester. My favour fanny pak light is the Fenix P2D-CE. It's a little pricey at $45, but super-quality in every way. The next best comparable I've found to this model is the Dorcy Metalgear Luxeon, which is half the price, but missing many of the great features. Solar Battery and Cell Phone Charger [link to cgi.ebay.com] Seller's page (in case this auction is expired): [link to stores.ebay.com] Now that you've got a great flashlight in your BO bag, you'll want a way to keep those batteries charged. This is the nicest compact solar charger I've found. It charges two sizes of batteries four each of AA's or AAA's, and it has an adapter cord for charging cell phones. Depending on your phone, you may need an adapter to get from this plug to your input, but they're available out there if you look around. (Maybe we should do a posting some day just on power adapters ) This little solar charger folds open/closed so it's compact to carry. Has a hard case so you can jam it into your pack without worry. Has a blocking diode to prevent reverse flow and over-charge. Belt clip included. ($25.99) |
mercury2 User ID: 257996 France 06/01/2008 01:31 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Thank you, Jdd, for so many good ideas we can think about. Great thread. Quoting: Anonymous Coward 439127I am reminded of Redheaded Stepchild's thread from a couple of years ago, where she and her husband used a clay pot to make a heat source. She gave us pics of how it was put together, then of the finished product, which I saved. I've put off getting the metal braces that holds up the pot. Best be getting to it. . Here's the web site with information about the clay pot "Kandle Heater": [link to www.heatstick.com] There's a lot of information about how the Kandle Heater works and how it's made at that page, where you can purchase them. I see he's got something new where he uses a light bulb as well, he says 90% of a light bulb's energy is produced as heat, and only 10% as light. So the Kandle Heater helps collect that heat as a supplementary source in your home. They were mentioning RVers using these heaters, that makes sense. Might be a good thing to have in the car too for an emergency although he says the clay absorbs moisture which has to bake out before it's efficient and that it takes awhile for the moisture to burn out of the clay pots. |
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Jdd (OP) User ID: 347452 Canada 06/17/2008 03:17 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | $39 plus shipping ($50 to US, $35 to Canada). I don't know about you, but that's the best price I've found anywhere for these tents. The seller has 6 left on "Buy It Now", immed. payment required. [link to cgi.ebay.com] |
Whee! 8D User ID: 452729 Canada 06/18/2008 05:24 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | What about those flashlight that you only need to shake them to charge them (no battery)? They are not very powerful but they are handy IMO if you run out of batteries! [link to search.ebay.ca] And DEL flashlights like those [link to cgi.ebay.ca] Are f*cking powerful for their size 8| The world woud be a thousand times better place if more cults existed. Quoting: Anonymous Coward 673558 |
Whee! 8D User ID: 452729 Canada 06/18/2008 05:43 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Hey, I have a... wait... 175 watt car power inverter (to plug in the cigarette lighter)... It converts 12 vehicle battery power into 115 volts AC power. I wonder if there could be a way to power it using a dynamo of some kind (I need at least 20 amps to get 150 watts) The world woud be a thousand times better place if more cults existed. Quoting: Anonymous Coward 673558 |
Jdd (OP) User ID: 347452 Canada 06/18/2008 02:06 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Hey, Whee! I've been thinking that we need a new "GLP Recession Proof" thread on batteries. There's a lot of know about them: what to buy, what chargers to buy, how to get the max power and life out of them, how to combined them, invert them, adapters, etc. If you'd like to do the honors, please start the thread. Otherwise I'll do it one day soon, and will cross-post your comments. |
Whee! 8D User ID: 452729 Canada 06/19/2008 04:42 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Just found somewhere to buy the 9 LED flashlight out of eBay... it's my favourite online store for this kind of gadget, shipping is free and I love that LOL. [link to www.dealextreme.com] A pack of two for US$5.48 <= That's ridiculously cheap! There is a picture [link to www.dealextreme.com] you can see a comparison between this flashlight and a $35 Krypton bulb flashlight from Canadian Tire. I costs 10 times less and is like two times more powerful lol. [link to www.dealextreme.com] This is the 19 LED version @ $5.99... someone said in a feedback that it's more powerful than the two 9 LED combined. Jdd : I'll see what I can find. If I can find enough useful things, I'll create the thread. --"Day after" Edit-- Just thought about that... in the event of some nuclear war or anything that can raise a large amount of dust in the atmosphere for a long period of time insomuch that the sunlight would be mostly blocked, anything using solar energy would become quite useless... I know these threads are not "Disaster proof GLP" but it's something we should think of anyway... one week of rain, no sun, it does happen. That's why I would not completely rely on that kind of device so it would be good to find an alternative source of energy. I know that wind power is maybe too expansive so I thought that a "hand powered" dynamo could be a nice thing... especially if it's mounted on some bicycle-like system to make it more efficient using less human energy to make it work. On top of that, if there was any way to stock quickly a large amount of electricity in a big battery, it would allow to use that electricity on a long period of time, without having to constantly "crank" the dynamo. I don't think anyone would like to spend 3 hours on a dynamo to charge batteries lol. The problem is that I don't know if this kind of quick charge big battery exists. The world woud be a thousand times better place if more cults existed. Quoting: Anonymous Coward 673558 |
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Anonymous Coward User ID: 455913 United States 06/21/2008 05:38 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | They sell thin flexible Fresnel lenses as page magnifiers, I h Quoting: mercury2Sorry if this has been mentioned before, but don't overlook the old, OLD style large screen TV's....I ran across what looked to be about a 60 inch projection style TV in a junk heap....That plastic screen is in fact, a fresnel lens! And a big one! And a free one! I also salvaged 9, high grade glass lenses, one from each of the red, green and blue projection units inside.... Like the OP says, handle those lenses carefully! They make some amazing heat on a clear sunny day....I've read reports of fires starting from lenses left lying around outside...I have melted coins and things with mine, just holding it by hand... |
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Anonymous Coward User ID: 424488 United States 06/21/2008 05:45 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | great site for biomass stoves boilers wind solar...local company, great service Quoting: Anonymous Coward 424488www.smartbuildingproducts.com [link to www.smartbuildingproducts.com] |
Jdd (OP) User ID: 347452 Canada 06/21/2008 06:27 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Wow! Great find on Ebay. Thanks so much. I have several friends who want one of these babies, but couldn't afford the $400 models. Much appreciated! Quoting: Anonymous Coward 391997 |
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Anonymous Coward User ID: 437049 United States 06/21/2008 07:12 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Vortex Hand-crank blender [link to www.rei.com] A great kitchen tool for off-the-grid living. These blenders are great quality, will chop ice, blend smoothies and soaked beans for soup, etc. You can find them on Ebay much cheaper than the new REI model shown here. Thanks op for the great info... I found a less expensive hand crank blender at this site fyi.. [link to www.campmor.com] |
F.B.Nyte User ID: 436879 United States 06/21/2008 07:32 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | I've been out here but got auto-banned for some reason. (Informative stuff I was posting too!!) Anyway, I ran across this a few days back, bookmarked to share when I could get back in. How about.......No dig gardening! Uses less water too!! [link to www.latimes.com] |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 224770 United States 06/21/2008 08:40 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Check these out, they are a must have. You can google and find the plans to make one yourself. I have the one in the picture and it is awesome! Bake, boil, or steam the natural way, plus... create all your favorite slow-cook recipes just like using a conventional crock pot while you're busy or away at work! Anything you can cook in a conventional gas or electric oven can be cooked in a Sun Oven. Simply set it in direct sunlight, point it the proper direction, place your meal inside the oven chamber, and The Global Sun Oven will provide a superior tasting repast for FREE!!! Helllooooooo!!!!! The Sun Oven works even in subzero air temperatures, as long as the sun is out, the oven will capture the suns energy and cook as if it were a tropical day. The oven will heat up quicker on clear, low humidity days. [link to www.solardirect.com] |
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Jdd (OP) User ID: 347452 Canada 06/22/2008 12:08 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Hey, F.B! Welcome back from the banning hinterlands. This is a super-excellent article on no-dig, low water gardening. Thanks a million for posting it. We're gearing up for relocation to the high desert, and this is exactly the kind of info I need. GLP/er's ... you gotta love it/them. I've been out here but got auto-banned for some reason. (Informative stuff I was posting too!!) Quoting: F.B.Nyte 436879Anyway, I ran across this a few days back, bookmarked to share when I could get back in. How about.......No dig gardening! Uses less water too!! [link to www.latimes.com] |
Redheaded Stepchild User ID: 453623 United States 06/22/2008 01:45 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Thank you, Jdd, for so many good ideas we can think about. Great thread. Quoting: Anonymous Coward 439127I am reminded of Redheaded Stepchild's thread from a couple of years ago, where she and her husband used a clay pot to make a heat source. She gave us pics of how it was put together, then of the finished product, which I saved. I've put off getting the metal braces that holds up the pot. Best be getting to it. . Cool, I'm glad someone is considering the claypot heater. Here's a link for those who haven't seen it yet. [link to s116.photobucket.com] The finished heater. [link to s116.photobucket.com] Washers and bolts thru the hole in the clay pots... [link to s116.photobucket.com] The innards... Requires a med. size pot and a smaller pot that will fit inside. A long bolt is used, and small and large washers are staggered between the two pots and then again on the inside of the smaller pot. These get mighty hot when a candle is lit beneath them. [link to s116.photobucket.com] Using L-brackets, small bolts, washers, nuts...these can be adjusted so the stand rests level on the saltillo tile's surface (or any hard fire-resistant surface). [link to s116.photobucket.com] The finished stand. The clap pot contraption rests on the nuts/bolts at the top of the three L-brackets. You can use longer bolts. We used what we already had here. [link to s116.photobucket.com] This part is important. The candle MUST be in a fire-resistant container. We used these thick glass votive holders, but then we switched out and started using large tuna cans (cleaned, of course). The tuna cans hold FOUR of the small tea lights. They last about 3-4 hours, and they produce a nice amount of heat. You can keep a 12x12 room at about 65F when the temps outside are below zero just with this heater and 4 tea lights. Last winter, the claypot heater was my ONLY source of heat in the family room (where the computer resides). You can get bags of tea lights at BIG LOTS. Never use oils. Never use a candle that's not in a container (glass, metal). Make sure you stagger the washers inside the pot and between the two pots...washer, nut, bigger washer, nut, washer, nut...but BE GENTLE...you can over-torque and break the pot. I do recommend that if you are going to buy new pots, you wash them and then put them in a very low temp oven until they are dried out (might take a couple of hours). They stink if you don't. If you are using old pots, scrub them and sanitize them thoroughly and then heat in oven. Also...have a saucer or a pan lid on hand, or something that won't melt, in case your tea-light fire goes crazy and you have to smother it. Just look at the pics...you can figure it out. Nothing complicated at all. "Until you are willing to organize your friends and neighbors and literally shut down cities - drive at 5mph through the streets of major cities on the freeway and stop commerce, refuse to show up for work, refuse to borrow and spend more than you make, show up in Washington DC with a million of your neighbors and literally shut down The Capitol you WILL be bent over the table on a daily basis." Karl Denninger Don't blame me; I voted for Ron Paul. Silence is consent. |
mercury2 User ID: 456061 France 06/22/2008 02:17 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Anyway, I ran across this a few days back, bookmarked to share when I could get back in. How about.......No dig gardening! Uses less water too!! Quoting: F.B.Nyte 436879[link to www.latimes.com] From that link: GARDENING How to start a no-dig garden June 12, 2008 PAT MARFISI calls Esther Deans' no-dig method of gardening "absurdly easy." Here, he offers tips on where to buy alfalfa and straw and how to create a 300-square-foot vegetable garden, which took him only two hours to complete: MATERIALS: Newspaper, alfalfa, straw, compost, blood meal and bone meal. BASICS: 1. Lay 10 to 20 sheets of newspaper on the ground -- soil, grass or concrete. This stops weeds and attracts worms. Saturate with water and dust with blood meal and bone meal. 2. Add a pad of alfalfa and dust with blood and bone meal. Bales of hay and straw come apart in 2- to 3-inch-thick pads. 3. Next come 8 inches of straw, again dusted with blood and bone meal. Don't skimp on the alfalfa and straw, Marfisi says, because "this stuff really compresses in the first few weeks and then you lose the benefits of low water need and thriving plants." 4. Wet all this down. 5. Finally, top off with 3 to 4 inches of compost, which also will compress. 6. Now plant seeds or seedlings. FINDING FODDER Alfalfa and hay can be found at grain and hay suppliers. There are a few near the L.A. Equestrian Center in Burbank. At Stephens Hay & Grain in Glendale, for example, a 110-pound alfalfa bale is $18.50; a 60-pound bale of straw is $7.50. Delivery is available. NO DIG BOOKS "Esther Deans' No Dig Gardening & Leaves of Life," by Esther Deans. The 2001 reprint is available at harpercollins.com.au. "How to Have a Green Thumb Without an Aching Back: A New Method of Mulch Gardening," by Ruth Stout. "The One-Straw Revolution," by Masanobu Fukuoka. -- Lisa Boone |