What have you done this week to prep? PART II

[cb46184]

Just started refilling 1 lb tanks. S0 easy and much cheaper...can't believe I didn't to it before. 20lb refill at Tractor Supply for $12+. You can buy a new 20lb tank and have it filled for far less than 20 1lb cylinders.

 

[Vigilant]

Ordered two new Berkey water filters from their Black Friday sale.

 

[churchmouse]

Ordered two new Berkel water filters from their Black Friday sale.

This is something I need to step up on.

 

[teddy12b]

Got around to getting the snow blower up and running. A year ago I took it all apart and tried to fix it the old fashioned way by actually fixing it through cleaning out all those little pin holes on the carb. This year I took the spare carb I bought last year and just swapped the parts. New spark plug, and new brass pin holed doohicky and whallah! It works now. I hope that by my use of propper technical terms you've picked up on my depth of mechanic skills and training on small engine repair.

The real take away here is that I have a snowblower that cost $800 to buy new, but a replacement carb with additional fuel shut off valve, replacement spark plug, new gaskets etc was LESS THAN $20 on amazon or ebay. I robbed the parts I needed out of the kit I bought last year and now my machine works.

I'm going to be looking for similar replacement carb kits for all my gas engine's. For less than $20, I think it's just money well spent.

Beyond that, I've been increasing the rucking and exercising for the upcoming 2020 Mammoth Sniper Challenge. Refining the loadout for that event. Shooting and recording data in weird, horrible, awful positions in preparation for this event.

Starting to compile a list of goals for 2020. For example, I want to hike the Knobstone trail in the spring. I want to do a trip where I hike the Manistee River Trail the first day and float back to my vehicle the second day fly fishing the whole way back out of my pack raft. I'm already signed up for a Guardian team event, and hoping to get registered for a few other Guardian events in 2020.

Bought my inlaws a special swiss army knife present that you can see a picture of in the "knife picture thread" here on ingo.

 

[bwframe]

Ordered two new Berkey water filters from their Black Friday sale.

I should have done this also. Been nursing mine along, but after the last cleaning the top container doesn't drain past half full.

Anyone have an alternative cleaning hack for these filters, boyond the standard instructions?

What about the other alternative brands like AQUA CREST Water Filter,

?

 

[churchmouse]

Putting together a different truck bag for defense.
Folding stock AR and mags.
Not selected a handgun yet. Still considering options.
A good flash light and fixed blade knife.
Basic small tools kit similar to my range bag.

 

[dudley0]

Took the new rifle build out to function check. It had three light strikes in 90 rounds. Not a passing grade for me. Will take the lower apart and see if I find anything. Then I will test it some more.

One thing I did note was since I set this up as regular optics opnly I realized how bad my eyesight is. At the 50 yard line I couldn't tell what was going on without the spotting scope.

 

[churchmouse]

Did some serious selling and horse trading and stepped up in our power source areas.

Picked up a sweet generator large enough to cover all our essential power needs with some reserve.
Will be doing the power panel upgrades to make this a plug and go situation. I just need to devise a way to secure it when it is in use.
It has an electric start which is a serious plus.
I have the smaller genny from the 3 we had up on the classies for sale. This puts us well on top of our needs. Now I need to increase the fuel reserves to feed the 3 we now have.

 

[2in1evtime]

Had to get garage cleaned out, to get our vehicles in, soon decided our 2 vehicles sitting in our driveway looked better with 2 slit tires on each, new camera system going in now too!!!!

 

[Thor]

Well that sucks.

 

[teddy12b]

Had to get garage cleaned out, to get our vehicles in, soon decided our 2 vehicles sitting in our driveway looked better with 2 slit tires on each, new camera system going in now too!!!!

That really sucks. There's a lot of people getting battery operated home security systems put in now that don't take any hard wiring and they sync to a home wifi network. I don't believe there's any monthly service/subscription fees with those either. When he showed me the clarity of his cameras I was really impressed. I'll probably do something similar at my place.

 

[Karl-just-Karl]

I am collecting up some more containers for water. I already have some water stored so rather than maintain more stored water I hope I will have enough time to fill some containers ready to go if the need presents itself.

Empty containers are also a lot easier to move and I won't have to worry about them freezing.

I am also wanting to pick up some more 5 gallon buckets with lids. Thanks to this site I have started to become concerned about revealing/relieving myself outside in the event of bad things.

 

[churchmouse]

I am collecting up some more containers for water. I already have some water stored so rather than maintain more stored water I hope I will have enough time to fill some containers ready to go if the need presents itself.

Empty containers are also a lot easier to move and I won't have to worry about them freezing.

I am also wanting to pick up some more 5 gallon buckets with lids. Thanks to this site I have started to become concerned about revealing/relieving myself outside in the event of bad things.

Water is the key.

Without it we are done.

 

[Leadeye]

Covering things up today and making sure barn windows are secure in anticipation of the deluge next two days. With high wind and soaked ground, I expect no power, so the genny got a spot check.

 

[churchmouse]

Put the play off games on the box. Pulled the Bug out totes into the TV room and started through them.
Pulled and checked all the clothing.
Added for the season.
More comfort like blankets etc. Towels cloth and paper.
Rotated/added water.
Rotated battery's and added some led lights.
Pulled the edibles out of the gear/cloths totes and started another just for food.
Worked on the defense back pack.
Upped our ability to start and maintain a fire.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Ordered a fresh set of 72 hour bars. (need to find a way to wrap them in cardboard to protect the vacuum pack. One pack was floppy when I pulled it from the go bag.

Need to get 2 more go bags. Mini Monkeys are now 10 and 13, so can carry their own gear. (change of clothes, toiletries, plastic sheet, duct tape, whistle, cordage, light and batteries, IFAK)

Remember to refresh your batteries, and DONT BUY CHEAP GENERIC STORE BRANDS. My Duracells were good, but the Meijer brand cells were dead as a doornail, even when pulled from the package. (only 5 years on)

To address Da Mouse's comment on fire. Homemade firestarters ROCK! I make them for the campfire/fire pit now as well. I store them in a plastic 250 round Berry's bullet box in the shed for bonfires. Once going, it will burn for up to 5 minutes, to allow your kindling to catch.

• drop a literal handful (size of a baseball) of cotton balls into a ziplock sandwich bag.
• Scoop in about 1/4C of petroleum jelly into the bag. Seal it and massage the magic sauce into the cotton balls thoroughly.
• Add more balls if necessary. they should be slightly gooey, but have absorbed all the jelly. When done, the bag shouldnt have any jelly clumps visible , and you should be able to pluck out an individual ball without your fingers getting too slimy.

When time to use, pull out 1 ball. pull it apart in 2 pieces. That should expose lots of individual fibers Those fibers will catch fire VERY easily, even with a flint and steel.

 

[bwframe]

I've found that Menards is a decent place to pick up KleenHeat (low odor kerosene) for the lanterns. Under $11 a gallon. I picked up a couple gallon around the holidays and put two more in the 15% off bag today.

The lanterns make light and a few BTU's. They get used in darn near any evening power outage. Used enough that the last time the levels were noticeably low.

 

[Karl-just-Karl]

To address Da Mouse's comment on fire. Homemade firestarters ROCK! I make them for the campfire/fire pit now as well. I store them in a plastic 250 round Berry's bullet box in the shed for bonfires. Once going, it will burn for up to 5 minutes, to allow your kindling to catch.

• drop a literal handful (size of a baseball) of cotton balls into a ziplock sandwich bag.
• Scoop in about 1/4C of petroleum jelly into the bag. Seal it and massage the magic sauce into the cotton balls thoroughly.
• Add more balls if necessary. they should be slightly gooey, but have absorbed all the jelly. When done, the bag shouldnt have any jelly clumps visible , and you should be able to pluck out an individual ball without your fingers getting too slimy.

When time to use, pull out 1 ball. pull it apart in 2 pieces. That should expose lots of individual fibers Those fibers will catch fire VERY easily, even with a flint and steel.

A little less gooey option: Used dryer sheets. They add up quickly when collecting them every week. Store in a zip-loc bag. Paired with a magnesium fire-starter you really got something.

I will give the petroleum jelly balls a try.

 

[churchmouse]

We gather lint from the dryer filter and vent trap. Bag it up in good freezer style zip-locs. It will fire right up.
We have fresh kitchen matches bagged/sealed as well.

The lantern is a great idea BW. We have 3 LED batter lanterns that are adjustable and put out serious light for the size of them. If we bug out it would most likely be in the Chevy conversion that is on a 3500 series chassis. It is well lit inside.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Yes, dryer sheets and lint are both awesome. Ive got bags of lint as well. The impregnated balls have the added benefit of being waterproof and starting fires in very wet conditions. (and burning persistently for 5 minutes, enough to get damp kindling going. )