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Lessons Learned from 9 Days Without Power

Posted in: Featured, My Story

Guest post by Dennis A.

It was mid-July a few years ago and very hot. At about 4:30 P.M. and shortly after I returned home from work, the weather radio goes off and announces a huge line of super cell thunderstorms producing tornados, softball size hail, heavy rain and straight-line winds in excess of 70 M.P.H.
monster storm Lessons Learned from 9 Days Without Power

image by Fellowship of the Rich

Less than an hour later, the monster hit. I yelled to my wife and daughter to get into the basement, NOW! Fortunately they listened to me and went downstairs. I thought, “I’m not going to miss this one,” and stood at the glass window. While I was standing there enjoying the trees bend 90 degrees and listening to things hitting the side of the house, all of a sudden our heavy, full size trampoline started to levitate upwards. It lifted 5 feet, 10 feet, and then 30 feet straight up and then took off like a Harrier jet toward me. I went scrambling down to the basement with my family. I did not see any funnel cloud, and to this day I can’t see how a straight-line wind could do something like that.

The storm lasted maybe 30-45 minutes and during the course of the storm we lost electrical power. No problem, I’m a “prepper”; I’m very well prepared! I made my way to the next room in the basement where I have my flashlights, candles and battery lamps perfectly stored in nice boxes. It was pitch dark. Based on the severity of the storm I figured the power would be out at least until sometime the next day.

Now, it was time to put my action plan to the test. I got out all my heavy duty 12 gauge extension cords, electrical strips, Coleman battery lanterns, etc. I fired up the Coleman 5,000 watt generator on the first pull and plugged everything in: the refrigerator, the chest freezer, the TV and satellite box.

The next morning, walking outside through the front door I sure could tell a severe storm came through. Debris, shingles, branches, lawn furniture, and more was everywhere. I wondered where the trampoline had landed. We lived in a subdivision and we eventually found that thing 75 yards away where it had struck the side of a house and caved the wall in pretty good.
power outage Lessons Learned from 9 Days Without Power

image by dave hale

Nine days without power

Day One: I had a long list of thing to do. I needed to call in to work and take a couple of days off, call the insurance company, clean up all the mess, cover the holes on the roof until I could get a roofer out, etc. It was awfully hot outside for 7:00 a.m. and the highs for the day were forecasted to be in the high 90s and lower 100’s.

My wife called me into the house to show me the news on TV. It turned out that we had experienced a very widespread tornado and storm damage covering three states. Our entire regional area including St. Louis was 80% out of power. My gut feeling told me what we were going to be without power for a number of days. I thought, “Oh well. I’m a prepper. I’m ready!” A quick check told me that I had about a weeks worth of gasoline for the generator.

Later on that morning we took a little drive around our village to see what was up. Nothing was open, and I mean nothing. No Wal-Mart, no Kroger, no McDonalds and no gas stations. There was very little traffic and all the stop lights were out. Returning home around noon we walked into a very hot house. Should I open the windows or keep the house closed up?

It wasn’t long before I had to make a decision. It was 98 degrees outside and 82 degrees inside and climbing. To make a long and miserable story short, I decided to keep the house closed up. At its peak the house would only get to 89 degrees inside max, and a couple of degrees cooler in the basement. The heat generated from the refrigerator, freezer, coffee pot, and TV, I’m sure contributed to a lot of the heat. Even with a couple of fans blasting away directly at us, it was miserable trying to get any sleep until it was just about time to get up and the temperature in the house hit its low.

Day Two: One long continuation of day one: hot! At least I had all the conveniences of home: satellite TV, refrigerator, freezer, lights, coffee pot, etc. No one else in the subdivision seemed to be as well off. That night around 9 p.m. my wife and I went for a drive to see if anything was open yet. Everything was still closed. Driving back into the subdivision I got an eerie gut wrenching knot in my stomach as I was approached my house. The entire subdivision was totally black, except for my house. It looked like Christmas from the outside. The entire subdivision was totally silent, except for my house, where the blaring sound of a generator permeated the silence. I realized that I had a big red and white circle on my back! We got inside, closed the curtains, and repositioned the lights. There wasn’t much we could do about the generator noise.
storm damage Lessons Learned from 9 Days Without Power

image by alycefeliz

Day Three: The days are getting hotter along with the inside of the house. I had to report to work, and the roofer was expected to drop by later. The roof was repaired by the time I got home, the wind turbine replaced, and the vent pipe repaired, all for a very reasonable price. I was surprised that I didn’t get gouged!

I was getting 24-hours run time out of the generator at 50-75% capacity and the oil needed to be changed. Remember those big red and white circles on my back? The neighbors on both sides of me came over shortly after I returned home from work and asked if I had any ice and/or bottled water to spare. Along with everything else going on, we had a water boil order and we had been advised not to directly drink the water.

I was willing to help but I didn’t let it be known that I had 10 cases of bottled water and two 55-gallon plastic food grade barrels full for emergency use. I only had a small amount of ice in a few ice trays but I gave them what I had and refilled the trays. I also gave them plenty of ice cold bottled water from the fridge. I’m learning many of the people in the subdivision are driving 50-100 miles to get air conditioned motel rooms to escape the heat and sleep. Some are asking us to please try and keep an eye on their property.

That evening we had some good news. The local Quick Trip gas station got an emergency generator and was open for business. The bad news was that we couldn’t get anywhere near it! Traffic was backed up two blocks to get gas and it was a mad house! They were out of ice, milk, bread, bottled water and other commodities. I parked a couple of blocks away and found that they had plenty of cold beer. Just what the doctor ordered! I grabbed a case of my favorite beverage with a smile ear to ear and headed home.

It was so hot and miserable that we had been eating very light but that night I broke out some pork steaks and brats and barbequed them while my wife boiled potatoes for potato salad on my propane Coleman gas stove outside.

We invited a few of our neighbors over to share. I shut down the noisy generator for a while to have a moment of some normalcy. It was 101 degrees Fahrenheit at the moment and the case of ice-cold beverages didn’t last long. One of the neighbors hopped into her car to get more. Everything is cash only at the QT.
stores closed power outage Lessons Learned from 9 Days Without Power

image by heather

Day Four: I couldn’t believe it but another line of severe thunder storms, tornados, high winds and hail was headed our way again. This time my location didn’t get hit as badly as the first round but we still got a substantial amount of hail damage to my roof and vehicles; much of it was golf ball size. It looked like we had two inches of snow when it finished.

Day Five: I learned at work about more power outages caused by the latest round of severe weather, and hundreds of thousands of homes are out of power again. The electric companies are asking out-of-state workers for assistance. There is still no definite time table to restore our electric service.

More and more of the hardcore subdivision neighbors are stopping by and asking for bottled water and ice. My six plastic ice cube trays are getting a work-out round the clock. I can’t make it fast enough and we’re down to four cases of bottled water.

Then something totally unexpected happened. In addition to still being under a water boil alert, the fire department is going door to door and handing out fliers. I thought it must be some sort of no-burn notice or something, but when I read it, I found out that the village sewer system and pump stations do not have emergency back-up power. Long story short, sewage is backed up and can’t be pumped. This can cause a back up in your drains / toilet and possible sewage explosion. Have you ever seen the aftermath of a toilet / drain sewage explosion? They requested minimal use of our bathroom facilities.

Six days later, things get ugly

Day Six: I got up at 5 a.m. to get ready for work and brewed a pot of coffee. I was getting up earlier than normal because it was so stinking hot that I couldn’t get a deep sleep. I’ve noticed the family and I are getting cranky at each other because we’re tired and miserable. Taking a morning shower was an eye opener. You would think as hot as the inside of the house was (82 degrees) a cold shower would feel good. NOT! By conserving hot water and taking quick showers in the morning, the three of us were able to get three days out of the electric water heater. I did not make provisions to hook up the hot water heater or an electric generator transfer switch because I didn’t expect an electrical outage of this duration.
power workers Lessons Learned from 9 Days Without Power

image by grytr

I decided not to go to work because I only have a couple of gallons of gasoline left, although the 5 gallon generator tank is topped off. A few more businesses have re-opened, but it’s still a mad house trying to get into the two gas stations now open. With all my empty gas cans I drove about 35 miles to find an open gas station. There were no lines, and I pulled directly up to the pump, filled up the cans with gas and the truck with diesel.

Upon returning home I really wanted a nice cold glass of ice water, but my wife had just emptied all our cheap plastic ice trays for someone up the street. She told me that the woman who asked for the ice was borderline rude and even asked when the next batch would be ready. People around here seem to be getting more demanding rather than appreciative.

More stores seem to be opening up but they sell out of ice and water as soon as a shipment arrives. I realized that if the situation got worse or went on much longer, formerly decent folks might turn into animals and demand, not ask!

Day 7 & 8: It was hot and more of the same. I was down to my last half case of bottled water. We were all cranky, tired, and ready for civilized life to return. I grew tired of listening to everyone’s complaints. I was tired of cold showers, shaving with cold water, taking a light into the bathroom to see. I was tired of automatically flipping the light switch and then realizing they wouldn’t work. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired.

I decided that the very first thing I would do when things returned to normal was to purchase a room window air conditioner. The second thing I’m going to do is retire and move to the country and be as self sufficient as possible.

Day 9: At 6:07 that evening I was sitting in my recliner with sweat dripping off my sweat and thinking how I might make my wife’s life more miserable. The house lights momentarily flickered, and I smiled ever so slightly. Then, nothing.

Thirty or so minutes later, the house lights came on, the a/c started up and we all broke out in applause, but five minutes later it went out again. Bummer! Finally, ten long minutes later, which probably was the longest ten minutes ever, it was b-a-c-k, and it was on to stay. By 10 that evening the house was down to a comfortable 78 degrees and as I passed by the thermostat on my way to bed, I accidentally bumped it down to 60 degrees!

I’m here to tell ya’ll, that was the best night’s sleep a body could ask for

Update: I now live in the country and what a world of difference it is living on a few acres compared to the urban setting. That alone gives me piece of mind that should the S hit the fan, I don’t have to worry about close neighbors turning zombie.

No doubt different disasters will require different preparations and how people will react to them. The three major things I learned were:

(1) Even though my disaster was relatively minor in comparison to what could happen, until you actually experience a disaster, you don’t know how your preps will fare and what you might be missing if the situation lasts longer than what you’ve planned for.

(2) Under stress, hardship and extreme environments, people change, and in my experience not for the better.

(3) Don’t put all your eggs in one basket! I have flashlights scattered all over the house now for easy access, even in the dark. I’ve relocated some of my supplies in out buildings instead of storing them all of in the basement. I live within spitting distance of the New Madrid fault line and know that if we get the “big one” and my house is severely damaged or leveled, I’m S.O.L.

Do you have a first-hand account of surviving a disaster of some sort? Email it to mystory@thesurvivalmom.com



Lessons Learned from 9 Days Without Power | The Survival Mom

10 Key Outcomes From War With Iran That Few Are Talking About
Survivor Mike
March 6th, 2012
The Home for Survival
Comments (185)

Editors Note: Just about every decade over the last century has seen a major conflict somewhere in the world, and in one way or another the United States has found itself closely involved. While it’s impossible for us to predict exactly what leaders in America, Israel, Russia, China and Europe will do in response to claims that Iran is building nuclear weapons of mass destruction, from a preparedness and planning standpoint it is prudent to assume the worst. Israel has repeatedly called for the military option against Iran’s unabashed nuclear ambitions, all but confirming their plans for a first strike against the mid eastern nation.

While Iran may be considered by many to be insignificant on the grand chessboard, it is anything but. We can look to history to see how quickly a seemingly peaceful and stable society can devolve into chaos. Royal Hungarian prince Archduke Franz Ferdinand may also have been considered insignificant in his day and relatively unknown to the majority of the world’s population. Yet his assassination in June of 1914 catalyzed a war that had been brewing among monarchical, political and financial circles for decades.

Within a very short span of time nations were raising armies and men who had been working their fields just weeks before were marching to the front lines. Within six months battle lines had been drawn across the entire continent of Europe and millions of civilians and soldiers were dead.

If history has proven anything, it’s that when the bombs start flying events become wholly unpredictable and those in charge can quickly lose control.
In a world where nuclear weapons are on the table as a viable military option, the consequences of large-scale war can very seriously impact not millions, but hundreds of millions, if not billions, of people – and it can literally happen overnight.

Events in the middle east are going to heat up over coming months and one morning we may very well wake up to find that Israeli and American forces took action against Iranian nuclear facilities. What happens after that is anyone’s guess.

In the following article Survivor Mike of The Home for Survival outlines ten potentially devastating outcomes that we should plan for in the event the mid-eastern/north African theater of war is further expanded to include one of the world’s top oil producing nations, and one that is capable of a crushing counter strike against U.S. forces with weapons systems acquired from Russia and China.

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10 Key Outcomes From War With Iran That Few Are Talking About

by Survivor Mike

Lately we’ve been hearing about when the inevitable war with Iran will begin. However, what is not widely reported is the type of consequences we’ll be dealing with after that war starts. A huge part of prepping your SHTF plan is taking the time to think ahead a few steps to what is likely to occur. Below are several consequences from an Iranian war that could impact your SHTF plan.

1. Lack of Help from Europe

The recession in Europe has been widely publicized in the mainstream media. However, if war starts with Iran, how willing do you think these European nations will be to send troops to assist? There is cost associated with that and many may not be in the position to incur that cost. In addition, Iran supplies a great deal of oil to the countries in Europe. Do you think Iran will continue to ship oil to countries that have committed troops to fight against them?

2. Drop In Travel

The likelihood that terrorist attacks would increase in a war time scenario is high. Therefore, travel to vacation destinations would become very dangerous. That, in turn, would negatively impact tourism for many countries that rely on it. In addition, the high gas prices will deter people from traveling – which is being seen already.

3. Gas Prices Rise (But More Than You Think)

OK, this one is pretty obvious. However, one consequence would be even higher gas prices than anticipated for a relatively obscure reason. If you noticed during the spikes of the past, the difference between regular and premium gas had huge variations. This is due to more folks moving from premium to regular for cost reasons. That builds more uncertainty on the demand for premium. The gas stations then need to price it more conservatively (higher) to ensure that swings in the market don’t have them selling at a loss.

When prices begin to soar, folks will look to reduce the amount of driving they do and thus drive the demand for gas down. This will result in uncertain demand for stations and they will need to price regular conservatively (higher) to assure their profits. In addition, the wild swings in the market will also mandate them to have a bigger cushion in their prices. Result: Even higher prices than anticipated.

4. Terrorism At Home

Anti-American (and likely anti-Israeli) sentiment will be at an all-time high. Iranian migrants (legal or illegal) will be watching their homeland ravaged. The more radical ones may decide that enough is enough and take matters in their own hands here in the US. Even radical Islamists could come to Iran’s aid by causing havoc on American soil. Safety will become a huge concern and businesses will suffer from it.

5. Gold Rush

Quite a bit has been written about gold spiking in the event of war with Iran. That spike in gold will result in even more demand for gold as folks will look to get their hands on it. Unfortunately, that demand will result in increased crime against jewelers and individuals. Indian-Americans will be targeted as they have a tradition of owning and wearing their gold. In India, having and wearing gold is a sign of prosperity and, for many, a means of savings vs. keeping money in banks. Thieves will target them in search of gold.

6. Who Steals Gas?

As gas prices climb, people will become more desparate to get it. It’s already started in some areas. “Pump and runs” have been on the rise (where people pump their gas and leave without paying. People have been siphoning gas from parked cars to get their hands on the gas. Some have even taken to drilling holes in fuel tanks and draining it into a bucket. Desparation will increase and with it, tensions.

7. Another Rebuilding?

Assuming the US is victorious in Iran, there will be expectations for us to rebuild the country. Who will be paying for this rebuilding as we did in Iraq? Yes, the US taxpayers will foot the bill. During the rebuild, don’t be surprised if the waste is similar to past efforts.

8. Inflation On Steroids

Many folks have been complaining about the rising price of food and other staples. However, during an Iranian war and subsequent rise in gas prices, we can expect a serious spike in food prices. Remember, gas is required to run the trucks that ship the food to the stores. When that spikes, you will see things really get tough.

9. Crime On The Rise

Due to the items above, folks will be desparate to survive and feed their family. People that would normally never consider breaking the law will have new incentive as they see their families’ struggling. A desparate man is a dangerous thing.

10. And What If We Can’t Win?

Many just assume the US with Israel would win a war with Iran. However, what if it becomes another Vietnam or Korea? Who knows exactly what weapons Russia and China have sold to Iran. Also, who knows how effective they will be against us. What an unmitigated disaster it would be to be stuck in a long, drawn out war with a difficult opponent. All this while 20% of the worlds’ oil is not flowing.

A hot topic in the Republican debates has been being “tough” on Iran. I have to say I agree with Dr. Ron Paul on this one. We’ve already picked enough fights across the globe. It’s not the time for our nation to be the world police – especially against an opponent with the resources of Iran.

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.

Visit The Home for Survival for news, analysis, and preparedness guidance.

Top 10 Key Outcomes From War With Iran That Few Are Talking About

Report: Chance of a Catastrophic Solar Storm Is 1 in 8; Would Take Down Power Grid, Food Transportation, Water Utilities, Financial Systems

Mac Slavo
March 6th, 2012
SHTFplan.com
Comments (109)



According to a recent study published by Space Weather: The International Journal of Research and Applications, we have roughly a 12% chance of getting hit with a solar storm so powerful that it could take down the national power grid and yield catastrophic consequences for the general population.

Pete Riley, a senior scientist at Predictive Science in San Diego, is the author of the study which looks at the probability of the occurrence of extreme weather events:

Via: On the probability of occurrence of extreme space weather events
Key Points
- Probability of a Carrington event occurring over next decade is ~12%

- Space physics datasets often display a power-law distribution

- Power-law distribution can be exploited to predict extreme events

By virtue of their rarity, extreme space weather events, such as the Carrington event of 1859, are difficult to study, their rates of occurrence are difficult to estimate, and prediction of a specific future event is virtually impossible. Additionally, events may be extreme relative to one parameter but normal relative to others. In this study, we analyze several measures of the severity of space weather events (flare intensity, coronal mass ejection speeds)…
…

By showing that the frequency of occurrence scales as an inverse power of the severity of the event, and assuming that this relationship holds at higher magnitudes, we are able to estimate the probability that an event larger than some criteria will occur within a certain interval of time in the future. For example, the probability of another Carrington event occurring within the next decade is ~12%.

The 1859 Carrington Event, as described by Wired Science, may have been a marvel to observers and caused some setbacks in the developing telegraph infrastructure at the time, but a similar occurrence today could be a global game changer:

At the time of the Carrington Event, telegraph stations caught on fire, their networks experienced major outages and magnetic observatories recorded disturbances in the Earth’s field that were literally off the scale.

In today’s electrically dependent modern world, a similar scale solar storm could have catastrophic consequences. Auroras damage electrical power grids and may contribute to the erosion of oil and gas pipelines. They can disrupt GPS satellites and disturb or even completely black out radio communication on Earth.

During a geomagnetic storm in 1989, for instance, Canada’s Hydro-Quebec power grid collapsed within 90 seconds, leaving millions without power for up to nine hours.

The potential collateral damage in the U.S. of a Carrington-type solar storm might be between $1 trillion and $2 trillion in the first year alone, with full recovery taking an estimated four to 10 years, according to a 2008 report from the National Research Council.

The post-storm effects of such an event are underestimated by the majority of the world’s population, including our political leadership. Like an electro magentic pulse attack, according to the National Research Council a massive enough solar storm could have long term effects that ”would likely include, for example, disruption of the transportation, communication, banking, and finance systems, and government services; the breakdown of the distribution of potable water owing to pump failure; and the loss of perishable foods and medications because of lack of refrigeration.”

The worst case scenario has been outlined by the Center for Security Policy, which suggests that an EMP, or a solar storm that results in similar magnetic discharge across the United States, could potentially leave 90% of Americans dead within the first year:

“Within a year of that attack, nine out of 10 Americans would be dead, because we can’t support a population of the present size in urban centers and the like without electricity,” said Frank Gaffney, president of the Center for Security Policy. “And that is exactly what I believe the Iranians are working towards.”

In the documentary Urban Danger, Congressman Roscoe Bartlett warns of the threat posed by a downed power grid and urges his fellow citizens to take action to protect themselves for the inevitable results that would follow:

We could have events in the future where the power grid will go down and it’s not, in any reasonable time, coming back up. For instance, if when the power grid went down some of our large transformers were destroyed, damaged beyond use, we don’t make any of those in this country. They’re made overseas and you order one and 18 months to two years later they will deliver it. Our power grid is very vulnerable. It’s very much on edge. Our military knows that.
…

There are a number of events that could create a situation in the cities where civil unrest would be a very high probability. And, I think that those who can, and those who understand, need to take advantage of the opportunity when these winds of strife are not blowing to move their families out of the city.

Source: Congressman Warns: “Those Who Can, Should Move Their Families Out Of the City”



For many, a 1 in 8 chance of a catastrophic event occurring in a decade’s time may be nothing to worry about.

For the emergency, disaster and preparedness minded individual, however, a massive solar storm with the potential to take out our modern day power grid and utility infrastructure is just one in a variety of potentially catastrophic natural and man-made scenarios that could lead to the collapse of life in America as we know it today.

Though any given event on its own may have a low probability of occurrence, when combined with other potentialities like economic collapse, currency collapse, global or regional military conflict, Super EMP, political destabilization, massive earthquakes (such as on the New Madrid fault), Tsunamis, asteroids, pandemic, and cyber attacks the odds of a game changing paradigm shift in our lifetime’s rise significantly.

http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-new...stems_03062012

4 Light-weight Collapsible Survival Water Storage Containers

March 5, 2012 By Creek
8 Comments

There is a reason why I post so much about WATER.

WATER IS CRITICAL TO OUR SURVIVAL!

Some experts say that the next greatest world resource shortage will be WATER. In many parts of the world, access to clean drinking water is already almost nonexistent. The ability to source, carry, store and disinfect water should be at the top of your survival preps and skill sets.

There are all kinds of different skills and products that are relevant to a discussion about SURVIVAL H2O. Today, I’d like to discuss 4 SMALL Collapsible Containers with BIG Potential.

First, why COLLAPSIBLE?

In many aspects of survival, portability is key. Containers that are collapsible make sense to the survivalist for several reasons:

• They weigh less
• They take us less space
• Can be carried easily in a BOB or BOV

Collapsible containers, however, are typically not as durable as their rigid counterparts. You will have to decide when portability outweighs durability.

Below are 4 Collapsible Water Containers that I own – each have a slightly different place and purpose in my survival tool chest of products. I detail why I own them, what I plan on or currently use them for, and where you can get them should you decide to add them to your survival preps.

The Water Bob



As you can see in the photo above, the Water Bob is a collapsible water liner that fits in your bath tub. In the event of a natural or man-made disaster, the Water Bob can be deployed in a matter of minutes and holds a staggering 100 gallons of water.



The Water Bob also comes with a siphon for drawing out smaller portions of water. Sure, you can just fill your bath tub up with no liner if you are desperate, but the food grade liner protects the water from A) Your nasty bath tub and B) Dust, debris, insects and air-born particles.

If you are limited on space for water storage in your house or apartment and you have a bath tub, the Water Bob might be a good solution for you. If you see this fitting into your survival mix, you can order one at http://www.waterbob.com/ for $24.95.

The 5-Gallon Collapsible Container



I bought this container from http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/MLT4945-1.html for $9.97. Versions of this style container can be found in almost any camping section at any big box retailer. I’ve seem them in hunting stores like Gander Mountain and even Wal-mart. These are a great light-weight, portable solution for toting water from a water source back to camp or a Bug Out Location. They can also be frozen. This one is fitted with an easy ON/OFF spigot which is a nice feature.

The Jolly Tank



The Jolly Tank is my new favorite survival water storage container. My friend (and occasional Guest Author on this site and owner of www.realitysurvival.com) JJ Johnson recently introduced me to the Jolly Tank. I’ve been in the survival biz for 15 years and have never seen this particular product. It holds 2 gallons of water or fuel (6 hour limit on fuel) and folds down to about the size of your wallet. And, it only weighs a few ounces. I’ve added one of these to my BOB, my Bronco and also to my in-home safe room. Trust me, I need one in my Bronco – that thing SUCKS THE GAS.



JJ has done an excellent review on this item at http://www.realitysurvival.com/jolly-tank/. He also sells them for $10. Other than his site, I don’t know of anywhere else to get them.

The Platypus Water Bottle



I’ve used a Collapsible Platypus Bottle ( http://cascadedesigns.com/platypus ) for as long as I can remember. I use it as 1 of my 3 Bug Out Bag water containers. I have the 2 liter version and it literally rolls up into nothing when empty. It’s the best use of space I can think of in a BOB. I’ve used the same one for over 10 years so I can attest to its durability. I love that I can reduce the bulk in my pack as I consume the water in this bottle. It is just one of those items that makes sense.

The Big Drawback

The obvious drawback of collapsible containers in their thin walled design. Though most of them are surprisingly durable, they are definitely more susceptible to being cut or punctured. This needs to be taken into consideration when using and packing these types of containers. In a survival scenario where weight is critical, the pros of these containers certainly OUTWEIGH the cons.

Are you using a collapsible container that the rest of us should know about? If so, tell us about it in the comments below.

Remember, it’s not IF but WHEN,
Creek

http://willowhavenoutdoor.com/featur...ge-containers/


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• 1972 Ford Bronco Bug Out Vehicle
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Someone’s Trash Could Save Your Life: How to boil & purify water in a plastic bottle

June 13, 2011 By Creek
2 Comments

I travel far and wide to experience nature. Even when I think I am completely remote in a secluded area it seems I still cannot completely escape human litter & trash. On almost every water-way I’ve ever traveled from rivers to lakes to oceans I’ve seen some kind of human litter floating or washed on shore.

Plastic Bottle on River Shoreline


To a survivalist, however, someone’s trash can be a life-saving treasure. It really is amazing how you can use complete trash that we throw away everyday to help meet basic survival needs. It’s the simplest items that are the most useful in a situation when you have nothing. In this instance – a container for boiling water.

Boiling is 100% effective method of water purification. It kills bacteria, cysts and virus.

The ability to boil water can make the difference between life and death in any survival situation. With all of the plastic bottles scattered throughout our lands and waterways it is not unlikely for you to find one – even in a remote environment. If you can make fire, you can boil water using a plastic bottle. Here is how it’s done. Remove Cap & Suspend Over or Place Near the Fire

Plastic Bottle with Water Hanging Over Fire


In this example, I propped a long stick up on a Y stick in the ground so I could easily control the height of the bottle over the fire. I suspended the plastic bottle of water using a piece of rope. I suspect I could have set the bottle close to the fire as well.
I kept the bottle at about 5-6″ over the coals and the flame licked the bottom on many occasions.



It took about 15 minutes to bring the water to a rolling boil and I left it boiling for about 20 minutes after that. The bottle did distort in shape with the heat from the fire but the plastic did not fail. I think you could use the bottle several times to boil if necessary. I used a very thin walled plastic bottle so a thicker bottle would probably last longer. Do not leave the cap on unless you want a hot steam explosion. Below is a before and after picture of the bottle.

BEFORE boiling (RIGHT), AFTER boiling (RIGHT)


As you can see the bottle actually SHRUNK during the heating/boiling process. I thought it would expand but it did not. The lesson here is to fill your bottle only 3/4 full to prevent spillage into your fire. If the wind is blowing hard you will also want to build a wind screen because the wind will effect your water temp in the hanging bottle and slow down the boiling process.

You never know when knowledge like this might come in useful.

Remember, it’s not IF but WHEN,

Creek

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The Top 50 Survival Blogs!

1

SHTF Plan

2	Survival Blog

3	The Survival Podcast

4	Urban Survival

5	The Survivalist Blog

6	In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

7	The Survival & Emergency Preparedness Blog

8	Survival And Prosperity

9	The Survival Mom

10	American Preppers Network

11	WillowHavenOutdoor.com

12	Survival Topics

13	Pioneer Survival Blog

14	Preparedness Pantry

15	Off Grid Survival

16	Disaster Preparedness Blog

17	Ice-Qube - Emergency Preparedness Blog

18	Wilderness Survival Skills

19	Surviving In Argentina

20	CARD\'s blog

21	Modern Survival Blog

22	Backwoods Survival Blog

23	Back Door Survival

24	Modern Survival Online

25	Texas Prepper\'s Network

26	Preparedness and Response

27	Shepherd School

28	Stealth Survival

29	Save Our Skills

30	Be A Survivor

31	Bug-Out Survival

32	Total Survivalist Libertarian Rantfest

33	Doug Ritter

34	ATEP Emergency Preparedness Blog

35	Survival Joe

36	Preparedness Pro

37	The Just In Case Book Blog

38	TEOTWAWKI Blog

39

SHTF Blog

40	SHTF America

41	International Preparedness Network

42	Emergency Survival and Preparedness Blog

43	Code Name Bullseye

44	Keep It Simple Survival

45	Survival Times

46	Advanced Survival Guide

47	If It Hits The Fan

48	Survival Common Sense

49	Emergency Preparedness Blog

50	The Retreat

http://www.survivaltop50.com/

=> View these other great Survival Blogs that almost made the Top 50!

http://www.survivaltop50.com/runners-up/