Friday, April 29, 2016

WNTBTTA 10


WHAT NO TO BRING TO THE APOCALYPSE 10

3) wire.  Remember not too long ago when I got all excited and sang the praises of The Unnamed Yuppie Survivalist Scum Blog for having brought up another unique idea as they are wont to do about annually ( along with those such as the powdered bleach ), the inexpensive wire source in the floral section of China-Mart?  Wire to make snares or repairs or torches or whatever.  I believe that the reason I was so moved was that it hadn’t occurred to me to stockpile wire.  Well, as it turns out, if you are going to stockpile wire, that was a good cheap source.  Yet, now, shamefaced as all get out, I admit to being a dumbass.  You don’t need to stockpile wire, now do you?  I was blinded by a bargain ( granted, I spent about $2, and I habitually drop $1.60 once or twice a month on movies from Redbox that turn out to be retarded, so I call a wasted $2 prep relatively speaking less of dumb-assness than it could have been.  And speaking of Redbox, if you like Quentin Tarrentino movies, “Hateful Eight” kicks butt.  Granted, it is three hours of talking in a one room cabin, but the Q-man can pull that off like none other.  If you are a fan of his, I’d rank this as a must-see ).  Wire is everywhere, from phone lines to electrical cords to appliances to home and business wall interiors.  It would be hard to run out of wire in the immediate future.

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4) solar panels are another item I keep harping on you to get.  I mean, Come On!  At a $1.39 a watt for a 100 watt panel ( have you seen the huge solar panel mark-up at Home Depot?  Embarrassing.  Buy through my Amazon links ) you would be remiss in missing this opportunity.  Chinese trade, seemingly The New Normal after twenty years, can be shut off easily.  The end of the Petro-Dollar.  An attack on the Saudi main oil terminal.  Trade embargoes as we did with Russia and the 7.62x54R surplus ammo stopped selling cheap within days.  China could use their own trade stoppage as a military strategy ( did you ever wonder how many critical components are made over there? ).  You can’t guarantee overseas supplies won’t dry up ( look at the computer storage media supply issue after Fukishima ).  

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I still think it is a great idea to have a panel or two and a marine battery or two.  If you can keep the batteries from freezing you should easily get at least five years out of them, and with some LED bulbs you’ll always have crisp bright light during outages.  Not that I’m suggesting to spend $500 for the occasional three hour grid down.  Better to get a bunch of cheap flashlights ( LED-of course! ) and a lot of AA batteries which will probably run about $20.  But if you think we will join the ranks of Third World countries that ration their power to an hour or two a day-if that, sooner rather than later, well then a few panels and batteries are a great investment.  HOWEVER.  Just to have panels for after the collapse, just because they will be useful if not critical ( go with the LED flashlights and the rechargeable AA batteries with a solar charger unit for post-collapse light for years of electric illumination on the very cheap.  Candles SUCK ), there is little need to buy your own.  If they are not on your Absolutely Must Own list, you will probably be able to find them atop buildings at almost every population center.  Because most folks, outside very remote locations, will own solar but not a battery bank.  They just tie onto the grid to save major coin.  That is their version, along with owning a Prius, of saving Mother Earth.  You might get lucky with highway construction signs, also. 

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5) 12v LED light bulbs are a really nifty device for drastically reducing your power needs ( living with RV appliances ).  An old auto incandescent bulb uses 18 watts.  A much brighter LED auto bulb uses 4 or 5.  That difference adds up hour after hour at night, day after cloudy day.  However, if you are like most of us, you don’t live off grid with solar panels and marine batteries and 12v lighting.  So you never stock up on LED automotive bulbs.  Never fear.  They usually come in-wait for it!-cars!  Not all bulbs will be LED.  Incandescent still sell for a buck verses the LED’s $12.  But you’ll still find them easily enough-especially in commercial rather than private vehicles, as the bulbs are cheaper than getting a no-compliance ticket.  Granted, you’ll probably be finding red rather than white colored bulbs, but light is light after the apocalypse. 

END

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20 comments:

  1. If a person is stuck in the Iron Triangle of House-Car-Job (see Dmity Orlov), a small awakening can help a person to not waste the 10% of money they can squeeze out of price-shopping insurance, not "vacationing", cancel cable TV, eat-in only, quit tobacco, not buying ANYTHING un-needed for bare survival (except minimal quantity of money-savers like wool hats and blankets so the house can be kept cool, and these can be sourced from thrift store). Motivation/effort will depend on how much time they believe they have in the current paradigm. I believe that The Bison Prepper has outlined a pretty reasonable escape plan that can be achieved without pain in 36 months or with-pain in about 12 months by motivated people. Add some liquidated assets for cash, and it gets interesting fast.

    Almost all remote property plans should include a used recreational vehicle of the "trailer" type. Mobile Homes with engines, bigger than an 18-passenger van, are inflexible/expensive for pre-disaster use, and a beacon for robbery (as well as fuel hog) after. Trailers, otoh, need a pulling vehicle to get somewhere and so are less expensive as well as less interesting to Official Forces pre-disaster or post-collapse. Mostly, the buyer gets more use for less money, if he shops well. Pay attention to floor mushiness, since everything attaches to the floor. The buyer doesn't have to buy a $50K truck to haul a trailer, just rent a U-haul of sufficient size. I like shorter (18'-23') trailer with double-axle and 4 tires. Tires are less-stressed than single-axle and can be passenger tires for less money or 4 sturdy truck tires for better load rating. Part of a future travel plan may include max axle/tire loading by heavy stuff in the trailer. On the way home, stop by an RV park and empty the black and grey tanks: rinse well. Put the trailer where you want it (off-street, so you don't get ticketed/towed), and commence repairs. Yes, repairs. You paid AT-MOST $2000 for a pretty-good 15+ year old box on a trailer frame. If you are willing to accept water-damage/rot/mold/no-working appliances, >$500 is common (with good tires and a real title!). First thing: get the roof tarped so you can get it dry. Remove and re-seal all roof vent covers all the way to removing the flanges. Add stainless steel screws and 50-year silicone sealer to vent re-install. Coat roof with SnowSeal (which is Slaked Lime). The box will resist water and heat better. If there is power, put a heater in it. Crack open windows/vents in bath/roof. Clean everything. Figure out what's worth keeping. Remove and dispose of things not worth having. Space is at a premium, since you may be doing "stealth" work inside while parked in a place full of curious people or where "repairs prohibited".

    RV's do not resist gunfire. Not at all.
    pdxr13

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    1. I've bought lots of RV's and only once was it too far gone to cheaply and easily repair. And I suck at Tim Taylor handyman stuff. If I can do it, anyone can.

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  2. If you already happen to have a cell phone, there are some night vision Apps available. The one that I tried sucked, but there are several, and I didn't try them all.

    As far as infrared illuminators for the standard night vision devices, I'm pretty sure that radio shack sold the infrared LEDs at one time. You might not find them in the store, but maybe at radio shack online.

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    1. Does RS still even have stores?

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    2. I heard that they just closed a bunch of them James, but they're still around to my knowledge. The one here in my small one horse town closed up about 5 years ago. Of course, hiring some obnoxious bitch with an attitude problem probably didn't help sales any either I would imagine.

      I see a time when they might just go exclusively online. Or more realistically, form some kind of alliance with Amazon.

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    3. Obnoxous would have been okay, if she knew her electronics. Which the employees used to. Now, they just know cell phone plans. Like the world needs another cell phone retail store. Idiots-they should have already been bankrupt.

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    4. “Obnoxous would have been okay, if she knew her electronics.”

      I'm just going to take a shot in the dark here James and guess that you don't shop at radio shack very often? :D

      I once knew someone that worked there, and they actually considered having electronics knowledge to be a negative. Don't ask me to explain that one, because it makes absolutely no sense to me either? But no, I've never actually ran into anyone working there that knew anything about electronics past about 1978.

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    5. Yeah, they're still around but I don't know why. The last 3 times I went in, spanning maybe 15 years, they never had what I needed. Seems they are just cellphone / radio control toy / stylish no-name gadget dealer with the stupidest ditz on the block running the place. If you want something like a switch, or anything even remotely related to electronics you're out of luck.

      I remember as a kid there was a Lafayette store close by that was everything a Radio Shack wished it was - down and dirty electrical stuff run by old guys that did stuff the hard way back in the old days - the spoke little, always acted angry, and grunted. serious bidnit

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    6. Radio Shack? What kind of loyal minion would shop there and deny Jim his Amazon commission for the purchase of an IR Illuminator like one of these:

      http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_6?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=ir+illuminator&sprefix=IR+Ill%2Caps%2C486&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Air+illuminator

      Shortened URL for above is: http://tinyurl.com/jee48t5

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    7. I just saw stocked CellShack store at street level in downtown pdx today. Not open on mid-day Saturday, so ygiagam if it's a functional store. Same opinion about staff with ZERO component-level electronics skill, or ham radio knowledge. Read the AARL handbook during slow times! pdxr13

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    8. 912-I think the last electronic guy I met in a RS was about 15 years ago. One of the hold-outs, I would imagine.
      GS-the only problem with the serious professional stores are the elitism. I've run into too many of those with gunstores. You want business you need to embrace newbies. Ace hardware is great about that. RS used to be.
      214-thank you! peer pressure, good!
      PDX-I don't blame the workers there. You get what you pay for and RS refuses to pay.

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  3. Want almost free solar panels? If so buy (and read) “Sunshine To Dollars” by Steven Harris. In it he explains how to get them.

    As far as batteries for solar I went with golf cart batteries rather then marine batteries. A better choice as they are made to be run down and marine batteries are not tolerant of being cycled as much.

    As far as the red LED auto bulbs, they likely are white LED’s with a red cover.

    Candles are always on the list of must-have prepper items. But they have a few problems, they are not very bright, don’t work well in wind (outside) consume themselves needing replaced, and can cause fires. Same thing with oil lamps, they are nice looking, but with solar power and LED bulbs I see them as less useful then in the past.

    I moved to LED lights several years ago, I also bought a LOT of Sanyo Eneloop AA & AAA rechargeable batteries and bought (Amazon for $50.00) and made a solar charger. I also have a normal plug-in charger (a Maha C-9,000, the best AA & AAA battery charger made) and I made sure it had a 12-volt cord with it so I can charge it from an auto, 12-volt panel or the motorhome.

    You can find LED lanterns that sell for $10.00 ( some for $5.00 or less) all over the place. And they light up a room OK. I have a lot of them and so far have never had one go bad, all made in China, but they work well.

    I have 2 solar camping lanterns with a solar panel on top, they charge themselves with no work at all. Just let them sit in a window to suck up solar power. Yea these are more expensive ($15.00 to $20.00) hen the ones that run on 3 AAA batts, but the convince factor is nice. And it’s nice to have a light that never stops working and needs no money input (oil to feed them) to keep working.

    If you want LED bulbs for an off-grid project any junk yard has a LOT of LED bulbs to use.

    For those that salvage wire for projects in trailers, autos and motor homes don’t use Romex or any solid wire. A single wire will break with vibration. All auto and motor homes use stranded wire just because it doesn’t break. I know Romex is tempting to use as there is a lot of it around, but it could cause you problems later.


    Chuck Findlay

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    1. I never thought of the solid wire issue, but I just hooked up a ground wire on our stove ( I blame any mental short-comings in the last year to being shocked while washing dishes and reaching over for a skillet on the stove, one hand still in the water )and that old solid ground wire snapped right off with ease when I went to attach a new one ( it seems the old wire already broke off and no one added any more for the required length-plus you needed more wire to bypass the new PVC to get to the old iron pipe under the sink ). Now I know-thank you!

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    2. We used golf cart batteries for the first 10 years on our place. For the last 10 years, we've gone with forklift batteries. They're approximately twice the power and last 2x longer than the golf cart batteries.

      Idaho Homesteader

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  4. I've been eying the PV panels that the state uses to power the water level sensors on bridges in my area......SHTF, some of them could accidentally fall of the pole into my waiting hands. But I'm sure I'm not the only one that's thought of that so as usual I'll likely miss out for being too timid to make the move in time.

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    1. Being timid is a survival trait-don't beat yourself up about it.

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  5. Wire for tying things together will be common. This is scrap from every building anywhere. OTOH, what you won't find everywhere is good unspliced com wire in quarter-mile reels, or heavy-gauge stranded copper wire (with lugs and tool to terminate) suitable for low voltage DC power.
    Planning to loot State mobile assets (which are barely suitable for the sign application they work on) is a bad primary or secondary plan, especially when Renology 100W monocrystaline panels are only $150 each. That's just the beginning of a safe small off-grid power system to keep a deep cycle battery charged. There are more efficient panels (more power per square foot of panel) and higher output panels, but either much more money or really-freaking-big/heavy. If you like your money and want post-disaster performance, don't consider any product seen or mentioned on a televangelist show. You want 3rd world hut-lighting built with fanless monkey-proof neglect-resistant systems that need only to not be intentionally wrecked to keep working. You can spend more and get more/better, but "merely" spending more without research and understanding is not helpful. If a person doesn't have money/space/situation for the hardware, learning how and why travels light for when you do. pdxr13

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    1. Wouldn't AC wire work for DC? Can wire be TOO thick?

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    2. Wouldn't AC wire work for DC?
      Common house wiring is PVC jacketed (80C rating) solid conductor (not as flexible as stranded) and can safely carry 15/20/30 amps (14/12/10 gauge, respectively) before the wire gets hot enough to negatively affect the insulation. The insulation will hold off 120/240 volts, much higher than needed for a 12/24 volts in most DC systems. As long as you stay within the voltage and current rating of the wire, it doesn’t care if AC or DC is flowing through it. Many 12/24VDC systems carry much higher currents so they need larger (thicker) conductors to keep the wire cool enough not to melt the insulation.
      Can wire be TOO thick?
      From an electrical standpoint, thicker is better since the heating of the conductor is lower. From a practical standpoint, thicker means heavier, harder to work with, and more expensive. It’s always a trade-off…
      It might help to use the analogy of water in a hose, where flow rate is like current in a wire, and pressure is like the voltage that the wire’s insulation has to hold back.
      A garden hose works fine if you’re pushing a few gallons a minute (current) at relatively low pressure (voltage). If you push a higher flow rate (higher current) you need a larger diameter hose (conductor). If the pressure (voltage) is high you need a thicker hose wall (insulation) as well to keep water pressure (voltage) from bursting the hose.
      A fire hose can easily carry the flow you would put through a garden hose, but it would be heavier, more cumbersome, and much more expensive.

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    3. Okay, thanks. My 12v knowledge is application rather than theory, experimentally derived.

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