Day: September 13, 2007

Note from JWR:

There are just two days left in the SurvivalBlog benefit auction for a for a new-in-the-box Hydro Photon UV Light SteriPen Water Sterilization System with solar charger and pre-filter, kindly donated by Safecastle, one of our most loyal advertisers. This very popular water sterilizer product package normally sells for $225, plus postage. See the details on the SteriPen and solar charger here. As a bonus for this auction, I’m also including three autographed books: Rawles on Retreats and Relocation, SurvivalBlog: The Best of the Blog – Volume 1 and my novel: “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse”. (Together, these books have …


Letter Re: Advice on Chainsaws

Dear Mr. Rawles, We are in the market a new chainsaw. We currently have an old Homelite Super XL which has served us well for the past 25 years, but it is getting tired. We have looked at the Stihls and Husqvarnas, both of which are mostly plastic. I guess I am spoiled by the old heavy duty all metal Homelite. Do you have any suggestions regarding a saw, how many chains, and how much lubricant to keep on hand? – Mark G. JWR Replies: I also miss the sturdy, all-metal brutes of the 1970s, but I certainly don’t miss …


Letter Re: Converting Diesel Vehicles to Run on Waste Vegetable Oil

Mr. Rawles, I did a write up on the Greasel conversion I did for my truck starting at 40,000 miles when I had it converted, to 100,000 which was a week or two ago, and all the things I have done to modify the process along with lessons learned. I posted it at Black-Rifles.com. Polar Bear has it pretty well described, but I would differ with him on one very important point, filtration. If you don’t pre-filter the oil down to one or two microns you will clog your vehicle filters in short order, like a few hundred miles. Also, …


Odds ‘n Sods:

The US Dollar Index has sagged below 80 for the past four trading days. When I last checked, it was at 79.42. (It currently takes a whopping $1.39 to buy a Euro.) As previously mentioned in SurvivalBlog, this dollar weakness is a red flag. Obviously the international currency market sees lower interest rates ahead in the US. Be prepared for a full scale dollar crisis in the near future. Have you diversified into tangibles? (Gold, guns, and ground.) OBTW, have you noticed that the spot price of gold is now over $700 per ounce? On a related note: Oil hit …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Hoc erat in votis: modus agri non ita magnus, hortus ubi et tecto vicinus iugis aquae fons et paulum silvae super his foret." Translated: "This used to be among my prayers – a piece of land not so very large, which would contain a garden, and near the house an abundant spring of ever-flowing water, and beyond these a bit of wood." – Horace, Satires 2.6, "On the Sabine Farm"