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Letter: Circling Back on My Preps

Dear Editor,
My preps are in five areas, per the “group think” of SurvivalBlog. I have worked from area to area starting with what is easiest and cheapest up the ladder in each area. As I circle back I am working my way up but also looking back and questioning myself: Where did I store the extra ammo? Exactly what is in that unmarked box on my closet shelf and how might I better package to grab and go should we have to hastily migrate?

Electrical items are on the agenda today. It started up with recharging the AAA-size batteries for some of my flashlights. I noticed that many of my stock of batteries have been raided by my children seeking to power different toys. Next, I checked my inventory of batteries and chargers. I learned: “So that is what the stray seemingly orphaned wall wart goes to!” Also, “Is the metal cabinet in the office with almost no cell reception enough to provide a Faraday cage?” Of course “no” is the answer so it is time to pick up some military surplus steel ammo cans for that. Maybe I should figure out if the inverter is in an anti-static bag which of course is useless alone and only of value together with other protective measures.

So I am looking at our regular utilization, digging battery inventory out of Faraday go boxes and ordering replacements to rotate my inventory. I also recalled buying a 12 VDC extension cord and finding out the hard way that it came with a fuse in the tip of the connector that represented on 60% of the actual capacity of the cord based on the wire gauge and 75% of the advertised capacity. But I needed 90% of the advertised amp capacity to run my air pump and therefore “toasted” the fuse. So I replaced it with one consistent with the advertised capacity of the unit and tested it. No melting or smoke, so it is good to go. I did not understand before I sat down to dissect the dead extension cord that there is typically a fuse held in the tip of one of those cigarette lighter style connectors.

The commonality part is what I figured out this morning. And the fuses all appear to be different. One amp here and two amps there. So now I’m off to the hardware store with my list. My only quandary is deciding which “go box” should they should be placed in. They will probably not get broken but more likely they will not be stored with a device that fails. My bet is that they get misplaced or broken, rather than used.

Somebody smart said: “Two is one and one is none”. The answer is both. – R.V.