Category: Contest

Just-In-Time Food Storage – Part 2, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 1.) Repackaging vs Keeping Original Packaging Whether we’re using freezer or mylar bags for our SOP food storage, we’ll need to know what needs repackaging and what doesn’t. Leaving in Original Packaging – Pest-wise, some of the items on our shopping list can be left in the original packaging if the packaging is good enough or if the food doesn’t attract pests. Sugar can be left in its original paper bag. If it clumps inside the bag before opening, a few raps on a countertop will break up the lumps. The powdered milk I use comes in …


Just-In-Time Food Storage – Part 1, by St. Funogas

This article describes a just-In-time food storage plan for preppers. These are some of the biggest reasons/excuses why some preppers don’t currently have much food storage: 1. I’ll probably never need it. 2. It’s too complicated to figure all the techniques out. 3. It’s too expensive. 4. Where am I going to store it all? 5. It would be much too embarrassing if my family and friends found out! This article is about taking probabilities into account as things heat up in the world and putting together a last-minute food-storage shopping list to be prepared just in case. Some of …


A Home-Made Water Filter, by Richard T.

I recently made my own water filter, using commonly available parts.  It is essentially a low-cost clone of one of the popular Berkey Water Filters. (Those are pictured above.) The material list and sources for the parts for this water filter are below the description of its construction and use. The base for this water filter construction is a 4-inch (inside diameter) Schedule 40 white PVC DWV pipe, cut  24 inches long. It is capped top and bottom but only the bottom cap is cemented on. Both caps have a ½” hole in the center. The hole in the bottom …


Relationships, Communities, and Resources, by 3AD Scout

Multiple relationships equals a community and a community equals resources. This sounds so simplistic but many Preppers do not work on developing relationships which means they do not have a SHTF community. Not having a community means that they are missing out on vital resources they may need during and after a widespread disaster or a societal collapse. I saw this concept in action for myself in the past few weeks. Making a relationship Amish buggies and wagons are a common sight on our road. A keen eye will sometimes allow you to get to know the locals versus those …


Hurricane Milton After Action Review – Part 3, by Soyez Ferme

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.) Aftermath Awake before dawn to survey the damage, we found that two thirds of the barn roof lay in various pastures within a quarter-mile radius. The radio antenna that was attached to the barn was bent in a C-shape. A sheet of roofing must have hit it. A massive live oak tree had toppled over on its side, roots exposed. Many branches had snapped off other oak trees, some as big around as my waist. Leaves were gone from the tops of all the trees. Lower branches seemed to fare much better. …


Hurricane Milton After Action Review – Part 2, by Soyez Ferme

(Continued from Part 1.) Five days prior to landfall Sunday it was time to check the gas in all vehicles and 5-gallon jugs. I had 15 gallons of ethanol free gas for equipment, and I needed to fill up three empty jugs of regular gas for vehicle and farm truck use. I also filled up my truck and my wife’s SUV. This was Sunday before the storm and before panic fuel buying began. My tractor and generator run on diesel. On Sunday I assessed that there was 70 gallons of diesel on hand and that would be enough for getting …


Hurricane Milton After Action Review – Part 1, by Soyez Ferme

Date and Location: October 9, 2024 — West Coast of Florida, under the eye of Hurricane Milton, inland from landfall. Hurricane winds howled outside, and the rain pelted the windows when the lights flickered for the final time and died. On the darkest of nights as Hurricane Milton unleashed its fury on our rural Florida bunker, my mom confidently stated, “I feel safe here.” After a long, and mostly sleepless night, we rose before dawn to walk the property. What follows is a breakdown of the good, the bad and the ugly of our preparedness strategy for weathering a vicious …


Our Hurricane Experience in South Carolina, by K.U.

We live in a rural county about 60 miles from Augusta, Georgia. The night of September 26th, 2024 was one we never thought we’d experience so far inland. A full-blown hurricane was upon us (winds were recorded at 80-100mph in our county). We awoke early on the 27th to no power and 1 bar of very spotty cell service. We built our house on a hill and made sure that no trees were nearby, so our house had minimal damage. We had some water come in and down a wall from the chimney, but plan to fix that with a …


U.S. Military Tent Stoves – Part 5, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 4. This concludes the article.) This photo shows the area behind the stove that is about 18 inches away. It could have been safely installed at only 12 inches away, yet because there was the space available and to help improve the airflow at the closest point, 6 inches, this was a good use of the additional distance. In addition, we can see the welds around the stove pipe collar on the wood stove and the welds at the juncture of the lower half and the pan that supports the grate. The bottom of the stove becomes …


U.S. Military Tent Stoves – Part 4, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 3.) Army Tent Stove Modifications As the M1941/H-45 assembles with one half that sits on top of the lower half to make it ready to use. It can be made about 8 inches lower in height of its is assembled size for transport as one half can sit inside the other. The H-45 when assembled uses 3 nut and bolt attachment points on the outside of the stove to secure the pan to the top half. This is a worthwhile improvement as it would be possible to knock the top half off should some take a hard …


U.S. Military Tent Stoves – Part 3, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 2.) Operating the M1941 In Extreme Weather I’ve found that the M1941 at -30F will provide adequate heat for a cabin that is not insulated and that is no more than 300 square feet in size. It will keep you comfortable and the water in the plumbing flowing if those pipes are exposed to the cabin’s interior. It will burn 6 to 8 loads of wood every 24 hours at that temperature depending on the type of wood used and how it was processed or split. One load of wood will fill a 6-gallon plastic bucket. Larger …


U.S. Military Tent Stoves – Part 2, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued From Part 1.) The Simple Wood Stove In a small, well-insulated home, or not so well-insulated home, even if it is only a tent, heating a smaller area requires less fuel and effort to make a comfortable space in which to live. In some cases this might be just a temporary shelter during the winter months. In the 1800s, living in a small one-room wood cabin that housed an entire family meant less wood had to be cut by hand. My grandpa raised a family of 10 in a dirt-floor cabin built from logs on his Missouri farm during …


U.S. Military Tent Stoves – Part 1, by Tunnel Rabbit

In my most recent article titled Practical Wood Stoves, I discussed affordable and durable conventional wood stoves for the home in a general way. An early 1980s Forester wood stove was the focus for that class of stove. There are a plethora of wood stoves on the market. When selecting an appliance that we may very well depend upon day in and day out for the next decade to provide life-sustaining heat, we must be careful not to settle on what is on hand or what looks good in the home, and certainly not what is the most affordable. I …


Georgia: Hurricane Helene – Part 2, by Forward Preppers

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) We had seven trees across our driveway, all of them on power lines. And no way to get out. We were trapped. I let that sink in…. I’m not leaving here unless someone comes along and cuts these trees. These trees that are in contact with power lines. Power lines that scared me to death. So, gingerly, I walked around the property taking it all in and taking some pictures with my phone. The two trees on the propane tank had strangely missed all valves and gauges but the weight of the …


Georgia: Hurricane Helene – Part 1, by Forward Preppers

Our background: We have been prepping and part of the SurvivalBlog community since 2011. We moved to our bugout location in the summer of 2016, a secluded spot in Middle Georgia. I work full-time at a local bank in a town about 25 minutes away. My husband had total knee replacement surgery several weeks prior to the hurricane, so he was unable to help much. We are in our late 50s/early 60s, respectively. Back in September 2017 and 2018 we experienced hurricanes with power outages of five days on the first one and three days with the second one. And …