Category: Fuel Storage & Distilling

Greenhouse Heating, by Inda Woods

We now have indoor plumbing and a Wal-Mart, along with the millions of acres of wooded wonderland. Some of our forests are so dense and vast that even the DNR officers have become lost. We are alive with moose, wolf, cougar and black bear, to name a few. My husband and I are in our mid 50s and bought our 40 acres of forest in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula 20 years ago. Can you believe it; we paid only $13,000 for our woods and small cabin? Back then, no one in his or her right mind wanted to live in this …


Some Experience With Wilderness Campfires, by N.P.

I recently attended a “survival camp” with my son’s Boy Scout troop and was surprised how many of the boys were unable to get a good fire started.  Today’s emphasis of “don’t play with matches” even seems to have most kids scared of fire.  A fire provides warmth, the ability to cook, and even a setting to bring the day to a close.  Building a sustainable fire quickly and comfortably is a survival skill that everyone should know.  Some preparation is required, however to be able to start and keep a fire burning.  Everyone’s kit should include some type of …


Letter Re: Long Term Gas and Diesel Storage

JWR: Reader R.B. recently mentioned obtaining 55 gallon drums to store diesel as it “lasts for years.”   Gasoline will also “last for years” IF it is stored properly. I recently tapped into a 55 gallon drum that had been stored for 5 years – and was surprised to get 2-1/2 better m.p.g. while experiencing considerably more horsepower going up several mountain passes.  Some of this may be due to 5 year old fuel having a lower percentage of Ethanol than recent production.   USE A QUALITY PRESERVATIVE – I like Pri-G gasoline treatment, but STA-BIL seems to work as well, and use 25% …


Learning To Prepare, The Hard Way, by Barbara L.

I cannot even remember a time when I wasn’t a “prepper”.  Although until a few years ago, I had no idea of what I was preparing for.  Before the dawn of my awakening, I had serious urges to learn how not to kill plants and flowers. I wanted to grow my own food eventually, so I started with a trip to the local Big Box store, and bought some bare root fruit trees. Now in my mind, they are already dead, so if I could resurrect them, and keep them going, I was on my way. If they didn’t survive …


Burning Coal in a Cookstove, by S.G. in New Hampshire

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While remodeling our kitchen several years ago we purchased an antique coal/wood kitchen stove.  This stove was a replacement for a wood-only cook stove that had seen better days. With the economy crumbling and living in New Hampshire where winters can be long and harsh we thought it would be a good idea to have an alternative to our all-electric kitchen.  Power outages are relatively common here as well. Several years ago we lost our power for 8 days due to an ice storm. We have lived in our current home for 33 years. It is a log home several …


Letter Re: A Low-Cost Method of Storing Tinder in Your Field Kit

Dear Mr. Rawles, I just began reading your second novel and in some ways find it even more fun to watch the beginning of the action knowing some of what lies in store in terms of “future history.” But the purpose of my e-mail today is to describe a simple container I’ve been making to transport a variety of items including doses of medicine and fire starters.  As many of your readers know cotton balls saturated with vaseline make really good fire starters.  But how to transport them and keep them fresh?  This is my method: Get two plastic 20 …


Pat’s Product Review: “Commence Fire” Emergency Stove

Way back in 1979, when my wife and I were first married, I was working two full-time jobs to make ends meet. My wife, who had just graduated from college with a degree in elementary education, couldn’t find work. One job I worked consisted of working three 12-hour shifts on Friday , Saturday and Sunday. I was working for a security company, and my job was to patrol an industrial park. That job wasn’t too bad, as most of the patrolling took place in my vehicle – just driving around the industrial park, and checking for trespassers, and ensuring doors …


Letter Re: Tinder and Fire Ignition Options

Jim: SurvivalBlog reader "Entropy" recently wrote a great article about building a fire in a post collapse world and being a Scoutmaster for 18 years it is a lot of fun teaching scouts how to make one.  Seeing the look in their eyes as they get their first fire built in the outdoors using no matches is a great experience.  As a matter of fact, in winter camps where the ground is not frozen I like to use a trench fire pit with rocks in it, then bury it and sleep on top for a very cozy and warm night. …


Building a Fire in a Post-Collapse World, by Entropy

Recently (based on a suggestion by a SurvivalBlog reader) I began a Meetup Group for Emergency Preparedness.  One of the Meetup events that I’m soon to host is entitled “To Build a Fire”.  Hosting this Meetup which I originally conceived as simply a fire building class has forced me to think logically about tactical fire building in a WTSHTF scenario where you are forced to build a fire for survival purposes.  I’ve synthesized these ideas into this article. By “tactical” what I mean is “low observability” because technically no true definition of tactical perfectly fits this discussion.  However people should …


Guest Article: To Build a Fire, by Bob A.

Okay, I admit it, I’m a Prepper.  The first time I read the Boy Scout Motto “Be Prepared”, I was hooked.  “Be prepared for what?” someone once asked Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting, “Why, for any old thing.” said Baden-Powell.  My real awakening with the Boy Scout Handbook was my first introduction to fire.  Learning to make a basic campfire, a cook fire, bonfire and camp-fire television were the first tastes of what would prepare me for the future. I camped, earned merit badges and worked my way to First Class and Patrol leader all the while putting an end …


Three Letters Re: Turning One Town’s Junk Into This Man’s Treasure

James: That was an excellent article by A. Arizonan! As a former newspaper deliverer (rural route in the American Redoubt), I would like to add that there are benefits to delivering or subscribing to newspapers. As a deliverer who serviced home customers and coin-op boxes, I could amass “extra” or “unsold” paper to the tune of about 300 to 500 pounds a month. To this day I still have about 2000 pounds in storage. I’d have more but I can’t properly store any more. The added benefit of my former route was that I got to meet a lot of …


Turning One Town’s Junk Into This Man’s Treasure, by A. Arizonan

My wife and I have been hard at work obtaining supplies, developing practical skills, knitting key relationships, and generally preparing for societal disruption for about four years now. Our journey into this endeavor began after some research into the nature of the U.S. dollar (or more appropriately, Federal Reserve Notes) woke us up to the fragility of our world systems.  For this and other reasons, we have taken the message of Proverbs 22:3 to heart: “A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.” Achieving a level of satisfactory preparedness for what …


Letter Re: Coalbed Methane and Retreat Locale Selection

Mr. Rawles, I wanted to send a quick note that one option for a retreat’s power/heating needs could be met with a natural gas well on the property.  Here is a link to a map which shows coal bed methane areas in the United States.  If someone was so inclined, a well could produce natural gas for a retreat for as many as 100 years and allow for a completely independent fuel source which can be added to other sources such as wood stoves and the like.  Best Regards, – Jon H.


Three Letters Re: Lessons Learned From a Recent California Power Outage

Dear Jim Yesterday at about 4:00 p.m. there was a massive power outage in the southwest. All of San Diego County And other parts of Southern California were without power for almost 12 hours some still are. I learned a few very good lessons from this experience. I do consider myself a prepper but am limited to how much I can store because I live in an apartment. I had concentrated on food, water, and defense measures for the long run, but had completely ignored some more immediate short term supplies. First and foremost, I overlooked cash. I have been …


Prepping: It’s Not Just for TEOTWAWKI, by Choctaw Prepper

In this day and age of being able to go to a store and get practically anything you would ever need or want, the concept of preparing for a disaster escapes some individuals.  The time of “Victory Gardens” and canning your surplus vegetables and fruits have fallen by the way side in our current culture.  Our society sees people storing vast amounts of food and supplies as paranoid because they are simply not accustomed with the practice, nor do they see the need.  Most people cannot conceive the idea that they can be left without food or water, or that …