Category: Fuel Storage & Distilling

Letter Re: From Beginning Prepper, to Fully-Stocked Retreat: What to Buy, and When

James Wesley: Scott’s article was a good one but he neglected to mention that if you have 10,000 pounds of fuel (or most other chemicals) that all State Homeland Security Agencies require a Tier II filing to report this large quantity of material. This reporting form lets the state, local fire marshal and local emergency management coordinator know that you have that much fuel on your place. It’s nice if you have a fire (for instance) that the firefighters know where all the dangerous stuff is and usually someone on scene has a PDA with all this info on board, …


From Beginning Prepper, to Fully-Stocked Retreat: What to Buy, and When, by Scott in Wisconsin

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It’s easy to see that the world may be heading for more trouble, and we need to prepare for hard times ahead.  But it can be daunting to decide what to do, what to stock, and when to get it. I’ve been working at this a while, and I’ve figured out a simple balance in what to buy, and when to buy it, that I think will help other Preppers move ahead with confidence. You could call it my 100/1,000/10,000 system, and I hope it helps you get going, and get to a place where you feel more prepared for …


Letter Re: A Technique for Decanting Oil Into Small Containers

Sir: I found many years ago that oil by the gallon like WD-40 is cheaper than small cans of three in one. But, how to get the oil from the gallon jug to the small can? I took about four inches of surgical tubing, and pressed it onto the end of the squeeze can. Hold the small can with cap up. I took a small pill bottle, and filled it from the big gallon jug. Hold the small can upright, and put the end of the surgical tubing into the small bottle of fluid. As I squeeze the small can, …


Letter Re: Extreme Cold Weather Engine Starting Without Electric Heaters

First off, let me thank you for a great web site with lots of practical information. Over the last few months I have taken the liberty to read a large portion of the information i the SurvivalBlog archives. I have, I believe, an untouched tidbit: Many folks live in areas susceptible to frost. Some of us live in areas susceptible to sub-zero temperatures. Cold starting a vehicle, either gas or diesel can become problematic at best, or almost impossible when the thermometer dips into the minus figures. Having lived in an area that sees the minus 70s (without a wind …


Letter Re: Suburban Survival Revisited

Good Afternoon, After reading the follow up post from Suburban 10 on his state of preparedness, I have just three comments to make: 1. Congratulations on getting to the level that you’re at now. Realizing that you are not at the level you need to be is half the battle. 2. Now that you have the red wheat berries and a grain mill it is time to take the next step and learn how to cook the wheat. It’s better to have practiced cooking your long term food storage items when you have had the luxury of time to experiment …


Letter Re: A Source for Free Firewood

Hi Jim, I know you hear it every day, but I highly appreciate the time and effort that you put into your web site. I see that there has been some discussion on burning wood cargo pallets. Tom Baugh has written has a couple of articles about pallets that explain how they can be used in other applications. The reading may be useful to SurvivalBlog readers. The first article (Pallet Projects) goes in depth on the anatomy of a pallet, while the second is an article about a Goat House project that walks the reader through step by step. – …


Suburban Survival Revisited, by The Suburban 10

In April 2010 I submitted “Suburban Survival”. a set of ten steps I was going implement in order to get ready for TEOTWAWKI. Boy… did I underestimate the power and importance of survialblog.com! First and foremost I thank all of you who responded and gave a cold slap of reality. I thought I was going to be in good shape, but now my view and attitude are vastly different. How did it change? It really started when I bought and read Jim’s survival book. It offers solid fundamentals and interesting insight that I am adapting to my particular situation. My …


Letter Re: A Source for Free Firewood

Mr. Rawles, I wanted to express a word of caution about wooden pallets. The company I work for throws away many pallets each week and I had the same thought about using them as a free supplement for my wood burning stove. I am a biochemist so before burning any pallets the scientist in me needed to know more about what chemicals I might be exposing to my family. What I have learned is that many pallets, especially those used in international shipments are treated with a fungicide/pesticide called 2,4,6-tribromophenol (TBE). This chemical can cause irritation of the skin, mucus …


Tell No One, by Mary F.

I left the city earlier this year, and have settled in on property that my grandmother bought 70 years ago. I work from home, in the arts, doing publicity, proofreading, and copy-editing. I have a very quiet life, very private, a few good friends, a deep knowledge of the region. I rarely go more than five miles from home. The world frightens me much more than it did when I was younger and stronger and living in the big scary city. Havoc, it seems, has already been cried, and it’s not out of the question that the dogs of war …


Letter Re: A Source for Free Firewood

Hello Jim, Firstly, I would like to thank you for your books and all the information you make available on your blog. The last three years have been very hard on my family and I, but have given us a needed shove to be prepared for what life can throw at us. The information we have gained from you and your site has been invaluable. I thought I would let you know of a free source for firewood. I work for a large pallet company. Every day we bring in many truck loads of broken pallets to be repaired. Pallets …


Our Preps are Portable, by Dan W.

Prepping has a distinct vein that runs through each choice my family has made to better prepare ourselves for the possibility of the social upheaval that seems to be inching nearer each and every day. Our preps are portable. They have to be, due to the uncertainty of where my family will be in the near future. Over the last six years my family has moved six times, as my jobs changed and the family grew. Due to this movement, the rising price of houses in our area, and being at the very beginning of my earning curve made buying …


Two Letters Re: A Little Insight on Diesel Engines

Two Letters Re: A Little Insight on Diesel Engines Jim: I am prepper, survivalist, as well as a longtime waste vegetable oil (WVO) user. I wasn’t gonna get in this diesel game, except that it saved my life. In 2004 I was in a severe commercial truck accident where I was struck in the fuel tank and rolled three times. When the EMT was cleaning me up, she told me that using diesel fuel had saved my life. If I had been in a company truck that was gas-powered (Top Kick C6500) I would have died in a explosion upon …


Letter Re: A Little Insight on Diesel Engines

Captain Rawles: Let me add a caveat to burning raw oil (Filtered Vegetable Oil, Waste Vegetable Oil, Straight Vegetable Oil, Raw Vegetable Oil) in diesels. I have heard claims stating; “These engines will burn anything! You can dump in cooking oil, heating oil, kerosene, bacon fat, filter your used crankcase oil through a nylon stocking…you can even burn perfume!” To that I must add; “Garbage in, garbage out”, only not all the garbage goes out… it settles in your engine. All myths are based on some truth, and those claims are no exception. First, stay away from animal fats. They …


Letter Re: A Little Insight on Diesel Engines

JWR: I second the recommendations in Gary’s letter wholeheartedly. My survival vehicle of choice is a 1997 Dodge Ram 2500 with faded paint and some cosmetic body damage from its former life as a work truck. Now it is known as the “McDodge”, thanks to the conversion kit from Greasecar.com which has been running in it for about two years and 12,000 greasy miles. I did extensive research when I was deciding what vehicle to purchase and came down to either an 1980s model Mercedes diesel (which have legendary reliability) or the 1994-1998 Dodge diesel with the also-legendary 5.9L Cummins …


Letter Re: A Little Insight on Diesel Engines

JWR, I can’t wait to read the sequels to your novel. I’m writing on the topic of pre-electronic ignition diesel trucks — preferably a 1998 model year or older Dodge with the 5.9 Cummins engine. Having serviced and rebuilt several of these engines I am familiar with the design, and it is certainly my favorite. I won’t go into much detail on the 24-valve engine because they may not be of use in the event of an EMP, or a grid-down collapse where diagnostics cannot be performed. (For reference, there is the 12 valve- ’89-’98 5.9 Manual (non computer/electronic) Cummins …