Category: Fuel Storage & Distilling

Two Letters Re: Solar Storms

Dear Jim, Regarding the Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) that occurred this week that everyone is concerned about. I advise some caution in over-reacting to these types of events. While the CME itself was of a very high magnitude and is spectacular in images, it was never anticipated that it would cause us any problems. Predictions for auroral activity were only in the high latitudes, and auroral activity is a dead-giveaway as to how strong the impact on the ground will be. The spectacular images we have all seen over the last week immediately told me we had nothing to be …


Letter Re: Day to Day Survival–From the Perspective of a Homeless Man

It may not be TEOTWAWKI, but the end of “your world” may be closer than you think. Mine came eight years ago with the end of my wife’s battle with cancer. With the down turn of the economy and a mountain of medical bills, we had already leveraged every penny that we could. We took out a second mortgage, maxed our credit cards, sold the boat, the four wheeler, and travel trailer. Since then I’ve sold my pickup, her car, the tools of my trade (I’d been a carpenter), and anything else that could bring in a dollar. I’ve been …


Low Cost Preparedness, by J.E.

We, in the U.S.A., live on a knife edge.  Most of us take our life of ease (compared to the rest of the world) for granted, The ones who don’t are preppers and survivalists.  The television and radio give almost instant notification of the latest earthquake, hurricane, fire, or whatever and that makes many of us casual about disaster.  We get used to hearing about it so we ignore it beyond a “Gee that’s too bad!”  After all, disasters only happen to “the other guy.” Prepping for the individual and the way we go about it is different in almost …


Running on Cooking Oil – Diesel Power on the Road, by DieselDad

Although I live in a rural setting, my current employment depends on being able to reliably commute about 45 minutes each way to the state capital. Watching the shutdown and gradual restoration of the Colonial pipeline serving the southeast US during Katrina was a sobering experience. Fuel prices spiked to record levels and many stations were not able to re-supply for weeks because of the lack of sufficient movement in the pipeline. It was at that point several years ago that I began researching alternative methods of driving moderate distances of up to 100 miles a day in the event …


Hurricane Readiness, by T. in South Florida

I have lived in Florida all of my life. I was born here, went to school here, and my chosen profession is here. I have bugged in through every hit and near miss in my 30+ years of existence from North Florida to South Florida. I was never scared of hurricanes as a child because my parents made sure we were prepared. I do not have fear of a hurricanes now because I understand what can happen and what I need to do for myself and my family. Don’t mistake lack of fear for lack of respect. A hurricane is …


Letter Re: Some Experiences With Propane and White Gas Campstoves

James, I am a Scout Master in a local Boy Scout troop. After years of camping with Scouts it has become apparent to me that most propane camp stoves have a very short life span, even the name brand units. They work great for the occasionally camp out but they start leaking around the connections and they are not field serviceable. Many years ago, I was given an old Coleman white gas stove. I cleaned it up and have used it extensively over the last 30 years. Other than replacing the few parts, which are field serviceable, the stove is …


Two Letters Re: Motorcycles and Motorcycling Skills

Jim, If anyone wants to learn the right way to ride a motorcycle, the best way, in my opinion, is to refer to the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. I know in my state, if you get your learners permit, take the course and complete it successfully, you get a waiver and do not have to take the state road test to receive your motorcycle endorsement on your driver’s license. Also, depending on your insurance company, you get up to 10% off your insurance premiums. – Sid, Near Niagara Falls Hi Jim, When it comes to Survivalists writing about motorcycles, either online …


Letter Re: Refilling Small Propane Cylinders

Jim: One-pound propane cylinders are easily refillable if you use a couple of tricks. A filling adapter is available for under $20 from [Harbor Freight and other merchants. You need a full 20# cylinder as the "donor". Place it in a warm place or in the sun for a couple of hours. Chill the empty one-pound cylinders in your freezer. Join the cylinders. using the filling adapter. The filling procedure is that you invert both of the joined cylinders and open cylinder valve. Refills take about one minute each. Regards, – Rob S.


Letter Re: Small Propane Cylinders on Sale at Wal-Mart Stores

JWR, I noticed that the 1-pound propane cylinders are currently on sale at “2 for $5” at Wal-Mart stores. This is the equivalent of paying $50 for a 20-pound tank, which are normally between $40 and $50. The economies of scale have made these 1lb. propane cylinders relatively inexpensive, and they have numerous benefits [in some applications] that you don’t get with the larger 20-pound cylinders. One of these 1-pound cylinders will run a Camp Chef oven for 7 or 8 hours for baking bread. – Jeff M.


How to Get to Your Retreat, by Tony Y.

You have spent large amounts of time and money getting prepared for the day that we all hoped would never come.  You have found a retreat, kept it stocked and have been prepared to leave when TEOTWAWKI strikes.  It’s now here, but have you prepared how to get to your retreat? One of the most critical tasks for survival in TEOTWAWKI is getting to your retreat in a safe and efficient manner.  I was a US Army soldier who completed two year- long tours in Iraq working convoys.  I have written the following for civilians with no military or tactical …


Motorized Survival Bikes, by JIR

When you mention bicycles in the context of survival preparation, most people roll their eyes. I used to feel the same way. The image of pedaling through the apocalypse with mushroom clouds in the background is almost comical. But, after buying a motor kit as a toy and trying it out for a while, I have completely changed my opinion. These are serious machines that may fit a niche in your survival plans. They fit my plans perfectly. We are much more likely to experience a severe economic decline rather than a collapse. In fact, a lot of people would …


From Zero to Prepared in Five Years, by Jon the Marine

At the young age of 17 and a half after having completed High School earlier than most of my peers and with parental consent, I joined the United States Marine Corps. The date was June of 1999. The next four years of my life would be interesting, exciting, dangerous, and eye opening. Quickly making me leave the naive boyhood I had then, and realizing what a dark place most of the world really is. At the end of my four year commitment, I returned home from a year deployment in Afghanistan, and chose to discharge honourably once my contract was …


Practical Steps to Preparing a Family for TEOTWAWKI, by Mitch D.

Author’s Background I live in Northeastern Minnesota with my wife and four children ages: four to seven.  I teach and am a sports coach at the local high school in town (population 1,200).  We live two hours away from any type of big city, which in our case is Duluth, Minnesota (population 85,000).  My wife is a stay-at-home mom.  Three years ago, we built a new house four miles outside of town on 15 acres that my parents gave us.  Combined, we make just over $56,000 a year.  In just this past year, my wife and I have started making …


Suburban Survival, by The Suburban 10

I am a public school teacher with five kids and one income. There is little in the way of extra cash to protect the family, but I will do my best to prepare for TEOTWAWKI. If you want to plan well; plan as if it was a lesson plan and you are going to teach it to a class. My class is my family the the goal being not to get anyone panicked (Refer to # 9 below). Having a receptive audience is difficult, because of what I deem…complacent comforts. These are built into the core and routine of our …


Letter Re: Home Brew Biodiesel Versus Vegetable Oil

Greetings James! I just completed your book “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation”. Thank you for putting so much effort into this resource. I would like to make one point: You talk about [several] alternative fuels [including] Vegetable oil and Biodiesel. As a point of clarification, Biodiesel is significantly different than Vegetable oil. Biodiesel is created by putting vegetable oil through a conversion process where by the glycerin is removed. This process creates a much cleaner fuel, burns more completely in the vehicle and does not require a separate fuel system to preheat the fuel to 170 degrees, as does Straight …