Notes from JWR:

This is the birthday of Group Captain Douglas Bader (born 1910, died 5 September 1982). Bader was a Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter ace during the Second World War. He lost his legs in a pre-war flying accident, but that didn’t stop him from re-entering the RAF when war broke out. He was credited with 20 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one shared probable and 11 enemy aircraft damaged. Bader was eventually shot down and became a POW in Germany. Since the Luftwaffe ran its own POW camps, he became a celebrity with his captors. The Germans would lock up his hollow metal legs each night to prevent him from escaping. Bader’s autobiography Reach for the Sky is a great read for those with an interest in aviation during World War II.

—

Today we present another entry for Round 45 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear, E.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value), and F.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. and G.) A $200 gift certificate, donated by Shelf Reliance.

Second Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training. Together, these have a retail value of $589. C.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. D.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300, E.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials and F.) Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206, C.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, D.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value. E.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value), and F.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 45 ends on March 31st, 2013, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Local Food and Energy from Top Lit Up Draft Micro-Gasification Stoves, by Doug B.

"Food and energy are the two keystones of any community economy anywhere on earth.   If we produce and distribute food and energy locally, we have the food, the energy and the money.   We establish the capacity to create and retain wealth in our community.   We put in place the two foundations of any human economy."  -David Yarrow.

More and easier food and energy production immediately raise standards of living. Less time worrying about essentials, leaves more time to do everything else.  Do not overlook this simple truth in preparedness and future planning. 

Top Lit Up Draft (TLUD) stove technology has many virtues: 

  • Less fuel required, less time spent gathering fuel
  • Works with small fuels, brush, twigs, bark, husks, hulls, cobs, cones, even stemmy grasses.
  • Little or no fire-tending necessary after lighting
  • Smoke free operation when done with skill
  • Easily controlled, reduced risk of spreading fire
  • Easy and reliable concealment of smoke and light during combustion (used in WWII resistance movement)

MAKES CHARCOAL 

Stove made charcoal has many uses:
 

  • Medicine, anti-diarrheal, poison control, burns poultice
  • Liquids filtration 
  • Low power explosives since the 9th century
  • Long term soils improvement  
  • NOT typically suitable for gas phase filtration  

The invention of Top Lit Up Draft heating and cooking appliances goes back at least to the WWII resistance movement, possibly much farther back.  Resistance fighters "burned smoke", a two stage combustion process, to conceal position while making heat.  The gas flare could be left open for visible light, or easily concealed with a shroud. Proper design of a shroud increases water boiling performance for a pot nestled into the shroud.  The trick to "burning smoke" is counterintuitive for experienced fire builders. Combustibles are loosely piled into a can with open air holes in the bottom, then

LIT ON TOP

Lighting on top creates an upward draft of warmed air, that pulls fresh air up through the pile to the flame front, technically termed a "pyrolysis" zone.   

The difference is similar to burning off a field of dry grass with the wind, or against the wind. A regular campfire burns "with the wind", a pyrolysis system burns "into the wind", a more easily controlled combustion process. 

The simplest example is an open can without a lid. 

  • Punch a few small holes in the bottom  
  • Loosely fill the can about 3/4 full of combustibles (small, dry paper wads for testing)  
  • Outdoors, on a still day, light it on top  
  • Observe how it makes smoke, and the smoke catches fire as it escapes the top rim of the can   

A lot of smoke will probably escape unburned during this test. If it eventually "goes to smoke", all smoke no flame, quickly try lighting the smoke. Note how easily the smoke ignites.  It may progress into a clean burn, or a smoky mess. 

The next advancement is concentrating the smoke and introducing the second shot of fresh air below the point of concentration.

  • Make a cap lid with a central hole about 1/4 the diameter of the can  
  • A slightly oversized lid with a deep downturned collar works best  
  • Make the hole by "pizza slicing" and folding the resulting tabs alternately upward and downward is fast with a pocket knife, and forward looking, but leaves sharp edges  
  • Just below the top rim of the can, punch an odd numbered ring of holes, evenly spaced, with a total face area about twice the total face area of the holes in the bottom  
  • be sure air can move freely through all holes  
  • Light the pile on top  
  • As the pile begins burning well, cap the can with the oversized lid   

You should see a ring of flares coming up through the concentrator hole, almost like a burner. The number of flares likely corresponds to the upper air intake holes and/or tabs.  If it goes to smoke, light the smoke.  The flare becomes more durable as the process continues, then fades near the end of the run.  When the flame disappears, the process has entered char burning mode. With enough oxygen, char burns to ash, emitting elevated levels of poisonous carbon monoxide in the process.  Stainless steel drink mugs, thermos bottles, and serving pots are a great way to experiment. 

With a little experience you will learn to tailor custom designs to balance heat output to runtime. You can also scale up or down to a size that suits the mission.    I carry a TLUD made from a small tapered thermos in my bugout bag.  While I have not tried any of the commercial units, I already know from design experience that what I have made suits me better than what I can buy. I can taper the flame from yellow to blue, use it as a light, conceal the light, and even snuff it at mid-process for long lasting catalytic style heat. 


CHARCOAL
Ancient charcoal makers, known as colliers, held guild status in their communities.  Upconverting wood was a combination of art and science, tuned by years of practical experience.  When using TLUD stoves, rather than burning charcoal which can generate dangerous levels of carbon monoxide (read the warnings on a bag of charcoal), it is best to save charcoal for uses outlined above.  To save charcoal, at the end of the run, using tools or gloves to protect from hot surfaces:  

  • Remove the run time cap and replace with a solid cap, preferably one that tightly seals the upper air holes 
  • Set the can on solid ground to block the holes in the bottom   

After sealing, the volatiles continue to "cook" from wood pores, until all oxygen in the can is consumed. This final conditioning opens up pores, elevating the charcoal into a more activated state. A nice low heat is produced during the process.  After cooling, the charcoal is poured into a second metal container and tightly sealed.   

A very common mistake of charcoal making newbies is believing that charcoal has cooled enough to pour into a plastic container.  If you wish to try plastic, try it outdoors, far away from anything that can ignite. Later, you will likely come back to a small ring of plastic goo.  Charcoal is highly reactive in certain states. It is an essential component of black powder.  TLUD char generally has different characteristics than retort char.  Technically TLUD char making is an oxic rather than an anoxic process.   In practice that means retort char generally retains more weight from the original biomass by holding more volatiles inside the pores.  That makes retort char generally better for cooking and selling by the pound.  Oxic char making is more prone to releasing the volatile elements, creating a lower weight per volume product with higher adsorption capabilities.  In practice that generally makes TLUD char better for filtration and as an emergency substitute for activated carbon.   The original feedstock and process temperatures also affect the adsorption properties of the finished char.

Google the works of Dr. Hugh McLaughlin for in depth discussion of the technical aspects.  The variations in some cases are quite significant.   A report published by Professor Kaneyuki Nakane from the University of Hiroshima reported that bamboo char had seven times the water holding capacity of hardwood char made for cooking. That is a very important characteristic when adding charcoal to soils for drought resistance when growing crops on rooftop gardens.  This author can vouch for the fact that crushed bamboo also works great for fuel, in a specially adapted TLUD. 

MICRO-GASIFICATION
Next steps toward micro-gasification, creating combustible vapor from biomass, include adding chimneys, insulation, dampers, fan power and alternate materials.  

  • Chimneys add draft to make air flow more reliable. An inside chimney diameter slightly greater than twice the concentrator hole diameter is magical. Chimney heights up to 20x concentrator hole diameter add draft. Taller chimneys begin to negatively impact draft.   
  • Insulation or shrouds maintain a high process temperature and ideally pre-heat the second shot of oxygen to reduce accidental "quenching" of the flare with cold air.  
  • Dampers rationing air to the top and/or bottom of the process, allow fine user adjustments during runtime. Dampers are also a huge convenience for shutdown.  
  • Fan power can further simplify control. Requires fans and power.  
  • Stoves can be made from pottery clay, bricks, 55 gallon drums, dug into a hillside, etc.   

The learning odyssey has practical forward applications. Skilled practitioners use these basic gasification concepts to create gas to power internal combustion engines.  Woodgas is simple, once you understand it.  Understanding the basics first, saves a lot of experimenting on bigger projects. 

BIOCHAR
Charcoal created from biomass, applied in the root zone, has improved crops production on many soil types.  A new term "biochar" was coined in 2007 as researchers study the effect.    Earlier crops, greater production, and enhanced drought resistance are nearly universal effects reported from TLUD char.  Improving downstream water quality, sequestering atmospheric carbon, and purifying soils prior to medicinal herb plantings are more ethereal use cases that make sense considering the physical properties of charcoal.  In my experience, and by many reports, very little TLUD charcoal is required to create a noticeable response in plant growth and crops improvement.  A handful under a fruit or nut tree planting, or a light sprinkling under mulch that the worms will work into the root zone of plants does wonders.  Feeding small quantities of char to poultry was studied at the University of Georgia with reports of better bird health and higher quality fertilizer droppings with less odor. 

ECON 101
Assured energy, food, and medicine at the most local scale possible is not only practical in short-term survival situations, it is 21st century thinking with deep historical roots that holds promise of great days ahead.  My favorite woodgas engine builder, Wayne Keith, is fond of saying "With woodgas, the buck stops here, in my pocket". Wealth creation cannot be much more local than that.  Plentiful food and energy are essential to a high standard of living. TLUD technology is more than a passing fad in stoves making, it is a key to long term better living at the smallest practical scale.  More info is available at resiliencemovement.com on the energy tab, including pictures and links.

Letter Re: The Water Filter Quest

JWR,
I found the recent water filter article interesting and appreciate all the time Scott spent researching water filters.  I set up filters for missionaries in Third World countries and have found that plastic water containers can promote bacteria growth.  I believe there are two causes: 1. The plastic scratches when cleaning and provides a place for the nasties to attach and hide on the sides of the container, and 2. The container allows sunlight to enter which also encourages some types of bacteria.
 
Another problem with only using mechanical filtration is some viruses are physically impossible to filter out of water (i.e. rotavirus).  For this reason we add a final stage of purification, UV light (battery powered).  Once all the particles are filtered out, UV light is extremely effective in killing anything that’s left.  As far as I understand it, carbon filters remove viruses as well, but the problem is you never really know when the carbon is “full” and can’t absorb any more material.
 
That said, I’m pretty sure I can’t identify the missionaries who use plastic drip filters by their bad health. – Kevin K.

Letter Re: A Newbie’s Perspective on Raising Chickens

Jim,

I wanted to comment on this article.  I thought it was a great play by play of getting chickens and keeping them for eggs.

Just a few comments about the article and some tips I’ve learned over the years (mistakes I made myself) that I figure could help Adventane and others reading the article.
 
1.  It’s common for a group of hens to find a preferred nest and use it as a community nest.  I commonly find two hens in the same nest.
 
2.  The crumbles are great for smaller birds but unfortunately for larger laying hens and other mature birds they can be a waste of money. Chickens are notorious for scratching it all out to find the perfect grain.  Pellets are a better choice and reduce waste IMHO.  Scratch grain is more than necessary during the winter when some animals look for high sources of fiber (it apparently helps them warm).
 
3.  For keeping some grass growing inside runs you can always place a grazing frame inside.  This is small wooden frame with 1/2″ hardware cloth covering.  The chickens can’t scratch it up but they can take advantage of the grass peeking through.
 
4.  Unfortunately most hatchery chickens have had the broodiness bred out of them.  Adeantane should not be worried about introducing new hens.  The adaptation period is generally short and mostly painless.

Thanks, – Jason A.

Economics and Investing:

The dip in spot silver is continuing. Silver was down to just $28.54 per troy ounce, the last time I checked. This is a great buying opportunity. Buy on the dips!

The handwriting is on the wall for the U.S. penny and nickel: Minting Coins Cost U.S. Taxpayers $436 Million: Chart of the Day

Reader Joe B. sent this: If the Euro Collapses, the Swiss Army Is Ready

B.B. sent this: Peter Schiff: It’s Going To Hit The Fan During Obama’s Second Term

Items from The Economatrix:

Will We See $5 Gasoline This Year?

Refinery Closures Send Gas To Near 4-Month High

Eric Sprott:  Price Of Gold & Silver Are Being Suppressed & No Gold In The Treasury. Financial System, At Some Point, It Blows

Odds ‘n Sods:

Build Your Own Emergency Phone Charger with Common Household Objects.

   o o o

Gun bill giving sheriff right to inspect homes pulled by Washington lawmakers. (Thanks to B.B. for the link.)

   o o o

Reader Larry R. suggested CHIRP — a free, open-source tool for programming your amateur radio.

   o o o

Alex Jones reports: Gamechanger: Printable Gun Magazines. This technology is maturing much faster than I had anticipated. Visit Cody’s Wilson’s web site: DefCAD.org. “Download a magazine, today.” And after you do, please make a donation, via BitCoin or PayPal. The Powers That Be surely hate this concept, but they can’t stop the signal. OBTW, the only part of the magazine that can’t be printed is the spring. But those are just piano wire, and DefCAD could very easily create a 3D-printable spring-winding mandrel, for hand-forming mag springs!

   o o o

Successful hacker attack could cripple U.S. infrastructure, experts say. (Thanks to P.M. for the link.)And speaking of hackers, here is another link courtesy of P.M.: Major Chinese internet hacking base exposed

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Do not suffer yourselves to be wheedled out of your liberty by any pretences of politeness, delicacy or decency. These, as they are often used, are but three names for hypocrisy, chicanery, and cowardice." – John Adams, 1789

Notes from JWR:

Camping Survival has begun their semi-annual sale on Mountain House foods. They are offering 25% off #10 cans and kits, and 15% off all pouches. Order soon!

—

Today we present another entry for Round 45 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear, E.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value), and F.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. and G.) A $200 gift certificate, donated by Shelf Reliance.

Second Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training. Together, these have a retail value of $589. C.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. D.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300, E.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials and F.) Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206, C.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, D.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value. E.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value), and F.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 45 ends on March 31st, 2013, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

The Water Filter Quest, by Scott H.

Living in a rural southern area of the eastern United States I am keenly aware that we are usually the first to lose power and last to regain power in any natural calamity.  A few years ago, we lost power for over a week.  With recent environmental catastrophes like Sandy et al, I have been reminded of a significant deficiency in my family survival preparations, water filtration.  I am not getting into the nitty gritty of the micron levels of filtration (most units reviewed were .2 microns or better) or the science of the systems.  This is a layman’s attempt to navigate the troubled waters of filtration systems.  At the end of my research, I contemplated ditching the whole idea and simply boiling pond water, filtration systems be hanged.  I have a basic hiking pump water purifier along with gallons of Clorox and even iodine tablets but for long term water purification, I have felt naked since actively pursuing a mind set of preparation.  Simply put, without hydration, you die, and not pleasantly.  With this in mind I determined it was time to make the investment in a gravity drip system for my family.  Most of you familiar with the basic concepts of preparedness are probably aware of the options available for home use.  In my typical OCD research mode, I determined to find the “best” option for my family based on the following criteria:  economy, availability of filters, purification capabilities and durability.  I dedicated one evening of solid research to ascertain the “best” gravity drip water filtration unit.  My bias initially was towards the “Big Berkey” system of filters.  It is ubiquitous on the Internet.  But what I learned is that the Big Berkey system may be in fact one of two very different systems, first there’s the “Berkey” system which appears to be the most common system.  This product’s stainless steel housing is made in India, but the filters elements are made in the USA. This was my first choice based solely on reputation.  There exists much diffuse debate as to the effectiveness of the Berkey black charcoal based filters and their mysterious manufacturing components.  No one on the Internet was able to ascertain or say with any definitiveness what the black filters were made of.  On a personal note, I think it’d be nice to know what’s filtering my drinking water.   The unit I was looking at was the Royal Berkey and was a two filter system encased in a lovely, shiny stainless metal container.  The price seemed steady at $270.50 from a number of different vendors on line.  The replacement black filters are in the $50 to $60 range with an expected life of up to 6,000 gallons and they are reportedly re-cleanable.  The ceramic filters 9″ run from $33 to  $48 per unit and are impregnated with silver, expected life 1,200 gallons.  These filters are also re-cleanable.  The silver is present in the ceramic filters to inhibit bacterial growth in the filter.  And than there’s the the British Berkefeld system, which has been utilized for years and years, and is made in England.  This system has been utilized in the remote, water dirty areas by the likes of the Red Cross and other aid agencies.  This, to add to the confusion, is also imported by New Millennium Concepts Ltd., and others as well, their listed price for the basic camping model was $337, not sure if shipping was included.   British Berkefeld also makes a fluoride and arsenic filter, the PF-2 and PF-4 which run in the neighborhood of $25 a piece.  The second major system I researched was the AquaRain filtration system, in particular the Model 400 (price around $229.) and 404 (price around $310).  The primary difference between the two is two filter elements in the Model 400 and four in the model 404, obviously the 404 has a higher rate of filtration.  I was drawn to this system because of its purportedly being made in the United States and its use of  ceramic water filters which have greater life than the charcoal based systems.  The replacement filters I found ran from $47 to $57 for the ceramics.  But, what threw me off of this product was others reporting that it was not entirely made in the United States and reports of some units breaking in the field.  Customer service was purportedly prompt, which was encouraging.  The Aquarain systems received high praise for their filters.  The ceramic filters are made utilizing a computer controlled manufacturing process for greater uniformity.  Expected life is at least one year of use with thousands of gallons of water filtered with up to 200 light scrub cleanings as necessary.  I further researched the low end of gravity drip filters the Doulton’s and the Monolithic systems.  The Doulton is the poor man’s Berkey.  There are mini versions along with more family oriented sizes, one model–the SS-2–can filter 10 gallons a day and lists at $179.  The filters looked pretty affordable as well, in the $30 to $40 range.  I also found mini versions of these systems which received high praise by many reviewers.  These products are made in the United Kingdom as well.  For the budget minded there is the Monolithic system.  The Monolithic system is nothing more than two five gallon buckets, covers with holes, filters and a spigot.  Their cut rate cost was less than $60 on some of the web sites that I found.   I also found a do it yourself model, estimated cost would be around $100 to a $120.  It truly is a sad day when it costs less to buy the complete system than it would to do it yourself.  The web site was called “Southern Belle Prepper.”  She gave step by step instructions on how to make your own gravity drip system from easily acquired resources both local and Internet. I finally after hours of frustration and reading claims and counterclaims of superiority chose the Katadyn TRK Ceradyn system.  It is a system that does not have the nice shiny chrome look of the Berkey’s, Aquarain or Doulton systems but is composed of a BPA free plastic and utilizes three upright ceramic filters, this is the primary difference between it and the Katadyn Gravidyn system which uses charcoal based filters.  The Katadyn systems are Swiss made, and the Ceradyn model has a 13 gallon per day filtration rating.  The standard price for this unit was $317 and some change, but I was able to find it on ebay for $240 with shipping.  Emergency Essentials had run a sale listing it at $249 during the month of January.  I was pleased that the Ceradyn system had the ceramic filters because of what I note as greater longevity of filters.  The ceramic filters have an expected life of up to 13,000 gallons per filter.  The price range for replacements was $58 to $65 per ceramic filter, well within the range of the comparables.   I confess that I often read the reviews found describing the pros and cons of products on line.  I was impressed with the words of one user of the Katadyn Ceradyn system who had been a missionary in the undeveloped world describing this as the best system money could buy.  I also appreciate that the Katadyn systems are used by the U.S. armed forces and International Red Cross.   The filter life was a major factor in my choice of the Katadyn TRK Ceradyn system.  More gallons for the money.  In then end I determined that your gravity filtration system choice is a highly personal one, and I almost laugh as I write this because it sounds pretty silly.  But, folks who prepare tend to be folks who research and want the most bang for their buck.  When I started my research and ultimately made a purchase, I wanted someone to tell me what to buy.  What I found was a frustrating maze of information for a lot of great items.  I ultimately chose a model that I think fits my family’s needs, is portable, efficient and with great accessibility to filters.  One general rule that I would encourage others to consider is ceramic is preferred to charcoal, especially silver impregnated ceramic as it has excellent longevity and can last thousands of gallons of filtered water.  Another factor to consider is filter availability, most if not all of the major players filters can be found on line and on amazon.com.  Some of the filters are even interchangeable, e.g., an Aquarain ceramic filter in a Big Berkey unit.   I know that I may have offended some with my lack of scientific detail, but I reviewed the specs of the various models and on a basic level, they are all pretty good.  And they are all certainly an improvement on boiling and iodine treatments.  Do your own research and draw your own conclusions.  But whatever you do, don’t go thirsty.

Michael Z. Williamson on the New DHS “Non-Traditional Threat” Pistol Targets

Apparently, this server is straining as news of the DHS targets is spreading virally.

A friend wrote to ask: “Don’t these people have any devil’s advocate types on staff who might say, “Gee Bob, I’m not sure this is the best idea…”

Description: [Note: cut and pasted, all typos and bad grammar original to these Protectors and Servers of Freedom]

Non-traditional threat dipicting [sic] a hostile young mother surrounded by childred [sic] on a playground. Background is faded further highligting [sic] and highlighting the threat.
Full Color realistic target.
Size: 23″ x 35″

Site is overloaded.  Target shows an armed “hostile” mother with child.

Other targets include young boys.

So cops can practice shooting at them…

– Michael Z. Williamson (SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large)

JWR Adds: The server seems to have crashed. But InfoWars has now posted an article with target images.

Letter Re: Diesel Fuel Storage and Dyed Diesel Issues

Greetings,
In a short response to Simon S. from “Across the pond” and his letter about using heating oil for diesel vehicles, please let me add one small bit of first hand advice;  The heating oil that you buy for your home is not only dyed differently for tax reasons, it isn’t filtered as well either.  I also live in Europe and I got the idea to burn heating oil in my diesel vehicle once most people started converting (wrongly I might add) to Natural Gas from Russia.  The people who converted were expected to pay a lot of money to have the remainder of their heating fuel in their heating tanks removed and destroyed as environmentally unfriendly waste.  So I started pumping it out and taking it from them for free to use at home for my own use.  Then I started putting some of it in my Volkswagen Passat Turbo Diesel car.  It worked great for about a month, then one morning the car wouldn’t start, and the dealer said the fuel injector unit was destroyed, which was something he doesn’t see very often.  It cost me about 2,500 Euro ($$3,000) to have a new one put in, and I thought it was just a case of a bad part.  Then, about a month later, the new diesel injector unit was also bad, and they noticed that the fuel was heating oil not diesel.  They wouldn’t replace the pump the second time for free under warranty. The dealer told me that modern diesel injector units (Like those used on common rail injectors) are very sensitive to dirt and other dissolved trash in the heating oil.  The filter takes out solid particles, but not  particles fine enough to ruin the injector pump. Beware using heating oil in a modern diesel.

I use it all the time in my older Massey Ferguson MF-35 tractor with a Perkins diesel motor, as well as the MAN diesel motor that runs my emergency generator, but I never use it in my modern vehicles. – Mike in Europe

JWR Replies: Here in the States, the formulation standards for home heating oil are similar to those in Europe. Although their formulation and flash points are nearly identical, home heating oil and diesel have different standards for ash and sulfur content. With home heating oil a higher quantity of ash is allowable. Therefore, the same warning that you mentioned also applies to vehicles here in the United States. Owners of vehicles with “rail” type fuel-injected diesel engines, beware!

Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Elaine K. sent a link to a very recent report commissioned by the Commonwealth of Virginia that provide some great state-level statistics. This could be useful in choosing a state for relocation. Note that the Per Capita Income statistics are skewed because they don’t reflect the value of barter transactions (“I’ll trade you hay for firewood”), and because traditionalists (Mormons, Amish, Catholics, etc.) tend to have large families.

   o o o

Good for the Gander…: Olympic Arms Joins Magpul and LaRue Tactical and Tells New York Government to Pound Sand. And in related news: York Arms Cancels All Its New York Police Orders. And most readers have already seen this: Company Threatens To Leave Colorado If Ammo Limit Law Is Passed

   o o o

It is surprising to see this in a Bloomberg publication: With Guns Banned on Big Marketplaces, a New Site Steps Up. (Thanks to G.G. for the link.)

   o o o

Leave it to Cope Reynolds to come up with a brilliant idea like this: Southwest Shooting Authority Announces Arizona’s First Ever All Private Gun Show. I hope this is a trend-setting event.

   o o o

I heard about a very high quality portable PV power system: SG1A and SG1SB Tactical Solar Power Generator. The gent who runs the company is a SurvivalBlog reader. He mentioned: “I’ll give a 10% discount to any SurvivalBlog reader if they send me a private message through our eBay store.”

   o o o

Ready or Not: Mutant H5N1 Research Set to Resume

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Participating in a gun buyback because you believe that the criminals have too many guns is like having yourself castrated because you believe that the neighbors have too many kids." – From an anonymous e-mail on the Grassfire Mail List. (alert@grassrootsaction.com )

Notes from JWR:

Another legislative alert: This time is is Maryland that is trying to clone the Madame Feinstein’s gun and magazine ban. Citizens of Maryland are urged to contact their state legislators both vociferously and frequently.

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Today we present another entry for Round 45 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear, E.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value), and F.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. and G.) A $200 gift certificate, donated by Shelf Reliance.

Second Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training. Together, these have a retail value of $589. C.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. D.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300, E.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials and F.) Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206, C.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, D.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value. E.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value), and F.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 45 ends on March 31st, 2013, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.