Notes from JWR:

“They can’t stop the signal!” Please help spread the word to mitigate the latest ping flood attack on SurvivalBlog’s main server. If there is another wave of pinging attacks, folks can use this temporary site:  http://64.92.111.122. (Please bookmark that!)

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This is the last day in Camping Survival’s 25% off sale on Mountain House foods. Meanwhile, Freeze Dry Guy has extended their 25% Off Special on All Mountain House #10 Cans through July 10, 2013.

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This is also the birthday of Robert A. Heinlein. (1907-1988.) I’ve quoted Heinlein in SurvivalBlog more often than any other fiction writer. One of my favorite Heinlein quotes is: “Time to beat those plowshares back into swords.”

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Today we present another entry for Round 47 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), F.) Two BirkSun.com photovoltaic backpacks (one Level, and one Atlas, both black), with a combined value of $275, G.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. and H.) A roll of $10 face value in pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver quarters, courtesy of GoldAndSilverOnline.com. The current value of this roll is at least $225.

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.) $300 worth of ammo from Patriot Firearms and Munitions. (They also offer a 10% discount for all SurvivalBlog readers with coupon code SVB10P.), 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 47 ends on July 31st 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.

Low-Budget Photovotaically Charged Drill Batteries, by C.K.

I’d like to discuss some practical aspects of power tools. Some posts in the past have been mentioned about them but I am going to discuss making solar power tools. And not just buying the pieces and making them (which you could do if you wanted) but actually making them from salvaged “junk”.
 
I’ll be the first to admit that while I love and own all types of traditional (non-electric) hand tools, using them does take considerably longer and more effort than the powered ones. (Not surprisingly).
 
My background is that of a professional tinkerer, and a trained marine and environmental biologist. I have tinkered with electronics since I was a small child and while no expert (and welcome corrections (there is much I don’t understand)) what I know is from first hand tinkering and reading.
 
As a professional scavenger I have come to realize that we live in an incredibly wasteful and unsustainable society on many levels (no surprise to most readers I am sure). Over the years I have found drills, reciprocating saws, circular saws, chainsaws, and all types of other power tools thrown away for various reasons. You just have to keep your eyes open.
 
The project I am going to describe was one in which I took an older Black and Decker 7.2 volt NiCd battery powered drill (that I found in someone’s trash), and turned into a lithium ion solar-charged drill for free. This project can be adapted to almost any brand, voltage, or type of battery powered tool.
 
Tools and supplies needed:

  • Voltmeter/multimeter
  • Soldering iron
  • Solder
  • Flux
  • Wire (decent gauge, larger than 3mm, preferably braided)
  • Diode (at least rated for 20v)
  • Some type of male/female plug with 2 leads
  • Photovoltaic (PV) panels (5-10 volts (peak) more than the total battery voltage.
  • A battery-powered tool of some sort
  • Several lithium ion computer batteries. (Non-Apple.)

This project assumes the reader has basic soldering knowledge and basic electrical knowledge, if not there are plenty of how-tos and tutorials online.
 
Diodes can be scavenged from almost any types of old junk electronics whether it’s an old television, old computer monitor, printer or many other types of “junk” electronics. Many diodes have numbers on them, just type them into an Internet search engine and you can usually find the power it is rated for. Unsolder it and you’re ready to go.

[JWR Adds This Warning: Use extreme caution whenever cannibalizing parts from any high voltage electronics such as televisions. Most of these include high amperage capacitors which remain energized with a potentially lethal charge, even when the electronics are powered down. (And in fact even after discharged they can even “bounce” building up a new charge, unless they are shunted.)]
 
The same goes for scavenging male/female plugs, it can be the circular types used for plugging an AC adapter into electronics, the square type or anything really that you can plug together and has at least two leads. Adequate wires are easy to find in most electronics, just keep your eyes open.

[JWR Adds This Caution: I recommend using dedicated DC connectors with red and black polarity markings, such as Anderson Power Poles for all of your DC lights and appliances. This minimizes the risk of confusing the correct input voltage an type. You may know how it is intended to be used, but friends and relatives might be confused by a familiar-looking plug and do a Very Bad Thing. Inadvertently applying 120 VAC power could cause some smoke and/or fireworks.]
 
Solar panels can be a little more difficult to find but with the massive influx of cheap solar junk from China if you know where to look they aren’t too hard. I got mine from the solar patio lights you see everywhere and only last about a year before they break. I am sure if walking around your neighborhood you’ll see some that no longer work, and offer to take them off your neighbors hands, or just look in the trash you’ll find some eventually. You can usually find adequate diodes in them as well. It is important to test your solar panels to make sure they function. Most patio light solar panels output around 4-5v or so at peak, but by linking them together in series (+ to -) the total is the sum of each panels voltage (e.g. 4v+4v=8v).
 
Now for the batteries. Most laptop computers made in the past 10 years use round lithium ion metal encased cells. The only exception I know of are Macs which use lithium ion polymer cells which don’t work so well in this application just because they are rectangular and flat. The large battery packs you see actually contain several smaller “cells” inside and when linked together (in series again) provide the voltage required, the same applies for power tools. When your battery no longer holds a charge it is usually because a single cell has “died” and no longer functions whereas the rest of the cells still function albeit at a lower efficiency then they did before. So you can disassemble an old laptop battery pack and test the cells with a multimeter. If all the cells show around 3.7v and one shows 0v you found your culprit.
 
 Most cells are rated for 3.7v, so when deciding how many you will need for your project just make sure the sum is over the rating for your tool. In my case I needed at least 7.2v so I used 2 cells to power the drill (3.7v + 3.7v =7.4v). If you want your battery to last twice as long you can connect some of the batteries in series-parallel ( which produces sum of the current in milliamphours)  (+ to + and – to –) but it is important to balance the batteries out. So if I wanted to double the run time of my drill I would have first made 2 sets of 2 cells together in series, (+ battery – to + battery –) then connect the sets together in parallel by connecting the positives on each end together and the negatives on each end together.
 
If this seems confusing read more about it online and get a solid grasp of the theory behind it before connecting batteries together causing a fire or worse yet, an explosion.
 
The same goes for your solar panels wire them together to produce around 5-10 volts more than the sum of your batteries so that even when a cloud passes by you are still able to charge your batteries. For my project I wired 3 panels together in series (4+4+4=12v) and this works fine for me charging to 7.4v . Once again if you want to charge twice as fast just wire two sets of 3 panels (4+4+4=12v) together in parallel, and now you’re charging twice as fast.
 
Now in comes the diode. The diode functions like a one way valve, allowing electricity to travel in only one direction in your circuit. This is important because without it every time a cloud covers your panels, the electrons stored in your batteries will seep back out into the panels possibly damaging your panel and draining your battery. Diodes typically have a single white or black band indicating the orientation of it. The band indicates the negative side, so current flows from the banded side to the other, not vice-versa. The diode should be soldered between the + of your solar panels and the + of your batteries. If you have a multimeter you can set it to test your diode and make sure it is in the correct orientation, and working.
 
So let’s finally put everything together.
1.      Determine some method to attach your batteries to the drill and that they will fit.
2.      Determine if there are leads coming from the drill and which are + and – make sure they are long enough to reach the batteries.
3.      Solder the drills + lead to the + side of the batteries as well as another wire to attach to the diode and male/female connector later.
4.     Solder the – lead to the – side of the batteries as well as another wire to attach the male/female connector later.
5.      Solder the diode banded side lead to the extra wire we soldered to the + side.
6.      Solder one lead from the male/female connector to the non-banded side of the diode.
7.      Solder the remaining – lead to the remaining lead of the male/female connector
8.      Determine a way to mount the connector to the drill either drill a hole and glue it in or some other secure method.
9.      Solder the other half of the male/female connector to your solar panels (making sure your orientation matches up to the other half attached to the batteries)
10.  There are many ways to make this project look nicer and neater, some possibilities include encasing the back of your solar panels with fiberglass resin, to create a larger single panel, or using an old battery case (Dewalt etc) and taking out the old NiCd cells (please recycle, cadmium is deadly) and placing your new batteries, wires and diodes into the case, and closing it back up.
11.  Remember this should be fun, educational, and there is always a way to build a better mousetrap. I always love to hear others ideas and criticisms. If you have the skills (and time) you could include a charge control system or other features.
 
A few tips
1.      I always first just “soft wire” (as in, I twist the wires together) making sure none are touching and determine if my circuits work (like seeing if the drill works) before soldering things together.
2.      Double check the orientation of your male/female connector using your voltmeter before plugging them together and [with reverse polarity] possibly destroying your batteries.
3.      Make sure that any and all bare wires or soldered joints are not exposed. I use electrical tape, hot glue, and heat shrink tubing to cover all bare metal surfaces. If you don’t when you shove it all together then things will touch and short circuit.
 
The solar powered drill I made for free is still running strong after a year, and I’ve only had to recharge it once! Next solar project is a reciprocating saw!
 
Important safety note: Lithium ion batteries can explode if improperly recharged. (Read the pertinent news headlines.) Make sure you know what you are doing before attempting this project. There is no charge controller in this simplified solar system so it is important to make sure not to over charge your batteries! I would monitor the voltage of your batteries the first time charging in full sun and determine the time it takes to reach full charge. That way you have idea about how long to keep it connected to the panels in the sun. Also note that the quality of the batteries you start with will largely determine how often it needs to be recharged. So if your batteries are on their last legs expect the same from the drill.

Odds ‘n Sods:

My #1 Son suggested this bit of practical knowledge over at The Art of Manliness: How to recognize when someone is drowning.

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S.D. suggested a great article on trash can EMP shielding. JWR’s Comment: Note that the typically-available mild steel wool has a tendency to rust, and that might induce rust on the contents of the can. So I’d recommend that you substitute stainless steel wool. This is particularly important if you live in a humid climate.

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Reader Luke D. sent an items that is hardly a news flash to SurvivalBlog readers: Law Enforcement Professionals Say Gun Restrictions are Ineffective

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Loyal contributor F.G. sent: How did America’s police become a military force on the streets?

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U.S. Postal Service Logging All Mail for Law Enforcement

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America’s mass media tends to downplay mass murders, when arson is the weapon. This is just the latest murderous arson attack in Africa. School dormitories have been firebombed before. If this had happened in America, and guns had been used, then we’d be hearing a lot more about this. It must be frustrating for leftist journalists when the news doesn’t match their agenda.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, [so] walk ye in him:
Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” – Colossians 2:6-9 (KJV)

Notes from JWR:

Camping Survival’s 25% off sale on Mountain House foods will run until tomorrow, July 7th. Meanwhile, Freeze Dry Guy has been given permission to extend their 25% Off Special on All Mountain House #10 Cans through July 10, 2013.

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Today we present another entry for Round 47 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), F.) Two BirkSun.com photovoltaic backpacks (one Level, and one Atlas, both black), with a combined value of $275, G.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. and H.) A roll of $10 face value in pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver quarters, courtesy of GoldAndSilverOnline.com. The current value of this roll is at least $225.

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.) $300 worth of ammo from Patriot Firearms and Munitions. (They also offer a 10% discount for all SurvivalBlog readers with coupon code SVB10P.), 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 47 ends on July 31st 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.

On Safe Cooking, by Mrs. Icebear

Disclaimer: Please use common sense in applying anything you read here!

In the (European) country where I live in we have a lot of cooking shows on television, and I never cease to be both shocked and amazed at seeing (some – thank God not all) professional chefs taste their exquisite creation with a spoon  and then put that spoon straight back into the pot. So, if anyone feels offended by my stating the obvious below, please don´t take it personally. For preppers/ survivalists/ people who want to be self sufficient there are of course a host of reasons to take more care of health and hygiene than a well-paid television chef, since hospitalizing all your family for food poisoning is hardly an option, especially in case the Schumer has already has ”Hit The Fan.” This article also was inspired by a debate in a prepper /survivalist forum on the dangers of reheating food.

First of all: obsessing with hygiene can be taken too far – as exemplified by the fact that “normal” exposure to dirt and germs stimulates the immune system, and that incessant hand washing can be a sign of severe psychological trauma. So that being said, we are talking “hygiene to keep you and your family healthy, not paranoid about cleanliness” here.
Some general food safety tips:

  • Put food that needs cool storage back immediately, and cool leftovers down as fast as possible! Milk warms up one degree Celsius/ two degrees Fahrenheit per minute at room temperature. Fast cooling minimizes germ growth.
  • Heat food fast! Germs and yeasts multiply at an alarming rate if you let a pot heat up on low setting (or if you allow it to cool down slowly).  Exceptions are if you work sterile, i.e. canning or decoctions.
  • Never reheat mushroom dishes, if possible also avoid reheating fish.
  • Ditto for spinach and rhubarb dishes, the oxalic acid somehow doesn´t like reheating.
  • Never feed spinach or rhubarb to babies and animals because of the oxalic acid.
  • A pinch of sugar (or maybe a tiny speck of stevia) in salty food (i.e. sauces) and a pinch of salt in sweet dishes (or bread) makes food taste better, BUT: keep salt levels very low for baby food.
  • Moderation is important, it is possible to die from carrot (or rather carrot juice) poisoning, but too little vitamin A and your eyesight (especially night vision) suffers.  For the same reason also never eat (or feed your dogs) Polar Bear liver if you get the chance, the effects I don´t even want to write about.
  • Nowadays, if you eat meat, at least stay away from liver in general since poisons land there. (And foie gras is most often a product of animal cruelty, so stay away from that too).
  • Meats and fish often carry parasites and diseases (not to mention if raw or undercooked) and can be difficult to store, whereas nuts and seeds on their own, and pulses (beans, peas, lentils) in combination with grains have roughly the same percentage of protein as meat;  so also for food safety reasons consider going vegetarian or  vegan.                                                     
  • Humans and guinea pigs are the only mammals that do not produce vitamin C on their own, so feed yourself and your guinea pigs a steady (daily) supply of pine needles, rose hips, sweet peppers, bell peppers or citrus juices. (The last: pure for you, mixed in water for your guinea pigs).

(As a vegetarian I of course do not recommend eating your guinea pigs, but they are very useful as well as friendly animals: Their social squeaking is said to keep rats away, they will mow and fertilize your lawn, and the long haired ones have useful fur that is similar to angora rabbits, although longer and thicker:)

If you reheat leftovers, use a clean pot (i.e. not the one you stored the food in overnight), cut everything into small pieces – minimum thumb thick if possible, and use a wooden ladle to move things around to get all parts of the food up to temperature FAST.

[Some deleted, for brevity.]

Aluminum pots are an absolute NO-NO –especially for acid foods. If you only have aluminum pots, please exchange these as soon as possible, same with Teflon coated frying pans.                

 The old Romans apparently went crazy from lead poisoning via their water pipes and face make up; the Mad Hatter was mad like many members of his trade in Alice´s time because of the mercury used to cure the felt for top hats. [Except in remote regions], today´s water supply contains antibiotics and hormones (i.e. from industrial meat and milk production),  so at least avoiding adding to this load seems like a very good idea.

At our home we use stainless steel pots but we use just wooden spoons in them, to avoid scratching metal particles into our food. Ceramic glass pots are very good for metal free cooking, but on the other hand, if you break one of these you have zillions of very dangerous and needle sharp glass shards to handle plus wasted food plus tons of work with wads of wet paper plus vacuum cleaning until every single glass needle is taken care of. After one such accident we now move our one remaining ceramic glass pot with ultra extreme care and put it on a thick piece of wood or fabric when hot to avoid temperature shock breakage. Another drawback of the ceramic glass pots is that germs seem to reproduce at an alarming rate in there when cooling, rendering these pots useless for storing food in. Probably old fashioned cast iron or even earthenware pots are best for everything, if you can get them. But: avoid red, orange or yellow glazes in pots (nineteen-seventies craze) since these colors contain cadmium, another metal you want to keep out of your body. Pure cast iron pots should be okay even if rusting, (especially for vegetarians since they do not get iron from blood and meat) but if you own enameled iron pots, please stop using them for food if the enamel is cracked, certainly if chips are breaking off, since eating these enamel pieces  more or less equals eating glass.

One metal that seems to be helpful against germs and for immunity is silver, here is a link that was previously presented in SurvivalBlog. This public health link indicates that you have to work very hard at it to get any kind of negative reaction to silver at all, but again, moderation is the key – just do a picture search on “blue skin colloidal silver” (if you ingest too much colloidal silver your skin really turns gray-blue, permanently), but this seems to be purely a cosmetic problem connected to intentionally ingesting large amounts, not by using silver for eating or storing food.

Both tradition and research indicate that eating off of silver is a good idea for general health and immunity, so get your inherited silver flatware out of the box and use it for every day. If you search flea markets/ Craigslist etc., look for “Sterling Silver” or a small 925 stamp somewhere on the handle, preferably not “Silver Plated” (depending on the thickness the silver layer wears off one day), and definitely not “Nickel Silver” or “German Silver” which actually mean “no silver”. Knife blades might be stainless steel, even in “real silver” flatware, but at least the spoons and forks are pure silver all through.

Another food safety issue is Bisphenol A (BPA) contained in the inner white coating in food cans and in soft plastic water bottles,  so try to buy canned food in glass instead of metal, and/or do us much of your canning at home as possible. Store filtered water in clear glass bottles, so you can use the solar disinfecting method (lying flat at least 6 hours in full sunlight).
To avoid dust, that actually can contain a surprising amount of germs, parasite eggs and other nasties like molds settling on your plates and in your cups, I would suggest keeping glasses etc.,(and even books),  behind cupboard doors or at least curtains, and mop you floors daily.

To round out this article, I should mention that I did a web search on “clean enough to be healthy, dirty enough to be happy” I found this page with some interesting recipes and further tips for home cleaning.

Odds ‘n Sods:

The latest on concealed carry in The Land of Lincoln Obama. (Thanks to “S.” for the link.) And Mark sent: Illinois Gov. Quinn triggers backlash after changing concealed-carry bill.

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Reader Stephen S. wrote to mention that he got the following confirmation on the use of deep chamber flute barrels from the management at PTR: “All of our rifles have run the same chamber as the G.I. [variant] rifles since the G.I. rifles were brought to market.  This means that regardless of model, all of our current rifles will shoot the same ammo.”

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And Now They Trample The Third Amendment

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From videoblogger The Patriot Nurse: Preppers and Survivalists Will DIE. (Thanks to Jeff H. for the link.)

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J.H.B. sent: New ‘armor piercing’ ammo legislation might outlaw nearly all rifle ammunition

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“[[A Psalm of David.]] I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing.
I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.
I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; [it] shall not cleave to me.
A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked [person].
Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer.
Mine eyes [shall be] upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me.
He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.
I will early destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the LORD.” – Psalm 101 (KJV)

Notes from JWR:

The wicked DDOS (“Ping”) hacker attack on SurvivalBlog is still in progress. Thanks for your patience while we get the site back up and running on one of our backup servers.

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Camping Survival’s 25% off sale on Mountain House foods will run until July 7th. Meanwhile, Freeze Dry Guy has been given permission to extend their 25% Off Special on All Mountain House #10 Cans through July 10, 2013.

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Today we present a guest post by the well-known video blogger Wranglerstar. His fascinating blog chronicles his many projects at his full-time retreat in the Pacific Northwest, in the shadow of the Cascade mountains. He and his wife emphasize practical “how to” educational segments on tools, skills, and old-fashioned technologies for self-sufficiency. I highly recommend that you dig through the archives of his video blogs, which are rapidly growing. They include a great wealth of practical knowledge and will help you avoid some frequent pitfalls.

From The Big City To Homesteading–Our Ten Year Journey, by Wranglerstar

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Ten years ago, my wife and I, as young newlyweds, were living the American dream. Our future was bright. While my wife earned a lucrative salary and I built a successful online business, we were on the road to success.  Our urban lifestyle provided us with everything our hearts desired.  In 2006 everything changed.  With the collapse of the housing bubble and the economy in a tailspin, we woke up to the fact that our easy urban lifestyle was fragile and dependent on factors far outside of our control.  We began to be alarmed at the precariousness of our current situation. We asked ourselves what we would do if the economy continued to deteriorate and we could no longer depend on the comfortable income we had so long enjoyed.  We considered our options and tried to determine what we could do to lessen our dependency on others and build in security for our family’s future.  After much prayer, we decided to radically change our way of life. We put our house up for sale and resolved to move to a remote location and become modern homesteaders.

Our first step was to find a suitable location. Every weekend we loaded up the van and started looking for off-grid properties.  With an eye towards self-reliance we determined our future property must include four things: 1) a reliable water supply independent from municipal sources; 2) a climate that would support growing our own food; 3) an adequate forest that could provide firewood for heat and lumber for building material; 4) a defendable property far enough from major cities to be safe from the influx of an urban exodus in the case of natural or man-made disaster.  We decided on an area east of the Cascade Mountains in the heart of the Pacific Northwest.

After years of searching we found what we considered to be the perfect location for our future off-grid homestead.  We purchased the land and set to work.  Our new property was bare, forested land. Having a background in construction and site development, I was undaunted by the scope of work needing to be performed.  Clearing land, logging, construction, building roads, installing septic systems and water wells were within my scope of abilities.

Before we started we had resolved to build out of pocket and complete the job debt free.  We had made the necessary preparation and everything was accounted for and a go. What we didn’t consider were the road blocks about to be put up before us by the county building department and the dramatic increase in the cost of building materials. I have been in construction for a long time and am familiar with building department requirements, engineering, and the inspection process.  Very early on I began to sense a perceptible resistance by the building department to sign off on our building plans. It seemed to me we were trying to hit a moving target with continuous requests for changes in engineering and permitting requirements.  I cannot say with certainty that the building department was actively trying to make our life difficult. I think perhaps our project was so far out of their general scope of knowledge that they were reluctant to give approval over fear they may become liable for unforeseen problems in the future.

With the cost of development skyrocketing and the demands of the building department becoming ever more difficult we were quickly reaching the point of no return.  We were faced with a very difficult decision: Do we continue to bang our heads against this proverbial wall or cut our losses; take the remaining money we still had; and purchase a homestead with an intact infrastructure? The thought of pulling up stakes and starting over was heartrending. We had already invested thousands of dollars clearing timber, building roads, and installing a septic system and fresh-water well. We had fallen in love with our future home site and developed relationships with neighbors that continue to this day.

With time and money running low a decision had to be made. We pulled the plug, loaded up the van and hit the road searching for a place we could call home.  I believe my wife and I looked at every  property for sale in the county. Toward the end of a long day of searching we came over a rise in the road and were treated to a spectacular view of the Cascade Mountains.  My wife motioned to me to stop!  To our left stood an old “for sale” sign and a promising homestead property with a modest house and several barns and out- buildings.  We immediately got out of the van and investigated the property. We quickly realized it had everything we had been looking for: strategic location, favorable climate, ample water, timber and nearly move-in ready.  I’m not going to go into the long and arduous process we went through to purchase our homestead, but to make a long story short, we now call it home.

Preparing for the Future.
In late November we took position of the property and moved in. The homestead had been abandoned and was in pretty rough shape. Winter was bearing down upon us and a lot of work needed to be done. Time was running short and the harsh winter snows were looming on the horizon. With my family living onsite in my parents’ fifth-wheel trailer we started to work.  It was as if we had been thrust back into the 19th century.  We had no heat or water in the house. Pipes had frozen and burst. The woodstove was so old and worn that it was no longer safe to use; which would not have helped much anyway since we had no firewood.  This experience was very eye-opening for our family. I was amazed how dependent we had become on modern conveniences like warm water, a furnace with a thermostat, and grocery stores so close that a person need not worry about food storage or maintaining a pantry.  The hardships of our first winter were a disguised blessing. We began to realize many short comings and vulnerabilities in our preparations. It has been said that every boxer has a plan until he gets hit in the nose. Our noses had been bloodied and we resolved our second winter would not be a repeat of the first.

We needed a plan. My wife and I counseled together to determine our most pressing needs.  As an avid outdoors man I learned and at early age the four things one does if lost in the wilderness: 1) build a shelter; 2) provide a source of heat; 3) secure water; 4) find food.  With a sturdy house and a dry roof we moved to step 2 – provide heat and warmth. We purchased a used woodstove and chimney pipe and installed them in the front room.  With perseverance, determination, and a lot of very wet firewood we had a reasonably warm house.  Just when our conditions started to improve a severe ice storm knocked out our power for nine days.  With the well pump out-of-service we were forced to devise a water source that could operate independent from the power grid.  How difficult it is for the modern mind to shift from the conventional way of doing things.  If you need to pump water you have two options, correct? Either you use an electric or a gasoline powered pump. With the electricity to our home shut off this left only one alternative.  With the nearest gas station many miles away down a treacherous ice-covered road, running a generator 24 hours a day is a less than ideal solution.  One of the most important lessons homesteading has taught me is to stop trying to reinvent the wheel and to look to the old ways of getting a job done.  I searched the internet for an alternative approach to our water problem. Lo and behold I found a 16th Century solution to a 21st Century problem, the ram pump.

YouTube is a modern homesteader’s best friend.  By watching several videos I learned how to build a simple pump constructed of common plumbing supplies that operates on the kinetic energy of falling water. We now had a solution to our water emergency.  By combining this simple pump with a small water tower, we were able to provide water for drinking as well as an adequate supply for irrigating our garden.  I’m not suggesting our grandfathers had all the solutions but much can be gleaned from their past experience and the solutions they devised for similar problems we face today. It seems to me that the modern homesteader who combines the old-tried and true techniques with modern technology can devise simple and robust solutions for nearly any problem.

With shelter, heat, and water issues sorted we began to look at our food supply. Our first spring was fast approaching as we planned our garden.  We homestead in an alpine forested area where we need to protect our garden from deer and elk. We settled on an area close to the house and began the construction of an 8 foot high perimeter fence and headed down the road to food independence

Fast forward a year and a half.  Life on the homestead is much different.  We have learned a great deal.  My father used to say that it’s amazing how much a man can get done when he has to. This has certainly been true for our homestead experience.

JWR Adds: Be sure to follow their homesteading adventures, videoblogged at Wranglerstar.com.

Economics and Investing:

Life in free fall: Horrific Retail Sales In Greece

Illinois ends fiscal year $6.1 billion in red

The latest from Pepperdine University law professor Paul Caron’s blog: Hedge Fund Billionaire Who Gave $9.6 Million to Obama in 2012 Skirts Tax Law to Pay 15% Tax Rate

A Rise In Interest Rates Could Disrupt The Derivatives Market

Items from The Economatrix:

Fed’s Stein Hints at September Taper

Consumer Numbers Send Confusing Signal

Business Activity In US Cools More Than Forecast

Odds ‘n Sods:

For those following Orange Jeep Dad: He just got his grandfather’s 1949 Ford 8N tractor running!

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The Montrose a Prepper recently had some interesting observations of the threat that feral dogs will pose, come TEOTWAWKI, in a piece that was cross-posted at Lew Rockwell’s site.

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Please ask your congresscritters to support this bill that would at least partially secure America’s power infrastructure: H.R. 2417: Secure High-voltage Infrastructure for Electricity from Lethal Damage Act

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And speaking of our technological infrastructure, see: EMP Attack and Solar Storms, Part II: Cascading Failures and Nuclear Meltdown

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There is a new, free Internet magazine of interest, but for your privacy I recommend that you access it only through an anonymous proxy or via your local library web terminal: Militia Magazine (http://militiamagazine.com/july13/index.html) You do have untraceable proxy web access, right? If you don’t, then you are behind the power curve.