Economics and Investing:

Thursday’s headlines were full of deep drama economic news, including a market crash in Italy that looked like La fine del mondo come lo conosciamomeowner. Concurrently, the recent drop in silver has widened the silver-to-gold ratio 42.4-to-1. (Meaning: The cost of one ounce of gold currently equals just over 42 ounces of silver.) So this a great time to go to your local coin shop and perform a ratio trade: Ask them to swap your 1-ounce gold coins into bullion silver coins. (For readers in the U.S., pre-1965 mint date 90% silver Quarters are recommended.) Even though you’ll have to pay a dealer’s commission–so you’ll only get about 40 ounces of silver in trade for a Krugerrand–I believe that you will be making a wise move. In fact, I predict that two years from now, when the silver-to-gold ratio has narrowed to 20-to-1 (or lower), you will thank yourself. (Or perhaps thank me, and buy a subscription.)

Stock markets tumble amid eurozone fears over Italy and Spain.

Reader John T. recommended this by Peter Schiff: Debt Deal is a Blank Check

“The Outlook for Inflation Is Dire”: Peter Tanous

Eric Sprott: The Real Banking Crisis

Italy Under Fire in Widening Euro Debt Crisis

Eurozone Debt Woes Get Messier

Taxed Out New Yorkers Fleeing State (Vote with your feet!)

Threat of Downgrade Still Looms

US Job cuts at 16 Month High

Gold up $50 per oz. Since Monday

Some more articles, courtesy of John R.:

Gross US Debt Surges By $240 Billion Overnight, US Debt to GDP Hits Post World War II High 97.2%, Official Debt Ceiling Increase Only $400 Billion  

License to Debase US Dollar Further Jim Willie   

Bob Chapman: All The World Economies In Trouble One Way Or Another   

Deficit Will Grow While Economy Shrinks (Greg Hunter)

Items from The Economatrix:

Ron Paul Exposes The Deficit “Plan” Lies:  “Cuts Are Illusory, Not From Current Amounts Spent But From Projected Spending Increases”

Wall Street Stocks Drop 2 Percent (over 500 points) On Economic Fears

Dow Plunges 513, Worst Drop Since 2008

Oil Falls To Lowest Level In Six Months

The Next Leg Of The Housing Bear Market Has Begun

$2,000 For An Ounce Of Gold Seems Like The Only Bet Worth Making

The Imminent $2.5 Trillion Debt Ceiling Hike Will Unleash A Gold Price Surge To $1,950 And Higher

Odds ‘n Sods:

F.G. sent this: Cooped Up: Chickens Come Home to Roost for Urbanites With a Yen for Hen

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Nissan eyes powering your house from your car. (Thanks to Anthony S. for the link.)

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Camping Survival just got another shipment of Wise Foods, packed in food grade pails.  They created a 10% off coupon on these, just for SurvivalBlog readers:  “wise10“. These pails are in stock and ready to ship within two business days.

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James C. suggested this video on do it yourself evaporative refrigeration: Zeer Pot Fridge. Cool your food or drinks with no electric needed! (This could be a life saver those who are insulin dependent!)

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Six Creepy New Weapons the Police and Military Use To Subdue Unarmed People

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"…A really efficient totalitarian state would be one in which the all-powerful executive of political bosses and their army of managers control a population of slaves who do not have to be coerced, because they love their servitude…" – Aldous Huxley in the Foreword to the 33rd printing of Brave New World in 1966 (originally published in 1939)

Notes from JWR:

Safecastle’s big 25% off sale on Mountain House long term storage foods ends tonight, so get your order in soon!

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Today we present another entry for Round 36 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) 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 B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $300 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo, and E.) An M17 medical kit from JRH Enterprises (a $179.95 value).

Second Prize: A.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol. It is a $439 value courtesy of Next Level Training. B.) 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, C.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and D.) 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.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, and C.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 36 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

America’s Sovereign Debt Credit Rating and Interest Rate Imponderables

I’m frequently asked what is going to happen when the U.S. Treasury’s AAA credit rating is downgraded.

First, consider this news article: Moody’s Affirms U.S. Rating, Warns of Downgrade.

Here are my predictions, in a nutshell:

We can expect continued credit market volatility. The recent debt limit increase did nothing to correct the basic problem. The U. S. government spends more than it takes in, so its residual payments are growing, inexorably. As this insanity continues, at some point U.S. Treasury paper will lose its AAA luster. that will initiate a very ugly chain of events that will play out something like this:

  1. One of the major credit rating agencies will drop the credit rating, most likely to the AA+ level.
  2. All of the other rating agencies will immediately follow suit.
  3. Subsequent Treasury auctions may fail, or more likely rates will have to jump by 100 basis points (1%), or more.
  4. This higher rate will ripple through the global credit market.
  5. As the cost of borrowing money goes up, several things happen:
    • Global credit shrinks to the point where a full-blown liquidity crisis could develop.
    • Marginal enterprises fail.
    • Economies slow.
    • Stocks tumble.
    • Municipalities begin to declare bankruptcy.
    • Commercial and residential real estate both take another leg down and more foreclosures will hit the market. This will lengthen the duration of the housing slump.
    • Notes are called. This can cause a secondary squeeze, as everyone begins calling as many notes of their own as possible, to cover their creditor’s calls.

The next phase is difficult to predict, but there are several possible outcomes:

There could be more failed public debt auctions, followed by further credit rating cuts. If that happens, the interest rates will rise repeatedly, as the cleansing of the debt market continues: “Lather, rinse, repeat.” In the long run, all of the bad debt will be driven out of the system, but it will be a slow, agonizing process. Government meddling will only prolong the agony. Meanwhile, precious metals prices will rise. If there are repeated ratings cuts of U.S. Treasury paper, then I would not be surprised to see $90 per ounce silver and $1,950 per ounce gold.

Credit spreads will eventually adjust, as the yield curve stabilizes. But in the short term, some of the currency carry traders will suffer huge losses. (Since they depend on stable Forex rates, and stable interest rates.) Presently, the U.S. Dollar is drifting downward (at 73.955, the last time I checked the USDI), but it will likely plummet when there is a credit downgrade. You can also expect to hear about huge derivatives losses, and here we’re talking about trillion dollar losses.

There will also be lots of hedge funds going under. As I explained in SurvivalBlog back in 2007, hedge funds make their money by “borrowing short and lending long.” That works magnificently in a stable credit market, and investors make piles of money. But when interest rates spike, hedge funds often suffer huge losses. Mark my words: The big hedge fund collapses will be preceded by announcements of redemption suspensions. Beware.

What about the Euro? The EU nations are having some big problems of their own, and they may come to a head at the same time that the U.S. Dollar goes through its crisis. I have a friend who is a well-placed private capital manager. I respect his opinion. He recently sent me this thumbnail assessment of the Euro and the Dollar:

“I suspect that over the next few years the Euro will come apart – not tomorrow. It will take time. Italy is also a basket case and with the third largest sovereign debt market in the world, [so] it’s difficult for “Europe” to save.

Apart from financial market weakness the economies will roll on with Greece becoming inexpensive to visit again and German export growth will slow as the Deutschemark becomes incredibly strong.

In the US, I just don’t see how the government can stop spending money. While everyone talks about wanting less government, everyone has a mother, father, aunt, uncle, etc who benefits from Medicare and Social Security. Those two items and unemployment account for roughly two-thirds of all government expenditures. They can’t balance a budget without tackling those three items. Yet everyone wants them and I will bet politicians who take those programs apart will get fired by the voters. (i.e., not get re-elected.)

So, I suspect the greatest threat to personal wealth is inflation as deficits and quantitative easing continues.

What’s the alternative? The Fed will ensure that short term rates will stay low for a while especially with the nervousness about the Euro people will look to the dollar. Again, over a decade or so the US dollar will gradually no longer become the world’s reserve currency as countries look to alternatives. Recently the Middle East and China agreed a major oil deal which was not priced in US dollars. The Chinese Yuan would be a good medium term bet. Everyone knows the last year has seen more than the official inflation. Inflation will continue if not accelerate so keep that in mind when thinking through what to do.”

The long term outcomes from what I’ve outlined are all ugly. If the U.S. somehow manages to re-inflate and bail out some sectors, then we may see a few years of illusory “recovery”. But at some point a big bust is inevitable. We could then see a devastating credit and currency collapse. That would result in a global depression that might last for several decades. Stock up and prepare to hunker down. If you don’t already have country cousins that you can rely on, then it is high time to establish your own retreat.

Letter Re: Inexpensive Building and Gardening Techniques

I am writing this article to give suggestions and my experience of finding, buying and building my retreat so people can see that you don’t have to spend tons of money for one.  First off, let me tell you that it took over a year to find my retreat property, actively looking almost every weekend.  It included looking at more properties than I can count, and making an offer on 11 of them, before I got the price and property that I wanted.  It is a long and tedious process, but my family and I really enjoyed it.  We used to spend most weekends hiking different state and national parks in our area, so we used the retreat hunting to enjoy new areas to hike.  First, we found a realtor that we felt comfortable with and that grew up in the area we were interested in.  He also liked hiking, so he didn’t mind exploring the hills and hollers with us.  We found a few we liked, but they were  all priced more than I felt they were worth.  We made offers, but couldn’t get anyone to come down much on the prices.  Then, early this spring, we made an offer on one and it was accepted!

It is only 12 acres, but has some nice features.  I’ll go into them more in a bit.  I offered about half the price that most property around there was going for(there are many state parks, and BLM land all around, so everyone prices it for the scenic rustic value).  The woman that owned it was elderly and could not keep up with the land, so she was willing to give it to us for what we offered.  My point here is not to get discouraged if people won’t come down to your price range.  Keep looking, and you will find your ideal spot.

When we bought the property, it had a run down trailer, a small metal garage, and small log sheds that were falling down, along with a lot of junk that her son dumped there after she moved out, so we had our work cut out for us getting it cleaned out.  First thing we did was go to work making the trailer livable again.  We replaced the floor and carpet with mainly free or very inexpensive materials that people gave me, or that I found in the “Free Stuff” and “Materials” section of Craigslist. All the while I was collecting reclaimed wood and other materials and storing it in the garage.

Next, we made use of a small clearing, and started dropping trees to make a larger area for our garden/livestock area.  I put my oldest boy to work splitting the wood, and my younger boy stacking it up.  Once it was clear, we used our tiller to till the whole area, while adding manure that we hauled from a stable down the road.  We came by every weekend and cleaned out the stalls for the farmer, and got rid of his large pile behind the barn.  He was more than happy to have the help cleaning up the stables.  After we tilled it 4 different times and added the manure and some green sand that I found for very little money on Craigslist, we started planting apple trees and some grapes that we got from a local nursery.  Growing along the border of our garden area are some wild raspberries and blackberries that act as a natural fence.  But because there is a very large deer population in the area, we decided to put a fence around the whole garden.  I found four 100′ rolls on Craigslist for 20-35 bucks each.  That was a great deal. We decided to skip planting the vegetable garden since we weren’t there every day, and because we have a nice size one at our home in the city.

The whole time this was going on, we continued to collect building materials and make friends with the other people in our area.  Once the garden area was prepared, we decided to start building a more suitable retreat building.  One of the neighbors down the road had a backhoe that was just sitting around collecting dust, and rust.  He agreed to let us use it if we would haul some dirt and rocks away from his property.  We piled up all the rock and dirt close to a valley that we were intending to dam up to make a pond.  We used the backhoe to dig out for our partially underground home and shelter area, and also to push down some smaller trees to open it up a little more.  After the digging was complete, we started on the footers, walls, and floor.  We used rebar that I had gotten for free from a jobsite that I was working on, and concrete blocks that we got from Craigslist for free or very inexpensive (a lot of people just want the material off their property, so with a truck and some hard work, we got most of it for free).  The gravel and drainage pipe we also very inexpensive.  The most expensive part of this part was the bags of concrete to fill in the blocks.  We thought about just using dirt and sand to fill the blocks, but decided to make it as strong as we could.  We used block to go up four feet above the ground, and then stick built the rest and put local stone that a farmer had out in his field for the outside of it.  We used quite a lot of reclaimed lumber from old barns around here and from the buildings on the property.  The only things we paid close to normal price for was the concrete and the metal roofing. 

We also ran the downspouts down into a 1,500 gal water tank that we bought from a farm supply store and ran a pipe and pump into the house.  We then had a finished 40×32 defendable home with a decent water supply.  (I did have to buy a water filtration system from a local dealer)   We also added a 12×32 safe room/shelter with reinforced concrete.  The concrete we got for dirt cheap by paying cash for leftover concrete from a job 10 miles away.  I had made a call in to local concrete companies a few months prior, telling them I would pay cash for any concrete that they had extra from a big job down the road.  A week after we finished building the block part of the structure, one of the companies called and told me they had sent too much to the job and had enough concrete for what I needed.  I already had the footers ready and had built the forms with used plywood.  I was planning on ordering concrete the next week.  Great timing.  We poured the walls and floor that day.  Then using some metal pour deck and some used steel beams bought for scrap prices from a job site, we built the roof, and ordered enough concrete for a 3 inch pour over the roof.  This made us a 12′ x 32′ foot shelter and a place to keep most of our beans, bullets and Band-Aids since theft is common around since most of the properties are weekend getaways.  We also hid the steel door behind a bookshelf.  We left holes and room for a blast door and the safe cell air scrubber from Safecastle for when we get the money for them.  Once all this was done, we back filled everything and put about a foot of dirt over the shelter. 

The most expensive things for the inside of the house was the wood burning cook stove which I found used on Craigslist and the composting toilet.  We also added an outhouse to save the composting toilet for when it becomes extremely cold, and for the wife and kids at night.  We got all the cabinets we could ever need from Craigslist for next to nothing.  We also got a couple used sinks that were in very good shape.  I then made some furniture with some of the choice pieces of wood left from clearing the garden area.  When designing and building your retreat, waste nothing.  You can usually find a use for it down the road.  We then found a free sofa bed that was in good shape that someone just wanted hauled away.  We also found quite a few oil lamps from garage sales and flea markets.  The kids love going to flea markets and garage sales and trying to find stuff we can use.  Their eyes just light up when they drag us over to something and tell us how useful it would be.  We make a game seeing which one can find the best deals.  They love it.

Our next project was to dam up a small valley to build a pond for a secondary water source.  We saw in the local paper that a excavating company needed somewhere to dump a lot of chunks of concrete from some sidewalks that they had torn up.  We decided that this would be a great interior for our dam.  They dumped it right where we needed it.  Then we used the dirt that we had piled up, which has a high concentration of clay to pack around the concrete.  We added a two-foot wide used drainage pipe for our overflow.  The pond isn’t filling up as quick as I would have liked, but with the small amount of rain we have had lately, that is to be expected.  The kids are really looking forward to going to a large lake down the road to catch fish to stock the pond with.

We have recently started to work on a couple of small caches around the property.  We borrowed the backhoe again and dug a few holes.  Then using rebar and old railroad ties we built the walls.    We then used some of the larger logs that We saved and used them as beams.  We then used the plywood from our forms and nailed it to the top of them.  The some salvaged rubber and contractor plastic was glued to the plywood and ran four feet across the ground in each direction [beyond the roof].  We then added dirt and branches over the top of it until it looked like the rest of the area around it.  The entrance to them are junk refrigerators with the backs cut out of them, painted olive drab, and camouflaged with netting and more sticks and branches until they were completely invisible.  While we had the backhoe, we decided to dig out two LP/OP positions.  They have yet to have anything else done to them, but that is in the works.  The next project on the list is to use all these free windows to build a greenhouse and passive solar heating system.

We did all of the work with the help of just a few close friends and family.  Most of the materials were free or very inexpensive.  My suggestion is to start stocking up on any building materials that you can find.  If you don’t use them, then most will make great barter or charity items for TEOTWAWKI.  Don’t overlook anything as a possible material.  Tires, railroad ties, scrap metal, car hoods and an almost infinite numbers of other manufactured materials can be used for retreat building.  I suggest that anyone looking to build inexpensively should purchase The Fifty Dollar and Up Underground House Book by Mike Oehler.  It has many useful ideas that I modified to suit my purposes.  Just use your imagination and get the whole family involved.  I found it most encouraging that a couple of our ideas we started by my five year old son. Semper Paratus, – Chris in the Midwest

Letter Re: Storing Calcium Hypochlorite

1

James,
Calcium Hypochlorite could be worth it’s weight in gold some day [, for drinking water treatment]. I’m very familiar with it because I’ve been a certified Aquatics Facility Operator for ten plus years and it’s a staple item for swimming pools. I’ve had Calcium Hypochlorite sitting around in it’s original shipping container (plastic) for several years, and have observed that the container will eventually turn brittle and break. Not a good situation, especially around some automotive fluids. I now store Calcium Hypochlorite in Ground Glass Stoppered Bottles that are inside of padded 6 gallon buckets. There is no metal to worry about corroding, and the ground glass stopper seals remarkably well. It’s best to not store Calcium Hypochlorite inside living quarters. – Chuck H.

JWR Adds: Since it is corrosive, it is also important not to store Calcium Hypochlorite with any metal within reach of its vapors.

Letter Re: AR-7 Type .22 LR Survival Rifles

Jim,
Regarding the Henry [AR-7 pattern] survival rifle, I feel it is important that readers be made aware of the front sight – in case anybody is considering ordering one before actually handling one. The front sight blade is a piece of plastic which is easily bent slightly with side pressure, and can easily be moved side to side with thumb pressure. I almost purchased the Henry survival rifle to carry in a backpack, in case a disturbance required me to walk a significant distance home. But without reliably accurate sights a firearm is worthless, and I have no confidence that the current production AR-7 front sight will not be moved off zero.

The Marlin Papoose, which you recommended, is also a very good rifle which takes down into a compact package. However, I decided to buy a [Ruger] 10/22 and a Boyd’s folding stock. With the 16.12 inch barrel and stock folded, the rifle fits into a school-type backpack along with basic survival gear for a two day walk home. On the range I can get 2.5 inch groups at 100 yards with the stock barrel and Federal Auto Match ammo. – Brian in Washington

Economics and Investing:

Glenn Beck puts the Federal debt cap deal in prepper terms.

SurvivalBlog’s G.G. sent several links:

‘The Bear Market Is Starting’: Marc Faber

Europe on Brink of ‘Major Financial Collapse’: Guggenheim CIO

Bank run! Greece in panic as it faces change of Homeric proportions

Items from The Economatrix:

Stocks Now Down For The Year As Economic Concerns Grow

Hoarding Of Physical Gold, Voracious Global Demand To Produce Undeliverable Gold Futures, Parabolic Move To $2700-$3000/Oz.

Global Manufacturing Collapses To Worst Levels Since Mid-2009, Markets “Shrug It Off”

Bachmann:  Debt Limit Deal Means “We Embrace Being Greece”

Odds ‘n Sods:

John R. sent this: The Hobbits Win

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The new Red Dirt Cooking blog (penned by “Okie Ranch Wife”– a sobriquet familiar to SurvivalBlog readers) has some great insights and some very useful recipes. She plans to cover home canning and long term food storage, as well.

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Somehow, I missed this great piece when it was posted on July 6th in the Alt-Market blog: The Essential Rules Of Liberty. (Thanks to C.R.W. for sending the link.)

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My wife Avalanche Lily and several SurvivalBlog readers all alerted me to some recent bureaucratic imbecility: Woodpecker-Saving Daughter Costs Mom $500, Possible Jail Time

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation." – Dr. Adrian Pierce Rogers

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 36 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) 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 B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $300 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo, and E.) An M17 medical kit from JRH Enterprises (a $179.95 value).

Second Prize: A.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol. It is a $439 value courtesy of Next Level Training. B.) 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, C.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and D.) 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.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, and C.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 36 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

It has been learned that this article was simultaneously submitted by the author to the American Preppers Network blog, so SurvivalBlog is relinquishing any copyright claims.

Wood Cookstoves: The Alternate Source For Your Everyday Life, by Sarah C.

Wood heat: Is it really the best source, and why? This seems to be a popular question. I’m sure you have heard about the many benefits of an alternative energy source, but how much do you really know about wood heat? Maybe you remember that you grandmother used to cook on a wood cookstove back in the day, but you probably assume that wood cooking is old fashioned and outdated — think again!  How much do you spend a year to heat your home? Not to mention the additional cost of cooking your food, and heating your water. We just filled up our propane tank the other day, and the cost was over $1,200! For that price, you can almost buy an alternative heat source, water source, and cooking source. If your interested in switching your home to a simpler, cheaper, more self-sufficient abode, you’ve come to the right place. In the following paragraphs I plan to answer common questions about heating with wood; I will share with you what I’ve learned about using wood heat, and how beneficial it has been for my family.

I have been living in Montana since age six. For many of my younger years, my parents chose to live a very simple lifestyle; one that happened to be off grid.  Having lived off grid, I am now able to understand the benefits of solar energy and biofuel.  My dad became interested in solar energy and pursued building a house completely disconnected from all electricity. We powered our home from sources such as the sun, wind, and wood. My family lived off the land. We had a wood cookstove called the “Kitchen Queen” to heat our home. Before moving to Montana, my parents started an e-commerce business called Obadiah’s Woodstoves which sells products used for a more self-sufficient lifestyle. We sell many different products such as wood furnaces, free standing stoves, fireplace inserts, zero clearances fireplaces and other fuel burning products such as gas and pellet burning appliances. After working the business for nearly 10 years, I have learned much about using alternate sources as a way of life.

For the first few years living in Montana, we didn’t have “instant” hot water. We had a ten gallon water tank that had a wood firebox underneath the tank to heat the water. Every time we wanted to take a shower, we had to go outside and chop kindling to build a fire for hot water. After a few years, this became a major hassle; it took nearly an hour to get a tank of hot water large enough for two very quick showers. My dad came to the realization we needed a more efficient source to heat our hot water. He began to research how we could possibly heat our water through our Kitchen Queen cookstove and found an invention called the “thermo-front” hot water heater.  Not only did the Kitchen Queen heat our home, it was plumbed into our domestic hot water as well. The thermo-front is a steel box, lined with Teflon; this box fits inside your firebox on the right-hand side. You then plumb from the thermo-front directly into your domestic hot water system. You also have the option of plumbing this into radiant heating; which is another option to heat your home. The only thing better than hot water, is free hot water!

Domestic hot water is not the only water source the Kitchen Queen has to offer; it also has an optional stainless reservoir that sits on the rear of the stove. The reservoir can be plumbed through your firebox with a stainless water coil. However, it is not a pressurized system; since the tank is not pressurized, it cannot be plumbed through your domestic hot water. You have the option to install a water spigot on the side of the reservoir for easy access to the water, otherwise the water is accessed through the lids on the top of the reservoir.  Many folks without access to electricity or plumbing such as the Amish, will use the water reservoir for their main hot water needs. You can use the water for bathing, doing dishes, cleaning up around the house, or taking care of children. When installing the water coil with the reservoir, you have to be sure not to let the water boil in the reservoir; if this happens, it can cause mold and mildew to grow in your home. However if the reservoir is used properly, it works great as a humidifier. Although the reservoir is made of stainless steel, the water is not safe to drink.  Standing water in the tank creates a breeding ground for bacteria and other airborne contaminants.

 A wood cookstove has many options and benefits to suffice your domestic needs. One of my favorite features of a wood cookstove is that it offers the luxury of a wood heat oven; it is much like one on an electric stove — minus the fixed temperature. This oven serves two purposes; it gives your home that cozy warm to the bone feeling and it also has potential to make the best apple pie you’ve ever tasted. Talk about killing two birds with one stone! Many cookstoves offer a large firebox, which is great for overnight burn times; no hassle, no worries. If you burn properly seasoned firewood, and have knowledge of how to pack a full firebox; you can sometimes get a 20 hour burn time!

Because I work in sales for alternative energy products, I come across many people who have no expertise in wood heat. Most people don’t realize how simple it is to use wood as your main energy source. Most wood cookstoves are non-catalytic, which implies they aren’t as efficient. Although cookstoves may not be as efficient as a catalytic wood stove; cookstoves are a care free stove; you can easily burn paper and bark in your firebox with no problems. Catalytic wood stoves have a type of a filter that re-burns the smoke, thereby reducing emissions and making the stove more efficient.  With a catalytic converter, you cannot burn any green wood, wet wood, bark, paper, or any trash without clogging the catalyst.   Currently, there is a national exemption by the E.P.A. for wood cookstoves.  This means that a wood burning cook stove does not have to be E.P.A.-compliant for emissions.  Emissions measures the amount of particulate that is being put into the air when the stove is burning.  Studies indicate that more pollution is created in the environment from fallen dead trees that are left in the forest to rot.  These trees out-gas more pollution than a wood stove!  We can thank our environmentally friendly “green” organizations for closing the woods off to the public.  The roads are literally gated to prevent the harvesting of firewood, hunting, or other recreational use of the vast National Forest lands here in Montana.  Well, that is another subject for discussion at a later time.

The average household will use between 8-to-12 cords of wood a year [in northern climates]. According to the Consumer Energy Center: “The dimensions of a “standard cord” is a stack of wood piled 8 feet long, 4 feet wide and 4 feet high. You won’t get a full 128 cubic feet of firewood with a standard cord because of the airspace between the pieces of the wood; the amount of wood in such a stack will depend upon the size and straightness of the pieces, how they are split and how the wood is stacked. Because of this, the total cubic feet in a cord can vary from 70 to 90 or more cubic feet.” Depending on your location, a cord of wood cost around $100, or you always cut your own wood for free — it doesn’t get any better than free. Its comforting to know that no matter what happens with the economy, you can always chop down a tree to provide heat, water, and food for your family.

Not only was our heat and water sourced from alternative energy, we also had solar panels that produced on sunny days; if the sun wasn’t shining, we also had a back up generator that would keep our battery bank charged. It is reassuring to know that no matter what happens you can always be warm, cook your food, make hot water, and light your home! By using alternative energy sources you are able to do all things listed above. It’s amazing how simple, economical and self-sufficient a person can survive when having the correct tools.

References:

“Kitchen Queen 380 Wood Burning Cookstove.” Obadiah’s Woodstoves.

“Firewood.” Consumer Energy Center.

“Kitchen Queen Cookstove.” Obadiah’s Woodstoves.

Jim’s Product Review: 4,000+ Nights in a Wiggy’s Sleeping Bag

It has been nearly six years since I first posted my endorsement of Wiggy’s brand sleeping Bags, so the majority of SurvivalBlog readers have never read it. (As background: SurvivalBlog had only 9,377 unique visitors in August, 2005, but 287,665 last month.) So for the benefit of my newer readers, here is a re-post of that August, 2005 review:

I don’t write many product reviews, but I am uniquely qualified to write this one: In November of 1994 I rolled my 1968 Bronco on black ice on a winding stretch of Highway 12 paralleling the Clearwater River in Idaho. In that accident I suffered a severe back injury–so severe that the chiropractor that took the x-rays commented that he was surprised that I hadn’t severed my spinal cord. Because of the injury, despite the best efforts of the doctors and chiropractors I’ve been unable to sleep in a bed for the past 11 years. (Any bed is too soft and causes muscle spasms.) Since December of 1994, I’ve spent virtually every night sleeping on a carpeted floor in a Wiggy’s Hunter Flexible Temperature Range Sleep System (FTRSS) sleeping bag. It is a two bag sleep system with two different weight bags that can be used together or separately. I spend roughly 8 months out of each year in the light weight bag, and 4 months in the heavy weight bag.) I’ve slept for more than 4,000 nights in that FTRSS–that is the equivalent of two lifetimes of heavy recreational use for a sleeping bag. (Here is the math: An intensive recreational user probably camps out about 35 nights per year, multiplied by 50 years of camping equals 1,750 nights. Hence, two lifetimes for a bag would be roughly 3,500 nights.) Since 1994, I have spent approximately 4,000 nights–including about 250 nights in the field–in my FTRSS. Again, that is something in excess of two lifetimes worth of use.

The FTRSS has been very comfortable and exceptionally durable. The bag has had zero zipper failures, and no rips or tears. Most importantly, is has never lost its loft or had its filling get clumped or re-arranged, despite countless machine washings. (I should have kept track of the number of times that I’ve washed it!) I highly recommend Wiggy’s brand sleeping bags. The FTRSS models in particular are ideally suited for anyone that expects to give a sleeping bag demanding use. OBTW, I should mention that I have not been compensated in any way for making this endorsement. I’m just a very satisfied customer. If you want the best, buy yourself a Wiggy’s bag!

Addenda (July, 2011): Nearly another six years has gone by (so add another 2,100 nights to the tally) and my Wiggy’s Hunter FTRSS is still quite serviceable. I like the Wiggy’s bags so much that I recently bought several more of them (the Hunter Ultima Thule FTRSS model this time), as well as several more mated pairs of their Lamilite ground pads.

Disclaimer (Per FTC File No. P034520): Wiggy’s became a regular SurvivalBlog advertiser in 2008. The company has never solicited me or paid me to write any reviews or endorsements, nor did they provide me any free or reduced-price gear. I wrote the preceding review long before the company ever became a SurvivalBlog advertiser!

If you want the very best in American-made sleeping bags (not imported) that will last a couple of lifetimes, then buy Wiggy’s bags.

Letter Re: Prayer For Rain in Southern U.S.

Hi Jim and Family,
If you have the time, will you please pray for rain in the South?  My extended family and I live in the Austin area.  The drought in the South, especially in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and parts of Louisiana is especially bad.  The temperature hovers around 100 degrees F every day.  Obviously, when your family has lived here all their/our lives, we cannot move to another state.  We have to stay here because of our jobs and each other. 

If you don’t mind, please implore all of our dear readers of the SurvivalBlog, to please ask our Lord and Savior for some blessed rain.  We are so desperate for it.  Many of our ranchers and farmers in Texas are hurting so badly.  It is sometimes costing up to $1,000 [per week] for the ranchers to feed their horses.  Farmers have lost countless tons of crops.  I know you are busy, but we would so appreciate it.  My family all knows about you and your wonderful blog.  I have been reading it for about two years now and I love it.  I am in my mid-fifties and my husband in his mid-sixties.  I convinced my husband to begin preparing and stocking up for the future.  He has begun to take this seriously and I am so proud of him.  We are definitely reading the handwriting on the wall and believe that we are very likely in the last days.  If not, then the country is most likely headed into a deep depression for many, many years.

I would like to thank you over and over for the blog.  It is so appreciated and so are you.  I am so happy that you have remarried to “Avalanche Lily” so soon after Linda passed away.  I hope that everything is going well for your new blended family.  I praise God for wonderful Christians such as you and your family.

May God continue to richly bless you, – Sheryl in Texas