Odds ‘n Sods:

Although the “No Code” Technician license is often suggested for novice ham radio operators in the U.S., it is important to go ahead and learn Morse Code. It takes very little power to enable good communication over long distances. There are many propagation situations where voice is unintelligible, but Morse can still get through. The folks at Code Quick have one of the best teaching methods. They’ve had great success in teaching most folks in just two weeks.

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R.F.J. sent this gem: IKEA Hack: MALM with Storage Boxspring. This is great way to create a hidden storage space, even for someone with no carpentry skills.

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I noticed that Makai’s has added several outdoor survival products to their line.

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L.C. in Montrose mentioned: Missionary’s son invents ‘Maverick’ flying car.

Notes from JWR:

I’m scheduled for a two hour interview with call-in questions from listeners tomorrow (Wednesday, November 24, 2010) on EMPact Radio. Please feel free to call if you have any preparedness questions that would be of interest to the majority of listeners. If you miss hearing the show, it will be available as a downloadable podcast.

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Today we present another entry for Round 31 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will 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 $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 500 round case of Fiocchi 9mm Parabellum (Luger ) with 124gr. Hornady XTP/HP projectiles, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo (a $249 value), and E.) An M17 medical kit from JRH Enterprises (a $179.95 value).

Second Prize: A.) 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 $400, B.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and C.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing, and B.) a Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.)

Round 31 ends on November 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.

Constructing an Aboveground “Root Cellar” in Florida, By R.R.L.

First , to tell you a little about myself.  I was a prepper in anticipation of Y2K, had the property, cabin, most of the works and of course nothing happened. (my family thought I was nuts) We all went back to our living.  Unfortunately sold our property, because of an illness.   I never thought of continuing on for future problems.  I was awakened by talking with my brother earlier this year when he told me about SurvivalBlog.  So needless to say I am a prepper once again, but this time my whole family is. 

I am preparing my parents home to “shelter in place” because they are too old to move now or when the SHTF.  It’s a concrete block home, my dad built plywood covers (I know, he needs metal) to fit over all windows when a hurricane comes through.  The property is only one acre but in a very rural area.  We have started a garden and trying to talk him into chickens. He grew up on a farm so he has an idea of what to do. 

My father is a builder of furniture, homes, or anything you can think of.  I knew that because of the humidity and area we needed a safe place to put our food storage, we called it an “above ground root cellar”. But it is really just a controlled temperature pantry room–a heavily-insulated shed.

So last summer dad drew up the plans and got it built.  We have a barn/shop with a lean-to. It is a a two car garage type building. We built “above ground root cellar” adjoining the barn under the lean-to but didn’t go all the way up to the roof, so that we could double insulate it.  Inside, it measures approximately 6’x10’. It is insulated on all the walls, including the roof.  Two of the walls already existed from the barn which were constructed of 2x4s. We also used the same 2×4 construction for the other 2 walls.  We used R-13 batting on everything because 2 – 2″ solid poly foam pieces would not fit between the 2x4s.  For the outside walls – we put 15 pound roofing felt on the 2x4s, then 7/16″ oriented strand board (OSB) on top of the felt.   All the inside walls were sheathed in 1/2″ plywood. On the ceiling we used 1/4″ plywood and with a double layer of R-13 insulation — that ended up being 6-to-8 inches deep.  The insulation inside the door is 3″ and again we used R-13. 

Just a note:  Because my dad is a carpenter, we used what he had on hand, without buying much of anything, so you could substitute here and there.)  My father used to build freezers back in the 1940s (when they had wooden doors) so he knew how to build a freezer door out of wood with rubber around it with insulation.  The walls are lined ceiling to floor with storage shelves. We were originally going to leave the floor dirt but decided to lay down a floor of concrete patio steps. 

We placed a small room size air conditioner near the floor. We leave it running, set to 62 degrees at all times.  Initially, we had problems with dampness, then we placed some charcoal on tin plates, that cured our dampness.  If we have more problems we thought of a dehumidifier; not sure if that would work.  We place everything in there right now but will have to divide it up later as we get more items.  At present we place our potatoes, apples, and onions on the floor in crates. These last us two months or more.  So we are extending our fresh food shelf life, so we can buy in quantity or harvest large quantities from our garden.

You can’t easily see the cellar door in the barn/shop; but we are planning to build shelves in front so it will be hidden.
We are also looking for a solar backup for the cellar because we don’t want to depend upon the air conditioning if and when grid goes down.  There was only about a $20 difference in our light bill, so not bad. 

We only have a six month supply of stored food, but we are buying a little more each month, gradually building our stocks.  I know it’s not enough but it is more than most people have stored. 

If anyone could help us out with some information on a solar system to run small room size air conditioner, we’d appreciate it.  I’ve read some books on it, but I’m confused on what we need, besides panels.

JWR Adds: Air conditioners draw a lot of current and are hence some of the biggest power hogs of any alternative energy system. The key specification for a refrigerator, air conditioner or other device that includes a compressor pump is is the locked rotor amps (LRA) rating. The LRA rating is the peak load (expressed in Amps) that the air conditioning unit will draw from your inverter, right when the compressor starts up. Even a small air conditioner can have a high LRA. A typical air conditioner might draw only 30 or 40 amps in the middle of a cycle. But on start-up it may have a LRA of 70 amps. Multiplying this by 117 volts, this means that the inverter must be able to supply a peak load of 8,190 watts. Yikes!

Unless you have a strong background in math and electronics, the process of “sizing” and specifying the components of an alternative power system is best left to professionals. Your key part of the sizing process is adding up all of the loads. Each electrical or electronic device should have a rating expressed in either Watts or Amps. You will provide an aggregate Amp figure, a brief description of your daily routine (how many hours per day each device is used, and seasonal differences) and an estimate on the number of direct sunlight hours available for your solar array’s location. A system designer can then determine your system requirements, namely: how many PV panels, what size and type of inverter, and how large a battery bank is needed. In the hopes that you will buy system components from them, the folks at Ready Made Resources offer free consulting on alternative energy system design. You can reach them at: 1(800) 627-3809.

Three Letters Re: Off The Grid Cooking

James,  
Chino’s article on “Off Grid Cooking” is an excellent article, however what I have found that cuts cooking time way down especially cooking dried beans is using a small pressure cooker. I have used my cooker many times to cook dried beans or even a roast with good results in a matter of about an hour or less of cooking time.  I even tried it over an open campfire with the same results, although that did smoke up the bottom of the pressure cooker. 

In the same context I have cooked dried beans in my Dutch Oven by digging a fire pit, starting a fire, letting the wood burn down to coals, putting the Dutch Oven in the coals and covering the oven with more coals and dirt and let them cook all day. The results were okay, but not as well as using the pressure cooker.   Randy H. in Asheville, North Carolina

Sir:
A more affordable commercial rocket stove is offered by StoveTec. I own the StoveTec Wood Stove which is currently offered at $72.95 with free shipping. It burns very clean and hot with very little smoke. It does produce some smoke initially, until the heat builds up.  While heavy and not as portable as a backpacking stove or even a Coleman camp stove, it only needs a small armload of sticks for fuel. – Bjorn B.

Hi Jim,
I wanted to point out that pinto beans cook in under an hour with the help of a pressure cooker. I’ve also found that they are easier to digest when they’ve been cooked at the high temperature of the pressure cooker, I intend to use mine to cook all of the beans I’ve stored for long periods.

Chino mentions at the beginning that we’re all used to the microwave oven, I’ve thought a few times about how practical a small DC powered microwave oven would be to use along with renewable power, beans will cook in 30 minutes using a microwave, a 200 watt solar panel and battery may be a large enough power source to accomplish this and supply the 0.5 kwh per day required to operate a 1,000 watt microwave for 30 minutes. There are also microwavable pressure cookers, for what that’s worth. I haven’t reached a point where I would stop buying propane because of the low price of propane right now, I’m pretty well convinced that a propane camp-stove and pressure cooker will cook anything in my stockpile most inexpensively. – Jeff M.

JWR Replies: As I mentioned in the Rawles Gets Your Ready Course, it is important to store only about an eight year supply of beans. Beyond that, they get so hard that not amount of soaking or boiling will soften them. Beyond eight years of storage, the only practicable method of cooking them is to use a pressure cooker, or to grind them into meal (“bean flour”) before cooking them.

Two Letters Re: As Simple as Changing a Tire

Dear James,
It seems that life can test you in many different ways on how prepared you are for the unexpected.  I recently experienced an unexpected  flat tire while out purchasing some ammo.  The tire went flat just as I was getting onto the freeway, fortunately there was an exit close by which I took and ended up stopping at a nearby convenience store.  When I looked to see if I had all the tools for putting on my spare I did not see my jack as it was hidden behind a plastic panel.  I went into the convenience store to see if I could find someone who would lend me their car jack.  I asked a dozen people in the store, but everyone I asked said they did not have a jack or did not have the time to loan it to me.  Furthermore their reactions were rather fearful and distrusting.  I found out later I was in a bad neighborhood.  It is also a different world today and folks just don’t seem as willing to help out a stranger nowadays, at least where I was stuck.  I dug around in my car some more and eventually found the car jack hidden behind a plastic panel and was able to put on my spare.  The moral of this story is that even something mundane as getting a flat tire can put you into a difficult position. 

I was fortunate in this situation that I was able to stop at a convenience store that had an air station, I also have a brother that was willing to bring me the necessary tools if need be, and it was also during the daytime.  Things worked out ok, but it made me realize that I was rather lucky.

I could have easily had the flat tire in the middle of nowhere, perhaps traveling in between cities.  It could have been at night, and I could have been in a location where there was no cell phone coverage.  It was also raining quite heavily at the time and I did end up getting soaked while changing the tire. 

Having a bug out bag (BOB) in the car is great and definitely helps me feel prepared for the unexpected WTSHTF, but I think we take our cars reliability for granted and don’t prepare ourselves for something simple such as a flat tire.  I got lucky that my flat happened where and when it did, but I realize I may not be as lucky with the next one.  Therefore I have put together a list of tools I think it would be prudent to have in the car at all times.  It is nice to be able to call the AAA or a friend or family member to help us but we may not always have that luxury.

So here is a list of tools I have come up with in case you have a flat tire and have to change it yourself.

Breaker bar (in case lug nuts are rusted stuck or you are not strong enough to break them loose with the regular tire iron) Kneepads (in case it is pouring rain, is muddy, or gravelly and you will be kneeling while changing out the tire) Rubber gloves (to keep your hands from getting dirty with brake dust and other contaminants and keeping your hand clean) Poncho or lightweight waterproof jacket and pants (very handy in the northwest but you never know if you have to change a tire in the rain) Extra shirt and pants (in case you get wet) Towel (in case you get wet) Portable air compressor (see below) Air pressure gauge (if you don’t check the air pressure in your spare regularly, I can almost guarantee it will be low and you don’t want to be driving around or at freeway speed in a spare that in underinflated or overinflated, especially the donut sized ones) Spare tire, Car jack, Socket for the lugs nuts (use with breaker bar and or impact wrench) Work light (in case you get a flat at night) Reflective Hazard sign(to warn oncoming drivers of your location so you don’t get run over since people get regularly hit by drivers not paying attention to where their car is going when moving along a 60-80 mph, just watch “Worlds wildest police videos” to see what I mean) Road flares(same as above) Wheel chock(to prevent the car from inadvertently moving in case you are not on a flat surface) Earplugs(Very important if you have to change your tire on the shoulder of a freeway where it is incredibly loud. If you don’t already know how, then watch a YouTube video on how to change a flat tire.

Optional: Torque wrench (doesn’t hurt to be able to tighten your lug nuts to the correct tightness while you are at it) Cordless impact wrench (just makes it easier and quicker to the change the tire which is nice when you have to change the tire in a driving rain storm like I had to)

I imagine some of you may think I am overreacting to a simple flat tire.  Even for me, prior to this, it would seem over the top, after all I had never had a flat tire in 22 years, but it only takes one to put you into a difficult or bad situation if you are not prepared and have no one to turn to readily or easily.

Well I hope that everyone who reads this will see the wisdom in the preparation.  We never think flat tires are going to happen to us, I certainly didn’t think so for the last 22 years, but it did.  I got lucky and was able to take care of it, but it could have easily been much worse.  Please take precautions and be prepared. – J.B.

 

Dear Editor:
When was the last time you removed your spare tire from under your van, SUV, or truck?  Can you get it out, if you need it?  For any vehicle, what shape is your spare in?  Can you get the flat tire off the vehicle with the tools you carry?  

Recently I had to call road service twice for this problem.  The first time, I had a rear tire blow out on a road trip, and the clip that holds the spare in place would not release when the cable was lowered.  We had to be towed.  When the worn tire was replaced, I asked the service man to try to get the spare out, which he did, with some effort.  He explained the problem, and I wrongly assumed that because the clip was now saturated with WD-40, I could put the spare back in the normal storage area.  The thought did cross my mind to leave it in the back of the van.  

Less than two weeks later, I picked up a screw with a front tire.   I thought I’d just drop the spare and we could soon be on our way.  As before, the spare would not drop down, and I needed help to get it out.  But I was still stuck.  The handy-dandy “lug wrench” that is stored with the jack, started to bend when I tried to loosen the lug nuts.  My good lug wrench was safely at home in my garage.  Another road service call.  

A few lessons learned:

1. The spare now rides in the back of the van, until I can repair the clip so that it will “always” work, or maybe forever.
2. The good lug wrench is also in the van.
3. Check to see that you can loosen all your lug nuts manually, and snug them up again.  If not, take your vehicle to a tire shop or service station to get them loosened, and then manually tighten them.  (Check again after about 20 miles to make sure they are still snug.)
4. When a “thought crosses your mind,” trust your gut feeling, and act on that thought.  

Regards, – R.F. in Michigan

Economics and Investing:

Deborah B. mentioned that the awesome collection of charts at the National Inflation Association site have been updated.

John H. mentioned a newsletter PDF: The Rising Frustration With The Debt Crisis by the imprisoned economist Martin A. Armstrong. His newsletters are produced in his prison cell. Here is a quote from his latest newsletter: “We are rapidly crossing the point of no return….So, either we face the reality of a completely new economic model or we hang up everything now.”

Items from The Economatrix:

Ireland Denies “Surrendering Sovereignty” Over Bail-out  

Economic Implosion Sets the Blame Game in Motion  

Knight Research’ Stunning Call:  The Game Is Over  

The Fear Factor In The Muni Bond Markets  

Eric Cantona Appeals For Peaceful Revolution Against Banks:  Pull Your Money Out  

Odds ‘n Sods:

Anyone considering buying any British or NATO military surplus uniforms, hats, or boots will find these charts useful.

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JRH Enterprises is having their annual Black Friday sale beginning now, with sale prices on many items including new Third Generation AN/PVS-14 night vision units as low as $2,895. We have one of these at the Rawles Ranch (a Gen3+) and we absolutely love it.

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For the “Why Am I Not Surprised?” Department: Obama Taps Chicago ATF Official to Lead Agency. Of course he’s from Chicago. Of course Chicago is hardly a Lily White town. Inevitably, we saw this announced: NRA Strongly Opposes Gun Grabber Andrew Traver to Head BATFE.

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The folks at CampingSurvival.com have announced reduced shipping just for the holiday season. Check out their products!

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Hong Kong Confirms Human H5N1 Bird Flu Case. (A hat tip to KAF for the link.)

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Never, under any circumstances, ever become a refuge… Die if you must, but die on your home turf with your face to the wind, not in some stinking hellhole 2,000 kilometers away, among people you neither know nor care about.” – Ragnar Benson

Notes from JWR:

The Rawles Gets Your Ready Family Preparedness Course is only rarely offered at a discounted price. For the next three weeks, the publisher is running a special sale. Don’t miss out on the chance to get a copy for yourself, or to give one as a Christmas gift.

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Today we present another two entries for Round 31 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will 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 $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 500 round case of Fiocchi 9mm Parabellum (Luger ) with 124gr. Hornady XTP/HP projectiles, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo (a $249 value), and E.) An M17 medical kit from JRH Enterprises (a $179.95 value).

Second Prize: A.) 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 $400, B.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and C.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing, and B.) a Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.)

Round 31 ends on November 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.

Adapting Traditional Medical Care to the Austere Environment, by A.P.T.

Perhaps you are a civilian EMT, paramedic or RN that has found interest in preparedness, or you are an established prepper who has taken an EMT class or a Wilderness EMT class, but are having some difficulty with bridge to the world that has no power grid, no Internet and lacks a certain social cohesion. Even military medics will be challenged in this situation, as they are currently accustomed to having modern equipment, restock and a means of patient evacuation (in most cases). Either way you bring essential experience and knowledge to your preparedness group as the medical specialist, but lack in certain areas.  This article will help to begin the adaptation of your knowledge and skill set to the world without modern medicine.

The austere environment is one in which evacuation to definitive care is extremely delayed or non-existent. Without power modern electronic diagnostic and treatment options will be very limited or not possible. Many medicines will be unusable and re-supply of medical equipment will not occur. In addition, running (and potable water) and modern sanitation will not be available, nor will the assistance of law enforcement. Think post-Katrina or Haiti and extend that indefinitely.

If you are a current practitioner, ask yourself how much of your EMS or nursing education covered care in this environment. Maybe it was alluded to in the MCI chapters if you were lucky. The mental context that you currently practice in will be a hindrance in the austere environment. Or, if you are a prepper whose chosen profession was not medicine, having a collection of disparate skills and knowledge has limited usefulness without knowing how to triage and prioritize your care.

Now before you run off scared and think that this is impossible and that you will be stuck in a Civil War- era medical setting, stop and reflect. Regardless of what event caused the modern tools of medicine to be limited, it did not drain away your knowledge base, experience and common sense that got you this far in your career or preparedness. Your ability to assess, diagnose and adapt were the foundation of your practice and abilities before the event, and will be afterwards.

I have been a paramedic, supervisor and educator in various capacities in public safety for over 20 yrs. I have also done some wilderness medicine and participated in several long- term disaster responses. My wife (who is an RN and worked in the same capacities) and I have been actively prepping for awhile now and have a good grasp on preparedness thanks in large part to Rawlesian philosophy and other selected experts. I firmly believe that preparedness must be embraced by the medical community and that their contributions to society must be extended into whatever challenging environments that we may face as society.

There are four main differences in your practice that will be very different in the austere environment that must be understood. First, you may need to defer treatment and walk away from patients that you would currently treat aggressively. Second, you will need to get out of the mindset of transport or referral to definitive care. Third, will be the need for improvisation in supplies. Finally, you will need to develop or expand your knowledge of preventative medicine. The overall goal will be to treat what you can, given what you have, and keep minor to moderate medical/trauma conditions from worsening, or better yet, not occurring. It will truly be a mix of modern medicine, public health, wilderness medicine and elements of combat medicine.

Your triage, initial assessment and ABCs will be the same as they are now. In a MASCAL setting patients are triaged into the Red category for life threats; Yellow for moderate and delayed; and Green for minor conditions. The difference will come when you encounter a life threatening condition. Whether it is a patient triaged as a red tag patient; or a single, critical medical or trauma patient; a determination will need to be made on, “Can we definitively fix this”, and/or how many people will be needed. Secondarily, you must ask, “Do we have the supplies to do this”, and/or will others suffer from a lack of supplies if expended on this potentially mortal patient.

If you cannot definitively treat the patient’s life threat and/or, others with less severe conditions will become emergent without the supplies at hand, then the patient must be secondarily triaged as Expectant. These are patients that are critical but will die despite all interventions. This category is rarely used outside of large MASCAL incidents. The idea is to treat those with the best chance of survival and do the most good for the most people.

Major trauma such as head injuries with increasing intracranial pressure; internal hemorrhage; spinal injuries; and chest trauma will all likely be placed in the expectant category. Yes, you can perform needle decompression for a GSW to the chest, but then what? Jerry-rig a Pleura-Vac with a chest tube? What about surgical intervention and the dedicated personnel for continuing care of this patient? Even if the first 1-2 hours of care can be accomplished, the definitive and continuing advanced care will not be possible.
On the other hand, if your assessment revealed an obstructed airway (foreign body or positional) or an external hemorrhage’ then these conditions could be corrected, and definitively cared for in an austere environment and should be given the needed attention.

Obviously medical patients that would receive critical care as definitive care, such as heart attacks, strokes and those in need of resuscitation, would be unable to receive it without functioning hospitals so their triage category would also be expectant. Some very limited cardiac care could be done for those not needing invasive procedures but it would depend on the availability of specific medicine and electric power.

However, some chronic medical conditions, that can be life threatening in specific circumstances, could be successfully treated even in the austere environment. Allergic reactions and anaphylaxis; asthma; hypoglycemic diabetics; seizures (from epilepsy); and dehydration could all be treated with the judicious use of medicine and IV fluids. Long term management of these conditions could prove the most challenging due to the inability to maintain a supply of needed medications (i.e. insulin, antihistamines or adrenalin).

We currently live in an area of medical specialization and few providers care for a patient from beginning to end. In the austere environment the complete opposite will be true. If you are a willing medical provider you will be the initial and definitive care. This will be similar to rural primary care without the capability of consults, transport or referral. This fact will also impact many other aspects of life in a post-collapse world.

Except for selected life threats as described above, your main focus will be on minor to moderate conditions, such as lacerations, extremity fractures, minor infections, heat exposure/dehydration and pain management. Your scope of practice will necessarily change out of circumstance. Remember, good treatment of minor conditions will prevent a deterioration of them into a condition that is untreatable.

If you are an RN that does not currently perform wound debridement and closure; if you are a paramedic that does not commonly participate in long term care (bed sore prevention, long term pain management, etc); or you are a physician that does not commonly handle fracture realignment, you will need to get the training to achieve a baseline competency in these procedures at a minimum.

Although no complete course in austere care currently exists, there are some courses that can be adapted to the austere environment. Wilderness medicine courses are good for expanding a provider’s knowledge of improvisation. These courses also put you in an austere setting for realism. AMEDD combat medic (68W) or Special Operations Combat Medic (18D) certified medics are superior resources for trauma care and preventative medicine. (Most who have this background are willing to teach and show what they know to other professionals). Doctors Without Borders also is an excellent organization that can provide experience that could approximate the conditions that you could face if society implodes. SurvivalBlog also has published articles, and references to other resources for elements of this type of training.

No matter how well you prepare and stockpile medical supplies, eventually you will run out, need replacements and reach expiration dates. Some preplanning for this eventuality will avoid having to ask the infamous question, “Now what?” Care outside of a hospital has always had a degree of improvisation to it, especially in the wilderness. Every Wilderness medicine text will have no less than three ways to create a traction splint, but few providers have had the need to find alternative supplies and methods to practice definitive care. What follows is a sampling of some possibilities. It will take ingenuity in order to be safe and successful. Several archived articles on Survivalblog address this issue as well.

Wound Closure
Silk thread that has not been dyed and unwaxed dental floss, as well as the thinnest gauge fishing line, could be used to suture lacerations. Scalp lacerations can be temporarily closed by twisting the hairs on each edge of the wound into braids; tying off the distal end of each braid; and then tying the braids into a small knot cinching the laceration closed (Auerbach).

Oral Rehydration
A simple electrolyte solution can be made from everyday cooking supplies. Crushed multivitamins can also be added to the solution. To 1 liter of fresh, potable water add: ½ tsp salt (3.5 G); ¼ tsp salt substitute (KCl- 1.5 G); ½ tsp baking soda (bicarbonate-2.5 G); and 2-3 Tbsp of sugar or honey (sucrose- 20G). Pedialyte can be roughly approximated by cutting the additive amounts in half.

Sterilization
A turkey fryer outfit (unused for cooking) can be used to boil water to a sufficient temperature to kill anything but some bacterial spores. Aluminum is a perfect material and many fryers come with baskets that can hold smaller instruments and needles. The long ladles are also practical for removing sterilized supplies. Time should be for 30 minutes and a smaller stock pot will work faster. Adding 2% sodium carbonate solution will increase effectiveness in a 10:1 ratio to water

Urine Sample Assessment
Litmus paper used for pool water can give a rough estimation of the pH of urine. Other non-medical chemical test strips could be used in a similar manner. A urine sample left outdoors for 24 hours which is covered in ants can accurately diagnose high blood sugar and diabetes.

Physical Examination Techniques
Without x-rays, CAT scans and MRIs, providers will need to re-discover the older techniques of actually touching their patients for assessment. The use of percussion to assess for air-filled or fluid-filled body cavities can be used to diagnose various pathologies. Palpation of the left lower abdominal quadrant eliciting rebound pain on the right lower quadrant can help diagnose appendicitis (McBurney’s sign). Kernig’s sign (touching the patient’s chin to chest eliciting neck pain) can help diagnose meningitis if present with fever, malaise and aseptic meningitis syndrome (AMS).

Many take modern medical care for granted and as a result prevention is disregarded, or at best, an afterthought. In the medical literature and texts it is a topic that gets limited emphasis and the least time devoted to it.  In the austere environment, due to the limited supplies and lack of definitive care, prevention will be essential. There are three main areas of prevention that will be your focus: injury prevention, infection control and nutrition.

Injury prevention is a topic that is glossed over in medical curriculums at any level of training. Although important in modern society, it will take on a much higher importance when the ability to treat trauma is limited. This area may not be directly supervised by medical personnel, but ensuring that some prevention controls are in place will be important. Training in the proper use of tools (especially farm equipment) and firearms will be key to preventing unnecessary injuries. Likewise, the use of protective equipment (from ballistic vests to work gloves) will be another focus.

Infection control will need to be a watchword due to the limited supply of antibiotics in the austere environment. Proper wound debridement, cleansing and closure will be essential skills for all medical personnel. Medical specialists will also likely be responsible for disinfection of medical treatment areas; bleach preparation; and overseeing food and water preparation/storage.

Nutrition will be challenging for several reasons in post-collapse world. Although our dependence on fast food will come to end, and improve our diet, the selection of healthy foods that are available in the modern world will greatly decline. Without a balanced diet of carbs, fats and protein people will develop deficiencies and be more prone to infectious disease. The average male, working at the laborious tasks of survival for 8 hours a day, needs approximately 3,500 calories per day to avoid weight loss and general health decline. Accordingly, the medical specialist may be called on for advice on meal plans, crop selection and supplementation depending on the expertise in the group.

As you prepare to be the medical specialist for your retreat group, or for your family, keep these concepts in mind and let them guide you as you stockpile supplies; recruit new members and get more medical assistance; and continue your training. Many of the older methods of assessment and treatment will have to be re-discovered if the conveniences of modern medicine are no longer available. But the difference between us and our predecessors will be that we have that body of knowledge to fall back on, and as society reorders itself, we will be able to re-establish modern medicine.

Reference: Auerbach, Paul. Wilderness Medicine. Mosby: 2008.

Off The Grid Cooking, by Chino

I have seen numerous articles dealing with the type and quantity of food that one should have for long term survival, but I have yet to see anyone address survival cooking.

I have been prepping for a few years and I have a pretty good supply of “stuff” including a Svea backpacking stove, a Coleman stove & fuel, camping grill & 1 lb. propane bottles, a butane stove with butane canisters and a wood stove that could double for a cook stove for cooking beans in the winter time.  I thought I was pretty well set to go it alone for an extended period if Schumer came calling.

Recently I decided to cook a pot of pinto beans.  It took all day to cook them to the point where they were edible (not perfect, but edible…  They were perfect the next day after being in the frig over night and then another hour of cooking)  It occurred to me that the fuel that I have stored might not last very long if I have to burn fuel all day just to cook one pot of beans (about 7 cups dry).

Stop and think about your store of food and your store of cooking fuel.  Do you have enough fuel to cook all of the food you have stored?  Some items like canned food just require heating up where others like beans, rice, lentils and pasta require time to cook properly.  And what about tea, coffee and hot chocolate?

We have become so accustomed to popping something into the microwave for a couple of minutes or in a pan on the stove or in the coffee maker, that we don’t give any thought to the amount of energy required to prepare our food.

If the infrastructure goes down for a couple of years or more and you are not fortunate enough to have a propane stove and a full tank of propane when it happens, you may find that you are out of cooking fuel after a few weeks.

With that in mind, I began researching other means of emergency cooking.  This is what I’ve found:

ALCOHOL STOVES

There are a number of commercial alcohol stoves on the market, but I found a homemade version that is easy to make and works just like the commercial models.  The concept of a pressurized alcohol stove is fairly simple.  One can be made in a few minutes from two soda or beer cans.  It is a matter of cutting the bottom out of two aluminum cans of the same type, pressing them together to form a container, punching or drilling small holes around the top edge of one can to form the jets and drilling a larger hole in the center of the top can for a fuel hole.

The alcohol used in these stoves is available at Lowe’s or Home Depot.  The brand is KLEAN STRIP SLX Denatured Alcohol and it is designed for use in stoves/ You can also use HEET Gas-Line Antifreeze which comes in a yellow plastic bottle containing 12 oz.  Do not use the HEET in the red bottle.  HEET is more expensive per ounce than SLX but the small bottle is handier to use than a gallon can.  HEET can be found at hardware stores, auto parts stores and Wal-Mart (lowest price).

The design that I like the best is  called a “Penny Stove” because a penny is used to cover the filler hole after the alcohol is poured into the stove.  Information on the construction and use of these stoves can be found on the internet.  Search for “Penny Alcohol Backpacking Stove” of see this site. I have made several versions of these stoves and they all work well.  They will boil 2 cups of water in about 10 minutes on one ounce of alcohol.  A gallon of alcohol at Lowe’s  is about $16.  These stoves do require a pot stand to hold the pot above the stove and a fire/heat proof base to set them on.  Like most backpacking stoves, these require a few seconds of pre-heating before they pressurize.  

One solution I found for both a pot stand and fire proof base is to use a large food can such as a 29 oz. can of Yams, use tin snips or Dremel tool to cut the can off about an inch taller than the height of the stove and drill or punch holes around the base to allow air to feed the stove and a similar row of holes just below the top of the can to allow the heat to flow up around the pot.  The holes should be about 1/2″ in diameter to allow the air to flow easily.   Place the stove in the center of the base/pot holder and pour alcohol into the filler hole.  Do not fill the stove completely or it will not pressurize until some of the fuel burns off.  Pour a little alcohol on the base around the stove and put the penny over the filler hole.  When the alcohol is lit it will heat the stove causing it to pressurize.  The jets will then begin to burn.  The alcohol burns with a blue flame like a gas range and is difficult to see in bright light.  When the jets light, put the pot on the pot stand.  Be sure to use a copper penny (pre-1982) to cover the filler hole.  A zinc penny will deteriorate over time and the fumes given off from it being heated could be a health hazard to breathe. 

Alcohol stoves are so cheap and easy to make that you can have several on hand for back-ups or to trade or give away.  Also, it is likely that you may need several stoves going at one time to prepare a meal and have it all ready at the same time.

If you prefer to buy an alcohol stove rather than make one, you might want to check out the Whiteboxstoves.com web site.  They have what appears to be a good design for $20. plus S&H.  A review of this stove can be seen on YouTube.

WOOD GAS STOVES

Since the alcohol stoves still require commercially make fuel and you still have to guess how much alcohol you are going to need, I began researching wood stoves. 

I found that there are some really neat designs for wood stoves.  There are various designs of what are referred to as wood gas stoves or wood gasification stoves.  The stove consists of an inner shell (can) and an outer shell (can).  The inner shell, which contains the fire, has holes in the bottom and around the side of the bottom to allow air flow to the bottom of the wood and another row of holes about 1/2″ below the top of the can which are the gas jet holes.  The outer shell has large holes around the bottom to allow air flow to the inner shell.  There is an air space between the inner and the outer shell.  When the fire begins to burn, it heats up the wood which releases gas.  The gas is partially burned by the flame on the wood.  It also heats up the air between the two shells.  As the hot air flows up and through the gas jets holes, it facilitates a re-burning of the wood gas (smoke) which maximizes the efficiency and also reduces the smoke for a nearly smoke-free fire.

One commercially made wood gas stove that is sold for backpacking/camping is called the “Bush Buddy.”  Videos of it in operation can be seen on Youtube. Since the Bush Buddy is rather pricey, I pursued the possibility of making one.  I soon found that numerous other people had already done that and some of the designs were quite good.  The designs that I like the best can be seen on Youtube.  Here he describes four models that he has made and the tools and techniques that he uses.  The one design that I like best is the last (and largest) one that he describes.  To see one of his stoves in action see this video.

I made my stove in the same configuration as his but I used a large juice can (about 49-50 oz.) for the outer can, a 26 oz. pasta sauce can for the inner can and a 28 oz. crushed tomato or 29 oz. yam can (cut down to about 2 3/4″ tall) for the pot stand.  (Both ends of the pot stand should be removed)  He recommends using a step-bit to drill the holes and I concur completely.  It is much easier and cleaner to drill holes with a step-bit than a regular bit.  [I bought a set of three from Amazon for about $15.]  Be sure to use a side-cutting can opener since you will re-use the lid of the large can to hold the inner can.

After I finished all of the drilling, cutting and sanding the sharp edges, I used a propane torch to burn the lacquer off the cans before testing the stove.  Otherwise, it will gradually burn off while you are cooking.  The fumes from the lacquer are not pleasant and could be harmful.

The beauty of these stoves is the design.  Because of the air flow up through the bottom, they are very easy to start.  You fill the stove with small chunks of wood up to just below the jet holes at the top of the inner can and start the fire on the top of the pile using small twigs or some type of fire starter.

Because of the design of the wood gas stove, you can cook a meal on nothing more than a handful of twigs, small branches or even chips and chunks typically found around a wood pile.  The stove is so efficient that it can be loaded with sticks of wood about 3 1/2″ long and 1/2″ in diameter standing up lengthwise in the stove and it will burn them completely.

If you cut an opening in the side of the pot stand can about 1 1/8″x 2 1/8″ this will enable you to continue to feed the fire periodically to keep it burning as long as you need it.

Cooking over an open fire is a tremendous waste of fuel.  These stoves will do the job with a fraction of the wood and with much less smoke too.  These stoves were designed primarily for backpacking since they are light weight and compact.  The smaller versions work well for that since backpackers primarily use a stove to heat water for tea, coffee or Ramen.  But for serious cooking, the larger stoves are a better option.

ROCKET STOVES

Rocket stoves were designed for use in developing countries where they have no electricity or gas to cook with.  They burn wood and they were designed to be as energy efficient as possible since many places around the world are rapidly using up their supply of wood.  These stoves are generally larger than the wood gas stoves and therefore they may produce more heat.  

The design is basically a flu or stove pipe with a 90 degree elbow and a short section of pipe that serves as the fire chamber.  The “L” shaped pipe is enclosed in another container that is considerably larger than the pipe.  Insulation is placed between the pipe and the outer container to hold the heat of the fire in the pipe and therefore increase the combustion and facilitate a cleaner, more efficient burn.  Many rocket stoves are built in-place using fire bricks and are permanent cooking fixtures.  Others can be made using 5 gallon buckets or barrels  and are more portable.  Because of the size and design of the rocket stove, they are probably more suitable for cooking for a greater number of people than the wood gas stoves are since they will accommodate a larger pot or even a griddle.

The rocket stoves utilize longer sticks and small diameter branches that are fed into the short pipe.  A piece of metal separates the pipe into an upper chamber and a lower chamber.  The wood is fed into the upper chamber and the lower chamber allows the air to flow under the wood.  Only the ends of the sticks burn so the sticks have to be fed into the chamber as they burn.  An advantage to these stoves is that they are easy to keep burning until the cooking is done by simply continuing to feed sticks into them.  When you are finished cooking, pull the sticks out and the fire will immediately begin to go out, although it will continue to give off heat for simmering.  Once the stove gets hot, it burns efficiently and with very little smoke.  As with the wood gas stove, the rocket stove uses very little fuel.  Another advantage of the portable rocket stove is that they can be rotated so that any breeze or air movement will blow into the feed pipe giving the rocket a super charge.

The advantage of wood stoves is that wood is available almost everywhere.  You may not have access to actual firewood, but almost everybody has access to dry tree limbs or other sources of scrap wood with which to fuel a wood cook stove.  And if you do have firewood for heating your house, you can use the debris for cooking and save the larger wood for heating.

A commercial rocket stove is available a for $135.

Numerous homemade designs of rocket stoves can be found on Youtube.  One word of caution: If you make you own rocket stove, be cautions about using a galvanized stove pipe since the galvanization is zinc and it could contaminate you food and the fumes could be harmful to breathe.

RETAINED HEAT COOKING

As usual, if we want to find out how to do things efficiently we have to learn from our elders.  In the “old days” people had “hay boxes” or cooking boxes sitting in their kitchen.  These boxes contained hay or blankest or other material to assist in cooking things such as my pot of beans.  This method is also used in Africa where they have limited fuel for cooking.

The concept of retained heat cooking is that you bring a pot of food to a boil and keep it boiling for about 15-20 minutes until the pot and the contents are at a boiling temperature.  The pot and contents are then placed in a container and covered with anything that will insulate the pot from the surrounding air.  If properly insulated, the pot and contents will retain enough heat to continue cooking for several hours.  The length of time required depends upon the type of food you are cooking.   Obviously, beans will require the most time to cook.

Any container can be used as long as it’s considerably larger than the pot being used i.e. laundry basket, cardboard box, wooden box, foot locker, large wicker basket etc.  A blanket or sleeping bag is laid over the container and pushed down into the container.  A trivet is placed on the bottom to protect the blanket from the heat of the pot.  Set the pot on the trivet and cover it with the blanket.  Then pack other blankets around and over the pot so that it is well insulated.

I have only tried this method one time so far.  I used four turkey size cooking bags and filled each about half full of vermiculite (a nonflammable material used in gardening).  I folded the end of the bags over twice and stapled the bag shut.  I then taped the fold to the bag for a tight seal so that none of the vermiculite could get out.  I used a laundry hamper and a wool army blanket over the hamper.  I put a trivet in the bottom of the hamper and a mylar space blanket over the trivet.  I put the pot on the space blanket and wrapped the space blanket around the pot.  I then packed the bags of vermiculite around and over the pot and wrapped the army blanket around everything.

I was cooking pinto beans (again) so I let the pot set in the basket for about 4 hours.  When I took them out, the pot was still too hot to handle without pot holders. The beans were still not done, but they had definitely cooked.  Another 2-3 hours might have finished them.  I think it is a viable method of cooking.  Even if you had to leave them in the hamper for 8 hours, bring them back to a boil for 10 minutes and put them back in the hamper for another few hours it’s still better than using a quart of fuel to cook them.

For a visual on retained heat cooking, see the video on Youtube.

A side note:  when I cook beans on the kitchen stove, I invariably have to add water before they get fully cooked.  When I used the retained heat method, I didn’t.

And that brings up another point worth mentioning…

WATER.  

Everybody talks about how much water to have for each person per day.  Stop and think about how much water it takes to cook with, not to mention food preparation and washing dishes and utensils.  When I cooked my beans, I sorted them for rocks and dirt clods and then I used about two gallons of water to wash them.  Then I used about a gallon to soak them overnight (which reduces cooking time).  Then I used another gallon to cook them. In all, four gallons of water for one pot of beans…  Of course, you could soak them in the same water you washed them in and save a little water usage.  But that gives you an idea of how much water we use just in cooking, not to mention food preparation and dish washing.  Something to be aware of…

Since we have no way of knowing how long we might be without electricity, it’s a good idea to have numerous methods for cooking and a good supply of the various types of fuel on hand.  It’s also a good idea to make several stoves now.  They would be much harder to make without electricity for drills and Dremel tools, even if you have the necessary cans.  [Dremel tools are perfect for cutting cans off and for cutting windows in the cans for fuel feed holes.  Be sure to wear eye protection.] You will have more important things to do when TSHTF than to make cook stoves

Letter Re: Question on Shelf Life of Water Stored in Bottles

Good Afternoon,
Having purchased the The “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, you asked for some feedback. I think the most concise way to put it is that I started out with a list of around 95 questions about preparedness. And that list was growing at the rate of about one question a day. After reading the binder and listening to the audio CD, I am left with precisely one question. The “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course is worth every dime as far as I’m concerned. There is one more “preppie” (no pun intended) spending about $10 a week getting ready. I live only about 7,000 ft. west of the nuke labs in Livermore, California. I’d buy the course again in a heartbeat, and have pointed a couple of friends to SurvivalBlog as they are just beginning to think about being ready if their jobs evaporate courtesy of Barack Hussein Obama’s ego and ignorance, (personal editorial opinion intended!). And the Freeze Dry Guy and I will be talking soon.

The one question left is: Once my drinking water goes through the reverse osmosis water machine (a Culligan AC 30) and into containers for storage, how long can I leave that water in storage (in my garage) before I replace it? I’m currently using no bleach or other “stabilizers” in the water. If you’d like to see the Scepter storage containers that I use, see the Brigade Quartermasters web site.

Grace to you and yours from the Lion of Judah, – Ron H.

JWR Replies: Water without chlorine added water stored in bottles can have a very short shelf life–sometimes as little as a few weeks. Because diffuse sunlight can encourage algae growth, translucent containers (such as 2 liter bottles) are inferior to opaque containers. Often, if you fill a large batch of containers, one will have a slight contaminant and the water will go “off” much more quickly than the others. If you store water in Scepter cans or bottles, I recommend that you simply run it back through your reverse osmosis machine just before consuming it. For any of it that will be used for drinking, if the water still tastes flat after processing you can restore it to a more natural taste by aerating it with a wire whisk or an egg beater for a minute.

Letter Re: Dealing with Common Addictions–True Readiness for Disasters

Sir:
One item not often considered for emergency supplies: Caffeine pills. Many non-Mormons are heavy coffee drinkers. What happens when you’re on bug out, and drinking filtered stream water, instead of your morning Cup O’ Joe? Well, the splitting killer caffeine withdrawal headache, that’s what. Open the package, and gulp down a Vivarin, or No-Doz, and you are back to your cheerful self. With My Regards, – C.Y.

JWR Replies: It is a far better thing to break away from coffee, soda pop, cigarette, alcohol, candy, junk food, and drug addictions now, in normal times. Get rid of them one at a time. Proceed with plenty of prayer, hydration, and exercise. Trying to go “Cold Turkey”–especially for multiple addictions–during a disaster could be, well, disastrous!

Yes, perhaps you could store some No-Doz, but keep that on hand to wean your less-provident friends and neighbors, not yourself. You need to be free of addictions before the Schumer hits the fan! If you are fit and sober, you will be healthier and far better able to handle the rigors of life without electricity and running water. Furthermore, eliminating the expense of addictive behaviors will also free up a lot of money that can then be spent for your preparations. So kicking your habits will turn out be a huge “win-win” for your overall preparedness.

Letter Re: Bargain Prices at Wiggy’s

Sir,
I hope this e-mail finds you and yours well. I just wanted you to be aware that Wiggy’s here in Grand Junction, Colorado is offering almost 50% off sleeping bags and clothing if picked up in store. I just bought the Lamilite jacket and wow, it is too warm so far. Everyone knows the quality and comfort a Wiggy’s bag can provide in all conditions. I would hope everyone locally takes advantage of this offer. When I was there yesterday they said it would go to the end of the year or until the economy got better….. Please pass this on to help Wiggy’s as well as those of us that find a bargain everywhere we can.   Sincerely, – Rob H. in Grand Junction, Colorado

JWR Adds: The company is also presently offering 30% off all sleeping bags and free shipping, for mail order customers. I own several of their FTRSS bags and Lamilite ground pads, and I highly recommend them!