Notes from JWR:

Five Days to Book Bomb Day! This is a brief reminder to please wait until April 8th to order your copy of the new edition of “Patriots”. That will be our “Book Bomb” day. Many thanks for making the new edition such a success.

Today we present another entry for Round 22 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The contest prizes include:

First Prize: Two transferable Front Sight  “Gray” Four Day Training Course Certificates. This is an up to $4,000 value!
Second Prize: A three day course certificate from OnPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses.
Third Prize: A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing

Round 22 ends on May 31st, 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.

Today we are also posting a new Profile, that will be added to our permanent Retreat Owner Profiles page.

Disaster Preparedness–Of Lists and Preparation in Depth, by Ed C.

I would like to offer my own experiences in the hopes that they may provide some small amount of practical advice to others. Here in Oklahoma, of course, we face tornadoes, but many do not realize we have also suffered from paralyzing ice storms – three within the past ten years. Lessons gleaned from practical experience are:

  1. Have inventory lists;
  2. Have ‘Oh-Schumer Lists’ of items and chores for each type of contingency situation (tornado, flood, ice storm, etc.)
  3. Prepare ‘in depth’ for each major need, such as heat and light, food, water, shelter, and protection
  4. Calmly think through scenarios on the before-hand, in terms of what would be needed, how long one can survive, and what the deciding factors in your response would be (‘fight or flight’)
  5. Most importantly, be prepared to take care of your own, whether family or friends or neighbors.

First things first. Just a week or so ago, Oklahoma was ravaged by several tornadoes. While keeping an ear on the weather report, I calmly gathered up medications, identification papers, windup lights and radios. I made sure there was at least one conventional telephone working. We have had experiences with cell phone towers being down, or the cell phone networks being overloaded. I placed a full face motorcycle helmet, winter gloves, and parka within reach to put on (for some marginal protection against debris) in case the tornado swung in our direction, something they can and have done before. Thankfully, we were spared, though one tornado came within two miles of our home.

The purpose of relating the above is to illustrate the importance of pre-planning for an event, having what we call an ‘Oh-Schumer List’ of items and tasks, so that one keeps panic at bay while calmly following a pre-planned, prepared list so that one keeps busy and feels somewhat in control of the situation.

The second situation is one that we have experienced several times; and yet I am still amazed that many neighbors still do not prepare for them; ice storms. Again, we have items stored which were deemed necessary to overcome the emergency situation, as well as an ‘Oh-Schumer List’ of items and tasks (chores) which we can calmly follow. In our case, we have winter clothing cleaned, organized, and stored; various tools and outdoor items prepped (snow shovels, chain saw (and spare chains, oil, etc.), generator (and gasoline, oil, spark plugs, etc.), tarps, lumber; food, water, and medicines stocked; Vehicles serviced and fueled; and Call Lists of Family, Friends, and Neighbors so that we can be sure they are warm, fed, and safe.

One thing I must stress is that we prepare ‘in depth’ as much as we can. Meaning that while we have a generator and gasoline, we also have propane lights, heaters, and stoves in case the generator fails. We also have candles, Esbit stoves, windup lights and radios, and firewood. Similarly, my wife will cook up large batches of food if she knows we have an incoming storm front, but we also have canned goods, MREs, and freeze-dried goods. For water, we have bottled water, Katadyn water filters, bleach, water purification tablets, collapsible water containers, and a small 10,000 gallon swimming pool.

A few years ago, Oklahoma City was paralyzed for about five days by an ice storm. We had no electricity from the grid, but we had our furnace and a few appliances running on a generator. We also had relatives and neighbors who stayed with us, as they had not prepared. It was no matter, we had homemade chicken pot pies, wine, card games, lively conversation, and were all safe, snug, and warm. Sadly, while outside cutting up fallen trees that blocked the roads, I encountered a neighbor that needed the cut-up wood to heat and cook for his elderly father and himself. I offered him our propane lights, heater, and camp stove; but he did not take us up on the offer. I wanted to ask him, that since we had gone through this numerous times, why he had not prepared for this. But, I knew it was hard enough for him just to ask for the firewood.

In closing, let me recap. Have inventory lists. Have ‘Oh-Schumer Lists’ of items and tasks for each type of contingency situation. Prepare ‘in depth’ for each major need, such as heat and light, food, water, shelter, and protection Calmly think through scenarios on the before-hand, in terms of what would be needed, how long one can survive, and what the deciding factors would be. Most importantly, be prepared to take care of your own, whether family or friends or neighbors. Sadly, this last point is overlooked by many. Good luck to all.

Retreat Owner Profile: Mr. & Mrs. India

Mr. and Mrs. India

Ages: 34 & 33

SOs: Three children 6 and under

Profession: U.S. Military Serviceman

Background:

He: Grew up in Florida, raised in a self-reliant family, attend and commissioned from a military educational institution, married his sweetheart, completed pilot training, and is currently stationed at his sixth military installation.

She: Grew up in Idaho, raised by a self reliant and second amendment loving family, moved off to school, took work as a nanny, worked as an accountant, is currently a loving mother and supportive military spouse. For the most part she lives the self reliant lifestyle with things like grinding wheat and making bread while he spends money on the latest and greatest gadgets. Present Home: 4 bedroom/2 car garage, government house on a northern tier military installation. I would get paid a housing allowance if I lived off the installation and there could be lots of self reliant benefits to doing this, but at this station we choose to live on the installation. This is a choice we have to make during every move and consider many things such as housing availability, local market conditions, commuter costs, school zoning, and the areas grade based on the book “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation“.

Income: $60,000 year not including benefits.
Additional Income: An occasional eBay sale, the Mrs. teaches piano, and extra cash from my frequent temporary duty (TDY) tours – I normally return from a TDY with more than half of the per diem by being frugal with food and not over indulging in entertainment. And when I say entertainment I mean not spending too much at the new-to-me gun stores, junk yards, used book stores, pawn shops, and Army/Navy stores.

Investments: We sold most of our IRAs early in 2008 to pay off debt. I now consider survival prep my top investment- food, ammo, extra magazines, extra receivers, books, and junk silver. We are currently saving to start a Swiss America gold account, and eventually purchase $1,000 face vale junk silver bags for each family member.

Vehicles: Primary – 80 series Toyota Land Cruiser. Grocery Getter – Honda minivan. We also have a Gen 1 Suzuki King Quad (slow but capable and carbureted), bicycles and bicycle trailer. Ideally I would own a complete spare primary vehicle but the frequent moves and lack of space make this difficult. For now I perform a lot of preventative maintenance to keep the vehicles in top condition and try to stock critical spares.

Firearms: Custom Remington 700 .308, four FALs with configuration ranging from Izzy HB to 18” carbine, M1A worked over by Smith Enterprises, S&W M4gery, DMPS M4gery, Mossberg 590, Winchester SX2 tactical, three Ruger 10/22s, Beeman HW77 .177 pellet rifle, Ruger SP101, Springfield Armory 1911, Glock 22, Browning Hi-Power, Ruger Mk 22/45, Scout rifle built on .308 Ishapore Enfield action, FR8, Savage 24C. The frequent moves are going to force me to shrink and further standardize my armory. I also made the mistake of buying a normal gun safe and moving it has been a huge and heavy pain. I plan on selling it and replacing it with one of the Zanotti Armor [6-piece modular] gun safes that you recommend. I would also like to add a crossbow to the collection for the silent gathering of meat if the Schumer hits the fan.

Ammo: Over 50,000 rounds with the bulk of that in .22 LR. One of my top priorities at this station is to finally unpack all my reloading supplies and purchase whatever is required to complete my setup so I can have an operational reloading bench. I am also on the lookout for a .177 pellet mold for my Beeman. I know accuracy would be way down but I think I could have an unlimited supply of pellets when old tire weights and discard car batteries are considered.

Fuel: 25 gallons in 5 gallon Scepter [current US mil-spec] gas cans, roughly 30 gallons of propane in various tank sizes. This is about as large of a supply as I can store, rotate, and do a permanent change of station (PCS) with. I have printed plans for a portable 12 volt DC fuel pump and will have parts when this year’s snow melts off the local junk yards.

Water: On the grid but we have a two week emergency supply (90 gallons stored in 15 gallon water barrels) and a Big Berkey water filter with buckets for carrying water from a local source to filter if needed.

Property tax: $0/year (one positive aspect of living in military housing)

Gardens: Allowed on military installations with restrictions. In the past I had been skeptical about planting a garden because the yard had to be returned to sod when changing stations. From a financial sense, rolling out sod when we leave would probably be more expensive than the money we would save in crop production. However, after considering several posts by fellow SurvivalBlog readers, I now think the expenditure will be a wise investment in learning the ends and outs of gardening. Keep in mind that on some military installations they have set aside large lots near housing that are opened for families to plant gardens – this would be the best of both worlds. We have a collection of hand tools to do the gardening but are limited on spares due to space and household good weight limitations.

Livestock: Not allowed on installation but I have seen people get away with having a hutch or two for the ‘pet’ rabbits.

Dogs: Allowed in military housing but I do not have one at this time. The spouse/kids/neighbors have to be supportive of a dog to make it work in the military. When the kids get older and can help out when I’m TDY, it will be an addition to our family.

Security: We live in the ultimate gated community provided by full time military police/security forces. When off the installation, personal security provided by sidearm and concealed carry permit. House has normal doors and locks but the family is usually in a low state of awareness due to the gated community feel. Five sets of various adult sized Kevlar vests and helmets. A 2nd gen night vision scope that is waiting for a rifle mount. My top priority in this area is to get the stars to align (namely: fly out grandma to watch the kids and find some reasonable transportation/lodging) so that I can use my long stored certificate and purchase an additional course so my wife and I can attend Front Sight together.

Food storage: Close to a year of staples (grains, beans, rice, powdered milk, honey, and salt), At least three month’s worth of canned/perishable goods that is constantly rotated, and 2+ weeks of MREs. I also have a collection of traps that Buckshot recommends and feel confident I could add meat to the table at any large military installation. When notified of a PCS, my wife starts using the canned and perishable goods almost exclusively so we can minimize our household goods weight. The household weight limit is something we always struggle with. We have averaged 1/3 more than the allowed weight on our last three moves but we have come up with a solution that has worked for us. We do a partial Do IT Yourself move (DITY move) where the military pays a contractor to move part of our goods and they pay us to move the rest of the goods (up to the maximum allowable weight based on rank and dependents). When the contract movers show up we have them load all the large and bulky items such as furniture, bicycle trailer, and empty water barrels. This usually amounts to about 2/3 of our belongings based on size but only 1/3 based on weight. We then pack the rest of the goods in a rented moving truck ourselves. The stuff like food storage, books, and the safe easily fit in the rental truck and adds up to about 2/3 of our total weight. Although we only get paid for about half of what we move we still make more than enough to cover all our expenses and avoid having to pay a carrier to move the excess weight.

Communication: HF base station is a Yaesu FT-840 with every factory option. I also have a Realistic Pro 2006 scanner, a Yaesu FT-8900 for the Land Cruiser, and a couple Yaesu handhelds. Exterior antennas are not allowed in military housing so I have to get by with low profile dipoles and a good antenna tuner. Right now I am encouraging my wife to get her Technician license. Besides wanting a VHF radio for the base station, I also need a battery backup system that can serve as our emergency electrical power supply. I want to be able to feed the battery bank with a small generator as well as a fairly large but portable solar panel(s).

Survival Library: Extensive with all the SurvivalBlog Bookshelf recommendations as well as most of the books recommended by readers.

Hobbies: Family adventures, church activities, vehicle maintenance/upgrades, Scouting, “$200 stamp collecting” (AWC and AAC firearms sound suppressors), increasing food storage.

Next project: At our current location I need to develop an emergency home heating plan. I wish we could add a wood stove but will probably have to settle with a kerosene space heater. I am also developing my exit strategy from the military – hopefully more to follow in the form of another writing contest submission.
I have deviated from the normal profile format and added a couple paragraphs to sum up the pros and cons of living the survival lifestyle while serving in the military.

Pros of active duty military: The opportunity to serve with many like minded selfless patriots, job security, benefits such as medical and commissary, requirement to stay physically fit, installation amenities such as gym and auto hobby shop, and a good retirement if I can make it to 20 years. I’ll be honest, the retirement plan will probably keep me in. I’ll be 44 when eligible to retire and I like the idea of being able to move to our desired retreat location, take a low paying job if nothing else is available and count on the immediate retirement income to make up the difference.

Cons: Not being able to live at and develop our desired retreat location, frequent/extended TDYs keeping me away from my immediate family, being stationed away from extended family, frequent moves, and the possibility of living in a state not up to the Constitutional standards of firearm and suppressor ownership.

Economics and Investing:

A couple of years ago, I created the acronym MOAB (for “Mother of All Bailouts”). I predicted that once started, it would “continue to grow uncontrollably”, but even in my worst nightmares, I didn’t fully anticipate this headline: Financial Rescue Approaches GDP as U.S. Pledges $12.8 Trillion. I have trouble imagining the enormity of one Trillion US Dollars. That is quite a pile of money. But $12.8 Trillion? To borrow a line from Bart Simpson: ¡Ay carumba!

JHB forwarded a link to this government psychology site: A Guide to Getting Through Tough Economic Times. But I have a much better suggestion than just some psychological platitudes: Read the Bible and pray hard! To understand Christian faith, I recommned starting by reading the Gospel of John.

Janet sent this: Dig in: Market won’t get much worse

Items from The Economatrix:

New Signs Emerge Showing Recession May be Nearing Bottom

Dow Jumps Above 8,000 for First Time in Two Months

G20 Gives $1 Trillion to Fight Global Crisis

Obama Hails Summit as “Recovery Turning Point”

G20 Leader in Talks to Bury “Free” Markets

G20 Summit: Leaders Target Bankers

Weimar 1923 May Have More Lessons than US 1932

Russia, China Cooperate on New Currency Proposals

G20: US Dollar Funeral, US Failed Debtor

Soros: If G20 Fails, Global Depression Ahead

Credit Card Write-downs Hit Record High

US Private Sector Axes 742,000 Jobs in March

Layoffs Nearly Triple Last Year’s Marks

Ban Ki-moon (UN Secretary General): I fear a looming catastrophe

Red Alert: Redefining the Global System “These summits are not just about photo-ops and handshakes. Taken together, this array of diplomatic meetings constitute the greatest density of decision points in the modern world since the summits that brought about the end of the Cold War….This is not a debate that will be resolved by the end of this summit (if at all), leaving G-20 members and the struggling economies watching from the outside with the impression that they have little choice but to fend for themselves in this severe economic environment.”

Odds ‘n Sods:

G.G. was the first of more than ten readers that sent this article from The Detroit News: To urban hunter, next meal is scampering by, about a 69-year old retiree who hunts raccoons for a living in Detroit. Her is a quote: “Today people got no skill and things is getting worse. What people gonna do? They gonna eat each other up is what they gonna do.”
   o o o

D.S. sent us this link, on how farmers made tools over 100 years ago.

Bug Out Vehicle Cooling Systems for Extreme Emergencies, by The Oddshot

Vehicles break down. It’s a fact of life. Most breakdowns can be avoided by following a good schedule of preventative maintenance or with a couple of well thought out modifications. But, try as you might, failures can and will occur, even to the best of us.

Anything can put you on the side of the road. Ever run out of gas? Have a flat tire? Bad universal joint on a drive shaft? Charging system go bad? This one happened to me just a few weeks ago. To get an idea of what can go wrong, just drive to work. Look at the cars stuck on the side of the road. A good habit is to make a mental inventory of what you can see that sidelined these vehicles and prepare for worse.

As I said, try as you might, you just cannot prepare for everything. If you had the time and money, I don’t think it would help. I’ve seen brand new parts, fresh out of the box, break down.

But you can learn techniques and tricks that can get you back up and running when you do not have the time or parts to fix it text-book correct and must get moving as quickly as possible and keep moving in the extreme.

The Cooling System

An internal combustion engine is basically a “heat machine”. In an internal combustion engine a fuel/air mixture contained within a closed cylinder and is set on fire…the burning mixture expands pushing the piston down…and on and on until you have power to the rear wheels. A diesel engine is similar but the fuel/air mixture explodes in the cylinder instead of being burned.

For the record…the difference between the two engines is the spark plug of the gasoline engine. When the spark bridges the gap between the electrodes, the compressed mixture is ignited, and the burning of mixture does the rest. This spark must be repeated over and over to keep the fires burning. This process can be demonstrated by use of a device used to tune British Cars with dual SU carbs, called a Gunson Color Tune. An explanation of the device with pictures of the flame front can be seen at the Gunson Color Tuning web page.

Please note that several time in this article, the author mentions “the flame” and its color. When the mixture is correct…the color of the flame in the cylinder will be the same color as the flame found on your gas burner: a pretty blue color.

A diesel engine has no repeating spark … The mixture in the diesel engine explodes due to the engine’s extremely high compression ratio. To be sure … a diesel engine has “igniters” or glow plugs which are really just heating elements that that aid in warming up the cylinder before starting so this explosion can occur. But this is just for cold starts. After the engine has started the glow plugs turn off…and the mixture continues to be set off by compression.

A simple proof of this is to listen to a diesel (especially an older Mercedes Benz sedan) when it accelerates…that characteristic rattling sound is indeed the sound of the explosions.

It is possible for a gasoline engine to produce this type of sound. If the timing is advanced to far, or if the temperature in side the combustion chamber becomes too high, then the gasoline mixture will indeed explode before the piston is at top dead center, and we will hear the sound of these explosions. This is sometimes referred to as “ping” or “knock” or “detonation”. Sometimes these explosions can become so violent that they can blow a hole in the top of a piston, and cause the ring lands to collapse or pound out a rod bearing.

An engine delivers most power and fuel efficiency at a particular operating range, usually about 180 degrees (more or less depending on the engine specs). Below this range the engine will drink fuel, it will run rough and be way down on power. In the extreme, if there in not sufficient heat in the engine a carburetor may even clog with ice in its bores. At the other extreme, if an engine gets too hot, it will overheat. The coolant’s temperature will climb and so will coolant system pressures. The result: you are stuck on the side of the road.

Over the years I have seen coolant system hoses blown off. I have seen cylinder head gaskets leak. I have seen cylinder heads warp. I have seen piston rings cook themselves into pistons, and I have seen pistons seize themselves into engine blocks, all due to too much heat in the engine.

Keeping coolant temperatures within a correct range is vitally important.

So how does the cooling system work? A thermostat controls the flow of water through the cooling system. The thermostat opens and closes its disc-like valve using an internal wax ball and an external spring. When the engine is below operating temperature the thermostat will shut its valve. When the thermostat is closed, water, moved by the water pump, circulates through the engine block and cylinder head only, allowing the water to come up to operating temperature. The closed valve disc on the thermostat prevents the water from passing through the radiator. When that water in the engine reaches a temp of about 180 degrees (depending on the engine specs) the thermostat’s valve opens and allows the hot water to pass through the radiator where it is cooled by outside air. The thermostat then cycles open and closed to maintain normal operating temperature in the engine.

An engine that runs too cool will only be inefficient. This can be repaired easily by simply blocking off the flow of air through the radiator.

An engine that runs too hot can leave you on the side of the road.

Any number of factors can cause a cooling system to allow an engine too run hot. Assuming you already have the proper amount of coolant in the system, some of these factors include: a thermostat that has stuck completely or even partially closed, a partially clogged radiator, a bad radiator cap, a damaged water pump, a water pump that has a bad seal allowing air into the system causing the impeller to loose efficiency by pumping a water and air mix, a failed head gasket that is allowing hot combustion gases into the cooling system, a broken or slipping water pump drive belt.

These are just a number of factors that will cause coolant system failure.

To properly fill a cooling system, Follow the manufacturer’s instructions. These can sometimes be found in the owner’s handbook or a good workshop manual.

In General: With the engine off and the engine block cool (there danger of showering yourself with boiling hot water if the engine is hot!), remove the radiator cap and fill the radiator. Start the engine and allow the engine to come up to normal operating temperature on the gauge. The thermostat should open. On some (most) vehicles, the opening of the thermostat is preceded by a rising coolant level that may overflow the radiator. Then the coolant level will drop sharply, as now the entire system is open and flowing. once the level drops, fill the radiator to its proper level and put the cap back on the radiator.

On vehicles with overflow tanks the process is slightly different, only in that you fill the radiator fully, put on its pressure cap, and then fill the overflow container to the marks indicated.

Maintenance and Modifications

Because of its importance, a vehicle’s coolant system should be inspected and maintained regularly. In addition to fresh caps, thermostat hoses and clamps, make sure the coolant is a correct mix of antifreeze and water.

Due to its location out in front, the radiator is a particularly vulnerable part of the cooling system. Some radiator problems can be avoided by regularly inspecting the coolant in it and changing it regularly. If this coolant ever becomes brown or rusty in color, get the cooling system, especially the radiator flushed. Remove all bugs, dead baby birds and other debris from the radiator to maintain a good air flow through it.

The risk of holes in the radiator can be lessened by removing that plastic grille and anything else out in front of the radiator and replacing it something more substantial and foreign object-proof.

You can make your own grille easily with some steel bar or rod stock (rebar will work) and a piece of chain link fencing. If you can get one inch square chain link fencing, even better. It might not look real good, but it will keep a lot of branches, stones, and birds from knocking a hole in all that soft brass.

Replacing the front bumper with a taller, sturdier unit, maybe one with push bars, will keep some of the bigger stuff (deer, other vehicles, etc) out of the radiator.

Depending on your states laws, remove all pollution equipment, certainly the catalytic converter. Whatever you can do to reduce under hood temperatures will be a big help. An air pump robs horsepower and builds engine heat with its parasitic drag. That catalytic converter is just a storehouse of heat.

Remove the metal cooling fan and install electric fan for engine cooling. If you take a hard front hit, those metal bladed fans will destroy a radiator. You can do this job with a junk yard fan unit, or find something in the JC Whitney catalogue or any speed shop. As a side benefit, you may see some improvement in fuel economy, due to the reduction of parasitic drag. Wire this electric fan with a sensor and manual override switch on dash.

Consider installing an oversized radiator and coolant overflow tank. Trucks that came with air conditioning generally have the biggest radiators. The more coolant you have in the cooling system, the further you can go if the radiator gets a hole in it and you just can’t stop to fix it right away.

Remove the air conditioning system completely. More flow through the radiator, less drag from the pump.

Incorrect ignition timing can cause overheating. Check with a timing light and set to manufacturer’s specs.

Get rid of all your vehicle’s inexpensive “spring tension”-type cooling system hose clamps. Replace them with new “screw type” (Aero-Seal) hose clamps. Never, unless you have no other choice, re-use an old hose clamp. It will just fail on you.

In your “Get Out Of Dodge” kit you should have spare belts, hoses, clamps, caps and thermostats. Always carry a can or two of Stop Leak. Yellow and brown cans of Barr’s Stop Leak have always been in the trunks of my cars. Always keep at least a couple of gallons of water for coolant and a suitable empty container to get more if needed.

Remember this. During the course of my 30 years as a mechanic I have seen many new thermostats and radiator caps go bad in a few miles, hoses that just refuse to stay seated, cylinder head gaskets that go bad for no apparent reason, and on and on and on.

So, an overheat can still happen. What then?

Failures in the Extreme

Symptoms of a cooling system failure include a higher than normal (and sometimes rising) temperature gauge reading, steam coming from under the hood, or a pool of coolant under the vehicle. If you’ve run the engine so hot, so long that you hear a knocking noise, you’ve run it too long.

During the course of 30 years I heard hundreds of times, “I only ran it for five minutes after the temperature light came on,” while I was looking at a car that now needed thousands of dollars of engine repair that could have been avoided. This was in the best of times. In the extreme, you must address a cooling system problem as soon as possible to be able to keep moving.

Some coolant system problems are fairly easy to diagnose. A broken, leaking or collapsing coolant hose is easy to spot. A broken belt is fairly obvious.

A water pump can be checked by grabbing its pulley at the top and bottom and wiggling it. It should have no play. If it does the pump has a bad bearing. Water pump seals can also leak: air in, water out. Check that by visually checking its vent hole(s) with the engine off. These will be located on the pump body just behind the pump’s pulley. If you cannot see the hole, run your fingers all along the pump’s housing, if your finger gets wet, the pump is bad. Replace it if you can.

A simple test for a radiator cap is just to compress its valve and spring using your hand. If it has “a fair bit” of tension, it should be OK. Otherwise, replace it.

A bad head gasket or cracked cylinder head can be detected by way of a compression test, a cylinder leak-down test. If you have access to an exhaust gas analyzer you can test for the presence of exhaust gases in the radiator while the engine is running. Just take off the cap (very carefully!) and hold the probe over the open radiator. If you detect Hydrocarbons or Carbon Monoxide, you have a cracked head or bad head gasket.

If you have access to a coolant system pressure tester, you can remove all the spark plugs, fill the coolant system with water, pump air pressure into the cooling system, and crank the engine (as if trying to start it). If you have a bad head gasket, water will enter the affected cylinder and be pumped out by the cranking. The coolant will be pumped out with some force, so stand clear of the spark plug holes!

You can check for a bad thermostat by removing and inspecting it when it is hot. In most vehicles the thermostat is located in a housing bolted to the engine block. The upper radiator hose is secured to this housing. A bad thermostat will be one that is stuck partially or fully shut. Replace it with a new one.

A clogged radiator can be checked by getting the engine hot, and then with the engine off, very carefully feeling the radiator core (the cooling fins) with your hand for cool or cold spots. These cool spots are places where clogs are preventing the hot water flowing. Holes in the radiator can be detected by puddles of coolant on your feet!

In the extreme, a holed radiator can be repaired well enough to keep you going by closing off the injured cooling tubes in the core of the radiator. The core of the radiator is made up of rows of these tubes, sometimes as many as 5 or 6 tubes deep. A fast expedient repair is to grab each holed tube with needle-nosed pliers, flatten the tube and fold it over, to prevent your from coolant from leaking from that tube. If you can, fold each damaged tube over twice. Put in a can of stop leak, and top up the coolant, remembering to wait for the thermostat to open. A more “complete temporary” repair would be to solder the tubes closed, but if you don’t have time the pliers will do the trick.

But what can you do if you are in the extreme, and must keep moving? You’ve checked for the obvious, the hoses are dry and tight, the belts are good, the cap seems to hold pressure, there’s no sign of leaks and you have a good level of coolant in the system. But the engine is running hot. Way hot. Or what if you find you have a clog in the radiator, or a bad water pump, maybe even a bad head gasket, and you must keep moving. What to try next?

You could turn on your heater fan. The heater core can act as a secondary radiator. The fan blowing air through it can cool the hot coolant by a couple of degrees. It works! I’ve used this any number of times.

But what if it still runs hot? What next?

I have been able to reduce a high engine temperature by “gutting” the thermostat. This is done by removing the spring and disc-like valve, leaving just the housing. This will look like a fairly large brass flat washer, a brass disc with a large hole in the center. You just install it back where the whole thermostat assembly was. Old time racers call this a “blanking sleeve”.

Never run an engine without a thermostat or blanking sleeve!

So why not just put in a new thermostat? A blanking sleeve will allow the water to flow through the entire system including the radiator. It controls the flow rate so its slow enough to collect the heat out of the engine and get cooled by the radiator.

A blanking sleeve has no valve so it cannot close to allow the heat to build up in the engine. I have reduced engine temperatures by as much as twenty degrees by modifying a thermostat into a blanking sleeve. A blanking sleeve allows water to flow at “just the right speed” slow enough to pick up the engine’s heat and slow enough that it stays in the radiator long enough to get cooled off.

The trade-off is that without a thermostat’s regulatory action, it will take longer engine to come up to normal operating temperature, especially in the winter. In cold weather, the engine might not come up to normal operating temperature at all. You may find you have to stop the air flow through the radiator to warm up by turning off your cooling fans or by covering the radiator core.

So why not just leave the thermostat and blanking sleeve out entirely? Because the water will flow, unrestricted, and very fast through the engine and radiator. Too fast to pick up the heat from inside the engine, too fast to get cooled off in the radiator.

But, a blanking sleeve might allow a 20 degree reduction in temperature, which just might be what you need to keep moving and get where you gotta be, in the extreme.

– OddShot

Note from JWR:

Today we present the first entry for Round 22 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The contest prizes include:

First Prize: Two transferable Front Sight  “Gray” Four Day Training Course Certificates. This is an up to $4,000 value!
Second Prize: A three day course certificate from OnPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses.
Third Prize: A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing

Round 22 ends on May 31st, 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.

Two Letters Re: Livestock for Survival

Jim:
I would like to clarify a point in the article, "Livestock for Survival" by Bobbi A. Regarding hens going "broody" – Probably not. There are very few breeds in which the hens will sit on their eggs, and even among broody breeds (such as Buff Orpingtons, which I raise) only a few hens will become broody. The broodiness trait has been intentionally bred out of chickens because a broody hen does not lay eggs. If you plan to raise your own chicks, have an incubator and power source as a backup.

Also, a suggestion: I have made arrangements with others in my area who also raise chickens. If I were to lose my rooster or all of my hens for some reason, my friends will re-supply me with chicks. I will do the same for them if the need arises. Having a backup arrangement like that could be crucial. – Stephen in Florida

JWR Replies: Here at the ranch, our no-tech solution has been to buy a couple of Bantam hens, for use as adoptive brooders in any year that we want to raise chicks from eggs. Since they are raised mostly for "show" rather than egg production (ha!), banties are notoriously broody.

James,
I don’t know any farmers (or any other group for that matter) who agree completely on everything. They may agree on a point, but place different values on the importance of that point. Bobbi knows what he is talking about and his solutions fit him. I do think he didn’t cover one point well.

I am in the process of bugging out to a very isolated area. (No roads within miles, etc.) I also suspect that the various municipalities, states etc will be hard pressed to keep some services such as water going. Cleanliness is next to godliness as far as disease is concerned, so I expect the filth produced by lack of water and garbage collection to produce a huge vector for disease. In a very isolated location, most human to human transferred disease will be unlikely to be a problem.

Studies have shown that rabbits convert pound for pound of food into about the same amount of protein as chickens per annum. Certainly no cook would consider doing without eggs, and rabbits just don’t cut it there. On the other hand, rabbits are not very prone to getting bird flu either. That is one disease that my isolation will not help, with crows, etc. having unrestricted license to fly where-ever they please. I haven’t yet totally decided to have no fowl, but I am concerned enough to give it very serious consideration. Now chickens are a much lower priority than rabbits in my book. In my location, getting land cleared and a first year crop off is easier with hay than seed grains, and rabbits eat hay. However, your mileage may vary. – Allen

Economics and Investing:

Reader D.D. spotted this: A [GM} Bond Bustin’ Worry

From Michael W.: Why gold prices will keep rising – MSN Money

Also from Michael W.: What’s a P/E? (And nine other ‘dumb’ questions) Michael’s comment: “The author of this article is too funny, especially when he talks about gold and survivalists. He just does not get it”

Items from The Economatrix:

Wall Street Begins 2Q Slightly Higher

GOP’s Alternative Budget Seeks to Undo Stimulus Spending

G-20 Protesters Break Into Royal Bank of Scotland

US, UK Fiscal Deficits Cast Long Shadow Over Recovery

US Property Prices Down 29% and Still Dropping Fast

Chinese Manufacturing Sector Worsens

S. Korean Exports Down 21.2%

UK Has Run Out of Money to Pump into the Economy

UK: Interest Rates Set to Soar, Warns Bank’s Chief Economist

Global Economy Set for Record Fall in 2009

Surge in Global Unemployment Due

Collapse of Crude Prices Heralds Wave of Oil Industry Consolidation

Obama Threatens US Automakers with Bankruptcy

“Perfect Storm” Puts All Types in Financial Peril

Obamarket Update #51: The Quarter Ends and Our Leaders are Playing Quarters

We Still Owe the Rich (The Mogambo Guru)

The New Deal Dollar and the Obama Dollar

Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader MPS in Nevada sent this: The True Queen of Frugal

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SurvivalBlog’s Editor-at-Large, Michael Z. Williamson’s latest science fiction novel, Contact with Chaos pits two competing groups from the Freehold of Grainne (that you’ll remember from his novel Freehold ) and Earth against each other during a “first contact” with a sentient species in another solar system. It is now available at Amazon.com. Knowing Mike’s previous work, this promises to be good!

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I just heard that Sturm Ruger is now producing 30-round Mini-14 magazines, available to the general public. Ruger’s sales of 20-rounders, since they were reintroduced a few months ago, have been very brisk. I expect the 30-rounders will sell out very quickly, and prices will gallop. So stock up! As most Mini-14 owners know, only the factory magazines have sufficient reliability for self-defense shooting. Avoid the aftermarket junk!

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The latest from Nanny State Britannia: Woman who plays classical music to soothe horses told to get licence

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"The time is now near at hand which must probably determine, whether Americans are to be, Freemen, or Slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their Houses, and Farms, are to be pillaged and destroyed, and they consigned to a State of Wretchedness from which no human efforts will probably deliver them. The fate of unborn Millions will now depend, under God, on the Courage and Conduct of this army." – General. George Washington, to his troops before the battle of Long Island, New York

Notes from JWR:

We’ve completed the judging in the most recent round of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The grand prize winner is: Dr. K., for his two-part article: TEOTWAWKI Medicine and Minor Surgery. He will receive two transferable Front Sight  “Gray” Four Day Training Course Certificates. This is an up to $4,000 value!

Second prize goes to Eli, for his article “Real World Observations on Fighting Crime and Criminals”. He will receive a three day course certificate from OnPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for his choice of three-day civilian courses.

Third prize: goes to Bobbi A. for her article “Livestock for Survival”. She will receive a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, courtesy of Arbogast Publishing

Runner-up prizes go to three writers: Gertrude, for her article “Bloom Where You’re Planted.”, Bois d’Arc for “Making the Transition to Country Life”, and D.S. for “Preparedness Through Tapping in to the Craig’s List Culture: Doing Well by Doing Good”. They will each receive a copy of the book The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery.

Note to the prize winners: Please e-mail me to let me know your snail mail addresses!

Today we begin Round 22 of the contest. This round of the contest will end on the May 31st. Here is the first entry for Round 22:

My Initial Experiences with Concealed Carry, by AceHigh

As I started my journey into preparedness, one of the areas I pursued was getting my Concealed Carry Weapons (CCW) license (sometimes called Concealed Handgun License (CHL) or Concealed Carry License (CCL)). I thought it might be helpful to Survival Blog readers to share my recent experiences related to obtaining my CCW license and getting to a point where I felt comfortable carrying a concealed weapon in public. I know there is some concern regarding obtaining a license that puts you on record as a gun owner/carrier, but that is the trade off of being able to legally defend yourself and is a decision each of us must make.

In a full TEOTWAWKI situation, concealed carry is likely not much of an issue, as most everyone will be carrying openly. However, it is possible, if not likely, that a less than full TEOTWAWKI will occur where there is increasingly more crime and yet some semblance of law enforcement is still in place. This limbo between where we are today and complete lawlessness may last a long time. You could be considered a criminal by illegally carrying a concealed weapon for self protection.

First, a little background regarding CCW. Most states are either “shall issue” or “may issue” in regard to CCW licenses (nice of them to offer something already provided for by the Second Amendment). Both Illinois and Wisconsin do not allow concealed carry at all and a few other “nanny” states (California, New York, New Jersey, etc.) are “may issue” and only provide licenses in very limited circumstances. There is a complicated set of state reciprocity (which states will honor another states license), especially considering that many states offer non-resident permits and a few states only honor resident permits. The best source I have found to understand the laws pertaining to individual states is the HandgunLaw.us web site. Even though there are sporadic attempts to nationalize concealed carry, I do not believe this will happen which is probably a good thing (the federal government, especially the current one, would likely make things much worse).

I applied for and subsequently received my CCW license about 18 months ago in Idaho, my state of residence. My first several months of carrying a concealed weapon was limited to having my gun in the car (in a somewhat hidden spot) anytime I left the house. My concern was that, even though I had some experience shooting handguns and rifles, actually carrying a weapon in public carries a high level of responsibility and I did not have enough confidence in my ability in handling the weapon or in having the proper mindset as to how to respond to the variety of situations that could present themselves.

I made one of the best decisions of my life when I attended the Four Day Defensive Handgun class at Front Sight. Not only did those very intense four days enable me to gain familiarity and confidence in handling my Glock 23 but started me down the road to good marksmanship. The range work (about 75% of the class) focused on gun handling safety, proper mechanics for drawing the gun and shooting, and shooting accuracy. Just as important was the classroom work at Front Sight where they discussed a wide range of topics related to self defense, including the legal ramifications of even a justified shooting and the color codes of awareness. The most important thing presented was that you should only present your weapon if you are in fear for your life or grave bodily harm and, if you do present your weapon, you should be prepared to shoot until the threat is stopped. This may sound simple but there are many shades of gray here that each individual must come to grips with.

One of these gray areas involves protecting others. Of course, there is no question regarding protecting my family who would get a higher priority than even myself. My personal decision is that I would also use deadly force to protect my friends. Here is where it starts to get gray. Do you protect acquaintances or strangers? While it would be very difficult to stand by and let someone be harmed or killed when you could have done something to stop it, the real issue is: Do you know enough of the circumstances about the event? How do you know for sure who the bad guy is? Is the person holding the gun seeming to threaten someone an off duty cop or even another CCW who is restraining a bad guy? You certainly cannot count on presenting your weapon to get everyone to stop until it can be sorted out. Chances are pretty good that the bad guy (or the off duty cop) holding the gun will not surrender and you will either be shot or have to shoot them.

Another gray area is: how far do you go to protect your stuff? You are only legally able to shoot someone if you are in fear of your life or grave bodily harm. In most states, you cannot legally shoot someone who is just taking your stuff. For example, if someone pulls a gun (or knife) on you and demands your wallet, you could shoot them if you were in fear for your life. However, if you see someone stealing you car and you shoot them while they are driving away; you are likely in deep trouble. An exception (in most states), called the Castle Doctrine, is that you do not have to be in fear for your life if the bad guy is inside your house. Be sure to check your state laws on use of force!

Prior to the class, I had begun to read the defensive handgun forums primarily regarding hypothetical and actual defensive scenarios. I highly recommend these forums. My favorites are: Defensive Carry Forum, Concealed Carry Forum, and the Glock Carry Forum. Even though there are many different opinions expressed on these forums, hearing them helps to solidify your own mindset as to what you would do in a variety of situations. It is important to think this through thoroughly prior to carrying a weapon because there will likely not be time to do so when a situation arises.

The main point is that you need to go out of your way to avoid a gunfight. This is illustrated by the fact that in a gunfight, you risk everything (including your life) and don’t win anything. The ramifications to your life of even a good shooting are such that it is something to be avoided if at all possible. Those ramifications can include financial ruin, losing your job, tarnishing your reputation (at least among the non-violent types), or even incarceration. Now that I am armed, I am more able to resist the macho urge to stand up to someone because I know that escalation could be deadly. It also doesn’t hurt to have witnesses that say you tried to walk away or de-escalate the situation in case the unavoidable does happen.

After attending the Front Sight class, I made the leap and started carrying in public all of the time. This is where you start to figure out the type and manufacturer of holster which is going to work best for you. Most people end up with a drawer full of holsters since it is difficult to evaluate a holster without wearing it with different clothing options and sometimes in different positions for some period of time. Again, the defensive handgun forums can provide a wealth of opinions regarding the variety of holsters available. Some holsters are adjustable for height and/or cant, which make them more versatile but also extend the time to figure out the most comfortable concealed position. I could write many pages on all of the options and types of holsters available since I did considerable research and tried many of them personally.
To simplify, the most common holsters are either OWB (outside the waistband) or IWB (inside the waistband). They can be worn in various positions (usually described but referencing the numbers on a clock with straight ahead being 12:00). Many people carry “behind the hip” at 4:00-5:00 (for right handed people) or 7:00-8:00 (for left handed people) with some amount of forward cant (grip of gun forward and barrel angled toward the rear). That cant (typically 10-20%) allows for a more natural grip on the gun for drawing from that position as well as provides better concealment than a straight drop. I could never get comfortable with this behind the hip position, maybe because I am not very limber and I have bad shoulders making it difficult to reach behind my hip both for getting the holster positioned initially and for access to the gun when needed.

The 3:00 position allows for a straight draw and is the most comfortable, even when sitting. Since it is on the apex of your hip/waist, it is a little more difficult to conceal but is a good option in winter when jackets and coats are common. You just need to make sure that you won’t be put into a position where you will need to remove your cover garment. I have found that a fleece vest works very well to conceal a handgun at 3:00 and you can still wear and remove a heavier coat and keep your weapon concealed.

I have gravitated toward “appendix carry” at about 1:00-2:00 using an IWB holster, especially in the summer. It allows for excellent concealability and access and can be concealed with just a light shirt. This position also allows you to be able to visually make sure you are not “printing” (outline of the gun showing through your clothes). There are a large number of IWB holsters available and some of them allow a shirt to be tucked in between the pants and the top of the gun if you need to have your shirt tucked in. I did have to go up one size in pants to accommodate the holster and gun being inside the waistband.
Cross draw is another option and works well for people who spend a lot of time driving. Other options that have drawbacks but may be useful for some people include SOB (small of back) holsters, shoulder holsters, and ankle holsters.[JWR Adds: As previously mentioned in SurvivalBlog I consider SOB holsters too much of a risk for back injuries, particularly for anyone on horseback, or that is riding motorcycles or ATVs.] I use a fanny pack (worn in the front) sometimes, especially when hiking. A fanny pack in public tends to scream “gun” to most law enforcement and some bad guys. For women, carrying in a purse is an obvious choice. However, you have to be very careful not to set it down anywhere where someone else could get access to it. A purse can also be the target of someone trying to snatch it, which not only deprives you of your means of self defense but gives your weapon to your attacker. There are other options that each individual should look into to meet their specific need.

To maintain and even improve the level of proficiency gained at Front Sight, there are a few approaches. The obvious one is to do a lot of shooting. With the cost of ammunition these days, this can be very expensive. A .22 conversion kit for your carry gun will help to minimize the cost of putting a lot of rounds down range. An alternative is to mix in dry practice. Personally, I like to try to maintain 10%-20% of my practice time as live fire but sometimes that is even difficult to achieve. Dry practice can help to maintain muscle memory for drawing, sight acquisition, trigger pull, and even malfunction clearing. An obvious important safety concern when dry practicing is to absolutely insure that the gun is unloaded. I know that sounds pretty basic but a clear delineation of starting and stopping dry practice will help to eliminate a very bad experience of a negligent discharge. Unload the gun and double check that it is unloaded. Then remove all ammo from the dry practice area. Check again to make sure the gun is unloaded. Even then, make sure you dry practice target has a good backstop and make sure you never point the gun at anything you would not want to destroy. At the end of the dry practice session, remove any dry practice targets, load and holster the weapon, and go as far as to say out loud, “The weapon is loaded and dry practice is over.”

I have applied for and am awaiting receipt of my Utah non-resident permit which will make me legal in more states (33 states in total). I am also planning to attend Front Sight again in a few weeks and take the Four Day Practical Rifle class to gain more proficiency with my battle rifle. I even talked my wife into taking the Four Day Defensive Handgun class at the same time. – AceHigh in Idaho

Two Letters Re: TEOTWAWKI Medical Skills: Thoughts on Becoming a “Woofer” (Wilderness First Responder)

JWR:
Richard B.’s post is dead-on about how awesome Woofer training is. I’m WFR-qualified, and I agree that it is a great 10-day/night training program. However, there are a few things that WFR training targets that doesn’t quite cover TEOTWAWKI situations. I’ve also taken Medical Corps (the makers of KIO3 and one of your advertisers) “Care in Extreme Situations” course, and two different tactical medicine classes through Suarez International (their TC3 class includes live fire).

One key phrase in the definition of Wilderness Medicine is “more than one hour from definitive care,” and many of their techniques are designed around patient stabilization and transportation. A few of their techniques are advanced, in-field treatments, but the expectation of their approach is that the hospital will provide much needed care sometime in the future.

The Medical Corps class provides some amazing additional “I’m the only available medical care that you’re going to receive” type of medical information, that supplements the more basic care that WFR provides. One example they brought up on the class were a group of American who ended up on a Tsunami ravaged island in Indonesia, and because they were the most educated people there (i.e., they could read and they had seen episodes of the television show ER) they were most advanced medical care available on the island, with no training whatsoever. That class is geared towards that sort of ‘extreme situation.’ They also provide an amazing amount of information regarding supplies you can keep on hand to assist with mass casualty events, long term events, what’s good to have in the event you have to be the medical services for ‘your village.’

A Tactical Medicine class provides the much needed technologies for those first couple minutes after an injury occurs (normally from the point of view of ‘I just got shot’ or ‘My pal just got shot,’ but the techniques are applicable to “I just cut my leg off with a chainsaw at my Idaho retreat after the collapse and no one is coming to rescue me… ever … so I need to do something now.”) Live fire medicine is exciting. They also provide a lot of good information regarding the pro’s and con’s of various items in your ‘blow out’ kits (and its amazing to hear the points of view of various instructors … some approach it from a “This is what you carry” and others from the point of view of “this is what makes a good device, so if you need to improvise, here’s the characteristics you need to target.”

Here is how I categorize my three levels of training:
*Tactical Medicine: * The Ambulance is five minutes away, you’ve got 90 seconds before you bleed out. Return fire as needed.* You’re the ER doctor* now, the real doctor will help you later.
*Wilderness First Responder Training: * Help is an hour or a day away. The victim needs to be taken to the doctor or might just need a Band-Aid, that’s for you to figure out and decide what do with them (*sometimes you treat, sometimes to make sure that they can make it to treatment*). You evaluate and stabilize the patient, and if necessary move them so they can get to the real doctor.
*Medical Corps:* “Care in Extreme…” You are the only doctor that the victim(s) are ever going to see. Do your best with them to keep them alive, do your best to keep other people from becoming victims, and do your best to treat them for the long haul …. *You are the doctor (dentist).*
The more medical classes that I get and the more classes with ‘hands on the patients’ sort of interactions, the more I realize how much I don’t know and the more courses I want to take.
– C. in Fort Collins
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JWR;

I just wanted to pass on an additional direction that the general public can take advantage of for excellent medical emergency training with an outdoor focus. The Outdoor Emergency Care (OEC) classes, put on nationwide by the National Ski Patrol, are nearly identical to the description of the recently-posted Wilderness First Responder article. The National Ski Patrol opens their classes to skiers and non-skiers of all stripes, including those who just wish to know more about first responder emergency medicine. The course is around 100 hours of class time – significantly more independent study time – and is completed with both a written and practical examination and OEC Certification. (It is recognized nationally). Refreshers are required each year to maintain certification. One of my main reasons for posting this alternative is availability of class offerings is wide and duration is usually set to a much longer period of time than the concentrated 9 or 10 day of the Woofer class as described in the posting.
More information can be found at the OEC Zone website or at National Ski Patrol website. As an aside, the curricula for OEC Technician is basically designed with and to be nearly identical to a Basic EMT certification following near identical study guides and standard of care protocols. Regards, – Rick S.