Letter Re: Advice on Storing Sterno-Type Canned Fuel

Dear Jim,
Does Sterno style fuel have a shelf life? I have come across two cases (48 cans) of Don brand Heat Wick (WX-6) six hour fuel – the type used in catering. The price for the lot is $5. Seems like it’s too good to be true. Is it worth it? Are there special storage issues involved with this type of fuel?

Thanks for all the info you put on your site every day. I am using it to get my family ready! Thanks again, – Beth F.

JWR Replies:
That is a great price! The cans should last almost last indefinitely, if they are well-sealed. If the sealed cans emit no odor when purchased new, then odds are that they have intact seals and hence are not out-gassing any alcohol vapors. But if they do smell like Sterno, then you can bet that they have a limited shelf life. The best way to test for minor leakage is to take a random half-dozen can sample and leave them in a sealed Tupperware-type container for 48 hours. At the end of 48 hours, open the Tupperware and take a sniff. If there is no noticeable alcohol smell, then you’ll know that those cans have tight seals. OBTW, if there is an alcohol smell, all is not lost. You can then try dipping the tops of the cans in melted paraffin, to establish a secondary seal. (This is a method that was developed years ago, to extend the storage life of canned tobacco and some other goods stored in two-piece cans.) Following the paraffin dip procedure, you should repeat the 48 hour sniff test.

Letter Re: Stocking Up on Socks and Underwear

Jim
After stocking up on beans, bullets, and band aids, I recommend putting in a decent supply of socks and underwear for the whole family. One can get used to wearing old, worn out clothes in TEOTWAWKI, but socks and underwear can be like gold–to help one retain a bit of dignity and morale in a grim aftermath world. Ask any vet how important a pair of clean, fresh socks meant to them. – Ron in Upstate New York

JWR Replies: In addition to dignity and morale, they are also crucial hygiene items. Every family member should have a three week supply. You never know when circumstances might force a delay in doing laundry.

Watch diligently for seasonal sales advertised at discount stores. Also, for some reason tube socks are often sold at bargain prices at flea markets.

Letter Re: Salt Intake

JWR:

A friend and I went to a Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) match last weekend. It was a good clinic to learn how to hit a long distance static target. (Cough.) Say what you will about how useful that it, I think that learning many different techniques for doing a thing gives you a better understanding of the thing. In this case marksmanship.

On to the point. We both ended up drinking three liters of water over the course of the day. The next day I could barely balance, couldn’t eat, was mostly incoherent (felt stupid). I drank water for the entire morning and didn’t get better. I had a can of V8 (high sodium) [tomato juice cocktail] and was better within 20 minutes. Salt is your friend. – Ben M.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Some guys have all the luck! Commander Zero featured a link to blog by a gent who recently discovered a forgotten 60 foot long Nazi underground tunnel in his back yard. A brief video shows the excitement of the discovery.

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FerFAL (SurvivalBlog’s correspondent in Argentina) has posted some observations on a recent home invasion robbery incident in Martinez, Argentina.

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Frequent contributor Bill N. flagged an interesting article about growing your own fuel for a low speed diesel engine.

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Jack B. spotted this piece in The Financial Times: Security fears over food and fuel crisis. This will no doubt be a recurring theme in the next 10 years.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"God made Sun and Moon to distinguish seasons, and day, and night, and we cannot have the fruits of the earth but in their seasons: But God hath made no decree to distinguish the seasons of his mercies; In paradise, the fruits were ripe, the first minute, and in heaven it is alwaies Autumne, his mercies are ever in their maturity. We ask panem quotidianum, our daily bread, and God never sayes you should have come yesterday, he never sayes you must againe to morrow, but to day if you will heare his voice, to day he will heare you. If some King of the earth have so large an extent of Dominion, in North, and South, as that he hath Winter and Summer together in his Dominions, so large an extent East and West, as that he hath day and night together in his Dominions, much more hath God mercy and judgement together: He brought light out of darknesse, not out of a lesser light; he can bring thy Summer out of Winter, though thou have no Spring; though in the wayes of fortune, or understanding, or conscience, thou have been benighted till now, wintred and frozen, clouded and eclypsed, damped and benummed, smothered and stupefied till now, now God comes to thee, not as in the dawning of the day, not as in the bud of the spring, but as the Sun at noon to illustrate all shadowes, as the sheaves in harvest, to fill all penuries, all occasions invite his mercies, and all times are his seasons." – John Donne, circa 1615

Note from JWR:

The following is another article for Round 17 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win two valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificates. (Worth up to $4,000!) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. Round 17 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entries. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival will have an advantage in the judging.

Ten Tips to Save Money on Ammunition, by Mr. Yankee

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As prices increase, many shooters are looking for ways to take the bite out of their shooting budget. Here are ten tips to help:
Take the bite out of your shooting budget:

If you are like most, you did not buy nearly enough ammo over the past few years. Most of us told ourselves that our budgets just couldn’t be stretched any farther. So our ammunition reserves either dwindled or stayed static despite knowing that prices were rising. Boy are we sorry now! Anyone who was not paying attention had a severe dose of sticker shock when hunting season arrived, and it is just getting worse. This is not an “I told you so” piece despite my advice to stock up on ammo in articles from late 2006 and early 2007. This is a warning about what is coming next and what you can do about it. It is too late to buy cheap ammo. You will never see brass cased, Boxer-primed 308 of good quality for under $200 per thousand again. You will never again see even steel cased 7.62×39 to feed your $99 SKS for $99 per thousand. You will never again see 9mm Luger (Parabellum) for $12 per 100. Not only has the price of factory loaded ammunition soared, the price of reloading components have begun to climb as well. What can you do? Here are 10 steps you can take to offset some of the financial bite in your shooting budget.

#1) Shop wisely – use the Internet and toll free phone numbers to research current prices and comparison shop. Information is power; use it to your advantage. Some sites raise prices more slowly than others. Some include shipping in their prices. Be sure that you are matching apples to apples when comparing prices and factor every penny including shipping and sales taxes when you are making mail order purchases.

#2) Watch for retail bargains at local stores. If your local gun shop or back country general store has an odd box of cartridges or shotgun shells with a five year old price sticker on it. Buy it. The price of ammo has literally doubled in the last five years. Even those last few dusty corners will be cleaned out soon. If you can take advantage of a ‘first in last out’ inventory system, do it before someone else does. Every once in awhile the larger stores like Dick’s and Wal-Mart will run ammunition sales with discounts on case quantities that still seem reasonable. If you see a good sale, stock up! [JWR Adds: Also look for ammo that might still be available pre-inflated prices at on table of private sellers at gun shows. When you do find a bargain, be sure to ask "Do you have any more of this elsewhere?" Look for ammo at garage sales, and estate sales. It might even be worthwhile to place a "want to buy" ad if there are free or low-cost classified ads in your area.]

#3) Roll your own. Reloading has long been a means of saving a few dollars as well as improving the quality of loads tweaked for your rifle. Despite the recent increase in the cost of reloading components, you will still pay less for ammo you load yourself than for off the shelf factory loaded ammunition. The price of reloading components and equipment have begun to climb as the cost for materials and interest in reloading have increased. The prices will climb higher. So now is the time to buy. If you shoot on a regular basis, your savings from reloaded ammo quickly offset the investment in reloading equipment. This is especially true if you pick up a used press. Classified ads and estate sales are the places for buying reloading equipment. A good quality press like the RCBS Rockchucker can frequently be found for less than 50% of the retail price for a new press and will have several decades of hard use left in it. I recommend that you start watching for used reloading gear.

#4) Buy used. Not only can firearms and reloading tools be found at bargain prices, many an old hunter was an avid reloader who left behind a bench full of components when he met the Lord. I’ll happily pay for partial boxes of projectiles, primers, or powder (in the original containers) and make use of those components building my own loads. If you happen to run across full or even partial boxes of factory loaded ammunition at gun shows, garage sales, or auctions you may be able to get it at a fraction of the retail cost as well. But use caution. Never, ever shoot reloaded ammunition of unknown quality. You are literally gambling your life if you shoot someone else’s reloads. There are very few people who I trust my life to. I am just not willing to pull a trigger on a cartridge that might be unsafely loaded.

#5) Stock up! It is too late to get the bargains that were available a few years ago. But it is not too late to stock up before further price increases, taxes, tariffs, and out right import bans. Despite the current market price: buy primers, projectiles, and powder while it is still legal and anonymous to do so. A day is coming when you will need a permit to buy powder. I think it will be within our lifetime. Buy 22 rim-fire cartridges. You can’t reload them, so stock up on them for you and for the next generation. It is prudent to stock up on anything that you use regularly, even without waiting for a sale discount. With inflation at over 10%, “investing” in assets like food and ammo has a better return than the stock market. Plan ahead. Don’t buy just for this weekend or this season. That is the thinking that got you wishing that you had more ammo on hand. Prices are going to continue to climb. Buying in bulk now will generate savings over the long term.

#6) Make your shots count. "Spray and pray" is neither tactically nor economically sound. Make your plinking sessions count. Aim every shot carefully. When testing new reloading recipes, test small batches for signs of pressure and accuracy. Try three or five round test batches instead of ten or twenty round batches. The same is true for sighting in a new scope or a new rifle. Check the target every second shot instead of after each full magazine.

#7) Retool. If your chief reason to plink is for backyard entertainment, consider swapping out of centerfire ammunition to 22 rimfire or even a low cost pellet rifle. Another option is the kits that convert your rifle or pistol to fire 22 cartridges. Shooting a more economical cartridge may pay for the cost of a [.22 LR] conversion kit or a new 22 rifle in as little as a single weekend’s shooting. By way of example, if you shoot 500 cartridges of 22 long rifle (at three cents each) over the course of a weekend instead of 500 cartridges of 308 (at 53 cents each). You save a whopping $250! Just let that sink in for a moment. Plinking with a 22 instead of a 308 saves two hundred fifty dollars every 500 trigger pulls. Wow! That adds up fast and the savings won’t stop with the first $250. It will continue for every similar shooting session you have in the future.

#8) Make use of your skills. Let your investment in shooting sports generate savings in other budgets. Put meat on the table. Moose, elk, mule deer, white tail, pronghorn, turkey, geese, hares, rabbits, pheasant, duck, partridge, squirrel – all are tasty and every bite on your plate saves money out of your grocery budget – especially if you learn to dress and butcher the game yourself. Besides the financial savings, you’ll have a sense of pride like little else when you know that the freezer is full and you have all the jerky you can eat because your hunts have been successful.

#9) Waste not. With scrap metal selling at or near the all time high, don’t waste the byproducts of your range time. Even if you do not reload your cartridge cases or shell hulls, someone else might be willing to pay for the chance to reload them or as salvage. Keep this in mind when you shoot Berdan primed brass. I have been unable to locate a current US retailer of Berdan primers, but that may change in the future. Even steel and aluminum cartridge cases have value as scrap and of course the lead itself can be reclaimed to smelt and mold into new musket balls, bullets, and shot, as well as being sold as scrap metal. It may seem like more work than it is worth, but remember that the prices are climbing and the sand bank behind your favorite target may already hold several hundred pounds of lead.

#10) Fight back. Be vigilant. Be proactive. Vote against new tariffs, taxes, and bans. Vote against candidates who restrict your freedoms, raise license fees, and create access permits or talk about doing so in the future. Encourage and educate not only your friends, co-workers, and neighbors, but also the next generation so that they will do the same. We may not be able to stop the global forces aligned against our shooting sports but if we work together, we might just slow them down long enough to preserve the sport and keep it affordable for one more generation. – Mr. Yankee

Letter Re: Advice on a Mini Photovoltaic Battery Charging System

Hi Mr. Rawles,
I had a question about the article titled Letter Re: For Want of a Battery. In it you said to connect the Northern Tool & Equipment Solar-Powered Trickle Charger — 5 Watt Item # 339973, with this battery pack . How does the panel connect to the battery pack? And does your recommended Accupower AccuManager 20 Battery Charger (a battery charger for AA, AAA, C, D, and 9 volt rechargeable batteries connect to the 12 volt battery pack via the cigarette lighter plug? Also, could you please tell me how many AA batteries you could charge from one 12 volt battery pack. Thanks for your time and your blog. Signed, – LZ

JWR Replies: Unless it already has one installed, you would have to wire a cigarette lighter-type plug on to the lead wires from the photovoltaic panel. Those are available for any electronics supply store such as Radio Shack. Typically with DC wiring the red or white wire is positive, and that would go to the “tip” terminal on the lighter plug. (Note: Be sure double check the polarity with a volt-ohm meter before plugging it in!) One nice thing about jump packs is that they have a built-in charge controller. If you upgrade to larger capacity storage–such as a standard car battery or better yet a pair of golf cart batteries–either add a charge controller to the circuit or be very careful about checking voltage regularly during charging so that you don’t “cook” your battery.

I own an AccuManager 20 Battery Charger. They were designed by a company in Germany, but I was sad to see that they are now made in mainland China. However, they do work well. They are a “smart” charger– so they will not over-charge your batteries. They come with both a 12 VDC cord (with cigarette lighter plug) and a 120 VAC adapter. The charger has six “channels”, so it can simultaneously hold four AAA, AA, C, D cells, and two 9 VDC batteries.

You can recharge at least 20 AA cells from a jump pack that is fully charged. With a five watt photovoltaic panel it might take two or three days to charge your jump pack. A 10 watt panel (or two 5 watt panels wired parallel) works much better, and a 20 watt panel works even better still. Your ability to “make do” with a smaller panel depends on your budget, how many batteries you need to keep charged, and your time available to re-position the panel to keep it in full sunlight throughout the day.

Odds ‘n Sods:

John T. mentioned that political maverick H. Ross Perot has launched a new web site. It is a convenient all-in-one place to access charts showing our national economic predicament.

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Reader “PJ” said that he found an interesting Wikipedia page on refrigeration not requiring Freon: The Einstein Refrigerator.

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Rudy R. notes that the government of Mexico has decided to freeze prices on 150 foods until December 31st. “Companies agreed to hold prices steady for cooking oil, tortillas, flour, tomato sauce, canned soups and tuna, beans, chili sauces and other staples of the Mexican table.” The history of price freezes is that they spawn shortages and economic chaos. Count on it in Mexico, especially if the price freeze period is extended beyond the end of 2008.

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Robert V. recommended this piece over at Wired: Gallery: 10 Best Apocalyptic Vehicles . OBTW, the Wired writer correctly identified Max’s car from The Road Warrior as a highly-modified Australian Ford Falcon (XB GT). The car is often misidentified as a modified AMC Javelin because of its distinctive pug-ugly AMC door handles. (There were apparently some body parts from other cars used in the body work. It was a bit of a Franken-car.)

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“There are two kinds of discontent in this world: the discontent that works, and the discontent that wrings it’s hands. The first gets what it wants, and the second loses what it has. There’s no cure for the first but success; and there’s no cure at all for the second.” – Gordon Graham (as quoted in Elbert Hubbard’s “Scrap Book“, 1923)

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“There are two kinds of discontent in this world: the discontent that works, and the discontent that wrings it’s hands. The first gets what it wants, and the second loses what it has. There’s no cure for the first but success; and there’s no cure at all for the second.” – Gordon Graham (as quoted in Elbert Hubbard’s “Scrap Book“, 1923)

Letter Re: A Recent Fire Evacuation Experience

James:

Last weekend my town was threatened by a pretty big fire. Dozens of homes burned, thousands of citizens were evacuated. My neighborhood was among those ordered to flee the advancing flames. (Drama!)

My family was prepared to leave ahead of time and evacuated safely in large part because of the advice and encouragement I have found at SurvivalBlog. Thank you.

I did learn a few things. Theory flies out the window when panic is in the air. What is organized and prepared ahead of time actually works, what is thrown together at the last minute tends to fall apart. I had my Bug Out Vehicle (B.O.V.) fueled and standing by the night before but many did not and I saw long lines at every gas station as people were struggling to flee. The major exits were all jammed with vehicles and as tensions rose, tempers flared. Several collisions were reported, slowing down the evacuation further. People generally remained orderly, but my spouse reports that as fire trucks and other emergency responders were making their way via siren through the crowded roads, opportunistic tailgaters would follow them. I saw none of it, as I took the less known and less traveled back woods roads out of town.

I hauled all the usual checklist items; important documents, tangible savings, family photo albums, firearms and ammunition, fuel, genset, med kit, food and water supplies, camping gear, etc. With all normal routes into and out of town barricaded we had no idea when we would be allowed back in or what we would find when we got there.

Communications broke down when concerned calls flooded in. The local paper did a bang-up job of keeping us informed using Google Maps, but when the power lines burned it was tough to get on the Internet. Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phone lines tied to cable service fail when the cable service substation is dependant on local power. We are considering putting in a backup “Plain Old Telephone Service” (POTS) line for emergency communications. Cell systems were overloaded as well, and it seemed the only way I could communicate with my spouse who had left work to head to our pre-arranged Bug Out Location was by relaying through an out of town relative.

I also discovered that trying to organize your assets solo while simultaneously keeping track of a small child and keeping an ear out for updates is much harder than when you have time to think in peace. Finding a way to contain the child safely and keep him entertained became a prerequisite to having my hands and mind free to load up our gear.

I am thankful that the fire was managed and most folk returned home safely. Our prayers and thoughts go out to the firefighters who saved our town and to those neighbors whose homes were lost. – Anonymous

Letter Re: Advice on Storing Bulk Grain at Above Optimum Temperatures

Mr. Rawles,

First, I’d like to thank you for your blog. It’s well worth the 10 Cent Challenge [voluntary subscription]! My question is about grain storage. We live on the outskirts of a big city and recently bought an old trailer on 25 acres in the country. It’s a three hour drive from where we are now and we can’t live there full time because of my husband’s job. I moved half of my bulk storage buckets (about 10) up there and during the winter it was fine but now it’s hot (in the 90’s) and humid during the day. We can’t leave the air conditioning running because the trailer is old and very drafty. With the country in the shape it’s in I’m really undecided if I should bring the buckets back or just leave them there. Will the heat really damage them or just shorten the life? In an emergency situation we may or may not be able to transport everything from point A to point B. We may be lucky just to get there with the clothes on our backs and it would nice to have supplies already positioned. What are your thought on this? Thanks and God Bless, – JM

JWR Replies: Grain suffers far less from heat than other storage foods. But the loss of nutritive value will accelerate, shortening the storage life. Wheat causes the least worries, but anything else–especially with a high oil content (such as brown rice) is at risk of going rancid at higher temperature. Those items should probably be moved back to where you can store it below 80 degrees. (Ideally, under 50 degrees, but few of us have even basements that stay that cool.) OBTW, the humidity should not be much of an issue if you are using properly sealed buckets (with o-rings in the lids.)

In the long term, unless there is a high water table at your retreat, you should put a priority on constructing a large root cellar at your retreat. Ideally, it should double as a fallout shelter. Because your property is not occupied regularly, your best bet is camouflaging the cellar entrance and exterior air vent(s) rather than trying to make a burglar-proof door. Given enough time, someone will bring a cutting torch and get through just about any door. Camouflaging a door with a large rubbish pile or a stack of old rotted cordwood usually works well. Your goal is to get the miscreants dismissively thinking: “There is nothing worth stealing here…” You can leave your almost empty trailer as bait, to distract their attention.

Letter Re: Packing The Vehicle G.O.O.D. Bag

Mr. Rawles
I’d just like to present an alternate thought to one of the statements made in the most recent piece written about G.O.O.D. bags: “Try to avoid foods that are high in sodium. You will have to drink more water.” Salt is not the enemy! Especially in hot climates. If you are traveling on foot you will be depleting a lot of your body’s salt. Low sodium levels in the body can, in a surprisingly short time, lead to muscle cramps at the least and seizures and death in the more severe losses. Salt also provides an osmotic gradient that can be instrumental in keeping water in the body.

You previously posted a very good electrolyte replacement formula [in SurvivalBlog] which [includes salt and that] would be a very good item to keep in your G.O.O.D. bag. Also include a balanced B vitamin complex will help with the energy producing functions in the body. Although I prefer a well balanced vitamin/mineral such as Theragram M or Centrum.
Regards, – D.D.S. (R.Ph.)

Letter Re: Update on Storage Food Shortages

Dear SurvivalBlog Readers:

As you may know Mountain House has curtailed all shipment of their freeze dried foods in cans throughout the U.S. until at least October of this year. I repeat, the supply from Mountain House has been cut and I fully believe that when their food in #10 cans is available again, it will be at much higher prices.

We still have a large supply of Mountain House Freeze Dried foods in our warehouse. It appears that we have one of the largest remaining supplies in the country as some of our biggest competitors are referring their customers to us since they are out of stock.

We do have an excellent supply of fine Dehydrated Foods on hand. Due to the unprecedented incoming response it is taking 2-to-4 weeks from receipt of order to shipment. Before you order it is always a good idea to call for availability of any given item.

The best way to reach us is by phone on our backline number at (530) 265-8333 as our “866” number and our e-mail in-box are in constant overflow.

If you call and get our recording be sure to leave your phone number; do not keeping calling back as several people are doing in hopes of getting through as this is using up our voice mail space and causing problems for everyone else. Please understand that this situation is unprecedented and be especially patient. – Freeze Dry Guy

FreezeDryGuy.com

Odds ‘n Sods:

Eric sent us this “signs of the times” article: More and More Moving to Escape Gas Price Burden. Meanwhile, the British press reports: Gas and electricity bills to rise 40 Percent, experts warn. (A hat tip to Jack B. for that link.)

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From a South African newspaper comes more troubling news from Zimbabwe. Here is a quote: “We are not going to give up our country because of a mere ‘X.’ [on a ballot]. How can a ballpoint fight with a gun?” Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe said yesterday while campaigning for reelection, in warning that he won’t give up power even if opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai beats him in the presidential run-off on June 27. Mr. Mugabe’s threat coincided with a sudden worsening in violence in the townships around the capital, Harare, as mobs of hundreds of governing-party youths marched through the streets at night, chanting war songs, dragging people out of their homes and beating them up with sticks, iron rods and axes, the Times of London reports.” Comrade Mugabe and his cronies must go! Of course, now that they have disarmed most of their opponents, that might prove difficult.

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Charles suggested this how-to whole house water filtration article PDF file: Gravity Fed Water Treatment System

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Reader A.D.S. mentioned this article: World crude production has peaked: Pickens. As I often say, the law of supply and demand is inescapable. T. Boone Pickens is right: Only sharply higher prices will cause demand to slacken.