Odds ‘n Sods:

Coutrtesy of SHTF.com, and also recommended by SurvivalBlog reader KB, comes this article about Zimbabwe from The Economist: How to stay alive when it all runs out

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Zuke in Iraq sent us this one: Two Bear Stearns hedge funds are now worth nearly nothing. We read further details in The Daily Reckoning: “Last week, all three rating agencies – Moody’s, Standard and Poor’s, and Fitch – announced downgrades of subprime linked debt. And this week, Bear Stearns said investors in one of its hedge funds that bought CDOs on a
leveraged basis would get none of their money back. They were wiped out, said the letter reported by Bloomberg, buying Triple-A bonds. Just how subprime CDOs, suspicious byproducts of a disreputable industry, came to be rated AAA is a story worth telling, but today we will stick to the news. Bear went on to say that while investors in one of its two endangered funds had been wiped out, investors in the other fund could breathe a sigh of relief – they had only lost 91% of their money.” (OBTW, I consider The Daily Reckoning a “must read.” Subscriptions to the e-newsletter are free.)

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Rourke recommended this interview of Comptroller David Walker, head of the GAO, on 60 Minutes. Walker gives some dire warnings. “I would argue that the most serious threat to the United States is not someone hiding in a cave in Afghanistan or Pakistan but our own fiscal irresponsibility,”

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From NewsMax: Experts Agree: Major Terror Threats Loom

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"False is the idea of utility that sacrifices a thousand real advantages for one imaginary or trifling inconvenience; that would take fire from men because it burns, and water because one may drown in it; that has no remedy for evils except destruction. The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature … laws not preventive but fearful of crimes.:" – Beccaria

Note from JWR:

Please mention SurvivalBlog whenever you call in to a talk radio show to discuss survival, preparedness, or emerging threats. Thanks!

Consumer Credit in America: Winding Up The Big “No Joy” Buzzer

I recently read a piece in The New York Times, (linked at SHTF Daily) titled Somehow the Spending Doesn’t Stop. The author made some astute observations on consumer spending. But he didn’t go on to analyze some underlying phenomena. I have observed that here was a subtle yet profound shift in the psychology of indebtedness that took place in the late 1990 and early Aughts: Somehow the average American gradually stopped thinking about the total amount that he owes his creditors, and instead started focusing on his minimum monthly payment. Consequently, consumer spending soared. For more than a decade, Americans have been wanting it all, and getting it all. Collectively, their debts have been accumulating and compounding horrendously. It is as if they’ve been winding up an enormous spring. Imagine one of those novelty “joy buzzers” that pranksters used to conceal in their palms. But American have been winding up an enormous “No Joy” Buzzer.

Thanks to the monetary policies of “Easy Al” Greenspan and his successor “Helicopter Ben” Bernanke, credit has been free and easy. Credit card offers arrive in the mail like manna from heaven. Millions of Americans that do not deserve any significant credit have had lots of it. Enough to buy $300,000 houses. With this credit, like a child set loose in a candy shop that they have bought just about everything they’ve wanted: big screen televisions, home makeovers, fancy cars, and McMansions. They have maxed out their credit. Inevitably, however, the elasticity of credit is not infinite. At some point the piper must be paid. America’s credit spending spree will someday come to an abrupt end, most likely immediately following a sharp stock market correction. We will be startled by the noise and vibration of the big No Joy Buzzer. Bzzzzzzt! The party is over! At that point discretionary spending will drop to nil.

As consumer spending plummets, every business from mega corporations down to mom-ann-pop stores will start to lay off employees. Millions of employees. Those layoffs will mean that millions of monthly minimum payments will not be paid. Debt payment delinquencies, then defaults and finally bankruptcies will explode tremendously. Then it will take perhaps 20 years to unwind all the amassed consumer debt. It will be a very traumatic time–probably much more so than the Depression of the 1930s.Why? In the 1930s, nearly half of America’s families were farmers, ranchers, or fishermen. But now, just 2% of the population feeds the other 98%. If unemployment jumps into double digits, most families will no longer have “country cousins” that they can depend on to help feed them.

Got your storage food? Got a big vegetable garden? Got a gun and plenty of ammo? Got the training to know how to use it? You may need all of that, and more. Pray hard. Stock up as much as you can, so that you can dispense copious charity. You neighbors will likely need it.

Letter Re: Sterilizing Medical Instruments with a Pressure Cooker

Hi Jim…
I noticed and read the letter from “NotDave” on, among other things, the use of a pressure cooker as an expedient sterilizer (autoclave). I would like to expound on what he wrote.
First of all I would like to state that he is correct in his statements of time, temp, and pressure.

To achieve steam-driven sterility you need to satisfy two requirements…time and temperature. In the medical, and lab/scientific field steam is the prevalent sterilant medium. This is due to the ability of steam to penetrate that which is being sterilized. At 20 psi [(g)auge (psig)] the temp is 250.3 degrees F. (There are other sterilants but suffice it to say that would be another dissertation.)

The point I want to make is in the form of a tip or two for all the good folks in blog land. It is important to select a pressure cooker that can
maintain a pressure of 20 psi. although most only have valves for 15 psi. Select one that has the “twist the lid in place” and screw down fasteners rather that the lollypop shaped lid that twists in place only. The former is far safer than the latter. Bob at Ready Made Resources provided me an “All American” pressure cooker that doubles as a sterilizer nicely. It is very well built and is a gasketless design. Needless to say stock up on gaskets
if you select a pressure cooker that has one.

In the course of sterilizing anything in a pressure cooker it is important to ensure that those items are placed above the water that is boiling. The goal is to expose the item to pure steam. If any or all of the items are immersed in the water then complete sterilization may not or will not occur. This is due to the fact that the item will be exposed to the temperature of the water not the steam. The pure steam will give off it’s BTUs on contact with the item while water may not and will not do so as efficiently because water is an insulator as well as a medium for storing those BTUs. Even though the water is superheated due to the pressure (15-20 psi [(g)auge]) you would have to re-calculate and increase the exposure time to ensure the item has been sterilized. There also may be some air trapped in the cooker. Air is an insulator and no friend to sterilizing. Because most pressure cookers have the pressure gauge, not the vent, located at the highest point of the lid some air may remain near the top so. Do not place item in the uppermost region of the lid.
There is a technique for sterilizing in a pressure cooker and it is easy to do. A perforated or wire mesh, without handles, stainless steel deep frying/”Fry-o-lator”-type basket, of the appropriate size, placed open end down inside the p-cooker will act as the “shelf” for the item(s) providing the item(s) to be sterilized will fit in the pressure cooker with the basket. It must be tall enough to raise the item far enough above the anticipated water level to prevent being splashed by the roiling water surface. Chose a basket that has free swinging handles if possible so it can be used for par boiling things when not acting as a shelf. If free floating handles are not available just cut off the fixed handle and file the stubs smooth (“…cut to size, file to fit…”). A smaller perforated basket placed on top of the inverted one is handy for holding the items and convenient for handling that being sterilized but not necessary given the availability of space. Just be certain to use a perforated basket (or whatever) versus something solid such as a pan. Air will get trapped inside and, because the water is boiling, may get tipped over dropping the instrument (item) into the water.

In general terms, a few guidelines:
1) The boiling point of water drops approximately 2 deg. F. (1.1C) per 1,000 feet rise in elevation above sea level therefore the pressure of the steam needs to increase to cause the steam temperature to rise to 250 Deg. F.
2) When using a pressure cooker to sterilize something it is imperative that the pressure control valve/weight is left off to allow the air trapped inside to be driven off. A good rule is to allow 10 minutes to pass after steam is seen flowing out of the vent. Be certain to add sufficient water. Dry heat is a poor sterilizing medium and needs to be about 320 deg. F. for 2 hours minimum to effectively sterilize something such as a towel clamp.
3) 15.3 psi (g)auge) equals (approximately) 250 deg. F. This is the low temperature sterilization point used in hospitals, labs and in commercial
applications.
4) 10.3 psi (gauge) equals approximately 240 deg. F. This is used in labs and in commercial application where the items are temp sensitive.
5) The lower the temperature, the longer the exposure time required.
6) The minimum exposure time at 250 Degrees F (15.3 psig) should be 30 minutes.
7) The minimum exposure time at 240 degrees F. (10.3 psig) should be 1 hour (well, actually 45 minutes, but be safe and err for the longer time as there are too many variables and at the lower temp. it is too risky).
Above all, proper sterilization requires items be very clean prior to sterilizing. Any “debris” in an instrument will act as an insulator and prevent that zone from reaching temperature. The critters you are trying to kill may not die beneath that zone and replicate. If you are putting the item in storage there will be more than a sufficient amount of time to re-contaminate the item. If you use that improperly sterilized item in a surgical procedure then you may contaminate the op-site. In a SHTF condition a nasty infection in a surgical site is something you don’t want to deal with. Just ask John O the M.D.
Thank you for your patience and thank you for reading this. I hope it helps. – J. at East Tennessee Sterilizer Service

Letter Re: Advice on Under-Slab Underground Shelters

Mr Rawles,
I was looking at the construction of different areas of my home and trying to think of the best area for a fallout shelter or bunker. I have a basement with access to the area under my garage and under a slab addition. I figure that it would be too dangerous to tunnel under the garage but was wondering if it would be feasible to tunnel under the addition slab. If this were an option I could really have a large bunker area, especially if there is a way to use the garage slab. Thanks, – ART

JWR Replies: Use extreme caution when digging under slabs. In essence, if a slab was not originally designed to span an open space beneath it, then is shouldn’t be expected to handle doing so. For most typical 8+ inch thick residential re-bar reinforced concrete slabs other than those in garages, poured on clay or loam soil, a maximum 3-foot wide tunnel that doesn’t extend more than half the width of a building would probably be fine, but anything wider or longer, or any excavation in sandy soil would require the close scrutiny of a qualified structural engineer. Garage slabs deserve a special of caution: Unless a slab is specifically designed to support the “live” load of a vehicle atop it and span a void beneath it, then you should not attempt to do any tunneling beneath it! Perhaps an engineer would care to chime in here, with further guidance.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Perhaps the greatest disservice of Hollywood movies is their cartoonish villains. In real life, I promise you, the devil will look more like Julia Roberts than Snidely Whiplash. Evil does not arrive with a flashing neon sign: MEPHISTOPHELES! LUCIFER! SATAN! FOR ETERNAL DAMNANTION, APPLY HERE! Evil arrives packaged as a winsome movie about a long-legged brunette who manages to marry a rich, handsome bachelor and live happily ever after — all by turning tricks on Hollywood Boulevard! There’s a reason Beelzebub is known as the prince of lies.” – Ann Coulter

Notes from JWR:

The high bid is already at $250 in the SurvivalBlog benefit auction for a brand new Big Berkey water filter, kindly donated by Ready Made Resources. They are one of our most loyal advertisers. The auction ends on August 15th. Just e-mail us your bid.

Today we present another article for Round 11 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $2,000!) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. I will again be sending out a few complimentary copies of my novel “Patriots” as “honorable mention” awards. Round 11 ends on July 31st. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival will have an advantage in the judging.

Repairing Gardening Hand Tools, by Christian Souljer

Being able to plant your own vegetables during hard times will be greatly desirable. In order to do this, a preparedness person should have multiple duplicates of commonly used garden tools. Gardening tools such as rakes, hoes, and pitchforks often break at the connection between the handle and the head. The wood becomes aged and with downward pressure/force – the wood can break away and or the tool head can just become loose and fall out. This occurs mostly on older tools where the wood has shrank but can also occur on the cheaper imported garden tools. I recently had to repair two of my older tools (heavy rake and hoe) which both broke when planting this year’s garden.

If replacement handles are not available, most of the tools can be repaired to useable condition by the following method:

1) Clean the metal tool head area that goes into the wood with a wire brush and coarse sandpaper.
2) Clean out the wood handle “socket area” using a small foxtail file or cylindrical wire brush or sandpaper on stick, etc. Try not to remove any wood – just clean the wood surface.
3) Mix up a batch of thick epoxy or JB Weld, etc. and use some kind of tape (masking tape works well) to bridge up the area where the wood has been chipped out or broken off).
4) Fill the handle “socket” with epoxy, and insert the tool head. Don’t forget to install the tool head cone before installing the tool head. Adding some additional epoxy to the tapered portion of the handle and the inside of the cone will further strengthen the connection between the handle and the tool head.
5) Wrap additional tape around the bottom of this cone to keep epoxy from leaking out, and then store the tool with the head up until the epoxy has hardened for at least 24 hours.

If the handle has become cracked or broken, the wood can be wrapped with copper or iron wire over the entire length of the crack/break, then twist the wire using pliers to get and maintain a tight wrap. Epoxy or tape over it (epoxy is best). This will add great strength to the wood in that area. Also, the handles can become splintered and or the varnish can crack and be hard on the hands. To resolve this – sand and re-varnish or oil stain, or wrap a rubberized tape around the handle in the working areas to provide a splinter free grip.

A little oil will help in keeping rust from forming during storage (as noted in previous SurvivalBlog posts). It is a good idea to keep all your tools and equipment in ready condition. You never know when you will need them.

Letter Re: Advice on a Budget Rifle Battery for Retreat Security

Jim,
For those folks residing in the Western U.S., the Big 5 Sporting Goods stores are selling ‘collectable’ Mosin-Nagant 7.62x54R rifles at very good prices; under $200. I don’t know if all the stores have them but a couple of stores in the south Denver metro area have one or two each and they appear to be in acceptable shape. – Ken M.

JWR Replies: Thanks for that tip. OBTW, most Big 5 customers don’t realize that the military surplus rifles in the display racks are just examples of their inventory. Each store typically has from three to five more of each model still in boxes, back in their stock room. If you “chat up” the sales clerks, you can usually get them to either let you look through the back room inventory, or have them bring out three or four more rifle boxes, so that you can hand pick rifles. Look for rifles with no cracks in their stocks, nice bores, and that still have most of their bluing. Parenthetically, I have a friend who was successful at this a couple of years ago at the Big 5 store in Carson City, Nevada. This was back when Swiss 7.5mm K31 carbines were coming in to the country in large numbers. He came home with a nearly mint condition K31 at the same $185 price as the “run of the mill” well-worn carbines.

Six Letters Re: Proper Lubrication with Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel Fuel?

Jim
A couple of points on ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD). Back in the 1990s low sulfur was introduced and we had a rash of pumps “wear out” prematurely for the most part these were older and or rotary pumps that were poor performers to begin with. It has been my experience that the “Bosch in inline” pumps tend to be more forgiving.
If on road legality is of no concern than a gallon or two of marvel mystery oil will cover your lubricity issue.
When I was in the coast guard we had a mixing formula to mix 40 weight oil to JP-4 through JP-8 so we could use it in our main diesel engines. This would have the advantage of not “dying” the fuel If you have a 500 gallon tank 5 gallons of lube oil should take care of your issue.
As to clogging filters it is the exhaust particulate filters in 2007 model year and later that is the issue. If you need a “good” vehicle, 2007 and later is a poor choice as maintenance and parts are very expensive and specialized. – Mike the Wrenchspinner

Hello Jim,
I have been a fuel distributor since 1972. I have seen many changes in the industry since then and IMHO the ULSD fuel is one of the goofier ones. The fuel is treated to get rid of the nasty sulfur. Along with this goes some of the wax, thus less power. BTU losses of 3-7% are common. The ULSD fuel is harder to winterize then the old 500 PPM fuel we have been using. CFPP (Cold Filter Plug Point) of the ULSD fuel starts out 20 to 30 degrees higher than the old fuel and requires more of the winter additive to bring the the CFPP down to acceptable numbers. Once again our government supplies us with unintended consequences.
We purchase our additive from Schaffer’s. They have an additive for the ULSDF called Diesel Treat 2000 ULSDF that other than the power loss, virtually returns the 15 PPM to the 500 PPM specs. We purchase the additive in bulk and cost to treat is less than 2 cents per gallon. As the off road diesel is now at 500 PPM and may be as low as 15 PPM we currently treat all of our diesel sales.
Water fall out is also a problem with the ULSD fuel. All diesel contains minor amounts of water, called inherent water. In the older fuels this water would stay in suspension and would be vaporized during the ignition cycle and then would exhaust with the other gases. With ULSD the water over time will precipitate out either in your storage tank or vehicle tank. When you have water in your tank you are now ready to host many types of microbial life. Of course these bugs die and their bodies will clog up your fuel filters. (Looks like the filter was packed with black grease.) The Schaeffer’s additive will keep the inherent water in suspension so as to eliminate or at least greatly reduce the food source for the microbes.
In regards to the expensive filter in the exhaust system getting clogged, that occurs when 500 PPM diesel is used in engines requiring the ULSD, engines manufactured in 2007 or later.
All diesel fuels both on road and off road are to be 15 PPM by 2010.
Any other questions please let me know – John & Abigail Adams

 

Mr. Rawles,
A common misconception is that ultra low sulfur diesel does not have the lubricating properties of low sulfur diesel when in fact it does. Sulfur is not the lubricant in diesel fuel. Although the process of removing sulfur removes some of the natural lubricating properties of the fuel the refiners add a lubricant package back to the fuel before it is sold to the public. Under no circumstances should you ever use a fuel additive containing alcohol in a diesel engine. The alcohol will absorb the water in the fuel and the water will then pass through the injectors at that point the water will explode and destroy the injector tips. The best thing a fuel additive can do with water in a diesel is remove it from solution by causing it to settle out so the filter system can catch it and it can be drained. The best fuel additives for diesel engines bar none are Stanadyne and Power Service. Power Service is available at most auto parts stores and Wal-Mart, while Stanadyne is available from diesel injector shops. – Jack S.

Sir:
We have used Marvel Mystery Oil for years as an additive to our diesel trucks and tractors. If you read the side of the can, it says add directly to diesel fuel as a top cylinder lubricant. It also ups the Cetane Rating, as well as keeps the fuel for gelling in cold weather. My brother in Alaska swears by it, and I am sure others besides myself are familiar with it.
The ULSD is [presently required only] for over the road trucks. You still can special order in non-road diesel for tractors and off road vehicles. (No road taxes )
One under-reported fact: Biodiesel is an excellent lubricant and just adding a little Biodiesel to each tank helps with the lubrication.- Mel

Mr. Rawles,
This is the product that I use to remedy the low-sulfur diesel fuel issue. I own a 2002 Volkswagen Beetle with the tdi,1.9 alh engine (it’s a diesel). This is the only product that VW of America recommends as an additive that will not void the factory warranty. Just thought I’d pass the info along. – JB in Boise

 

Sir:
I make a living testing fuel quality for an oil company and wanted to comment on the post on Monday, July 16th, “Letter Re: Proper Lubrication with Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel Fuel.” It is widely accepted that sulfur compounds increase the lubrication effect, or lubricity, of diesel fuel. With the recent reduction of sulfur from 500 ppm in low sulfur diesel to 15 ppm in ultra low sulfur diesel there has been a decrease in the lubricity of the fuel. But a lubricity specification was implemented simultaneously with the reduction in sulfur. Refiners have been required to increase the lubricity of diesel to meet a minimum lubricity specification while reducing sulfur. They have met the lubricity requirement using chemical additives.

There are several chemical additives available, at least commercially, to improve lubricity quality, but by the time a typical consumer purchases diesel from a retail station, the fuel has likely already been additized to improve lubricity.

I’m not sure if the chemically additized ultra low sulfur diesel that meets the minimum lubricity requirement lubricates an engine as well as the higher sulfur diesel, but the difference is probably not significant and the additized fuel probably lubricates sufficiently. In any case, it would not be detrimental to additize your diesel, but the money is likely better spent on other preparations. – Mike S.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader “Ed7B” sent us a link to a page at the Medical Corps web site with an account of an emergency appendectomy in a submarine in WWII – with not a doctor for many miles, and a dearth of proper equipment, tools and drugs. Ed’s comment: “They still managed to get this sailor’s appendix out and have a happy outcome. Pertinent to what people can expect when there is no hospital open, let alone a doctor to be found.” Speaking of preparedness for austere medicine, don’t miss the outstanding Medical Corps training on August 24-25-26 at the Ohio State University Extension Campus in Caldwell, Ohio.

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Frequent content contributor SF in Hawaii sent us the URL for Frontier Natural Products Co-Op, a mail order firm that has a lot of organic spices and mixes in foil packages. SF’s comment: “Spices and precious metals used to trade on par in ancient times.”

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Retail Sales Suffer Stiff Decline

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"This is a delusion about credit. And whereas from the nature of credit it is to be expected that a certain line will divide the view between creditor and debtor, the irrational fact in this case is that for more than 10 years debtors and creditors together have pursued the same deceptions." – Garet Garret, A Bubble that Broke the World

Notes from JWR:

Congratulations to Tom H., the high bidder in the recent SurvivalBlog benefit auction for 10 steel SA-80 magazines. A new auction begins today, for a new-in-the-box “Big Berky” British Berkefeld water filter, kindly donated by Ready Made Resources, one of our most loyal advertisers. This is a high volume ceramic filter with four replaceable 9″ ceramic filter elements in a sturdy polished stainless steel enclosure. We use this same model here at the Rawles Ranch. Big Berkey filters normally sell for $324, plus postage. The opening bid is just $80. (The winning bid includes free shipping in the US.) Please e-mail us your bid, in $10 increments. Be sure to visit the Ready Made Resources web site and check out their broad line of photovoltaic power components and their wide variety of food storage and preparedness products. They have it all, at great prices!

Today we present another article for Round 11 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $2,000!) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. I will again be sending out a few complimentary copies of my novel “Patriots” as “honorable mention” awards. Round 11 ends on July 31st. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival will have an advantage in the judging.