The Science: Reusing Canning Jar Lids – Part 1, by St. Funogas

I’ve been on an incredible journey since submitting my last article Reusing Canning Jar Lids to SurvivalBlog.

That article was based on my personal experience reusing 1,000+ canning jar lids. Many other home canners bear similar testimony about successfully reusing lids. My article specifically mentioned ignoring all the blogs, the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, and even my own experience mentioned in the article. Since the best teacher is personal experience, I then challenged the reader to do a simple test themselves by canning some water with used canning jar lids.

In this follow-up article, I have researched and contacted many of the professionals involved in recommending home-canning procedures including the USDA and Newell Brands, the company which makes Ball, Kerr, Golden Harvest, and Bernardin Jars. I’ve also gone straight to the horse’s mouth and contacted many glass-jar manufacturers and suppliers, engineers, makers of the plastisol sealant used on virtually all of today’s food jar lids, and the FDA’s regulation book for commercial canners, among others.

I believe this is possibly the most comprehensive article on the subject of reusing canning lids and commercial jars which pickles, salsa, pasta sauce, etc. come in. This is a science-based, informative treatise concerning all aspects of reusing canning lids and commercial jars. I hope this article, for some at least, will be the one to finally end all the “controversy” about reusing these items.

TYPES OF INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON REUSING CANNING LIDS

There are two main sources of canning information available: advice from professionals like the USDA and Ball (and the many bloggers and county-extension offices quoting them), and personal testimonies.   Personal testimonies were discussed in the previous article. This article first discusses recommendations by the USDA and their close associate in home canning, the National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP), then takes a look at the science behind jars and lids.

Since nearly every article mentioning not reusing canning lids refers back to one of the above two organizations, let’s examine their advice.

IMPORTANT CLARIFICATIONS

First, a few clarifications:

“Commercial jars” refers to jars and their lids from store-bought pickles, salsa, pasta sauce, etc. Please note my references in this article for reusing commercial jars are for water-bath canning only, not pressure canning which I have not tried. The reasons will be explained in more detail in the section on canning lid shelf life.

Incorrect terminology – The words “botulism” and “unsafe” have no place in discussions of reusing canning lids and commercial jars. These terms are used by people who don’t understand the science and principles behind canning. Botulism in home canning results from two things: pressure canner temperatures not reaching 240-250°F for the specified time period, and water-bath canning foods which are not acidic enough. Therefore, whether lids are new or used has nothing to do with botulism. The concept of “unsafe” is also irrelevant to the discussion.   New and used lids can fail to seal when canning principles are not strictly adhered to but that does not make the contents unsafe. Home-canned food is only unsafe when unsealed jars are not either put into the refrigerator or reprocessed.

Jar lids don’t fail, humans do. When canning-jar lids don’t seal it’s due to human error, not new- or used-lid problems. Lid problems should be caught by the user beforehand by inspecting each new or used lid. Photo 1 (below) shows a few things which make lids unusable for canning.Continue reading“The Science: Reusing Canning Jar Lids – Part 1, by St. Funogas”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in this column, in the Odds ‘n Sods Column, and in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

I just had another quiet week, out of state. I found a couple of more antique guns, that I’ll be adding to Elk Creek Company catalog.  This week I also had the pleasure of delivering one antique gun order, in person. The timing just happened to work out, and the buyer propitiously lives less than 30 miles from where I’m staying. On that same trip, I dropped off a half-dozen pre-1927 books for scanning. Those will be bonus items for next year’s edition of the SurvivaBlog archive USB stick.

I’m anxious to get home to the ranch. But I must remind myself: Patience, patience…

Now, let’s hear from Lily.

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

 Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.

Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the Lord said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel.

So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made a league with them in Hebron before the Lord: and they anointed David king over Israel.

David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.

In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah.

And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither.

Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David.

And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind that are hated of David’s soul, he shall be chief and captain. Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.

So David dwelt in the fort, and called it the city of David. And David built round about from Millo and inward.

And David went on, and grew great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him.” – 2 Samuel 5: 1-10 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — June 11, 2021

John Wayne, the iconic American film actor, died on June 11th, 1979. While John Wayne is probably best known for his westerns like True Grit, The Shootist, and Fort Apache, we remember him best for his roles in The Alamo and The Green Berets, both of which reflected his patriotic, conservative leanings.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 95 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. An Israeli CBRN Gas Mask with Hydration Straw and two Extra 40mm NATO Filter s – Manufactured in 2020 (a $229.99 value), courtesy of McGuire Army-Navy.
  5. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  6. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Siege Stoves is generously donating a SIEGE® STOVE kit, including a Titanium Gen 3 Flat-Pack Stove with titanium Cross-Members and a variety of bonus items including a Large Folding Grill, a pair of Side Toasters, a Compact Fire Poker, and an extra set of stainless steel universal Cross-Members. (In all, a $200 value.)
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 95 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

 

Gear Review: Two Twig Stoves, by The Novice

I often enjoy using my Norwegian “Storm Kitchen” alcohol stove. It is reliable, quiet, compact, clean, and convenient. It has just two weaknesses: it heats slowly, and in a long-term disaster scenario, I might run out of fuel for it. So I started looking into “twig stoves”. These stoves are fueled by sticks, pine cones, and other small, dry bio-mass. They have a reputation for heating quickly, and I have a virtually unlimited supply of fuel around my property.

I looked at quite a number of stoves. There are dozens to choose from. Most of them are made in China. I really wanted to find one that was made in the United States.

The Emberlit-UL Original Titanium Lightweight Backpacking Stove

In the course of my search, I ran across the Emberlit-UL Titanium. I was excited to note that it is made in the United States. I sent an inquiry to Mr. Mikhail Merkurieff, CEO of Merkwares LLC, asking if he could provide me with a unit for testing and evaluation. He was kind enough to agree.

The Generic Twig Stove

I also ordered a generic “8 Inch Camping Wood Stove” from eBay. The manufacturer was not specified, the country of origin was not specified (but it was presumably manufactured in mainland China), the design looked well-conceived, and the price was excellent ($21.99). Eight days later, the package was delivered from Jurupa Valley, California.

Initial Generic Stove Impressions

The shipping box was much smaller than I expected, measuring just 5.5″x5.5″x3.13″. The box contained a mesh bag with the stove components and nothing else: No directions, no explanation of how the various components fit together, and no markings regarding manufacturer or country of origin.

Fortunately, the way the components fit together was reasonably intuitive and ingenious. A return visit to the listing on eBay revealed some photos with a rudimentary set of directions regarding how to use the unit.

The stove consists of a base, a tubular stove wall, a firepot, a pan holder, and a plate for holding solid alcohol fuel.

For those seeking a similar stove, it appears identical to the Canway Camping Stove sold on eBay and elsewhere.Continue reading“Gear Review: Two Twig Stoves, by The Novice”

Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at the likelihood of high inflation ahead.

Precious Metals:

Arkadiusz Sieroń: US Government Stimulus Went Wrong. How Will Gold React?

o  o  o

70s-style inflation: Biggest risk is ‘invisible wealth destruction,’ gold price going to $20K this decade.

o  o  o

This piece has an interesting observation on the prospects for platinum: Money & Markets: Don’t feel the FOMO; just wait for the next big thing.

Economy & Finance:

At The Daily Wire: POLL: 86% Of Workers Don’t Want To Return To Office Full-Time.

o  o  o

Alan sent us this report: Americans face mounting risk of hackers taking over brokerage accounts, regulators say.

o  o  o

At Zero Hedge: “We Took Out The June 2007 Highs”: Morgan Stanley’s Sell Signal Just Hit An All Time High.

o  o  o

The Fed’s Reverse Repo Madness.

o  o  o

All of the recent wrangling in Washington D.C. about adding another $1.25 Trillion to $2 Trillion in “infrastructure” spending triggered a memory. Here is an excerpt from Chapter 1 of my first novel Patriots, that I drafted in 1991, and that first went into print in paperback in 1998:

“The president didn’t let trifles like ledger sheets and statistics get in his way. The economy was on a roll; the stock market was at an all-time high. It was business as usual for his scandal-ridden administration. Instead of reducing the growth in government spending, he launched an immoderate bank lending and stimulus package and another extravagant round of his pet ‘infrastructure building’ and ‘inner city empowerment’ programs.”

I don’t claim to be any sort of prophet, but sometimes life humorously imitates art.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — June 10, 2021

On June 10, 1967, the Six-Day War ended as Israel and Syria agreed to observe a United Nations-mediated cease-fire.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 95 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. An Israeli CBRN Gas Mask with Hydration Straw and two Extra 40mm NATO Filter s – Manufactured in 2020 (a $229.99 value), courtesy of McGuire Army-Navy.
  5. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  6. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Siege Stoves is generously donating a SIEGE® STOVE kit, including a Titanium Gen 3 Flat-Pack Stove with titanium Cross-Members and a variety of bonus items including a Large Folding Grill, a pair of Side Toasters, a Compact Fire Poker, and an extra set of stainless steel universal Cross-Members. (In all, a $200 value.)
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 95 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

The Citroen 2CV as a Prepper Vehicle, by Steve W.

Many would consider the Citroen 2CV an unlikely vehicle for preparedness plans. But based on 40 years of personal experience with the car, I am suggesting that you consider the Citroen 2CV as a backup vehicle for your preparedness plans. While not a fancy car, my many kilometers and miles driving a 2CV in across Europe and North America have been easily the least costly road miles that I have logged, and they were a lot of fun.

25 years ago, I wrote:

“A 2CV is the past, days spent going vineyard to vineyard, New Year’s Eve in Guernica Spain for three days straight, crazy descending down “Burg Wachenburg” Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany with the 2CV’s motor turned off, days spent watching geysers while drinking local champagne. A 2CV is max speed on city streets (and sidewalks), is having your paperwork review at machinegun point in Victoria, is briefly claiming that center lane in Luxemburg to pass whatever was a little bit slower. A 2CV is seats out and car loaded full of cases of wine, is cooking out and camping in the mountains, is paying the local beach lads to dive for a better looking and hopefully better tasting fish for your lunch while on the Mediterranean Sea.

A 2CV is today, an oddity in the great north woods of the upper Midwest, it is always finding business cards and notes under the wipers asking to buy my car, is making Milwaukee and return on just a fiver. A 2CV is never being able to sneak in anywhere, because of the small crowd it attracts and the questions. A 2CV is filling the car completely with wrapped Christmas gifts.

A 2CV is tomorrow, a minimalistic, self-repairable 21st century transport. A 2CV is 400 miles in a spare jerry can. A 2CV is a no-computer, EMP resistant survivor. A 2CV is history in action.

All in all, a 2CV is clean good fun!”

I am not going to try to paraphrase the massively inclusive write-up of the history of the 2CV series which you can find at InfoGlactic. (Please note the 2CV Series is part of Citroen’s “A-series” which include van, jeep-like, and other car variants.)

These cars are not physically super small, but they are not big, either. They use a simple opposed (boxer type) 2-cylinder air-cooled engine, four-speed manual transmission, and front wheel drive. Their long-travel suspension handles rough roads or no roads rather well.Continue reading“The Citroen 2CV as a Prepper Vehicle, by Steve W.”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “JWR”. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we look at some new revelations about the origin of the Wuhan Flu virus.

MSM, Governments Suffer Fastly CDN Internet Outage

H.L. mentioned this news, summarized over at Kit Knightly’s Off-Guardian: MSM experiences global internet outage. Be sure to read the comments. The problem appears to be with the Fastly content delivery network (CDN). The key question: Was it just a glitch, or was it a cyber attack?

Evidence Suggesting COVID-19 was Engineered by Wuhan Lab

Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Two experts show damning fact in genome blueprint suggesting COVID-19 was engineered in Wuhan lab.

COVID Origins Report From LLNL’s Z Division: Lab Leak ‘Plausible’

COVID Origins Report From Lawrence Livermore “Z Division” Concluded In May 2020 Lab Leak ‘Plausible’.

Karl Denninger on the Wuhan Flu Genetic Resequencing

Karl Denninger on the Wuhan Genetic Resequencing: Ok, Now We’re Done.  here is a key quote:

“A Chinese Communist Party military scientist who got funding from the National Institutes of Health filed a patent for a COVID-19 vaccine in February last year — raising fears the shot was being studied even before the pandemic became public, according to a new report.

Zhou Yusen, a decorated military scientist for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who worked alongside the Wuhan Institute of Virology as well as US scientists, filed a patent on Feb. 24 2020, according to documents obtained by The Australian.”

Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles.” – Col. Jeff Cooper

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — June 9, 2021

Today is the birthday of Jean Alexandre Francois LeMat (1824–1883), best known for the percussion cap-fired LeMat revolver. It was a clever design, with a nine-shot .42 caliber cylinder revolving around a 20-gauge shotgun barrel.  The LeMat was considered a fairly obscure footnote in firearms history up until some nice replicas (in .44) were manufactured by Pietta, and then it got a lot of screen time in Holywood movies, most notably in Twelve Monkeys and Cold Mountain.

On June 9, 1940 Norway surrendered to the invading German army, during World War II. The citizenry was then quickly disarmed by the Nazis, so resistance was limited. (The invaders had access to the Norwegian police gun registration lists.) To limit reprisals by the Germans, King Hakkon the 7th also ordered that only Norwegian troops operating from offshore should overtly resist the Nazis.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 95 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. An Israeli CBRN Gas Mask with Hydration Straw and two Extra 40mm NATO Filter s – Manufactured in 2020 (a $229.99 value), courtesy of McGuire Army-Navy.
  5. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  6. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Siege Stoves is generously donating a SIEGE® STOVE kit, including a Titanium Gen 3 Flat-Pack Stove with titanium Cross-Members and a variety of bonus items including a Large Folding Grill, a pair of Side Toasters, a Compact Fire Poker, and an extra set of stainless steel universal Cross-Members. (In all, a $200 value.)
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 95 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Chainsaw Fuels for Long Term Storage, by Tunnel Rabbit

Even if I do not have time to lay out all that I know about long-term storage of various fuels and the various types of engines that might consume that fuel, perhaps I can pass along some helpful information.

As a rule of thumb, I figure I’ll need one gallon of chainsaw gas for every one cord of wood that I cut, and I’ll need half that volume in bar oil. If we can keep a chainsaw running, then that fuel could be of adequate quality to run anything else. Gasoline is much more difficult to store than diesel, and if we can successfully store gas that meets the higher standard needed to run a modern chainsaw, then we can run anything else with that gas. However, we could also go electric and run a diesel generator to charge an electric chainsaw, but I simply do not have the excessive wealth for that option at this time. Another way is to have a large enough PV array to charge an electric chainsaw. If I could, my first choice in an electric saw would be a Makita, yet as it is, my best choice is an old school, slow and heavy 35 year old saw that I believe is a better choice as it can run on lower octane fuel and a variety of 2 cycle engine oils, even 30 weight motor oil in the fuel in a pinch. But then most already have a modern chainsaw, and so do I, so we’ll need fuel for these.

The old, slow, and heavy saws have their virtues. The most noteworthy is that in a long-term collapse scenario, it can run on low octane fuel that might harm a modern saw. Unfortunately, it would be difficult for the average person to locate or repair an old school saw, so they must contend with the fuel requirement of modern lightweight, and high-performance saws. The problem for modern saws is its requirement for high octane gasoline. Without that, the engine can overheat and become damaged. If you run a modern StIhl saw on low octane gas, or even with fresh premium fuel with too much 2 cycle oil in it, the octane rating is too low. When run hard and hot, one might hear pre-detonation (knocking) in the cylinder that can burn a hole in the piston over time, or immediately. These are high-performance machines, akin to a Formula One race car. There is little tolerance to less than ideal fuels and lubricants. My old school saw is more like a tractor in comparison. It is harder to use, but keeps on plowing through wood, decade after decade with whatever I put into it. The brand and model of my old saw is not important, it is the technology that is used in these saws that is important. Currently, I am running 2-year-old untreated (not stabilized) premium non-ethanol fuel it with a 32 to 1 ratio mix of TW3 rated 2 cycle oil that is not recommended for modern chainsaws. This fuel would not work well, and would probably damage a modern saw and certainly degrade it’s performance. Old school saws are much less ‘picky’ in other ways as well. I have gallons of TW3 type 2 cycle oil intended for water-cooled 2 cycle engines that I got for free. It is higher grade lubricant than was available when the old saw was made.

A modern saw should use a 50 to 1, or a 40 to 1 mixture with a synthetic lubricant for best performance and longevity. Stihl requires 50 to 1 and premium fuel. It is also important to use non ethanol premium grade with an octane rating of 91. Because the ethanol is hydrophillic, and water can be absorbed into fuel during storage. Water suspended in the fuel by the ethanol does not mix well with 2 cycle lubricating oils, and damage can be done to the engine. Water can also accumulated in any fuel tank or container. When filling the saw fuel, always leave about an inch of fuel on the bottom of the gas can to avoid putting water that is at the bottom of the fuel into the saw. Any water in the fuel could quickly damage the piston and cylinder wall. Benzine, not the ethanol can do damage by shortening the life span of the diaphragm in chain saw carburetors. Have several replacement complete carburetors. Gasoline from the 1960s and 1970s was closer to pure gasoline. Old school gasoline did not have near the list of additives, such as olifins that gum up works, and other additives. As time progress, more additives were added for various reasons. The diaphragm is the fuel pump for the saw. Using gas that does not harm the diaphragm, or plug up the very fine orifice inside these tiny carburetors improves reliability and performance. Also octane rating becomes lower as the stored fuel degrades in general. Oxygen is the primary enemy of gasoline. If the can breathes, or is permeable to oxygen, as are plastic storage containers, the rate of degradation increases. Swings in temperatures cause not only condensation, but more import, unacceptably high internal pressures that may cause essential light violate gases to escape containment.Continue reading“Chainsaw Fuels for Long Term Storage, by Tunnel Rabbit”

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. We may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.

Firstly, and most importantly, there is this encouraging news: Federal Judge Overturns California’s Assault Weapons Ban.  The full text of the decision can be seen here. JWR’s Comments: Be advised that the automatic stay leaves the door open for a very likely appeal, anytime in the next 25 days. So we can expect this to advance to a Ninth Circuit three-judge panel, and then if they overturn Judge Benitez’s ruling, eventually to the U.S. Supreme Court. That appeals process could take several years.

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Reader Tim J. sent this news from Florida: Nikki Fried Amends Financial Disclosure Ahead of Campaign Announcement.

“Nikki Fried’s amendment of her financial disclosure forms three days before she announced her gubernatorial candidacy made state and national news.

The report revealed Fried failed to report approximately $280,000 in income from a marijuana company she lobbied for in 2018.”

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Drug cartels attack enemies and spread terror with weaponized drones in US, Mexico.

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Reader H.L. sent this: If California is Facing a Rare Mega-Drought, Why is the State Releasing Water from Reservoirs?

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The Framers of the Bill of Rights did not purport to ‘create’ rights. Rather, they designed the Bill of Rights to prohibit our Government from infringing rights and liberties presumed to be preexisting.” – Justice William J. Brennan