What have you done this week to prep?

[BigBoxaJunk]

I always figure that there's no sense in throwing away out-dated cans until I need the shelf space for replacements.

I figure, if the SHTF, those out-dated cans could be the ones I'd give away or barter first.

 

[Thor]

If the SHTF I don't think anyone's going to care about the dates...Like that 2.4M year old salt they put an expiration date on.

I put up another 1k rounds of 9mm...

 

[churchmouse]

We are rotating through the water stores.

 

[Woobie]

I meant to post this a couple of months ago, but forgot. So I built my own water purifier. I don't have Burkey money these days, but I wanted a way to supply our drinking water needs in the event of a power outage. Also our well water is loaded with iron, and doesn't taste very good, and I'm tired of buying water. So here goes:

Step one Supplies:

These items are PVC
2' of 4" pipe
4" x 2" reducer
4" floor drain
2" x 3/4" bushing
1 1/2" or so of 3/4" pipe
3/4" ball or gate valve
Primer and cement

All of this, minus the glue and primer, cost me $22 at Lowes. Add another $8 or so if you don't have the glue and primer.


This thing is gravity fed, so think about it standing upright. The big stuff goes on top, and the valve at the very bottom. The 4" floor drain can go in the bottom of the 4" pipe upside down. This will help keep your filter media from flowing out later on.

If you grind the flange off the drain, you can stick it in the pipe right side up, which will give you about 3" of standoff from the bottom, thus leaving a reservoir of filtered water in the bottom of your filter. But that step is optional. Either way, there is no need to glue the drain into the pipe.

Next take the 4" x 2" reducer and prime then glue it onto the same end of the pipe you placed the drain in.

Prime and glue the 2" x 3/4" bushing into the reducer.

Prime and glue the 1 1/2" to 2" piece of 3/4" pipe into the bushing.

Prime and glue your ball or gate valve onto the short length of 3/4" pipe.


At this point the filter body is complete, and should have taken you 10 minutes to assemble. Add another 5 minutes if you want to grind the flange on the floor drain.



Step 2 materials:

Polyester pillow filling. A bag is $4 at Walmart. You'll need a couple of handfuls.

Sand, preferably pool filter type. $10 for 50 lbs. You'll only need a quart or so. If you use play sand, you'll want to rinse out the smaller dust before using it.

Activated carbon, 1 lb. You can get this on Amazon or at an aquarium supply. Around $15


Put a handful of the poly filling in the bottom next to the drain. Rinse your activated carbon and then put it in on top of the fiber. Then add about a quart of sand on top of the carbon. Top that off with another handful of poly filling. Finally, run several gallons of water through the filter until you see it come out clear. Initially you will get a lot of carbon dust, so you want to get that rinsed out before use.


This is a complete filter. A couple of improvements could be a dedicated catch bucket, a stand, a fill reservoir and a burp tube. Sometimes air gets caught in the filter media and takes a while to percolate to the top. I thought about making a "hopper" or fill reservoir out of a reducer made to for a larger pipe down to 4". This will add weight, so you'll need a stand for sure if you add this. But it will be a nice improvement. It will also add head pressure when full, which will make it flow faster. For now, I just throw the filter in a 3 gallon bucket (in case of leaks or spills) and lean it against the wall. I close the valve and fill it, then when I need to fill a gallon jug, I just poor it directly into a funnel placed in the jug. This should work for thousands of gallons. But if you do need to replace the media, just dump it out and add new media.

For less than a quarter of the price of some of the nicer filters, and a half hour of time, you can have a filter that will put out a lot of safe drinking water fairly quickly. I've been using mine since November, and it has paid for itself already.

 

[indyjohn]

If the contents and container were sterile at the time of packaging and the can is 100% intact, it's impossible to have a viable pathogen inside. The issue arises when 1) the contents and container were not sterile, or the 2) the package is compromised. I wouldn't be concerned about a conventional can that is showing no signs of bulging or excessive rust. I would keep a closer eye on the easy open cans with the pull tab tops. The seal on those is probably not as durable or long-lived as a regular can.

The spouse went through the shelves and pulled out all the out dated stuff. I went through it and about half went back on the shelf

Rep'd the rhino. Can't rep the senior of course...

 

[indyjohn]

We are rotating through the water stores.

Dear God, they're getting tall...

 

[Thor]

I meant to post this a couple of months ago, but forgot. So I built my own water purifier. I don't have Burkey money these days, but I wanted a way to supply our drinking water needs in the event of a power outage. Also our well water is loaded with iron, and doesn't taste very good, and I'm tired of buying water. So here goes:

Thanks for this write up...I'm going to have to try that.

 

[Woobie]

Thanks for this write up...I'm going to have to try that.

Thank you. I hope it helps someone. And along the way you'll probably improve upon the design. Feel free to give me some feedback.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

For less than a quarter of the price of some of the nicer filters, and a half hour of time, you can have a filter that will put out a lot of safe drinking water fairly quickly. I've been using mine since November, and it has paid for itself already.

Lots of respect for a resourceful DIY'er. To me, that's what prepping is all about. You save some money on a useful item, and you reinforce the mind-set.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

Yesterday, I got my start for the 2018 garden. In continuing with my thing of trying to grow something different each season, this year I'm starting onions from seed. I'm running out of actual new vegetables, so I'm settling for one of the old standards done a little differently.

I took an old black flat tray, and I poked some holes in it and put it in a new tray, and I filled it with potting soil. Figured soil would be better for the onions than starting mix, since they'll be in that until late April or early May before I plant them. Scattered the seeds evenly over the soil and set it by the window. It'll be a few weeks before it's time to start other stuff, and it did feel good to be playing in the dirt again.

I guess the next step will be to save some onions next year and re-plant them for seed for the next year.

 

[bwframe]

I've been having a tough time getting onion seed to germinate. Finally some limited success in soaked paper towels in a dish, sitting on a heat pad. I've moved a couple dozen germinated seeds into soil and patiently watching the rest.

 

[churchmouse]

I've been having a tough time getting onion seed to germinate. Finally some limited success in soaked paper towels in a dish, sitting on a heat pad. I've moved a couple dozen germinated seeds into soil and patiently watching the rest.

I put in my order with Gurnsey not long ago. Everything but the tomato plants.
We have all the soil enhancers stacked out by the garden.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

I read that it may take up to 12 days for onions to germinate, so mine have a while yet, but I've got my fingers crossed. I've just got them in front of the window, with the clear plastic greenhouse lid over the tray.

I've gotten most of my other seeds from local stores. But, I am going to order some new Tobacco seeds this year to try out a new type. This will be my fourth season with tobacco, and I've harvested some leaves each year and gotten started with the curing process, but each time I've gotten distracted with other things and ended up throwing it out. I've always figured that tobacco would be a great barter item post SHTF.

 

[bwframe]

I don't grow tobacco for the same reason I don't have a still.

Tobbacco, IIRC is a premium soil amendment/mulch.

 

[Woobie]

I read that it may take up to 12 days for onions to germinate, so mine have a while yet, but I've got my fingers crossed. I've just got them in front of the window, with the clear plastic greenhouse lid over the tray.

I've gotten most of my other seeds from local stores. But, I am going to order some new Tobacco seeds this year to try out a new type. This will be my fourth season with tobacco, and I've harvested some leaves each year and gotten started with the curing process, but each time I've gotten distracted with other things and ended up throwing it out. I've always figured that tobacco would be a great barter item post SHTF.

What type? Burley?

 

[Woobie]

I don't grow tobacco for the same reason I don't have a still.

Tobbacco, IIRC is a premium soil amendment/much.

It's a decent pesticide. It's actually a nightshade plant, iirc. I do know tomatos contain a small amount of nicotine. Anyway, there are quite a few uses for it.

As an aside, many of today's commercial insecticides utilize synthesized versions of two compounds found in nature: pyrethroids, which natuarally occur in chrysanthemums, particularly the pyrethrum varietals; and neonicotinoids, which are synthesized versions of nicotine. Both compounds attack the central nervous system of insects.

 

[bocefus78]

. I do know tomatos contain a small amount of nicotine. .

[video]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx1ztJROpyU

[/video]

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

What type? Burley?

I had been growing another cultivar that i forget the name of, but I'm switching to a Burley.

One funny thing I've found is that it's not completely immune to pests. After the flower buds start to form, I've had aphids get pretty bad a time or two. The flowers are a pretty, light purple and they have a really nice aroma. The hummingbirds and the bumblebees love them. The bumblebees can't get down the long, narrow flowers inside, so they land on the side of the flower, wrap their legs around it and then they jam their mouth parts against the side of the flower at it's base and pierce through it to get at the nectar.

 

[rhino]

I don't grow tobacco for the same reason I don't have a still.

Tobbacco, IIRC is a premium soil amendment/mulch.

Tobacco has other uses as well. You can make an effective pesticide from toboacco.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

I've been having a tough time getting onion seed to germinate. Finally some limited success in soaked paper towels in a dish, sitting on a heat pad. I've moved a couple dozen germinated seeds into soil and patiently watching the rest.

I've got a pretty even crop of 3/4" baby onion sprouts in a mix of seed starting mix and potting soil. I scattered the seeds on the surface of the soil and very lightly scratched them in, with many remaining on the surface. I wonder if onions might need sunlight to germinate well.