Prepping Advice: What are you hoarding for "the bad times"?

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Reminds me of the early 1900's put put farm equipment engines. Great way to repurpose it. I was wondering why you might need jet fuel, .
The Listeroid engines are obviously not modern. However the design is robust, the injection system is made by Bosch and they are very efficient. Up to 44% thermally efficient. I use jetA because it's available as sumped fuel from the Jet aircraft I work on. It runs just fine in a Listeroid. Also, jetA really never goes bad.
 
Here is a video of my 1 cylinder Listeroid. That's my late friend Bob narrating. I also have a 20HP listeroid twin, which is capable of 12,000W or so, it will easily run my 5 ton AC. Both are incredibly fuel efficient. Of course, there are a few Gasoline gensets in my garage and hangar.



EDIT: Thought I'd add that the wonderful Honda EU2000 (or EU2200) generators are perfect for running fridges and freezers. As they cycle on and off, the genset runs up and down in RPM, managing fuel use well. In fact, while the suitcase generator is not very powerful, it can be managed to run 1 normal fridge and 2 chest freezers and even a small window AC unit, without much difficulty, as long as they don't get plugged in at the same time. Remember fridges and freezers cycle on and off, so it can be managed.

acme-tools-honda-eu2200i-generator.jpg

I have a Fairbanks Morse
I prep for hurricanes, as we seem to be a bullseye here in Jupiter, FL. I don't dismiss the following, but I don't prep for an EMP, riots, the end of the world or other prepper type reasons. We were hit directly 3x (hurricanes Francis, Jeanne and Wilma) and my preparations (Lister generator, jet fuel, secondary air conditioning and propane) were absolutely wonderful. We had 100PSI of clean water, a functioning 80 gal water heater, sufficient air conditioning, normal stove operation and plenty of generator power.

I have a hurricane resistant house (3/2) on 2 acres, have multiple water wells, a gasoline powered fire pump, 2 generator hookups on the outdoor electrical panel, propane cooktop/oven, hybrid water heater and other things to be somewhat self sufficient. I even have 4 big solar panels, inverters and batteries to run the chest freezer/fridge.

We did just fine each time. We were without power for 6 months. Living "off grid" was no real problem. As things slowly got back to normal, fuel purchases were no problem. But it's good to know that it was about $600 per month for fuel, at less than $2 per gal. Today, with $5 diesel, that would be $1200++ per mo.

Sadly, few of my neighbors were ready, and most had fridges and freezers full of rotting food, no water, no fuel and things got ugly for them within days.

EDIT: as far as getting around right after a hurricane, the street legal two stroke dirt bike was the best choice. Trees were down everywhere, many roads were impassable, and being able to lift the bike over fallen trees was critical. I needed to visit my ill father (on dialysis) 25 miles away and just getting out of the neighborhood was about impossible.
I have a Fairbanks Morse single cylinder engine similar to this. Used to be pretty common on farms in lower South Carolina and served various purposes.
 
What do you have in your prepper inventory? I've been stocking my basement shelves incase a major even happens that knocks out the food supply chain. I'm working on a 1 year+ food supply for 4 people.

What do you think of my prepping and what do you recommend? This is what I have so far:

GRAINS:
  • 5x 20lb bags of rice
  • 100x+ cans of beans
  • 40x boxes of pastas
  • 5x large boxes of steel cut oats
  • 20x large boxes of dried potatoes

Canned Proteins & Veggies:
  • 40x cans of chicken
  • 30x cans of tuna
  • 30x cans of spam
  • 50x cans of various soups
  • 50x cans of misc. veggies

Misc. (multiple containers of):
  • Coconut and olive oils
  • Peanut butter
  • Salt & spices
  • Honey & molasses
  • Jell-O's
  • Tea, instant coffee
  • Condiments

Tin Foil Hat Section:
  • Potassium Iodide kit (130mg) for 10 days
  • Been keeping all of my old antibiotics and medicines for years
  • Ammo

I know I have to at least triple the amount of food I have and am looking to add more 20lb bags dried beans and parboiled rice.

Access to a natural source of water without power but also have multiple cases of bottled water.

I didn't go the way of buying prepacked kits from my patriot supply or another reseller since I think those are just overpriced and repacked generic products.

What do you recommend?
Lots of mylar bagged rice in food grade buckets. Enough calories for 1+ person-year
Plus 60 cans of Spam (one can per week added to the rice diet will provide that fat and protein addition necessary)
Plus 5 multivitamin bottles, enough to take one tablet every other day (which is sufficient) for 2-3 years.
Several lbs of noodles but not at all as well packed for time as the rice. Need to eat those first.
100 cans of Chef boyardee stuff
6 boxes of MREs
50 toothbrushes, 50 tube of toothpaste
20 bottles of aspirin,naproxen, iburprofen, tylenol
100+ rolls of toilet paper
50+ Bic lighters
10-15 pairs of pants, including some too small for me now ( I will shrink into them during a famine even with ym supplies)
8 pairs of combat boots, mostly worn and broken in plus a couple new ones.
100 pairs of socks
60 pairs of underwear
50 t shirts
50 bars of soap
Gold and silver
Assorted chest rigs
Ammo, lots of Ammo
Magazines, lots of
Guns, lots of guns and the skill to use them, actually i am heading to the range right now as soon as I am done typing
Extra water at this location, but I intend to retrograde to a location with wells onsite.

My Weakness:
90% of my stuff is stored at my secure retreat location in Appalachia, which is more than a full tanks drive from here.
I own two SUVs. They alternate parked, nose out, 100% topped off, plus various full jerry cans with non ethanol fuel and stabilizer in them. Still it will be tight to make it there if no fuel is available at gas stations on that long drive ( which it may well not be)
 
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Interesting subject.
Everybody who considers it will prepare for it differently.

For me:
I'm more worried about weather disasters.
♦ Gas for the Generator
♦ Canned food / frozen foods
♦ Water
♦ Well maintained vehicle
♦ Good flashlights
♦ Candles
♦ Radio (battery powered)
♦ Cash
♦ List of what to take if I need to evacuate
Edit: I also prepare more for Winter than during Summer.

Sorry if my list is not what you were expecting.
I'm just not worried about Zombies or the Commies.
The weather is more real, watch the evening news.
The police love taking cash from people at traffic stops (never to be returned) under the guise that it could be "drug money". Civil forfeiture needs to be abolished right now.
 
Lots of mylar bagged rice in food grade buckets. Enough calories for 1+ person-year
Plus 60 cans of Spam (one can per week added to the rice diet will provide that fat and protein addition necessary)
Plus 5 multivitamin bottles, enough to take one tablet every other day (which is sufficient) for 2-3 years.
What source do you use for rice? Most of mine is from Costco and I believe it is Mylar bagged inside but I am not sure. I think I can just put the whole unopened bag of rice right into a food grade bucket. Not sure if this is still true but the bakery at Walmart sells their flower buckets for $1. I'm new to long term food storage so I'll have too look into this more.
 
Guns and ammo.

Use them to barter or take what you need.
Marauders will have a short life expectancy with me and mine. Being disarmed means you are a grocery store for others but we are well armed and very very good at using our firearms.
Also we are not just protecting food but my friends have attractive teen daughters, history shows they are a target for marauders as well, so we are extra hardened with guns/ammo/training.
What source do you use for rice? Most of mine is from Costco and I believe it is Mylar bagged inside but I am not sure. I think I can just put the whole unopened bag of rice right into a food grade bucket. Not sure if this is still true but the bakery at Walmart sells their flower buckets for $1. I'm new to long term food storage so I'll have too look into this more.
Actually my buddies did this for me, this is how they explained it is done:

Keep in mind just about ALL rice has weevils in it, from the store so all these steps are necessary;
Put rice into mylarbag
Add a oxygen scavenger to it
hermetically seal end of bag after vaccuming the air out.
(The oxygen scavenger will kill the weevils if any)
Put the Mylar bag into food grade bucket (to protect from mice)
Close lid securely

There are youtube vids on this and also its discussed on prepper forums.

Store, stuff is now good for 25 years plus.
 
After you buy rice, flour, or related products such as breader, store them in the deep freezer for a couple of days. That will take care of bugs and eggs.

For rice in bulk, check your local Asian grocery. You can find 20– and 50–pound bags easily, and ironically, much of the rice is grown and packaged in the US. Look around that grocery for other stuff you hadn't considered that might come in handy. When you-know-what virus hit, even though some normal stores briefly ran out of rice, the Asian groceries always had some.

By the way, in a real stuff-hitting-the-fan scenario, no amount of prepping is going to help for long. If it's bad enough, the living will envy the dead. For the likes of natural disasters, prepping can help.
 
I've not seen any mention yet of sanitation. How many people involved and what are you using...sewer or septic system? In a worst case scenario I don't expect the sewers to function very long nor do I expect to get a septic system pumped when I want it done. What about your trash? Do you have a plan to burn or bury it that won't contaminate your water supply? How much do you trust your neighbors? All the prep in the world won't help if you don't have at least some cooperation.
 
Lots of mylar bagged rice in food grade buckets. Enough calories for 1+ person-year
Plus 60 cans of Spam (one can per week added to the rice diet will provide that fat and protein addition necessary)
Plus 5 multivitamin bottles, enough to take one tablet every other day (which is sufficient) for 2-3 years.
Several lbs of noodles but not at all as well packed for time as the rice. Need to eat those first.
100 cans of Chef boyardee stuff
6 boxes of MREs
50 toothbrushes, 50 tube of toothpaste
20 bottles of aspirin,naproxen, iburprofen, tylenol
100+ rolls of toilet paper
50+ Bic lighters
10-15 pairs of pants, including some too small for me now ( I will shrink into them during a famine even with ym supplies)
8 pairs of combat boots, mostly worn and broken in plus a couple new ones.
100 pairs of socks
60 pairs of underwear
50 t shirts
50 bars of soap
Gold and silver
Assorted chest rigs
Ammo, lots of Ammo
Magazines, lots of
Guns, lots of guns and the skill to use them, actually i am heading to the range right now as soon as I am done typing
Extra water at this location, but I intend to retrograde to a location with wells onsite.

My Weakness:
90% of my stuff is stored at my secure retreat location in Appalachia, which is more than a full tanks drive from here.
I own two SUVs. They alternate parked, nose out, 100% topped off, plus various full jerry cans with non ethanol fuel and stabilizer in them. Still it will be tight to make it there if no fuel is available at gas stations on that long drive ( which it may well not be)


I would add medicines for constipation and diarrhea. With all that Chef Boyardee you are bound to experience one or the other. ( pun intended)

Seriously though, those are crucial medicines.
 
I stopped reading his list once I hit the part about the Chef Boyardee stash.
Seriously, once you stock a lot of canned goods you need to start rotating them. The expiration date might be a couple of years from now, but if the cans just sit there, they can rust or the food picks up a metallic taste, especially after the date. This means you need to plan to use some of your stash and replace it continually. About canned goods in particular, if in doubt, throw it out.
 
Another point: silver and gold will be worthless in a bad scenario. Owning them is no substitute for having food and other survival needs, because no one in his right mind is going to sell you goods he needs for his own survival at any price. You don't want to be the richest hungry man in the neighborhood.

Any scenario you can picture in which stores are open and accepting gold for a loaf of bread is outright 100% rubbish. The stores will have been looted long before that point, with no replacement goods likely to arrive soon if ever.
 
Seriously, once you stock a lot of canned goods you need to start rotating them. The expiration date might be a couple of years from now, but if the cans just sit there, they can rust or the food picks up a metallic taste, especially after the date. This means you need to plan to use some of your stash and replace it continually. About canned goods in particular, if in doubt, throw it out.

Anything stock piled like this will go to waste - 100%. Clean drinking water would be my biggest concern, one could survive a long time off a small amount of nuts as long as they have clean drinking water.
 
What do you have in your prepper inventory? I've been stocking my basement shelves incase a major even happens that knocks out the food supply chain. I'm working on a 1 year+ food supply for 4 people.

What do you think of my prepping and what do you recommend? This is what I have so far:

GRAINS:
  • 5x 20lb bags of rice
  • 100x+ cans of beans
  • 40x boxes of pastas
  • 5x large boxes of steel cut oats
  • 20x large boxes of dried potatoes

Canned Proteins & Veggies:
  • 40x cans of chicken
  • 30x cans of tuna
  • 30x cans of spam
  • 50x cans of various soups
  • 50x cans of misc. veggies

Misc. (multiple containers of):
  • Coconut and olive oils
  • Peanut butter
  • Salt & spices
  • Honey & molasses
  • Jell-O's
  • Tea, instant coffee
  • Condiments

Tin Foil Hat Section:
  • Potassium Iodide kit (130mg) for 10 days
  • Been keeping all of my old antibiotics and medicines for years
  • Ammo

I know I have to at least triple the amount of food I have and am looking to add more 20lb bags dried beans and parboiled rice.

Access to a natural source of water without power but also have multiple cases of bottled water.

I didn't go the way of buying prepacked kits from my patriot supply or another reseller since I think those are just overpriced and repacked generic products.

What do you recommend?
If bad times pass you can open a general store
 
Anything stock piled like this will go to waste - 100%. Clean drinking water would be my biggest concern, one could survive a long time off a small amount of nuts as long as they have clean drinking water.
That's my point. If canned goods just sit there on a shelf, then eventually after several years, to be safe, they need to go. You don't want to open a can with a best-by date of 2024 in 2027.
 
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