Prep of The Day Thread

They have a hole cut in them near the top so when one fills up it would overflow into the other but I don't use it.

Glue a PVC overflow pipe to that hole and run it a distance away from the foundation, unless you already have a drywell installed at that location. I would most assuredly use the two barrels connected WITH a shutoff and overflow line. That one day you missed a whole barrel would bother me.

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Since I have been working from home I’ve been cleaning out the basement and all the rooms of the house. Pulled out a tote I put together for power loss and realized I had some super cheap flashlights in here and could use an upgrade. I have a bunch of candles in here as well but suggestions on upgraded flashlights that don’t break the bank?
 
I am trying my hand at a water filter, we have been burning with the wood stove and I have been saving the charcoal, I cut a small water bottle at the top and added a small piece of filter to the neck, added the charcoal to the bottle which was about a 2 inch layer. On top of that I added about 2-3 inches of sand and poured my tap water threw it.
Now I have well water and a filtering system but it uses filters that I cant afford or as things get worse may not be available. So sooner or later we will be drinking iron water again, it wont hurt you or kill ya LOL but it taste like crap.

So this is why I am trying a sand style filter. After trying the charcoal, then the sand I found you need a layer of sand then charcoal then sand again as the charcoal would stain the water a dark charcoal taste and look.

So far the layer of sand, charcoal and sand again seems to filter out most of the iron taste. I will boil all my other water like rain or pond water if it comes to that but this is to keep my from traveling to a local spring to get water as I am sure others are there.

If this works and so far it is, I will make a larger systems with some 5 gallon buckets to up the amount to have on hand.
 
I am trying my hand at a water filter, we have been burning with the wood stove and I have been saving the charcoal, I cut a small water bottle at the top and added a small piece of filter to the neck, added the charcoal to the bottle which was about a 2 inch layer. On top of that I added about 2-3 inches of sand and poured my tap water threw it.
Now I have well water and a filtering system but it uses filters that I cant afford or as things get worse may not be available. So sooner or later we will be drinking iron water again, it wont hurt you or kill ya LOL but it taste like crap.

So this is why I am trying a sand style filter. After trying the charcoal, then the sand I found you need a layer of sand then charcoal then sand again as the charcoal would stain the water a dark charcoal taste and look.

So far the layer of sand, charcoal and sand again seems to filter out most of the iron taste. I will boil all my other water like rain or pond water if it comes to that but this is to keep my from traveling to a local spring to get water as I am sure others are there.

If this works and so far it is, I will make a larger systems with some 5 gallon buckets to up the amount to have on hand.

View: https://youtu.be/-Fso-WXQ0HY
 
Was up early with the dogs, made a pot of coffee, loaded 200rds of .45acp brass that I prepped last night then went to my local small town harware store and picked up 4lbs of Roma bean seeds. Still a little early to plant here yet.
 
Since I have been working from home I’ve been cleaning out the basement and all the rooms of the house. Pulled out a tote I put together for power loss and realized I had some super cheap flashlights in here and could use an upgrade. I have a bunch of candles in here as well but suggestions on upgraded flashlights that don’t break the bank?

My favorite around the house flashlight is the Klarus Mi7. It is a little Powerhouse with a rechargable 14500 lithium battery. The only downside Is that the power button is raised above the body so it is prone to accidental activation. Turning the head 1/4 turn will break the circuit and it will prevent this.

theshorelinemarket_2613_1626985358


Klarus Mi7 Mini-Might 700 Lm Flashlight with CREE XP-L HI V3 LED

These little zoomable flashlights can be found pretty cheaply, and under a variety of names, which also put out a good bit of light with the Lithium 1400 batteries as well.

7163qrl6bZL._AC_SX679_.jpg


Amazon product ASIN B06VSK99MCView: https://www.amazon.com/Kootek-Flashlight-Flashlights-Adjustable-Emergency/dp/B06VSK99MC


Both of these flashlights will also run on AA batteries with lower light output As the AA batteries are 1.2V and the 14500 batteries are 3.7V

Bob
 
@JayMcB (20 questions for ya!)

325W each panel? 335w
Are those 12v or 24v panels? 24v, will be pairs in series
Where did you get them? Bought from CL, leftovers from a commercial job
Dimensions? about 69x40 inches Q Cells Q.ANTUM Solar Panels
Cost? I got them for $125 each. Eligible for 26% federal tax credit too
Answers in Red

I am still dealing with trying to get someone in Grafton county, NH to actually install them, and struggling with a process to remain on grid, but use the panels and batteries to the best use...while I am not there every day to switch electrical loads, etc...and keep an input available for my MEP-002a if needed for battery charging or grid down issues
 
I make it a lot at home. I use this you can get it on Amazon. It is as good as any restaurant. I tried many different manufacturers till I found this one. I mix the tea bags in with the powder. So you can make smaller portions because it makes a couple of gallons.
i made pho ga today. came out great. even my picky eater ate hers and finished mine. we put a 12.5 oz can of chicken, 1 oz soup base, 1/4 tsp ginger and 1/8 tsp cilantro in about 2 qts of water and boiled for 20 minutes. cooked the noodles separately then topped with chicken and broth. didn't have all the veggies on hand but the kid usually picks all those out anyways. lol.
 
i made pho ga today. came out great. even my picky eater ate hers and finished mine. we put a 12.5 oz can of chicken, 1 oz soup base, 1/4 tsp ginger and 1/8 tsp cilantro in about 2 qts of water and boiled for 20 minutes. cooked the noodles separately then topped with chicken and broth. didn't have all the veggies on hand but the kid usually picks all those out anyways. lol.
I've been wondering if I could make a reasonable substitute using linguini. Foodie I work with laughed and immediately said nfw
 
i made pho ga today. came out great. even my picky eater ate hers and finished mine. we put a 12.5 oz can of chicken, 1 oz soup base, 1/4 tsp ginger and 1/8 tsp cilantro in about 2 qts of water and boiled for 20 minutes. cooked the noodles separately then topped with chicken and broth. didn't have all the veggies on hand but the kid usually picks all those out anyways. lol.

EDITED to say: sorry--forgot what thread this was. This doesn't make sense in the context from prep. Disregard.

Next step in that progression is doing a broth from scratch. Pho ga is easier than the beef for your first try. This website has the best feasible pho recipes.

 
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I've been wondering if I could make a reasonable substitute using linguini. Foodie I work with laughed and immediately said nfw
we used chow mein noodles, they were pretty thin. didn't have rice noodles on hand. not sure about linguini but maybe angel hair pasta?
 

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I have angel hair too

ETA just took a look at the pic. I have that seasoning and canned chicken. Maybe I can use some ramen noodles without their flavor packet as a substitute
 
I mixed some soil and got the flats ready yesterday. Need to go through the seeds and see what I want to start first.
Probably a little late for cabbage and broccoli but they are on the list.

They'd probably do ok.

I just spread ten inches of compost/soil on my larger garden to let it dry out.....the pile is pretty wet from all the rain we've had lately. Will till and smooth off tomorrow and maybe plant some beets, kale and collards. Need to screen some too and mix with peat and get some cukes started.
 
I dont have any outside storage here. Back steps offers a bit of protection from the weather and I keep a lawnmower and a 1 gal can there but wouldnt feel comfortable keeping anything more. Should prob spring for a shed at some point.
Back in the 70's I buried 2- 55 gallon open head barrels in the ground, leaving the top sticking out of the ground by about an inch. I keep 4- five gallon plastic gas cans treated with stable in each barrel. Because they are in the ground the temperature doesn't vary very much and the gas cans don't swell and contract as they will do as the temperature changes. Another benefit of this set up is if a gas can developed a leak it would be contained in the barrel.
I have since changed out the steel barrels for plastic ones.
 
Tilled half my garden this morning. Still pretty wet but fluffing it up will help dry it out the next couple of days.
 
Got a couple more rain barrels today. Not quite what I expected as the tops are not removable like the others so they will take a little more work to get ready. They were advertised as cleaned out but probably not that great on the inside.
 
I've been lazy with the little things:
Reloaded all the flashlights with fresh batteries.
Organized the safe, loaded mags and placed for quick grabs.
Found the light on my AR was flickering, not working right o_O o_O Could have been disasterous in a hurry, tightened it up and the flickering went away.
Replaced a few dead outside motion lights, one bulb was filled with water.
 
Planted two 50ft rows of Roma beans, screened half a cubic yard of compost and mixed in some peatmoss to make potting soil.
Filled 8 large pots and started seeds for cukes, tomatoes, kale and collards.

EDIT: Just finished making three 1/2 gallon jars of kimchi and planted about a hundred Romaine lettuce seeds.
 
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Planted two 50ft rows of Roma beans, screened half a cubic yard of compost and mixed in some peatmoss to make potting soil.
Filled 8 large pots and started seeds for cukes, tomatoes, kale and collards.

EDIT: Just finished making three 1/2 gallon jars of kimchi and planted about a hundred Romaine lettuce seeds.
Kind of early for planting? I'm guessing that you're not in N.E.
 
ordered 1000 scallion seeds (I've never tried this, but figure if I plant enough some of them will make it)

ordered a couple of bags of Toor Dal lentils, to make, well, Dal. Dal and rice make a complete protein (i.e.,
all amino acids you need to survive). My wife knows how to make it with her mom's recipe. I need to learn
the secret proportions of Indian spices and how to cook it.
 
Kind of early for planting? I'm guessing that you're not in N.E.

No, south central Kentucky. Daytime temps here are starting to hit the 70's some days and night temps in the mid 50's. The sun is getting more direct and the soil is warming up.

Zone 7. We're a few weeks ahead of N.E. for planting season.
 
Just got this delivered, even though i have months worth of emergency food i thought i'd add to it a bit. seems that they are keeping up with orders.


I have a couple of buckets of freeze dried meals, but they are absolute last resort rations. For those who look to depend on them as an immediate "go to" food source......what is the plan when they run out?......because they will run out.

Not directed to you in particular, just a general question for anyone using them as a primary food source.
 
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