Storing a stash of food is always a good way to stay prepared. But what if the food you stockpile gets spoiled? There are many factors that can turn the food that is supposed to keep you alive in an emergency situation into the thing that can actually kill you.
Are you storing your food safely?
With this thing in mind, for this week’s Prep Blog Review I’ve gathered four articles on this topic.
1. Your Food Storage Might Not Last 25 Years
“Everyone who buys emergency food would like to think that it would last “up to 25 years,” as it says on the side of the can. As we all know, “up to” can technically mean anytime from the moment the product is bought to, well, 25 years.
In the last few years, a number of articles have been published that have questioned the probability that food would actually stay viable and nutritious for 25 years, or 30, as some claim. Recently we’ve finally seen some packaging labels change from “up to 25 years” to “up to 25 years if stored between 50 and 70 degrees” or “if stored under ideal conditions,” whatever that means. The addition of such a phrase injects a higher degree of honesty into the food-storage picture.”
“Common sense and creativity are things you need to have a lot of when homesteading. Most often there isn’t a magic formula or set of rules for you to follow. You use your brain, hone your skills, and do what you can to keep moving forward. Learning to preserve your own food by canning is no different, except that it does come with its own set of rules.
Not following these rules can lead to botulism poisoning and land you in the hospital or even the morgue. To keep you out of both of these places, we’ve compiled this list of 7 canning mistakes that can make you sick or worse.”
Rice Storage – The Most Affordable Storage Calorie In The World
“Rice is boring. Rice is just a filler, right? A basic grain with barely any flavor.
White unseasoned rice is nearly tasteless – rice cakes – need I say more?
But today I’m going to convince you rice is one of the most amazing (nearly perfect) long term storage foods.
When first building your food storage supply, you must decide what you’re going to store in bulk and how you’re going to store it.
The truth of the matter is building a long term food supply is hard.
For one, most foods spoil quickly. Even foods stuffed full of preservatives will eventually spoil.
And second, finding enough storage space for a large stockpile can be difficult.
However, rice kills both those birds with one delicious, healthy, cheap stone. Leaving rice out of your pantry is a mistake for both everyday users and survival situations.
What You Need To Know About How To Use What In Your Food Storage
“Do you know how to use wheat?
Wheat is the most basic and versatile whole grain that you can store in your food storage. It is likely that many of you have wheat in your food storage already, but if you are anything like I was years ago, you may not know much about it.
I’d like to solve that for you today and clue you in to what you need to know about how to use wheat.”
This article has been written by Drew Stratton for Survivopedia.
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This isn’t necessarily a topic for the faint of heart, but slaughtering and butchering is part and parcel of being at the top of the food chain in a survival situation unless you’re a vegetarian.
Even if you just want to learn how to break down your meat so that you can buy it in bulk and butcher it yourself, this is the article for you.
Thinking about it, the term “butchered it” is typically meant as a derogatory remark, as in, “She absolutely butchered my hair” or “He butchered that song when he sang it.” It implies that it was hacked up when in fact, butchering is pretty close to an art. As a matter of fact, if you don’t do it right, you really run the risk of … err … butchering a good cut of meat. Yeah, I don’t blame you – I’d groan, too.
Butchering a cow was a skill most pioneers grew up with as an essential part of an independent life.
Before we move forward, let’s clear something up. You’ve no doubt been warned about eating various parts of the cow. You’ve probably been told that you’ll catch Mad Cow Disease. Scientifically known as BSE, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, Mad Cow has only been found in one cow – a dairy cow – ever in the US. And it’s not entirely clear that Creutzfeldt Jakob, BSE’s human variant (153 cases, ever) is caused by eating infected animal protein.
In other words, your odds of catching Mad Cow is exactly nil, and the odds of catching the human variant is, well, nil.
What You’ll Need
If you’re going to do this, do it right. You need a crazy sharp knife, non-serrated. I actually have a few different sizes so that I can make long strokes when I need to, but can use almost surgical precision when it counts. You also need a hacksaw (no, I’m not kidding) and a meat cleaver. Though that’s a tool that you may want to use judiciously.
And most importantly – space and containers, then refrigeration or freezer. A cow is big, even when it’s quartered, and you’re going to have a lot of meat.
Finally, use safety equipment including goggles and safety gloves (metal mesh).
Butchering Tips
Remove any membranes from the meat. It will be sort of a bluish sheen stretched over the meat, but you want it off. It’s tough and it gives the meat a stronger flavor
Watch your fingers! You’re going to be cutting blind in some instances so use your head unless you want to lose your fingers. If your knife is sharp enough to cut through cow flesh, it’s definitely sharp enough to cut through yours!
Clean your meat as you go. This is just a personal preference for me, but I’m the rare southern girl who can’t stand the texture of fat. Tendon doesn’t bother me, but it’s tough and unpalatable. So as you clean your meat, trim it before you store it. That way when you pull it out to use it, it’s ready.
Fat and connective tissue (marbling) is what cooks down and makes your steak tender and flavorful, so don’t ruin it by taking the lean route and trimming all of the fat off.
And speaking of the fat, if you’re going to make tallow (and why wouldn’t you?), you need to keep the chunks of fat, then render them down.
Parts of the Cow
Now the first thing that we need to discuss is the parts of the cow. Obviously, there are some folks that enjoy tongue and brain, so that’s in the head. The tongue is removed by simply cutting it out of the mouth and the brains are removed by cracking open the skull.
Hind quarters: The rear quarters are where you the rump roast, the round roast, and the shank
Front quarters: This is where your chuck roasts. The neck meat is typically used for stew meat or to make hamburger because it has a lot of fat in it. Also, the breast is there, and that means BRISKET!
Belly: Flank steak and skirt steak. These cuts are typically tougher than other cuts and are therefore either sliced thin to use in dishes such as fajitas, or are used as stew meat and cooked low and slow for tenderness. You can also marinate them for tenderness.
Ribs/Back: Now we’re getting to the good stuff, at least if you’re steak and ribs kinda person. The ribs, short loin, sirloin, and tenderloin are on the back. You can get a variety of cuts from these sections. The rib section has the baby backs and St. Louis style ribs, or you can do boneless ribs. This is also where you’re going to get your steaks from.
Now, let’s break it down a bit further. The ribs are also where you get the ribeye steak, the rib steak, the rib roast and the ribeye roast, depending on how you cut it. As the names imply, the rib roast can be cut into rib steaks, and the same goes for ribeye roast.
The Difference between a Porterhouse and a Filet Mignon
Moving further toward the south end of the cow, you’ll find the short loin section, right behind the ribs. This is where the majority of steaks come from. Top loin, T-Bone, Porterhouse, tenderloin roast and filet mignon, which is just the tenderloin roast cut into steaks.
Now, you may not know this, but all of these steaks are inter-related since they all come from the short loin. Technically, they’re all T-bones, in that they have a T shape to it, with two different cuts of steak – one on either side of the bone. A Porterhouse is cut from the rear end of the loin and is bigger. On one side is a tenderloin, or filet mignon, and on the other is a New York Strip. A standard T-bone is cut closer to the front, is smaller, and contains a smaller portion of tenderloin.
And behind the short loin is the sirloin, which is still a decent cut of meat. As a matter of fact, if it’s cut and cooked right, it’s nearly as tender as the loin. That makes sense considering the tenderloin runs right along the bottom of the sirloin and short loin, coming to a point right behind the ribs.
So, how does all of this information help you? It gives you an idea of what things are going to look like when you get in there. Now you’re ready to start cutting, because there’s no time like the present.
Getting Started
The first thing that you need to decide after the cow is skinned is whether you’re going to age it or not. If so, you need to do it before the roasts are cut into steaks. Many people do it with a steak that they buy from the store and this may be the easiest way for you, too, unless you have somewhere to hang the whole carcass.
The purpose of aging is to break down connective tissue so that the meat is more tender, and to allow the flavors to mellow and develop. Unaged beef will have a metallic, bloody taste to it, but aged beef will have those deep, mellow flavors that are the signatures of a good steak. There are two methods – wet aging and dry aging.
Wet aging is a relatively new process and is done by vacuum-sealing the steak. It’s faster and there is no waste, but you may not be getting the exact flavor that you want. Many people love wet-aged steaks, though. As a matter of fact, you know how it seems that a steak just doesn’t taste the same when you cook it at home? That’s because most store steaks are wet-aged, whereas good steakhouses used dry-aged meat.
The bad part about dry-aging is that you need special, temperature-sensitive meat lockers to do it, and even if you do have them, you’ll lose some meat. Still, I think the flavor is worth it. And you can dry it at home – but that’s an entirely different article!
The only way to truly know your meat is truly safe, is to slaughter it yourself so take the next step to food independence.
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If you have any questions or would like to add anything, please do so in the comments section below. There’s nothing better than talking beef!
This article has been written by Theresa Crouse for Survivopedia.
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Speaking of non-lethal and hugely popular self defense methods, pepper spray is often the weapon of choice for both men and women. That stuff is so good that it’s actually used by riot control police and regular police officers alike.
And pepper spray’s popularity is due to its intrinsic qualities: ease of use, carry convenience and, last but not least, it’s actual effectiveness when it comes to stopping an attacker.
Another cool thing about pepper spray is that is completely legal almost anywhere in the world (except from some hard-core socialist countries in the EU where self-defense is almost a crime) and it doesn’t require any kind of special training in order to use it efficiently.
The only thing to take into account when spraying an aggressor in the eyes is the direction of the wind; that’s about all there is to training.
Using pepper spray is pretty safe even from the victim’s perspective, so to speak, because pepper will not cause permanent damage to the soft tissues or the eyes.
Pepper spray works, provided you use it correctly, by causing temporary blindness and an intense burning sensation on the recipient’s face, followed by skin irritation that may take hours to recede. But that’s hardly a real problem anyway, compared to shooting them, right?
However, the lesson to be taken home about pepper spray used as a self-defense weapon is its availability. The thing is, if you don’t have your pepper spray can readily available for an emergency, it won’t help you a bit, i.e. if you keep it somewhere at the bottom of your purse, you’ll not be able to prevent an assault.
It’s also pretty straightforward that when using pepper spray in self defense, always aim for the aggressor’s face, thus temporarily incapacitating him/her by causing great pain, especially in the eyes.
The good news about this awesome self-defense weapon is that it’s totally DIY-able. Basically, pepper spray is made from chili peppers – the extracted juice to be precise. That means a homemade pepper spray is made from readily available ingredients in one’s kitchen, especially if you love spicy food.
If you want to add insult to injury, i.e. to add a coughing effect to those tears and swelling, you’ll also require some black pepper to be put into the mix.
Obviously, you should use the hottest kind of peppers you can put your hands on for maximizing the deterrent effect of your homemade pepper spray.
I’ve seen people using a pepper-spray solution put into long-range water guns (you know, those type of toys used by kids) to use on trespassers, including wildlife, the likes of raccoons and similar pests. Toy water guns have more range than regular spray cans when it comes to delivering the pepper blend.
Before getting into the fine arts of pepper spray DIY-ing, I must warn you that what we’re dealing with here is a self-defense weapon and nothing more.
Basically, you must use pepper spray for self-defense only. Unless you’re getting attacked, as in beat up, robbed or when trying to stop a crime/felony, there’s no reason to spray people with your home made pepper spray, alright? Depending on one’s location, even in the US, using pepper spray without cause may be actually against the law, so be careful about what you’re carrying.
And if you’re wondering what’s up with that, even pepper spray may have serious negative health effects on certain people suffering from asthma or on folks allergic to capsaicin.
How to DIY Your Own Pepper Spray
Now, if for some mysterious reason you prefer to DIY your own pepper spray, you’ll only need two main things:
a method to deliver the respective substance – the delivery system that is
a serious stock of dried chili peppers (or fresh ones if you have some in your garden.
If you’re growing your own stash, you may call yourself an off the grid survivalist, one hundred percent, at least with regard to DIY-ing pepper spray. If not, you can buy it from various places such as grocery stores, farmers markets, and specialty markets.
As far as the delivery system – the canister that is – the possibilities are almost endless, ranging from toy guns as I previously described to a simple spray bottle from one’s medicine cabinet. Bottom line, anything that sprays can be used as a delivery method, provided it’s water-tight. Canister aside, when speaking of efficient pepper spray, you must choose the best ingredients for the job, and by that I mean the hottest chili peppers.
How to Choose the Peppers
Pepper hotness is measured using the SHU rating system (Scoville Heat Unit). The more SHU a pepper has, the better. The idea is to use the hottest readily-available pepper variety, and the most common one is Cayenne Pepper, which stands proudly anywhere between 30,000 and 60,000 SHU. Thai chili is even better, as it boasts a 50,000 to 150,000 SHU. Red Savina Habanero is the nuke of peppers for sprays, with 350,000 to 650,000 SHU. Of course, we have to mention the mother of all bombs, the Ghost Pepper, the hottest thing known to man, which will disintegrate everything in its path via its whopping 800,000-1,500,000 SHU.
The magic ingredient in pepper spray is called capsaicin, which is an irritant for all mammals, including you, dear reader. Pepper sprays used by law enforcement in the US have a payload of 2,000,000 to 6,000,000 SHU, which is up to three times stronger than what you can buy in the store as a “civilian”. Hence, making your own pepper spray is not such a bad idea after all.
Now, for DIY-ing pepper spray, the best way is to extract the active chemical in chilies (capsaicin) by using a solvent. Don’t worry, the procedure is fairly easy and it doesn’t require complicated chemistry skills or knowledge, but we’ll get back to that in a moment.
To begin with, when DIY-ing pepper spray, always wear rubber gloves and also safety goggles, for protecting your eyes and your hands from the oil. You don’t want concentrated capsaicin anywhere near your eyes or your skin.
It would be advisable to also wear a mask in order to avoid inhalation of toxic vapors, especially if you’re allergic or sensitive to peppers or strong odors. This isn’t a joke, so don’t take it lightly – the oils in these peppers are weaponized for a reason and it would be brutally ironic to injure yourself while you’re making something to protect yourself with.
Now, let’s get down to business.
How to Prepare the Pepper Spray
The simplest way to make your own pepper spray is this: take your dried peppers and chop them as finely as possible using a blender or a grinder, then put them inside a bowl. Six to ten dried chili peppers will suffice, provided they’re the strong kind.
Next, you’ll need 2 tablespoons of minced garlic to add into the mix, followed by 2 tablespoons of baby oil. The latter works as an adhesive of sorts, helping the substance to adhere to skin and clothes and making it very difficult to remove.
Finally, add twelve ounces of vodka (any type of alcohol actually) or vinegar, for increasing the shelf life of your homemade pepper spray. For best results, put the mixture in a blender for two to three minutes on the high setting. If you’re doing it by hand, muddle the garlic, baby oil, and pepper powder together until it has the consistency of a fine, smooth paste before adding the alcohol.
When ready, put the mixture inside a large container, a glass bottle for example, and let it rest overnight in a cold place. To increase its effectiveness, the mixture must be allowed to infuse for a while.
The next morning, you’re almost ready to pour the pepper mixture in your storage vessel of choice, but prior to that, you’ll have to filter it using a funnel and cheesecloth. The homemade pepper spray should be kept inside your refrigerator and it will maintain its properties for up to three months, especially if you’ve used alcohol. In the next step, you’ll just have to fill your spray bottle with the stuff.
Here’s a more high-tech method that will make about 3.5 ounces (100 ml) of pepper spray: you’ll require 100 grams of hot chili powder and about 7 ounces (200 ml) of ethanol (denatured alcohol), mixed together inside of a container. To make sure there are no chili powder clumps, run the mixture through a wire-mesh kitchen strainer and then put it inside a cooking pot. Heat the mixture until the ethanol boils and then evaporates. What’s left inside the cooking pot will look like orange goo, with the consistency of wax. Add to it 20 milliliters of baby oil until it you’ll end up with a honey-like consistency and that’s about it.
The stuff can now be poured in any type of delivery system after it’s thinned using alcohol so it can be sprayed easily (equal parts, one part alcohol, one part orange goo). On the bright side of the news, using this method, you’ll end up with pepper spray that will last you indefinitely if it’s hermetically sealed.
Now that you know how to make your own pepper spray, start practicing.
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This article has been written by Chris Black for Survivopedia.
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21 Point Prepper’s Checklist For Stocking Up at Wal-Mart
Over the years I’ve consulted with many clients through my consulting business who know that they should stock up on food, water, and other needed gear but they’ve become so overwhelmed with all the “prepper foods” and “prepper gear” suggestions that’s being promoted on nearly every survival blog and prepper website that they don’t know where to start – so they contact me for help.
I love seeing the look on their faces when I tell them that they don’t really need all...
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A Comprehensive Guide to Home Storage, Bartering, Bugging Out, Weapons, and Self-Defense. Stuff You Need to Survive When Disaster Strikes.
Let’s face it… prepping has become a glutted niche with thousands upon thousands of survival blogs, books, magazines, and related articles. It’s gotten to the point that it’s almost ridiculous with an unmanageable deluge of information about prepping that’s online and in print with most just repeating what has already been said over and over again. That’s why I put together this massive 11,344-word preppers survival...
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There’s going to be some good eating in the neighborhood tonight. You have shot and killed a 200 lb. wild boar. You don’t want any meat to go to waste. How would you preserve the meat?
You have foraged for some wild garlic and walking onions. From your garden, you have potatoes and carrots.
Question: What would you make? Please post your recipe below.
Scenario: We are in a grid down situation. We are already several months into the situation. There is no running water,...
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If you get lost in the wild, you should be aware that search and rescue teams will probably use air resources as the primary means of determining your location. Okay, there may be also ground teams looking for “the lost sheep,” but in any situation, being capable of signaling for help in a survival scenario is of utmost importance.
When it comes to air search and rescue, agencies fly search patterns using small planes or helicopters in a grid pattern, mostly during the day. It’s worth mentioning that if we’re talking about extreme cases, they do perform search and rescue missions even at night, but you’ll have to consider yourself extra-lucky in such eventuality.
Ground search and rescue personnel may arrive at your location on horseback if the terrain is extra-difficult or by using 4×4 trucks, ATVs and sometimes even motorcycles. Tracking dogs are also commonly used in searches.
Now, try to consider getting lost, then being found from a logical standpoint, and from the eyes of the rescue team. Think about what would be the best way to find somebody if you were looking at the ground from a small fixed-wing aircraft, a helicopter, or a ground unit crisscrossing the land, looking along country routes and trying to see through trees. What about the folks walking area trails or driving pickup trucks on remote and sinister roadways? What would draw their attention?
Find a Good Spot
The first rule of escape survival is quite the opposite of the first rule of being lost. You need to know how to signaling for help: the former requires silence and invisibility, which includes avoiding clearings and roadways. The latter stipulates that you should find a large, open area then get out in the open and do everything you can to get noticed; that would be the first step to take in a SHTF, being lost scenario.
Hence, the first thing to do is to find a large open area that’s easy to reach from your shelter (if any). Speaking of large open areas, the spot must be wide enough to allow for a helicopter to land; it should be very large and flat, with no obstructing vegetation/trees/rocks on the ground. That would be the ideal setup. However, in a survival scenario, you’ll just have to settle for what you have close by, so just do the best you can.
Always avoid shaded/shadowed areas beneath/adjacent to rocks, big trees, and other obstacles that will obstruct somebody in the air’s view of you. Shady areas are excellent for hiding, but you’re looking for the opposite if you’re lost. You want to be easily seen from the ground or from the air.
The first thing you need to do after you find a good spot is take a look at your gear and at what’s readily available nearby. Check out and arrange/identify what can be used as a signaling tool. Evaluate each item and opportunity very carefully, as your life actually depends on it.
In our day and age, almost everybody carries a cell phone and/or a GPS gadget. However, high tech gear tends to die quickly and break easily. If you’re lucky enough to have a cell phone with a live battery and at least minimal network coverage, you can try to send an SMS message, even if you don’t have enough reception to initiate a phone call to 911 or a dear friend/ emergency contact. Try to send as much intel as possible in the simplest way, to the person you think most likely to see it immediately, or send the text to a group of people. Keep your text short, saying something like: “SOS 50deg48 min 51 sec N 122 deg 29 min 31 sec W fall w broken leg injured call 911” or something similar.
But that would be the best case scenario, isn’t it? Find an elevated position, snatch a little bit of signal, send a clever SMS and wait for the Air Cavalry to arrive. In reality, things are rarely that easy, so you may have to settle for the old way: signaling your location by using rocks, sticks, dirt, shadows, signal fires, and so on.
As the general rule of thumb, it’s very important to remember the CLASS acronym with regard to ground to air signaling.
C stands for Contrast. The best way to signal your presence is by using colors which are in contrast to the background. For example, dig a trench, thus creating a black shadow/writing against white snow. You could also use branches. Or, if the soil is covered in green vegetation, an orange tent would draw attention.
L stands for Location, and it refers to the open area (close to your shelter) I already told you about in the preamble.
A stands for Angularity, meaning that in order to catch your rescuer’s eyes, your signals must have as many straight lines and sharp corners as possible, because ninety degree corners in nature are a pretty rare occurrence.
S stands for Size. Size is everything, right? The bigger, the betterMake your letters and fires as big as possible, without burning the forest down.
Finally, the S stands for shape. A large V-shaped sign means that you’re looking for assistance/help, an X signifies that you’re injured, big arrows can be used for communicating the direction you’re traveling to, etc.
If you’re on the move, it’s very important to leave crystal-clear signals, like notes and arrows indicating your intentions, the direction you’re traveling to, or other details that will help your rescuers find you.
Use Signal Fires and Smoke
Now, getting back to business, the best (as in field-proven) method to make your presence noticed regardless of whether it’s day or night is by fire. Fire has been used for thousands of years for signaling for rescue, and it works beautifully. During the night, fire makes for the most effective visual means when it comes to signaling one’s presence.
The international distress signal follows the rule of three, i.e. you must build 3 fires in a straight line (25 meters between the fires) or in a triangle so that you’re not mistaken or a regular camper out having a good time. Always remember to build your fires somewhere visible from the air/distance, i.e. in a location where the foliage/natural obstacles will not hide it.
An excellent way to attract attention is to set a tree on fire by placing dry wood/combustible material in its lower branches and setting it ablaze. For producing smoke (during the day), add green leaves/small green trees to the fire. For best results, when signaling for help during the day, the color of the smoke should contrast with the background, i.e. white smoke against a dark background and vice versa.
A large fire smothered with moss or green leaves will produce white smoke. To get black smoke, you must add oil soaked rags or rubber to a fire. However, keep in mind that smoke signals are only effective on clear days, sans snow, rain or high winds.
If you want to get noticed by search and rescue teams in an effective manner, think along the lines of putting yourself at odds with your surroundings. That would require motion, contrast and sound.
By contrast, I am talking about displaying colors and shapes that are strikingly different from your natural surroundings. For example, you can use a space blanket, bright clothing, tarps, tents, ribbons or improvised flags. Searchers are constantly looking for camping equipment/manmade stuff, provided it’s obvious (as in visible) from both ground and air. Motion translates into creating movement that’s different (at odds) with a still landscape. Think along the lines of a flag pole.
In addition to signal pyres, you can also try to reveal your presence by building mounds, i.e. 3 large rock-made piles forming a triangle that can be easily noticed from the air (in an open area obviously). The taller the mounds, the better, as taller structures will cast larger shadows, thus making them more visible from distance.
Write a Message on the Ground
Depending on your location, you can also try to write a message/sign on the ground that can be noticed by search and rescue teams flying overhead. On sand, you can use a big branch to write an SOS/HELP ME message. On land, you may go for branches, rocks or anything else that can be gathered to create (as big as possible) letters.
Use a Mirror
Signal mirrors are used for both motion and contrast in sunlight, as they’re pretty good at providing directed flashes toward ground or air searchers. This type of signal goes a long way and it’s especially effective from an elevated position, such as a mountain or a tree-top.
If possible, try to get to the highest point available when signaling, thus maximizing your chances of getting rescued.
Audible signals are also worth considering, whether we’re talking about shooting your gun (3 shots spaced 5 seconds apart) or by using a whistle. Seriously speaking, there’s no excuse for not having a whistle in your EDC survival kit. Whistles require little effort (compared to yelling) and they never run out of ammo. Always remember the rule of threes when signaling, including when using a whistle.
Wave your Arms
If everything else fails or you don’t have anything else available, you can always try to attract attention via body signals by waving your arms to the side and down. But don’t hope for much when you’re using this method because you’re a tiny person in a world of waving trees, etc.
Finally, I’ve saved the best for last. Remember, we live in the 21th century and it’s the Year of the Lord 2017.
Use a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB)
What’s your excuse for not having one of these little bad boys with you every time you’re adventuring outdoors? Or even better, a PLB (personal locator beacon)? I know, they’re a bit expensive, but better safe than sorry, right?
Know that you know how to signal for help if lost in the wild, will you be able to protect your own in a life or death scenario?
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This article has been written by Chris Black for Survivopedia.
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The rubber band engine is cheap and easy to make, and can be adapted easily enough to run on heat from a solar capture device.
This type of engine isn’t the most efficient device, but if you have been looking into power generation systems, then you already know that most systems are inefficient.
To generate a reasonable amount of electricity, the device either has to be very large or made from materials that are very expensive. Add in the cost of batteries and voltage regulators, and it may seem impossible to gain energy independence.
But why wouldn’t give this little fellow a chance and try to make one for your homestead?
How Does a Rubber Band Engine Work?
I have long been a fan of work with smaller devices that generate small amounts of energy, and then pooling that electricity to gain a reasonable amount of power.
While the rates may vary considerably, as well as the amount of heat required, most solid objects will expand when you heat them and contract when they cool. Rubber is like water in the sense that it will also expand as it cools and contract as it heats up. Unlike water, however, it takes much less heat to cause rubber to contract. Therefore, when arranged in combination with metals or other materials, heating up rubber will cause an object to disbalance. This “disbalancing” will cause the object to spin. As the object spins, you can use that motion to generate electricity with magnets and coils.
Thinking about materials that you can easily obtain, there are no substitutes that will work as well as rubber bands, or be as cheap to obtain in this particular energy generating design.
There are some things you can try and also look for as new technologies emerge:
Metals expand and contract at different rates. Therefore, it is possible to obtain alloys that expand much faster when heated, and also cools and contracts faster when away from a heat source. Unfortunately, it may take a bit more energy than it would take to create the same amount of change in a rubber band.
If you decide to work with metal alloys, try and see if a spring shape works better than something similar to rubber bands. As the spring relaxes and tenses, some additional capacity to turn the wheel may be produced from this shape.
Water is the only other readily available substance that expands as it turns to ice, and then contracts as it shifts from ice back to water. It takes a good bit of energy to cause water to shift between its four phases of solid, water, gas, and triple state. Nevertheless, if you work with smaller quantities of water and generate small amounts of steam that are held in tubes, it may be possible to push a wheel out of balance in a way similar to one of the most basic rubber band engine designs.
As research continues on nano-technologies and other studies that lead to development of new materials, it is entirely possible that some solid will emerge that behaves like rubber. If this material turns out to be more durable than rubber bands, then it may be worthwhile to see if you can obtain some and try to build a power generating engine with it.
As a prepper, you may feel a bit frustrated because this particular engine relies on a commodity that may not be available after SHTF.
There are ways to make rubber on your own from various plants, and once you design your first rubber band engine, experiment with growing plants that produce a sap that can be turned into rubber (dandelions, for example). You may have to make thicker bands in order to produce the same level of durability as you will get from commercial rubber bands, it is still worth the effort.
When building a rubber band heat engine, you will need to make sure that you control the amount of heat reaching the rubber bands. Too much heat can damage the rubber bands, so you will usually find that “less is better”.
You will also need to decide whether you will use a bath of warm water, or simply heat up the air around the rubber bands in order to make them contract. Even though you can use anything from old bicycle wheels to cardboard to build the frame for the rubber bands, the engine must have the following parts no matter whether you decide to heat up air or water:
rubber bands
a central shaft
one or more disks that can be mounted to a central shaft. This disk will also have to act as a support for the rubber bands. It will also need to be sturdy enough so that you can mount magnets on it.
a means to shield one half of the rubber bands from heat so they expand as quickly as possible
a way to heat up the air or water
Of all the designs featured on the Heat Engines page, the design by William E. Wiegand will probably lend itself the best to a wide range of power sources.
It also has a fairly large vertical frame, so there is also plenty of room for adding coils. Needless to say, for anyone interested in making a small central coil, this may also be an ideal way to build an electric motor that runs on heat.
X Powering Methods for a Rubber Engine
Many people are surprised to find out that a rubber band engine is very easy to power. A candle, or even incandescent light bulb will provide enough heat to cause the rubber bands to contract.
In fact, just about any source of heat, even if it is generated as a secondary process (for example, heat thrown off from a running engine) can be used to power the rubber band engine. Just make sure that you can shield the rest of the device so that the central disk keeps spinning.
Here are just a few simple things you can use to power the rubber band engine that will serve a dual purpose:
Candle heater
Set a candle heater to one side of the rubber band engine. As you will recall, this simple device requires little more than a few clay pots and zinc free washers. With 4 tea lights, you can heat up a small room for 2 – 3 hours and run the rubber band engine at the same time.
Alcohol, and Rocket stoves
Why not generate some electricity while you are cooking on these versatile stoves? As with the candle heater, just set the rubber band engine to one side of the stove where it will receive sufficient heat. Camp fires, and any other stove that throws off heat can be used for the same purpose.
Using a rubber band engine instead of materials that generate electricity based on thermal transfer will be cheaper and easier to develop into larger applications in the long run.
Other Sources
If you are serious about breaking away from commercial electricity or other commercial power sources, then you will already realize that solar and wind power offer you the best options. These systems have been hijacked by dirty and expensive “green” technologies, there is still a lot you can do at the consumer level to take advantage of them.
The sun produces plenty of heat that can be concentrated, and stored so that you can run the rubber band engine in many different kinds of weather.
Here are just a few devices you can make from stuff in your trash can or around the yard and use to power the rubber band engine:
Solar can heater
This device uses little more than old food cans, a wooden frame, some glass or plastic, and pipes in the center of each can. Basically, in this system, the cans are exposed to the sunlight, and cause the air or water in the central tubes to heat up.
From there, all you have to do is let the hot air flow into a room in your home, or let the hot water circulate in a water radiator. To run the rubber band engine, it is just as easy to make a second set of pipes that will blow hot air directly onto the engine.
Solar cooker
These devices can produce temperatures hot enough to cook meat, boil water, and bake bread. Just set up a metal coil in the bottom of the solar cooker and set the other end under a metal plate on one side of the rubber band engine. Do not forget to check the temperatures often so that you do not over heat the rubber bands.
Shiny object
The simplest and easiest way to concentrate heat from the sun is to use a shiny object that bounces sunlight onto a piece of metal. As the metal heats up, the radiant energy will disburse near the rubber band engine.
When experimenting with this system, be careful to watch as the sun shifts so that the mirror does not wind up bouncing heat onto dry grass or something else that can catch fire. It can take only a few seconds for to start a fire this way, and a matter of minutes for it to go out of control.
Plastic solar lenses
Water absorbs a lot of heat, and can also hold onto it for a reasonable amount of time. If you are interested in purifying water, then you may already know that clear plastic solar lenses or even a simple clear plastic bottle are very important for this purpose. If you let a contained source of water heat up, then you can also use that heat to power the rubber band engine.
As with the solar cooker, you will more than likely need to use some type of metal to transfer the heat from the collector to one side of the rubber band engine. You can also use styrofoam or other insulators on the metal so that as little heat as possible is lost on the way to the rubber band engine.
Needless to say, if you choose to build a rubber band engine that is designed to work with warm water, then you will not need to concern yourself with transporting the heat to another location.
Friction
Most people will tell you that friction is a necessary evil at best, but friction also generates heat. If you are interested in harnessing wind power to power the rubber band engine, you may look for ways to generate friction as the bladed (or bladeless depending on the design you choose) system turns. You can still use oils and other lubricants to reduce wear on parts, and still gain plenty of heat from friction generated by the parts passing each other. It may be as simple as adding a band around standard wind turbine blades (or make them smaller to compensate for the added wind power to overcome drag) that will produce friction.
How to Get Electricity From the Rubber Band Engine
Once you master assembling coils and magnets to generate electricity, using the rubber band engine will not be much different. Even though you may be tempted to make a central coil, do not forget these coil types are harder to wind. Magnets also weigh less and can be distributed more easily, so I still recommend using them on the spinning area of any given power generation system and then leave the coils stationary.
When generating electricity using rubber bands, remember that a rubber band does not have a lot of strength. Even if you can get the wheel spinning quite fast, it will take several modules going on at one time to generate significant amounts of power.
You are better off building ten smaller units that spin faster than one unit that does not move as well or breaks down quickly because of the wear and tear on the rubber bands.
Finally, as with any other power generation system, you will still need some way to even out the current produced, and then store it for later use. You can use anything from earth batteries to store electricity to twisting ropes that can be used later on to spin the wheel in the opposite direction and produce more electricity.
If you have some rubber bands sitting on your desk or in a drawer somewhere, you may not realize that these flimsy objects may be a key to generating electricity, even if they only produce a few volts of electricity, but enough to power smart phones, flashlights, or other useful small devices.
They are also a perfect way to gain a good introduction into harnessing solar power, or even how to build units that can be combined to generate even more power.
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This article has been written by Carmela Tyrell for Survivopedia.
References:
http://the-mostly.ru/misc/heat_engines.html
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In one of my recent articles, I talked about surviving an airplane crash. Today we’ll contemplate another catastrophic scenario: how to survive a train accident. I know, it’s holiday season, so let be happy and all that, but better safe than sorry, right? After all, what’s happier than being alive?
The thing is, airplane crashes are a rare occurrence and most of them are not as horrible as one may think, i.e. the survival rate is pretty high. The same is true with train accidents; I mean, they don’t happen very often and the number of casualties is relatively low, all things considered. Now, if you enjoy traveling by train, you’ll have to pay attention to today’s article, as I’ll share with you a number of tips and tricks that may save your life in a rail accident.
With regard to train accidents, there are basically two main things that can go wrong: a head on collision with another train (the worst case scenario), or a collision with a vehicle (truck, SUV etc) in level crossings or derailments.
I know that you’re thinking that trains are safe and all that and I agree with you. However, it’s common sense to maximize your chances of not only surviving, but getting back home in one piece.
To begin with, there’s a lot of debate among rail transportation experts when it comes to what passengers should do in order to survive a train accident. If you’re paying attention to the news, you’ve probably noticed the recent derailments and crashes, especially those involving New Jersey Transit and MTA trains. They’ve been pretty shocking for commuters (and residents alike) in New Jersey and New York.
Here are some facts for your viewing pleasure:
Just to recall a few recent high-profile rail accidents, in February, 2016, 6 casualties were recorded and 15 were seriously injured when an MTA train hit an SUV in the Westchester hamlet of Valhalla, on the Metro-North tracks.
Then there was the Amtrak incident in April, 2016, when a train traveling to Georgia from New York through Philly killed 2 and injured scores more. Finally, there was the one that occurred in September of 2016, when 108 passengers were injured and one died when a NJ Transit train crashed at Hoboken. Three in the same year, though that’s an anomaly at least for passenger trains.
Judging from Federal Rail Administration statistics, in 2014, there were 1700+ train incidents, including almost 150 collisions (most with other vehicles), and 1200 derailments, but the vast majority of the crashes involved freight trains. Between 2011 and 2014 there were only four (4) fatalities from train crashes anywhere in the US.
In other words, your odds of dying in a train crash in the US are statistically less than your odds of drowning or getting bitten by a shark (about 1 in 19 million, actually). Now, let’s see about some tips and tricks for maximizing your chances of not only survival, but also for reducing the odds of getting injured in the improbable eventuality of a train crash.
Just like with airplanes, despite what the Federal transportation authority claims, not all seats inside a plane/train are created equal. Everything in life is about location; hence one’s location (as in where you sit) can really make a difference in the eventuality of a train crash.
The general rule of thumb when picking a seat on a train is to head for the middle section. If you want to pick the safest spot to sit on a train, disregard what the talking heads on TV are telling you as well as the so-called expert advice; you must go straight to the data, i.e. reports/statistics from federal agencies, the same folks that set the safety standards for both plane and rail companies.
The first thing to take into account: head on collisions are very rare. You should worry about derailments, as a train is 9x more likely to derail at some point during a trip than to slam into another vehicle or train head on. The data was scooped from the Federal Railroad Administration database, and this fact should be enough to change your “seat-choosing” patterns. According to various studies, in case of a train-derailment, the cars toward the middle of the train are the less likely to tumble off the rails. The same studies revealed that the first to go off track is the lead locomotive/the first vehicle/car, but that’s hardly a surprise.
Bottom line, the sweet spot when choosing a seat is in a car 1 or 2 back from the center of the train.
Tables were the main culprits in many crashes, being responsible for countless internal injuries and the Federal Rail Agency is currently redesigning them for improved crash safety. They are contemplating using air bags (yeah, you read that right) for the tables and also crushable edges, the same tricks used in the automotive industry.
A “mainstream” idea pedaled by so-called safety experts is to choose a rear-facing seat. The concept is that a rear-facing seat will prevent you from being thrown forward (in the absence of a seat belt) during a collision. While this may sound like common sense when it comes to a head-on collision, just like all cute but wrong theories, the reality is that side impacts are far more common than rear-end or head-on ones.
Data scooped from the US Department of Transportation d-base shows that side collisions outnumber rear-end/head-on ones by a factor of 9 to 1 (especially on commuter trains), so forget about the nice view and go sit in an aisle seat. And to play it 100% safe, make it rear facing, just to be sure. Bottom line, the safest place to sit is in an aisle seat, rear-facing, towards the back of the train.
Follow the Instructions
Obviously, in case of an emergency, you should pay attention to PA announcements and follow the instructions to the letter. These guys are trained for SHTF scenarios, especially the train conductor.
If the circumstances really call for it, one should contemplate jumping off the train prior to a catastrophic crash. While this is very dangerous, you should be prepared for the worst case scenario. Try to do this at the end of the last car. If that’s not an option, jump from the door (if you can open it) or from the space between cars.
You can protect your head by using a blanket or something similar (you can secure some padding around your melon with your belt) and the same goes for your elbows, knees and hips. Before you jump, try to pick a landing spot free of trees, rocks, bushes, or anything that may injure you during the big tumble.
Don’t try to land on your feet because it’s almost impossible to keep your balance, especially at high speeds; get as low to the floor as possible before you jump by bending your knees so you can leap-frog away from the car and jump at a ninety degrees angle away from the train, thus avoiding rolling towards the tracks, and cover your head with your arms while rolling like a log as you land. Keep your body straight so you will absorb the impact over the widest area possible.
Now, following a train crash, provided you’re still inside the car and the train comes to a full stop, don’t linger inside, but go for the nearest emergency exit/window ASAP.
It would be advisable to get accustomed to the emergency procedures prior to an eventual accident. Just like with everything in life, plan ahead, be aware of the situation and the nearest exits, and also try to visualize how to get there.
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This article has been written by Chris Black for Survivopedia.
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I have come to believe that it is just human nature that drives us as a society to over complicate our home built projects, we see someone that we want to replicate and we drive forward with out stopping to have a good think over.
My case this month is water storage, in particular an acquaintance near by. This person wanted to expand their water storage. They ordered and had shipped to them 10 sixty gallon food safe barrels, plus piping, valves and a host of other items. The storage was set up on a wood tier. At the end of this endeavor, the system did not work like the booklet...
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Wool Blankets and clothing, why do we need these? Arewool blanketseven necessary as a bush crafter, camper, survivalist or prepper? It is my opinion that wool blankets are essential components of any camping kit. Add a 9’x9’ or larger tarp and a few dozen feet of paracord or tarred bank line and you have a great kit with a Morakniv or other camp worthy blade. This article will be an instructional and review article all in one. It will hopefully help you understand the benefit of wool blankets and even underclothes for daily wear, EDC (every day carry), GHB (Get home bag), 3-day kit...
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Not everybody has a ton of space to grow food, and even for those who do, there are many reasons to use mediums other than soil. Not only that, it’s always a good idea to know your options.
We live in a land of what if, and our goal is to always be prepared, right? Then you need to know how to grow food in a soilless medium.
Why Use Soilless Mediums
Anybody can poke a plant in the dirt and it will grow, or so people seem to think. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Well, OK, sometimes you may get lucky, and there are plants that are almost impossible to kill, but it you want quality plants, there are many reasons why dirt may not be your best option.
For instance, you may live in an area where the soil isn’t ideal. It may be too wet, too dry, or lack nutrients or the proper texture. Even the best soil may contain bacteria and fungi that can be harmful to your plants. You may live in a small place where you need to grow in containers and you don’t want to deal with the mess of soil.
Speaking of which, if your soil has been contaminated with certain parasites, fungi, bacteria, or viruses, you may HAVE to let the soil rest. Then what are you going to do? You’re going to have other options.
Another reason to use soilless mediums is that you can control every aspect of your plant’s growth cycle: the nutrition, the texture, and the moisture. It’s not so easy to do any of that when you’re using soil.
You’re probably thinking that soilless growing means that there are no “dirty” materials. That’s not always the case. Yes, aquaponics and hydroponics are certainly options, but there are also several different organic growing materials that make great growing mediums.
Organic soilless potting mixes
For instance, sphagnum peat moss is coarse but it’s sterile and lightweight. The one problem with it is that it doesn’t hold moisture well; it’s hard to get wet to begin with.
To combat that, you can vermiculite, which is a compact form of mica, a group of silicate minerals that form in layers, and are lightweight and fairly soft. Vermiculite does a great job of holding water in the peat, but it doesn’t provide much aeration. That’s okay, though. Our next product does.
To help keep the mix from becoming clunky and dense, use perlite, which is a form of expanded volcanic rock. It’s usually white – if you’ve used commercial potting soil, you’ve probably noticed the little white beads. That’s perlite. Because it’s basically lava, it’s light and airy and does a great job of keeping your mix aerated. Without air, your medium will literally suffocate the roots of your plant.
So, now you’ve got a sterile base, something to help the mix hold water, and something to keep it light and fluffy so the roots can grow. The only piece of the puzzle that’s missing is drainage. Course sand is great for that because it doesn’t retain water at all, but it doesn’t clump so tight that water can’t flow through it.
Coconut coir, which is the fiber on the shell, can be used in place of moss. Tree bark, rocks, gravel can also be used to help with drainage and so can tree bark, rocks, gravel, and even crushed seashells can be used for drainage.
When making any of these mixes, you’ll probably need to add some limestone and fertilized to add the necessary nutrients.
Hydroponics
This is likely a term that you’ve heard and is simple. It’s just a matter of growing your plants in water. You start them as seedlings and then place them in water to continue to grow. When using hydroponics, you need to add fertilizer and keep the water flowing so that it stays aerated, and keep adding it as the plants absorb it.
You’ll need something to hold the roots, too. You can use stones, marbles, sand, or any number of synthetic mediums. The traits that you’re looking for is that it doesn’t hold water, the matter has holes that the roots can grow through, and that it’s not something that’s going to degrade in the water.
Hydroponics is a great method to use as long as you have electric of some sort to run the pump. It’s a sterile system that allows you to add exactly the nutrients that you need for each plant in the system to grow.
Aquaponics
Aquaponics is similar to hydroponics, but it takes it a step further. Whereas hydroponics requires fertilization to get nitrogen and other nutrients to the roots, aquaponics does not. It’s more of a self-propagating system that uses aquaculture, usually fish, to provide the nitrogen and other nutrients to the water.
Aquaponics is an interesting system to many people who are trying to become more independent because you can scale the system up and integrate larger aquatic creatures, and grow more plants. Of course, you’re going to need more space, but it’s a system that works. Fish waste is nutrient-dense, and the plants keep oxygen in the water. It’s a win/win.
Cost is a big difference in aquaponics and hydroponics, especially when it comes to the fertilizer. Fish food is dirt cheap; commercial fertilizers aren’t. Also, you have the whole chemical vs. organic debate, too. You can, of course, use organic fertilizer in hydroponics, but most people don’t.
Plants are firrigated (fertilize and irrigate) differently, too. Hydroponic systems typically flush the water through every 4-6 hours. In an aquaponics system, it’s flooded for 15 minutes every 45 minutes.
As you can see, there are several different soilless mediums that you can use to grow plants. Not only is dirt not required to grow plants, it’s not even the best way in many circumstances.
As a matter of fact, if you’re shooting for food independence, you may want to consider other options, especially aquaponics, because it allows you to grow an ecosystem that is easy to maintain and provides both protein (fish) and the vitamins and minerals that you need from plants.
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This article has been written by Theresa Crouse for Survivopedia.
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This isn’t necessarily a topic for the faint of heart, but slaughtering and butchering is part and parcel of being at the top of the food chain in a survival situation unless you’re a vegetarian.
Speaking of non-lethal and hugely popular self defense methods, pepper spray is often the weapon of choice for both men and women. That stuff is so good that it’s actually used by riot control police and regular police officers alike.
Let’s face it… prepping has become a glutted niche with thousands upon thousands of survival blogs, books, magazines, and related articles. It’s gotten to the point that it’s almost ridiculous with an unmanageable deluge of information about prepping that’s online and in print with most just repeating what has already been said over and over again. That’s why I put together this massive 11,344-word preppers survival...
If you get lost in the wild, you should be aware that search and rescue teams will probably use air resources as the primary means of determining your location. Okay, there may be also ground teams looking for “the lost sheep,” but in any situation, being capable of signaling for help in a survival scenario is of utmost importance.
The rubber band engine is cheap and easy to make, and can be adapted easily enough to run on heat from a solar capture device.
old bicycle wheels to cardboard to build the frame for the rubber bands, the engine must have the following parts no matter whether you decide to heat up air or water:
In one of my recent articles, I talked about surviving an airplane crash. Today we’ll contemplate another catastrophic scenario: how to survive a train accident. I know, it’s holiday season, so let be happy and all that, but better safe than sorry, right? After all, what’s happier than being alive?
Wool Blankets and clothing, why do we need these? Are
Not everybody has a ton of space to grow food, and even for those who do, there are many reasons to use mediums other than soil. Not only that, it’s always a good idea to know your options.