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diy solar

China is urging families to stock up on food as supply challenges multiply

lexio said:
hope fully they don't do a great leap forward again
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Haha. I think China has learned from the past. They also have huge foreign currency reserves and a balance of trade they did not have back then. Ironically the Internet has given them greater control over their population.
 
Pappion said:
Full time RVer, I can move to rural areas.. Prep some before covid lock down. I have a month or more of canned foods and pasta and TP. Can stretch my water tanks supply from1 week to 3 weeks. Also have a microbal water filter. Propane lasts months in the summer, maybe 1-2 months in winter. Solar panels can keep every thing running, except AC. I can tolerate short term disruptions, like a Trucker anti-vax strike.
I don't have a gun. Too many States, such a bizarre patch work of laws.
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I suggest a diesel heater backup for your propane if you're serious about prepping.

Diesel lasts about a year in a tank as long as it's kept out of the sun. Much less in the sun and heat though, perhaps 6 months.

Propane lasts longer but in an emergency is usually much harder to get.
 
Short_Shot said:
Propane lasts longer but in an emergency is usually much harder to get.
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Forget Propane. If it's EOD Scenario you can Siphon Gas out of abandoned cars all day long. You can also seperate the Ethanol from the Gas and have pure Gas. The pure Gas can last for a two years if you have Gas Stabilizer to add to it.
 
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Short_Shot said:
I suggest a diesel heater backup for your propane if you're serious about prepping.

Diesel lasts about a year in a tank as long as it's kept out of the sun. Much less in the sun and heat though, perhaps 6 months.

Propane lasts longer but in an emergency is usually much harder to get.
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Diesel fuel lasts almost forever, you just need to filter it.

I run my farm tractor on free diesel fuel I suck out of fuel oil tanks when people switch to natural gas.. Right now, the tractor has diesel fuel in it that's at least 6 or 7 years old. When I fill my tractor's tank, the fuel gets sucked through a standard household water filter and then pumped through a standard diesel fuel filter. The tractor has no problems with it.
 
If you just want to burn it for heat, old diesel and even used oil will work. It’ll smoke and stink but it’s better than freezing.
For a home based backup heat source, an old cast iron stove and a ton of coal has a forever shelf life.
 
MurphyGuy said:
Diesel fuel lasts almost forever, you just need to filter it.

I run my farm tractor on free diesel fuel I suck out of fuel oil tanks when people switch to natural gas.. Right now, the tractor has diesel fuel in it that's at least 6 or 7 years old. When I fill my tractor's tank, the fuel gets sucked through a standard household water filter and then pumped through a standard diesel fuel filter. The tractor has no problems with it.
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It oxidizes and can experience biological growth, hence the filter, but you can't solve the other issue that way. The oxidation issues will lead to deposits in injectors and other high pressure areas much sooner.

Depending on the age of your tractor you may have a simpler system that's way more tolerant of that stuff though. In many cases it will work... mostly fine.

For heating with a tiny little nozzle and low pressure pump it'll probably still work fine for years.
 
The RV fridge runs on Electric or Propane. Same for the water heater.
Stove top is propane only. But I have a crock pot, etc.
Furnace is propane only. Some people connect their propane tanks to a Heat Buddy and claim it is far more efficient. But it just has a high and low setting and you get moisture build up.
I also have an electric heater but don't like it as the temperature is difficult to control. They really need remote sensing.
I have both a 110v Electric Blanket and a 12v Automobile blanket. Easy enough to run the 12v blanket off of solar batteries. It's small and gets too hot, still nice to warm up the bed before I get in it.

If the grid is down I'm good for weeks. If propane deliveries are delayed I will get by. If both go down we are all screwed.
 
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Pappion said:
The RV fridge runs on Electric or Propane. Same for the water heater.
Stove top is propane only. But I have a crock pot, etc.
Furnace is propane only. Some people connect their propane tanks to a Heat Buddy and claim it is far more efficient. But it just has a high and low setting and you get moisture build up.
I also have an electric heater but don't like it as the temperature is difficult to control. They really need remote sensing.
I have both a 110v Electric Blanket and a 12v Automobile blanket. Easy enough to run the 12v blanket off of solar batteries. It's small and gets too hot, still nice to warm up the bed before I get in it.

If the grid is down I'm good for weeks. If propane deliveries are delayed I will get by. If both go down we are all screwed.
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If you want dry heat to prevent moisture try installing a Grizzly https://cubicminiwoodstoves.com/
or a Dwarf https://www.tinywoodstove.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4-_MhKiH9AIVc9OWCh20Bg4NEAAYASAAEgLmifD_BwE
Run Dry wood and your good!
 
Short_Shot said:
It oxidizes and can experience biological growth, hence the filter, but you can't solve the other issue that way. The oxidation issues will lead to deposits in injectors and other high pressure areas much sooner.

Depending on the age of your tractor you may have a simpler system that's way more tolerant of that stuff though. In many cases it will work... mostly fine.

For heating with a tiny little nozzle and low pressure pump it'll probably still work fine for years.
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I don't think that would happen in a single shot injector HEUI like on the 7.3. If it did, then some Hot Shots in the fuel bowel will take care of that. The HPOP won't oxidize... well because its and HPOP.

Perhaps for a non-ECU controlled unit like Mr. Murphy's tractor a lubricity filter could make up for any lubricity losses the fuel renders over time. When we first incepted the SA Route Clearance equipment in Iraq, injectors were an issue running JP8 fuel. We added lubricity filters to combat the lack of lubricity the JP8 fuel was killing our engines with. This resolved the issue of both SA injectors and future equipment coming down the pipeline from SPAWAR.
 
Jerrys13 said:
I don't think that would happen in a single shot injector HEUI like on the 7.3. If it did, then some Hot Shots in the fuel bowel will take care of that. The HPOP won't oxidize... well because its and HPOP.

Perhaps for a non-ECU controlled unit like Mr. Murphy's tractor a lubricity filter could make up for any lubricity losses the fuel renders over time. When we first incepted the SA Route Clearance equipment in Iraq, injectors were an issue running JP8 fuel. We added lubricity filters to combat the lack of lubricity the JP8 fuel was killing our engines with. This resolved the issue of both SA injectors and future equipment coming down the pipeline from SPAWAR.
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I add biodiesel at a rate of about 1 pint per 5 to 7 gallons of diesel. Biodiesel is the best lubricity additive there is.

The only time I don't do this is in the winter..
 
Here is what we have done to prepare:
- US Army Survival Manual FM 21-76 is available in .pdf, lots of good info.

Found these by lots of searching:

- Copied /downloaded the diary and notes of this guy, lots of personal experience:
"How I survived a year of SHTF in 90s Bosnia – LULZ"

- downloaded "Lessons from Argentina's economic collapse - ferfal"

- downloaded "The Ten Bushcraft Books by Robert Graves"

- WATER is #1 here.
We are in Florida, cold not an issue, but hydration in the tropical conditions is critical for survival.
The rural area we live in has no water or sewer utility, so we have a well.
Put in solar to power this year to run the well pump when the grid is down.

Have two MSR Guardian Military-Grade Water Purifiers if the well is not available, and we have to drink swimming pool or lake water.

- We have a few months of food, and a couple of propane and Coleman camp gas stoves, if there is no electricity to cook with.

-A few military type medical kits, but need to add the critical meds the survival accounts described - sepsis, disease and diarrhea are very dangerous when no treatment is available.

Had the old geezer pneumonia vaccine, and the Hep-A vaccine.

Based on the Bosnia and Argentina accounts, have stockpiled the items they suggested as best to barter with.

Also noted that they never went out in daylight, so we have invested in Night Vision (PVS-14) and IR lasers.
All the weapons are equipped w/ suppressors.
 
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