Prepped for an EMP

[gotbeans]

Who is "they"?

other ordinary citizens that are his neighbors that happen to work at a gov office

 

[Skypower]

The “they” are the same people that say “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” - “The nine scariest words in the English language” Ronald Reagan

 

[fatjay]

Who is "they"?

The gvernment.

 

[fatjay]

It’s my opinion that Anti- biotics , medical advances and weapons advancement is the main reason for that ..not refrigeration…
But with that said in bad times a freezer is 10X more valuable thst a refrigerator

In any probable crisis there will be almost no fresh food after a few days. Why does anyone need a refrigerator…can ya store a whole raw deer in it..? How about 10 dressed out , wild turkeys ..? Or a batch of Headed and gutted whole fish…?

Maybe 2-3 days….maybe..

..if you have a good freezer one can store large amounts of high fat/ calorie food for long periods , when fresh or raw or cooked or whatever and pull it as needed. Thaw it and eat it…
wash - rinse- repeat..
Did it my whole life on the coast after loading up on fresh shrimp in the fall , freezing in containers of water , and pulling them out weekly till the next fall …as good as just caught.

Yes you need some energy source to run the freezer but that’s no prob for most of us here…

My survival plans do not include refrigeration as it a luxury not necessity…a freezer is very handy but not nessacery to live well ..but it sure helps. Several freezers are even better..

Freeze dried and canned goods are the best bet for long term easy to store…long shelf life and easy to use….add a freezer to this and you could really live great…

People with knowledge, skills and resources will always find a way to adapt.

With that said ,I feel sorry for an awful lot of people alive in this country at this point.
WOW…..I hope nothing ever happens..

J.

When I say refrigeration, I include freezers. The act of cooling air lower than the ambient temperature for long term food storage. If I were on my own, yes it would be much easier. But I have a wife and 4 children, including 2 infants. They have to eat. I have a 24cu ft freezer packed with meats, cheeses, rice, vegitables. And a 14cu ft for backup. Plus months of canned goods, grains, emergency food. 2 butane stoves and about 30 cans of butane. Plus wood stove with 2 cook tops. One acre garden, chickens, eggs. Once I finish my solar setup, I can go fully off grid.

 

[Angacam The Hobbit]

They sure do.

That is all True, But some people due to life circumstances don't have the land, space, cash or ability to do such. Think of populations in major cities like NYC, LA, Chicago, or even in Florida where you can't even dig a shelter due to water table about 6ft below or less the surface or less in many places.
If you live in a high rise in Miami Beach for example, there's No chance of having a private shelter where you live. In fact you will have to drive over 400+ miles minimum from Miami Beach to get to Georgia with a chance to maybe have a underground bunker.
So, is it the government's best interest to protect its people who can continue to pay taxes and be A built in ATM machines for them???
Just my 2 cents
Good luck

 

[SomethingAppropriate]

That is all True, But some people due to life circumstances don't have the land, space, cash or ability to do such. Think of populations in major cities like NYC, LA, Chicago, or even in Florida where you can't even dig a shelter due to water table about 6ft below or less the surface or less in many places.
If you live in a high rise in Miami Beach for example, there's No chance of having a private shelter where you live. In fact you will have to drive over 400+ miles minimum from Miami Beach to get to Georgia with a chance to maybe have a underground bunker.
So, is it the government's best interest to protect its people who can continue to pay taxes and be A built in ATM machines for them???
Just my 2 cents
Good luck

I wish it was like that. But sadly I don't think it is.

 

[HighDesertDrifter]

You're missing a key component. Refrigeration in the modern age is critical to survival. Keeping foods fresh longer is important, and is the only real thing that I critically need. I have 6 mouths to feed.

I've been blessed to live various places without electricity for months at a time and had lots of hands-on experience in salting, smoking and drying all types of food. I actually prefer many fermented vegetables over canned or frozen vegetables. Mankind did very well for over 5000 years without any electricity or refrigeration. I believe we have just been conditioned by modern society to believe these are essential for survival. Having lost the knowledge that was once passed down generationally we have become dependent on our modern conveniences. I'm still glad to have a few hundred amp hours available from my 3 kw solar array for whatever convenient gadget I may want to use during times of grid down scenarios whether thy be storm or anything else coming our way. Must I have these conveniences to survive? Absolutely not, but those not knowing old world ways of food preservation won't do well without them. Those who depend on electricity for heating / cooling for survival likewise will suffer.
Learning the old ways more so than preparing to continue our modern lifestyle in a post modern situation would be wise. IMHO
Just my 2 cents, which cost you nothing.

 

[HighDesertDrifter]

Or just a simple pump.

Hand pump designed for that.

Please share any info you have on hand pumps that can pump water from a 365 ft depth? Thanks in advance
You learn something every day, if you don't already know everything. That gives me plenty of room to expand my knowledge, as I know very little!

 

[fatjay]

I've been blessed to live various places without electricity for months at a time and had lots of hands-on experience in salting, smoking and drying all types of food. I actually prefer many fermented vegetables over canned or frozen vegetables. Mankind did very well for over 5000 years without any electricity or refrigeration. I believe we have just been conditioned by modern society to believe these are essential for survival. Having lost the knowledge that was once passed down generationally we have become dependent on our modern conveniences. I'm still glad to have a few hundred amp hours available from my 3 kw solar array for whatever convenient gadget I may want to use during times of grid down scenarios whether thy be storm or anything else coming our way. Must I have these conveniences to survive? Absolutely not, but those not knowing old world ways of food preservation won't do well without them. Those who depend on electricity for heating / cooling for survival likewise will suffer.
Learning the old ways more so than preparing to continue our modern lifestyle in a post modern situation would be wise. IMHO
Just my 2 cents, which cost you nothing.

I'm not saying it's impossible, it just makes life a lot harder. It takes time away from doing other things.

 

[Nobodybusiness]

Please share any info you have on hand pumps that can pump water from a 365 ft depth? Thanks in advance
You learn something every day, if you don't already know everything. That gives me plenty of room to expand my knowledge, as I know very little!

You sure your static water depth is 365 ?

Your well depth might be 365 but static water depth is usually much higher.

This hand pump is rated to 325. Maybe more.

Simple Pump - Practical Preppers

The Simple Pump is the ultimate Hand Pump that will fit in almost any well. It's affordable, reliable, and can even operate at very low water levels!

practicalpreppers.com

 

[Recovering EE]

I've been blessed to live various places without electricity for months at a time and had lots of hands-on experience in salting, smoking and drying all types of food. I actually prefer many fermented vegetables over canned or frozen vegetables. Mankind did very well for over 5000 years without any electricity or refrigeration. I believe we have just been conditioned by modern society to believe these are essential for survival. Having lost the knowledge that was once passed down generationally we have become dependent on our modern conveniences. I'm still glad to have a few hundred amp hours available from my 3 kw solar array for whatever convenient gadget I may want to use during times of grid down scenarios whether thy be storm or anything else coming our way. Must I have these conveniences to survive? Absolutely not, but those not knowing old world ways of food preservation won't do well without them. Those who depend on electricity for heating / cooling for survival likewise will suffer.
Learning the old ways more so than preparing to continue our modern lifestyle in a post modern situation would be wise. IMHO
Just my 2 cents, which cost you nothing.

Yup. The ones best suited to thrive in any apocalyptic scenario are those currently living in so-called "developing" nations. (I hate the term "third World". We *all* share the same world.)

 

[fatjay]

Yup. The ones best suited to thrive in any apocalyptic scenario are those currently living in so-called "developing" nations. (I hate the term "third World". We *all* share the same world.)

Have you been to the 3rd world? I have. it's not really the same world. It's unrecognizable as the same planet. You thought your tent cities were poor in california, that's middle class in 3rd world. And it's everywhere and there are things you can't unsee. I was there last month, and I'll be going back next month. The upside is when you go, you can live like a king because everything is so unbelievably cheap.

 

[Recovering EE]

Have you been to the 3rd world? I have. it's not really the same world. It's unrecognizable as the same planet. You thought your tent cities were poor in california, that's middle class in 3rd world. And it's everywhere and there are things you can't unsee. I was there last month, and I'll be going back next month. The upside is when you go, you can live like a king because everything is so unbelievably cheap.

Yes. yes I have.

It's a real eye-opener.

It's one of the reasons I do what I can to minimize my own footprint.

 

[HalfBaked]

I've been blessed to live various places without electricity for months at a time and had lots of hands-on experience in salting, smoking and drying all types of food. I actually prefer many fermented vegetables over canned or frozen vegetables. Mankind did very well for over 5000 years without any electricity or refrigeration. I believe we have just been conditioned by modern society to believe these are essential for survival. Having lost the knowledge that was once passed down generationally we have become dependent on our modern conveniences. I'm still glad to have a few hundred amp hours available from my 3 kw solar array for whatever convenient gadget I may want to use during times of grid down scenarios whether thy be storm or anything else coming our way. Must I have these conveniences to survive? Absolutely not, but those not knowing old world ways of food preservation won't do well without them. Those who depend on electricity for heating / cooling for survival likewise will suffer.
Learning the old ways more so than preparing to continue our modern lifestyle in a post modern situation would be wise. IMHO
Just my 2 cents, which cost you nothing.

This guy knows. I will add to this to say the better method of preparation is not about how much you can store, because that will run out, then what? Panic?

The better method is to go outside and be able to find lunch. The obvious choice is animals, but besides that, know your "weeds" and fungi.

All produce you buy at the grocery store is a hybrid from the wild. These hybrids were selected for, over centuries, for size, sugar content and shelf life. The wild version is the better version. It has all the minerals that were bred out of the human version.

My prep over the last decade has been to get to know, one at a time, which weeds/fungi are food, medicine, recreation or poison.

I can find a mushroom in the wild, bring it home, and grow it in my kitchen. No electricity needed.

 

[HighDesertDrifter]

I'm not saying it's impossible, it just makes life a lot harder. It takes time away from doing other things.

Perhaps we as a people have become accustomed to trying to do to many "other things?" Simplicity can be a wonderful thing. I'm leaning to do fewer things more slowly and smelling the roses along the way. That's a life style choice that requires learning contentment with thankfulness, and as a good neighbor likes to say, "Let's do the best we can with what we have." I'm liking it so far Don't think I'll start a trend anytime soon though. Less can actually be more, just depends on our view of life...

 

[HighDesertDrifter]

You sure your static water depth is 365 ?

Your well depth might be 365 but static water depth is usually much higher.

This hand pump is rated to 325. Maybe more.

Simple Pump - Practical Preppers

The Simple Pump is the ultimate Hand Pump that will fit in almost any well. It's affordable, reliable, and can even operate at very low water levels!

practicalpreppers.com

Yes I'm certain static is @ 365 ft as we just completed it. The very bottom is @ 450 ft. But WOW is it great! Our aquafer the Coconino has not varied hardly an inch in 100 years of monitoring and is considered one of the premier aquafers in the nation, or so I've been told. It originates along the western slope of the Rockies. Sure appreciate the link not to far from 325 to 365, May just need to soup it up a little, hopefully the max rating is 15% on the short side and not it's absolute total capability.

 

[HighDesertDrifter]

Yup. The ones best suited to thrive in any apocalyptic scenario are those currently living in so-called "developing" nations. (I hate the term "third World". We *all* share the same world.)

I was blessed to live in such a place nearly 15 years and can say without a doubt those people will do well during times during which many in this fat and unthankful nation will perish. I learned a lot from those folks. Would still be there today had I not had a bad attitude and offended the wrong people. That = a death sentence in such a place. So you must learn to keep your big mouth shut no matter the circumstance or your dead meat. Another valuable lesson learned for the days ahead...

 

[fatjay]

Perhaps we as a people have become accustomed to trying to do to many "other things?" Simplicity can be a wonderful thing. I'm leaning to do fewer things more slowly and smelling the roses along the way. That's a life style choice that requires learning contentment with thankfulness, and as a good neighbor likes to say, "Let's do the best we can with what we have." I'm liking it so far Don't think I'll start a trend anytime soon though. Less can actually be more, just depends on our view of life...

Oh I do like a simple life. But in the sense that I do things with my hands. I build things, repair things, assemble things. But if stuff really hits, I'll be extremely busy. Food acquisition will be the biggest challenge. Water acquisition, maintenance will be harder, everything we do today will be harder and take longer. Not to mention additional materials will be needed for salting meats and pickling vegetables, things that may be in short supply. Basic refrigeration/freezing makes a lot of these things easier, quicker, and requires less materials.

 

[HighDesertDrifter]

Oh I do like a simple life. But in the sense that I do things with my hands. I build things, repair things, assemble things. But if stuff really hits, I'll be extremely busy. Food acquisition will be the biggest challenge. Water acquisition, maintenance will be harder, everything we do today will be harder and take longer. Not to mention additional materials will be needed for salting meats and pickling vegetables, things that may be in short supply. Basic refrigeration/freezing makes a lot of these things easier, quicker, and requires less materials.

I would encourage people to do some practice meat curing in advance of any necessity. Practice builds confidence. Yes, refrigeration is the 1 big thing you miss after being accustomed to a lifetime of a full ice tray and a side of beef just waiting for my beck and call at any moment I want some. Keeping the hand tools charged and ready will be easy compared to food gathering and preservation.
Those range cows be looking mighty tasty. The rancher hates it when I say that, but I tell him we can work out a trade if he is willing. However, when it's life or death, it won't much matter if he is willing to trade or not.

 

[J.H.]

All 4 or 5 of you discussing the simpler life , smoking meat, fixing things, learning how to survive simply and easily are light years ahead of the average citizen today…
I too practiced and learn many these skills for decades… it’s fun…it’s easy …..once you understand it your always prepared…and the supply’s to do it are vey cheap… vinager , curing salts ,axes, saws , ropes , knives ….all very basic items that seem to have fallen from favor by many in recent decades ..

Congrats ..y’all sound like ya got it together…im sure y’all will fare well down the road…
Best of luck…and watch yer top notch “Jeremiah” ….

 

[HRTKD]

If I have to live off the land I'm in trouble. I've been hunting Elk for 10+ years in rifle season each year and also in archery season some years. I have yet to take a shot and out of all those years I had one opportunity for a shot. Risky shot due to the herd being very bunched up and standing on a ridge. The other side of the ridge was the HQ for the National Wildlife Refuge. That's my excuse. I didn't freeze.

 

[Primal1]

Picture this; Emp hits, you have protected equipment, lights, running water, heat and so on how long untill your community turn on you? Best equip yourself and train your whole family to use a gun also invite as many trusted family and friends as you can and arm them also, the masses will come and pillage you that's a fact.

So you're saying that it's a waste of time and resources to prepare yourself and your family to survive if you aren't also prepared to defend yourself and your family? Duh. The trained and prepared will have a huge survival edge over the untrained and unprepared. I'm extremely rural and the neighbors I do have agree that the city folk fleeing into our part of the mountain with plans to steal our supplies will be met by people with better preparation, plans and ability to survive in these mountains.

 

[J.H.]

So you're saying that it's a waste of time and resources to prepare yourself and your family to survive if you aren't also prepared to defend yourself and your family? Duh. The trained and prepared will have a huge survival edge over the untrained and unprepared. I'm extremely rural and the neighbors I do have agree that the city folk fleeing into our part of the mountain with plans to steal our supplies will be met by people with better preparation, plans and ability to survive in these mountains.

The fact you’re in the mountains…any mountains , give you a huge advantage.. if you know the area pretty good then even more advantage …I live in the remote mountains too..

As an old marine war veteran used to tell me as a kid , “ always take the high ground and hold it”.
He’s gone now but his lessons are not forgotten…

I don’t like it at all , but I think I see where this is all headed…it’s what humans do..
….history is repeating itself once again..
But I don’t like it…you would think we would learn better over several thousand years..

 

[DPC]

the thread that keeps on threading

 

[HRTKD]

the thread that keeps on threading

Just keep (somewhat) close to the topic so it doesn't have to get moved to the off-topic area.

Full EMP preparedness requires very deep pockets.