Stoves and Things.

I figure it's about time I actually posted something about actual survival, more specifically in a wilderness setting. The first thing that comes to mind outside fo the obvious Food/Clothing/Shelter necessities, which I pretty much already have narrowed down, and is probably the first thing any real experienced backpacker is going to look into is a camp stove. 5 minutes on google, and man have I found the big one. Check it out:

http://www.rei.com/product/752658

Yeah, The Optimus Nova Multi-Fuel Stove. This thing will run on anything liquid that burns. From the gas in your car to that bottle of 151 that you've been saving, and everything in between. I imagine it will run on ethanol as well, which is the important part, because I think that's going to be the most prevalant, or at least renewable, form of fuel left when SHTF.

It's a little price, and a little bulky, but it's rugged and flexible, and will see you through 3-5 years at least of the worst case cenario you can think of.


I'm also looking into some non-lethal means of protection I can carry around with me legally. The most effective looking item I've come across are the Blast Knuckles. Just google'em. Essentially thick plastic knuckles, like brass knuckles, but not metal, with a stun gun attatched. From what I've seen, they should be legal in any stat that allows stun guns, but check your local statutes to be sure. Can you imagine the sheer volition you could inflict whilst wearing two of these? Combined with a pair of combat gloves, they would be outright deadly.

That's all for now.

Ethanol for Fun and Profit!

Aha! Someone finally made ethanol distillation easy!

http://www.efuel100.com/t-technology.aspx

Plugs in like a washing machine, and makes 35 gallons a week. What's more, converting to ethanol is easy. All you need is a simple device that hooks to your fuel injector and your ready to go. Don't listen to all of the naysayers who want you to believe it's going to corrode your car. Every pump in the US is putting out 10% ethanol in every gallon of gas they sell. It's a federal mandate.

Although this machine is easy, it's still 10k out of pocket. You can get cheaper kits that require a little more hands on work from this location:

http://www.fueldistillation.com/
The nice thing about this, is you can use any kind of starchy vegetable for your mash. Even cattails. Did I ever mention how useful cattails are? Well, do some research It's startling. It's also reasonably small. I wound say, torn down, it would fit into the trunk of a car with room to spare if you got the 7.5 gallon still. As for converting your vehicle to ethanol:

http://www.change2e85.com

Has all the info you need. It's easy to install, and not terribly expensive. What's more, you're not locked into ethanol with this kit. You are making no changes to your engine. It will still run on gasoline.

I'm actually riding a friends moped at the moment and considering getting one for myself, or maybe something a little larger. This little thing gets 130 miles to the gallon. I'm sure, converted to ethanol, it'd probably only get 100 miles to the gallon, but that's 100 miles to the gallon that I don't have to go to the gas station to get. To be able to run it off of leftover potatoes is an added bonus.

You do have to have a license to produce ethanol. (Just a legal warning so you don't get fined. Of course, it won't matter after TEOTWAWKI)

Grid? What Grid?

Been a little while since I posted, what with the holidays and all, but I haven't abandoned my quest. I read a delightful little article today on off-grid living. The numbers are a little off, as you can see from the comments, but the meat of the article is solid.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20026851.600-how-to-unplug-from-the-grid.html?full=true

It got me to thinking, most of this stuff is actually portable. I'm not saying that you're going to be backpacking it through the rockies, or carting it on the back of a biodiesel dirtbike. Those of you who live in the city are well aware of the situation with the housing market, however, and know that no home is permenant these days. Why invest in a 25,000$ off grid system just to move?

Well, there are actually many portable solar panels on the market, most of them can even be folded up and stored. I am actually considering using a folding system as a curtain in my living room, as we have huge 7 foot windows. Now, it might not take me totally off the grid, but it should run TV, computer, light (Swirly Bulb, of course) and charge my cell phone. That's about all the electricity I use besides AC, water heating, and cooking. And considering the amount of cooking I do, probably also surmises the bulk of my electric usage as well.

I'm also fairly high up, and a stiff crossbreeze usually runs past the corner of my loft. I expect a wind turbine of smaller size, like the ones used on sailboats, would suppliment the system nicely, and might provide enough power to sustain battery power through the evening.

Something else that I have put heavy consideration into is solar-thermal heating. I've not done any research into it, but if we could cut down the air conditioner, even though the HVAC core is on the landlords grid, it could provide some extra sustainable comfortability.

In the end, spreading the offgrid energy supply into multiple renewable sources should provide enough versatility to stay afloat, and as long as I hand pick the systems and install them myself, tear down shouldn't be a problem, and I can keep them small enough that I can move them to my next location when my time at this one is finished. I know, it's not true off grid living, but if the power did go out, which it has before, I would be much more comfortable than my neighbors.