Grid Down Preps
- Thread starter Caribou
- Start date
Help Support Homesteading & Country Living Forum:
At some point I know I will need to leave my mountain retreat for the veterans home, but I will hold out for as long as I can. I do have to be careful as I am a bit accident prone since I still act like I am 20 in a body with 60 years of mileage.
If SHTF, the crowded places will be rampant with disease. Human contact will significantly increase risk of dying from desease. If SHTF, I would still rather be where I am, and if I succumb to the ailments due to an aging body, at least I will do it where I can enjoy my last view and breath clean air on my last breath. And nature will take care of my body properly.
Going to have to make it like the pioneers did. They died younger of things like wound infection, appendicitis, etc.! Would be smart to research natural cures and remedies. What plants make a good poultice for a snake bite or how to use honey from a bee hive as an antibacterial agent. These are things that have always interested me and I am trying to learn more about them!
A better way to go than with hundreds of I'll people on a home!
- Joined
- May 13, 2021
- Messages
- 1,987
I'll take a stab at this one. Not all but a very large MOST medical problems that require maintenance meds can be controlled with proper diet and active life style. Now I understand some folks are past that point. But most of us are not. Everything we really need grows somewhere in nature. Often times people pay for meds that are in the same weeds they pay someone to cut, over simplified but gets the point across I hope.
ETA: there are Physicians Desk References or PDR's on natural and herbal remedies and cures. I just leaned that a year or so ago myself. Hunted around and got a used copy for a reasonable price too.
We would be healthier eating straight from nature!
i think people dont get it how hard life really was and can be without certain things and ways.the hours one puts in to do primitive skills...now dont get me wrong i like certain primitive stuff just for the love of it...BUT..BUT...i dont want to make fish hooks from locusts thorns or bone nor braid fiber for rope or fishingline.theres certain items it just way easier to store and stock.just as example i pulled out fishing line from the 80's.bass pro shops use to sell bulk spools for cheap.it was good fishingline.its been in a dark unheated and not cooled out building this entire time.i need some to string up in garden to deter crows.i thought well i use it it might last. well do you know that line is still solid and strong even though its well over 30years and probably 35years plus years old. i tried breaking 10# test and couldnt and i been running into it while weeding and it hasnt broke yet.its been in garden awhile now this year in blazing sun.
i think many miss modern examples of life after a collapse or partial collapse..ussr,cuba and venezuela. was it rough and chaotic.yes but the majority of populace trudged on forging life as best they could. cuba especially shows example of what you talk about look at the length it has had to make do and keep what they have in operation with whatever parts they can find. i seen guys down there that has stuff from multiple brands of cars and parts often decades apart.i seen a guy to that could get these giant coils of wire. but you couldnt buy mattresses and boxsprings in cuba.it was on list of not allowed items. so he took wire and made coils and made boxsprings and mattress coils in his apartment.it was his job.
the point being is a well stocked shop is a must.it will keep things functioning on many levels on homesteads and more.
when its hotter than hell outside and you been laboring hard having something simple as a fan to sit in front of or under while cooling of might be a lifesaver to many...especially older folks. being able to have a fan and a bit of solarlight and not run a candle or kerosene lantern and heating up the house even more to is another example.plus the risk factor of flame and probably limited or no fire dept anymore should give people pause about old technology with open flame.
blah blah blah.
- Joined
- May 13, 2021
- Messages
- 1,987
When it comes to solar power one thing a lot of people seem to forget or not know is after the batteries die that doesn't have to mean your panels are useless as long as you still have a good inverter. Even without an inverter a lot of stuff is DC and a lot more can be made DC. You can still run stuff when the sun shines. Electricity is something maybe even the one thing I have worked very hard to make sure I have it as long as possible. 13 years off grid can teach a body a lot! I have multiple inverters etc. and as many who know me can tell you I practice what I preach!
Your posts help a lot, at least by making us think about the possibilities we have and may need to learn how to use! Learning now as much as we can will be easier now than when we 'have' to!
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2020
- Messages
- 694
As far as medical, Advancec First Aid and EMT Basic has come in handy numerous times over the years with family. Resources must be available for book knowledge. But, there comes a time when you just have to do the best you can with what you have. One family member chose to die at home, with morphine and marijuana burned close by. Another went from the hospital to the nursing home, where he cried every day just wanting to go home and die in his own bed on the farm. No one listened. Alone and ignored. Ripped my heart out, and not my choice.
If I didn’t have morphine or what I needed ahead of time, I know where the hemlock grows....
If I didn’t have morphine or what I needed ahead of time, I know where the hemlock grows....
Last edited:
As to looking at getting older, two months and I'll be 79, seems strange, I really don't feel that old, I've had a few health issues, 2018 I had congestive heart failure, 2019 I built our solar array, yeah the 90 pound sacks of ready mix seemed far heavier than years before. Thing is I've outlived my dad by nearly 8 years and I'm not all that worried about what the future may bring, if I get to where I can't do anything and figure I'm at the end of my days, I've told my son to just drag me up the hill and lean me against a big tree, at least I'll provide food for the wildlife and fertilizer for the tree.
@Morgan101 I haven't finished reading all the posts since yours, but I need to go to bed so will just put this out there. I've said for a long time that we have done a disservice to multiple generations by nixing the multigenerational house hold. Elders can still peal spuds or watch junior while those more physically able can do that work. There are rolls for each age (& gender for that mater.) Anyways, if you are lucky enough to have family nearby on either end of you (parents, kids etc) you are blessed. Even though it might sound absurd now, it might come down to being a necessity before long - maybe not, who knows?
I read "Earth Abides."
Thing is, the Earth Abides scenario (a very fast, disease-driven, massive die-off event) is a far better scenario than an EMP (a slow massive die-off event). With an EMP, most will die, but everyone survives long enough to eat their stores of food. So, there won't be much foraging for canned goods after the die-off after an EMP. All the canned goods will be eaten quickly. A rapid die-off would actually be better for the survivors, as the inevitable deaths would occur faster than food stores disappearing. I liked the book, but I didn't think it was a realistic prep book.
I am a big believer in this. My parents, early 70s, live less than a hundreds yards from me and I view that as a GOOD thing.
Agreed with you and @LadyLocust. We wouldn’t be in this world that’s going to pot if we had intact multigenerational families. Multigenerational families are exactly what my wife and I were born into, but it is hard to find that alive and well in most of America or western cultures. We killed in in one generation. The results of “progress” speak for itself and it ain’t good.
Yes, I agree that an EMP or some other type of collapse will be harder on survivors than a deadly pandemic, but my point is that eventually, regardless of the length of transition, humanity will most likely abandon the sophisticated technology that we're now used to, especially pervasive electrical use. "Earth Abides" illustrates this, wherein the survivors eventually revert to bows & arrows, arrowheads made from coins, etc due to the inability to manufacture, ie gunpowder, batteries, whatever.
In fact, the availability of canned goods, & other supplies actually delayed the transition in "Earth Abides" because they just kept scrounging until there was no more, then they had to learn from scratch. Of course this is all conjecture.
No matter the catastrophe, there will almost always be some food supplies available to scavenge in certain areas. The USA has countless grain storage buildings scattered in many areas. If you live in walking distance of one or more of these food storage centers, then you have a long-term source of stable food. If you have a grain mill or you are smart enough to have two rocks to grind the grain. These grain bins are usually full no matter what time of year it is. Farmers often store their grain hoping for a higher price. Many times farmers have to use impromptu storage facilities simply because every normal venue is already full.
The grain can be stored a long time and used in many ways. And grains now feed the world, mainly because of their availability.
The grain can be stored a long time and used in many ways. And grains now feed the world, mainly because of their availability.
I don't think its sophisticated technology that is the big problem.
Its energy intensive technology. I rather suspect a thousand years from now we may have very very advanced personal electronics...that we keep in our leather vest while, we plow the field with our oxen team.
We will NEVER be short of metal again. Making arrowheads out of coins is a cute idea, but any junked car laying on the side of the road has enough metal in it to make thousands of arrowheads and a dozen high powered crossbows. Any small town in America has enough steel just laying in it to match the total industrial output of a major medieval country. Our large cities will be steel mines for centuries after the collapse.
The biggest problem will be a shortage of cheap, high energy sources. Energy, in small quantities, is easy to come by. Where it gets really hard is if your trying to supply hundreds of millions of people with gigawatts of power.
100 watts pers day, per person, could sustain very sophisticated technology, by the standards of a hundred years ago, but wouldn't run a window AC unit for five minutes or get your car around the block.
Yes, eventually, over enough generations things will break down. But eventually, over generations, things will recover. There is no plausible mechanism that would hold human life down to a low tech level, for multiple generations. Anything that doesn't kill us all, we will recover from.
Recover does not mean get back to where we are...but nothing would keep us in the dark ages forever.
This is how wheat is stored. They "treat" it to keep the birds, bugs, and rodents out. They will throw tarps over it for winter. When needed, they will scoop it with tractors w/ buckets. Just FYI, yes this is for human consumption and no it is not washed prior to milling. If you buy commercial wheat, you get the poison that kills critters just not a big enough dose to kill you fast.
Maybe it's different down south.
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2017
- Messages
- 18,282
Depends on if it's certified organic or not. Wheat, soy bean, corn are grown where I live. My view out my from door is over 100 acres of soybean right now. The certified organic is stored differently and usually has a buyer right away.
Uhh.. 'Time's fun when yer having Flies'?? Eww, yeah, I'm good..
jk..a) Education - and Supplies - Now, while both are still readily available.. Sure - no one is likely to be Able to have / cobble-together an X-Ray imaging system, but... 'Cruder' - but effective (some of the time..) - techniques and supplies Were available before 'MRI's etc.. (IIRC, people have been setting fractures / dislocations for a Lot longer than "X-ray machines" were readily available, so.. It would seem to me to be fairly prudent to at Least 'stock the wherewithall', ie:
..And you do your Best to "learn what to Do", as best you can - from Professionals - Now, and deal with what goes down, when it comes.. But, if there Are No 'supplies' (from having prepped) to DO something with, well.. Then, even If yer in a 'Great community', post-SHTF (where there are EMTs / ER-Techs / Nurses / Docs, etc) No one will be really be Able to do much, without some reasonable kit..)
b) re: Community, yep - No doubt, it Will be well-worth it to forge 'alliances' - Now - with those of like-mind, nearby, who Can help / have the knowledge / experience-base to actually make a 'difference'. And, if You are able to 'add to that', some decent kit - because you Prepped-so - then it might just turn out a 'Win-Win... When, 150 yrs ago, it was more likely to have been better to simply 'take that last bullet and go to sleep'.. x_x
.02
jd
Last edited:
I totally agree about having the ability to grind grain after the collapse . Most preppers can afford a grain grinder and that opens up a new food source . I have bags of corn in the stash for grinding . Just plain livestock corn ground up and boiled is tolerable to eat with a little salt on it and even better with salt and butter on it . A 50 lb. bag of corn will keep for at least a year and provide many meals for the dollar spent . The corn will swell up " when boiled " to produce a volume 4 or 5 times its original size . So that 50 lb. pound bag of corn will actually mean about 250 pounds of food and the last 50 lb. bag of corn I bought was under $10 . I use a hand grinder that is permanently attached to a wall inside my house . The reason for me choosing the hand grinder over electric is , it will not drain my solar system or be reliant on any form of electrical source . -- No I am not living off of animal food at this time but am prepared to do so . Grocery stores at this time are finding it difficult to find food to put on the shelves . Perhaps livestock feed stores will survive longer than the human feed stores . Those that survive the longest will converge into a more survivable world as there will be fewer humans to compete for food .
Last edited:
- Joined
- May 13, 2021
- Messages
- 1,987
I recently pulled out some bagged feed corn stored in a building inside a non running deep freezer. The outside of the bag looked fine no tears, holes, bug damage or smell. I opened the bag to find a half rotten bag of corn and the smell about knocked me out. My best guess it went in the bag with to high a moisture content. This was bought at a local TSC a year or so ago. SO if you're going that route you might want to open and add a drying agent then reseal.
I agree , it was probably due to the corn's condition when bagged . I also keep my corn in a non-running deep freezer . I haven't opened up all the bags for examination but do know the one bag that is open is still good with 0 bugs or sign of deterioration . That bag of corn , I have had in that freezer for about 2 years .
Yep, when we buy wheat, we get organic.
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2021
- Messages
- 155
Going solar later this month, followed by two wood inserts next month. Generator for a back up. Plenty of hand tools if I need them.
There is a lot of good info here on solar power from people that have systems. In 2019 after a bout with congestive heart failure the previous year, I finally built our solar array, since 2013 we already had a grid charged battery backup system on standby. I designed our system to run two refrigerators, a large and small freezer and some lighting, the solar system has ended up performing better than I thought it would, probably because the panels we bought run at higher voltages than are needed for battery charging, but when they are run through an MPPT solar controller, I've seen battery charging up to the time the sun went down as well as seeing charging during a cloudy and rainy day. The most important thing is, do your homework, I went to solar suppliers and asked a lot of questions and most of the answers were used in our system. There are a lot of solar companies out there that would like to sell you a yacht, when all you need is a rowboat, in other words look at what you really need to run rather than all you'd like to run.
- Joined
- May 29, 2020
- Messages
- 5,013
Okay, I have a silly question, does/has anyone got solar panels in a shed or store room just for emergencies (sort of like a stand by generator), the reason I am asking is I would love to pick up a KW of solar, but the wife says no... I am wondering if I could create some sort of standby rack that could be filled just when I need them and then put them away when done.... I know it's a little crazy but I am trying to think of what I can do in the now to be ready for the then.
You know like Johnny Cash and his Cadillac, if I get the wires, fittings, controller, and then the panels no one will notice........ designing slide in racks and quick connects might be interesting, but hey that's what I do....
You know like Johnny Cash and his Cadillac, if I get the wires, fittings, controller, and then the panels no one will notice........ designing slide in racks and quick connects might be interesting, but hey that's what I do....
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2020
- Messages
- 1,233
Call me crazy then.......
That is exactly what I have.......
The above system is a 230W solar blanket, MPPT controller, 100Ah LiFePO4 battery in a box and a 1500W Pure Sine Wave inverter. It all packs up into the size of a small suitcase and can run a lot of gear.
I have about 2000W of portable solar panels - some are folding blankets like the above, some are semi flexible and some are rigid. I don't use racks to hold them, most of mine have legs that allow them to free stand on the ground at a good angle to the sun. Being movable, I can track the sun through the day by moving them every couple of hours.
When we get power outages, I can run our two domestic fridges, some lights and key electronics with about 1000W of portable panels and five 100Ah LiFePO4 batteries. Each battery can run a 1500W inverter. One inverter can run both fridges.
In a bad crisis, panels on the ground are easier to hide and can be brought inside overnight to prevent them being stolen.
If I have to bug out, the solar comes with us.
We already use all this gear for camping, so it is not just a prep. The camping use has taught us a lot about solar.
My tips would be:
1) Use heavy cables that minimize voltage drop - especially those that feed the inverters
2) Get good quality MPPT controllers - they make a big difference to charge current from the same panel - I like the EPEVER Tracer 5206BP (20 Amp) for it's programmability and IP66 waterproofness.
3) Get good plugs to connect everything together - I use Anderson 50A plugs as much as possible
4) Get LiFePO4 batteries if you can afford them - they pay for themselves over their 15 year life and have great capability to weight ratio.
I took an old power jump kit that had a bad (old) battery and replaced with new 12v cell. It has a built-in inverter, though small it can be used as a portable power station and I’ve rigged up a small solar panel and charge controller to keep it topped off in a grid down scenario. As a bonus the charge controller has two USB charging jacks.
I have a larger inverter installed in the house but this is quite portable and easy to use, especially for those friends who find themselves without power and are missing the little comforts of the prepared.
I have a larger inverter installed in the house but this is quite portable and easy to use, especially for those friends who find themselves without power and are missing the little comforts of the prepared.
