Done some work this week for my local chainsaw guy , during conversations I asked did he find more people buying chansaws, YES we are selling loads , lots of people seem to be moving to wood as a cheap way of heating their homes........okay their probably not all preppers just normal people just trying to keep warm this winter, for what they think is a cheap way......the problem with these people he went on to say is .....they want a chainsaw:: its only for a few logs they say suggesting its like a hobby a casual passtime WHICH it is not...in good times its bloody had work, let alone wtshtf I know I do it all the time , My question to you all is this......let's say shtf in winter 1 how are you going to cope with getting the wood to heat and cook your home 2 the noise issues 3 retreaving the wood 4 the sight of smoke and the smell of the fire, have you a plan for other means of keeping warm and cooking at the start of shtf .
you should already have a stock as logs need a year to dry out , otherwise i would use fencing, sheds , other peoples wood piles ,empty homes tables chairs , floor boards .
theirs no way to hide smoke and smells , just darkness which starts at 5pm in winter cook then .
Stock up on gas as an interim. A guy just down the road from me has a wood burning stove. I plan to liberate that when he is gone. They may have a stive but no food or anything else.
guy over the road works for highways, he's always bringing back Pallets for his wood burner. use the smaller ones they are mostly non returnable and aren't stained or painted like the big commercial ones.
we all bang on about stealth and laying low in out the way places HOW to be the grey man , as SUNNA points out we should have a stock of wood ready afterall we are preppers, as SD points out having a gas store is the best and ONLY solution WE MUST maintain the lowest of profiles , when? Is it going to be safe enough to light your fire......not forgetting sheeple and all others looking for a meal or worse .....very big risk........to have done all this stuff to prepare , then loose all because of a fire, the people that are left WILL be looking for YOU we need to think more on this folks.
most wisdom I have read talks about keeping the flames low, don't bank it up and only use dry and non green wood, also cook after dark when the smoke is not so easily seen, and don't cook stuff like curries and spicy stuff that can be smelt easily.
If you're that worried then it's cold food only. Fire is for warmth, that way if you are discovered you're just keeping warm, not stuffing your face while everyone else goes hungry.
But, fire will draw people in, people = food in desperate times
Good points BP , but I try to imagine being in the thick of shtf and as best I can see things through those eyes I this does not mean I am right about anything, but just being human and the need for heat and to eat somthing hot is a must for survival...if you live in the country or in a city , its a level playing field , in my case I am rural and I am not imune by any stretch of my imagination,; I do not intend to fall at the first fence , to be f..ked by a fundamental is worthy of more serious thought and concideration.
Throw me a bone here.
You could make an Imu. Okay, so you need to do it outside, but this should mask any cooking smells quite a bit?
http://www.primitiveways.com/Imu1.html
There's lots of good information on that website too.
(13 September 2013, 10:30)Straight Shooter Wrote: [ -> ]Good points BP , but I try to imagine being in the thick of shtf and as best I can see things through those eyes I this does not mean I am right about anything, but just being human and the need for heat and to eat somthing hot is a must for survival...if you live in the country or in a city , its a level playing field , in my case I am rural and I am not imune by any stretch of my imagination,; I do not intend to fall at the first fence , to be f..ked by a fundamental is worthy of more serious thought and concideration.
Throw me a bone here.
both you and I are rural, I think we have a better chance of making it than someone in an inner city, by no means certain of course but we have pluses in our favour.