What have done towards your prep?

[Straight Shooter]

Yes MB I could rig something up as you describe and easy to build up , I also have on hand a copper insulated cylinder ( indirect ) for hot water and central heating and all the copper pipe and fittings for a full installation ….only if it’s a long term thing would I go to that trouble but I have the option I have the expansion tank ( header tank ?…cold reserve ) and ball valve ….. if the lpg does run out or hard to get hold of I would run the system in .

I also take onboard the white enamel pale which is the way I will go short term at least …good advice thanks mate!

Then I get BP ringing in my ears KISS …..do I really want to make things that complicated , although the work is well within my skill sets …..is it that important really ? ……the circulation pumps are probably better employed for the aquaponics / hydroponics systems short term anyway ……as for solar panels it’s a unknown quantity at this moment in time , which you rightly point out and so many variables .

The most important thing is we all have options of some description that we are comfortable with and capability of getting it done in our own way to suit our individual skills if these are lacking or falling short ,then we must learn how to get the job done ! ……be in no doubt you are responsible for you and yours I doubt anyone will come a running to help you least of all the gov , the only hope is like minded preppers that you could cultivate into a group even then there could well be struggles with differing points of view on how things get done , it’s just the way it is , the good news is when you participate in a forum such as ours many points of view are thrown up , stuff we have not considered have great value when explained by other members and make for better understanding .

[Pete Grey]

(24 October 2022, 20:09)Straight Shooter Wrote: …..........…be in no doubt you are responsible for you and yours I doubt anyone will come a running to help you least of all the gov...............the good news is when you participate in a forum such as ours many points of view are thrown up , stuff we have not considered have great value when explained by other members and make for better understanding .

Yes we are responsible ALONE for our families, and we try to prep for everything, from shortages of toilet paper, inconvenient power cuts to major life changing events. Expect no outside help.

When you get an idea/plan, you can bounce it around the forum, if it’s wrong someone will have a better idea, if the idea is good someone will know how to improve it, we’re stronger together.

[bigpaul]

I wish the unprepared would realise we alone are responsible for our families, maybe if they did they would get off their backsides and plan and prepare, but alas no.
having been alone for a lot of my life I have never relied on anyone, when I did they usually let me down.

[Mortblanc]

There is a consideration that some will have ample fuel and others will not. I know that SS in in a situation of having plentiful fuel. During cooler months he will have a fire going 24/7 and a kettle/pot/caldron will be on the stove always. He also has ample water on site.

Others will be burning scrap pallets, twigs, twists of straw from the park, books, magazines and shattered furniture to just get ditch water on the boil. Probably on a hobo stove or in the kitchen sink with an oven rack over the top with the window open.

The latter is what many in Germany are facing this winter.

From now until May is a long time. Most have no idea how much solid fuel it takes to get through a winter.

And right now the government is much too concerned with maintaining their own power that providing for the needs of their people in a harsh winter.

[CharlesHarris]

If you both heat and cook with wood, in below 0 degs. C temps with frequent snow, sleet or freezing rain a modest cottage of less than 1000 sq. ft. will require five cords of wood between Halloween and Good Friday. This presumes keeping multiple kettles on the stove all the time for washing, tea, etc. That was my experience in Merrimac County, New Hampshire from 1984-88.

[CharlesHarris]

Some useful links on heating with wood:

https://forestry.usu.edu/forest-products/wood-heating

https://www.efireplacestore.com/how-much...o-buy.html

https://theprovidentprepper.org/top-3-ti...with-wood/

https://modernhomesteading.ca/blog/firew...wood-stove

https://www.resilience.org/stories/2020-...ood-stove/

[Straight Shooter]

Good information there Charles many thanks mate .

[Pete Grey]

As I’ve said before we burn smokeless coal in our multi fuel stove through the winter, we’ve not started yet but when we do it will be lit 24/7.

On cool autumn evenings we burn a little pallet wood, we have a friend who drops us a couple of pallets each week, it’s built up over the summer, coal shed is stacked to the roof.

We’ve also got another two propane cylinders. A friend has given us a plastic garden storage unit, this could sit outside the utility room with two cylinders inside, hose through the window to the twin burner camping stove as a backup.

Plan C, the solar panels on the shed is nearly finished, this will be our last major prep, age is against us and we need to slow down.

I don’t know if we will be growing much of our own food next year, so we are increasing our food stocks, dry and canned, we will definitely need more storage.

[Straight Shooter]

I bought a “ Kelly kettle “ a few years back , it’s a great bit of kit …..twigs will fuel it water can be boiled in minutes , I also have a saucepan cradle for limited fry ups ……BI or Bo well worth having .

it’s time to check out your carbon monoxide warning metres …..change the batteries and hoover the inlet ports DO IT NOW ! It’s good practice to change these alarms every three years !

[Straight Shooter]

It’s that time of year again ! ……home winter maintenance…..the gutters need cleaning for the last time this year , the chimney is nice and clean , I still have the seals to change on the wood stove , oil all the locks and hinges on all the outer buildings , then a good tidy up everywhere outside .

We plan to grow some veg in most of the poly tunnels this winter . The hen house run needs some attention , raising the floor of the run to keep them out of the water , some concrete slabs will do it laid on some dpc membrane, also going to fit some clear sheets around the run to give them some protection from wind , rain and snow , the blower has been in constant use on the drive these past months , it’s the price you pay being surrounded by trees .

Kicked over then generators (first pull) let them run for 15 mins , tested ….all good .

Sloe gin to make next and maybe some damson gin ….all the preserves have been done , some dehydrating is still going on ……..carrots need pulling these will be frozen , the potatoes I planted for Christmas outside have come real good along with the turnips and onions , and I still have the poly tunnel full of potatoes, turnips , carrots, onions and lettuce leaves ( spicy ) ……all freezers are full bar one , two trays of apples wrapped individually 60 total I done this week ! .