What have done towards your prep?

[Pete Grey]

(19 November 2018, 09:24)Mortblanc Wrote: Wen I am actively gardening my dehydrator runs 24/7!

I love to dehydrate veggies, especially tomatoes.

I got started doing tomatoes when I had a cherry tomato bush that went spaz on me and produced enough to supply an all you can eat salad bar for a year. I dehydrated many big one gallon bags of cherry tomatoes split in half and reduced to tomato chips.

They are great in soups and stews and I even like them crunched up into tomato bits and sprinkled on salads.

Lots of veggies dehydrate well.

You can also do jerky and powdered eggs.

That seems an easier way to make jerky MB, how do you do eggs ?.

[Mortblanc]

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That seems an easier way to make jerky MB, how do you do eggs ?.
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My dehydrator came with two solid plastic trays for sloppy items. The standard trays are perforated for easy air flow.

For eggs I use the solid trays and scramble up the raw eggs in the blender.

Add nothing too them, just eggs scrambled up and poured onto the solid trays.

Run the dehydrator on high until the eggs are so dry they crumble at the touch. Usually 24 hours.

I then crush the dried eggs into a powder and store in a zip lock bag. They must be crushed to a powder.

I used to do this when I had chickens and a surplus of eggs. If I got two or three dozen ahead I would dehydrate them before they went bad.

[Pete Grey]

With no real gardening to do now i’m starting to recheck preps starting with electrics, need a couple of medium sized solar panels, and a charge controller.

I’m thinking 40/60 watts, may not be the most efficient but will be easier to stow away and transport than larger units, i’ve just bought an extra leasure battery.

[Straight Shooter]

Been splitting firewood , felled two trees that we about to drop anyway..logged up ....will split and stack next week...my youngest daughter wants a wood stove fitted asap .....I have headed the sil off at the pass he is the MD of a local manufacturing company ...yes I said ! You can cut up all those bad pallets and heat your house for free ! ......I am not holding my breath ! Firewood just fles in when you,r asleep and stacks itself neatly in your sheds,even the wood stoves clean themselves and refuse to smell of burnt wood......no they simple do not present a problem at all ....but look really cool ! Besides dad has plenty of firewood ! I then explain the rudiments of well seasoned wood ....then explain why he will not be needing his push bike with tachometer or his fitbit to keep fit ..don't sorry ! I will show you what to do mate! You'll soon get into it ! "Why does it take so long to dry though?" I stand back and say these words . .....and to think my pension payments may well be depending on you !.

[Pete Grey]

(25 November 2018, 16:08)Straight Shooter Wrote: Been splitting firewood , felled two trees that we about to drop anyway..logged up ....will split and stack next week...my youngest daughter wants a wood stove fitted asap .....I have headed the sil off at the pass he is the MD of a local manufacturing company ...yes I said ! You can cut up all those bad pallets and heat your house for free ! ......I am not holding my breath ! Firewood just fles in when you,r asleep and stacks itself neatly in your sheds,even the wood stoves clean themselves and refuse to smell of burnt wood......no they simple do not present a problem at all ....but look really cool ! Besides dad has plenty of firewood ! I then explain the rudiments of well seasoned wood ....then explain why he will not be needing his push bike with tachometer or his fitbit to keep fit ..don't sorry ! I will show you what to do mate! You'll soon get into it ! "Why does it take so long to dry though?" I stand back and say these words . .....and to think my pension payments may well be depending on you !.

Unfortunately SS with kids you can’t teach them common sense, they, like we did, have to learn the hard way, usually by making mistakes.

[Straight Shooter]

Yep you'r right Pete !

Bottled up the raspberry wine today 6 bottles , gooseberry will be bottled up this Friday .

Bought a side of pork loin ready to cure for bacon will sort that out tomorrow.

Dehydrator in full swing ,onions ,oranges,pairs, and cherry toms (from the market ..Sunday ).

Split more fire wood ...nearly done now ....until I get down the trail to process fallen trees I spotted ,
Today .....never stops does it ! .....I had to create a diversion today ( just to take a piss ) wild child watching me like a hawk .

[Pete Grey]

Our camper van (which would be our BOV) is winter ready, and now loaded with four season sleeping bags, winter clothing and extra high energy food (should last 3 or 4 weeks), two propane cylinders, water tank has been drained but the berkeley water filter is on board.

Extra stuff already in crates and water jerrycans can soon be loaded, enough to keep us going for another few weeks. I still intend to get a couple of solar panels (40/60 watts) these would be small enough to be mobile.

The vehicle is fitted with a wheel clamp, steering wheel lock an alarm and an engine immobiliser also extra locks on caravan door, to keep it safe.

In a bug in situation it’s a reserve and would not take long to unload.

In the house i’m checking dates on tins and rotating stocks where nesessary, next i will check OTC medicines ready winter colds etc we have had our flu jabs so hopefully we should be ok for that.

[Pete Grey]

We have been having trouble with our burglar alarm recently so i whipped the cover off and checked the battery, under 1 volt, should be 12. The battery just sits there doing nothing, being trickle charged, just waiting for a power outage, very rare around here (can’t even remember the last one),

My thoughts are even a battery which really is only used occasionally in an emergency has a finite life, and unfortunately as the sale of sulphuric acid is now restricted it makes it almost impossible to buy dry charged batteries to keep in stock.

So if you wish to keep a vehicle battery on the shelf try and find a friendly supplier and buy one now.

[Straight Shooter]

The pork loin was cut into three (2.4 k lots) a mixture of rock salt fine table salt and salt Petre along with some rosemary,black pepper corns ,bag leaves crushed into a powder and brown sugar all added to complete the cure , all is now sitting in the brew shed fridge where I will turn Daly for the next five days .

The gooseberry wine is bottled up and is now sitting on a cool dark shelf (with all the other wines ) in the brew shed.

Market day tomorrow , will look for stuff to dehydrate (I just know I will burn the bastard out! ) but hey .

[Pete Grey]

(30 November 2018, 01:01)Pete Grey Wrote: We have been having trouble with our burglar alarm recently so i whipped the cover off and checked the battery, under 1 volt, should be 12. The battery just sits there doing nothing, being trickle charged, just waiting for a power outage, very rare around here (can’t even remember the last one),

My thoughts are even a battery which really is only used occasionally in an emergency has a finite life, and unfortunately as the sale of sulphuric acid is now restricted it makes it almost impossible to buy dry charged batteries to keep in stock.

So if you wish to keep a vehicle battery on the shelf try and find a friendly supplier and buy one now.

I’ve repeated this post because on reading up i’m not sure there is an advantage to keeping dry charged batteries to filled and charged lead acid batteries on the shelf.

It appears dry charged batteries kept for 2 years, then filled and charged only give 80% of the rated capacity, which wet batteries can better if periodically recharged, and kept in a cool (15 degrees) dry place.

Perhaps someone with more knowledge (CH) can help here.