The CampFire

[Boondocks]

KW, in response to the very first post....

How do you make 500 gallons of propane last 5 years? Reason I'm asking is for my widowed mom. With everyone's budget tight, it's been difficult to buy 3 fills for the year. Even if you're gonna use different procedures for Teowatki, a description of how you would do this might prove useful in some ways for right now. (Which, by the way, for the most part, etc., is how I believe the real Teowatki is going to happen or is happening.)

Thanks.
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Boondocks
"There are more things in Heaven and Earth than man can imagine."

[kwbeagle]

Depends on where you live. Here in Middle Alabama, we only need heat about 5 months and not much and not every day at that. Add cooking and canning and I think I should be able to make 2 years on 500 gal. I also have a 125 gal tank so I believe I might stretch it to 3 years on both.
In a SHTF setting, I can rig a solar Hot Water tank, A solar cooker/warmer and just simply cut back on overall gas use.
I may get surprised and find that I use more than I projected.

I guess the price of delivered propane varies from place to place. Of course ubama plans to tax it under the Capn Trade bill, so it's goin up.
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Chief KW Beagle - Global Warming is a HOAX

If dogs don't go to Heaven, then I want to go where they go. - Will Rogers

****Pardon me while I adjust my teleprompter.****

Roll Tide!!!!Roll!!! 13 National Championships

[Boondocks]

I forgot to mention that mom's tank is 500 gallons. The furnace and hot water is on propane. Everything else is electric because (when they bought the house) dad was alive & on oxygen. Of course, the furnace has the lowest efficiency rating around--the sticker on it says so. And the house is about 32x64.
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Boondocks
"There are more things in Heaven and Earth than man can imagine."

[kwbeagle]

Maybe they could close the vents in a couple of rooms that are not used much. We only heat and cool about 800 sq ft. I have a capacity of 625gal which will hold 500 gal of LP. Your 500 gal tank will hold 400 gal of LP.
Our heater is unvented which means we keep every BTU in the house. Also, we have extra insulation all around and on the roof.
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Chief KW Beagle - Global Warming is a HOAX

If dogs don't go to Heaven, then I want to go where they go. - Will Rogers

****Pardon me while I adjust my teleprompter.****

Roll Tide!!!!Roll!!! 13 National Championships

[nancy1340]

We went to the Big Town gun show today. I bought two rolls of silver dimes. Frank bought a tube of silver dollars.
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Start: 1/26 - 226
Latest: 2/05 - 216

[Quill]

I cut some firewood. First time using a chainsaw since I was hurt almost 2yrs. ago.

[Manny]

Offhand, adding insulation, particularly in the ceiling could help, as would closing off and not heating as many rooms as possible and keeping the t-stat set as low as possible. If mom's willing to dress like an eskimo that could help a fair amount. What about windows? If they're leaky the clear plastic 3M insulation kits could help substantially. There may be ways to maximize passive solar heat gain and/or loss but I'm not really up on that. Gains from all those areas might add up to significant savings.

Realistically it sounds like getting a lot more in efficiency would require updating to a more efficient furnace and possibly a tankless hot water system. Unfortunately doing that will cost quite a bit upfront and the payback would likely take quite awhile. Of the two a tankless hot water system would probably be less upfront.
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"Adversity breeds toughness, and the tough succeed. And survive."
D.Koontz in "Lightning"

[Old Judge Creek]

Well, this last week, I completed my "ammo inventory".

What this really means is that I have two lists: 1) actual loaded stuff ready for use and 2) components to reload more

Both lists can now be stocked up to my comfort level.
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OJC - DCMG #1



Every time I see the Compass and Square I am reminded of the man I aspire to be.

[Orion]

Well, I had to buy a new washer. The Kenmore we had kicked the bucket.
Six months after the warranty expired.

Bought a new LG front load.
With 5 years warranty. So we oughta be good for 5 1/2 years.

Picked up a 300 watt rechargeable power pack for 1/2 price.
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Orion

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DCMG #13

"I'm just preparing my impromptu remarks."

- Winston Churchill

I will appeal, not to the freedom of speech or religion, but to the sacred and inalienable right to be left the hell alone.


- Andrew Coyne

[Mahachippy]

[Hank Dodge]

We've stocked up a bit more on the freeze dried canned goods. Man, that stuff is good. I can't believe just how good the vegetables and the various cheeses are. The plan now is to have stock on hand and be replenishing what we use as sales / finances allow. Great stuff to have around on a daily basis as well as the unforeseen emergency.
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DCMG #3

"Shoot them big guns.....you can see the holes better!"

[stonehead]

I ordered a 1/4 of a cow yesterday. Should feed the tribe for a few months. The dw was not too thrilled at first, but then she decided to help chose how it was cut.
next I'm going check on a pig or a lamb (I LOVE lamb).
Next I'm buying a couple of those large water containers.
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Semper Vigilans
Remember, the person you see in the mirror each morning is the one
most responsible for your safety

[Boondocks]

Manny & KW, you're ideas are all good and we've used some of them for years. (Like shutting off rooms that don't get used much.) One of those rooms actually makes a good "cold room" for storing taters, etc. Unfortunately the main living area was designed for open living and doesn't lend itself to much more in the way of reducing the heated space. During the day we run the furnace at 69 and about 64 at night. And you're right in saying that replacing the furnace or adding roof insulation would require more upfront than either of us can afford..

Except for the crawl space under the house--and that has to be done very carefully budget-wise. I'm hoping to do that little x little myself. And I'm NOT going to do it in the dead of winter. Nuh-uh!
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Boondocks
"There are more things in Heaven and Earth than man can imagine."

[Mahachippy]

I went by Wally World tonight after class 'cause I need milk, toilet paper, and lunch meat (betcha' can't tell I'm a bachelor!) and while there picked up 8 cans of tuna (2 4-packs), 4 large cans of canned chicken, 2 cans of green beans, 2 cans of corn, 2 cans of carrots, 2 cans of whole potatoes, 1 five pound bag of rice, 1 five pound bag of pinto beans, 1 24-pack of 20 oz bottles of water, and a bottle each of dehydrated garlic and onions.

The fun thing was that all of the above less the milk, tp, and meat was all only about $35. Sure it's not a month's worth of food but it's a nice addition to my pantry and I think I finally proved to myself that you don't have to be uber rich to be able to have decent food preps.

Now, the not so fun thing was that a) it was Wal-Mart and b) I live in a smallish town and it's cold outside by Texas standards ergo Wal-Mart apparently was my town's weeknight entertainment extravaganza - it took me an hour and a half to get the above and get out of Wal-Mart - I dun't like it there...I jus' dun't!

I am happy though as that bottle water brings my water levels up to about 12 gallons - not nearly what I need but I'd bet it's more than most people in my town have stocked up.


ETA: Almost forgot that I also picked up a bottle of one of my most favoritest seasonings or sauces or whatever in the world - worchestershire sauce (I think I spelled that right...maybe?!).

Oh yeah and I also got some fresh fruits and veggies but I don't really consider those "prep" items though I guess if they contribute positively to my health they could be considered prep items.
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"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalms 46:10

Defend the weak, protect both young and old, never desert your friends. Give justice to all, be fearless in battle and always ready to defend the right. Show welcome and good cheer to all of true heart.

Live with no excuses. Love with no regrets.

Buy when you're scared to death, sell when you're happy as hell!

[Orion]

I picked up an 1120 round case of 7.62X39 Czech surplus ammo, a new tool box set that consists of a wheeled 5 door tool cabinet and a 5 drawer chest that sits on top of the cabinet.
The locks were broken on my old tool chest and the kids started losing my tools.

Now I can put all my good tools in the new tool boxes and lock 'em up. They can lose all the rusty old tools they want.

Actually we did get Kurtis a pretty good set of tools for Christmas and it hasn't been as bad since. Still, his older brother stops by and borrows/loses tools all the time.

Yesterday I picked up 10 cases of 15 - 500ml bottles of water to add to the supply. The local discount store has them on sale for $1.00/case.
They're handy for taking on hikes and such.
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Orion

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DCMG #13

"I'm just preparing my impromptu remarks."

- Winston Churchill

I will appeal, not to the freedom of speech or religion, but to the sacred and inalienable right to be left the hell alone.


- Andrew Coyne