This weeks preps check-in

[MaterielGeneral]

I put a reminder in my phone to check the batteries in all my flashlights, and auto battery jumper for 5 months from now. I also put a reminder in to rotate my mattress, and to change the water filter in my refrigerator. I checked the filter this morning in the fridge and the last time it was changed was 12/09/2014.... oops looks like I was a little overdue on that one

Smart move. Every spring I replace the batteries in the flashlights in the vehicles because of the winter freeze, thaw, freeze, thaw. Has a tendency to increase the chance for leakage.

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[jimLE]

except for the jump starter.every thing i have,that has batteries and goes into the car,in the morning.also comes into the house that evening.that includes flash lights,head lamps,cell/smart phones,and a digital camera.right along with any thing else that'll have rechargeable batteries..what items i dont use frequently,gets checked time to time..pluss the batteries gets rotated and changed out.on acount i figure that'll help the batteries last longer.the flashlight in the pic,is on my person,from the time i get up in the morning.till i go to bed,for the night..so i know that i always have a flashlight with me.when ever i go some where or not..this reminds me.i need to start replacing some of the AAA'Sand AA'S and get some extra d'S

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[Brent S]

View attachment 7342 Ok, I am still so excited that I had to post this! I have wanted a jeep my whole life, but was always too practical to waste the money on a toy. Well, I found a Japanese Mitsubishi jeep that was imported just four months ago. These things were licensed by jeep to be made in Japan, and were just like the old Willis jeep, but modern with some technological improvements. This one has a four cylinder diesel, two batteries for a 24volt system, and old school jeep looks. I will get it tagged tomorrow and can't wait to start taking it out! I drove it two hours Bringing it home the other day, but can't wait to try out the 4wd. Who needs air conditioning and comforts? Being able to carry more than two people, who has that many friends? It actually does have two little fold down jump seats, but I will be damned If I'd ever sit in one of them. At least it does have a heater for wintertime. Seriously, I don't like cold! The right hand drive with shift on the left was weird for a few minutes, but not too bad to get used to. All joking aside, I am thrilled to have a tough little truck! We took the top off, but it does have it for rainy days.View attachment 7341

Yeah! I finally got the tag on the jeep and can legally drive it now. The dmv nazis wanted a notarized bill of sale, delaying getting the paperwork done. Anyways, all good now and I plan to take it out first thing tomorrow. Even though this thing is really cool, I'm still questioning the availability of parts. With a wrangler you can get parts everywhere, with this you order from Japan. Fine for now, but if shtf it becomes a paperweight.

 

[Proud Prepper]

Yeah! I finally got the tag on the jeep and can legally drive it now. The dmv nazis wanted a notarized bill of sale, delaying getting the paperwork done. Anyways, all good now and I plan to take it out first thing tomorrow. Even though this thing is really cool, I'm still questioning the availability of parts. With a wrangler you can get parts everywhere, with this you order from Japan. Fine for now, but if shtf it becomes a paperweight.

Stock up on basic parts and make a list of all stores within a 50 mile radius that carries parts for it. Or just sell it and buy a Jeep wrangler, lol

 

[jimLE]

I had to go in and get,2 used tires today.1 used tire,is in such bad shape.its a wonder that it didnt blow out.only reason i learned about it.is i ran my hand along the inside.and felt steal belts.tomorrow,or wensday.i'll go in and update the tags.the car drives n handles sooo much better..

 

[Mountain trapper]

Got the floor built for the generator building and mounted the generator and fuel tank. I'm using a 55 gallon barrel for the fuel tank. Got the fuel lines plumbed and installed a double fuel filter system. The solar equipment was shipped last week and should be here any day.
Finished digging the holes for the cabin foundation. Took almost a week of chipping rock but finally got all the holes down 2 feet. The lumber and building materials have been ordered. Just about done with the corral. Need to finish bolting the top rail to the posts and build another gate. I ordered another 8 kw Perkins diesel generator for the well pump. It'll be wired to the pressure switch on the pump so it'll auto start when the pump senses low water pressure. Picked up a couple 55 gallon water barrels that will go in the cabin for water storage.

 

[Mountain trapper]

I had to in and get,2 used tires today.1 used tire,is in such bad shape.its a winder that it didnt blow out.only reason i learned about it.is i ran my hand along the inside.and felt steal belts.tomorrow,or wensday.i'll go in and update the tags.the car drives n handles sooo much better..

I just realized that I haven't updated my tags and licences in 6 years. Oops. One of my trailers hasn't had a valid tag in over 10 years and my equipment trailer has never been licensed. Just keep putting things off I guess.

 

[Brent S]

Stock up on basic parts and make a list of all stores within a 50 mile radius that carries parts for it. Or just sell it and buy a Jeep wrangler, lol

Did some more research on it. Even the Mitsubishi dealer had never heard of it. The closest parts are 6,700 miles from here! It has about 50,000 miles on it right now. My thought is to play with it for a year or so and sell it. A wrangler will be a lot more practical when it comes to servicing. Sucks as the turbo diesel in this thing is supposedly one of the toughest engines ever made. It's what the taliban uses in those toyota trucks. In the meantime I need to find a good and creative mechanic somewhere close.

 

[Brent S]

I just realized that I haven't updated my tags and licences in 6 years. Oops. One of my trailers hasn't had a valid tag in over 10 years and my equipment trailer has never been licensed. Just keep putting things off I guess.

I have about six trailers and just move one tag around as needed.

 

[DrPrepper1]

I bought some extra basic like: bath soap, saline solution, toothpaste, toilet paper, trash bags, deodorant etc. It was a pretty big chunk at once, but my goal is to buy 1 or 2 things every payday to continue the stocking process. I have been working on getting more Mountain house and water, but I thought it would also be good to start stocking non food items as well.

 

[Brent S]

I bought some extra basic like: bath soap, saline solution, toothpaste, toilet paper, trash bags, deodorant etc. It was a pretty big chunk at once, but my goal is to buy 1 or 2 things every payday to continue the stocking process. I have been working on getting more Mountain house and water, but I thought it would also be good to start stocking non food items as well.

Every trip to the store brings something extra home with me now. Once in a while I will make a list and do a resupply, but mostly I just buy an extra of something that will store well.

 

[Brent S]

I was at Walmart today and this sign caught my attention. Even though it's in stock often now I still got two more boxes out of a reflex action! If you can't see it, it said 'no limit on 22's'

 

[DrPrepper1]

I took a couple days to clean out and reorganize my linen closet. It is a small closet, but I tossed out a bunch of stuff, added shelf liner, added baskets and organized everything it neat rows so that I know how much stock I have. I then went to Wal-Mart and bought a couple of things to add to the stock. I have some of everything I use. I have a lot of some stuff, but this will help me be able to determine where I can continue to stock by glancing in the closet. Before, it was just a guess.

 

[Brent S]

I took a couple days to clean out and reorganize my linen closet. It is a small closet, but I tossed out a bunch of stuff, added shelf liner, added baskets and organized everything it neat rows so that I know how much stock I have. I then went to Wal-Mart and bought a couple of things to add to the stock. I have some of everything I use. I have a lot of some stuff, but this will help me be able to determine where I can continue to stock by glancing in the closet. Before, it was just a guess.

Getting organized is something we all could do better at! I've been working a lot of hours lately and have kind of let a lot of stuff fall behind.

 

[Mountain trapper]

Got the solar stuff home the other day and unloaded what I could. The batteries weigh close to 200 lbs each (8 total) so I'm struggling with trying to get them off the trailer. Same with the inverter and charge controller. The mount for the panels and sun tracker will be here on Tuesday. Got the fuel tank set up and plumbed to the generator. I'll try starting the generator tomorrow.
Took the dogs swimming down at our pond. The water level is about 6 feet low. I'll take the 4 wheeler out this evening and check on some of our springs to see if they're still flowing. The springs are supposed to be our backup in case we have problems with the well.

 

[Mountain trapper]

Got another 2 pallets of solar stuff yesterday. One pallet was 15' long. The lumber was also delivered yesterday for the cabin and "power plant". Construction will start today. Checked on some springs and even as dry as this summer has been they're all still flowing good. The dogs had fun swimming in them. One of the springs is only 1/4 mile from where we're building. Saw a lot of bear sign around the springs and pond.

 

[Maverick]

Picked up unground wheat; 100lbs of durum, 150lbs of hard white and 50lbs of hard red. I'll be putting these in 6gal buckets for storage.

 

[DrHenley]

From what I understand, the hard red keeps longer than the others. We bought a lot of hard red winter wheat for food plots last year and I brought home a leftover bag. I've used it for all sorts of things, like stabilizing bare spots in the yard during the winter, and supplementing our bird's bird food. I even managed to harvest a little that grew on the edge of the flower bed. (must have spilled some there cause I sure didn't plant it there) Wheat sprouts is one of the latest superfood crazes. "Wheatgrass" is what they call it.

 

[Maverick]

From what I understand, the hard red keeps longer than the others. We bought a lot of hard red winter wheat for food plots last year and I brought home a leftover bag. I've used it for all sorts of things, like stabilizing bare spots in the yard during the winter, and supplementing our bird's bird food. I even managed to harvest a little that grew on the edge of the flower bed. (must have spilled some there cause I sure didn't plant it there) Wheat sprouts is one of the latest superfood crazes. "Wheatgrass" is what they call it.

I never had storage issues with wheat, red and white hard wheat will last the same amount of time given white wheat is made from red wheat, the griss mill told me most wheat's will last forever if stored right.

I'm not sure about spring wheat since I very seldom used it, my mom used soft wheat for her pastries and biscuits if I remember right. I've been using soft/hard red wheat for many years until the mid 90s when I started using hard white wheat for a lot more baking. I just started getting durum 5 or so years ago because the wife and girls like making their own pasta (to much of a process for me) durum really seems harder to me just from hearing the grinder work at it. I'm just glad my only job is milling and leave the chaos that soon follows.

 

[DrPrepper1]

I cleaned out my refrigerator. I got an ink stamp that prints the word "confidential" in big and small letters. It works pretty good for rolling it over your name and address on mail that you want to toss. I used to tear all my mail up into small pieces and take it to work and put it in the locked bins to be shredded by the shredder company. I will still toss it in there, but I can now just quickly ink out the important information( rather than tear everything into small pieces). I also changed out my beast of an air filter in my home for the A/C.

 

[Maverick]

Picked up (4) 10 oz cans of bag balm at the feed store (on sale) I never see this on sale here especially $7 for 10oz cans, 4oz are normally $7.

 

[Silent Earth]

Still fitting and refitting out the new Bug Out Vehicle.

 

[WGregMiller]

We are still freeze drying anything that doesn't move. None of my wife's cats are missing.... yet.....

We've done a few batches of strawberries, raspberries, apples, sour cream, mushrooms, onions and stuff that's local to here.

If anyone is interested, maintenance hasn't been a problem so far. I did a big oil flush on the vac pump, but what I thought sounded like a pain in the butt took 10 minutes more than changing the oil in it. In other words, not a problem.

I think we both wish we'd have gotten a larger one already, but that is life.

 

[Brent S]

We are still freeze drying anything that doesn't move. None of my wife's cats are missing.... yet.....

We've done a few batches of strawberries, raspberries, apples, sour cream, mushrooms, onions and stuff that's local to here.

If anyone is interested, maintenance hasn't been a problem so far. I did a big oil flush on the vac pump, but what I thought sounded like a pain in the butt took 10 minutes more than changing the oil in it. In other words, not a problem.

I think we both wish we'd have gotten a larger one already, but that is life.

Never underestimate the shelf life of freeze dried cat......

 

[Mountain trapper]

Never underestimate the shelf life of freeze dried cat......

Now that's the first ligit use for a cat I've ever heard. SHTF food. Better than starving I guess.

 

[Brent S]

Glad the new toy is working out for you. I'm still a little jealous!

 

[Mountain trapper]

Well the construction on the cabin was going along smoothly, until today. Got the floor and the walls framed and stood up. But now the trusses won't be ready until the end of the month. The electrician and windows are two weeks out too. At least we can finish the power plant building while we're waiting. I fired up the new generator yesterday. That Perkins diesel really purrs, and very quiet too. I'm going to install 2 mufflers and 6 inches of insulation in the walls of the building to cut down on the sound. I doubt if we'll be able to hear it running from over 25 feet. I'm going to get an 8kw Perkins for the well pump. Since it's almost a half mile from the cabin I don't have to worry about the sound.
I'll pick up the wood stove next week for the cabin. Which reminds me, I need to get out and finish cutting fire wood. Only have a couple cords on the ground right now and I'll need about 4 more to make it through the winter.
If the weather holds out I may get the shop built and barn extension done this year too.
Also ordered a cord of apple wood to be used for smoking.

 

[Joe SA]

Welding, welding and a bit more welding. [emoji1]

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[Brent S]

Welding, welding and a bit more welding. [emoji1]

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It really sucks that you have to consider this kind of security.

 

[jontte]

finally got my vest done with the new outer layer,looks quite nice,will add pics shortly,it's so frustrating that work comes in the way of prepping

but thanks to my work,I have been able to add some med supplies to my preps,thanks to my headnurse,who saw me once going through my IFAK at work.