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Thanks Heritic . Starting with water I have a well how can I prepare to have access to my water without power . Generator ? Hand pump at well ? Food we have enough to survive for awhile ,week maybe but really no plan . These are the things I'm hoping to find a guide for .
 

Heretic's list + prescriptions
 
Thanks Heritic . Starting with water I have a well how can I prepare to have access to my water without power . Generator ? Hand pump at well ? Food we have enough to survive for awhile ,week maybe but really no plan . These are the things I'm hoping to find a guide for .

First, make sure that you have a good covering for the well pump and accumulator/pressure tank. Something to protect it from trees and limbs falling, and from fire.

Second, find out how it is wired into power. My pump is not wired into the house panel, it is wired into the panel at the meter. I have a transfer switch for a genset at the house, but nothing for the well pump. :(

Third, understand that the pump takes more power when starting - sometimes 2-3X the amount it requires after starting. There is a surge of power demand for any motor driven mechanism. So allow for that when sizing your generator.

A larger accumulator/pressure tank means your well pump will start less often.

There are backup pumps that can be used for some wells - both hand and solar - it depends at least in part on the depth of the well. My well is 120', 80' at the water level. My neighbor's wells are 400'+ deep and one is having to lower his pump because his water level has gone down.
 
Thanks Heritic . Starting with water I have a well how can I prepare to have access to my water without power . Generator ? Hand pump at well ? Food we have enough to survive for awhile ,week maybe but really no plan . These are the things I'm hoping to find a guide for .

My well is hardwired for 220. I have a spare 220 plug that can be directly installed to the pump in case of emergency, and a generator that can power it. It's unfortunately against code to have a plug wired to the pump and have it connected to the grid at the same time.
 
If some book recommendations would help get you started, I've written some bibliographies/reviews in years past:

Also, plus one to TACDA above. They are a good organization and now all their resources now are freely available. (I've been a member for years and had an article published in The Journal of Civil Defense.)

If we can help, just let us know. Good luck. :s0155:
 
For the most part preparedness will save you money, as far as food goes.

Store what you eat, eat (rotate) what you store.

Buy in quantity, and when/if on sale stock up. Think ahead when specials & such crop up.

However don't stock up if you don't like something, or won't eat it before it's bad. That's simply throwing money better put towards another aspect away.

This applies to short term, mid term & long term foods.

Short term being anything a month and under, where it can't easily & reasonably be flipped to longer term.

Mid term meaning a year to several, depending what it is & it's storage needs. Most foods frozen fall into this category at the shorter end of mid term (or short term foods above you can reasonably & easily flip to frozen safely). Some foods frozen can have a markedly extended storage.

About all grocery store type canned goods fall into the midterm category.

Long term being decades. Either home packed or commercial. You honestly need not get too wrapped up in such until your midterm needs are fulfilled, however there normally can be initial overlap (rice/beans/oats/pasta etc... whatever in your normal diet above).
 
Thanks for all the responses . I am told You eat an elephant one bite at a time so my goal is education and start with food . I feel confident in where i'm at with security so food and water is where i really need to focus my attention .
 
Nezz69
So many Web sites, google Prepping, Survival and Emergency Prep or combination of them.
All sites have opinions and they are like rectums all most everyone has one and
some smell worst than others.
The Best survival gun is the one you have with you and the best Knife is the one you have with you.
Knowledge is Power.
Welcome to the wonderful world of what if!
Plan for the worst, Hope for the best!
Lastly "Expect the worst from people and they will deliver when things get bad."
good luck
Bill
 
There are a number of decent podcasts and websites that are worth looking into, but in the end prepping is very much a thought exercise in "what would I need to survive if....". Keep in mind that the majority of those putting out content aren't experts as far as having lived through some collapse (though ferfal and selco are two I know of) they've just thought through the questions enough to have some answers. Like a medical student teaching medicine before they've done their internship. I'm not knocking them at all or saying don't look for the resources, because you should, I'm just pointing out that much of the knowledge is theoretical, and you can get a very long way in what you should do to prep by spending the time thinking through things on your own, based on your own scenario.
A good basic (though maybe extreme) starting point would be, "what if I suddenly had no access to any outside resources?" What would you need? What makes the most sense for you to do/have? I think it's best to think through your scenario first and then look at what others are saying for specific questions. Haha that said, here's my quick and dirty food primer :)

For food specifically, start with what you generally eat. What of that food is easily storable? If you eat certain canned food on a regular basis (chili, refried beans, tuna, soup, peanut butter, tomato sauce) then those are great things to start stocking up on.
If you eat more fresh food, especially since you have a generator, filling up a freezer with meat/veggies/butter/whatever you eat makes sense, though a bit more risky.
Think in terms of calories as well as fat, protein,carbs, and vitamins, as well as what's needed for complete meals.
Coconut oil I believe is the most shelf stable vegetable oil, but olive oil is decent as well. Buy as much of it as you'll go through before it goes bad.
Dried goods (pasta, white flour, grains, pancake mix, etc.) will store a long time.
White rice is considered a prepper staple because it's cheap and if stored right (five gallon buckets, Mylar bags, O2 absorber) it can last nearly forever, though it's not particularly nutritious. It can last quite a while if not stored perfectly, too. Other grains (oats, millet, quinoa, amaranth, etc.) have more nutrients and can store basically just as well, at least years, but may be a bit more expensive. I have steel cut oats that are at least a couple years old stored in just the bucket with gamma lid, opened once or twice a week, and I taste nothing wrong with them. Grains are gonna be important to a mid/long term plan.
If you eat lentils they're very nutrient dense and can store a long time as well.
Having some freeze dried food isn't a bad idea but is the most expensive route, personally I would get some but not make it a main focus at first, unless money's not an issue.
Preppers have an aversion to things that require refrigeration, but I think cheese is a good food prep, if you eat it regularly. Nutrient dense, lots of fat and protein, and can stay good quite a long time if refrigerated. I would have at minimum as much as I have fuel to run a generator with, and I try to keep as many eggs on hand as will stay good.
If you eat things like pepperoni or summer sausage anyway, some of those last months without refrigeration before being opened, so can be a good option.
I do buy some things I normally wouldn't eat much of, if it has a long storage life and tastes decent, just to be able to keep some on hand. Like instant potatoes, dried fruit, canned chicken, dintey Moore has a fairly decent chicken and dumplings and beef stew, and I eat some on occasion to keep it rotated.
And keep in mind salt, pepper, sweeteners, spices, condiments, coffee, a good multivitamin and other supplements, chocolate, maybe some dried milk, definitely at least a months worth of beer ;)
Also, if able, a garden and small animals could pay off immensely.

TLDR, to start, whatever you eat now, buy as much of it as you'll eat before it goes bad :)
 
The Mormons have this all totally dialed in and published a wonderful PDF. I'll look for it. Ahhh, this is not the direct link to the Latter Day Saints site, but will get you started. https://thesurvivalmom.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/LDS-Preparedness-Manual.pdf

Best of all, the Mormons sell food stuffs and prepping items at a good price and you don't need to be a member. They know that most members are stretched thin for $, and accomodate them with the plan.

Edit: couple more decent links: 667 Free Survival PDFs, Manuals and Downloads [August 2020]

Download the Latter-day Saints LDS Preparedness Manual PDF - SHTF Blog – Modern Survival
 
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