AFTER HURRICANE IRMAâ€"-Adapt & Overcome
We anxiously await reports of our Appleseed family & pray everyone is safe & without injury.
The mighty St Johns River has spread her flood waters around 9mm4545 & myself. This will last for days (if we are lucky) & perhaps weeks (if we are not lucky) in our home area. While we are on hold indefinitely to start cleanup due to persistent flood, I am going to be useful anyway by starting a thread to share means of thriving in spite of power outages, phones down, flooding, etc that won't be fixed overnight. The entire cadre is invited to share to help ourselves now & to improve our own survival plans for the future. We haven't seen our last hurricane in FL.
Some things we've learned personally:
COMMUNICATIONS:
*When the generator is running, 9mm4545 found out we can plug in the router for temporary limited internet even when phones are not working.
*Jump & Start devices for starting batteries can also recharge phones, iPads, computers.
*hand held ham radios are means of getting weather reports & networking. With the radio knowledge of Tom & Pete, a statewide "committee of safety" could be a reality. Interested?
WATER:
*Currently we have small city supplied running water. However, we are flooded and that flood also covers the somewhat questionable neighborhood sanitation system. Answer: Black Berkey purifiers with gravity feed for drinking water. This is the same system missionaries have used to purify water from the Ganges River, etc. With this system it is also possible to dip out of creeks, etc & purify water. Simply strain leaves, etc out using 5 gal bucket fitted with towel as a filter, then run through Berkey. There are even additional heavy metal filters to add to the Berkey for lead, arsenic, etc. if needed. The Black Berkeys can also be great if your stored water goes "off"
See attached picture for back pack size & a home model we use.
Not cheap to buy initially, but absolutely worth it to guard your health plus comparison over long haul between this system & bottled water is surprising.
Here are some links to educate:
Videos!!!
http://www.bigberkeywaterfilters.com/helpful-resources/videos/
Here's the real geek stuff on what & how well it purifies:
http://www.bigberkeywaterfilters.com/helpful-resources/test-results/
Compare ceramic & Black Berkey filters:
http://www.bigberkeywaterfilters.com/blog/berkey/the-difference-between-black-berkeys-and-ceramic-filters-a-quick-history-and-comparison/
REFRIGERATION:
*Prior to the storm, use dry ice to extend regular ice in coolers. Publix carries dry ice for one source. A well insulated cooler with a mandatory bottom layer (to protect cooler) of bubble pack or thick towelling will accept dry ice. Lay your bag of ice on top the dry ice.
*Dometic Cooling Box.
This large portable refrigeration unit runs on AC or D.C. current, has two compartments capable of refrigeration or freezing. Run both compartments as refrigeration or freezer or have one of each. Although we purchased this unit as a more economical device than replacing another more costly refrigeration unit (long story), it sure came in handy before & after the storm running on a generator. Our chest freezer on the back deck went floating in the flood. With motor in bottom submerged, outlook questionable. Right now the Dometic is a great alternative to the drowned chest freezer, so we've recouped part of the initial big purchase price. Better choice than replacing an ancient TV.
COOKING:
A Multi purpose kitchen in a bag. The Volcano Stove uses wood, charcoal, or propane for fuel. Grill, griddle, sear, cook using regular pots or cast iron. Use traditional wok. Do Dutch oven cooking. Convection BAKE. Sit the Volcano stove on a plastic table. There are lots of videos on this. Here's a few to get started.
Volcano videos:
Overview
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AH_7SmSdnZg
Overview
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Rd-kE2ocYwc
Tailgate
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uNkqkqGyM54
Wok cooking
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jgGFtYJLHe8
Goggle for Volcano Stove Videos to see more ways to use it.
Ok Appleseeders, sound off on what you learned from the storm which can help others.
BTW, we have no attachment to any company providing products mentioned. We just found these items useful personally.
Looking forward to hearing ideas from other Appleseeders. We can complain :( or we can learn. 😊
Thanks for the suggestions RG! I will second the Berkey water filter recommendation! We use ours daily and love it. We had enough clean water stored away for this storm, but had we been without power or water for a longer duration, we would have needed to use our well's hand pump for drinking water. I did use it for toilet flushing water, and our water had a LOT of sediment in it. The Berkey would make it drinkable.
Best assets for us during the storm:
10,000W dual fuel generator (propane/gas)
hand pump for well
propane camp stove for hot meals!
Things I learned:
We need a transfer switch for our electrical panel so we can hook up our generator to the house electricity, allowing us to use our well pump for running water. Showers are totally underrated. Even a cold shower beats bathing out of a bucket.
We need water storage for our pigs, sheep, and geese. Even full troughs get yucky after being in the heat a few days. The geese bathing in them didn't help.
More/better fans for sleeping in unbearable heat and humidity.
Don't try to charge your cell phone from a non-inverter generator. Power surge killed my phone.
Here's what I've learned about keeping stuff cold. Those gel-ice and other ice packs are pointless. I stopped using them some time ago. Instead, just freeze water bottles. In a cheap cooler, a bag of ice will keep stuff cold only about a day. With those gel-packs, about 2 days. With frozen water bottles, you essentially have larger chunks of solid ice and will keep a cheap cooler cold for 4 days or more. And then you still have cold water to drink, so no space is wasted. Freeze enough for your coolers and leave the rest in your freezer to keep the fridge cold.