Prepping for home

[Pompnewbie]

So my wife and I are talking about out current level of preparedness and if we are overlooking anything at home.. just thought I would see what some of you suggest other than the obvious beans, bullets, bandages.. I'm looking at grabbing a counter top gravity fed water filter since I know my portable one wouldn't be able to keep up in the event of a failure of the water system and stacks of bottles isn't exactly feasible.
Thanks

Sent from my moto e5 cruise using Tapatalk

 

[kidsoncoffee]

I think the panic buying is pretty much going downhill from now on. Folks got their fill of TP and bottled water. It should start showing up more frequently on the shelves from now on. I'd be more concerned about our economic situation than anything else. Without incomes, a lot of people can start to get desperate. Keep your head on a swivel and avoid public places as much as possible. Keep your home and autos locked up and anything valuable hidden away. If you have a good bit of cash in the bank, I'd stack a few grand at the house for emergencies. There shouldn't be an issue with utilities so I wouldn't worry much about water. If anything, go ahead and get prepared for storm season that's coming up.

 

[Telum Pisces]

If anything, go ahead and get prepared for storm season that's coming up.

This is what I was thinking about the other day. I usually buy consumables for hurricane season in late May! I stock up my gasoline and all the other stuff for storm season. After hurricane season I use up the stash! Rinse and repeat on most things! I think I will stock up a little earlier this year!

 

[DSPLCD1]

Better do it now before Florida catches up, a few states are limiting fuel consumption to vehicles only..

 

[JWlineman]

From the chatter I'm hearing amongst a few different groups, I'd prep for a similar hurricane situation minus what you need for power outage and utilities. The infrastructure should sustain but your travel and buying opportunities will be limited. Cash on hand is good but as our economy becomes more and more digital that need is slowly(very slowly) fading away. If that makes sense...

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[FrommerStop]

From the chatter I'm hearing amongst a few different groups, I'd prep for a similar hurricane situation minus what you need for power outage and utilities. The infrastructure should sustain but your travel and buying opportunities will be limited. Cash on hand is good but as our economy becomes more and more digital that need is slowly(very slowly) fading away. If that makes sense...

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

There have been digital advances. During ivan at first the credit card systems were down and cash was needed. The cell towers were also down. I think that has been taken care off and the cell phones towers will not go down like they used to after three days.

 

[fl57caveman]

buy some lifestraws

 

[War-Buff]

Better do it now before Florida catches up, a few states are limiting fuel consumption to vehicles only..

I filled up my cans early last week, just in case. If noting else, hurricane season is just around the corner so I would have filled them soon anyway.

 

[kidsoncoffee]

Hold out as long as you can on the fuel. The oil prices have tanked and we should start seeing it at the pump before too long. Prices will drop significantly. The quarantines and shutting down everything is killing the demand as well. Saudi and Russia are flooding the market.

 

[Rebel_Rider1969]

$1.89 in loxley,ala.

 

[yellowhammerex]

$1.89 in loxley,ala.

It will be .89 in a few weeks


Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[Fanner50]

When you look at gas prices remember that our Escambia County commissioners passed a five cents a gallon gas tax to pay off the Escambia County Transit Union. It will run forever. Remember that come election time.

 

[SAWMAN]

$1.97 on Hwy.29 and Muskogee,yesterday. --- SAWMAN

 

[Viking1204]

$1.97 is still high, there's some places in the country where gas has already gone below $1 a gallon. Oil is still going down and it will take some time for that price to be reflected at the pump but I see it going quite a bit lower soon!

 

[Snake-Eyes]

I'd rather pay relatively low gas prices now (compared to last week even) and get the gas without a wait, versus being stuck in a 20-minute line at the pump, hoping the 89-cent gas is still available when it's my turn.

 

[Snake-Eyes]

As for gravity-fed filters, if you handle them with normal care (don't go off-roading with them, or drop them in floor, etc), the "Black Berkey" filters have served us well for years. Each one will filter 3000 gallons. The choice of bucket/container is purely for aesthetics. Stainless steel is easy to clean and looks good on a kitchen counter, but it's expensive for what it is. You can make all sorts of DIY setups using 5-gallon buckets or those see-thru blue-plastic water dispensers for the fridge, etc.

Here's a trusted source for the filters:

https://www.getberkey.com

 

[Pompnewbie]

I thought about building one actually.. the bucket idea might be a good choice

Sent from my moto e5 cruise using Tapatalk

 

[Snake-Eyes]

I thought about building one actually.. the bucket idea might be a good choice

Sent from my moto e5 cruise using Tapatalk

Back in 2014, I was away from home for a few months of training. Living out of a hotel, basically. The tap water was slightly suspect due to the age of the buildings, etc. I made this contraption using two almost-identical blue containers, some shock-cord, and two plastic buckle clips. Easy to fill from the shower, stacked out of the way on the dresser. I took the picture in the better lighting of the bathroom, just after filling it, but it definitely did not stay in the bathroom.



Use it to fill a container that fits in the fridge, and you always have cold and filtered water. Just remember: don't make a huge amount of filtered water and allow it to sit unused forever. Use an appropriately sized receptacle for the amount of water your household will use in a day or two, and keep the fridge pitcher topped-off. Very easy. Very inexpensive price per gallon.

 

[Pompnewbie]

Back in 2014, I was away from home for a few months of training. Living out of a hotel, basically. The tap water was slightly suspect due to the age of the buildings, etc. I made this contraption using two almost-identical blue containers, some shock-cord, and two plastic buckle clips. Easy to fill from the shower, stacked out of the way on the dresser. I took the picture in the better lighting of the bathroom, just after filling it, but it definitely did not stay in the bathroom.

View attachment 81473

Use it to fill a container that fits in the fridge, and you always have cold and filtered water. Just remember: don't make a huge amount of filtered water and allow it to sit unused forever. Use an appropriately sized receptacle for the amount of water your household will use in a day or two, and keep the fridge pitcher topped-off. Very easy. Very inexpensive price per gallon.

Nice! That is awesome .. not sure I have the skill set to make it.
Damn damn good looking

Sent from my moto e5 cruise using Tapatalk

 

[Snake-Eyes]

Nice! That is awesome .. not sure I have the skill set to make it.
Damn damn good looking

Sent from my moto e5 cruise using Tapatalk

Thanks, but it's a very simple project since most of the work is done with the design of the water pitchers already. (The spigot up top is redundant and unused.)

I didn't have a drill with me, so I used the leather awl from my Swiss Army knife to "drill" the 3/8"-ish hole for the filter. The rest was just tying knots in the shock cord. Very simple setup. The shockcord really just kept the two units together if bumped and the top container was empty. If the top container had water in it, gravity/weight kept it stable.

I still have the setup as a travel backup. Unscrew the filter, wrap it up for protection from bumps, pack/pad it in the top pitcher with the shock cord. You can use the lid to seal the bottom pitcher full of filtered water for the road, if necessary, or leave it empty. Plastic pitchers are durable for packing in a car, but remember to be careful with the spigots.