Observations on packing mylar bags and 5 gallon buckets

So we packed some rice in our 5 gallon buckets a few days ago. We had a good number of sacks of rice. (I recall we purchased these for about $9 and after a few months it was up to $11. I kept telling my local sheeple this was a big increase but since it was only a few dollars they could not comprehend this change) So we finally packed up our rice into home depot buckets. These were not food grade but there will be no contamination since they are inside inert mylar bags. From what I've researched the problem arises if you have food in contact with plastic that may leak off gases directly to the food in the long term. The mylar bags solves this issue and the bucket only serves as a container to protect against vermin and for easier transportation. After putting in the oxygen absorbers and leaving it inside for 2 nights I noticed that some of the mylar shrunk after the oxygen was absorbed-shrunk to a vacuum, some of them did not. I did have one mylar which was shrunk down tight-packed tight against the rice itself, like a rock. The others did not do this. So thinking there was a leak and that they should have all shrunk tight I redid the mylars and inserted new oxygen absorbers and waited. I came back after about 24 hrs and the bags still did not shrink as hard as the other one that did. I had double checked the O2 absorbers, checked the mylars and checked the seals. Everything seemed fine but they still were not shrinking. Puzzled, I left to consult with fellow preppers who have done this a few more times than I have. After some dialogue the consensus was this:

The rest of the air in the bag did not shrink because they are not oxygen, but other inert gases

Having the bag shrink down too tight may make the bag more prone to pinholes since there is no more space to move around in, so some slack is good

So far I checked on the mylar bags and they still have not shrunk down too tight. I think I prefer them this way so that there is some space in there. If the problem is only oxygen, then I have addressed that.

“We are Preparing for Massive Civil War,” Says DHS Informant

Compare this with the recent report on the purchase of 450million rounds of hollow point. These are hard times we are looking at.

FerFal leaves Argentina, moves to Northern Ireland

I just heard that Fernando FerFal Aguirre of Surviving Argentina fame has relocated to Northern Ireland. Hearing about this makes me smile. It just shows the benefits of being able to relocate to a strategic place to continue your life. If you want to, you can get yourself a second passport or at least a way to get into the door to get one. On the interview he discusses why he chose Northern Ireland, his adjustment to the new country and looks back at some of the events in Argentina. How debt, including some credit card debt, was handled after tshtf, the US still being one of the best places to be due to our 2nd ammendment rights and how relocating to a 3rd world country might not be the best plan for those who live in a 1st world.

Listen to the podcast of The Survival Podcast . I recommend listening to the other podcasts as well, Jack(the host) makes a hell of a show.

Iran closing Strait of Hormuz, reaction to EU sanctions

Gas up those vehicles and BOVs, if you can, store up on the fuel as well. Prices will rise pretty fast pretty soon

U.S. Sends Letter to Iran on Strait of Hormuz

Iran confirmed today that it has received a letter from the United States concerning the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Ramin Mehmanparast, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, said the country is studying the letter and “will respond to it if it is necessary.”

“The US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, sent a letter to Mohammad Khazaie, Iran’s UN representative, which was conveyed by the Swiss ambassador, and finally Iraqi President Jalal Talabani delivered its contents to officials” in Iran, the official IRNA news agency quoted Ramin Mehmanparast as saying.

“Providing security of the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf needs a collective measure and some cross-regional countries cannot decide about it,” he added.
The contents of the letter were not revealed.

[click here for the rest of the report from Infowars]



I hope people are watching the news for these events.

Quick post for new year

Starting off the new year, I just wanted to remind folks to rotate your preps, particularly your water. Any items you have stored long term should also be checked up on. This is besides your grocery purchases (canned food). Also, update your food inventories for what would need to be replaced in the next few months.

A quick note on the water stores, I was rotating our water supply as you are supposed to do so every six months, when I found it would take longer than expected. Nearing the middle of my store of water jugs I noticed the water spurted brown from tap. I let it run for a few minutes waiting for it to clear-and I kept waiting. Soon enough I realized the newly filled up water jugs are a bit yellowish compared to the old ones. I assumed it was because the water would settle later on, and since I could not proceed further I set the task down to return to it after a week.

Week passed by and I make the time to resume filling up my stores on a Sunday night. Sadly, the water still had a tint of yellow/brown, but was a little better. This meant that water quality had deteriorated in the last few months, maybe in our building plumbing system, in the neighborhood, or worse further out there.

So, just a quick reminder. And store those water containers out of the sunlight.

Wood gas stove DIY

I just finished a few wood gas stoves and was planning on posting the process here. The photos are still on my laptop, but I will be updating with a more detailed step by step soon. What took me so long to put it together was salvaging for the parts since I did not want to spend any money on this. In the end I still had to buy a drill bit and gasket material...still it cost me a little less than $5 which is pretty good. Meanwhile, here is a quick 3D of the project.

FYI a wood gas stove is a simple 2 step burner which first burns wood, then collects the gas emitted by the burning wood into a chamber for a secondary burn. The result is significantly less smoke with much more heat efficiency than just a plain wood stove