Category Archives: Other Contributers

Sarah’s View: Traveling For Work

Posted on by
2

This week I am travelling to Minneapolis for work. I’ve traveled for work a couple of times before, but never for a full week and not since Trace and I began prepping. Traveling offers a whole new set of “what ifs”, and not even of the SHTF* variety. Simply, what if the plane is delayed? What if they lose my luggage? What if…? And then there are the disaster what ifs.

Luckily I was able to mitigate many of the life ‘what ifs’ by taking a nonstop flight (if it’s delayed, it’s not a big deal as there are no connections I need to make) and I decided not to check any luggage. The luggage question, however, was one Trace and I discussed; not checking makes sense for many reasons – cost, time, risk (of loss) – however, from a prepping point of view it would make more sense to check a bag. By checking a bag I would be able to bring my pepper spray and my Gerber EAB knife both part of my EDC. We looked at the pros and cons of checking a bag, as well as at the likelihood that I would need those items, and decided not to.

There were a couple of reasons we came to this conclusion. First, my hotel is less than two blocks from where I’m working. Not only that, but Minneapolis has a wonderful system of skyways, which, for me, mitigated the need for either item. The skyways were also the reason I chose to leave my winter coat at home. What?!? Minneapolis in March and no winter coat? The weather report was uncharacteristically good – upper 40s to low 70s– and I did bring a number of layers that would keep me warm should the weather turn.

I did, however, decide to bring my good boots. If anything were to happen while I was here, it was important I be able to walk, through wet ground or snow if necessary. My sister works in the other Twin City, St. Paul, so, if the SHTF while I was here, my plan would be to get to her and/or her place of work. Obviously this is a fairly loose plan, but at least it’s something. I’ve planned for the likeliest scenarios (snow/bad weather, flight delays, lost luggage) and thought about how I would respond to something bigger.

All in all, for better or worse, I didn’t really bring any extra “get home” stuff. I have my work backpack which also serves as my GHB when commuting to and from work normally. Ironically, not only did I not add to it, but as I said, I took out my pepper spray and EAB knife (both of which usually “live” in my backpack). I also took out my mini-leatherman and any other non-TSA approved items. I did bring my towel, my headlamp with extra batteries, a few protein bars, and water bottle. Unfortunately I don’t have much that can be used as a weapon, however, I am prepared to be somewhat self-reliant and mobile, if necessary.

As the wife of a good prepper, I don’t have to think too much about our preps on a day-to-day basis (thank you Trace); he takes care of most (all) of the worry and the coordination. I help on an as-needed basis with logistics, planning, and allocation of finances. However, as the one travelling, alone, I was forced to think about what was important to me and what I needed with me in order to feel prepared and as safe as possible.

(Friday: What We Did This Week To Prep)

My wife Sarah writes, from a prepper’s wife’s point of view, ‘Sarah’s View’ the second Wednesday of each month. See her other posts: Time To Order Seeds, and “What Do You Think of All This?”.

*For my list of abbreviations and other information, open the above ‘Check Here…’ page tab.

Momma Bear Is The Prepper

Posted on by
3

Contributed by Leah (aka Momma Bear)
– –
I’m the prepper of the family. Me, the mom, the wife, the taxi driver, the jack-of-all-trades.  Military life frequently keeps my husband away from home (especially since 9/11/01). My husband is a Logistics Officer in the United States Marine Corps and we have lived/traveled all over the globe. Military spouses have to be both Momma and Poppa Bear most of the time. Even when my husband IS home and on a desk job he’s working at least 60 hours a week as the “norm”. We spouses become the planners, organizers, fixers, do-ers, and sometimes even the movers! He has to be able to do his job, knowing that “I’ve got the watch” at home, no matter what.

Living overseas, I have been closer to terrorism, epidemics, natural disasters and civil unrest than I ever would have imagined. Living and traveling in Europe brings a constant threat of terrorism. Americans tend to, mistakenly, believe that they are safe in Europe. The European Union has extremely open borders and many terrorist groups funnel through countries we have close ties with; such as Germany, where we lived (and where some of the 9/11 attackers lived). There were numerous incidents that occurred in areas where we routinely traveled. In the U.S., we are greatly distanced (both physically and in media coverage) from the activities and potential threats in Europe. Here are two articles: Germany Increasingly a Center for Terrorism in Europe and Kosovo Muslim Shoots U.S. Airmen in Germany (this occurred at the airport that we used while living in Germany).

Moving to Asia brought us other hazards. We were perilously close to the H1N1 flu virus while living on the island of Okinawa, Japan. During this time, airports throughout Asia, with so many people traveling internationally, had huge H1N1 screening areas for incoming travelers. The U.S. Navy ship my husband deployed on also experienced a series of quarantines after service members contracted the virus and it transmitted quickly throughout the ship.

In 2010, our family vacationed in Bangkok, Thailand. A week after our return to Okinawa, Thailand fell into civil unrest with riots and fire bombings. Several of the places we had just visited were completely burned down. From the flu to the riots, it was a history lesson in action for all of us.

While living on Okinawa, we were also subject to earthquakes and the resulting tsunami alerts (Japan has an excellent public broadcasting alert system). In March 2011, when the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear reactor leak devastated the mainland, my husband was one of many who were sent to assist. Horrific does not begin to describe it. The tsunami warning system DID go off, and yet so many were still caught by the disaster. While these are all valuable life lessons, especially for our children, some have been a little too close for comfort. I have developed a greater appreciation for the tenuousness of our place on this earth. These lessons lend themselves greatly to the value of being prepared.

It is only natural that, since our recent return to the U.S. (we now reside outside of Washington D.C.), I am the tip of the spear in preparing for any eventualities at home. My husband fully supports my “prepping” and makes plenty of suggestions. After all, he has some serious survival skills himself! But the weight of the prepping falls to me based on his military duties and intermittent availability. Our planning often revolves around what, and how, we can do without him. Our kids are 13 and 16 and not exactly thrilled by the potential contingencies we are planning for. Nor are they excited by the subsequent “new lifestyles” they might have to endure should the SHTF. A typical “prepper” conversation at our house sounds ominously like, “You expect me to poop in a bucket?!” After life overseas they are grudgingly on board, but not always thrilled.

Like most preppers, the list of things we need (and need to learn) is much longer than I like to admit. We are “city folk” in this family and have never done many of the things we imagine we need to learn before the SHTF. I am a smart, crafty, handy woman who takes things seriously, especially prepping. While we are military (and I know most of you have some pre-conceived ideas about military type people and their hobbies), moving often makes it very difficult to own weapons (*add to list). The kids have never shot guns, and I haven’t since I was a kid (gun training, *add to list). While I do have experience with many classic skills, we have never grown our own food (*add to list). We haven’t even done much fishing or camping (*list!), let alone hunting (*LIST!). We are a modern, urban family who is preparing for the challenge of surviving, whatever the future throws at us.

In the meantime–like Trace and his family–I am making my plans, building up my supplies, looking for a “recreation property”, and learning as much as I can.

Momma Bear’s Bio
I am the mother of three (two teens and an adult), keeper of seven pets, a Marine Corps wife, Navy veteran, go-to family logisticator, international traveler, foodie, amateur artist, Germanophile, heavy-duty crafter, consummate volunteer, handy girl and part-time intellectual (if only there were more hours in my day). Currently we reside outside our nation’s capitol, in northern Virginia; after returning from six years of living abroad. With 22 years military service (his/mine combined), we have moved over 20 times; including multiple coast to coast and two international moves. We are city raised with little rural life experience.

Sarah’s View: Time To Order Seeds

Posted on by
Reply

Even though we’re still in the dark of winter, now is the time of year when we peruse the seed catalogs and start planning our garden.

Last year was our first “real” garden, and it did okay. It wasn’t spectacular, but it wasn’t horrible either. Part of that can be blamed on the weather – it was a very cool summer and plants that normally do well around here, like tomatoes, struggled. But much of the garden success, or in this case failure, was directly related to our inexperience. It was the first year we started our plants from seed (instead of seedlings) and we tried items that we had no previous experience growing. We also do not have the best soil… okay, the soil here sucks. Our subdivision’s “soil” is mostly rocks and clay.

Trace has been actively working to improve our soil. He built up our back yard compost pile, brought in additional compost from the local landfill, and expanded the space for the garden. We hope to continue the soil enhancements this year. We will bring in more compost and are selecting specific crops with soil improvement in mind. Trace is also pursuing a lead on donkey manure.

There were a few plants that did well. Of the perennials we planted, the strawberries, raspberries and asparagus all survived. The rhubarb, on the other hand, didn’t go so well. And we were able to harvest some tomatoes (albeit mostly green) at the end of the season. This year we’ll again try tomatoes, green beans, and zucchini. I’ll have to check on the herb garden and see what survived the snow, but we will have – either from seed or carried over from last year – basil, rosemary, thyme, sage and chives.

Besides the “regulars”, we are hoping to branch out (pun intended) a bit this year. Trace has requested cabbage; luckily I’ve heard it grows well around here and shouldn’t be a problem. I would also like to grow potatoes. We found a potato box diagram online that will allow us to grow them without using a huge amount of space.  We are also going to add butternut and spaghetti squash, radishes, onions, garlic, black beans, and peas to our garden. None of those are all that uncommon, but will be “new to us”.

One, more unusual, plant we’re going to try is garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas). We regularly fry them on the stove to make a snack and would love to have enough to do this and make our own hummus. In addition, the other uncommon plant we are going to try is comfrey. We are specifically planting this with soil improvement in mind as it is known as a valuable fertilizer and will pull nutrients up with its long tap root.

This year, after having more time to look over the many many options, we are going to go ahead and order from Bountiful Gardens again. Their catalog has a plethora of information on each plant and I truly value their philosophy: “For the benefit of all farmers, gardeners and consumers who want an alternative, we pledge that we do not knowingly buy or sell genetically engineered seeds or plants.” As preppers, I feel it is important that the plants we grow have seeds that can be saved and successfully planted in future years.

What are you planting this year?

(Friday: What I Did This Week To Prep)

note: This is my wife Sarah’s second post (first post: “What Do You Think of All This?” – A Prepper’s Wife’s Point of View). She will continue to post under ‘Sarah’s View’ the second Wednesday of each month. I’m excited to have her regularly writing for us!

How To Wire Your Gas Furnace To A Generator

Posted on by

Contributed by Guest Blogger: Rick Brodersen
of Rick’s DIY (HVAC & Electrical DIY)

Wiring your gas furnace to a generator is a project that’s frequently either over-thought or not thought of at all. Some people think you need a high dollar transfer switch wired to your breaker panel, requiring an electrician, or you have to temporarily rewire the breaker to the generator and then rewire everything again once the power comes back on.

But this isn’t the case, NEC (National Electric Code) only requires that appliances be on their own dedicated circuit. So, by simply rewiring your furnace you have the ability to use your furnace with a portable generator (or other auxiliary power). Then when the power goes out, just disconnect the furnace from the outlet and connect it to your generator, and use it like you normally would.

video: How To Wire Your Gas Furnace To A Generator

Materials:
The cost of the materials was less than $20, and all of the items can be found at most hardware stores.

  • Outlet Box
  • Single Outlet Receptacle
  • Outlet Cover Plate
  • Power Supply Cord
  • Cable Connector
  • Misc Wire Nuts, Electrical Tape & Mounting Screws

Tools:

  • Hammer
  • Screwdriver (multi-tip)
  • Side Cutters
  • Wire Strippers
  • Multi-Meter
  • Voltage Stick (optional)
  • Drill (probably a little overkill but if you’re installing the outlet box onto your furnace with sheet metal screws it will be needed)

How To Do It:
Everytime you’re working around electricity you MUST check that the power is OFF and then CHECK AGAIN. You can never be too careful when it comes to this point. (Even after all these years I occasionally still get shocked.)

Turn Off the breaker that controls your furnace. (Keep in mind that a many breaker panels are mislabeled.) Open your furnace and find where your power is coming in from and follow it to the junction box (or in my case, the circuit board.)

Pull off any covers and then test for voltage. I like to use the Fluke Voltage Stick first (ensure it works on a live circuit and then you can test it). After you have verified the power is off, carefully remove the wire nuts and test with a voltmeter. Once you are darn sure there is no power then you are safe to work on it.

Write down, or label your wires, the BLACK (hot), WHITE (neutral) & GREEN (ground). (Some might be red, orange, brown, etc.) You must rewire it exactly as it was: Black to Black, White to White, and Green to Green/Ground. Pull the wires out to the outside of the furnace.

First, install the OUTLET BOX. I put the conduit with the wires coming from the breaker into the outlet box and then level it where I would like to mount it. Screw it to the wall or furnace with the appropriate screws.

Next, you need to wire in your Single Receptacle Outlet. You may need to cut back your wires and strip them. (This is hard to explain in text and is better understood in the video.) Wire your Black (or hot) to the smaller bladed side of the outlet (if you’re facing the outlet this will be the right side) this screw is normally brass/gold in color. The White (or neutral) wires up to the larger bladed side, this screw is usually silver in color. Then the Green (or ground) goes to the last terminal that is bonded with the metal framework of the receptacle, sometimes this screw will be green colored (but every manufacturer is different).

Once wired, carefully push the receptacle back into the outlet box and screw it in, put on the COVER PLATE and we’re ready to move onto the final part.

To install the POWER CORD we have to add in the CABLE CONNECTOR to where the old power cable came into the furnace. Once you have the cable connector in, you can pull the power cord through and secure it.

Next, rewire the power cord to the connections on the furnace. If you’re using wire nuts be sure to Double Check that the wires are secured by tugging on each individually and then taping the connection with electrical tape (you can further secure with tie straps if needed).

Make sure to replace any cover plates, double-check that everything is wired properly and secured. Turn the power back on and check the outlet with your meter (this is not shown in the video) to make sure everything is wired properly. Finally, plug in your furnace and check operations.

video: An Overview: How To Wire Your Gas Furnace To A Generator

ALL DONE
Now that you’re done, test it out with or without your generator. I recommend a test run on a dark, rainy night so you know what it’s going to be like when you’re actually going to have to use it.

Bio
Rick Brodersen is an HVAC/R Mechanic and has worked in the Seattle area for over 15 years, specializing in the commercial service industry. He has instructed at local trade schools and now continues teaching at RicksDIY.com. He is also an avid prepper, hiker, and fisherman who, along with his family, enjoys taking in all the Pacific Northwest has to offer.

Read Rick’s Disclaimer

NOTE: Comments have been closed for this post. Please feel free to read the many, many replies Rick has given, if you still need his help he has asked you contact him directly through his site at RicksDIY.com. 

(Wednesday: Book Review: The Doom and Bloom Survival Medicine Handbook)

Sarah’s View: “What Do You Think Of All This?”

Posted on by
4

A Prepper’s Wife’s Point of View

I’m Sarah, Trace’s wife. We have been together almost three years and married for a year and a half. The year I met and moved in with Trace life completely changed. However, it wasn’t until shortly after we got married (a year after we started dating) that Trace discovered The Survival Podcast and our prepping life began.

Prepping, in our house, began in the “normal” way – with 72-hour kits. Since we live in Western Washington – prime earthquake territory – I’d always thought an emergency kit was a good idea. Although I would never have actually created one, I was quietly supportive when Trace started putting them together. Slowly, however, the “kits” began taking on a life of their own. They went from manageable backpacks to a backpack plus extra bags, totaling close to 60 pounds. At some point the bags went from being called 72-hour kits to Bug Out Bags, and the rest is history…

I didn’t totally “get” it, but I went along with his prepping. I love my husband and it seemed very important to him that we do this. It wasn’t until several friends – and then my mom – asked me, “What do you think of all this?” that I was forced to actually articulate my thinking. Trace does this, all of this, because he loves us and wants to protect us. If he were single he would not be prepping this way. He does this to give us the best chance in a worst case scenario.

There are parts of prepping I enjoy more than others. I like contemplating “what if?” scenarios. “What if” Mount Rainier (which is within 20 miles of our backyard) erupts and we’re trapped because of landslides? How would I get home from work? “What if” a pandemic breaks out? How do we help the kids when they’ve been at their mom’s for over a week and possibly exposed? “What if” the kids are with us when disaster strikes? They want their mom, Trace wants the kids with him…so we plan for me and Trace, the kids, and Trace’s ex-wife.

The  more tedious logistical aspects, i.e. calculating how much of each item we need, rotating food, etc. are less interesting to me. I help out as needed and appreciate our preps and all their redundancies, but – if it were just me – I wouldn’t be doing all this.

Being the wife of a prepper has had its eyebrow-raising moments, but when I remember that Trace does this because he wants us to be safe and happy no matter what life brings, I can’t help but smile. What girl doesn’t want to help her man be her knight in shining armor?

(Friday (back to Trace with): What I Did This Week To Prep)