Discussion Do you keep emergency supplies at home? (And if so, any plans to increase or decrease those items?)

[Fanatical Meat]

We are not super prepared however that doesn’t mean unprepared.
The amount of canned or shelf stable foods varies in our house I am confident at any given time we have around two or three days worth. We do keep some bottled water that gets rotated every few months, couple of years ago I picked up some “emergency food supplies” the dried kind in the sealed plastic tub. Said it was good for a family of 4 for one week but the calorie count was kind of low, I suspect it is good for two people one week.
I live in the Northeast this formula changes if there is a huge snowstorm or blizzard predicted in the future.
Typically I have 2-5 gallons of protected fuel (gas I’ve added stabil 360 into)
Power is the major bummer for us, no generator. I would love to get a power wall to compliment our solar just the cost isn’t feasible at the moment and I live in a small city, we rarely loose power and so far have never lost power for more than a couple of hours in one event.

 

[drnickriviera]

we stock the RV with dry storable food, and rotate through that for freshness. I keep water in it and also freshen that up periodically. The intent was being ready to go camping without a store run, but it doubles nicely for an emergency stash.

Do you do anything special to keep stuff from growing in the freshwater tank?

 

[skyking]

I drain and flush it, then bleach the tank and plumbing once a year. After that the next clean water you put in would be good for 6 months, according to FEMA.
I personally don't drink from the tap in an RV. I have two 5 gallon blue jugs for potable water. For that reason I also keep the RV tank water with a small amount of bleach in it to inhibit growth, but not enough to be harmful in any way.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Drinking water is something I should probably stock more on actually. It's easy to take the faucet for granted. A year or so ago I had a water main break in my area that affected my water, it was only a few days so I managed fine with the drinking water jug I already do keep in the fridge, and used snow for any other water I needed but it was only a short period. At very least need to get some bigger water jugs and make sure they're always full. Probably want to rotate them so the water does not sit for long though.

If I really wanted to get fancy could setup an IBC tote in the back yard to act as water reserve too. Need a way to keep that insulated and heated though.

 

[snoopy7548]

Drinking water is something I should probably stock more on actually. It's easy to take the faucet for granted. A year or so ago I had a water main break in my area that affected my water, it was only a few days so I managed fine with the drinking water jug I already do keep in the fridge, and used snow for any other water I needed but it was only a short period. At very least need to get some bigger water jugs and make sure they're always full. Probably want to rotate them so the water does not sit for long though.

If I really wanted to get fancy could setup an IBC tote in the back yard to act as water reserve too. Need a way to keep that insulated and heated though.

FYI, they have these things called grocery stores that sell this thing called water in these things called bottles.

 

[Torn Mind]

I have the bare minimum supplies:
5 days water (8cups/day =64oz/day)
6pack of Costco canned chicken
1 lsxkllr can opener (aka p38 army opener)

I've lived in a big city all my life.
- Longest power outage was days but in the past decade it's just been hrs.
- For snow in a day, it goes over 20" every 7-10 years. Stuck in the house for a couple days because roads are impassible. (I don't live near a main road)

But a Katrina or Texas event seems more and more likely to happen.
What else should i reasonable have? (I have a 9mm and an assault rifle with 500 rounds each)

A stash of supplements like vitamins C and D+K2, B-complex, multis, etc.
Flashlights, and a way to charge the batteries.

 

[Brovane]

Live in Southern CA, so the main thing I worry about is either Earthquakes or Fires which each kind of require different preparation.

Rule of threes for survival. So 3 minutes without air, 3 hours harsh environment (extreme heat/cold), 3 days without water and 3 weeks without food.

The standard rule of thumb is a person will require 1-Gallon of water a day for both drinking and basic hygiene needs like brushing your teeth. I focus on water and keep 16 5xGallon Food-grade stackable containers full of water and rotate every 6-months. This should be good for at least 2-weeks at a minimum for my family. I keep about 1-month of food on hand. I have solar+Tesla Powerwall so in the event of extended grid outage I would still be able to keep some power on at the house. I also keep other supplies, for example I keep a box of contractor garbage bags. The heavy duty garbage bags in case I need to line a bucket to serve as a bathroom. Don't want to depend on those thin bags you get at Costco when dealing with human waste. Wife keeps candy in our emergency storage area for our two children. Give a kid a bag of M&M's can go a long way with a kid in a stressful situation. For a major earthquake I expect we would be on our own for about 2-weeks before some services are restored.

In preparation for disasters a little bit of preparation can make you a lot more comfortable.

 

[JEDI]

The standard rule of thumb is a person will require 1-Gallon of water a day for both drinking and basic hygiene needs like brushing your teeth.

ahh.. thx!
then I need to double my water.

i have flashlights and both nimh batteries and duracells.
no way to recharge if power goes out.
even if i got a small solar panel, how long would it take to recharge a single AA battery? (my lantern needs 3)

 

[skyking]

We have a couple of these jugs around and fill them periodically, then pour them out and freshen up every couple of months. It is cheap fresh water for camping etc.
https://www.big5sportinggoods.com/s...5NDiIERMP-I0KAcruPRoCGCcQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
I pour it right in the washing machine it does not go to waste.

 

[skyking]

FYI, they have these things called grocery stores that sell this thing called water in these things called bottles.

have you been in a store after an event? there is not even shelves left on the shelves

 

[Red Squirrel]

FYI, they have these things called grocery stores that sell this thing called water in these things called bottles.

I never got to that point but worse case scenario I would have done that. But in a proper prep situation don't really want to rely on that.

 

[Torn Mind]

FYI, they have these things called grocery stores that sell this thing called water in these things called bottles.

He lives in small town Canada and has a property in nomansstan Canada. He just doesn't want to be a popsicle.

 

[crashtech]

I think that water is much more important than food; realistically most of us could live for quite a while without any food at all. We have a bottled water delivery service, and have consistently ordered a bit more than we need, such that there are now about 80 gallons of water on hand for the three of us. They get marked so that the oldest ones get used first. Between that and being in the habit of having backups of canned and dry goods (wife shops sales), we're probably good for 6-8 weeks of emergency conditions.

 

[UsandThem]

have you been in a store after an event? there is not even shelves left on the shelves

Hell, in the south if they forecast 1/2" of snow, you can't find things like water, milk, toilet paper, or bread for a week.

When they forecast a possible hurricane hitting our area, you can't find jack shit in stores once that hits the news.

 

[Brovane]

ahh.. thx!
then I need to double my water.

i have flashlights and both nimh batteries and duracells.
no way to recharge if power goes out.
even if i got a small solar panel, how long would it take to recharge a single AA battery? (my lantern needs 3)

It would probably be better to just get some basic LED lanterns(Like the example below). Buy a pack of D batteries at Costco(Our your favorite warehouse store) and then cycle as necessary(every 5-years or so). I would also recommend you get several of those LED headlight headlamps that you can just wear on your forehead and keep your hands free. Great for moving around a dark house and also great if you just want to sit and read when the power is out.
LED Lantern

Other option if you have more financial means is order one of these portable LFP batteries like the one below. The LFP battery technology means you should be able to get at least a decade of service life from this device before the battery starts to degrade significantly.
LFP Battery
You can also get a foldable solar panel you can plug into it. You can order from the companies website. With this you can run a laptop for days, charge phones, charge batteries etc.
There are other models out there that have similar LFP batteries at different price points and capacities depending on your budget.

 

[Brovane]

have you been in a store after an event? there is not even shelves left on the shelves

Crap, just the run-up to the COVID lockdown in 2020 resulted in a run on water. Not sure why but people were buying bottled water like crazy.

 

[lxskllr]

Not sure why but people were buying bottled water like crazy.

Pretty sure it's cause they're dumbasses. Same reason they bought a shitton of toiletpaper and canned beans, even though they don't like canned beans. Do something, even if it's wrong!

 

[skyking]

^^^ see post 55^^^^

 

[Torn Mind]

Crap, just the run-up to the COVID lockdown in 2020 resulted in a run on water. Not sure why but people were buying bottled water like crazy.

Because they didn't realize filters work just fine...

Or just go all-in and blow $260+ on a water distiller with no plastic internals.

 

[RidhamJ]

LED headlight headlamps that you can just wear on your forehead and keep your hands free

In my opinion, headlamps and lanterns come with less durability than LED flashlights. Nowadays, Many LED flashlights come with a massive runtime. Durable flashlights come with battery + cells to run longer in situations like a power cut or any other emergency.

I agree with the LFP battery. It's an excellent option for safe use.

 

[Brovane]

In my opinion, headlamps and lanterns come with less durability than LED flashlights. Nowadays, Many LED flashlights come with a massive runtime. Durable flashlights come with battery + cells to run longer in situations like a power cut or any other emergency.

I agree with the LFP battery. It's an excellent option for safe use.

I would recommend you get both. I have found the ability to have both hands free with a light shinning where you look is very helpful when it is dark. I have several that are USB chargeable which I love. I keep several around the house. Over the years I have accumulated a lot of different light types. I have found that it just seems to be better to leave my lights with no batteries in them if they use AA, D etc. Buy a pack of batteries from Costco and just keep the batteries near the lights and only insert the batteries when needed.

One of my newest purchases was this. LED Lantern Has a 6000mAh battery inside the lantern. So far it has worked really well for me and I don't have to mess with batteries. I just plug it into a USB port every couple of months.

 

[JEDI]

Other option if you have more financial means is order one of these portable LFP batteries like the one below. The LFP battery technology means you should be able to get at least a decade of service life from this device before the battery starts to degrade significantly.
LFP Battery
You can also get a foldable solar panel you can plug into it. You can order from the companies website. With this you can run a laptop for days, charge phones, charge batteries etc.
There are other models out there that have similar LFP batteries at different price points and capacities depending on your budget.

Thx for the suggestion for headlamp.

Hmm.. power station+ 100w solar panal for $530 after coupon?

Wouldn't a generator be better at that price point?

 

[Brovane]

Thx for the suggestion for headlamp.

Hmm.. power station+ 100w solar panal for $530 after coupon?

Wouldn't a generator be better at that price point?

If you are ok with keeping fuel on hand for the generator and doing any required maintenance on the generator.

A power station can also be good for example if you want to run it at very low power. For example just charging a couple of cell phones or a laptop and just leave it on overnight.

 

[mindless1]

ahh.. thx!
then I need to double my water.

i have flashlights and both nimh batteries and duracells.
no way to recharge if power goes out.
even if i got a small solar panel, how long would it take to recharge a single AA battery? (my lantern needs 3)

Many NiMH chargers come with a vehicle lighter adapter to power them, or could be powered by a 12V battery directly by putting battery clamps on the adapter cable instead of the lighter plug, then use automotive battery, mower (ICE starter battery) or even a sump pump battery if you happen to have a battery backed up sump pump.

Then there are those portable jump starters with inverters built in. They are usually weak like 200W or less output but that's enough to charge batteries. There are also now USB powered chargers though they tend to be horribly slow.

Another option is maintain enough spare cells to ride you through till you have a better opportunity to charge a lot at once, though for flashlights all my better ones use 18650 cells so I have a good 6+ spare cells charged and ready to use in addition to what's already in flashlights, and an 18650 capable charger that's also able to run from a lighter outlet/12VDC.

That charger also has a feature where I can put one or more charged 18650 cells in its bays and output 5V USB to charge phones/etc... not a quick charge at 5V but at least is 2A current rated.

Then there's a generator... a more universal solution to power outage. Solar panels, meh I could see it for camping a while but in an emergency I'd sooner relocate before I ran out of spare, charged batteries which means using a vehicle, and I can charge from that as already mentioned.

I think I could get by with less than a gallon of water a day if I had to. #1 omission would be bathing of course but I can brush teeth with less than a cup of water if not rinsing the result down a drain, and a half gallon would be enough to drink if it's not hot, not exerting myself much. This is in the context of only a few days to weeks duration event, not a nuclear holocaust where relocating could be a long journey if it's even safe to go outside.

 

[brianmanahan]

i still have emergency supplies that i stocked up for y2k