Prices Already Rising

ChildofLight

Well-Known Member
I have a wood stove but haven’t used it in several years because the winters have been on the mild side. I also realized we stay healthier not using it. My brother also now has COPD so it wouldn’t be very good to burn wood either. The wood I had cut for it several years ago rotted so useless this past bad winter. At my age, with everything I have to do, and health wise it has become difficult to cut enough wood to last a winter if need it. I’m considering getting gas or propane as my house is all electric. The thing that concerns me is future issues regarding pricing and availability of gas and propane. I may put the wood stove in a shed and coat it with lube oil just in case.
 

ChildofLight

Well-Known Member
Today for the first time in ages I went to the grocery store after lunch. There was quite a bit of empty areas. Very few bottles of cooking oil. I was getting a couple more bottles of distilled water for my brother’s CPAP machine and just a few bottles of it. A good size area of some processed meats were empty. I haven’t noticed any empty spots when I go early in the mornings, so don’t know if the time of day or things just beginning.
 

MapleLeaf

Well-Known Member
We have a wood stove and wood. I have been getting after my husband to get the pile off the driveway and to somewhere more hidden. I was already concerned about theft but now concerns about power outages makes it seem others could become desperate. I told him I wanted our pile put out of sight and "out of mind" long before that. We made it a family activity so it was kind of fun. We found a pair of mice living in it which was freaky and the cat totally let both get away. Disappointing.

Our house is otherwise heated by electricity. And we have tons of thick blankets. Lots. My biggest concern is getting a water filter system if we have to pull buckets straight out of our well. We can't afford to buy one. I have heard of filter straws which work for drinking and are more affordable. But not practical for filtering large amounts.
 

TrustinHim

Well-Known Member
I have a wood stove but haven’t used it in several years because the winters have been on the mild side. I also realized we stay healthier not using it. My brother also now has COPD so it wouldn’t be very good to burn wood either. The wood I had cut for it several years ago rotted so useless this past bad winter. At my age, with everything I have to do, and health wise it has become difficult to cut enough wood to last a winter if need it. I’m considering getting gas or propane as my house is all electric. The thing that concerns me is future issues regarding pricing and availability of gas and propane. I may put the wood stove in a shed and coat it with lube oil just in case.
If you happen to have an Amish sawmill nearby they sell slabwood cut to stove length for a very reasonable price. The one I buy from load your trailer up and call when it is full. Also it's lighter pieces and no need to split it. Slabwood is the outside layer of a log cut to true it up for cutting boards.
 

Ghoti Ichthus

Pray so they do not serve alone. Ephesians 6:10-20
We have a wood stove and wood. I have been getting after my husband to get the pile off the driveway and to somewhere more hidden. I was already concerned about theft but now concerns about power outages makes it seem others could become desperate. I told him I wanted our pile put out of sight and "out of mind" long before that. We made it a family activity so it was kind of fun. We found a pair of mice living in it which was freaky and the cat totally let both get away. Disappointing.

Our house is otherwise heated by electricity. And we have tons of thick blankets. Lots. My biggest concern is getting a water filter system if we have to pull buckets straight out of our well. We can't afford to buy one. I have heard of filter straws which work for drinking and are more affordable. But not practical for filtering large amounts.

If the water from your well is potable, it doesn't matter if it gets pumped out or dipped out, so long as the bucket/well bucket and rope/line are clean/sanitary.

Wash your hands before handling anything touching the water and/or well.
 

heisable2

Well-Known Member
If the water from your well is potable, it doesn't matter if it gets pumped out or dipped out, so long as the bucket/well bucket and rope/line are clean/sanitary.

Wash your hands before handling anything touching the water and/or well.
Just a thought about your well. If electricity goes out, the well won't work because it needs power. Maybe there's a gadget that you can put on it to make it work, but I really don't know about that.

The reason why I know about this is that during hurricane season they're about three hurricanes here in Florida near where I lived (Ocala, FL). The pump went out, but I had already planned for that. My bathtubs were full of water and I had extra water in the garage using old juice bottles and filling them up with water and storing them. Thay water I used to flush the toilet. Scoop out some water from the tub and throw into your toilet. The toilet gets flushed.

The water only lasts for so long and eventually you'll have to have a backup plan.
 

MapleLeaf

Well-Known Member
Just a thought about your well. If electricity goes out, the well won't work because it needs power. Maybe there's a gadget that you can put on it to make it work, but I really don't know about that.

The reason why I know about this is that during hurricane season they're about three hurricanes here in Florida near where I lived (Ocala, FL). The pump went out, but I had already planned for that. My bathtubs were full of water and I had extra water in the garage using old juice bottles and filling them up with water and storing them. Thay water I used to flush the toilet. Scoop out some water from the tub and throw into your toilet. The toilet gets flushed.

The water only lasts for so long and eventually you'll have to have a backup plan.
We get frequent power outages here so I have some water set aside in our storage room. A few weeks' worth of water if we stick to drinking and use the dirty well water for washing hands and whatnot. That's why I am concerned about pulling water straight out of our well. I can't store any more water than I already have. I need to periodically change it out so it's fresh and it's become quite the task already. I don't do it as often as I should. Our water is quite hard and our system has a dual filter with a UV light. So yeah, I would feel more comfortable with some sort of filter system when it comes to drinking. We just had our septic tank cleaned so unless there is a complete, permanent collapse we should be OK for the time being. I'm not ready to be that afraid and still holding up hope that I'm just being paranoid as it is already.
 

Ghoti Ichthus

Pray so they do not serve alone. Ephesians 6:10-20
Can you operate your pump and filter with a battery? Solar or wind power to keep the battery charged, or rig up a stationary exercise bicycle, regular bicycle with stationary bike bracket thing on the back wheel, or pedal exercise thingee to charge it yourself . . .

Some kind of a deep well/marine/gel cell battery meant to store power for later use. There are some other parts and pieces you'll likely need for your system.

If you have a skinny well, there are well buckets you can build or buy so you can hand dip.
You can dump the water into a 5 gallon food-safe bucket that you've outfitted with a water filtration system (tube coming out the side near the bottom with an inline filter and the clean filtered water comes out the other side. There's at least one filter out there that'll do a million gallons.


PS: Sounds like you're on Lake Superior water. We had that in Wisconsin because the Lake Michigan water table was too shallow at the house and the well had to be at least X feet deep, and the next water was Lake Superior . . . full of iron and everything rusted :lol
 
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MapleLeaf

Well-Known Member
I have no idea the source of our water table. Lake Superior is hours away. We are closer to Lake of the Woods but are also in the flood plains of the many rivers that cross through Manitoba.

We truly have no budget for prepping on any scale. A rope and clean bucket is best we can do. It isn't super wide but I don't know what to compare it to. I did once see a video in how to make your own filter system for $50. Probably $80 now the way things are going.
 

Ghoti Ichthus

Pray so they do not serve alone. Ephesians 6:10-20
ROOT during edit of above [sigh]

Sawyer has a 5 gallon bucket adapter kit and they make the million gallon filter.
Home Depot and Lowe's both carry 5 gallon food grade buckets. The bail that holds the handle isn't strong enough to hold the bucket full of water for any real length of time, so best to sit the bucket on a sturdy chair, platform, or kitchen counter. Need distance between the bottom of the bucket and the floor so gravity can make the filter work.

EDITED TO ADD: A Sawyer mini is around $20 and will do 100,000 gallons. Multipacks also available, so cost per filter a little lower.
 

Work4Peanuts

I like being just a Well-Known Member
ROOT during edit of above [sigh]

Sawyer has a 5 gallon bucket adapter kit and they make the million gallon filter.
Home Depot and Lowe's both carry 5 gallon food grade buckets. The bail that holds the handle isn't strong enough to hold the bucket full of water for any real length of time, so best to sit the bucket on a sturdy chair, platform, or kitchen counter. Need distance between the bottom of the bucket and the floor so gravity can make the filter work.

EDITED TO ADD: A Sawyer mini is around $20 and will do 100,000 gallons. Multipacks also available, so cost per filter a little lower.
You could also make yourself a home distillation unit. Stills can be used for things besides moonshine. Like water.:biggrin
 

Ghoti Ichthus

Pray so they do not serve alone. Ephesians 6:10-20
I bought candy for the Trick-or-Treaters so no one vandalizes anything :furious Some smaller medium-sized bags of small candy bars were $11.99 on sale :eek

I got smaller bags $2.99 on sale. Still expensive, but per ounce much less bad deal :frown

Dollar Tree is cheaper, but always filthy, so I'd rather pay a little more and not chance making anyone sick or bringing unauthorized pet(s) home :puke
 
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