Water for Emergencies

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I'm @davemarkowitz on X.

Corporal's Corner: The DIY Water Machine

Here's an excellent demonstration from Shawn Kelly of how to melt snow and ice for water during the Winter:

Dinner on the Mountain

Yesterday Amanda and I went up to the Conrad Weiser State Forest for a few hours, and had dinner on the mountain. (It's not much of a mountain, but hey, we're in southeast Pennsylvania.)

We used my Esbit CS985HA cookset to boil the water for our noodle soup and heat up some Vienna sausages.

It's a versatile cookset. The 33.3 oz./985ml main pot has volume graduations stamped into it, which can be read from the inside. The 15.9 oz./470ml smaller pot can be used as a lid, or as shown above, as a saucepan. Both have folding rubber-covered folding stainless steel handles.

The pot stand/windscreen has four rubber feet on the bottom which would keep it slightly elevated off a table.

The set allows you to cook with either the included brass, Trangia-style alcohol burner or using Esbit hexamine fuel tablets. A small platform to put inside the pot stand when using the tablets is included. The pots, tablet platform, and pot stand are made from hard anodized aluminum.

You could burn sticks and twigs in the pot stand but it's not really designed for that. E.g., the bottom has a large opening so you'd want to sit it on a rock or cleared dirt.

For use with the alcohol burner, a simmer cap/snuffer is included. There isn't enough room in the pot stand to use it as a simmer cap but it works well to extinguish the stove. You want to use it instead of the screw-on cap for the stove. If you use the cap to put out the stove you'll damage its O-ring, which will let the stove leak if you carry it fueled and ready to go.

All the parts nest together and can be stored in an included mesh bag. I line the pot with a plastic bag before nesting everyting else inside to keep it clean. Also, if I use hexamine tablets the outside of the pot will get a coated wth soot. The plastic bag allows me to keep that off the rest of my gear.

The total weight of the Esbit cookset is 15 oz., not including fuel. I keep the brass burner filled with denatured alcohol, three or four Esbit tablets, a bandana, and a small box of matches packed in the kit.

Our campsite is not near a water source so all of our water had to be packed in. Amanda used an Osprey water bladder in her pack, while I used three one-quart canteens. One is a 1945-vintage aluminum USGI canteen that I found several years ago at a gun show.  The other two were Nalgene Oasis canteens, which have the same exterior dimensions as US military issue canteens, but which are made of a better plastic, weigh a little less, and don't impart any taste to the water.

Adding Capacity to a Hill People Gear Tarahumara Pack

The Tarahumara pack from Hill People Gear is a great daypack but some folks find it a little small. On my last outing, I needed to add a bit of capacity, so I strapped a MOLLE II Sustainment Pouch to the compression straps, to add ~430 cubic inches of carrying capacity.

This worked well for me but if you need a more secure solution, the MOLLE II Waist Pack is better because it will actually clip on, but is slightly smaller at 390 cubic inches.

Another option would be to attach the waist pack to the bottom of the Tara, with the paracord I used to strap my poncho to the bottom.  This would allow you to use the waist pack's belt. You could then also attach the sustainment pouch to the back of the Tara for even more capacity.

My waist pack is in Multicam and was made by Propper; it's brand new. They can also be found in woodland, UCP, and desert camo patterns. I've been using a woodland one to hold a poncho liner thantI keep in the back of my truck. It fits the woobie perfectly.

Credit for this idea belongs to "Creaky Bones" at BCUSA. After taking the two pictures above and going back to Creaky's post, I noticed that he has his MOLLE II waist pack attached with the zipper towards the Tara, rather than on the outside. It might flop around less during strenuous activity if you do it his way, but on the other hand, you'd need to unclip it to access anything inside.

You may notice in today's pictures that instead of the bicycle water bottles in the wand pockets, I have Nalgene Oasis canteens, which are the same size and shape as USGI 1 quart canteens. They hold a bit more (32 oz. vs. 25 oz. for the bike bottles) and don't take up as much room inside the pack as the round bottles do. HPG specifically designed the wand pockets to accept the Nalgene Oasis and either these, or USGI canteens, are probably the best way to carry water in them. With two of these and two bike water bottles on the shoulder strap shock cords, you can carry almost 1 gallon of water with the Tarahumara pack.

Adding an additional pouch or two to the Tara potentially allows you to do an ultralight, warm weather overnighter, rather than relegating it to strictly daypack duty.

West Virginia 10 Day Power Outage AAR

Over on Arfcom’s Survival Forum, “Johnnyutah” posted an AAR about his experience after dealing with nearly 11 days without power caused by the mid-Atlantic derecho of June 29, 2012. It’s worth reading.

Mid-Atlantic Derecho

The derecho which swept through the American Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states on June 29, 2012 should serve as a reminder to those of us in areas where such violent weather is rare, the we should still be prepared for it.  This storm was massive, and caught virtually everyone by surprise.

My family was fortunate in that we didn’t suffer any damage or power outages. Many folks not too far from us weren’t so lucky.

Five days after the storm, millions remain without power. In the aftermath, Newt Gingrich tweeted that this would be a small taste of what an EMP could do. Based on my own research, the likelihood of an EMP attack taking out the infrastructure in a large part of the country is low. However, a Carrington Event-type EMP would cause widespread, long lasting damage.

Here are ten things you can do to prep for violent weather:

1. Keep on hand at least 72 hours worth of food and water for each individual in your household. The food you stock for this should not require refrigeration and should be able to be consumed right from the packaging, if necessary.
2. Don’t let your vehicle’s gas tank go below half full. If there’s no power, you won’t be able to fill it back up. Fill it ahead of time if you have warning. Also consider storing fuel if you have a safe way to do so.
3. ATMs and credit card machines won’t work without power. Keep some cash on hand. Make sure that you have some small bills; you don’t want to end up spending $20 for a loaf of bread because the seller can’t make change.
4. Have a battery powered radio for getting news, and plenty of spare batteries.
5. Consider getting rechargeable batteries, a charger, and a solar panel to power them. I recently picked up a Goal Zero Guide 10 Plus system, a Goal Zero Luna LED light, and some spare rechargeable AAs. I’ll be testing it on a camping trip next weekend.
6. Have battery powered lighting on hand, again along with a good supply of spare batteries. For a handheld flashlight I like my Fenix LD20, as it puts out a ton of light and uses common AAs, but even a Mini Maglite will do. I also recommend having a headlamp so you can use both hands, and lanterns for area lighting.  One lantern that I have is the Rayovac SE3DLN Sportsman Xtreme LED Lantern, which is excellent.
7. Old fashioned hurricane lanterns can also burn citronella oil when used outside, to help keep away bugs. The cheapies at WalMart have a bad reputation for leaking.  Get Dietz lanterns from Lehman’s or W.T. Kirkman. They can also be used inside as long as you have good ventilation and use lamp oil.
8. If you have large trees on your property, have them trimmed to reduce the likelihood of branches or an entire tree falling on something like your car, house, or worse, you.
9. If you have trees, have a chainsaw, fuel, and oil, to cut up fallen trees for removal. Learn how to use the chainsaw beforehand, don’t use it alone, and be careful.
10. Fill unused space in your freezer with water bottles (leaving room for expansion). The frozen bottles will help keep the freezer cold longer, and when they do melt you have some more water available for drinking or washing.

Obviously, there’s a lot more you can do but this list is a good starting point.

Ten Things To Do In Advance of a Hurricane

It looks like there is a good chance that the Northeast US is going to get hit by Hurricane Irene this weekend.  Depending on your location there are several things you can do to prepare, even at the last minute:

1. Ensure you have plenty of food and water.

2. Fill the gas tanks in your vehicles. If you have gas cans fill them, too.

3. If you have a generator, do a test run and make sure you have plenty of fuel.

4. Make sure you have an ample supply of batteries for flashlights, lanterns, radios, etc.

5. If you might need to use an alternative cooking device, have plenty of fuel on hand. E.g., propane, Coleman fuel, or charcoal.

6. Have fuel and oil for chainsaws. Make sure it's working ahead of time.

7. Get some large tarps for quickly covering any roof or window damage due to wind or falling trees. You'll also need some means of securing the tarps - heavy duty cord, drywall screws, or nails.

8. Clean your gutters and make sure any drainage ditches or storm drains are clear.

9. Have a few hundred dollars in cash on hand.

10. Charge any rechargeable electric or electronic devices. E.g., drills, saws, cell phones, iPods, etc.

This is hardly an exhaustive list, but should get you started.

Waterproofing Cotton Canvas

A lot of very useful military surplus gear is made from cotton canvas.  Canvas is rugged and depending on the sample, may be somewhat naturally water repellent.  When wet, the fibers swell and keep out more water.

However, if you expect it to be exposed to drenching rain you'll want to treat the canvas with something to make it more water resistant.  Traditionally, this was done with a variety of substances, ranging from boiled linseed oil or beeswax, to alum salts or parafin.

One waterproofing treatment which has been available over the counter for several decades is Sno Seal.  Its main ingredient is beeswax and it's been sold for the purpose of waterproofing leather.  I've been using it for years on stuff like my boots and leather possibles bag.  It's also good for use on holsters because it does not soften the leather.  Last night I decided to give it a try on some canvas.

A few years ago I bought this canvas shoulder bag at a gun show.  It was marked as being a Czech bread or gas mask bag.

It's a nice little bag suitable for carrying some stuff on a day hike.  Here's what it looks like now that I've given it a coat of Sno Seal.

The Sno Seal slightly darkened the canvas and gives it a waxy feel.  If you look closely you can see some beads of water.  After waxing it I held it under a runng faucet for about 20 seconds.  The water ran right off.

If you want to try this I suggest applying some Sno Seal onto a small, inconspicuous area of whatever you're trying to waterproof in case you don't like either the color or feel.

While modern materials have many advantages over traditional outdoor gear, the older stuff still can work well.

Fixing Up a USGI Aluminum Canteen

Last weekend I went to the gun show in Valley Forge and found a 1945 vintage USGI aluminum canteen and carrier for $25.  (I remember when they were a few bucks.)  I like the old metal canteens because unlike plastic vessels you can heat water in them.  Plus, compared with plastic canteens, they're just cool.

The canteen and cap were in good shape but the cork gasket was missing.  So, I went to Lowe's in search of a replacement.  I'd read of using a silicone end cap for for pipes as a source for gasket material, but couldn't find any in stock.  Naturally, the store staff was nowhere to be found.

I did find over in the adhesive section some DAP food/aquarium grade sealant/adhesive. (The link is to Grainger.)  I put a layer a couple millimeters thick inside the top of the cap, being careful to keep it off the threads.  Then I let the goop cure for a couple of days.

Tonight I filled the canteen with water, screwed on the cap, and shook it vigorously.  It didn't leak, so I'm going to chalk up this experiment as a success.

One mod I may make is to attach the cap with a snap link to the body of the canteen.  That will allow me to remove the plastic cap and place the canteen over a fire.

A cheaper alternative to the USGI aluminum canteens are the surplus French aluminum canteens.  They appear to have a wider mouth than the US canteens, which could be handy if you wanted to put ice cubes in it, for example.

How to Recognize the Signs of Someone Drowning

Hint: It's not like what you see on TV or in the movies.

If you read nothing else today, read this.

Do You Have a Backup Water Supply?

Most Americans take a reliable supply of safe drinking water for granted.  For most of us, it's a given.  However, this weekend the greater Boston metropolitan area was placed under an advisory to boil water due to a rupture in a gigantic underground water pipe.  Over two million folks were affected.

In other locales safe water supplies have been interrupted, for example, many areas of the Gulf Coast lost most major utilitites, including water, after Hurricane Katrina.  Aside from natural disasters, there's also the specter of terrorists contaminating the water supply or attacking treatment plants.

 There are a few things you can do to prepare yourself for a water supply interruption:

• First, store some water in your home.  Empty 2L and 3L soda bottles work well for this.  Clean them out thoroughly with hot soap and water, add a drop or two of plain, unscented sodium hypochlorite bleach, and store in a cool dark place.  Bottled water from the store is of course fine, but more expensive than doing it yourself.  FEMA recommends storing a minimum of one gallon of water per person per day, for at least three days' worth.  This is really cutting it close, especially for hot environments when you may be expected to be exerting yourself, e.g., cleaning up hurricane damage.
• If you have advanced notice of a possible water supply interruption, fill your bathtubs and any buckets you have.  Even if this water isn't drinkable you can use it for flushing toilets.
• Second is having a water filter.  The small hand pump units sold for use by hikers work but require a lot of manual effort.  Better are gravity based units.  I recently bought a Katadyn TRK Drip Gravidyn Water Filter from Amazon.com.  The Katadyn unit basically consists of two stacking plastic buckets and three filter elements.  You pour contaminated water into the upper bucket then wait for it to drain through the filters into the bottom bucket.  You can then get your filtered water via a spigot in the bottom bucket.  The Big Berkey Water Filter System with 2 Black Berkey Filter Elements
  is a similar system but is made from stainless steel instead of plastic.
• It's also a good idea to keep a gallon or so of chlorine bleach around for disinfecting water.  The EPA recommends using 8 drops per gallon, while the American Red Cross recommends twice that.
• When disinfecting water, whether by using bleach or a filter like the Katadyn or Berkey, it's a good idea to strain it through something like a coffee filter or cloth first, if it's at all cloudy.  Doing so will extend the life of your filter and help remove unpleasant crunchy bits.
• In my opinion, boiling water is the last resort for making it safe to drink.  Boiling takes time and uses fuel, both of which may be in short supply after a disaster.

Safe drinking water is critical for sustaining life.  Think ahead and get prepared so that if your supply is interrupted you have something to fall back upon.

Deal on Wenger Swiss Gear Water Bottles

I came across a great deal today at BJ's Wholesale Club. They had a four-pack of Wenger Swiss Gear 32 oz (1L) Lexan bottles for $7.90 before tax. These are very similar to the Nalgene 32 oz. wide mouth bottles that normally go for about $10 each.

The Wenger bottles are about the same diameter as the Nalgenes. The Olicamp Space Saver cups which I got from Campmor fit over the end of a Nalgene will accept a Wenger bottle. However, the mouth on the Wenger is a little larger than the Nalgenes, so replacement caps or water filters designed to fit the latter won't work on the Wengers. For less than 25% the cost of a Nalgene, I can live with this.