Disaster Prep - Discussion, Links, Etc

[Amarok]

With storms, fires, floods, etc, etc, etc affecting more and more people, I thought I'd start a thread about preparing for these "once in a lifetime events" that are becoming regular occurrences.

This isn't about politics(as always, we don't discuss that here), this is about practical information.

Share your preps, ideas, links to useful products, good sales, etc.
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I've recently picked up a few ecoflow power stations. I'm using them as beefed up UPS units, powering my living room and bedroom, I have about 40 hours of backup in the bedroom and close to 5 days in the living room. I have another Delta 3 and a 100w bifacial folding solar panel on the way for my evac setup.

I own a few batteries and inverters, but these power stations are much more practical. The Delta 3 has over 1000 Wh of storage and inputs for adding extra batteries and solar panels. IIRC, it can put out 1800w, so it can even run a microwave or electric kettle. It has USB A, 100w USB C connectors, as well as 12 v dc and 110 ac outputs.

I still want to hook up a backup system to my furnace, but that's in the future. For now I have propane heaters for backup.

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By my front door, there is a big duffle bag with a tent, cot, sleeping bag, tarp and cordage. Beside it is a cooler with cooking gear, utensils, and a bunch of non-perishable food. Beside that is a suitcase with clothes and all sorts of useful items. When the newest power station and folding solar panel arrive, they will join the pile. I can be out the door and gone in a couple minutes, with all my basic needs covered.

I always have months worth of food on hand. In a pinch, I have probably 800 gallons of water between my outdoor pond and little basement pond. I have enough propane to cook for a very long time.

I'm not quite ready for anything, but I have a good start.

 

[Amarok]

(THIS IS NOT AN ENDORSEMENT. I am only sharing my experiences. As with any link or product, verify and research for yourself, don't just trust some bonehead on a forum)


These guys have an incredibly wide range of products. I've bought a few things from them, including a diesel heater and have had good results. My employer has been charging his tesla using one of their chargers for months. Yeah, it's "cheap Chinese crap". but what isn't these days?

They've got some 48V batteries, inverter/charge controller/battery chargers, and panels as well as generators.
They also have a bunch of accessories like cables and brackets.

I only know the Canadian site, but I presume they sell to you southern folks as well:

https://www.vevor.ca/

I usually shop on the vevor site and then buy through the vevor storefront on bestbuy.ca. It's often a little cheaper.

 

[Senokai]

One of my recent prepper moves is stocking up on seeds like radish and arugula. Great stock for microgreens. High nutritional content and grows within days to eat. I have like 20 bags of various plants. Even been eating a lot of home grown microgreens.

I've essentially replaced veggies from the grocery store by doing this. Noticeable health benefits imo a 20$ bag of microgreen seeds will last you like a year. A 10x20 tray only needs two tablespoons out of a 1lb bag. Huge win imo

 

[Amarok]

I saw a post about a water cooler and it reminded me of a fast and very effective improvement you can make to a cheap chest-style cooler.

With a lot of the cheap coolers, the body has acceptable insulation, but the lid has none. Making a few small holes and injecting spray insulation into the lid can greatly increase the cooler's effectiveness. The original suggestion I saw was to use the door and window version of the spray which doesn't expand as much as the regular stuff, so that's what I've been doing.
Just make 3 or 4 holes and keep rotating, filling a little a time until it is coming out of all the holes.
You can seal the holes afterwards but I just wiped the excess off flush and called it good.

 

[Dbear]

I bought a few more 5 gallon jugs for drinking water today. I'm not ready to bug out but 20 gallons of drinking water should get me thru a couple weeks if we have a fire that burns down power lines or destroys the pump station which provides us with water pressure at the tap.

 

[Amarok]

I'm not ready to bug out

I sure hope I never have to, but fires have got me spooked. Last year there were three big fires within a short distance. I had coworkers who had to leave their homes; we'd watch the huge columns of smoke from the office at work and wonder what was next.



While I was typing this, a thunderstorm knocked out the power for a second. My backup functioned as intended. Internet was knocked out at the tower briefly, but my gear purred along. Can't wait for the day I have my whole place on backup power.