The Prepper Thread

  • Guest, it's time once again for the hotly contested and exciting FoH Asshat Tournament!



    Go here and fill out your bracket!
    Who's been the biggest Asshat in the last year? Once again, only you can decide!

Cybsled

Avatar of War Slayer
16,295
11,938
You probably want a stove/hearth designed to actually efficiently heat shit. I knew a guy who used a Russian fireplace design for his off the grid spot. Was centralized in the house and made of stones. Idea is the fire also heats the stones, which will continue to radiate heat for a longer time than metal. He also used geothermal for water heating and had solar/wind turbine for power generation.
 

Bandwagon

Kolohe
<Silver Donator>
22,499
58,994
You probably want a stove/hearth designed to actually efficiently heat shit. I knew a guy who used a Russian fireplace design for his off the grid spot. Was centralized in the house and made of stones. Idea is the fire also heats the stones, which will continue to radiate heat for a longer time than metal.
That's a brilliant, revolutionary idea.
 
  • 1Like
  • 1Salty
Reactions: 1 users

Cybsled

Avatar of War Slayer
16,295
11,938
Not sure if sarcastic or not, but it isn’t just burn fire -> heat go up chimney stone fireplace. They build them with internal channels that redirect as much of the hot air and smoke around inside the structure to maximize the amount of heat absorption by the stones, then make sure after it goes through that labyrinth it still removes all the smoke from the house.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 user

Lanx

Oye Ve
<Prior Amod>
60,072
131,370
Not sure if sarcastic or not, but it isn’t just burn fire -> heat go up chimney stone fireplace. They build them with internal channels that redirect as much of the hot air and smoke around inside the structure to maximize the amount of heat absorption by the stones, then make sure after it goes through that labyrinth it still removes all the smoke from the house.
yea same reason why you put a ring around a campfire, besides safety, it'll heatup the stones and keep you warm at night as the fire dies out
campfire3.jpg
 
  • 3Like
Reactions: 2 users

Rajaah

Honorable Member
<Gold Donor>
11,003
14,658

Anyone have any experience with this company? Looks like a pretty good value. Problem is, it looks too good. I might get one and let everyone know how it is if no one knows.
 

B_Mizzle

Golden Baronet of the Realm
6,983
13,439
Everywhere is a trade off.

Southeastern US while red as can be in some places, is full of mosquitoes, flooding and hurricanes.
Southwestern US is becoming ever more filled with California refugees and while no snow/ice winters in Phoenix, basically every where is dependent on easily disrupted canals for water
Plains can have mild winters until you get a freak blizzard then when its summer time youre dealing with random tornadoes
Pacific coast is libtard central but ideally the best place in terms of climate

Best bet is probably going to be Utah/Wyoming/Idaho. Id say Arizona too but well you see how its gone recently.

I think anything directly bordering Mexico is a problem. With sleepy Joe and the commies in charge, apparently permanently, I would expect Mexico to get some reparations at some point in the next 20 years or so.

The problem I keep running into is water, I live in the desert, can stock food for years but water is a problem.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 user

Izo

Tranny Chaser
18,349
20,958
I think anything directly bordering Mexico is a problem. With sleepy Joe and the commies in charge, apparently permanently, I would expect Mexico to get some reparations at some point in the next 20 years or so.

The problem I keep running into is water, I live in the desert, can stock food for years but water is a problem.
c98f1b5648a7aa9d3ac65722f98b09f9.jpg
 
  • 1Worf
  • 1Like
  • 1Solidarity
Reactions: 2 users

BrutulTM

Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.
<Silver Donator>
14,366
2,139
The problem I keep running into is water, I live in the desert, can stock food for years but water is a problem.


Gotta drill a well. It's expensive but the only real way to be sure you're going to have water.
 

BrutulTM

Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.
<Silver Donator>
14,366
2,139
Well I think if you're really serious about being prepared for some kind of societal breakdown, getting out of the city has to be step one.

Drilling wells is serious business though. Around here they cost about $45/foot. Pretty affordable if you're just going 100 feet, but you might be going 1000 feet depending on your water table and there is such a thing as a dry hole which the drillers will not refund your money for. The well driller can probably give you a rough estimate of well depth in your area but there's no guarantees. If you're really going to do it, finding out about the prospects of drilling a well or buying a property with a well on it already would definitely be things to consider before you buy. There's an area near me where somebody broke up a big ranch into unimproved ranch-ettes and more than a few people have bought them and moved their trailer out before finding out that their options for water are to haul it from town or pay $50-100K for a well.


As far as getting it without electricity goes, solar pumps are pretty affordable these days. I pump water for cattle from 3 different wells using solar pumps and I'll be adding more in the near future. The oldest one I have is 11 years old now and it has worked flawlessly. Also, solar works extremely well in the desert. The more sun you have and the lower latitude you're at, the better they work.

 
Last edited:
  • 5Like
  • 1Solidarity
Reactions: 5 users

Kiroy

Marine Biologist
<Bronze Donator>
34,560
99,746
Well I think if you're really serious about being prepared for some kind of societal breakdown, getting out of the city has to be step one.

Drilling wells is serious business though. Around here they cost about $45/foot. Pretty affordable if you're just going 100 feet, but you might be going 1000 feet depending on your water table and there is such a thing as a dry hole which the drillers will not refund your money for. The well driller can probably give you a rough estimate of well depth in your area but there's no guarantees. If you're really going to do it, finding out about the prospects of drilling a well or buying a property with a well on it already would definitely be things to consider before you buy. There's an area near me where somebody broke up a big ranch into unimproved ranch-ettes and more than a few people have bought them and moved their trailer out before finding out that their options for water are to haul it from town or pay $50-100K for a well.


As far as getting it without electricity goes, solar pumps are pretty affordable these days. I pump water for cattle from 3 different wells using solar pumps and I'll be adding more in the near future. The oldest one I have is 11 years old now and it has worked flawlessly. Also, solar works extremely well in the desert. The more sun you have and the lower latitude you're at, the better they work.


This with backup equipment is the ultimate setup.

But the problem with this kind of prep and an actual societal breakdown is that unless you have an easily defendable location with multiple families so you can have a 24/7 cop/cip with watch rotations, there's a good chance you'd eventually get overrun. The rare value of what you have will be extreme.

This would be great for just detaching from society though.
 
  • 2Like
Reactions: 1 users

Rajaah

Honorable Member
<Gold Donor>
11,003
14,658
Just ordered the survival food crate I linked above, will report back in a few weeks when it gets here on whether or not it's worth it. On paper it definitely looks worth it, we'll see.
 
  • 2Like
Reactions: 1 users

LachiusTZ

Rogue Deathwalker Box
<Silver Donator>
14,472
27,162
  • 1Like
  • 1Mother of God
Reactions: 1 users

Big Phoenix

Pronouns: zie/zhem/zer
<Gold Donor>
44,362
92,509
But the problem with this kind of prep and an actual societal breakdown is that unless you have an easily defendable location with multiple families so you can have a 24/7 cop/cip with watch rotations, there's a good chance you'd eventually get overrun. The rare value of what you have will be extreme.
Fundamental problem with all prepping imo unless you truly live out in the absolute middle of nowhere.

If youre prepping to get through a few weeks of societal disruption(mainly natural disasters), it makes perfect sense.

If youre prepping to make it through the complete break down of society, anything beyond a go bag and some food and water is pointless. You arent going to be taking advantage of your sweet solar setup cooking all that rice you had stored in mylar bags. Raiders are because youll either be dead or long gone.
 
  • 2Like
Reactions: 1 users

B_Mizzle

Golden Baronet of the Realm
6,983
13,439
Fundamental problem with all prepping imo unless you truly live out in the absolute middle of nowhere.

If youre prepping to get through a few weeks of societal disruption(mainly natural disasters), it makes perfect sense.

If youre prepping to make it through the complete break down of society, anything beyond a go bag and some food and water is pointless. You arent going to be taking advantage of your sweet solar setup cooking all that rice you had stored in mylar bags. Raiders are because youll either be dead or long gone.

That's 100% right. I'm still kicking around ideas, bugging out to the northwest in a trailer with all the stuff prepped seems like a good plan. Theres huge amounts of water and if someone has seeds, growbags, self sufficient farming should be pretty easy. Plus trailer is good for cheap vacationing. I've thought about just getting some land out in the desert and setting it up but it seems like being mobile with a big truck and a trailer is a better more flexible plan.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 user

LachiusTZ

Rogue Deathwalker Box
<Silver Donator>
14,472
27,162
Fundamental problem with all prepping imo unless you truly live out in the absolute middle of nowhere.

If youre prepping to get through a few weeks of societal disruption(mainly natural disasters), it makes perfect sense.

If youre prepping to make it through the complete break down of society, anything beyond a go bag and some food and water is pointless. You arent going to be taking advantage of your sweet solar setup cooking all that rice you had stored in mylar bags. Raiders are because youll either be dead or long gone.

I've got about a years worth of supplies at my home.

Mainly because if we get lockdowns, supply chains are going to get fucked.

All the chance of raiders is slim, but the chance of not being able to buy X is high.

My real bug out location is literally no where, surrounded by blood. My cousins all have houses connected by trails etc, really wish we had our land about a mile closer to them, but whatever.

Getting there is going to be a bitch tho... 5hr drive, with a major jogger hotspot and at least 1 bridge.

Guess it's time to quit putting off those road maps, and get a couple gas cans
 
  • 3Like
Reactions: 2 users