How much is too much?

[peejman]

Yeah, I know. But seriously, neither of my tubs will hold water all that long. Most all them internal nifty plug thingies slowly leak. I guess one should get an old fashioned plug for them and be ready to pull the thing out.

I put the push-button type drains in my tubs, mainly to eliminate the little lever after my kids whacked their head on it (and that it didn't seal worth a darn). The water pushes the seal down so the more water in the tub, the better it seals. On the odd occasion in which I forget to drain the tub after bath time, I've found the water level hasn't changed the next morning.

'Course, the real gotcha is how would you necessarily know you needed it in time to fill it or the tubs up in the first place? - OS

This looks like a pretty good hint....

[Oh Shoot]

I put the push-button type drains in my tubs..

Pretty cool, never even noticed those.

This looks like a pretty good hint....

Good point, I admit, but dunno I we really have to worry about even a CAT 5 here. But maybe.

I confess I'm more oriented toward some total breakdown of things, with no real help forthcoming. I figure even ricin or something in the water supply would still be localized and temporary. Then again, I'm kind of a gloomy guy. Also, seriously, if I had a family to protect, I admit my preps would be much more extensive for contingencies of any duration.

- OS

Edited January 30, 2012 by OhShoot

[Guest bkelm18]

I confess I'm more oriented toward some total breakdown of things, with no real help forthcoming. Then again, I'm kind of a gloomy guy.

- OS

You're just itchin' to shoot and eat critters from your apartment.

[Oh Shoot]

You're just itchin' to shoot and eat critters from your apartment.

Well, there's that ...

My "plan" is pretty simple really; if I'm still in the urb when things go down, I've got 3-4 months worth of essentials, if I can protect it that long. If it gets too bad, have a fall back position 20 miles away, if indeed I could get there with a van load of that stuff.

It's just a breathing space, to see if it's even worth trying to continue with things. That's about the extent of my EOTWAWKI plans. But it's only me, otherwise I'd have a lot better and optional plans, too.

- OS

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Well, there's that ...

My "plan" is pretty simple really; if I'm still in the urb when things go down, I've got 3-4 months worth of essentials, if I can protect it that long. If it gets too bad, have a fall back position 20 miles away, if indeed I could get there with a van load of that stuff.

It's just a breathing space, to see if it's even worth trying to continue with things. That's about the extent of my EOTWAWKI plans. But it's only me, otherwise I'd have a lot better and optional plans, too.

- OS

In that optimistic and cheery novel, "The Road". It was interesting the sustenance the man and son received from the accidentally discovered bomb shelter in a small TN town.

The preps of whoever had built the backyard bomb shelter apparently didn't do the builders any good, but it did eventually do SOMEBODY some good...

[Trekbike]

I agree, the Water Bob is pretty slick. I've added one to my amazon wish list. I was merely commenting that while it says it'll hold 100 gallons, that's not realistic for a typical household tub.

Save your money and don't buy from Amazon. Right now Amazon is $29.75, direct from Waterbob is $24.75, Cheaper than Dirt is 19.97. I bought mine from them around Christmas and paid $17.

CAMP-205 - WaterBob and Siphon Pump Holds 100 Gallons in FDA Approved Bag

[Guest NYCrulesU]

I think what I'm going to do...is paln this way..

90 cases of individual bottled water for drinking. Purchase ten 50 gal blue drums, fill and add purify tablets...and store them with the intention of cooking/bathing water only...but they would serve as a reserve drinking source if need be.

That right there should eleviate any drastic worry about short term water supply (3-4 months).

[Xtarheel]

My house has a water storage tank plumbed into the system that holds 120 gallons. Bought the house this way and not sure why it is there. Since there is always water flowing through the tank there is no reason for changing the water periodically. So between the hot water heater and the additional tank, I have about 160 gallons on hand. I keep a few cases of bottled water for bugging out. This gives me about a 90 day supply.

[Mike.357]

Right now I am starting with learning about raising rabbits for food. Next will be how to collect and purify water....then on to another project.

You do know you cannot subsist on rabbit meat alone? They are too lean to supply fat intake. Need to supliment it with some possum

[Guest NYCrulesU]

You do know you cannot subsist on rabbit meat alone? They are too lean to supply fat intake. Need to supliment it with some possum

Rabbits alone, no. Rabbits, squirrel, goat, chickens etc. Just starting out with rabbits. Any shtf supply should have multi vitamins as well.

Goat is one of the tastier meats I've had recently..but then again, I like unconventional, greasy meats lol

[bigwakes]

An alternative to the Water Bob is painters plastic from HD. Store the plastic, a zip tie, and a piece of clear plastic hose under each bathroom sink. When the time comes line the tub, fill the plastic, pull all the corners and edges to the middle, put the tube in the center and zip tie tight. When you need water just siphon with the hose. This makes sure your dirty funk is not ingested by anyone and keeps the water from leaking or evaporating.

We have a couple of the blue 7 gallon jugs and use food grade 5 gallon buckets since we really don't have space for a drum anywhere. We also save apple juice jugs from the kids and use those. They are between .5 and 1 gallon depending on the sale my wife finds when buying juice. 2 liters work too, but we don't use them as much.

[G27]

Rinsed 2-liter soda bottles are excellent long-term water storage containers.

Along with that, I use a bunch of the coleman 5G containers like this: http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Water-Carrier-5-Gallon-Blue/dp/B00168PI4S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328137741&sr=8-1 Very sturdy and also easy to use in various positions.

[Jonsaiga]

I think what I'm going to do...is paln this way..

90 cases of individual bottled water for drinking. Purchase ten 50 gal blue drums, fill and add purify tablets...and store them with the intention of cooking/bathing water only...but they would serve as a reserve drinking source if need be.

That right there should eleviate any drastic worry about short term water supply (3-4 months).

Just my personal opinion.......... you may want to look into a Big Berkey gravity water filtration system or something similar. Bleach is a good back up or even additional treatment pre-filtration option. Managing Water | Ready.gov has a info on using bleach(type as well as strength are extremely important to know) as well as other h2o info. CAMP-352 - Ceramic Water Filtration System Monolithic Filter Ceramic Filter Filter Sock Spigot 0.5 Micron Efficiency has a cheap dyi kit for 5 gal buckets. Bought one a while back but have yet to set it up. One word of caution....... water is heavy! If you plan on storing 90 cases of water in one location make sure the floor will handle the load.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Rabbits alone, no. Rabbits, squirrel, goat, chickens etc. Just starting out with rabbits. Any shtf supply should have multi vitamins as well.

Goat is one of the tastier meats I've had recently..but then again, I like unconventional, greasy meats lol

+1 Goat is good. The cute little baby goats are even better.

[Jonsaiga]

You do know you cannot subsist on rabbit meat alone? They are too lean to supply fat intake. Need to supliment it with some possum

True of wild rabbit/ cotton tails. Cage kept rabbits who get a whole lot less exercise in confinement are another story unless they are grossly under fed. Been raising rabbits for years and all the domesticated rabbits I've butchered had quite a bit of fat in them. Cotton tails next to none though. Fortunately there are plenty of other fat sources around if you know where to look for them. For example, there are no shortage of acorns around here and one ounce of dried acorns yield 142 calories 74 of which are fat and 1 ounce of acorn flour yields 140 calories of which 71 are calories are from fat according to Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Nuts, acorn flour, full fat

[peejman]

An alternative to the Water Bob is painters plastic from HD. Store the plastic, a zip tie, and a piece of clear plastic hose under each bathroom sink. When the time comes line the tub, fill the plastic, pull all the corners and edges to the middle, put the tube in the center and zip tie tight. When you need water just siphon with the hose. This makes sure your dirty funk is not ingested by anyone and keeps the water from leaking or evaporating.

.

Not sure that I'd use plastic drop cloths. They're neither "food grade" nor particularly clean. Most that I've used seem to have a powdery substance on them, presumably to help prevent the layers from sticking.

[Guest HvyMtl]

Hmm. If you are going to go with the individual bottle idea, look at places like Dollar General Store and the like. I have seen $2.50 for a 24 bottle case.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Do you live in a house or apartment/condo?

If you live in a house do you have a yard?

How about a pool?

If you have a yard then have someone drill down to the water table. After that you can use a hand pump to get an endless supply of water. If you are alraedy on a well then you can have an endless supply of water for very little money. You can also drill you own if you are so inclined.

Here are a few good how-to's:

It works in the same way as when you were a kid and pushed a water hose into the yard. All you need to do is get down to the water table.

If you don't want to do that then get some 55 gallon food safe drums and set them out to collect rain water. There is a guy on craigslist that sells them for $15, he also has 15 gallon food safe jugs for $7. Even if the water isn't clean and potable it is still useable after disinfecting it. Disinfecting it isn;t going to be the hard part, getting the water is.

If you have a pool then there is plenty of water for you, just need to disinfect it.

As far a filtering goes you can make a sand filter. I made mine for less than $20 and it will filter about a 8 ounce glass of water per minute. And once you build up the schmutzdecke layer on top there is no need to boil or disinfect it. That layer takes a few weeks of constant use to build up. Once it is there no bacteria can make it through alive. You can also make a much larger version to do more water but the concept is still the same and it is still relatively cheap.

Potable water is going to be the hardest to come by for most people.

Dolomite

[Guest ThePunisher]

Just checked at Wal-Mart tonight for their water containers. In the food section they have Culligan 3 gal.containers with spigot for 7.99, a 5 gal. container with spigot for 9.99, and a 5 gal. bottle for 12.99. Each of these containers get a free fill up of water. In the sporting goods section they have the Reliance 7 gal. container with spigot for 10.99 but no water.

[monkeylizard]

You can also drill you own if you are so inclined.

From: http://www.state.tn.us/environment/dws/waterwel.shtml

The Tennessee Water Well Act of 1963 requires all persons drilling a water well to be licensed.

A water well is any well for the production of water for beneficial use such as: domestic use, irrigation, livestock watering, etc.

A person installing a pump or water treatment device on a water well must also be licensed.

[Guest richief]

There is a guy in N. C. that sells 275 gallon syrup containers, they have a spigot and a metal cage/pallet that makes them stackable. If you have two you can run a electric pump, and a supply line to the kitchen, and use the water for cooking, refill and start using second tank for cooking, thereby always having 275 gallons + of water available.

[Makiaveli]

From: http://www.state.tn..../waterwel.shtml

The Tennessee Water Well Act of 1963 requires all persons drilling a water well to be licensed.

A water well is any well for the production of water for beneficial use such as: domestic use, irrigation, livestock watering, etc.

A person installing a pump or water treatment device on a water well must also be licensed.

Gee and here I thought I was going to get thru the day without using excessive profanity.