Oxygen Absorbers

Oxygen absorbers come in a plastic bag. Each absorber packet has a special barrier to prevent it's contents from making contact with your food.

Within the last ten years the advent of oxygen absorbers has brought a revolution to the food storage industry. Their use has increased the storage life of foods and has made the job of putting away food for long term storage much simpler. There are two types of oxygen absorbers used for the storage of Food, "B" absorbers and "D" absorbers. The "B" absorbers require moisture from the food they are packed with to perform their action. A good example would be beef jerky or dehydrated fruit that hasn't been dried until it is brittle. The "D" absorbers contain their own moisture and are better suited for dry pack canning because there isn't enough moisture in correctly dried food to activate the "D" absorbers. The "B" absorbers will last a year after they are manufactured but the "D" absorbers only last 6 months. This is important for you to know so you won't buy a bunch of absorbers, pack them away for two years, and expect them to do their thing when you finally open them. The "B" absorbers also work much slower as they must first absorb moisture from the food they are packed in before they will absorb any oxygen. You can generally leave them out for 2 hours before they reach their advertised minimum absorbing capacity. Because the "D" absorbers have their own moisture built into them, they start absorbing oxygen immediately when opened and reach their advertised minimum much quicker, generally within 20 minutes.

Oxygen absorbers perform their action through a chemical reaction. They contain iron powder which reacts with the oxygen in the air causing the iron powder to rust. When all the iron powder has oxidized, the oxygen absorbers are "loaded" and the absorbing action stops. Remove the oxygen from an active absorber and the chemical reaction stops. Put them back in the air and the reaction starts again until the iron is gone.

Number of oxygen absorbers needed: We sell 500cc and 100cc absorbers. They will absorb 500+ cc or 100+ cc of oxygen. A #10 can holds 13 cups or very roughly 3300cc. Air is 21% oxygen. So that empty 3300cc #10 can actually has about 683cc of oxygen in it. If you take a full cup of beans it takes about 0.375 cups of water to bring the water level up to the top of the cup. I've found this to be true with most of the whole seeds I've measured including wheat and rice. This figure is important because it also tells you how much air is in the can when it is full of seeds - 37.5%. With a #10 can full of these products, you now have about 256cc of oxygen left in the can. If you are canning a powder you probably have less air than this but foods like macaroni would have more. Already you can see that one 750cc absorber should do the job nicely, in fact it's a bit of overkill. A 300cc absorber would also do the trick. We use one 500cc absorber in each of our #10 cans as we'd rather have a bit of overkill than a little oxygen left in the can should the absorber become loaded. Actually, on the cans, this is a lot of overkill as the absorbers we use now actually have more than twice as much oxygen absorbing capacity as what they are rated for.

A 6 gal bucket holds 22,740cc. Going through the above calculations, a full 6 gal bucket of grain or beans has about 1791cc oxygen left in the container at sea level. You will need four of our absorbers if you are packing up your food at lower elevations. Our facility is at 6,000 feet and at this altitude there is only an equivalent of 1484 cc of oxygen in the thinner air. Again, because of the oxygen absorber's significant under rating, we only use two 500cc absorbers in the buckets as they will absorb more than twice their rated capacity.

Oxygen absorbers are over rated to give you a fudge factor if you should leave them out in the air too long. Generally, you have about 20 minutes before they reach this advertised minimum. There are variables that determine how fast the oxygen absorbers work, so you shouldn't leave them out any longer than you absolutely have to. But why not get every bit of absorption you can out of them? May I suggest you leave only enough out in the air to take care of maybe 1 or 2 minutes of operation? See our Packaging Your Food Using Oxygen Absorbers page for lots of other useful information about the actual packing operation using buckets.

Original at: https://www.usaemergencysupply.com/information_center/packing_your_own_food_storage/oxygen_absorbers.htm

Food Storage Tags

Original Article

from iPrepared by Wendy

You may remember this previous post, Labeling Long-Term Storage, from back in 2009 where Stephanie shared her idea of making tags to help with locating, rotating and replacing her food storage.  Well, I've had two-year intentions of doing the same thing, but have never gotten around to it.  Just this past Christmas, my wonderful parents-in-law gave me a new fun laminator and I've been itching to use it for this project since then. 

I made my tags using a different color of cardstock for each food storage product that I keep in buckets.  Actually there isn't much rhyme or reason to the colors.  I just used the colors that I had on hand.  In the picture below, you might notice that the brighter colors are easier to see and read so I would recommend that you use bright colors instead of dull or dark colors. 

I figured out how many tags of each that I needed.  For example, I knew that I wanted to always keep four buckets of flour on hand, so I used my word processor to print four "flour" labels.  I repeated this process for each of the items I keep in buckets: wheat, sugar, powdered sugar, brown sugar, rice, oats, and beans.  I laminated my tags for durability, but this isn't necessary.  Then I hole punched the side and tied each onto the bucket handles with some white yarn.  I made more than 40 tags.  It took about two hours from start to finish (but most of that time was spent doing second and third runs through my laminator in order to fully seal the tags - I'm sure you could do it in a fraction of that time).  I love the result!  It is so easy to figure out what is in each bucket now.

Recently I ran out of flour.  So I ran down into my storage area, grabbed a bucket of flour (which was so easy to find because of the easy-to-see tags) and emptied the previously-stored flour into my upstairs bucket.  I actually left the tag on the empty bucket and let it remind me that I needed to buy some more flour to replace the now-empty bucket.  I could also untie the tag and slip it into my purse or tie it to a shelf as a reminder that I need to replace that flour.  When I refilled the bucket with flour, I flipped the tag over and wrote 2011 on the back with a black permanent marker so that I would know the age of the newly purchased flour.

Here are a few other ideas and tips that you could use for labeling your food storage:

*Use different colored ribbons for each different food (i.e red for red wheat; black for black beans; pink for pinto beans; tan for oatmeal; white for rice; etc.).
*Use a different colors of  ribbon/yarn to indicate the purchase date.
*Use different colors of permanent markers to differentiate between foods and/or dates.
*Wrapping ribbon and index cards would work just fine.
*Magnetic labels could be used with #10 cans or steel shelves.
*Instead of tying a ribbon to foil pouches or #10 cans (that don't have a handle like a bucket or a neck like the PETE bottles), just tie a tag to the shelves or adhere a label with a small piece of ribbon directly to the product.
*Label two sides and the top of each container for more visibility.
*Use cup-holder screws to hang labels (of items needing to be replaced).
*These tags would be a great idea for a cheap, but love-filled gift.


I would love to hear your ideas!

Apartment Survival: Water

Original Article

from MANITOBA PREPPERS NETWORK: Drying Garlic by Ancient Dragon

I said in the prior article that trying to survive most crises in an apartment is not ideal. That hasn’t changed, but as stated in the first article you might not have a choice. Survival is about making the best of what you have, both knowledge and resources.

Assuming that you need to stay at your apartment for a relatively long period, the first problem to consider is water. You need to have a decent supply in your apartment or in a storage locker in the building (if in the locker, make sure it is camouflaged as something else). The amount you store is up to you, but a three day supply would be the absolute minimum, while a three week supply (or more!) would be far better. That seems like a lot of water, but if you store for drinking and cooking only, it will not consume an unreasonable amount of space. Sanitation needs may have to be put on the back burner.

The next step is to get whatever extra water that is at hand that you can obtain. The toilet tank is always available, and in some apartments, you may have your own hot water heater. Have a plan for filling tubs, sinks, pots and pans or whatever else you have if you get a chance. Collapsible water containers are easily stored and can be filled along with other containers, so plan on buying at least a couple of them to fill in an emergency. Learn where the nearest pond, stream or river is located and have plans and equipment for making it potable (more on that later). Better still would be to know the location of any wells in your area, but they may be owned and guarded by others, and you may have no way to get the water to the surface. Note that in going outside of the apartment to get water, you are exposing yourself to personal risk as well as risking using water that may be contaminated with toxins a primitive filtering system will not remove.

You should consider a rain catchment system that you can set up yourself. If you have a balcony, a couple of broomsticks in a V, a garbage bag, some duct tape and a bucket for collection and you’re in business. Just remember that some of that water may be cascading off of your building and may well have harmful impurities that you can’t filter or treat, so use due caution. Also realize that a catchment system deployed on a balcony will likely give away your position to observers, so discretion will be required in its use.

A better solution might be to get access to your buildings roof. I’m assuming that it is flat and will have plenty of open space to set up your rain catchment system. The design is up to you, but there are a huge number of possibilities. One simple design would be garbage bags cut open to give a large area for collection, and the lower ends taped to a length of clean eaves trough which in turn runs into a bucket. A fairly primitive arrangement and I’m sure there are many other ways to do it. You might even be able to store the parts for your system on the roof. In my experience, the roofs of apartments are rarely visited unless a problem occurs. Again, purity of the water obtained this way may be an issue depending on the type of crisis.

Of course there is also the issue of water collection in winter. Melting snow is a possibility, but many five gallon buckets of snow would need to be melted to give you one bucket of water, as snow isn’t very dense. If you can harvest ice, you get far more water per pail of ice. Again, there is the possibility of contaminants, so care must be used in using this water for drinking and cooking. There is also the issue of needing to melt the ice or snow, which will be expensive in terms of fuel.
Finally we come to the issue of making your water safe to drink. The first step here is trying to start out with the best water possible. If you can, avoid water that may be contaminated with human or industrial waste. That said, you have a lot of options: To start with you can do a lot with a t shirt, a couple of large coffee filters in a kitchen strainer, and some unscented bleach.

Filter your water through the (hopefully) clean t shirt, then through the coffee filters in the strainer. This should give you more or less particle free water. You might want to let it stand to let any suspended solids settle out and then decant the cleared water. If you have the fuel, boiling this water for two to three minutes should kill the any harmful bacteria. I would add an extra step and add eight (8) drops of unscented bleach per gallon of water, and if you have cloudy water that you cannot filter or clear, you can double the amount of chlorine bleach. The flat taste of boiled water and the chlorine taste can be removed by aerating the water by pouring it between containers or even vigorous stirring.
Using either method or (my preference) both together will give you drinkable water. Remember that this will rid your water of bacteria, but will not remove chemicals dissolved in the water, so again, finding the best water you can for treating is important. Don’t panic too much, as most chemicals in water (with exceptions) are mostly a problem in long term consumption.

By the way, here’s a neat little bleach/water calculator:
http://www.csgnetwork.com/h2oemergencypurifycalc.html
There are also filter systems of various types on the market. Katadyn produces a variety of reasonably priced compact, portable filters. Where a gallon of bleach will treat roughly 3800 US gallons (about 14,300 liters) of water, the Katadyn filter I own is good for 13,200 gallons (50,000 l), and weighs far less in a smaller volume than does a bottle of bleach. It’s also 35 times as expensive.

There are also large stationary filter systems, such as the type made by Berkley. These claim to remove some chemicals and metals as well, and are reasonably priced. Going the other way, you could use water purification chemicals like AquaMira, or compact devices like Steripens that purify smaller volumes of water using ultraviolet light. Do some research and find out what you feel suits your needs, and get the equipment and chemicals you require to make your water safe.

So for our apartment dweller, water comes down to this: Store it, collect it, purify it. The biggest issue is that you will not have a dependable source of clean water from a well like Joe Retreater, so a source needs to be located and you need to make sure some sort of purification system is available to you.

Stealth Prepping - Hiding in Plain Sight During a Crisis - Part Two

Original Article

from Stealth Survival by noreply@blogger.com (riverwalker)

Stealth is the act of proceeding furtively (i.e., secretly) and becoming almost imperceptible to others in the process.  This can be an invaluable skill in a survival situation. When attempting to avoid having your activities being noticed or attracting what may be the unwanted attention of others, people are usually motivated by a firm belief that there is a high probability that the discovery of their actions or movements will lead to the possibility of further trouble. In a survival situation, additional troubles are the last thing you will need.

The practical application of stealth in your prepping activities is going to require some effort on your part but doesn’t necessarily have to become a burden. During normal times, most people aren’t very attentive and will pay little heed to you or your activities. The exact opposite is likely to occur during a crisis. Many people will panic and start to act irrationally and will be capable of acts that they wouldn’t ever consider during a normal situation. It is important to remember, that in the majority of cases, the less people know about you and your activities; the safer you and your family will be during a crisis.

There seems to be quite a number of people who are currently interested in the different things preppers are doing to get prepared. This is especially true in light of some of the weird things going on in the world right now. And while their interest in your activities may be sincere, it may not be in your best interest to give out too many details. With a little effort and some common sense, there are several simple things you can start with to increase the amount of stealth in your prepping activities.

One of the easiest ways to incorporate stealth prepping into your lifestyle is to start paying cash for needed items. Cash transactions are extremely difficult to trace and don’t leave traces of you and your activities. Although only a partial number of your credit or debit card usually shows up on your receipt, your signature will often be quite easy to read. That credit or debit purchase will also leave a record of what, where and how much you purchased for anyone that may become interested in you or your activities.

Another simple thing you can do to maintain a little stealth in your prepping is to split big purchases into smaller ones by simply using two shopping carts instead of one. You can use one cart and another family member can use a second cart. Depending upon the number of family members available to help, you could even use additional carts. Don’t forget to go to different registers when checking out and remember to pay cash if possible. You should also shop at random times and stores whenever possible to avoid unwanted attention. You should probably avoid making large purchases at places where you may already be known.

You can also have a handy excuse available if asked about your purchases or activities. Keep the answer simple and uncomplicated so as not to arouse their curiosity and in most cases they won’t give you or your activities a second thought. The “I’m in charge of the meal for the family reunion this year.” seems to work very well in most instances.

In the words of Sun Tzu:

"Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt."

Things seem to be changing quite rapidly nowadays… 

Are you ready to practice a little "stealth" prepping?





You can read Part One here:

Stealth Prepping-Hiding in Plain Sight During a Crisis - Part One

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Female Self Defense: Situational Awareness

Original Article

from Survival Cache by Joel

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Situational awareness is a key factor in daily survival.  Many people do not realize just how vulnerable they are doing a normal activity such as grocery shopping.  I see so many people, women in particular, making careless errors that could cost them their life.
By Valerie K,  SurvivalCache.com Contributor


This post is part of a series of posts on Female Self Defense

Distractions

Talking or texting on your cell phone when walking into or leaving the store is not a good idea. When you are entering the store, you should be taking that time to look at the vehicles and people around you.  Being able to differentiate between a threat and the friendly.  If anything looks suspicious you should take note of it and be prepared to react.  Being distracted on a phone makes you look like an easy target, which is exactly what thieves and wrongdoer’s are looking for.
Upon entering the store, you will probably use a cart.  Never leave your purse in a cart!  That is just begging for someone to rob you.  I thought everyone was aware of this now, but on many recent trips that I have made I have seen this over and over again.  If your purse is stolen, not only will you lose whatever cash and cards you have in there, your personal information will be compromised as well.  Many women do not realize just how much information can be stolen until it is too late.  Personal checks or bills with your home address will have you panicking if your purse is stolen.

Take Precautions

If at all possible, I encourage women if they are shopping alone (especially at night), to only buy what they need.  It would be best to be able to carry all of your bags out in one hand, while making sure you have your keys out in the other hand. I’m hoping at this point that there is a ninja spike on that key chain.  If not, your largest key in between your fingers will also work in a pinch.  If you have to buy multiple bags of stuff, use the store’s cart to wheel your bags out to your car.  The cart can serve two purposes,
1. Your hands are free, you can hold a can of pepper spray or you ninja spike key chain or the monkey fist while you push the cart.  You are also able to quickly produce a concealed weapon if you are licensed to carry one.  This is not to say that you could not just drop your bags to produce your weapon, but we can all agree that sometimes we try to carry too many bags and they get twisted around our fingers and can be difficult to drop.

2.  If anyone strangely approaches you from an observed angle, you can position the cart in between you and the perpetrator until you have evaluated the risk.  Pushing the cart into someone’s attack path could provide you with valuable seconds to defend yourself.
You will also deter any possible thieves in the parking lot if you are clearly ready for an attack and thus announcing to them that you are not an easy target.  As you walk to your vehicle, look and make sure there is nothing lurking near your car (thief, serial killer, weirdo).  Begin your observation as soon as you step out of the store.  Any perpetrator will want to get “eyes on” you as you approach you car.  Knowing this, begin to scan around your car for observation points such as the back of the car, windows, or the car’s hood, many times perpetrators will peek out to confirm your arrival and your situational awareness might foil their best laid plan.
As you walk up to your car try to stay in the middle of road of the parking lot (safely avoiding traffic) until you are even with you car.  Although it might look weird making a 90 degree right angle turn to walk to your car, you are putting about 10 to 15 feet between you and a would be assailant if they were hiding near your car.  You are also more likely to be seen by other patrons if you are attacked in the middle of the road.  As you unlock your vehicle, glance inside to make sure everything is as you left it.  If all is well, slide into the driver seat, locking your car as soon as you get in.  Your bags can be situated when you are safely in the vehicle.  If you have a cart, place your bags into the car and then drop the cart off keeping your situational awareness level on high during this process.  Never carry your bags back to your car from the cart drop off, compromising your hands is always a bad thing.

I understand that many women are shopping with children and have to use a cart. If at all possible, I encourage you to utilize the online shopping system many grocery stores now offer for a nominal fee. You pay for everything online, then you park close to the entrance and employees will load your vehicle for you.  If you must shop with a cart and a child I would advise you to park as close to the cart return as possible.  You should load the child safely in the vehicle first, then the bags. As soon as you finish, lock the vehicle while you return the cart, and keep the Ninja Spike in the ready to fight position at all times.
Choosing a store that obviously is concerned with safety is a great choice.  Lots of stores now have security officers.  Look for brightly lit well kept parking lots with surveillance cameras.

If the store keeps up with their cart return, then there will constantly be an employee in the parking lot, another plus. Your personal security ultimately depends on you and the choices you make. Survival is an every day occurrence, and the repetitive things we do that are a part of normal life need to have particular attention paid to them.

Patterns

Routines set patterns, patterns can be exploited, look to see where you are vulnerable and how you can off set these critical vulnerabilities by either changing your routine or pre-positioning defensive advantages in places that will be unexpected by a perpetrator. (example: Heavy duty lock on bedroom door, pepper spray in your car, pepper spray in your purse, pepper spray near your bed, ninja spike on your key ring,  high powered surefire flashlight in your purse, monkey fist near your bed, etc. these are a few examples of things that could turn the table in your favor if you were unexpectedly attacked)

Photos by:

Jeni-dawn

Sylvar

Jbpetrus