Continued from here
ok I have a question thats going to sound dumb but here goes..lol Can the bottles of propane that you use for camping stoves etc. be used with different brand names example would be ozark with coleman and vise versa? Am wondering as our local Wal-mart has the ozark brand for 2/4.59 and single coleman for 2.69. Thanks for any advice or help you can shead on this
yes, propane is propane. You may want to check the connections, but most all the small bottles of propane work on all the others (some are narrow and some are fat bottles).
The point is propane is just C3H8- the same chemical for all.
Today’s prep purchase:
2 each of the famous Brinkman rechargable lanterns from WalMart, $34.88 each. Actually put them on lay-away, since I ride my bicycle to work and won’t drive the car to work until later this week. I opened one of them and did note that the outer layer of the solar panel was scratched but there was no evident damage to the cells. Won’t know for sure until later this week, I guess.
Dennis in Colorado at 18:27
I got a scratch and dent Brinkman rechargable lantern today. The plan is to run it down tonight (seeing how long it will last) then recharge it tomorrow (if there is sun!) and then run it down again tomorrow night. I’ll post my results when finished.
This past week I have spent a gargantuan amount of money on preps. My gut tells me, it’s any day now. Everything is very quiet, at one point I was getting several BF alerts on suspected cases, fatalaties, and now, nothing, nada, nil, zero on human cases or infections. I find it hard to swallow.
Went to WM to check out the Brinkman rechargable lantern yesterday, the price tag was marked in red pen “recall”. Went out to comsumer affairs on web, went to Brinkman but could not find the item listed. This is just a heads up and may be worth doing some checking into.
Well, I have in my temporary possession 5 Brinkmanns tonight, only until I return 2 tomorrow!!! I went to 2 WalMarts & checked 2 lanterns at one and 6 lanterns at the other and made switches for the ones with the least amount of scratches & no ‘shattered’ look to the cells. My husband will have a fit when I post this all to the online budget keeper thingie.
I never got through on the 800 number to ask our questions, but I got a scare after I’d made a switch at the first stop, then purchased 3 at the next stop — at the register, the lady tried to ring up the first lantern her POS screen showed something like “this item not for sale” and she commented “oh no, this must have been recalled because that message only comes up when something has been reported to have a problem!” I groaned….she tried to ring up the next one & it rang up just fine so she tripled that entry rather than trying to scan the others and off I went!!!
I have no clue what caused that, unless it had something to do with my other purchases less than an hour before — that RFIG tracking you know…
I DID take time to look and there are NO Brinkmann light bulbs (but the Coleman FLores single tubes look the same — I’ll take mine apart tomorrow and check) and there are NO Brinkmann batteries, but it doesn’t say Brinkmann on the one in the bottom of the lantern that I saw at a glance, so we’ll have to check online for a battery supplier.
More proof that things just don’t go as planned. My littlest monkey broke his leg! Spent the whole day in doctor’s offices (ped, radiology, orthoped.) Luckily a small break, but it just gets your mind racing - what if this happened in a pandemic? Yikes. Some things you can prep for and some you can’t. Plus, my back is already killing me from lugging him around everywhere (he weighs oover 40 lbs!). no moving preps around for me this week - I’m just going to hang out with him, rent movies, pop popcorn - spoil him rotten.
This is my first posting, My family think I am nuts and my mother made me promise not to buy anymore food. I knew I was lying because I can’t help believe that some thing is going to happen soon. I have been buying plastic shelves that you can stack from walmart and plan to put them in a trailer and leave if something happens. This week I bought 3 additional shelves now I have about 8 filled. I bought a waffle iron that makes belgian waffels and 10 lbs of pancake mix at sams. I tried the waffle iron it heats up quick and makes waffles quick. I figure i can make waffles with the generator. Does anyone know if that is realistic?
Just a thought: How often do you plan to make waffles? Generator power is limited. Do you want to use it to make waffles more than once or would you rather have it for something else?
Oh-and because I’m slow sometimes-Welcome!
Welcome, kitty. Perhaps you ought to consider some of the Ramen noodle pkgs. They are inexpensive, have lots of variety and can be fixed with just a little boiling water. When I traveled a lot doing consulting work, I sometimes even used hot water from the tap to make them. Of course that presumes there is water and it is heated. It takes a lot less power to heat a cup of water than it does to run a waffle iron. [Although, perhaps like you, I do adore waffles!]
I really want one of these Brinkma lanterns now; but it HAS to have the solar panel scratched, or I will know it is counterfeit! (-:
And, welcome Kitty!
kitty at 22:37
I think we need to know if your running your generator to run the frig every couple of hours or like me to run the sump pump or would you be starting it just to cook? Hillbilly Bill has a kill-o-watt meter. Lets ask him to fire up his waffle iron and see what the running wattage is on that. Then just check it against the the running and max wattage of your generator to see if it’s even doable. Then decide if you want the noise to bring in the neigbors for waffles! :-)
Average Concerned Mom at 23:10
My brinkman lantern has been on for about 5 hours now and I’m starting to lose light. Maybe it wasn’t fully charged, the led is still going but it’s not very much light. On the other hand, I also got some outside solar landscaping lights and I have a “coach light” that would make a good nightlight and a spot light that’s OK. It’s brighter now than the brinkman is.
The Brinkman had good light, not great like my battery lantern, for the first couple of hours. Just to keep the record straight.
Well, if the solar panel isn’t scratched, I don’t want one — I want one like all my fluwikian friends have!
Seriously, I bought a battery operated LED lantern from REI a few weeks ago, on the recommendation of someone here — and it is fantastic light! When we lost power over the weekend and I had to finish canning by lantern light, that’s what I used, and it was almost like having the lights on. I do like the idea of solar power, versus having a battery, but supposedly this type of lanterns uses very little power for pretty good light — it was about $45 though, but I’d be happy to get another one.
That’s what I need, something bright to see what I’m cooking. Other wise it’s early to bed and early to rise…… Does REI carry those in the store. I didn’t look last time I was in because I was focused on water filters and they didn’t even carry the one I wanted to look at, only in the catalog.
I think I need to install a hook over my stove for a lantern. lol
Yes, I bought this one in the store — they also will sell on-line.
Not sure if that link will work — if not go to www.rei.com and search for LED lantern. Mountain Green it is called.
WOW, 30 LED lights. That’s great. My old lantern takes 8 D batteries. This is probably half the weight and 10X the light! Maybe I should take this brinkman back to the store?
….and at the other end of the scale: I bought two small book reading LED lights tonight! I’m just catching on the the LED phenom all because of reading your discussions on this board. I figure we are probably going to have to get up with the dawn and go to bed at sunset; however this way we can read in bed for awhile. I’ll work my way up the ladder to checking out more powerful LED lights over the next week or so. [assuming we still have time]
Im-workin-on-it at 07:24
I swear I’m turning into Mr Monk
~snicker~ I have downloaded posters from CDC and the Red Cross and hung them around the house and given them to my kids for the grandkids. Handwashing, coughing and door handle ettiquite. I carry hand sanitizer on me, even passed some out to teachers while visiting my gkids school. Seriously thought about passing out spray bottles of bleach to the teachers… for my babies rooms & desks. Anyhow… I know whatcha mean!
Green Mom at 09:03
we had a snake that took up residence in the washer, and tadpoles in the living room, I suppose that was enough)
LOL!! Oh my gosh… it hurts to laugh because it triggers coughing! But, I just have such a “visual” of this & it is just toooooo funny!
Garden is an absolute mess. (*Mine too. ~sigh~ Hoping fall garden is better!)
Kathy in FL at 12:41 How did you make your single serving ORS packages? About all I can do is “think” about it presently. One thing I keep getting hung up on is the flavoring aspect. I figure adding unflavored koolaid would help, but how do you portion it out? How did you portion any of it out? Thanks in advance!
Thanks for the well wishes everybody. Yes, I am doing “better”. BUT… still feel awful. I am taking my little grandson to the doctor tomorrow for the same stuff. All I can say is thank God for antibiotics!
My prep… is reading what y’all are doing so I can hit the ground running… when I can run again! Great ideas, y’all (as usual!) Man, I hope there are still some of those solar lantern lamps left when I ever get “out” again.
EnoughAlready at 00:02
“I swear Im turning into Mr Monk “ There will be more “Monks” than “Rambos” that survive.
I normally use an electric shaver- today, I got blades for my razor- just in case.
DennisC
:) I think you are correct!
EnoughAlready at 00:02 I love the idea of printing out the posters….we should start a Monk flu fan club!!
Dennis C
Get yourself an inexpensive battery powered razor. It has been about 30 years since I used a blade, would not be pretty if I did. They are about 20–25 dollars and my Braun uses two AA batteries, in ample supply, in fact it gives a better closer shave than my much more expensive electric…
NauticalMan at 13:16 Yes, I have one of those Braun battery razors, but I figure I may be out of batteries and have no power after about 3 to 5 months. I tried the rechargeable batteries in the rszor but they just don’t work as well as the alkaline (slower “buzz”=lower voltage/current).
So- Yes, I have a Braun rechargable that I normally use, one of the AA Braun for my Bug out bag, and some Gillette Sensors for when there is no power or batteries.
silversage at 23:17
We don’t have a waffle iron, but we do have one of those XPress101 sandwhich makers that work just like a waffle iron. I plugged it into my Kill-A-Watt meter this weekend and found out that it uses 750 watts! That is a LOT of power, at least 15% of the output of my generator. I could see using it if you were running the genny anyway and had the power to spare, but I would definitely not run a generator just to make waffles!
On the subject of lanterns, I stopped at Wally World today and looked for a Brinkman but there were none to be found. I did find this lantern and I bought two of them. I am charging one up today (initial charging takes 20 hours) so I will test it out and report back. You can charge it either from household current or a 12 volt source. The bulbs are standard 6″, 4 watt flourescent which should be easy to find. I like the two power settings and the LED nightlight feature. The cost was $22.96 before tax.
I know it does not have a solar panel for recharging, but I already have some of those.
Hillbilly Bill at 13:33
What brand of lantern did you buy?
It would be a good idea or me to include the link….DUH!
Hillbilly Bill at 13:33
Thanks for checking that, I knew those electric buggers would be high. I have a griddle to use outside on the weber or coleman or over charcoal to make our pancakes.
kitty at 22:37
In the long run using the waffle iron from the generator probably isn’t the most efficient way to cook, but it sounds doable if your generator can handle the surge while the iron is heating up. I burned up a small generator when the sump pump and frig kicked on at the same time during a storm. I didn’t even think about it at the time, but reading all the good info here I’ve learned a lot (like I over loaded the generator). Keep reading and keep prepping!
HBB - cool light. Did you find it at Wallyworld? I’d rather not schlepp out there if this is a good option and can be ordered on-line! Thanks.
To the guys- my hubby uses the Braun battery razor and loves it. I think he even uses rechargable batteries -we have a solar recharger, that comes in handy when theres no electric.
Sign me up for the Monk Flu fan club!
I didn’t print out CDC posters, but last year I did cut out a “Prevent colds and Flu” sidebar from a magazine and put it on our bathroom mirror. It mysteriously disappeared over the summer.
LauraB- I hope the break wasn’t too serious… Theres another thread going right now-Acheille’s heel, and thats one of my big fears that someone will break a bone or need stitches or something while we’re SIP. I’ve had first aid courses, but setting a bone, or stitching someone up is definatly out of my comfort zone. Your video popcorn plan sounds like a good one- and by all means, watch out for your back! You don’t want any injuries now!
Saw this on the CNN money site review of food show.
Quick Cuisine self-heating meals
The idea: Kiss your microwave goodbye. Quick Cuisine offers shelf-stable, ready-to-eat meals that contain their own heating device. The technology - similar to that used by the Army for its MREs - lets a meal cook at 140 degrees in 10 minutes with the push of a button.
Created by Swiss chemist Nicky Sevim and developed over four years, the meals are already available in Europe and are especially popular in the United Kingdom, where 350,000 are sold each month, mostly to office workers and campers.
The debut: Albertsons, Kroger, Publix, and 7-Eleven will start carrying the meals this fall for $6 to $7 a pop.
Too pricey for me, maybe it will come down in price. I wonder what the shelf life is?
Sorry HBB - another Q. Have you tested this light out yet? I’m curious how long it stays fired up. thanks again!
LauraB at 13:45
Sorry to hear about your son’s leg, I hope he is getting along OK.
Yes, I did find it at Wally World, but no guarantee it’s going to be at all of them. If you can find it online for a decent price I would go for it. When I took it out of the box I was impressed with the weight and quality of the lantern and I REALLY like that both power adapters fit inside the base of the lantern. I have a box full of those and it hard to remember which goes with which. Plus, it has a compass in case I get lost in the house….
Did anyone ever try using a black mailbox as a solar stove yet? I’ve passed by them at Home Depot a few times but haven’t bought one to try it yet until I hear whether or not it works. I certainly can’t use a mailbox for anything else, so it woul dbe a big waste if it doesn’t work.
LauraB at 13:51
The lamp has to charge for about 20 hours before it can be used the first time. I won’t get a chance to play with it until tomorrow night. I’ll let you know how it works.
Pat at 9:15- (previous prep thread)
My daughter scooped up a bunch of tadpoles out of one of my water-collection barrals and is raising them as a science project. We didn’t know if they were frogs or toads-we are beginning to think they might be tree-frogs. One very quickly developed legs and disappeared-I guess he went over the wall.
Thanks HBB! Since there doesn’t seem to be a lot of options with solar portables out there, I’m thinking it would be good to have a few different lighting optins, like that one, or the one from REI. A solar panel for recharging battereis and running a few small other things as well. So many things, so little money…
my biggest fear is long term SIP and no water. no natural clean water sources around me. :(
LauraB at 14:14 - So many things, so little money
Ain’t that the truth! Buying a storing rice and beans was easy compared to this.
I agree that different options are a good idea. I’ve got a bunch of different cheap lanterns and lights (tap lights, etc.) that run off AA batteries. I want to be able to have some options. I’m hoping this lantern will be bright enough for cooking, playing cards, etc.
Plus, it has a compass in case I get lost in the house .
LOL!! That’s too funny!!
I have 2 Rayovac battery lanterns fron WW that are excellent light, and reasonably priced-use the Coleman bulbs….I wanted the Brinkmann for the solar……..maybe I should return all instead of just the 2 damaged ones!
I checked there for any recalls under the name Brinkmann & only came up with old stuff…..a tabletop propane heater, a cooking grill, a solar lawn light with a faceted globe that would actually magnify the sun & cause combustable materials like dry grass to catch fire.
Nothing on the Brinkmann lantern we’re all scooping up — it’s PROBABLY an internal thing at WalMart — if that’s possible — they’re probably tired of folks bringing them back or something like that…..just guessing!
Here’s a link for Heater Meals (I have not tried them, but there’s a great variety of meals and they cost less than $4.00 each).
Swann at 15:52 they look “interesting” but I can find no info about their nutritional value - that worries me- but then again I worry too much.
DennisC at 16:26
got a question for ya? How do non ham radio people benefit from ham radio? Is that the SW1 and SW2 settings on my radio that I can listen in? I’m concerned about a information black out if the power goes down long term.
I know everyone is thinking light, light, light … but the truth is most people will probably revert back to a more natural sleep cycle if the power is out for a prolonged period of time. And, any cottage industries will likely operate around those hours as well. Certainly the “have-no- prep” ers will be operating around the natural light/dark cycle.
I know when we are camping our bodies quickly adjust to going without a lot of artificial light sources. We hit the sack earlier and then get up earlier … and feel better for it to be honest.
Just a thought.
Well I am not a Ham person myself. (Eccles are you out there?) However, there are no restrictions on receiving radio signals just on transmitting. So you can listen in without any restrictions. I would imagine that the public short wave stations would be a major source of info if TSHTF. ANd yes, that should be some of the stations you hear on the SW settings.
you can find info about stations here:
and info about Voice of America is here:
http://radio.about.com/library/wyntk/bl-wyntk-voa.htm
I would think that “they” would keep that up through most emergencies.
I am hoping that my XM radio will still be funtioning durring most problems and I can power it off 12 V easy.
OH, yes, the trick to a good signal is in the antenna.
Thanks, guess I thought you were a ham person. I’ll check those out.
Kathy in FL at 17:00 I think you are right - as long as we are healthy. I have my lights mainly for the case of taking care of the sick at night.
The old story is that it was the need for more light for his mother’s surgery that Edison was motivated to invent the light bulb.
silversage at 17:05 Ham person- not that kind - just someone that likes to play in the community musicals :)
NoFluingAround at 19:47 “My gut tells me, its any day now.”
Naahh. My gut tells me we’ll be screwing around on this forum for a long time before the real deal occurs. Prep at will. I am. I’ll be ready because there’s no time like the present for making hay while the sun shines and it’s the early bird that gets the worm. Oh,… and a stitch in time saves nine (whatever that means).
anonymous at 18:19 “A stitch in time saves nine [whatever that means]”
As a long time home seamstress, what that phrase is saying is if you have a rip in a garment, it is better to repair it as soon as possible so that it doesn’t get worse — where it might only take one or two stitches when discovered, if you ignore it, then it will take 9 times that amount to fix the tear.
Thanks! And so true!
Kathy in FL: the reason I am also concerned about light is up here in the NE in the winter it gets real dark real early - we’re talking dark at 4:30/5:00. No one in my family will go to bed that early! And eventhough our recent outages were that - recent - so it was still light out later, we still went through far more batteries and candles than I ever thought we would. But in general I think you are right. I definitely hibernate more in the winter - go to bed earlier - and with no power we’ll be expending more energy cooking, etc.
Note to self, buy more kerosene for lamps
Carrey in VA at 19:47 Kerosene is OK but paraffin lights don’t “smell” as much and you don’t get that black soot on your walls.
Also did you know you can use olive oil in some of them.
You can use olive oil in kerosene lamps? huh didn’t know that. We don’t mind the kerosene smell that much. And if you keep your wicks trimmed it doesn’t smoke too bad. Plus the added benefit that they can help heat the room up.
Carrey in VA at 20:31
I use kerosene lamps and heat in my old workshop. They are OK for a while, but after 6 months or so I started to notice the black film on things (like glass in pictures) and I worried about what was going into my lungs. One problem I had was the “smoke” durring lighting and putting out the lamp.
you may want to check: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerosene_lamp
“Kerosene smoke can also cause health problems, especially respiratory problems, and especially if used in enclosed spaces.”
I try to avoid anything that might stress the respiratory system.
I have a new used Ham radio—to play around and see if it is doable. It seems a little complicated but it will be fun to have something new to learn---good for the brain cells.
here is a fair site concerning Kerosene use for “emergencies” and such.
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/hac/PHA/KeroseneSoot043004-MI/KeroseneSootHC043004.pdf
It includes the health concerns.
Love Texas at 20:51
What make/model radio did you get?
Dennis C
Concerning Kerosene health concerns, see the thread Illumination without electricity. Am using Aladdin lamp oil in my Aladdin lamp, supposedly distilled rather than refined!? Seems to give off no noticable odor or smoke, in fact the match I use to light it gives out much of what is objectionable so will switch to a butane lighter. The oil seems to be cheapest through Lehmans. Very pleased with the lamp, heads and shoulders above others, good for an almost 100 year old technology..
When I got home from work my Swiss Army lantern was all charged up so I did have a chance to test it out last night. On full power it does a good job of lighting up a normal size room. You could read or play cards by it, but it works best as a general area light. I had it on for two hours with no problems. The nightlight was also nice and bright. I may get a couple more of these if I can easily find the replacement bulbs. I’ll have to sneak them in the house though, DW is about at the end of her patience lately with prep purchases.
HB where did you get these please?
Believe it or not, Walmart. I was looking for the Brinkmann but it was out of stock.
Here is a link, but I got it for about $25 with tax at Walmart. I’m impressed with how well made and functional the lantern is so far.
HB, thanks, and also thanks for not inflicting debilitating injuries on the MU team Saturday. I read only 1 couch burned.
NJ Jeeper at 09:59
You are most welcome. Actually I think MU played a tough game and never gave up. However, if I were the WVU coach, a lot of our starters would have been on the bench for most of the second half. I never understand coaches that moan about backups not having much real game experience, but then don’t put them in until the last series of a contest that is already decided.
There was a song being played on the local radio stations called “Save a Couch, It’s only Marshall” sung to the tune of “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy”
That is really funny, I like it. Maybe next time. :-)
NJ Jeeper at 10:36 It’s definitely going to be a good rivalry and good for the state overall.
As monsoon season winds down, I’ll be taking down my tarp arrangement for harvesting rainwater. A few observations:
Right now we can’t afford a dehydrator so I experimented with dehydrating some carrots in our oven. I found a book on putting up food at Half Price books a while back and there was a section on various ways of drying/dehydrating food.
These were fresh carrots so I cleaned them and steamed them until just barely tender first. Then I spread the carrots out on cookie pans lined with paper towels and popped them into the oven, which was set as low as it would go(170 degrees).
Our oven has a feature called “speed bake” which is pretty much a fan that blows the hot air around(sort of like Congress but in our oven) so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try that as well.
Since I didn’t know how long the process would take, I set the timer for 2.5 hours and went about my business. I checked on the progress now and then just to make sure the carrots were drying and the paper towels weren’t burning.
The result? I now have about a cup worth of dehydrated carrot slices.
I’m quite pleased with the result. Now I have the option of dehydrating fruits and veggies.
One question, though: The book said to store the dehydrated foods in a cool, dry place and even recommended the fridge. I’d like to be able to store ‘em in the pantry. Is there anything I need to know or consider before I toss bags full of dehydrated foods on a shelf?
Received 2 cans of dried whole eggs, 200 oxygen absorbers, and a sampler case of smoothies from HONEYVILLEGRAIN today. Took EXACTLY 6 days from order to received at the door! WHOOO HOOOO
Today, I got a bunch of those low wattage high light output fluorescent light bulbs. I am replacing some of my incandescent bulbs. The idea is to keep my electrical load low in case I have to use a generator later.
To be honest, when I have multiple bulbs in a fixture, I keep one incandescent since the fluorescents take a while to “turn on”.
Carrey in VA, you probably already know this, just want to remind those who might not, to open your 200 oxy absorb pack & split it into smaller packages & reseal in airtight containers, like glass jars in order to keep them fresh. Don’t open the pack until you have the jars ready to fill! Be sure you don’t just stick them in a plastic container (like Rubbermaid or Tupperware or regular ziplock bags) that might not really be truly air tight since the whole purpose is for them to suck air! If they’re not airtight, they’ll absorb air through any looseness of the plastic lid & bowl until they loose their potency.
Texas Rose, I put one oxy ab in the bottom of a canning jar & then fill with my dehydrated foods & seal and set on the pantry shelf where I’m checking them weekly for any sign of mold, since I’m new to dehydrating too!
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