Replenishing Your Water Storage
Our friend, The Berkey Guy from LPC Survival, Ltd., has shared this article with us to share with you. Enjoy!
While frequently helping individuals and families set up their emergency drinking water storage, one of the most repeated tips that surfaces is that their water storage should be routinely rotated or replenished within a six to twelve-month period. For many, this comes as an unwelcomed surprise, as if water should just be able to set there for 20 years without any problems!
This brief article offers three points for routinely replenishing existing emergency drinking water storage. It was written for those who already have a basic understanding of sound practices in storing drinking water.
Security & Quality
Replenishing your water storage within a six to twelve month period ensures that the integrity of that water remains complete and that no unwanted influences have compromised the container or the immediate storage environment.
Some authors recommend accessing the water itself and simply closing it back up if all appears alright, but I disagree. The second that the stored water is re-introduced to an outside environment such as air, tools, or hands, the potential for contamination is a done-deal. Sterile technique outside of a lab is impossible which is why I recommend using tamper-proof caps after each replenishing session. This ensures a quick visual evaluation of tampering and compromise. Rest assured, if your technique was appropriate while putting the water into storage, routine replenishing and repeated form will ensure continued success. I also recommend writing the date of storage on each tamper-proof cap as a universal reference point.
The quality of the water is always affected by appropriate storage conditions:
- Using appropriate sources of water (U.S. tap water approved for drinking is a minimum)
- Using virgin (new & unused) containers approved for water storage
- Appropriate water preservative considering container & environment
- Proper filling & sealing techniques
- Out of direct sunlight
- Away from exposure to extreme temperatures
To read the original article, click HERE.
Interview with Steve of UVPaqlite
Equip To Endure‘s Adam Francis interviewed the creator of the UVPaqlite at Mesquite’s Self-Reliance Expo last weekend. This product is truly amazing! Enjoy the video:
Self-Reliance Expo: The School of Natural Healing
The director of The School of Natural Healing, David W. Christopher, along with his team will be attending the Self-Reliance Expo in Mesquite, Texas this weekend in booths 306-308. He will be lecturing on “Self-Reliant Health” at 4 PM on Friday, and also 3 PM on Saturday.
Having been raised in the simple ways of natural health, David’s interests grew beyond his university study and in 1974 he focused on the discipline of Herbology. In 1979 he became a Master Herbalist and the director of The School of Natural Healing.Today, thousands safely apply the Christopher methodology thanks to his directorship.
David is an international lecturer and was instrumental in establishing England’s College of Herbs and Natural Healing. He is the author of An Herbal Legacy of Courage and various articles on herbs and nutrition have been published in many magazines. David and his wife Fawn host a weekly radio program, “A Healthier You“.
The School of Natural Healing has five college which offer courses:
- College of Aromatherapy
- College of Herbal Medicine
- College of Homeopathy
- College of Iridology
- College of Reflexology
David W. Christopher is pictured in the blue polo on the right.
Self-Reliance Expo: FalloutX
FalloutX provides products designed to handle minor, moderate, and acute fallout associated with radioactive events. Their website has many articles to support the education of their product’s use. They offer solutions beyond the traditional potassium iodate/iodide that most Americans only learned about as a result of Daichi’s disaster last spring.
On their site, they also offer valuable maps that provide real-time information on conditions, weather patterns, and detected radiation. Access their maps by clicking HERE.
From their website:
- If you are in the northern hemisphere, what level of Fukushima fallout are you breathing, eating, and drinking?
- Do you live near a nuclear power plant where an earthquake, flood, or similar event could cause fallout?
The U.S. Government, in 1963, sanctioned the addition of pectin in the Alaskan Brooks Range Native diet. Average total body load of radio-nuclides (radioactive fallout) was 100 times above normal. Decades later, LM pectin and kelp were administered to the children of Belarus, dramatically reducing their high body-load of 137Cs and 90Sr particles. *
Please visit their website and also be sure to visit them at the Self-Reliance Expo, booth 312.
Self-Reliance Expo: Dallas Chicken Coops
We are pleased to announce that DallasChickenCoops.com will be attending the Self-Reliance Expo this weekend in Mesquite, Texas! They will be in booths 510-512 and will be glad to answer your questions regarding building your own chicken coops, chicken coop plans & blueprints, valuable resources available to raising poultry, and many more topics related to the subject.
From their website:
Our main focus is chicken coops. There are several challenges when trying to find the right chicken coop. There are usually not that many designs available locally. So, many chicken owners are faced with building a chicken house themselves or paying to have one shipped to them. Shipping these chicken coops is not cheap!
We offer a different solution! We will bring the chicken coop to you in the Dallas area. We can build the coop on site. You can choose from any of the designs we have available or we can do custom work to suit your needs. We can build custom chickens coops in your backyard. Tell us what you want and we will get you a free quote.
Please be sure to pay them a visit and get their advice on chicken coops.
Cast Iron Collection Contest, Inspired by Backwoods Home Magazine Article: Cast Iron Loaf Pans from Breakfast to Dessert
The following article from Backwoods Home Magazine has inspired a contest over this next week. We are looking for pictures of your cast iron cookware. Please post your pictures to the Self-Reliance Expo Facebook Fanpage. The winner will receive a FREE year subscription to Backwoods Home Magazine. The article is available online and in the print edition, and was written by Matt & Linda Morehouse.
“Cast iron loaf pans are not just for bread. Nearly as versatile as the cast iron 10-inch (#8) covered skillet, the venerable cast iron loaf pan will truly see you from breakfast to dessert — and all points in between.
“Want proof? Here are four recipes ideal for cast iron loaf pans. One is for breakfast, one for anytime bread, one for a dinner entrée, and one for dessert.
(Click on the images to visit the original article at Backwoods Home Magazine)
Quick Video-Tips for the Urban Homesteader
The following clips are from Christropher Nyerges‘ appearance on National Geographic’s “Doomsday Preppers” show. He’s a smart guy who is also extremely resourceful…he should be, considering he’s living in Los Angeles, California! Christopher also attended the Self-Reliance Expo in Salt Lake City, Utah last fall, promoting his School of Self-Reliance.
Meet Christopher Nyerges Video
Make a Survival Bag
How to Start a Fire
How to Forage
Using Nature to Heal
You will be able to watch this season’s new series premiere of Doomsday Preppers on the National Geographic channel Tuesday, February 7, 9 PM ET/PT.
Pantry Paratus Wondermill Electric Grain Mill Give-Away
With the Dallas Texas’ Self-Reliance Expo almost 1 week away, it’s time you know that our good friends from Pantry Paratus™ will be hosting a FREE Give-Away of a Wondermill Electric Grain Mill. The drawing will take place on Saturday, February 11 at their booth #100-101.
Wilson & Chaya will both be conducting educational classes at the Expo:
Wilson- will teach the Basics of Dehydrating Food…using an Excalibur Food Dehydrator (although he’ll share principles of dehydrating)
Chaya- will teach Milling Flour at Home
How to sign-up for the drawing:
- Buy your tickets for Mesquite, Texas’ Self-Reliance Expo (February 10 & 11) HERE.
- Visit Pantry Paratus’ booth #100-101 and write your valid email to sign up for their newsletter
- Make arrangements to be there on Saturday when they will draw the lucky winner’s name & email…and cross your fingers!
For details of the drawing, please visit PantryParatus.com and send them an email or call them.
We wish you good luck!
Homestead Gadgets & Technology: The Fencerunner
January/February 2012
This article was featured recently by our friends at BackWoodsHome.com. This is just one of the reasons I enjoy their magazine. It provides insight into Self-Reliant living, educational articles, along with humor & classifieds too!
Author: Dietmar Berg
Here’s a gadget I developed to run barb or barbless wire. You mount it on the back of a pickup truck using the ball hitch (see drawing) so the wire can spin off the roll. I call the device the Fencerunner and am currently trying to market it. It works like a charm and saved me hours of work, enabling my sons and I to do a quarter mile fence in 45 minutes.
The unit uses the ball hitch or tunnel hitch attachment found on some cars and most trucks. It can be adjusted to use one or two rolls of wire. It consists of two units, the fork unit and the bar unit. The fork is installed as shown in the figure. The ball itself is used to secure the fork unit to the hitch. The bar unit consists of a shaft assembly to hold the wire rolls. The shaft of the bar unit is inserted through the wire rolls. The disc is next and then the spacer. The bar unit has three spacers for different width wire rolls. The next step is to lift the bar unit and insert the two slots on the fork unit.
Two views of the Fencerunner, one showing a tunnel hitch installation and the other a ball hitch installation.
With my first prototype, I had to lift an 80-pound roll and drop it over a vertical shaft. I found this difficult, so with my second prototype I made the fork unit with more of a horizontal angle.
You need to park the vehicle as close to the fence posts as possible, securing the end of the wire from the roll to the first post to start the run. The vehicle is then driven slowly along the fence line as the wire spools off the roll. When the vehicle reaches the end of the run or when the wire roll has about three turns of wire left, insert the wire into one of the slots in the fork unit. This will kink the wire and keep the bar unit from turning. Then drive the vehicle forward just enough to stretch the wire. Another person can signal the driver when the wire is taut. At this point the wire is simply lifted up to each post and secured. I didn’t need a wire stretcher when I did my fence.
The crank handle on the unit allows you to reel in the old barbwire instead of just leaving it on the ground.
This article was originally published in Issue #68 March/April 2001. CLICK HERE to begin your subscription to Backwoods Home Magazine.
Self-Reliance Expo’sed Radio Show, Friday, January 28, 2012
Join Colorado Ron & Bubba Davinci on their show tonight 8 pm Central on the Preparedness Radio Network. (Click the image for the link or click HERE.)
This week 1/27/2012, on Self-Reliance Expozed, the official Self-Reliance Expo radio show, your hosts Colorado Ron and Bubba DaVinci will be introducing themselves and discussing what the future brings for both the Self-Reliance Expo and Self Reliance Expo’zed.
Tonight they’ll have a special guest who is a long time supporter of the Self-Reliance movement and creator of one of the best solar back-up power units on the market The Humless Sentinel. We will also be introducing a segment called “Radiation Watch”.
BHM Radio and Self Reliance Exposed will alternate weeks in this time slot, Friday at 8pm Central. Please join us again next week for our BHM Radio Show!
Featured Product: The Doom and Bloom™ Survival Medicine Handbook
I, for one, am super-excited to pick up Dr. Bones & Nurse Amy’s new book: 
Check out the trailer for the new book:
We look forward to reviewing this book & posting that review here…Stay Tuned!
-David SafeWater
Dallas, Texas Self-Reliance Expo: WIN FREE Tickets!!!
With the Dallas’ Self-Reliance Expo right around the corner February 10-11, we want to give individuals and families the opportunities to win FREE tickets to the Self-Reliance Expo! (It’s actually gonna happen in Mesquite, just east of Dallas). What we are looking for:
- Entertaining videos which highlight/demonstrate your most innovative Self-Reliance Creations, Contraptions, or Inventions (this can include modifications to products that you use or a tool that you created to fit your needs)
- A brief & entertaining instructional video that teaches a Self-Reliance Skill or Short-Cut
- A 2-3 minute silent video on anything Self-Reliance themed:
- Comedy/Parody
- Educational
- Entertaining/Creative
- Product Review
- A humorous video that features a song you write & perform on:
- Self-Reliance
- the Benefits/Joys of being a Prepper
- Buggin’ Out
- Things Preppers Say
- Life on the Homestead
We have plenty of tickets to give away for the most creative, fun, and entertaining submissions, so have fun & be SAFE! Only selected submissions will win tickets to the event. Winners will be selected by judges from the Self-Reliance Expo, based on creativity & entertainment. We look forward to seeing your content!
It almost goes without saying, but please remember that the content should be appropriate for families to share & we will be featuring the winners on the Self-Reliance Facebook fanpage, an interview, and will likely be featured on other websites online. By submitting the content, you are allowing the Self-Reliance Expo to use that content in a promotional manner, with the opportunity to win a prize of tickets for admission to the Self-Reliance Expo referenced above. You must be the original producer of the content that you submit. Any prizes awarded for selected & featured content do not hold cash value, void where prohibited, winner must confirm contact, blah, blah, blah…
Several Ways to Submit Content:
- Upload your content to your YouTube account & Email the link to david[at]selfrelianceexpo[dot]com, or
- Upload your content to your Facebook account & share it on the Self-Reliance Expo Facebook Fanpage, or
- Send an Email to: david[at]selfrelianceexpo[dot]com with a link to your content outside of Youtube & Facebook
Winning submissions will be notified via email and announced here & on the Self-Reliance Facebook Fanpage. Content will be accepted until February 6, 2012, with the earliest announcement of Ticket winners beginning this Saturday, January 28, 2012. We are accepting submissions from anywhere and everywhere. Remember: be safe, have fun, and be creative!
I’m thinking that if we get enough submissions…we can open it up for a grand prize winner to be announced at the February’s Self-Reliance Expo…the Grand Prize will be awarded to the winner there. The Grand Prize is yet to be determined….but it’s gonna be GOOD!
-David SafeWater