PREP Morbid War-Gaming for Prep Choices

[LightEcho]

I know that at times we discuss some pretty wild possibilities for things to play out. Sometimes they get pretty bizarre and even morbid. I think some of my penchant for doing this comes from my military experience, and a fair chunk from having seen the corruption eating away at this country and the world. Bizarre thoughts are bound to happen in this bizarre world.

Here is what is eating me right now. With limited funds I have many desired options that I cannot afford. Sound familiar? I want a solar power system and will do most of the work myself. I figure that would cost in the range of $12k. I have trees that need to be taken down professionally because of their size and location. That would cost $3k. I have a garage that needs a new roof. What is there now might get me through one more winter. That is $2k.

If commerce is going to be shut down, I will want to get the solar equipment now, keep a cheap cover for the garage roof, and worry about the trees later. This is the direction I am pushing, so that we have a long term backup for power. I already have a gasoline generator, but when gas runs out that is done.

Prepping for the long term is foremost in my mind. For me, longterm means years.... although who knows how much time any of us really has? I am kind of surprised I am still here this year. It looks like we may have the death by a thousand cuts coming our way. But one of those cuts could be a big one early on.

If there is a better option for power - like an over-unity motor, that might be a good choice. But I have not heard much about that yet. I just don't want to be in a place where I have not covered the power supply needs and then we have a grid shut-down because I did not listen to warnings of impending doom. This is why I like TB2K- great info here and some smart people chipping in with excellent ideas.

 

[bw]

If there is a better option for power - like an over-unity motor, that might be a good choice. But I have not heard much about that yet.

Basing preps on the availability of a perpetual motion machine does not sound like prudent planning.

 

[Mongo]

Your biggest immediate threat is the trees falling on your house (I presume that's why you want them taken down).
IF that is the case - deal with them. Get r done.

You can probably do the roof yourself although at 2k maybe that is your plan.

As far as 12K solar......my Lord, just what did people DO before electricity? How did they LIVE?
Maybe focus on some of THAT (unless money really isn't an issue and then - go for it)

 

[LightEcho]

Your biggest immediate threat is the trees falling on your house (I presume that's why you want them taken down).
IF that is the case - deal with them. Get r done.

You can probably do the roof yourself although at 2k maybe that is your plan.

As far as 12K solar......my Lord, just what did people DO before electricity? How did they LIVE?
Maybe focus on some of THAT (unless money really isn't an issue and then - go for it)

There is one tree that is a threat to the house... but they also block 2-3 hours of sunlight. That is good in the heat of the summer if there are no solar panels, but they cut back on the efficiency of the solar investment.

Electric power gives you many possibilities when others don't have it. Well water. Freezers. The ability to weld. Power tools. (Ham radio- another future investment.) Electric power can provide a strong bartering supply.

If I fix the garage roof myself, I think I can cut that cost in half.

 

[Marthanoir]

Not being able to afford a full off grid set up I just prepped to do without, my home didn't receive electricity until the mid 80's anyway so its already set up for doing without, I do have a small roll up panel for charging the laptop & cell phone, solar would be iffy here as we don't get a great deal of sunshine, I thought about setting up a small battery bank and using an old bike to charge it, I do a couple of hours on an exercise bike most nights anyway so better to harness that , plus I can always get the kids on it too

 

[dieseltrooper]

Have you considered a recon of the Craigslist barter section? might be some avenues there, depending on what you have to work with in trade, including your military skills. Training?

 

[raven]

he WANTS solar

but lives in the forest

has to take the trees down to harvest sunlight for the solar

needs a new roof on the garage because well . . . that is where he wants to put the solar panels

 

[jehu]

Do you have a chainsaw?

A 500 investment will procure you a rock solid chainsaw, that can allow you to cut the trees yourself, provide a stash of firewood for future heating, prep the area for your solar investment, and save you 1500 - 2500 that you can put towards your solar costs.

INstead of heat, you could mill the wood with your shainsaw, and build a platform for a home-made windmill situation to start you on your silent Electric production.

 

[billet]

Electric power can provide a strong bartering supply.

It can also be a magnet for those that don't have and want to steal what you've got!

 

[Marthanoir]

It can also be a magnet for those that don't have and want to steal what you've got!

We have a neighbour on the other side of the valley who has gennie, every time the power goes out he cranks it up and you can hear it for miles around echoing off the valley

 

[Easy G]

Could you trade the firewood generated from felling the trees to someone who knows what they are doing dropping large trees? If you could do it yourself could you sell the firewood to pay for the roof (or half the roof with you doing it yourself). If so then you really only have a solar system affordability problem. (Don't we all : )

 

[LightEcho]

I have a wood stove... one of the first things I got when I bought this place more than 15 years ago. I have a chain saw and splitter, so there is no problem withme harvesting firewood. BUT- these trees are enormous in front yard. Each tree is probably 2 cords of wood- maybe 3. 30-inch diameter trees and maybe 150 feet high.... these would land in the road. It would take me weeks to clean these up myself, whereas a professional will come in with a crane and move the wood to a pile for me.

If I delay the cutting of these, I may find desperate people in the months ahead who can climb and cut these safely a little at a time- a cheaply. Besides tha ocst, having all of them cut at once will cause me storage problems for the wood. I can make do- but it would be a challenge.

 

[Garryowen]

If you have room to have the trees dropped and then clean it up yourself, you could save a lot of expense there. Probably you have some neighbors who would help you for whatever wood they could haul away for themselves.

If the trees are good timber trees, a buyer might pay you something for them, in addition to taking the trunks when they fell the trees. You might be able to get rid of the trees and come out a few bux ahead. All depending, of course, on how desirable the lumber is.

Another possibility might be to see about using propane for power generation. Propane stores forever, AFAIK, and you could put in a large tank. I understand that it takes an engine designed specifically to use propane, though.

 

[LightEcho]

Most lumber places won't take "yard trees" since they may have nails in them. These are beautiful oaks and the wook is probably prime. I may just call a lumber yard and see if they would value them. If I can get more than the cost of firewood AND have them cut them down- that would be a good move!

For the $3k I was looking at stocking up 10 cords from these trees. At $150/cord (log length), this returns me $1500 of my cost... but I cannot use that much in 2 years.... good prep though. If I can sell the wood for lumber and even break even (they cut and take) - I will have at least couple cords of scrap firewood left over and the trees gone with no out-of-pocket expense.

My guesstimates are probably way off. These trees may be 4 or 5 chords each x 4 trees. I need to do more research.

I would not dare try to drop these myself. These would take out power lines and block the road. They need to be climbed or crane-topped.

 

[jehu]

Most lumber places won't take "yard trees" since they may have nails in them.

... but I cannot use that much in 2 years.... good prep though.

You want to have 2-5 years of wood ahead of time.

It takes 2 years to really season wood, and the longer you season it, the better it burns. Clean and hot.

A wood pile is like money in the bank, and the good news is most thieves are going to walk right past it, not recognizing its value.

You are right, most lumber mills will not take yard trees because of the nail issue.

 

[lostinaz]

Some generators can be VERY quiet. The Honda EU2000i is very quiet and even better when you convert it to propane. I have used it my self and can tell you if you build a simple insulated enclosure for it you would hardly hear it at all. I have a friend who lives off-grid and uses this to supplement solar panels when it's cloudy or he wants to run a few more things at the same time. It easily runs all the lights and TV in his house. Consider if you want to go off-grid then cheapest way to do it is to reduce you energy use by going with more energy efficient appliances or ones that run off propane. Whole house HVAC is out, but a swamp cooler is doable, for example, unless you want to spend an insane amount of money.

 

[LightEcho]

Another thought has been kicking around. Faraday cages. If we got hit by an EMP or we had a huge solar flare slam the earth, do any of you have plans to protect solar panels. or household electrical systems?

Would chicken wire over the house be enough to catch most of the energy? I thought about buying some chicken wire that I could unroll -draping it over the house and ground it. Then mains could be pulled out from the grid. This all presumes there is a warning. But would it work? Also- the chicken wire could be used for cages after the threat is gone.

 

[mecoastie]

What do you need to power? What are the alternatives? To me the trees and the garage roof are way more important. The trees could fall on the house and then you are out shelter. The garage provides storage that post disaster could be vital to your survival. Having a dry place to store wood, food, equipment etc will be precious. A tarp works for a couple years but a good roof will last 30+. To me the solar is a luxury. Find work arounds to the electricity and look at getting a small solar system for your critical loads. My solar is for basic lights and comms. I can get water from rain water collection, a well bucket etc. I can cook on the woodstove. Fridge is nice to have but I can can everything.

 

[imaginative]

Have you considered a recon of the Craigslist barter section? might be some avenues there, depending on what you have to work with in trade, including your military skills. Training?

A year or 2 ago I put an ad on the local craigslist barter section. I was willing to trade a non-running Kaw 250 enduro motorcycle for the dropping and cutting of 24 trees. I must have gotten 20 responses.

 

[Jake Grey]

If you can't afford the full-blown solar system, I would recommend spending just a few hundred bucks on a couple of solar panels (Harbor Freight and Northern Tool are where I purchased panels on sale), a deep cycle battery or two, and a few odd and ends (adapters and such) to be able to charge batteries and keep a few electronic devices charged/running.