What have you done this week to prep? PART II

[Lex Concord]

The Big Berkey with all 2 filters installed will PURIFY not filter, PURIFY nearly 4 gallons per hour install two more filters and it jumps to 7 gph. It comes with 2 filters for about $280 Thats good for 6000 gallons of purified water, by purify, I mean it takes out bacteria and viruses. I have two Big Berkeys one for home us and one for camp use but they are both for preps, and I keep a spare set of blacks for each.(that’s the pricey part @ $120 a pair). We use it everyday for coffee, cooking, drinking.

We're on a well; lots of iron and sulfur. We love our Big Berkey.

Agreed the filters are pricey (just got another pair in today), but clean water is priceless.

Now I need to make a system to pre-filter in case I ever need to make use of the lake behind the house.

EDIT: For the curious, Berkey test results page: Black Berkey® Purification Elements Test Results ? Berkey Knowledge Base

 

[Thor]

We have a Berkey, our family never drank so much water.

 

[10-32]

Maybe we can find a time in the next couple weeks to get together over a burger with 10-32 in Plainfield. We can all bring our laptops and I can walk you guys through how to program them and the ins and outs of programming these things. THis coming week I'm booked solid in the evenings. Next week should be better.

This is the cable I was talking about BTW.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HUB0ONK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The chirp program you posted is the same I'm running. I did check out some of the links on the site you posted and it turns out the cable I'm use is a low quality knock off even though it does say Baofeng on it. I'm going to order a new cable and see what happens from there.

 

[Vigilant]

We have a Berkey, our family never drank so much water.

I believe, despite their cost, the Berkey is or should be, the #1 item on every prepper’s list.

 

[Phase2]

It is expensive up front ($250-400 depending on model), but when you calculate the cost/gallon, it is actually rather cheap (about 2 cents/gal) in the long run. *Much* cheaper than buying bottled water. Not generally something I'd recommend as a first prep, but if/when you can afford it, very worthwhile.

Makes your water taste better, have far less toxins and biological agents in it. Oh that nearly-annual boil water order due to algae in Eagle Creek or Geist Reservoir? That means that people have already been exposed to it. I just ignore it.

 

[bwframe]

Bought some of this wonder soap to play around with at home, before putting it in the BOB/vehicles/camp stuff.

 

[GLOCKMAN23C]

I see mention of programming the Baofeng radios up thread. Chances are good that the driver in windows will have to be rolled back for the cable to communicate with the radios.

Edit: Roll the driver back to 3.2.0.0.

 

[Karl-just-Karl]

I've been looking very closely at the Berkeys. The quality issues with the black filters has made me hesitant. It seems like there were a lot of negative reports from 2018-2019.

I appreciate the opinions of folks here. It has got me started thinking about getting a Berkey again.

And please, Phase2, I mean no disrespect, seriously, but recommending a $20 inverter for prepping is doing a disservice to somebody new to the process. I'm not saying the only way to go is to spend $20K on panels, inverters and batteries, but a twenty dollar inverter is only going to let someone down when they need it most. I've been there, seen it, saw others fall into the trap.

Be budget minded of course, but don't completely cheap out on your preps.

 

[churchmouse]

I've been looking very closely at the Berkeys. The quality issues with the black filters has made me hesitant. It seems like there were a lot of negative reports from 2018-2019.

I appreciate the opinions of folks here. It has got me started thinking about getting a Berkey again.

And please, Phase2, I mean no disrespect, seriously, but recommending a $20 inverter for prepping is doing a disservice to somebody new to the process. I'm not saying the only way to go is to spend $20K on panels, inverters and batteries, but a twenty dollar inverter is only going to let someone down when they need it most. I've been there, seen it, saw others fall into the trap.

Be budget minded of course, but don't completely cheap out on your preps.

The inverter in our van is not a cheapy but it will not run an older refrigerator without harming it.

 

[Karl-just-Karl]

The inverter in our van is not a cheapy but it will not run an older refrigerator without harming it.

Some of the discussions I have seen recently are concerning the output waveforms of inverters. There are many warnings about "sensitive devices" I'm guessing that based upon the smart-phone culture of today that most people would not care to find their emergency recharging plans to be halted by an inferior piece of equipment.

Caution should be taken with any IC driven device and dirty power.

More power to folks (pun intended) to those willing to run their 100+hp generators at idle due to an emergency but CM, you and I both know their are better ways to do it.

I hate to see people misled that don't understand power ratings and wattage. At the bare minimum perform due-diligence, research and acquire something that is likely to work when it is needed. Don't just grab the cheapest available on Amazon.

 

[churchmouse]

Some of the discussions I have seen recently are concerning the output waveforms of inverters. There are many warnings about "sensitive devices" I'm guessing that based upon the smart-phone culture of today that most people would not care to find their emergency recharging plans to be halted by an inferior piece of equipment.

Caution should be taken with any IC driven device and dirty power.

More power to folks (pun intended) to those willing to run their 100+hp generators at idle due to an emergency but CM, you and I both know their are better ways to do it.

I hate to see people misled that don't understand power ratings and wattage. At the bare minimum perform due-diligence, research and acquire something that is likely to work when it is needed. Don't just grab the cheapest available on Amazon.

With any aux. power source you need to have a plan. Rationing power is the key. Just attempting to live n as if nothing is wrong is not a good plan.
As mentioned we have built up more than a few battery banks with good output. They would run a refrigerator nd a furnace blower while also providing light and powering critical appliances as in TV's and other electronics. But you have to monitor what you are doing with the power.
Schedule the refrigerators run times. They will stand for a time turned off especially if they are loaded and the doors remain closed. Same with the heat source. We ran our house for almost a full weekend on a trial run using our heads and paying attention. Never once used the genny's. The food stayed cold, the house stayed warm (wood stove using furnace blower on a cycle time) we had comfortable light and a TV when we wanted it. This takes attention to the details and diligence but can be done. Fired the genny to recharge the banks and had them back up and usable in less than 3 hours.

These banks were minimum of 8 deep cycle battery's with 2 inverters. We had a source for the invertors and they came out of RV's. They were clean enough source. 4 circuit smart chargers for idle time on each bank of 4 batterys and 2 big shop chargers for times of serious use. These systems are not cheap to build but sourcing the invertors helped lot. We had the big shop chargers.

It was a fun project. Built up a few. All have been relocated to places off the grid. And they all still work. 1 has a serious solar bank keeping it topped off.

If we have to fall back onto the gennys again it will be observed and managed cycle time. Not fire and forget and refuel. Manage your reserves.

 

[Karl-just-Karl]

With any aux. power source you need to have a plan. Rationing power is the key. Just attempting to live n as if nothing is wrong is not a good plan.
As mentioned we have built up more than a few battery banks with good output. They would run a refrigerator nd a furnace blower while also providing light and powering critical appliances as in TV's and other electronics. But you have to monitor what you are doing with the power.
Schedule the refrigerators run times. They will stand for a time turned off especially if they are loaded and the doors remain closed. Same with the heat source. We ran our house for almost a full weekend on a trial run using our heads and paying attention. Never once used the genny's. The food stayed cold, the house stayed warm (wood stove using furnace blower on a cycle time) we had comfortable light and a TV when we wanted it. This takes attention to the details and diligence but can be done. Fired the genny to recharge the banks and had them back up and usable in less than 3 hours.

These banks were minimum of 8 deep cycle battery's with 2 inverters. We had a source for the invertors and they came out of RV's. They were clean enough source. 4 circuit smart chargers for idle time on each bank of 4 batterys and 2 big shop chargers for times of serious use. These systems are not cheap to build but sourcing the invertors helped lot. We had the big shop chargers.

It was a fun project. Built up a few. All have been relocated to places off the grid. And they all still work. 1 has a serious solar bank keeping it topped off.

If we have to fall back onto the gennys again it will be observed and managed cycle time. Not fire and forget and refuel. Manage your reserves.

Way to go! It sounds like you have a really nice set-up going there.

 

[woowoo2]

The inverter in our van is not a cheapy but it will not run an older refrigerator without harming it.

Pure sine wave is the term to look for.
Modified sine wave would work on restive loads, not motors.

 

[utahskies]

Researched gravity water filters for camping

 

[Phase2]

And please, Phase2, I mean no disrespect, seriously, but recommending a $20 inverter for prepping is doing a disservice to somebody new to the process. I'm not saying the only way to go is to spend $20K on panels, inverters and batteries, but a twenty dollar inverter is only going to let someone down when they need it most. I've been there, seen it, saw others fall into the trap.

Be budget minded of course, but don't completely cheap out on your preps.

I don't generally cheap out on preps, but fully admit to not being well-versed on electrical issues. Can you point me to a good site/article to give me a better understanding of the issues with cheap inverters? I'm also not interested in spending money because "more expensive is better", but would prefer to understand and judge how much to invest accordingly.

 

[Karl-just-Karl]

I don't generally cheap out on preps, but fully admit to not being well-versed on electrical issues. Can you point me to a good site/article to give me a better understanding of the issues with cheap inverters? I'm also not interested in spending money because "more expensive is better", but would prefer to understand and judge how much to invest accordingly.

I do not and will not claim to know everything about inverters. I do have an Electrical degree from the early 90s and 20+ years of experience in industrial equipment maintenance.

Here is a start: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_inverter

The very first part of the page covers waveforms. This is important info, square, sine and modified sine waves. As woowoo said, look for "pure sine wave" as a key term.

Rules of thumb, the cheaper and smaller the inverter, chances are the dirtier the waveform. Electrical components have a certain amount of ruggedness (robust engineering) built into them. Large semiconductors are expensive. The more you over-size a particular semi-conductor the longer it will last (generally speaking of course) and the more it costs. To get a better waveform takes more electronics and, again, costs more.

Small, cheap, barely-meeting-spec semiconductors usually do not have a long lifespan when ran to rated capacity. Example: you run that 300W inverter at 300 watts continuously, I am willing to bet that you won't have a 300W inverter for long. You put the same load on a 3000 watt inverter and it will probably last you a lifetime. Cost vs return kind of thing. Running electronics generates heat. Heat kills electronics. Thus the attempt to have cooling fins on the case and a cooling fan, to keep the insides from burning up.

Application is also the key. If I wanted to run a couple light bulbs off a $20 inverter and a car battery... excellent application. I would probably even have half a dozen of those little inverters lying around if I was living in a storage container.

If I am preparing for an emergency situation I would not feel comfortable relying on the cheapest one I could find for refrigeration and food storage and I would not recommend them to anyone else.

They might work and they might work for a while. I owned a Lorcin that worked sometimes too, but I wouldn't bet my life on it.

My personal opinion, if sizing an inverter, go at least 2X your anticipated load.

Without getting into more technical issues, that's about as basic as I can make it.

 

[Vigilant]

Don't just grab the cheapest available on Amazon.

INGO’s two favorite words are Bacon and Cheap, and the latter is used more than the former.

 

[Karl-just-Karl]

INGO’s two favorite words are Bacon and Cheap, and the latter is used more than the former.

I like bacon.

 

[Vigilant]

I like bacon.

You’re evidently some kind of statistical anomaly?

 

[Karl-just-Karl]

You’re evidently some kind of statistical anomaly?

Bacon isn't cheap.

I would hate to see somebody's bacon go bad when their fridge don't run because of a cheap inverter.