What have you done?

[pkveazey]

Damn!!! After listening to last nights ERIN Net, I got to thinking about just how bad supplies are going to get. Yep, I ran out and bought 48 rolls of TP to go with the 24 rolls that the wife already has. I personally don't care about "My Brand" so I've got a whole bunch stored in the attic. Even though I have a good supply of BOUNTY paper towels, I bought another package. At the moment, I'm not very concerned about having enough food stockpiled but what about my neighbors? I'm going to need to do a little to help them eat because I've passed out Radios to them and will/may need their assistance if things get dangerous. I've already told them that they better get used to Raman Noodles and White Rice because I'm going to need my other food stuffs for me and the wife. If I was a Millionaire, I'd stockpile enough food and radios for the entire area around me but that isn't the case. I'm having to focus on a small group that are closest to me. Also, I know or at least somewhat know my close in neighbors. I've mulled over the idea of supplying a previous neighbor who lived next door but moved about a mile away. He now lives on the same road I live on but he lives about 1/4 mile from the Interstate interchange near me. If anything happens down at the Interchange, it might be good to have someone down there to warn us. Hmmm.... Why would anything happen at a random interchange? Well, there are 3 Hotels, a major Truck stop, Wendy's, Popeyes, Denny's, an Italian Restraunt, and a Gas station/Convenience store. Fortunately, there is a pinch point on our road between us and the interstate because of a huge swamp with just one bridge crossing. If we can hold that bridge, we can secure our road. More and more each day, the wife and I seem to talk about how things are gradually getting worse every day. We started Prepping, "Just in case". I think we have started to pass the Just in case stage. Its is now a matter of "When". As a side note: Those open frequency BAOFENG UV5R's are not going to be available forever. With the new ones coming out locked to the Ham Bands only and the Cargo Ships locked in the harbors, you should give serious thought to getting what you can while you can. I have actually lost count of how many I have purchased. I have given one or two to every Family member, some of my neighbors, one is attached to every bug out bag, and the rest ore programmed and wrapped in aluminum foil. Lately I've switched from buying lots of incandescent lightbulbs and have been buying more LED equivalents. They draw less current and last a lot longer. If I ever need to use my Solar/Battery system, those LEDs are going to start looking pretty good. I recently started buying and installing some of those outdoor Solar charging motion detection lights and plastered them all around the sunny sides of the house. Anybody who gets near the cars or the back deck is going to get lite up like a Deer in the headlights.

[pkveazey]

After spending a bunch of money on Paper products today, I decided to check my LIGHT BULBS. Yep, that's one of the first prepper things I concentrated on. Whatcha gonna do when you have plenty of electricity and your last bulb burns out? I even have some 100 watt bulbs that you can't even buy any more. Lately, I've been buying a lot of LED bulbs because I will probably end up on my Solar system and they won't drain the batteries. Every now and then I mention that one day we will cancel our Satelite TV and our Phone system because Hyper-inflation will force us to choose between eating and watching. Well, screw 'em. We've got DVD's stocked up and will entertain ourselves with movies. I've even got one Buddy who has hundreds of DVD movies that I can borrow from. Again.... Don't forget to check you light bulb stock.

[Felix]

LED bulbs, TP, PT, all to maintain a semblence of life as we knew it.   Not a bad thing.
Buying enough food to feed neighbors isn't a bad thing either.  Is it?
What if you can't afford to buy enough?   
This isn't a pleasant thought.   But in a new world, where you are using up the "extra necessities" because supply chains were broken...

[JohnyMac]

PKv, I have been slowly changing out our light bulbs with LED lights for several reasons. One is their wattage draw is less for the same light and second is, they last a lot longer.

I know, I know, I have been pushing Aladdin kerosene Lamps for ages. Are they expensive? Yupper they are however, you see them on ebay at cheaper prices often. When I drive through a small off the beaten path town and I see an old country store or hardware store, I stop buy to see if they have any for sale. My last one I bought for $69.95 in a old hardware store. I have seen them in antique shops too. With a little elbow grease and in one case buying some parts, they work great.

Interesting story...I buy my kerosene in NY State as the stuff in PA is crap. Yeah, there are different grades of kerosene. Anyway, before I filled my 5-gallon jug I had to fill out a form. The form asked me for my name, address, and reason I was buying the kerosene for. Never had to do that before. Interesting.

[pkveazey]

We've got 2 Kerosene lamps for heat and light. We had a ton of them down on the farm and we called them "Hurricane" lamps. I've got a bunch of full Kerosene cans out in the shed but I bought some clear Liquid Paraffin to burn in them. Damn!!! I only paid $5 each for the lamps but $25 for one gallon of that paraffin. The liquid Paraffin doesn't smell like Kerosene but it does have a slightly pleasant odor. I hope I don't need to order anymore of that expensive stuff.

[FeedingFreedom]

Changing to LED bulbs was one thing that noticeably cut down our electric usage. MrsPete buys them at Costco when they're on sale, although we've only had to replace one or two, the LED might last forever, but the cheap Chicom capacitors inside don't! I have a weird fascination with LED's, I have a pretty large collection of parts and I've made quite a few either 12v or 5v lights for inside the house. I wire up the 5v units with USB plugs so they can be run pretty much anywhere.

JM you are right, PA kero is really dirty and burns terribly, usually clogs the wick too. We get ours just over the state line, the proprietor there is really friendly with MrsPete, I'll have to have her stop in and see about this form thing, I know we didn't have anything like that last winter. Probably something cooked up by the Demon Queen of Albany. I have had good luck when I've been forced to burn the local stuff by adding 8 oz of Mineral Spirits to a 5 gal jug, helps it to burn a little hotter and cleaner.

Several years ago when I was building up my oil lamp collection, I bought 2 5-gallon jugs of liquid paraffin at my favorite store, the restaurant supply. I have $50 each as a price stuck in my head, and I thought that was outrageous at the time. One of my prized possessions is the trawler lamp I took out of my boat when I sold it. I just like the light it gives, and I certainly couldn't justify buying one now, the price is 5x what I paid back then.

Lately I've been buying odd trade goods (and ones I could use myself) such as saw blades, chain saw chain, knife sharpeners, leather gloves, fishing line, etc. I've been using only my overtime and holiday pay, so I don't really even notice it in the budget.

Other than supplies, I've planted a bunch of Jerusalem Artichokes, plain daylilies (the buds are better than green beans and they're perennial), and 65 pots of hazlenut seedlings. We just keep at it right up until the buzzer.

[pkveazey]

While we have a whole bunch of candles, I remembered that we were able to heat our whole house with 43 candles during a 10 day Electrical Blackout due to a Snow and Ice Storm, so today I went to a hobby store and bought a whole bunch of Paraffin blocks and a spool of candle wicks.  Damn! that stuff was super expensive. 54 little paraffin blocks(3X2.25X1.5 inches) and one spool of wicks was $78. 

[Felix]

Applicable to my situation right now:   I'm extending"the growing season" by a few days to ripen more tomatoes and a squash in greenhouse by placing an oil lamp there during the night (temps dropping into the low 20's, interior not falling below 35F).    That "purifed" lamp is is EXPENSIVE!.   And, it congeals if left in an unheated space.  Not good.  Looking for improvement alternatives.
The issue of kerosene's burning oder and variable quality is of great interest.   I especially like the hack from FF regarding the mineral spirits added to kerosene.    And the "heads up" from JM where "signing for" something like kerosene is involved.   
Damn.  Is the fog thickening or is my eyesight failing?

[RB in GA]

PK, you might be able to extend the candle life by using clay pot heaters.  Not great, but better than nothing.
https://www.survivalsullivan.com/make-clay-pot-heater/

[DMCakhunter]

We have a few of the uco candeliers and they work really well. Can light one or two or all 3 candles. puts out a lot of heat with 3 going and can heat water or other liquids too. If inside and not too drafty, remove the top and it really lights up a room. have had the best luck with standard 9 hr (really 8.25) candles. the beeswax ones burn longer but are noticebly dimmer.

On K-1, all of the sellers that carry it here have the nozzles chained down so you can only fill a container on the ground and not a drum in the back of a truck. Had to make 6 trips to fill a drum in the garage.