Lesson Learned

For $500 you could have bought a generator, and not only would you have no need for any of those other things, but you would not have to replace all the food in your fridge/freezer every time you lose power.

Yup, think about that all the time! Even when the weather is nice! Run an extension cable to the kitchen and another to the LR. Can't do that for AC/furnace/WH and other people oven/stove.

My biggest fear is a blizzard, power goes out, HUGE gas bill heating the kitchen to protect the pipes but burst anyway in the bathroom. Remember the ice storm of '02? Pipes didn't burst but had a monster gas bill. Got lucky, gas oven and water heater. Gas fireplace in the LR, that's where the bill came from! Did a lot of reading by flash light that week. Tom Clancy was my friend!

For $500 you could have bought a generator, and not only would you have no need for any of those other things, but you would not have to replace all the food in your fridge/freezer every time you lose power. Originally Posted by MisterLebowski

It all depends on what you are preparing for. I have about 30 gallons of water in water bricks, enough freeze dried food for a month by myself, 8 gallons of treated gas (that I rotate and I try to never go below half a tank in my car) and outdoor gear that keeps me comfortable to 0 degrees with no problem.

I have what I consider 2 weeks worth of preparedness. Mostly because I expect to share some of it if there was a serious problem like the 02 ice storms. This is also a worse case scenario because I have food in the fridge and water in the hot water heater. But if there is a problem with the water supply, which has happened in several places around the country in the last few years, I like to have a decent short term backup plan like my water bricks.

If you really want to prepare try getting into camping or more importantly hiking. You will slowly accumulate things that will help you if there are problems. About every other order for replacement mountain house meals I would order an additional #10 can as a prep. I also keep 1-2 cases of MREs because I like to have one on me when camping or hiking in case I have water issues. So when I'm ready to open the last case I order a new one. They don't last as long so it's an easy way to rotate food. Plus you end up with water filters, practice with fire, more appropriate clothing, efficient flashlights and other lighting, etc.

Plus, while I do think it is important to be ready for issues, just try to be aware that you probably have a lot of what you need already if there is a big problem. Like your hot water heater and toilet tanks for clean water, that hamburger helper that sits in the back of the cabinet but ordering pizza always sounds better, etc. It's important to see those things so you know where to start and for piece of mind in a real emergency.

And then the most important advice I have. Keep 2 different stashes of cash. One of a couple hundred in smaller bills that you never touch unless there is an emergency. Then another that covers the donation of your favorite girl. You never know when you will have free time and your banks ATMs might be down. Don't be like me last week where I was low on cash, had a work emergency that stopped me from going to the ATM, while I had a girl coming over for an outcall. I had to scramble for cash and lucked into having enough. Be prepared.

I like some of your ideas. Some might be a little over the top for me. I rejected water bricks for plain ol' 5 gallon buckets! Unless your water is sterile, you HAVE to rotate it! Otherwise, you'll have evil green and brown slime growing on the inside and/or sludge collecting on the bottom and Water Bricks look like they'd be a real bitch to clean.

For the past few months I have gotten into "harvesting" rain water. Rather than a long story of why I do that suffice to say it evolved. Started with just improving the taste of my coffee and went to cooking and drinking. Don't shower with it, be nice tho to try. I don't collect runoff from the roof, I have 4 plastic tubs. Doesn't take long to have more than you need. At least this year anyway. Yes, it has to be filtered and it is a royal pain in the ass. I have about 20 gallons. According to me, I make the best coffee on the planet! "18 cup", 3 American mugs, stovetop espresso with Starbucks Italian Roast or Sumatra. BOOM!

My kids call it "mud"!

Might be my imagination but I'd swear my intestines, bladder, kidneys and prostate like what I'm doing!

In a proper container you have at least a year for untreated tap water. The main problem is it will seem to taste off because the oxygen will make its way out. The reason I went the water bricks route is that I can transport it easier than almost anything else. If I wanted to head to a friend's house because they were going to be a little better off I could load my truck up in 10 min and be off with the amount of water I wanted. I do have them labeled with a date and rotate the water and disinfect once a year.

I have even taken a couple camping just in case. I almost bought a large barrel but I liked the flexibility.

I admit there could be some benefit to literally throw them in the back of the truck. Can't do that with buckets. Never mind spillage from buckets. The cost would lend me to taking the time to place them in the back of the truck. But then, I don't have a truck either.

I have a few pictures that will make you rethink your strategy of keeping straight tap water. These pictures got me into saving (harvesting) rainwater and the hassle that goes with it! I'd bet your "off taste" of your water is more than oxygen. It's also the dissolved and undissolved particulate matter in all tap water. And that varies from town to town if not home to home. In other words that shit settles and gets nasty.

In a proper container you have at least a year for untreated tap water. The main problem is it will seem to taste off because the oxygen will make its way out. The reason I went the water bricks route is that I can transport it easier than almost anything else. If I wanted to head to a friend's house because they were going to be a little better off I could load my truck up in 10 min and be off with the amount of water I wanted. I do have them labeled with a date and rotate the water and disinfect once a year.

I have even taken a couple camping just in case. I almost bought a large barrel but I liked the flexibility. Originally Posted by bigryan2222

Shit settles but most tap water in the United States is safe for long periods of time in a clean container and a controlled environment. Worst case senerio for me is I have to use a water filter that I already have with filters I'm well acustom too using already. My only real concern about water supply is if some company screws up and dumps a shit load of chemicals into the water supply. I don't have filters for that and it is also the most realistic mass water issue in my opinion.

Well, if you conduct a 6th grade science experiment and boil any water down to nothing in a dark container with the lid and see with your own eyes what's left you'll ask yourself just who's interpretation of "safe" you want to ride with. You have to admit the water department is NOT going to announce to not drink the water unless the water is already seriously nasty! Even then they'll do a study! All four of my eyes tell me I'd just assume not drink tap water all the time.

Yes, we've all been drinking it for our whole lives but once you SEE what you're drinking it's "OH SHIT!". I've been filtering my water too for 10+ years. Filtering, I discovered, takes out about half of that stuff you don't want in there, depending on the brand and type of filter. For the longest time I thought filtered water was as good as bottled water . . . it ain't as I found out with the same 6th grade science experiment.

City water is safer than safe.

Carry on.

Considering a lot of bottled water is city tap water I wouldn't hold it in that high of regards.

I am well aware of what is in tap water. I took extra chemistry classes in high school and one of our practical experiments was to show the difference between tap water, bottled water and distilled water.

No offense but your four eyed test doesn't mean shit considering this is the safest water to drink for thousands of years. I little bit of knowledge helps make irrational choices. You are not hurting yourself with your quest for "cleaner" water, but you weren't going to die from tap water anyway unless you fell asleep in the tub.

I got a whole house propane generator (I'm out in the country and don't have a Natural Gas line), with 1000 gal tank (propane also supplies furnace, and stove). I sized the generator, not for the winter, but for the summer. It can run my A/C, fridge, freezer and electric water heaters for a week. My biggest fear was coming back after being gone on vacation in the summer to find all the food in my fridge and freezer spoiled, and the mess it would make inside the house. The stink of rotting meat is hard to get out of a fridge (ask me how I know). The propane tank can run my generator for more than 5 days, longer if I take actions to conserve.

Regarding water supply, my house has two 50 gal water heaters. That's 100 gal of fresh potable water in the event of a water outage.

Regarding food, lots of deer meat in the freezer if my generator works.

Whatever you say dudes:

16oz Independence tap water:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ic515qfn1m...Water.jpg?dl=0

16oz same with Brita:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8v97pdeh60...ndard.jpg?dl=0

16oz rainwater
https://www.dropbox.com/s/kgqnr2lari...ter1.jpeg?dl=0

Go with whatever chokes your chicken!

Worth mentioning no filter - OP:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6g36ftmdpo...0Tap.jpeg?dl=0

Topeka:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/t6prgm761s...aTap.jpeg?dl=0

P.S. Nestle's bottled water is almost as good as rainwater. Can't find/deleted the picture.

Considering a lot of bottled water is city tap water I wouldn't hold it in that high of regards.

I am well aware of what is in tap water. I took extra chemistry classes in high school and one of our practical experiments was to show the difference between tap water, bottled water and distilled water.

No offense but your four eyed test doesn't mean shit considering this is the safest water to drink for thousands of years. I little bit of knowledge helps make irrational choices. You are not hurting yourself with your quest for "cleaner" water, but you weren't going to die from tap water anyway unless you fell asleep in the tub. Originally Posted by bigryan2222

Whatever you say dudes:

16oz Independence tap water:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ic515qfn1m...Water.jpg?dl=0

16oz same with Brita:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8v97pdeh60...ndard.jpg?dl=0

16oz rainwater
https://www.dropbox.com/s/kgqnr2lari...ter1.jpeg?dl=0

Go with whatever chokes your chicken!

Worth mentioning no filter - OP:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6g36ftmdpo...0Tap.jpeg?dl=0

Topeka:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/t6prgm761s...aTap.jpeg?dl=0

P.S. Nestle's bottled water is almost as good as rainwater. Can't find/deleted the picture. Originally Posted by dumars

Have you bothered to find out what that white substance is? It's calcium and magnesium carbonate. Commonly found in dietary supplements and antacids. It's a sign of hard water and science leans towards that it is more likely better for you than pure water.

Dumars...I would expect minerals to be left behind after boiling water. They are not harmful in any way. And I agree with Bigryan - I avoid drinking distilled water because it has no minerals and may actually remove said minerals from your body on its trip through.

I don't want to get too specific about my real life, but I have been involved with water treatment projects. You are making assumptions that don't at all jibe with the real world treatment and testing program. Btw...getting the water safe is the easy part. Making it taste good (which may involve the minerals in your pot) and look good takes most of the effort.

We live in an amazing modern era where clean safe water is easy to get. If you want to drink gnats and bird shit in your coffee, nobody should care...but please bother to know what you are talking about before condemning the water supply.

Those white and brown (Topeka) substances are particulates picked up along the way in the pipes carrying our water. It is present in every plumbing system in the civilized world and meets a minimum level of "safety". Accepting this "safety" level is a personal preference. That's why bottled water is big business. Think Nestle, CocaCola, Pepsi. Europeans have been drinking bottled water for more than a hundred years. Think Evian. Simply put, more and more people just aren't accepting this level of "safety" as valid.

This calcium does NOT occur naturally. It is a result of "bleeding" from man made galvanized pipes!!!** Which is STILL used in some water mains. Again, acceptance of it's "safety" is a personal choice! In my world, I find it hard to accept how foreign, man made, particulates/contaminates can be entirely "safe". Does that "acceptable level" really mean anything? I can tell you a story from 30+ years ago that would take up another two paragraphs. I'm sure you don't want to hear it! The water in Detroit was initially hailed as "safe" if you'll recall. It took a couple hundred people carrying 2 litre bottles of colored "safe" water to convince somebody it wasn't so "safe" after all. Shit rolled down hill from there.

Ever look inside your toilet tank and see brown crud on the bottom? That's years of accumulated mater the water company is telling us is "safe". Think about that. If you have a gas water heater you might hear a rumble after a couple of years. That rumble is accumulated sediment ("safe" particulates) reacting to heat from the heating element. Don't have that problem with electric 'cause of the position of the heating elements but the sediment is still there.

That's enough, WHEW!!!

**I took a "Maintenance" course very long ago. One of the subjects was plumbing! Covered water plant to faucet.

Have you bothered to find out what that white substance is? It's calcium and magnesium carbonate. Commonly found in dietary supplements and antacids. It's a sign of hard water and science leans towards that it is more likely better for you than pure water. Originally Posted by bigryan2222