Learning from Sarajevo or living through 3 years of hell

You probably haven't heard of Sarajevo. I hadn't. It's in Bosnia.

But we both have hear of World War 1. It was here in 1914 that the heir to the throne of Austria was assassinated.
They also hosted the 1984 Olympic games. But it also endured over 3 years of siege during the Bosnia war that cost thousands of lives.

So when it comes to doing it yourself these people did it. Themselves.
Here's is what survivors have to say about how you can survive 3 brutal years.


1. Stockpiling helps. but you never no how long trouble will last, so locate near renewable food sources.

2. Living near a well with a manual pump is like being in Eden.

3. After awhile, even gold can lose its luster. But there is no luxury in war quite like toilet paper. Its surplus value is greater than gold's.

4. If you had to go without one utility, lose electricity - it's the easiest to do without (unless you're in a very nice climate with no need for heat.)

5. Canned foods are awesome, especially if their contents are tasty without heating. One of the best things to stockpile is canned gravy - it makes a lot of the dry unappetizing things you find to eat in war somewhat edible. Only needs enough heat to "warm", not to cook. It's cheap too, especially if you buy it in bulk.

6. Bring some books - escapist ones like romance or mysteries become more valuable as the war continues. Sure, it's great to have a lot of survival guides, but you'll figure most of that out on your own anyway - trust me, you'll have a lot of time on your hands.

7. The feeling that you're human can fade pretty fast. I can't tell you how many people I knew who would have traded a much needed meal for just a little bit of toothpaste, rouge, soap or cologne. Not much point in fighting if you have to lose your humanity. These things are morale-builders like nothing else.

8. Slow burning candles and matches, matches, matches

This isn't my list of suggestions. This isn't some guys suggestions. This list was written after the fact. This is more real than anything else I can post.
And to compliment it I will now list the first 100 items that disappeared from store shelves.

1. Generators (Good ones cost dearly. Gas storage, risky. Noisy...target of thieves; maintenance etc.)

2. Water Filters/Purifiers

3. Portable Toilets

4. Seasoned Firewood. Wood takes about 6 - 12 months to become dried, for home uses.

5. Lamp Oil, Wicks, Lamps (First Choice: Buy CLEAR oil. If scarce, stockpile ANY!)

6. Coleman Fuel. Impossible to stockpile too much.

7. Guns, Ammunition, Pepper Spray, Knives, Clubs, Bats & Slingshots.

8. Hand-can openers, & hand egg beaters, whisks.

9. Honey/Syrups/white, brown sugar

10. Rice - Beans - Wheat
11. Vegetable Oil (for cooking) Without it food burns/must be boiled etc.,)
12. Charcoal, Lighter Fluid (Will become scarce suddenly)
13. Water Containers (Urgent Item to obtain.) Any size. Small: HARD CLEAR PLASTIC ONLY - note - food grade if for drinking.
14. Mini Heater head (Propane) (Without this item, propane won't heat a room.)
15. Grain Grinder (Non-electric)
16. Propane Cylinders (Urgent: Definite shortages will occur.
17. Survival Guide Book.
18. Mantles: Aladdin, Coleman, etc. (Without this item, longer-term lighting is difficult.)
19. Baby Supplies: Diapers/formula. ointments/aspirin, etc.

20. Washboards, Mop Bucket w/wringer (for Laundry)
21. Cookstoves (Propane, Coleman & Kerosene)
22. Vitamins
23. Propane Cylinder Handle-Holder (Urgent: Small canister use is dangerous without this item)
24. Feminine Hygiene/Haircare/Skin products.
25. Thermal underwear (Tops & Bottoms)

26. Bow saws, axes and hatchets, Wedges (also, honing oil)
27. Aluminum Foil Reg. & Heavy Duty (Great Cooking and Barter Item)
28. Gasoline Containers (Plastic & Metal)
29. Garbage Bags (Impossible To Have Too Many).
30. Toilet Paper, Kleenex, Paper Towels

31. Milk - Powdered & Condensed (Shake Liquid every 3 to 4 months)
32. Garden Seeds (Non-Hybrid) (A MUST)
33. Clothes pins/line/hangers (A MUST)
34. Coleman's Pump Repair Kit
35. Tuna Fish (in oil)

36. Fire Extinguishers (or..large box of Baking Soda in every room)
37. First aid kits
38. Batteries (all sizes...buy furthest-out for Expiration Dates)
39. Garlic, spices & vinegar, baking supplies
40. Big Dogs (and plenty of dog food)

41. Flour, yeast & salt
42. Matches. {"Strike Anywhere" preferred.) Boxed, wooden matches will go first
43. Writing paper/pads/pencils, solar calculators
44. Insulated ice chests (good for keeping items from freezing in Wintertime.)
45. Workboots, belts, Levis & durable shirts

46. Flashlights/LIGHTSTICKS & torches
47. Journals, Diaries & Scrapbooks (jot down ideas, feelings, experience; Historic Times)
48. Garbage cans Plastic (great for storage, water, transporting - if with wheels)
49. Men's Hygiene: Shampoo, Toothbrush/paste, Mouthwash/floss, nail clippers, etc
50. Cast iron cookware (sturdy, efficient)

51. Fishing supplies/tools
52. Mosquito coils/repellent, sprays/creams
53. Duct Tape
54. Tarps/stakes/twine/nails/rope/spikes
55. Candles

56. Laundry Detergent (liquid)
57. Backpacks, Duffel Bags
58. Garden tools & supplies
59. Scissors, fabrics & sewing supplies
60. Canned Fruits, Veggies, Soups, stews, etc.

61. Bleach (plain, NOT scented: 4 to 6% sodium hypochlorite)
62. Canning supplies, (Jars/lids/wax)
63. Knives & Sharpening tools: files, stones, steel
64. Bicycles...Tires/tubes/pumps/chains, etc
65. Sleeping Bags & blankets/pillows/mats

66. Carbon Monoxide Alarm (battery powered)
67. Board Games, Cards, Dice
68. d-con Rat poison, MOUSE PRUFE II, Roach Killer
69. Mousetraps, Ant traps & cockroach magnets
70. Paper plates/cups/utensils (stock up, folks)

71. Baby wipes, oils, waterless & Antibacterial soap (saves a lot of water)
72. Rain gear, rubberized boots, etc.
73. Shaving supplies (razors & creams, talc, after shave)
74. Hand pumps & siphons (for water and for fuels)
75. Soysauce, vinegar, bullions/gravy/soupbase

76. Reading glasses
77. Chocolate/Cocoa/Tang/Punch (water enhancers)
78. "Survival-in-a-Can"
79. Woolen clothing, scarves/ear-muffs/mittens
80. Boy Scout Handbook, / also Leaders Catalog

81. Roll-on Window Insulation Kit (MANCO)
82. Graham crackers, saltines, pretzels, Trail mix/Jerky
83. Popcorn, Peanut Butter, Nuts
84. Socks, Underwear, T-shirts, etc. (extras)
85. Lumber (all types)

86. Wagons & carts (for transport to and from)
87. Cots & Inflatable mattress's
88. Gloves: Work/warming/gardening, etc.
89. Lantern Hangers
90. Screen Patches, glue, nails, screws,, nuts & bolts

91. Teas
92. Coffee
93. Cigarettes
94. Wine/Liquors (for bribes, medicinal, etc,)
95. Paraffin wax

96. Glue, nails, nuts, bolts, screws, etc.
97. Chewing gum/candies
98. Atomizers (for cooling/bathing)
99. Hats & cotton neckerchiefs
100. Goats/chickens (funny)

Look at this list. Think how cheap these items are now. Think about how you have a use for them. Now think about not having access to stores where you can buy them and how you would have been better off buying them when they were cheap.
Don't look at the list and think about some myth 'end of the world'.
Look at the list and think - I go camping a couple times a year and Coleman fuel is on sale right now so if I buy 6 canisters on sale for $20 I'll have enough to camp for 3 years. And if anything happens you have some fuel. Some items, like lumber, not so easy to stock up on; realistically. But coffee goes on sale every other month right now for 25% off in my area. I buy 4 of them I get the 5th free. I'm going to use it. I will.

That list wasn't compiled by people who died, DIED, during the Bosnia war. It was compiled by people who survived the war and if, god forbid, they had to do it again this is how they would have prepared.

Looking at the list I have about 3/4 of the items, you probably do too - its just having extra that puts you ahead of the pact. I also use my stuff. Everything I have has a purpose because it either already fit into my life or I made it fit into my life. I bolded everything I have; but can always use more of.

I'm happy with what I have and I'm not trying to feed my family forever. Most of the items bolded are stuff I have bought more of during sales. So I save money and still prepare for times that might or might not get worse.
And today gas went up 8.5% in one day... that doesn't suggest good times ahead.

If you can't mentally see anything wrong happening then please seek friends that do. You can see these people as odd for thinking ahead; but if you treat them good now they might be able to treat you good later if times get tough - or even if they don't.

Sarajevo was names one of the worlds top 10 cities to visit in 2010. So no matter how bad life seems; in a couple years it can all change around.

Grow it Yourself - Gardening without Land

In the previous post about water I mentioned the 3 laws.
You can survive for 3 min without air.
You can survive for 3 days without water.
You can survive for 3 weeks without food.

Now I want to talk about food. It is also awesome. The thought of going hungry beyond a couple meals is not something most of us know about. And... I'd kinda like to keep it that way.
I've talked about food shortages - Here's another link. World Bank: Food prices at "dangerous levels"
I've posted about tomatoes and other produce normally imported from Mexico during the winter are going to be in short supply; how corn and wheat prices are going to drive meat, bread, and dairy products up; how groceries are costing more and more every trip.
Now I want to push that all aside and relax.

3 of the raised beds, 1 dog.

I want to talk about gardening without land.
I planted my first garden last year and it was great. I didn't produce an abundant supply of food* but I learned a lot and this year will be better.
* We couldn't eat the lettuce fast enough. I had a garden fresh salad every day for 3 months. Yum.

But we have an acre land and can garden lots. But you can still garden on a sunny balcony or condo.
A guy I worked with grew 3 tomato plants, in pots, on his balcony and they produced enough so he didn't need to buy tomatoes and could freeze some for winter. And during winter he just brought the pots inside. It cost him around $3 a plant, once. He had them for several years last I talked to him. He recouped his money fast and enjoyed tastier, fresher tomatoes. That's a win, win situation.
They took up about 3 one square foot area's of space.

If you are space limited and want to grow more...

Now you can buy these hanging gardens that you can grow tomatoes or strawberries. So you have these from above and now you can grow 3 different pots below. Say... lettuce. Or herbs.

Voila!
You are growing your basic salad ingredients! Now you have a part of your meal provided by yourself for very little money AND it is healthier than store bought.

You can grow many types of lettuce. For about $5 you can get a variety pack of Romaine, Butter Crunch, Simpson, Asian varieties and more. If you plant 2 plants every 3 weeks you will be able to eat them before they go to seed on you. If one does go to seed, save the seeds for next year. ;)

Peas are another easy grower. They can be grown in pots with a trellis for them to grow up. They need a little training but after they figure it out you can get a a couple inches growth a week. And fresh peas are tasty!
If they are happy they will produce new pods every couple days.
A good companion to grow with peas is carrots. Peas go up and carrots go down. We had a raised bed dedicated to carrots and peas and at the end of the season they produced some good stuff.

Potato plant bag

You can grow radishes and beats too. I heard of a guy who grew hop plants on his balcony.
Potatoes are real easy to grow but you need to use a grow bag.
We planted a few spuds last year in the strawberry bed and they ended up taking over. We had a lot of potatoes. This year they are going to have their own bed and we are going to have fresh fries this fall. Woot!



A lot of this stuff you can make yourself. Google hanging tomato and you will find a dozen instructions and videos. A potato bag is easy to make also. You don't need to shell out $30 for a few plant pots just ask for used 5 gallon containers at a grocery store bakery. Free.
Even dollar stores have a lot of the stuff you'd need.

So I hope this gave ideas how you can grow it yourself. It isn't hard. You might fail or you might not. If you don't try - you will fail.
Just because you can't have a big garden doesn't mean you can't grow a few things and substitute you grocery bill. Even if it doesn't seem like much, it all adds up.
And you get the satisfaction of saying you did this. You are one step closer to independence.

If anyone has any questions or needs help trying this let me know and I'll be glade to help.

Water is awesome

This blog isn't really a survival blog. There are plenty of much better survival sources out there - like The Survival Podcast for one. This blog is about depending on yourself. Not expecting someone to save you but using your brain to come up with a self saving solution.

So today I wanted to address one part of "The Law of 3".
You can survive for 3 min without air.
You can survive for 3 days without water.
You can survive for 3 weeks without food.

It's not a perfect law but neither are most laws.

Water is awesome.

Water is a ubiquitous chemical substance that is composed of hydrogen and oxygen and is vital for all known forms of life. - Wikipedia

When water is used to grow food there are 4 common sources.

1. Rain water - Also known as the 'gold standard' by gardening circles. It is the best for plants.
2. Pond water - If the pond is healthy. It can contain a lot of bacteria that breaks down in the soil and feeds the plants.
3. Well water - Is usually pretty good but might have mineral/bacterial imbalances.
4. Public water - Really isn't all that good. A lot of chemicals, pesticides and medical by product. You can tell the quality of your tap water by how fast it kills sensitive plants.

Real Berkey

But when it comes down to water survival - most water sources need to be made drinkable for safety. What is the point of drinking water if it gives you diarrhoea and dehydrates you to death?

Fake Berkey

The best water filters are Berkey. They cost about $200+ for the complete system or you can just buy the filters and rig it with some 5 gallon buckets. That will still cost you around $100. BUT you will have good water for a long time.
INSTRUCTIONS

Alternatively... There is another cheap way to filter water that I learned about from Potters For Peace. No Harry Potter jokes please.
These guys work in 3rd world countries where $100 filters are a little out of their price range. Instead they have designed an ingenious way for the locals to use local resources and filter their own water without having to sell their souls to the World Bank.

They are called Ceramic Water Filters or Rabbit Filters.
You take a clay pot. Put it in a plastic container. Pour water into the clay pot and it filters the water into the plastic container.

They have instructions on how to build one are here...
INSTRUCTIONS
It's an open source project.


But lets face it. If you are out and about and don't have any filter or clay pots what are you going to do? Boil it. You can use a plastic bottle to boil water that's safe from bacteria, viruses and parasites to drink.
INSTRUCTIONS
As a warning though, boiling water in a plastic bottle is not the best. This is an all-else-fails option. Boiling water releases chemicals in the bottle into the water but if it's that or diarrhoea...

A safer way is to use SODIS. It relays on sunlight and plastic bottles still. Instead of boiling the water for 5 min. You leave the water in the sunlight for 6-12 hours.
It relies on the suns UV light to kill the bacteria, parasites and viruses.
INSTRUCTIONS

Another option is to build a BioFilter using sand, gravel, charcoal and some plastic garbage buckets; filter the water then boil it. They made one on the show 'The Colony' and I found a video...

The colony is a neat show by Discovery Channel.

Sand is easier to come across naturally but Charcoal... Well if you know how it's easy to come across too.
INSTRUCTIONS

These are all just a few of the ways to primitively filter water.
If you want to know more about one of these specific ways by all means study more on it. Google has a lot of resources and detailed instructions.
There are a lot of other topics on water I'd like to talk about but this post is long enough I think. ;)

I own a MSR Miniworks EX and a filter straw. I use these when I go camping so if I ever can't get water from my well I can drink straight from the ditch.
These are great filters.

As a legal safety net (stupid legal stuff) I don't advise anything - at all. But if you don't have any other choice but to try something you read here it's at your own expense. ;)

Immediate Volatile Prices, Expected Limited Availability, and Mediocre Quality at Best

"Good Things Come From Sysco" is the company slogan for Sysco Inc. It distributes frozen foods, various canned and dry foods, fresh and frozen meats, seafood and poultry, imported specialties, and fresh produce. The company also supplies various non-food items, including disposable napkins, plates, and cups; tableware, cookware, restaurant and kitchen equipment, and cleaning supplies.

Delivering food to Kelowna, BC

 They have many large warehouses throughout Canada, USA and Mexico but they store LTI (long term items) while the fruit and veggies are shipped direct.
Not all produce is created equal. So grocery store chains bid on quality and arrival dates. So, say, Zehrs always gets better tomatoes, then Safeway, then the 'super value' stores and the locals usually get the worst quality produce.
They supply us with what we eat when it is out of season.
Which worries me when I get a link to a PDF file they sent out to their customers 6 days ago titled "Mexico's Big Freeze" - Download.

ALL OF OUR GROWERS HAVE INVOKED THE ACT OF GOD CLAUSE ON OUR CONTRACTS DUE TO THE FOLLOWING RELEASE. WE WILL BE CONTACTING YOU PERSONALLY TO REVIEW HOW THIS WILL AFFECT OUR CONTRACTED ITEMS WITH YOU GOING FORWARD.

Heh heh heh. I'm sorry - what? Act of God. Are you serious? Yes.

Act of God is a legal term for events outside of human control, such as sudden floods or other natural disasters, for which no one can be held responsible.
-Wikipedia

Ok, so we sue the big guy upstairs and he provides us with bounty-full crops in an Eden like environment. Or he just doesn't show up to the courtroom and we are all royally screwed.

THE EXTREME FREEZING TEMPERATURES HIT A VERY BROAD SECTION OF MAJOR GROWING REGIONS IN MEXICO, FROM HERMOSILLO IN THE  NORTH ALL THE WAY SOUTH TO LOS MOCHIS AND EVEN SOUTH OF CULIACAN. THE EARLY REPORTS ARE STILL COMING IN BUT MOST ARE SHOWING LOSSES OF CROPS IN THE RANGE OF 80 TO 100%.

That can't be good. So what does this mean? What crops are going to supply all of North America for the rest of the winter with 0% to 20% of their regular supply?

Digital Journal Article 80-100% Loss - LINK

GREEN BEANS, EGGPLANT, CUCUMBERS, SQUASH, PEPPERS, ASPARAGUS, AND ROUND AND ROMA TOMATOES.

I need tomatoes and peppers for my Pizza. If most of the tomatoes are destroyed the ones left over are going to be... "Mediocre Quality at Best"
Ugh.
I'll just buy my tomatoes from somewhere else like the State of Flo*.

FLORIDA NORMALLY IS A MAJOR SUPPLIER FOR THESE ITEMS AS WELL BUT THEY HAVE ALREADY BEEN STRUCK WITH SEVERE FREEZE DAMAGE IN DECEMBER AND JANUARY AND UP UNTIL NOW HAVE HAD TO PURCHASE PRODUCT OUT OF MEXICO TO FILL THEIR COMMITMENTS, THAT IS NO LONGER AN OPTION.

*rida. Ah come on. Florida too? Well, winter can't last forever. Why not just wait it out and grow all over again?

SOME GROWERS ARE MEETING WITH THEIR BOARDS RIGHT NOW TO DETERMINE WHETHER THEY SHOULD IMMEDIATELY RE-PLANT, HOPING FOR A HARVEST BY LATE-MARCH-TO EARLY-APRIL, OR WHETHER THEY SHOULD DISC THE FIELDS UNDER AND WAIT FOR ANOTHER SEASON.

It's called a PiPizzaZza. True Story.

So that could mean that there is a shortage all year LONG!? Do you know how often I eat pizza? Without tomato sauce I'm basically eating vegetable bread. And the "mediocre at best" tomatoes will cost a heck of a lot more. Every restaurant will be competing for the best; prices are going to go up on my beloved round delight.


If only I had known! If only I could go back and do it over again; eat each pizza - over again.
I'd do things different. I'd have bought a shit load of canned tomato sauce when it was on sale for a dollar. Now it's going to cost around $8-$15 for the same size but poorer quality. Why lord why?!

But I did.
I bought a bunch when they were on sale. And I'm going to go out and buy a LOT more at Costco. The canned tomatoes are still the good quality produce and will last for a couple years. I'll also go out and buy some fresh stuff at the super market if it's still available and try and can 'em and vac-seal them for later. I'm also growing my own this summer so I should be able to weather this shortage without it costing me too much extra.
It's like investing in real tangible commodities. I buy a can for a $1 and in 4 months it is worth $8 - that's an 800% return! That's almost as good as a ponzi scheme!

Wheat increase from May 09 to Jan 11

Lets look at what the world food crisis is going to do to Pizza.

• Flour is going up because of demand and drought.
• Cheese is going up because of corn and wheat prices.
• Tomatoes and peppers are going to be rare for 3-4 months or longer.
• Pepperoni is going up because of corn and wheat prices.
  

What's a Ninja Turtle to eat? Master Splinter didn't teach anything about food preparation dude.






I do have 2 more graphs to post. One is funny and the other one isn't. You decide which. You can either join the red side of awesomeness and invest in some food insurance now while it's available and cheap or join the blue side of government hand outs.

can

Broke and Hungry - LINK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've tried to back up all my facts with links.
This isn't meant to be a scare story either.
The scare store would be posted 3 months from now when I talk about how I read food prices were going up and didn't do anything and how I'm eating $50 medium Pizza that tastes like garbage. That's scary.
This isn't going to happen. It already HAS happened. It's just takes a little time to catch up to us.

This is meant to help out all of my readers (shout out to Dave, Amanda and my mom - lol) so we can enjoy good quality food at a reasonable price.


Store what you eat and eat what you store.

Another friendly food price warning.

The USDA announced today that corn prices have doubled in the last 6 months due to an increasing global demand; and they are only going up.

If you don't eat corn you probably won't be effected to bad by this.
Just Kidding.

Corn is used to feed cows, hogs and chicken.
It is turned into a syrup that sweetens soft drinks and other foods. Including my beloved Doritos.

It's also converted to ethanol gas for fueling our vehicles.

Shoppers could see higher grocery bills as early as three months from now, though most of the impact won't be felt for another six months, said Scott Irwin, an agricultural economics professor at the University of Illinois.
Chicken prices are among the first to rise because the bird's life span is so short that higher feed costs get factored in quickly, he said. Price hikes for hogs take about a year and cattle two years. Prices on packaged foods take six or seven months to rise.   -Omah World Herold

So in 6 months we can expect our grocery bill to go up because of corn.
Well... my grocery bill is already going up. So in 6 months it's going up again?

My wife and I are already paying nearly double the price we paid last year for the same amount of food.
So by their logic. In a half a year around July, we are going to have a price hike in corn products. My $15 dollar boneless chicken breasts that cost me $8 last year could cost me up to $30 in July; prime BBq season!?
What about steak? $40, $50? Each?

“There is not one crop you can point to that is without supply problems,” Steve Nicholson, a commodity procurement specialist at International Food Products Corp. in St. Louis, said before today’s USDA report. “Production is not keeping up with demand, exacerbating the global food crisis.”   -Business week

Corn is up 95%
Wheat is up 84%

These are record breaking prices. The demand is so great that the rich countries are paying more and the poor countries that can't afford it are going hungry. Then they are rioting.
The biggest importer right now is Asia. They are buying it for surplus. More than they need. They are expecting a bad drought for several years and planning ahead.

He said buyers were switching from US corn to buying Australian feed wheat and they were also worried about the state of the US winter wheat crop.
"Kansas was hit recently by a 'winter-kill' which means it was hammered by a frost. A third of the crop is now rated poor to very poor, so people are getting nervous about the supply of milling wheat."   -Weekly Times Now

With grains increases come increases to grain products. Not just bread and pizza dough. But milk, cheese, ice cream.
Not to mention cattle, pork, chickens are all fed grains.
Wait... they already told us meats were going up in price because of corn, now they are compounding because of wheat increase too!? My $15 dollar boneless chicken breasts that cost me $8 last year could cost me up to $40 in July; prime BBq season!?
What about steak? $60, $70? Each?

I guess I'll have to start eating tofu burgers.



Not really.
Soy products are up 57%

It isn't a bad idea to buy extra now and stock up. If you spend an extra $100 now and in a couple months that $100 is now worth $150 you've saved $50.

I should also mention that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has placed a rather odd order they are calling it an 'emergency order'. They are buying out all the large freeze dry company stocks; they need to feed 6 million people for 14 days. And they need it now. And they are charging the tax payers for it. And I can tell you that they aren't planning on saving any of the lesser folk like us; we are cattle to them.
So if USA and China (and probably Russia) is stocking up to save their own butts; why wouldn't we?

Food isn't hyper inflated yet. We can still afford food. Buy Extra. Buy canned food. Buy food you are going to eat. If nothing else happens then you have some good food insurance. Don't go buy food because you think the world is going to end because that is stupid.
Just remember. Last year we paid $75; this month $150. In 6 months... $300? $500? More?!

Go buy extra food and learn how to make your own so you can save money.
No one else is going to take care of you so it's up to you to do it yourself.

Brew Day

 I'm still playing with my template and theme. I haven't that place I like yet. It's coming together.

But after spending a couple hours trying different things, and getting no where, I've decided to give it a rest. I've got stuff to 'Do My Self' today.

First off. I'm doing a little window test today. I've placed 2 glaces of water in my house; one is in the dinning room on a black surface in direct sunlight an inch from a big window. The other is in a room without windows. The thermostats are turned off. I'll be using a digital thermometer to get the results.

It is noon right now.
Bathroom - 21.1
Dinning    - 29.4

I might also add that the black surface is a plain semi-clean t-shirt and the glass is warm within 2 feet of it. Then the glass temperature gets colder.
I'll keep checking it as the sun goes down.

But more important than anything else... today is BREW DAY!

I'm brewing a batch of Honey Brown Ale today and taking pictures while I do it.

I'm using a partial grain recipe which means I have grains and hops as well as malt extract. When you brew with a kit, like Coopers kits, you use an extract - kind of like making juice from concentrate.
I haven't made the equipment I need in order to properly brew all grain beer yet; can't build Rome in a day.
One item I really need is a large stainless steel pot. Not just for brewing but for canning also. Right now I am using 2 smaller pots. :(

A very important part of anything you do in the kitchen is sanitation. Brewing beer or cooking food. Keep it clean.
All of my equipment has been cleaned in Sodium Metabisolfate. The water I use is a 5 gallon jug I got at the store. All of this is, or better be, clean and bacteria free. Even the scissors I use to open the yeast pack, sanitized. The stove and counter has all been cleaned.

1:30
Bathroom - 21.1
Dinning     - 33.2

I got my water all nice and hot (66C) and added my grains. They are going to sit there for about a half hour and smell up the kitchen. :D
This process adds the barley flavor and also extracts all the sugars from the malted barley.
When you make beer from a kit you need to add a lot of sugar because you aren't getting any from grains.



Then I strain out the grains and the rename the liquid 'wort'. Now because I am making a partial extract beer, I'll add the extract and mix the two up and increase the temperature to a good tolling boil. It's good to keep some cold water near by in case it starts to foam up.
Right about now it should look like coffee and smell like bread.



Now it's time to add some hops usually it's bittering hops; they give beer that... bitter flavor. Later, 5 min before I'm done boiling the wort, I'll add another variety of hop for aroma.

And stir it often so it doesn't burn to the bottom of the pot.
And stir.
Read a book nearby and stir.

3:00

Bathroom - 21.1
Dinning     - 33.1

An hour later...
Now it's time to add the wort to my fermenter. I've already added 15L of room temperature water to it; I need to set up my large strainer and pour the wort through it - so I get out the hops and any missed grains.

One way to cover up the smell of brew day is to make a loaf of bread while you are at it.
I cheat and use the bread maker to mix the dough. Then I'll take it out, separate it into 2 loaves and roll it in the used up barley - to give it a neat topped look. After its done baking the house will smell like wonderful fresh bread. True story.

Its a good idea to give it a good stirring and aerate the brew. This is the only time you want to do this; if you add air later on during fermentation you will get a sour spoiled taste. :(

I poured the yeast in. Moved the bucket to my brew cabinet and attached the air lock.
Now I just need to wait.

In the next couple hours the yeast will start to go all crazy in the brew. The air lock will start to bubble and maybe even overflow. That is all good signs. It means the brew is fermenting and on it's way to being BEER.


I'll post another pic later showing the air lock action.

4:15
Bathroom - 20.9
Dinning     - 27.1

I'll keep watching the water temperatures and post more information on it later. Until then... I am going to go make myself some supper!

Cheap heat

Dave was pretty darn close with geothermal heating. The problem I have with Geothermal is that is cost a lot to set up. It's more than just pipes underground. They use a mixture of water, bio-degradable antifreeze and water pumps.

In manitoba here the frost depth is 6'. If I dig down 30 inches I hit the water table AND a lot of large rocks and sand. :(
So another type of heating is called 'Heat sinking'...

Fundamentally it acts as a storage heater, you heat up material that then slowly releases the heat back into the surrounding structure. In this application we heat up the storage material not with a heating element, but with hot air pumped down into a chamber under the floor of the greenhouse.

Only I would probably do it on a larger scale like the picture to the right.
The only electricity this system needs is a fan to move air.

The heat sink system isn't good enough to keep you toasty warm in -40 weather but it will help a little and keep other costs down.

How can I make it better?

Well I'm going to have a small wood oven for pizza and bread maybe a wood burning stove. I can pump excess heat from there down into my heat sink.

So the pizza oven heats up the surrounding area and that heat rises.
The pvc pipe near the top of the ceiling sucks the hot air down under the floor into the heat sink. The heat sink warms up and is insulated by the ground.
As the pizza oven cools down the cool air gets pumped down into the warm heat sink and warms up.

Another important part of the system is insulation.
It's better to keep hot air in than to create extra hot air to make up for what is leaking out.

Pink insulation is pretty darn good. I'd like to use some of it on the south side and ceiling.
But for the north facing wall, which will always been in the shade I'm going to try using straw bales. It has a very high R-value and is very cheap in my area of the prairies.

"Research by Joe McCabe at the Univ. of Arizona found R-value for both wheat and rice bales was about R-2.4 (RSI-0.42) per inch with the grain, and R-3 (RSI-0.53) per inch across the grain. A 23" wide 3 string bale laid flat = R-54.7 (RSI-9.64), laid on edge (16" wide) = R-42.8 (RSI-7.54). For 2 string bales laid flat (18" wide) = R-42.8 (RSI-7.54), and on edge (14" wide) = R-32.1 (RSI-5.66)" -Wikipedia

I buy bales (16x32x16) for a dollar to insulate my septic field every winter with an R-value of 40+; compared to about $10 for pink insulation that has R-value of 25 but is 10' thinner.

Building with straw can be different than conventional structures. You usually start with the insulation first and then do a majority of the framing around it. In the end you don't know it is there. I'll have ply wood and aluminium siding on the outside and drywall inside.
The drawback is the walls will be around 18' thick. :(
I'm not going to use the straw as load bearing like most straw buildings; my load will be on the wood frame like a normal shed so I won't need a special permit.

The straw bale idea is still in limbo. I'd 'like' to incorporate it because it is very cheap in my area. I can fit around 20 bales in my truck per trip. But it also takes a lot more time than nailing up walls and insulating it.


Another way to add cheap heat is the use of colour. I want to have large windows on the south side that will allow free light in. If I paint the floor a dark colour it will warm up and help, to a small degree, the heat sink underneath.
Or paint the south side outer wall a dark colour.

Well. There are a few cheap alternatives to using electricity or gas to heat my shed. I don't mind burning wood in a stove. It costs about $60 for a cord of wood out here - enough to last a winter; and I can use the ash so very little is wasted.

But that's all fine and dandy during the -40 winters here. But how am I going to tackle cooling for cheap without an air conditioner...!?
We also have humid summers here. And mosquitoes.

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Links
Heat Sink - YMCA - BBC
Straw - Straw bale construction