Your Best and Worst Preps of 2020!

[Proud Prepper]

My best was really testing and using Chlorine Dioxide Solution. It has proven to be the best medicinal prep I could ever dream off having,

My worst was not haveing enough tested reload materials and equipment. I could have had more experience in reloading and saved a lot of $$. Could have made a big profit.

 

[kevin321]

Best recent prep is probably buying a small amount of calcium hypochlorite for water treatment. Calcium hypochlorite doesn’t have a shelf life like bleach does. For $15 everyone should have a little on hand.

Worst prep? Not sure.

 

[Schattentarn]

I have said this before but it is important. My best prep was gathering food, firewood, medicine, hand tools, gasoline to last a few weeks. I put all but the gasoline and firewood in a safe place in my basement in the mountain cabin. I thought it was almost perfect as we had our own community water supply too. Then the cabin burnt down with everything in it. Putting the hoard in a place where it could be destroyed was my worst prep. Even the community water system was destroyed. Another bad prep was relying on someone else, in this case the USFS Fire Division. Next time I will do my own fire-proofing and fire prep.

Prepping is you and maybe your family and maybe, maybe not, your local community.

My best was really testing and using Chlorine Dioxide Solution. It has proven to be the best medicinal prep I could ever dream off having,

My worst was not haveing enough tested reload materials and equipment. I could have had more experience in reloading and saved a lot of $$. Could have made a big profit.

And how could I ever forget only having 500 rounds stashed for my AR15? With ammo prices as cheap as they were a couple years ago this was a huge mistake.

 

[Acdoctor]

My best prep was probably adding extra freeze dried foods, I also added 500 rounds of 40S&W and 170 rounds of 12 gauge buck shot from an estate sale. i also forked out some dough and purchased a portable generator that will run my camper if need be. My worst prep or lack there of was passing on some reloading primers because of the price, yes I’m kicking my own butt now for that one.

 

[Inmarinen]

water is the first thing for survival.
40-50 years ago we had free hydrants in any village. Water tower + hydrant.
The water quality is established by the GOST standard. The water tower takes artesian water, then purifies the water with filters. You can drink water or draw as much water as you want ...
This is Socialism.




Now the water towers are destroyed. Hydrants take water from a river or lake. It is not drinkable. In addition, you have to pay 5 rubles for 1 liter of water.
This is Capitalism.

Only an old rusty hydrant that does not work reminds of Socialism






now to get drinking water you can do:
1. Well.
depth no more than 20 meters
the price is about 50 thousand rubles.
but finding good water in a well is a great success

2. Well "on the sand"
depth about 30-50 meters
the price is about 100 thousand rubles.
but such a well deteriorates quickly, the water contains a lot of iron and an electric pump is required

3. Well "for limestone"
depth of about 100 meters
price from 500 thousand rubles
but such a well requires an electric pump, contains a lot of mineral salts, which requires expensive filters. In addition, you must obtain a "water use" permit and pay tax.

1 usd = 75 rubles


about the use of chemicals for water purification ...
probably, this means water that is located above a depth of 7 meters, as well as after rain or melting snow. chemical reagents kill bacteria, but they are useless against excess iron or mineral salts.

 

[DrPrepper]

Best prep:
I bought several water bladders in 2020. It paid off with the Texas snow storm of 2021. We have cities near by that are being told to boil water and some are saying that they could lose water. We haven’t had either of those yet, but if we do, we are prepared. Also stocking up early when COVID-19 hit. We didn’t need anything and stores were out of everything.

Worst prep: Cheap batteries and not enough of them. Lesson learned.

 

[Dracos]

water is the first thing for survival.
40-50 years ago we had free hydrants in any village. Water tower + hydrant.
The water quality is established by the GOST standard. The water tower takes artesian water, then purifies the water with filters. You can drink water or draw as much water as you want ...
This is Socialism.
View attachment 12226
View attachment 12227
View attachment 12230

Now the water towers are destroyed. Hydrants take water from a river or lake. It is not drinkable. In addition, you have to pay 5 rubles for 1 liter of water.
This is Capitalism.

Only an old rusty hydrant that does not work reminds of Socialism
View attachment 12229





now to get drinking water you can do:
1. Well.
depth no more than 20 meters
the price is about 50 thousand rubles.
but finding good water in a well is a great success

2. Well "on the sand"
depth about 30-50 meters
the price is about 100 thousand rubles.
but such a well deteriorates quickly, the water contains a lot of iron and an electric pump is required

3. Well "for limestone"
depth of about 100 meters
price from 500 thousand rubles
but such a well requires an electric pump, contains a lot of mineral salts, which requires expensive filters. In addition, you must obtain a "water use" permit and pay tax.

1 usd = 75 rubles


about the use of chemicals for water purification ...
probably, this means water that is located above a depth of 7 meters, as well as after rain or melting snow. chemical reagents kill bacteria, but they are useless against excess iron or mineral salts.

Thank you for the information. I live on a river but get water from a well. I costs me about 3 cents (2.25 rubles?) for 100 gallons. My first pump lasted 20 years. Mt second has 23 years and going strong. Fingers crossed!

 

[Inmarinen]

Thank you for the information. I live on a river but get water from a well. I costs me about 3 cents (2.25 rubles?) for 100 gallons. My first pump lasted 20 years. Mt second has 23 years and going strong. Fingers crossed!

I like your message, but I did not understand about the well ..
A well is a structure:


the well has a maximum depth of 20 meters.
Construction costs 50 thousand rubles. but the water in it is free, no money

 

[Dracos]

I like your message, but I did not understand about the well ..
A well is a structure:
View attachment 12236

the well has a maximum depth of 20 meters.
Construction costs 50 thousand rubles. but the water in it is free, no money

My well is a hole drilled in the ground with a 6 inch casing. It is about 150 feet deep. We drilled through 2 rock layers to insure there was no surface water in the well. The pump was lowered down on a 2 inch pipe to a depth 145 feet. The pump is 7 feet under water. It is an electric pump powered by 220 volts. Topside there is a pressure tank that holds about 100 gallons of water and a switch that turns the pump on at 40 psi and off at 60 psi. A nearby generator powers the pump and house if the power goes out. I use it for both drinking water and irrigation. Drilled in 1977 it cost about $15.oo per foot. Prices have gone up since then. The water is the cleanest and freshest on Earth. No filtration required.

 

[Illini Warrior]

Best recent prep is probably buying a small amount of calcium hypochlorite for water treatment. Calcium hypochlorite doesn’t have a shelf life like bleach does. For $15 everyone should have a little on hand.

Worst prep? Not sure.

actually calcium hypochlorite (pool shock) should be replaced every 10 years - that's what the experts recommend - I keep my old stock because if it's lost its "zip" you wouldn't know it by the off gassing smell ....

 

[Dracos]

My worst and best prep lesson. We all know how to start a fire, right? I gave myself a challenge. I shall hike down to my lower land and set that brush pile on fire. Quarter mile hike. I knew it wouldn't be easy. It was green wood. It had been rained on. Then frozen. Rained on. Frozen. Rain. Freeze. R. F. Evert twig had a quarter inch of ice on it. Then it snowed. And snowed. Then it got really cold. Here come I with small over nighter backpack . And lots of arrogance. We all know how to start a fire. I dug down to the pile. I broke off about 100 small ice covered twigs. I applied my jet lighter. No fire, only melted ice. "Not to worry." I say. I broke out some hexamine tabs. Put them under the twigs. More water. A wisp of smoke, tiny fire soon drowned. Broke out wax soaked sawdust balls. Larger fire also drowned. I became angry. I felt as though my intense gaze should have set fire to anything. Only mocking laughter from the pile. I hike back to the house. I fill a gallon milk jug with gas. Back to the pile. I make a huge fire that soon drowns. I hike back to the house. I get a five gallon jug of used motor oil. Back to the pile. I make several very big fires. A lot of snow and ice gets melted. Fires go out. I hike back to the house an do some shots of rum.
Best lesson learned "Don't waste your time and resources trying to do something impossible."

 

[Danil54grl]

My worst and best prep lesson. We all know how to start a fire, right? I gave myself a challenge. I shall hike down to my lower land and set that brush pile on fire. Quarter mile hike. I knew it wouldn't be easy. It was green wood. It had been rained on. Then frozen. Rained on. Frozen. Rain. Freeze. R. F. Evert twig had a quarter inch of ice on it. Then it snowed. And snowed. Then it got really cold. Here come I with small over nighter backpack . And lots of arrogance. We all know how to start a fire. I dug down to the pile. I broke off about 100 small ice covered twigs. I applied my jet lighter. No fire, only melted ice. "Not to worry." I say. I broke out some hexamine tabs. Put them under the twigs. More water. A wisp of smoke, tiny fire soon drowned. Broke out wax soaked sawdust balls. Larger fire also drowned. I became angry. I felt as though my intense gaze should have set fire to anything. Only mocking laughter from the pile. I hike back to the house. I fill a gallon milk jug with gas. Back to the pile. I make a huge fire that soon drowns. I hike back to the house. I get a five gallon jug of used motor oil. Back to the pile. I make several very big fires. A lot of snow and ice gets melted. Fires go out. I hike back to the house an do some shots of rum.
Best lesson learned "Don't waste your time and resources trying to do something impossible."

Not laughing at your attempts though. . . just the shots of rum. Sounds like it was one of those "forget you" momments.

 

[Dracos]

Not laughing at your attempts though. . . just the shots of rum. Sounds like it was one of those "forget you" momments.

It almost always good to laugh. I laugh at myself, now.

 

[Inmarinen]

The best "tool" for making a fire in the forest is birch bark.
you can set it on fire even if it rains.
birch can rot, but birch bark will remain ...

 

[user 5884]

Best prep was probably getting serious about growing my own food- bought chickens, planned out a big garden, focused on things with a long shelf-life, figured out how to can and ferment.

...worst prep was home-made fermented pickles. Tasted great, just had a weird, gelatinous consistency, probably from the cucumbers being overmature. But I (hopefully) learned from the mistake.

 

[Inmarinen]

Best prep was probably getting serious about growing my own food- bought chickens, planned out a big garden, focused on things with a long shelf-life, figured out how to can and ferment.

...worst prep was home-made fermented pickles. Tasted great, just had a weird, gelatinous consistency, probably from the cucumbers being overmature. But I (hopefully) learned from the mistake.

fermented cucumbers (pickles) are the most favorite Russian and Finn snack ...
you just don't know how to cook.
okay, if I stay on this forum, I'll tell you how to do it correctly..

 

[grayghost668]

my best prep was raising my own hog,,,,my worst prep was raising the wrong breed of hog,,,I can't remember the breed now but there will never be another one like it,,,,,,the only thing it was good for was sausage

 

[grayghost668]

looked it up it was a Landrace,,,very lean and makes for poor table fair even the bacon was tough

 

[Dracos]

looked it up it was a Landrace,,,very lean and makes for poor table fair even the bacon was tough

Thank you. We learn from our mistakes. Best to make them now before it is a life threatening situation, and for sharing it with us. Maybe they kill snakes. Hunted wild boar in Louisiana and Mississippi no snakes. No license needed. Killed a 2.5 curl boar. Delicious.

 

[Danil54grl]

Hadnt even heard of that breed. We do Hamshires and Bluebutts. Have even had potty belly have breeds. . . All have been good. Some have been more fatty but did learn that feeding rice bran was not good for pigs being processed. It led to a more fatty pig. I had a lot of lard to process with that one.