Quiet weekend stuff

It’s always interesting to watch the pricing on bargains suddenly go wonky. Last week I posted about the LifeStraws being $15.99 and quite a few people (myself included) jumped in there and picked up a few. Or, in some cases, more than a few.

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Why would I mention a bargain on a cool piece of gear and NOT get a bunch for myself?

Sadly, I just checked the link and they’re back up to twenty bucks each. Bummer. Gotta strike while the iron is hot.

Same story on the OD hooded space blankets. They were $10.01 for a brief time and now they’re back up to $20. Hopefully, everyone who wanted one managed to get in there and snag a couple at the $10 price.

And speaking of things to put away for that rainy day, I decided that $2.15 was as good as its gonna get, and with us being slightly ahead on the gas budget this month, so I went ahead and have the extra fuel cans filled. Those are the lovely ‘Euro/NATO-style’ cans that I got from Lexington Container a couple years back. Don’t be tempted to buy the ones you see in Sportsmans Guide and a few other places…those are the cheapo Chinese cans and they are worthless. Yes, these cans are going to be expensive at around $50 ea (plus shipping) but when it’s 2am, pouring rain, and you’re on the side of the road hoping to outrun whatever it is that’s got you running, you’ll think that fifty bucks is a bargain to have five-gallons of fuel perfectly preserved and ready to go.

20150328_184015And, of course, each one of those cans represents x amount of hours of electricity courtesy of the generator. And electricity means hot water, hot food, lighting, communications, furnace blowers, etc….in short, those cans hold civilization. (Which  sorta explains those Mad Max movies)

So, a somewhat productive last couple of days…picked up some extra water filters, filled some gas cans, did some grocery shopping. The weather has gotten nicer here so I expect I’ll be doing some spring cleaning and organizing shortly.

10 thoughts on “Quiet weekend stuff

  1. Just wondering if you bother to hunt down some non-ethanol gas to store, or just buy the commonly available stuff?

    • Depends. For the generator I track down non-ethanol. For storing for vehicle use, I use whatever is available and treat it with PRI-G.

  2. Have you noticed any difference in gasoline storage longevity between summer gas and winter gas (which contains butane) ? I try to fill the cans with non-ethanol (also treated with PRI-G) during non-butane months.

    RE: NATO gas cans – buy more spouts than you think you’ll need because nothing else fits. Also, Lowe’s has 1/2 inch steel couplings and 5/8″ ID – 3/4″ OD clear tubing. I add a coupler and 16″ section of tubing to my spouts (secured with safety wire) because the spout isn’t long enough to reach the inset filler neck on my truck.

  3. I need to figure the ever elusive survival comfort vs supplies ratio…

    former model/night of safety : silver eagles : cans of gas

    I figure if I can make an accurate ratio guess… my days on the Fury Road will be much more comfortable.

    • On a scale of 1 to 10, maybe a 2. Without Mel Gibson its just a movie about a dirty guy in a desert killing people.

  4. One of the great things about living in Texas. We have oil and gas wells all over. A neighbor has a working gas well. He gets his gas directly from the well piped to his house. Free natural gas, so everything he owns is gas powered. Central heat and air, stove, fridge. I think if he could get gas lights in the house he would do it. A lot of people in East Texas use what we call “drip gas” to run their cars and trucks. Got to be careful though, as some of those wells send up Hydrogen Sulfide. Deadly. Gets a few of the lower bell curve folk every year.

    • Heck all he needs is a NG generator for the lights. especially if he is getting free NG.

  5. Picked up two life straws and two hooded space blankets for the car emergency bags, many thanks for the tip on the price break!

  6. If you buy in quantity (as if twenty), campingsurvival.com has LifeStraws for $16.95 with free shipping. Might be able to split an order with someone else.

    Matt

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