Storage for Emergency Preparedness and Survival

In the interests of learning and providing information, this thread will address storage concerns, methods, limitations and the storage life of supplies and materials.

For general storage of anything time, material, location, conditions are all important. Any material will break down given enough time, but temperatures, temperature fluctuations, moisture, radiation, physical damage and pests can drastically shorten the time that a material remains viable. We all store kits and supplies in our vehicles and homes to keep them available for use in an emergency situation. Some materials will last longer than others, and there are storage methods which can prolong that shelf life, even of those materials that may have a shorter span of viability.

Key things that we store:

First Aid Kits

Survival Kits

Food

Water

Gear

Medicins

Batteries

Electronic Devices

Storage Methods:

Waterproofing

Vacuum Sealing

Insulation

Padding or Hard Shell

Desiccant

Oil/Grease

Please add and discuss, this is just to get things started for what I think could be a very helpful thread.

Let me jump right in and make a big splash by talking about water storage. Like most of us, I have ready access to municipal water and use it routinely, but there have been interruptions from time to time, including a recent huge wildfire that triggered such a high demand on the system that faucets in many homes were dry. Water storage is a good thing. I am prepping for a big earthquake when water supply will be problematical for an extended period.

First line are water containers containing 15 liters each, opaque and BPA free - commercial products I obtained for a recent field project. My most numerous containers are recycled three liter water bottles (Mrs. Hikermor insists on bottled water for her tea) so I use those to store tap water. They are recycle category 1 (PET)which has low leach potential. They are cheap, and fairly easy to handle. I have at least thirty or so stashed in various locations - they do stack readily up to three high, which is nice.

Another favorite are recycled sport drink bottles, mostly Gatorade - also PET. And then there are canteens, mostly the dozen or so 32 oz Nalgenes, which are always stored full.

I keep all containers, especially the clear ones, out of sunlight and in various locations, including our vehicles. My climate is fairly mild, so I am not concerned about freezing or really hot temperatures.

BPA does not concern me, especially after reading the WebMD discussion of this subject. With pregnant women and very young children, my attitude might be somewhat different, but there are far worse things that might affect older humans. (Yo soy muy viejo.)

I have not recycled on any kind of regular basis, but I have recently had to move a water stash out of an outbuilding we are planning to tear down (we are racing the termites!!) and those bottles, kept in the dark, looked absolutely fine. If I used their contents, I would probably boil the water first.

Many sources advocate adding chlorine bleach to stored water, but my tap water is already so treated, so I don't bother.

During decades of climbing and hiking in the American Southwest, i have had misadventures where, for one reason or another, I was short on water. Consequently, I have obtained and used, water from some very questionable sources. I have never had a problem resulting from that use. When in doubt, boil if you can. if you can't drink up. Once you return to town, your illness can be cured, but you have to get there first.

So, use recycled plastic bottles (avoid plastic categories 3 and 7, per Web MD). Store them out of sunlight, or any bright light. Refresh contents, if you like, and store plenty. you will never have enough.

One other thing - my bottles stored in our shed acquired a rather disgusting film of dirt and dust. This time around. I am placing sheet plastic over the bottle stash. That cover will come in handy in many ways when the earth moves, or whatever.

Comments - questions??

Most of my storage is in the house. Space is an issue. I have three first aid kits in identical cases. They stack up neatly on the floor, next to my bed. On top of those, I have the bag I've been customizing, the one I will bring with me if we bugout. For that one, it has to be comprehensive for its size.

I have cases of water stacked on the floor, also in my bedroom. There is no other place to put them.

One thing I have done as I work on what to bring if I bugout permanently is to decide what is left behind and what I carry.

Jeanette Isabelle

For water storage I use 5 and 8 gallon containers. I rotate them at least yearly, and clean them with bleach and dry them before refilling. I do keep some liquid bleach on hand, and rotate those bottles regularly (annually). I am still prepared to purify the water from these if necessary by multiple methods. I have not stored any chlorine pool chemicals, but have thought about it. Dry keeps longer than solutions or liquids.

That goes for everything stored, dry goods and medicines will keep much longer. Solutions and creams will degrade with time. Dry medicines will also, but we are talking years, and they do not go bad, only lose strength.

Direct sunlight will degrade most materials fairly quickly, especially plastics and synthetics. Everything should be protected from sunlight when stored for extended periods. I once opened a military triangular bandage that had been sitting in the sun in a hot vehicle for a long time (unknown length of time), and it was literally powder. The package was still sealed.

Oxygen and moisture are also enemies of long term storage. Vacuum sealing when possible is good for just about anything. Desiccants are helpful in containers that can be sealed.

Other than protecting from moisture, I am not sure about electronics and batteries. I do keep lithiums for storage and they do need to stay dry. Is there anything special you can do for electronics that are being stored?

http://www.powerstream.com/Storage.htm


The above is a summation of manufacturer's recommendations for battery storage. I use rechargeables almost exclusively, both Minh and lithium-ion, and I try and keep them dry, cool, and used in regular rotation.

I had terrible luck trying to store alkaline batteries in the frige - they always leaked, spoiling the ice cream and cherry pie.

You could conformal coat electronics if they aren't already. Would provide some moisture protection.

Potting is more extreme, were use special epoxy to encapsulate the electronics. Not many flash light manufacturers do it.

US based Pflexpro takes Convoy flashlights made in China, and one of the mods they do is to pot the electronics.

https://www.pflexpro.com/Potted-Flashlight-and-P60-Drop-In-s/1841.htm

PS Not associated nor a customer (I'm in EU) of Pflexpro, but they seem pretty well thought of in the flashlight communities online.

Good information Ren. this type of information is exactly what I was looking for with this thread. While not necessarily storage, it makes a necessary tool more durable. it is also something that I was not aware of before.

Insulation: If you are placing things in your car in a hot environment, there is no question about needing insulation. Extreme heat will break down just about anything you store there given enough time. Any insulation will help make the items last longer, the more insulation you use, the more time it gives you for viability of the supplies and materials store this way. But even if you are keeping a first aid kit in your car during the day, you need to insulate it. It may not suffer ill effects after just one day, but it will degrade faster without the insulation. If you are not removing the supplies at all, multiple layers will give you more time. Every layer will help, the better insulated the layer, the more it helps.

If you are using a car for long term storage, keeping the car out of direct sunlight will help tremendously. As everyone knows, the passenger compartment of a car in direct sunlight is like a greenhouse. If you can park in a covered garage or in the shade of a building it will reduce the temperature range that you must contend with. The trunk is better than the passenger compartment as it does not have windows that will allow direct solar radiation to penetrate. If you can't park in an area that is shaded all day, pay attention to cardinal directions and your location on the planet. In the northern hemisphere the North side of things will get much less sunlight, having shade for longer periods of the day.

Insulating your water also makes it much more palatable. I spent some time outdoors in the Southwest when the temperatures were 116 degrees, and I was in direct sunlight. My plastic Nalgene bottles allowed the sunlight to penetrate and my water was hot enough to make coffee or tea. My single wall stainless steel bottle stayed cool. An insulated bottle still had ice in it after walking for 3 hours. When you are thirsty in a hot environment you don't want to drink water that is hotter than the environment you are in.

A car is pretty harsh environment.

Can use the old method of canvas waterbags, tied to outside of the vehicle to evaporatively cool water whilst moving.

Other than insulation, all can think of is a Engel http://www.engelaustralia.com.au/ style fridge/freezer with a solar panel.

They claim one of their 40L fridges can be powered by their 60w panel directly (without battery).

Food:(One of my favorite topics) - Basically, we store what we eat and eat what we store. I tend to purchase staples(rolled oats, flour, etc) in the large packages favored by big box stores. I am not compulsive enough to keep a detailed inventory, but I am confident we could do three - four weeks living off of what is in stock on a normal basis

I do lay in a supply of canned foods of various varieties, especially meat stews and veggies. Those tend to keep quite well if stored out of sunlight and at reasonable temps. I do keep a quantity of freeze dried meals on hand for backpacking trips and the like, where weight is critical.

I know many people rely of FD for emergency use, but I wonder where will they get the necessary water to rehydrate their goodies? FD stuff, light weight and delicious as it is, is most useful in locations where water is plentiful. If you have to pack rehydration water, you haven't gained a thing. Hence, my reliance on canned goods (water is included and the price is right!). Many grocery store products (dried potatoes, dried milk, mac and cheese, etc) are quite suitable for light weight situations and are reasonably priced, as well. i have a lot of that stuff as well.

I also keep on hand a plentiful supply of wrapper foods - candy bar size snacks with better nutrition than the usual candy bar. These are great when you are moving fast and don't want to stop and prepare a meal. Just shuck the wrapper and chow down...

The best of these is something called a Tanka Bar, produced on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. It is a bar comprised of buffalo meat and fruit (cranberries, I think). It is tasty, nutritious (70 grams of protein), but rather expensive. It keeps forever. I have eaten bars nine years past their "sell by" date and they were fine. Made in America, from native American animals, by Native Americans!! There are a lot of "tear open and eat" products like this on the market, but I haven't found anything else that is really any better than the fig newton bars available in any grocery store.

I don't worry too much about 'sell by" dates. I believe the producers only guarantee full flavor and taste; edibility will extend far into the future. Aging Clif bars, for example, are a bit dry, but still as tasty (?) as ever....

This season Mrs. Hikermor and I have begun growing more of our food in small plots around our house and that is turning out very well. We added tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, and sunflowers to our existing orange and avocado trees and our black berry bush. While hardly something you could count on in many disasters, I feel we can grow more of our own food and experience superior nutrition real cheap. I am a huge fan of our home grown broccoli, something I never would have predicted....

Or just up the AC a notch or two....(How decadent! (I can remember when cars did not have AC...)

With food, dry goods last longer than canned, canned lasts longer than prepared foods (ready to eat but in a package). Again, temperature and moisture are the things that affect the longevity of anything. Stored properly, dry and canned should last years.

I recently had the “opportunity” to eat some Beef Stew which had a 2011 sell by date. It was fine, tasted like canned beef stew always tastes and best, it did make me sick at all. Don’t be put off by the date, just watch the storage conditions and the shape of the can.

comment on stored staples like beans, rice, pasta etc... recommended by Wendy DeWitt (LDS food guru)... I vacuum sealed my stored staples in quart pressure canning jars with the jar adapter of my inexpensive vacuum sealer... then place the sealed jars back into their original shipping boxes, and store under my bed

for water a combination of Aqua Tainers (at least 15yrs old) and Scepter 20L containers... I change out the water at the start of hurricane season yearly, and add 2ml of liquid chlorine bleach for each 20L container... a Sawyer 5 gal .1micron filter and on site well with hand pump is back up

I dine out exclusively, so other than some perishable sandwich meats and hot dogs, my hurricane prep is for only a two week stretch of canned soups and stews (which can be augmented with a hand full of instant rice), which are donated to a local food bank about 6months prior to the use by date... 72 hours of Mountain House entrees in the car

hurricane radios and portable TV is in a Sears rolling plastic tool chest... I could re-purpose, and throw a sleeping bag on top and di di mao if needed...after Irma, I obtained a second charger for my Eneloop AAs and a dedicated power strip so I can charge them and my cell phone off the same wall outlet

generators, fuel, and 3 bulk propane cylinders are stored in a non attached garage

my garage temps reach 100F, but the house runs between 68-78F

One of the items we store. more and more frequently, in some manner or another, is electricity, either within rechargeable batteries or in power banks of varying capacities - a lot of these come equipped with some sort of flashlight bulb and outlets for charging other devices.

So far, I am a Goal Zero patron - I have two portable solar panels and several lights, lanterns, and smaller power banks. They are great, but I am dimly aware of cheaper alternatives and brands that are just as effective, if you know what you are doing with electricity (which lets me out). Basically I am content to keep batteries and cell phones working.

What are the options for effective systems that corral and store electricity?

I too like Goal Zero, there’s a GZ Yeti 400 sitting under the desk as I type (closer than my LM Skeletool ). But the Yeti isn’t particularly hiking friendly, so for that there is an Anker PowerCore 20100 Portable Charger, which IIRC has multiple 18650 Li-Ion batteries inside with circuitry to allow multiple USB outputs. Anker makes similar smaller units and if I was doing it again, I’d probably get a smaller single USB unit, but this one works.

I picked up a Goal Zero 7w panel several years ago just to play with the technology... I am able to charge AA Eneloops in either of my 4 slot chargers, but it is time consuming... Irma opened my eyes to the advantages of a inverter generator, which now has extended run capabilities... I have a traditional 3500W Honda, that is a lot more robust, but the handy inverter 2200/2000 is now the primary

if you refrigerate insulin, use a CPAP, use need an oxygen accumulator or have other medical requirements should look into one of the top of the line inverter gen sets

Water- Mixed
1- 50 gallon barrel under the steps in the basement- Tap water plus very little bleach.
3 -5 gallon commercial bottles, like the ones you see on water coolers. Prefilled.
2 -3 gallon camping bottles, easy to get in car and user. Tap water.
5 or 6 2 and 3 liter soda bottles, washed and bleached. 1 under sink in kitchen, 3 in freezer in garage, 1 in each car.

Energy
2 golf cart batteries in series, about 1000 watts. About 300 watts in panels, mostly in garage. 4 inverters, 2 converters (inverters for AC stuff, converters for 12 volt stuff. Can get to AC, DC 12 volt, DC 5 volt, 9 volt.
I also has a Prius that can do 12 volts for a LONG LONG time.

Food
Badly short. Wife is 1) gluten intolerant 2) not into prepared. We have maybe 2 weeks of food on hand. BIGGEST GAP. May need to do this without approval...

Plenty of ways to COOK, Propane grills, butane grills, just not enough food.

Shelter
House, 2 relatives with houses within 10 miles
4 tents
10 sleeping bags.

"I also has a Prius that can do 12 volts for a LONG LONG time."

Mrs.Hikermor drives a Prius, very capably I might add. That vehicle will be with us, either staying or leaving, in a disaster. I am sure I can get 12 volts from it for a long time, what what about 120 AC? Any simple solutions for the electronically challenged?

For starters, what kind of solar array would keep the Prius main battery charged and how might one hook it up?

120 VAC could be achieved with an inverter. Some of them can be hooked up to the cigarette lighter socket. Check for the fuse though and use a unit that stays within the limits of that fuse. Keep in mind that the inverter draws a current that is about 10 times the output current (there is some loss).
For the solar array you would have to do a rough estimate for currents you want to draw and the available space for storage. A size that can be easily stored in a car may give you about 2 - 3 A per panel. It probably can be hooked up via a lighter socket (check whether that is permitted for the Prius) or directly to the battery. Make sure to use a regulator.
I use Anderson Powerpoles for connections. They ensure the proper polarity and do not have genders.

AC out is easy, as long as amperage is low- just plug an inverter into the light plug. It is "possible" to hook up more directly, but not a great idea.

Getting energy back IN to a prius is ugly.
Doing it directly is NOT worth the hassle. Only exception is the plug in hybrid. It would void the warranty.

Just add more gasoline....

Now.... keeping solar separate, or making the assumption that you are the 1% that has a plugin car- Prius (4.4 kwh) plugin, Leaf (24 kwh), Tesla (60 -100 Kwh)...
That would be up to 100kWh battery (in technical terms, a crapload of electricity- 100,000....wait 1000x100, SIX zero 1,000,000 WATTS)
that's like a hairdryer for 100 HOURS
You would need 20kW of panels to charge it full in one day.

That is assuming that you can do a direct charge- panels to inverter to car battery.... If you are trying to keep the energy outside of your car, then use your house batteries to charge your car, jsut forget it- unless you are Elon Musk, you cannot afford that many panels or batteries. Heck, you probably do not have enough real estate to set up that many panels......

Thanks a bunch! I don't have a plug in and I am not EM (although I clearly know more about cave rescue than he does - who doesn't?)

LOL. Me either, picked up a 2015 Prius C for 10995 (300 mile drive to Wichita, but 3000.00 cheaper than Omaha.)

Gotta LOVE 53.00 Miles per Gallon!!!!

I have four 6.5 gallon Blitz water cans, and one 7 gallon Reliance Aqua-Tainer, which I have rigged with a 45 deg garden hose shutoff, so I can prop it on top of my truck cap and take a gravity shower. It takes me about 2.5 gallons to fully shower, including washing and conditioning my long hair. This was very useful last summer, when I was homeless, between apartments, for the second time in two years.

Living in the bed of a pickup truck for a few months will really open your eyes. Lucky for me, I'm skinny enough to crawl through the rear window of my truck between the cab and the capped bed, which means I can mostly avoid getting wet on rainy days.

There's a tested artesian spring near me, which is where I fill my cans, but I store them empty and dried.

Since I got divorced, there's only me to feed, water, and toilet, my needs are smaller than most.

I've lived in a cabin with no electricity and no plumbing for a year, with a composting bucket toilet outhouse, a single 50W solar panel and a car battery to run LED lights at night and charge my laptop and smartphone, plus run my Amateur Radio set. I had only a woodstove for heat, and a two-burner propane stove for cooking.

All my water had to be carried in and all wastewater carried out. I had no refrigeration, save for in winter, I would keep empty apple cider jugs filled with water to freeze outside overnight, and swap them into my Coleman 54 qt Steel-Belted stainless cooler.