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#287688 - 01/09/18 05:55 PM Re: What increases your survival chance after a nuke? [Re: Bingley]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
I may be missing something here. I believe the problem with flames in an enclosed space would be generation of CO...correct? If I really needed my cup of coffee, I would be tempted to crank up any of my backpacking stoves for the brief time required for that essential fluid.

Aside from that, there are lots of nutritious, tasty items - nuts and fruits, many veggies. I could easily consume cold cans of beef stew, etc., although it would be preferable to heat them.
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#287689 - 01/09/18 06:59 PM Re: What increases your survival chance after a nuke? [Re: quick_joey_small]
adam2 Offline
Addict

Registered: 05/23/08
Posts: 474
Loc: Somerset UK
My favourite option for fallout shelter food would be a mixture of lifeboat rations and chocolate bars and orange juice.

All can be consumed with no preparation or need for cooking or heating. Tinned tuna can be eaten straight from the can.

In the longer term, freeze dried foods like mountain house could be most useful, but not perhaps in the initial stages of a radiation emergency.

I would suggest a months stock of foods that need no heating or preparation of any kind, and another years stock of foods that need a bit more preparation.

Water is vital, keep a months worth of bottled water or long life fruit juice that can be consumed with no treatment or preparation.

If you must have coffee, I would suggest a stock of the ready made self heating canned coffee.
In a cold climate, the self heating canned foods might be worth stocking, both are rather expensive though.
Make certain that any such use a chemical reaction between quicklime and water, and not form of combustion.

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#287690 - 01/09/18 07:31 PM Re: What increases your survival chance after a nuke? [Re: quick_joey_small]
gonewiththewind Offline
Veteran

Registered: 10/14/08
Posts: 1517
Emergency Air

I don't know how good it is, but it does address the subject.

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#287691 - 01/09/18 08:14 PM Re: What increases your survival chance after a nuke? [Re: hikermor]
Russ Offline
Geezer

Registered: 06/02/06
Posts: 5357
Loc: SOCAL
I agree, flames in an enclosed space generates CO and other byproducts that will need to be filtered out and that air will need to be replaced by ambient air that needs to be filtered prior to allowing it into your enclosed space. So using MRE heaters (water-activated exothermic chemical heater) may be the way to go. No flame, no CO2 or CO generated, just heat. But those are single use items and you may need a bunch of them. Stock up now.

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#287692 - 01/09/18 08:18 PM Re: What increases your survival chance after a nuke? [Re: adam2]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
Freeze dried foods are wonderful when weight is critical, and water is abundant, as in backpacking in the Sierra Nevada. When potable water is scarce, other forms of chow are much better, as well as cheaper. An apple is mostly water, as are other fruits, as well as tasty and nutritious as well. It is probably a good idea to have a variety of staple foods available, as situations can change. Canned goods are cheap, durable, and usually have plenty of water.
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#287712 - 01/10/18 05:07 AM Re: What increases your survival chance after a nuke? [Re: Bingley]
UTAlumnus Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 03/08/03
Posts: 1019
Loc: East Tennessee near Bristol
The HVAC here is set up with the fan and its coils inside and the compressor and its coils outside. All the air handling is inside the house. With this set-up, what are the benefits of turning it off?

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#287720 - 01/10/18 01:39 PM Re: What increases your survival chance after a nuke? [Re: UTAlumnus]
adam2 Offline
Addict

Registered: 05/23/08
Posts: 474
Loc: Somerset UK
Originally Posted By: UTAlumnus
The HVAC here is set up with the fan and its coils inside and the compressor and its coils outside. All the air handling is inside the house. With this set-up, what are the benefits of turning it off?


Provided that you are certain that the equipment ONLY cools the interior air and introduces no fresh air whatsoever, then it MIGHT be acceptable to leave it running, subject to it serving only a single room, or perhaps several rooms but with an inside coil and fan for each room.
If however a central fan serves several rooms, then the equipment should be turned off since the air circulation will move fallout from a less protected part of your home and into your fallout shelter/inner refuge.

And in any case, it is most unlikely that you will still have utility service. And if you have a generator, is it connected to a bulk diesel fuel tank ? and if not, can you fuel it without exposing yourself to fallout ?

A serious level of fallout over a significant area implies a very serious situation indeed, and in such circumstances diesel fuel might be far to valuable to expend thus.

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#287743 - 01/11/18 12:57 AM Re: What increases your survival chance after a nuke? [Re: quick_joey_small]
Pete Offline
Veteran

Registered: 02/20/09
Posts: 1372
I think that the big, big problem is that people would have absolutely no idea what level of radiation exists outside. and how big is the fallout area?

I doubt that the Gov't is set up to easily "map out" this type of information and distribute it to the public quickly. I'm not saying that FEMA and the military don't care. But I think there would be tremendous confusion on the ground if this type of event really occurred.

The expectation seems to be that people would have electronic communications .e.g. radio or television. and that they would have electrical power. If these things were out, I think that confusion would "reign supreme".

Put yourself in the place of the local sheriff or fire brigade. If you were ordered to drive around neighborhoods that had fallout contamination, and broadcast msgs for people to stay inside, would you actually do that? I really don't think that local authorities would accept that kind of risk, and I don't blame them.

Pete

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#287746 - 01/11/18 03:10 AM Re: What increases your survival chance after a nuke? [Re: quick_joey_small]
unimogbert Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 08/10/06
Posts: 882
Loc: Colorado
Cooling HVAC doesn't draw in outside air but as stated above, it circulates what's in the house.

Heating with natural gas or oil requires combustion air so modern installations have a 4" or larger pipe to the outside to draw outside air in for the furnace to use in combustion. So, in my case, the basement would provide shielding but if the furnace (which is in the basement) was running that intake pipe would suck in outside contaminants. If there were no power that pipe still would need to be well blocked.


Nukalert is one device that can count radiation. (keychain item my wife bought)

Old Civil Defense radiacs that work (but aren't calibrated) can be bought. (got one in the basement)

Even the foil-leaf personal dosimeters like I used in US Naval nuclear power plants can be purchased. (got two along with the charging station in the basement)

Knowing the levels would bring some confidence in choosing an appropriate course of action.

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#287747 - 01/11/18 04:01 AM Re: What increases your survival chance after a nuke? [Re: quick_joey_small]
haertig Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 03/13/05
Posts: 2322
Loc: Colorado
Originally Posted By: quick_joey_small
What increases your survival chance after a nuke?

Maybe being on the team that sent the nuke rather than the team that received it?

cool

Actually, I'm not sure I'd want to survive after a nuke. I'd want a quick death rather than a lingering one. Maybe if it was really small and/or really far away, you could survive it and come out OK.

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