Strategic Living for a Joyful, Self Reliant and Healthy Life

Propane for Preppers 3.0: The Complete Book Part 2

Shortly after posting Part 1 to Ron Brown’s book, Propane for Preppers, a major pipeline in the US was hit by a cyberattack. This attack resulted from a hack that for close to a week, shut down a system that delivers about 45% of the gasoline consumed on the East Coast. This led to panic buying and shortages at gas stations from Washington, D.C., to Florida.

What a mess!

Whereas that attack affected gasoline, who is to say that the next attack, if it happens, won’t shut down our electrical power grid?

Of course, there are many risks other than a hack attack. This summer, it has already been reported that some states will face grid disruptions due to brownouts and blackouts. Natural disasters occur and there is always the possibility of a massive EMP, whether natural or manmade.

One way or another, we all need to be prepared with a fuel source that will get us through a short-term disruption to our power grid. One of those fuels is propane.

Propane, at the moment, is relatively easy to acquire and while not cheap, is still affordable. With propane, you can boil questionable water to make it safe to drink and add lighting to pitch-black darkness. With propane, you can cook your food and heat your living space. There is a lot you can do with propane in an emergency situation.

I am posting this multi-part series on propane to educate you about the various aspects of propane, including its storage and safe usage. By the time you finish this series, you will be able to use propane with confidence and without fear that you will hurt yourself in the process.

The Meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance

By Gaye Levy 10 Comments

For the past year, I have been in a funk. Undoubtedly being my own worst enemy, and with time on my hands, I devour the news with disbelief at how bad the United States has descended into tyranny.

This is something I wrote about often at the now, apparently defunct, Backdoor Survival. At the time, I spoke of the erosion of civil rights and the perfect storm for economic and political collapse. My timing was off but as many in the survivalist prepper community have predicted, things are now happening on the public stage that are far worse than we imagined.

All that being said, for Independence Day, I wish to share the following tome with you. Although I have made slight changes, it was originally was shared over a year ago by a member of my community and is a reminder that as far as I am concerned, we live in the greatest country in the world, warts and all.

It is a quick read, but well worth it.

Propane for Preppers 3.0: The Complete Book Part 1

By Gaye Levy 1 Comment

For over ten years, propane has played an important role in my preparedness life. Both my former home in Washington State and my mountain home in Arizona have relied on propane for heat, cooking, and hot water as well as the incidentals of BBQs, fire pits, and lanterns.

As a result, over the years I have written two separate series around the topic of “propane for preppers”. Credit where credit is due: the second series (in 2015) was authored as a guest piece from my pal Ron Brown. Those articles subsequently became the basis for the 7^th book in the Non-Electric Lighting Series.

That brings us to today.

I have close to zero confidence that our leaders have the wherewithal to prevent a cyberattack on our grid specifically and our utilities generally. That includes the propane that is supplied directly to our homes via local utility companies.

That is not to say that a cyberattack is the only risk to consistent propane delivery. Fossil fuels of all types are under attack by our own government and until/unless the narrative changes, I can imagine a time when non-green fuels will be rationed.

In my effort to bolster my own reserve of portable propane (meaning propane not provided by our local gas company), I recently revisited Ron’s book and reminded myself of the excellent job he has done in educating us in propane independence as well as propane safety.

I reached out to Ron and asked him for permission to reprint his book as a series of articles on Strategic Living and he said yes! How cool is that?

In Ron Brown’s Words

Before getting started, let me tease you with a few words from Ron.

Lanterns that use mantles produce light on par with electric light bulbs. And PROPANE mantle lanterns have advantages over liquid-fueled lanterns.
For one thing, propane does not degrade in storage. You can store it for fifty years. It’s still the same stuff. Hook it up and it works. What other petroleum-based fuel can you say that about?
And propane is convenient compared to liquid fuels. No messy spills. No stinky rags. Certainly, that’s worth something.
The book that Gaye is sharing with you covers safety (from crystal meth to carbon monoxide); step-by-step refilling of one-pounders from 20-pound BBQ tanks (with the emphasis on SAFETY); long-term storage of one-pounders; and many real-life comments & words of advice from readers who saw the original article series.

Let’s get started.