Preparedness for when

[Deleted User]

This could be handy, for lighting a fire under difficult conditions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBi5ciuZcPE

[Deleted User]

I burned the candle for several hours at a time, extinguishing and relighting it a number of times, to simulate a real life situation.

It finally expired a few minutes ago, with a total elapsed time of 6 hours and 20 minutes.

Pound-stretchers sells a £1-99 pillar candle, with a claimed burn time of 76 hours, so, assuming their claim is correct, these candles (with a combined burn time of 63 hours and 20 minutes) trail a little behind, but then, one candle (even a pillar candle), doesn't give out much light.

NewShadow

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

This could be handy, for lighting a fire under difficult conditions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBi5ciuZcPE

That guy is compelling and a little too enthusiastic about fire for me to be totally comfortable - I so want to invite him over for a bbq:p

[Deleted User]

Prepping equipment was in evidence at the Boot Fair we visited this morning, it must be the time of year that folks shift surplus camping equipment as we saw several single burner 'bluets' with small gas containers, a couple of modern single burner stoves, several decent barbecues and some 'Tilley Lamps' (the pressure lamps that have a very bright light) and quite a few candle/tea light holders all at very low prices, sellers just wanted to shift things, might be worth keeping your eyes open if you do a boot fair, you never know what you'll come across.

pineapple

Cappella wrote: »

But there are some things that no amount of preparation will help: and I'm not going to live the rest of my life frightened of those. As someone said yesterday MrsLW?that would mean the terrorists and politicians were winning; and I'm not ready for that yet.

But having some preps isn't the same as being frightened. Haven't we had that debate already? We would probably all struggle in the event of an extreme breakdown, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't prep for slightly lesser emergencies. Isn't that why we are here? Imo having some fallout mitigation measures is as much a part of general preparedness and self reliance as is having extra stocks of food, water, first aid - and of course chocolate

Karmacat

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

I burned the candle for several hours at a time, extinguishing and relighting it a number of times, to simulate a real life situation.

It finally expired a few minutes ago, with a total elapsed time of 6 hours and 20 minutes.

Pound-stretchers sells a £1-99 pillar candle, with a claimed burn time of 76 hours, so, assuming their claim is correct, these candles (with a combined burn time of 63 hours and 20 minutes) trail a little behind, but then, one candle (even a pillar candle), doesn't give out much light.

Detailed testing like this is much appreciated, Bob, thank you.

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

Prepping equipment was in evidence at the Boot Fair we visited this morning, it must be the time of year that folks shift surplus camping equipment as we saw several single burner 'bluets' with small gas containers, a couple of modern single burner stoves, several decent barbecues and some 'Tilley Lamps' (the pressure lamps that have a very bright light) and quite a few candle/tea light holders all at very low prices, sellers just wanted to shift things, might be worth keeping your eyes open if you do a boot fair, you never know what you'll come across.

Ooh! I was going to give the local boot fair a miss tomorrow, I usually just buy DVDs at 50p a pop, but thats a good idea, ta muchly.

milasavesmoney

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RtmQuA9DGDw

There are some interesting videos on making your candles last a long time on YouTube. Here is one.
One woman uses a candle instead of paper when making hers, which seems more sensible to me. She goes by the name 'back to basics gal'. Look for that one if this interests you. Her method is what we have done.
For some reason I cant get her video to post. Low tech ability here.

milasavesmoney

For some reason all this has made me think of my mother. She was born in 1916 and grew up on a tenant farm in Texas. There was no electricity and they hauled their water. She said they used kerosene lamps for lighting. They had a metal curling iron and would heat it over the flame to crimp or curl their hair. She said if you got it too hot you had singed hair!:eek:

[Deleted User]

We might find ourselves back there MILA, who knows what sort of a future there is for any of us with the financial instability worldwide, wars and terrorist organisations being aggressive in their campaigns, under investment in the utilities and infrastructure particularly in transport and medical health care and politicians who value saving face and scoring points from the opposition over actually making life good for the populations they govern. Being able to 'Do without' modernity and cope in a less technological world might not just be the prerogative of us whacky few preppers, it might become the norm if all goes pear shaped for any reason.

GreyQueen

Hell, mila, there were places in southern England without electicity and running water as late as the 1960s. And much later in some parts of Scotland.

Me and kid bruv were born in a cottage built in the early 1600s out of recycled timbers so ancient they'd been shaped with an adze rather than sawn, and of clay lump. It's sole concession to modernity was one cold tap in the kitchen and the bathroom was an outhouse with a tin bath hanging on a nail.

Bath night involved carrying the tin bath in and putting it in front of the fire. Then you'd have to fill buckets of water at the cold tap, carry them across the kitchen to the copper (a copper vessel built into the corner of the kitchen, in a stone housing with its own fireplace and flue). You'd light a fire under it to heat the water, then scoop it out with buckets and cart it through into the only other downstairs room and fill the tin bath. Once bathing was complete, the water was unbailed and then poured away.

I was born in that house in the 1960s. No one thought it at all unusual for prima gravida mothers to give birth in such places in one-horse villages in the middle of nowhere in the sticks. The family who'd lived there just before us had had 6 kids.