Preparedness for when

Shropshirelass

I think you are right, and will keep visiting cs forpillar candles and research hurricane lamps.

The cs's around here in the sticks are obviously quite exclusive jobs, dont sell anything for less than £3, dont have much choice, and a lot of the stuff - clothes, bedding, is not worth the money they ask :think: Guess I need to look around somewhere like Chester or Wrexham.

GreyQueen

Perplexed_Pineapple wrote: »

Milton tablets are very useful, but are different from Milton fluid - the tablets contain sodium dichloroisocyanutate, the fluid sodium hypochlorite. You can use the fluid to sterilise drinking water - it says so on the Milton website; I'm not sure about the tablets, although obviously they are great for sterilising equipment and surfaces they might not be safe to drink in solution. Just a thought.

:T It's a good thought and I shall research more and maybe even contact Milton themselves. If nothing else, I could use them as a cleaning product......:)

Re candles, it's quite rare to get them reasonably-priced at c.s. in my area but they seem to proliferate at bootsales. I wonder if they're given as presents to people who don't like to use them? I regard stashing candles as a productive way to invest a few £££ in my future comfort and security.

It seems that the people charged with keeping the grid powered up are dubious about their ability to prevent cuts, and if they're worried, I think it behooves a civilian like myself to pay attention.

One thing I noticed about living in the woods with the Mad bBushcrafters was that life was very dependant on light. We were miles from anywhere in early September. It wasn't light enough to move around outside much before 7 am and by about 9 pm the light was fading.

Yes, we had hurricane lamps in a couple of places and a camp fire and head torches but these are poor sources compared to the wonder which is electric power at the flick of a switch. It really shaped the day and put absolute limits on certain activities requiring fine detail work. And, of course, these were relatively long days compared with mid-winter.

It was very thought-provoking. At one point, about 50 meters from camp, I stood in pitchy darkness with my headtorch off and looked at a whole lotta nothing for miles and miles and got a very faint hint of what life would have been like in pre-modern times. It was awesome, in the full (non-Californian) sense of the word.

[Deleted User]

Perplexed_Pineapple wrote: »

You can use the fluid to sterilise drinking water - it says so on the Milton website

Get yourself a jar/tub of potassium permanganate.

It can be used to sterilise water, as a disinfectant/antiseptic, and as an anti-fungal treatment, for treating things like athletes foot.

babyshoes

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

Get yourself a jar/tub of potassium permanganate.

It can be used to sterilise water, as a disinfectant/antiseptic, and as an anti-fungal treatment, for treating things like athletes foot.

Is that still readily available? It makes fire when combined with glycerine, so would have thought sales of it would be restricted in case someone used it to make a b*mb...

[Deleted User]

Poundland sell 4 packs of dinner table candles.

They used to sell 8 packs, of 8" household candles (I've got 4 boxes stored away), but they don't currently stock them.

JayneC

Shropshirelass wrote: »

Is it still possible to buy ordinary long candles? In olden days, they were Price's Candles I think. I have stocked up on a few fancy perfumed gift-types, (found in cs's), but sm's and W1lks only have fat candles, or tea-lights, is this the new style, do they last longer? (sorry, daft question)

I think you may have more luck in hardware type shops if you can find any. We have a few independent ones here (small town) but I know where I used to live (big town) they all closed down due to the proliferation of DIY superstore places, so it kinda depends where you live. If you have a local market there may be a hardware stall there...There were some basic candles in my local Spar today but I didn't check the price, they weren't terribly long though!
I gave a way a big box of basic white candles that somebody had given me a few years ago when I first discovered Freecycle and had a mad clear out:( Could kick myself now!

bluebag

For water sterilization is use aquaclear tablets available online or from camping shops.

suki1964

babyshoes wrote: »

Is that still readily available? It makes fire when combined with glycerine, so would have thought sales of it would be restricted in case someone used it to make a b*mb...

That's your postings and emails forever watched:eek:

[Deleted User]

babyshoes wrote: »

Is that still readily available?

Your local chemist should stock it.

It makes fire when combined with glycerine, so would have thought sales of it would be restricted in case someone used it to make a b*mb...

It probably is restricted, in the amount you can buy (doubt they'd sell you 10Kg ), but you should still be able to get a 25g or 50g (1oz or 2oz) tub.

It's also good for fire-lighting, when mixed with sugar.

Ignite it with a spark (flint and steel, battery etc.), or with friction, by putting it in the depression of a fire drill.

Rosemary_Jane

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

Your local chemist should stock it.



It probably is restricted, in the amount you can buy (doubt they'd sell you 10Kg ), but you should still be able to get a 25g or 50g (1oz or 2oz) tub.

It's also good for fire-lighting, when mixed with sugar.

Ignite it with a spark (flint and steel, battery etc.), or with friction, by putting it in the depression of a fire drill.

Just typed it in on amaz0n. You can buy it in tiny tubs and up to 1kg at reasonable prices (and someone trying it on at £300 for 5lbs!) - even got glycerine on the same search page

R