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Mike from NH
9 years ago

Heh. Jack Spirko, master Podcastsmith.

Congrats Jack. Thanks for what you do.

deb
deb
9 years ago

Good, practical and well reasoned. This kind of preparedness is really just common sense”grown up” living, something our grandparents would have considered the normal way of doing things. It brings a peace of mind and a sense of purpose. And this purpose provides a heck of alot of energy to keep pushing forward with the tasks.
Personally, I had to step over the threshhold of my own fear/comfort level to try to build a homestead when we are in our 60s. I think most people believed we were nuts.
That was last year. Now they are asking how we got so much done this first year and admiring the garden.
We are not “there” yet. But we are closer, and thats the direction we want to keep heading.

Stephen
Stephen
9 years ago

Jack, question on water. With your tanks, have they ever gotten to the point of overflow? So, would you gain capacity with another tank, or do you get little enough rainfall that you’d end up having extra capacity that wouldn’t fill up? Also, how did you decide what sized tanks you got? Based on the roof size and rainfall?

Stephen
Stephen
9 years ago
Reply to  Stephen

Ah, interesting. Have you put much thought toward if you had to get 100% of your water from there in SHTF? How do you decide that the extra capacity is worth it as a contingency vs spending that 1100 anywhere else? Is there a tipping point there?

Also, I’ve always wondered this, and maybe someone else wants to chime in, too. What do people in Northern climates (like me) do with a big water system like that? Heat it above 32 all winter? Drain it in the fall and start empty in the spring?

Stephen
Stephen
9 years ago

Ah, right on. forgot about the pool, too. And the new pond, I suppose. Thanks for sharing.

Brent Eamer
Brent Eamer
9 years ago
Reply to  Stephen

@Stephen, in Prince Edward Island, (46N). I have a propane generator with a twist lock and an outlet that I can run my 220v deep well submersible pump with. With 120lbs of propane for a single guy, I think I am fine. I have about 150 litres (40 US gallons?) stored. Below freezing here four months of year

Rick Noelle
9 years ago

It is a tricky distinction. If we look at the root word of each, suffice and rely, I almost end up with an opposite definition. Suffice, to me, almost implies time, for example, I have enough food to suffice for two weeks or I have a sufficient amount to last X days. Whereas rely could imply an indefinite amount of time in that I’m no longer thinking about what is sufficient but rather the fact that I can rely on myself. If I heard correctly though, your interpretation is pretty much the opposite. If I am self-reliant, I can rely on my supplies for X days. If I am self-sufficient, my production is enough to suffice for an indefinite amount of time. My takeaway here is that I shouldn’t assume I know what you mean beforehand! I was thinking through it carefully as I was preparing to pass on some of this wisdom to my son. Great podcast as usual Jack. Thanks.