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Start Buying Diesel or Flex Fuel Vehicles Now

What will transportation be like in an era when gasoline is very scarce and precious and when ethanol and biodiesel are sporadically available but nearly as expensive as gas? To prevent yourself from being stranded, make sure every vehicle that you purchase from now runs on either diesel or a fuel blend that is an 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline “flex-fuel” variant. The latter are capable of running on 85 percent ethanol. It takes a bit of extra looking to find them, but someday you will be glad that you did. Enter “flex fuel” or “E85” as search variables. Here at the Rawles Ranch, our primary “goin’ into town” rig is an E85 fleet variant of the 2003 Ford Explorer 4WD. And when our little thirty-two-mpg run-about finally dies, it will be replaced by a flex-fuel compact of some sort. For maximum versatility, at least one vehicle at your retreat should be a diesel—perhaps your next crew-cab 4WD pickup, your next tractor, or your next quad ATV. See Chapter 12 for more vehicle details.

Compact Solar-Powered Refrigerators for Insulin

In most climates outside of the permafrost zone, a refrigerator is a must for insulin storage. The simplest solution is to buy a large propane tank and a propane-powered refrigerator. If you’d rather opt for photovoltaics, then I recommend the Engel brand twelve-VDC refrigerators sold by Safecastle. A modest-size photovoltaic power system, such as the 520-watt, four-panel packaged “cabin” system produced by Ready Made Resources, would provide plenty of power to run a compact Engel DC refrigerator plus a flashlight-battery-charging tray and a couple of small lights.

Lighting

It is important to think through your family’s lighting requirements for an extended period without grid power. What chores will you need to accomplish? How many family members (and others) will be staying with you? Will they be old enough to safely use candles and lanterns? How many batteries will you need to keep charged? Will you need to use night-vision gear? How will you handle blackout conditions?

Candles and Lanterns

The low-tech solution to lighting is to use candles or kerosene lanterns. You will of course need to take the usual safety precautions, especially with liquid fuels. When buying candles, be sure to stock up on ones that are specifically designed for long burning. These use a special paraffin formulation that is high in stearic acid. They are sold via mail order by companies such as Nitro-Pak. You can also often find inexpensive long-burning candles at discount stores: Catholic devotional candles in tall glass jars. Soak the jars in water for an hour and the paper labels will slip off easily.

If you buy a kerosene lantern, store plenty of clean-burning grade K-1 (“water clear”) kerosene. Avoid commercial lamp oil (aka liquid paraffin), since it is grossly overpriced. You will of course need plenty of extra wick of the correct width, and a few spare glass chimneys. A good rule of thumb: The younger your children, the more spare chimneys you will need.

Burning Alcohol in Kerosene Lamps and Engines?

I’ve been asked about the possibility of burning fuels other than standard lamp oil or kerosene in lanterns and burning alcohol in gas or diesel engines. Given the flash point of alcohol, I see no reason why it could not be substituted for kerosene in a wick-type kerosene lantern. I suspect that due to the fear of lawsuits Dietz and the other wick-lantern makers disallow the use of anything except kerosene or lamp oil. For liability reasons, manufacturers make these strong disclaimers in anticipation that someone without common sense might inadvertently fill a lantern with gasoline, which could of course have tragic consequences. However, because of the disparities between alcohol and kerosene, alcohol should not be used in a mantle-type kerosene lantern, such as an Aladdin. Alcohol cannot be expected to “generate” and cause the mantle to properly incandesce.

In regard to engines, converting