Big Ticket Items?

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Mon, Apr 6, 2009 - 8:57pm
#1
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Big Ticket Items?

What big ticket items do you all think are essential? I assume:

1) Solar? some serious solar energy capacity - what specifically? Is there a certain model/make most prefer? What if you rent and cannot modify the house you rent?

2) Generators - what kind/specs?

3) Firearms - handled in other thread

4) Food/Water Supplies: Freeze dried foods, water filters, rain barrels (taken together this can be a big ticket item)

others? a motorcycle? BOB (Bug Out Bag?)

Tue, Apr 7, 2009 - 12:02am
#2
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Re: Big Ticket Items?

paranoid wrote:

What big ticket items do you all think are essential? I assume:

1) Solar? some serious solar energy capacity - what specifically? Is there a certain model/make most prefer? What if you rent and cannot modify the house you rent?

2) Generators - what kind/specs?

3) Firearms - handled in other thread

4) Food/Water Supplies: Freeze dried foods, water filters, rain barrels (taken together this can be a big ticket item)

others? a motorcycle? BOB (Bug Out Bag?)

#4: See "https://www.PeakProsperity.com/forum/food-storage-dilemmas-freezedried-vs-dehydrated-both-flawed/14211" and "http://www.peakprosperity.com/forum/water-filtering-question/14643"

BOB: See "https://www.PeakProsperity.com/forum/whats-your-bug-out-bag/"

Tue, Apr 7, 2009 - 1:12pm
(Reply to #2) #3
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Re: Big Ticket Items?

SamLinder wrote:

BOB: See "https://www.PeakProsperity.com/forum/whats-your-bug-out-bag/"

Hi Sam, that link was broken, should be:

http://www.peakprosperity.com/forum/whats-your-bug-out-bag/15721

Tue, Apr 7, 2009 - 6:39pm
#4
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Re: Big Ticket Items?

Thanks Sam;

 I found a few good threads on Doomers for Solar - if anyone wants I can cut and paste here

:)

Tue, Apr 7, 2009 - 8:46pm
(Reply to #3) #5
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Re: Big Ticket Items?

ScottHW wrote:
SamLinder wrote:

BOB: See "https://www.PeakProsperity.com/forum/whats-your-bug-out-bag/"

Hi Sam, that link was broken, should be:

http://www.peakprosperity.com/forum/whats-your-bug-out-bag/15721

Thanks for the fix!  Laughing

Tue, Apr 7, 2009 - 8:46pm
(Reply to #4) #6
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Re: Big Ticket Items?

paranoid wrote:

Thanks Sam;

I found a few good threads on Doomers for Solar - if anyone wants I can cut and paste here

:)

Good idea. All info is helpful.

Tue, Apr 7, 2009 - 9:13pm
#7
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Re: Big Ticket Items?

paranoid wrote:

What big ticket items do you all think are essential? I assume:

1) Solar? some serious solar energy capacity - what specifically? Is there a certain model/make most prefer? What if you rent and cannot modify the house you rent?

2) Generators - what kind/specs?

3) Firearms - handled in other thread

4) Food/Water Supplies: Freeze dried foods, water filters, rain barrels (taken together this can be a big ticket item)

others? a motorcycle? BOB (Bug Out Bag?)

On Solar: First, do not buy used solar equipment. There is usually a reason it is on the market. This is especially true of inverters. But the solar you need is going to depend on how much electricity you will be using and then doing a solar site survey. If you stick with straight DC your costs will be lower and no need for an inverter. But it rules out using your PC. =^0 The there are the storage batteries, and on and on and on.

We could easily start a new thread on the things you need for a solar outfit. I am currently living on a retreat center powered by solar and have been learning/working on their system. We have a back up diesel generator as well. I am feeling that solar would have a better ROI for a community but not a cheap item for an individual.

I think one of the most simple solar devices you could install is solar water heating and using thermal mass. Solar heaters can be made out of most anything: http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_2360667.html 

As for rainwater harvesting, there is a calculation that will tell the size of the harvester you will need for your area:

http://www.rain-barrel.net/rainwater-calculator.html

Storing the water for drinking is mainly a fight against bacteria, algae, and parasites.

Anyway, just a short sample of thinks you will need to think about. 

Sun, Apr 12, 2009 - 1:53pm
#8
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Re: Big Ticket Items?

I have looked into getting solar panels for my home and my office, with a back up natural gas generator.  I think that solar will always be useful, no matter what the future economic fortunes bring.  Since fossil fuels are simply stored and concentrated solar energy, it is inevitable that when fossil fuels go the way of the dinosaurs, solar really is our only hope. 

 The cost for a 2.5 kilowatt solar system in Oregon for my home is $19500 turnkey.  The up front cost will be $13900 and after tax credits spread out over 5 years, the net cost will be $3700.

Expensive?  What else are you going to do with your dollars that will soon be hyperinflated?  Investing in something that is going to help you maintain a semblance of civilization seems like a good use of money to me. 

Sun, Apr 12, 2009 - 2:41pm
(Reply to #8) #9
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Re: Big Ticket Items?

mutschler wrote:

I have looked into getting solar panels for my home and my office, with a back up natural gas generator.  I think that solar will always be useful, no matter what the future economic fortunes bring.  Since fossil fuels are simply stored and concentrated solar energy, it is inevitable that when fossil fuels go the way of the dinosaurs, solar really is our only hope. 

The cost for a 2.5 kilowatt solar system in Oregon for my home is $19500 turnkey.  The up front cost will be $13900 and after tax credits spread out over 5 years, the net cost will be $3700.

Expensive?  What else are you going to do with your dollars that will soon be hyperinflated?  Investing in something that is going to help you maintain a semblance of civilization seems like a good use of money to me. 

Hi mutschler,

Where in Oregon are you? I'm in the Portland Metro area and we have about 10 CM'ers in the immediate area.

Expensive?  What else are you going to do with your dollars that will
soon be hyperinflated?  Investing in something that is going to help
you maintain a semblance of civilization seems like a good use of money
to me.

Makes sense to me!

Sun, Apr 12, 2009 - 4:25pm
#10
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Re: Big Ticket Items?

As far as generators go there's a whole bunch to look at.  First decide what KW you want-need.  How clean a power do you want? (computers?) Then there is fuel source, besides gasoline, there's diesel, natural gas, even propane.  Solar or wind also, if you get the right inverter, battery bank, charge controller.  That's where I am stuck in the middle of, trying to figure out what big generators to get, besides the hokey gas ones.

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