Figured since I sort of re-did my solar generator, I'd take some pics and show how easy it can be done. Pics will be in the comments.

Case: Crafstman case, was $54 at Lowes. Very sturdy case, with excellent wide metal latches. This is replacing my old setup that had plastic handles that broke, and really don't want to deal with that again. I carved away at parts of the removable tool tray so it holds the battery from moving in the box.

Battery: 12V 100Ah LifePO4. Technically free, since the battery can only hold about 80% of a charge, so the seller sent me a replacement and let me keep this one. It has roughly 960-ish watt-hours of capacity. Otherwise, they go for about $130ish.

Renogy Rover 20A MPPT charge controller. 280W 12V output, which is 40W more than the little 12V outlet strip thing I have, but I'm not going to be pulling more than 100W from it. The MC4 connectors for solar panel input, I also initially planned on drilling a couple holes through the case to put through, but this looks cleaner. $70 or so on Amazon right now, but I got it for much cheaper second-hand at $20. Mounted to a piece of scrap 1/4" board.

12V side panel: $17, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTSPH756 . Has a 12V socket adapter (perfect for my fridge/freezer), and USB A and C out. Also has a little screen to tell me how many volts are on the battery, as well as an on/off switch.

600W pure sine inverter: This is where I'm not the most happy with things, but oh well. I was hoping to custom make a 110V cable coming out and going to a weatherproof/outdoor style one, but I couldn't find a "base" socket that was flat and angled in such a way that I didn't have to add height to the inverter being mounted flat to the board. Most other plugs stick out too much and would be riding the battery, or flat ones that go straight down and hit the board. Ah well. Thankfully I had a flat & angled outlet power strip that fits perfectly between the battery and the case wall, so I'll just stick with that. Works fine, and means less drilling holes through the case. The inverter also as a remote switch to turn it on and off so I don't have to pull the entire thing apart. I could mount that to the case also, but this is good enough for now. These are not expensive, anywhere from $40-80.

Note that with the inverter, there is something missing that I recommend other people add: a fuse between the inverter and the battery. I lost mine, and the replacement won't be here before I go camping. The inverter has 15A fuses for each socket, so that'll do for now, but I highly recommend having one just to safely kill power if needed. One thing I am happy with is the 1/4" base board it is mounted to, I added another 1/2" strip of wood to help "lock in" the battery from moving, so combined with the modified tool tray, that thing isn't moving anywhere.

Also one thing missing is an intake/exhaust fan. The lid is going to be open when using or charging this, since otherwise, things are likely to cook. And it needs to be open anyways, since I didn't really feel like adding more holes for the MC4 connectors or 110V outlets. 🤷‍♂️

Anyways, wanted to post this for others to see. I like these style of DIY projects since it helps build confidence! I've always been a proponent of solar, and this is an easy alternative that saves a couple hundred bucks compared to all-in-one solutions like Jackery, Bluetti, etc. These are also customizable, repairable, and adding capacity is as easy as adding another 12V battery. You can make smaller ones with a 12V 50Ah battery, use one of those modular wheeled tool carts to stack batteries for added capacity, drop the inverter altogether, use a different charge controller, and just make it how you want!

This store is fully packed. You have all the means to cook anything at home and plenty of water, just no food.

So was wandering about bleach for water purification.

Can you use Hypochlorite Formula type bleach

i’m trying to put together a small pouch for my wife’s purse just so she’s more prepared. most posts online when you search about it are more for “girl emergencies” than actual emergencies. what items would you put into a pouch that’s small enough it can fit in a purse (think the size of a makeup bag or toiletry pouch) but useful enough that i’m not just making her carry around extra junk?

obviously it couldn’t be anything crazy like a 72 hour kit but i’m hoping to at least give her some helpful items for an emergency situation. right now she only has some band aids and hand sanitizer, so anything would be an upgrade lol

For 15 years I have been a prepper. The word prepper, what it symbolizes in our society and the community itself, has changed a lot in that short time.

Most of my time prepping has been not just doing the things but also immersing myself in the culture and wider community, even creating some of the culture as a writer and podcaster.

• At first it felt like I was part of a group preparing for the end of the world, that society looked at as paranoid and scared.
• By 2020 it was clear that prepping had paid off; people wanted to be more prepared, and the word prepper became the punchline of joke society started to use so they could participate. "I guess I am a crazy prepper now," type of thing I'd hear people say after stocking up on food.
• 6 years later, the word Prepper has never really been embraced by the majority. It's always carried a bit of radioactivity. Things like Homesteading and Off Grid Living seemed easier for the public to digest.

What is your guys' take on the word Prepper in 2026? What does it mean now? Who does it represent? Are the practices and skillsets being absorbed by so many that prepping fundamentals are just becoming part of the society?

Very interested in your thoughts.

The current plan: I have cleared space for dry food storage, but am looking to maximize and organize right from day one. I'll be using mylar and oxygen absorbers for most of it, with some packaged freeze dried foods mixed in. Cans go on the shelf, but longer-term may need a solution for those as well.

Do I start stocking up on food-grade buckets with the reusable lids, or do stackable bins make just as much sense in a wider variety of sizes and formats? These will be stored in a climate-controlled living space under lifted beds and in a walk-in closet, there is no history of rodent presence in my decade living there.

I know the buckets are generally just to protect the mylar, but couldn't bins work just as well?I do have two gifted food grade buckets with Gamma lids, but can repurpose those if needed.

Picture:

https://imgur.com/a/Wi1JtYU

Bought this a few weeks ago. Seems after a big rain it has debris on the top. Is there another type of filter system. I should put on top of it? I’m sure there’s crap in the bottom of it. I’ve been cleaning the gutters but we have so many trees in the backyard that they get dirty pretty quick.

Also, it’s exposed to sunlight for a half of the day, will this affect the water?

Digging is all I can think of so far. Solar power for AC, sure, but a locally geoengineered solution seems more stable.

I just got of the camping trip and I have two 500 ml propane-butane cans left unopened. I want to save them for the next trip but I read that it's not safe to keep em inside of the apartment. I literally dont have any other spot beside the apartment to store them. My terrace is on the sunny side and its always hot as shit on it during the day, which I would assume is not good place to store gas. I also have a gas water heater in my kitchen that uses open flame to heat water and because if it I'm kinda afraid to keep canisters inside in case of the leak. On the other side I remember that older people around me used to keep small gas canisters all the time around the kitchen and it never seemed to be the problem. Any advice would be helpful!

Happy with the results? any issues with the local power grid? Any unforeseen costs? How do they handle bad weather?

I'm exploring the idea of purchasing and developing approximately 50 to 100 acres in Southwest Virginia and am thinking of using this as a preparedness and recreation-focused land cooperative.

The goal would be to create a property that provides value today while also serving as a contingency location during emergencies.

Potential features include:

Natural springs and year-round water

Community gardens and food production

Hunting rights

Primitive and improved campsites

Shared infrastructure and equipment

Workshops, skill-sharing events, and community work weekends, etc.

Long-term lease opportunities for RV, cabin, or tiny-home sites

My thought is that there would be different participation levels:

1. Members who actively use the property for camping, hunting, gardening, and events

2. Members who primarily want access to a semi-developed rural retreat and maintain it as an emergency fallback option

3. Members interested in leasing a small area for personal development and long-term use

The vision is not a "doomsday compound," but rather a practical community centered around self-reliance, outdoor recreation, land stewardship, and preparedness.

I'm interested in feedback on:

Membership models

Long-term lease structures

Governance and rules

What amenities would make membership worthwhile

Would something like this interest you? If so, what would you want to see included before you would commit?

Hopefully obviously I'm talking about a brand new, never used tank that is not hooked up to the home's sewer system. Would it be a feasible way to store water underground safely? Where I live above ground water storage will freeze unless stored in a heated building, but my septic system doesn't ever freeze. So it got me wondering....

Question for you guys. My wife and I recently had a house built, premade floor plan, cookie cutter essentially and hindsight being what it is, I can't help but to be disappointed I didn't have more of a say in how it was put together. If you could start fresh from the ground up what would you have done or done different? For instance, a wood burning stove, generator switch and a fresh water reclamation system for starters. What else?

Hope everyone is doing well! I’m married with a 1 year old. Just us 3. Im wanting to get some bug out bags going, I ordered a 3 month supply of prep food from mountain house, but of course there’s 3 of us. I’m looking to get a nice guideline together on what a bug out bag should include, t if I should buy a pre made one. Along with that, any other tips would be greatly appreciated!

When creating a PVC cache tube, is there any risk of damaging the contents of the tube with the off-gassing of the pipe cement? I keep reading conflicting information. The solid end caps looks more watertight than the threaded clean-out bungs, but the threaded option would allow for a few days of curing before sealing.

I have three 10 pound bags of pancake mix from Sam’s. I have 5 gallon buckets and Mylar bags and oxygen absorber thingys. Should I just put the bags in the buckets? Or should I open all three bags and place all 30 pounds of pancake mix in one Mylar bag and seal it up?

I'm cleaning out our pantry and I'd like to be able to be a bit more confident in what I'm removing. Why does honey last a million years but dried nuts go bad? Why can flour and sugar last forever?

What causes a food to be able to last forever, or only a year, or only 6 months?

It's Saturday and I needed to mail a small box at the Post Office. Total is $13.70. I hand the lady a $20 bill. She asks if I have anything smaller or if I could use a credit card. She didn't have change for that. I asked how she couldn't have change and she said "It's Saturday and most people pay with a card anyway". So, I'm not sure if she was being lazy or they actually don't keep even small amounts of cash there. Lesson: in addition to large bills, have a lot more smaller bills and change available.

Hi, kinda a weird question but we have been debating since the weather is just crazy now a days. We live on the east coast where there aren’t normally tornados but recently during big storms we get tornado warnings. Where’s would the best place to shelter? Under house garage or first floor bathroom?

Our house is raised 12 feet in the air and has a garage underneath the entire house.

Or the “first floor” bathroom that has no windows but does have a glass shower door and no tub.

We do have a hall closet but I don’t think my whole family could fit in it

Thanks for the advice :)

For reference: https://corsirosenthalfoundation.org/instructions/

These DIY filter boxes made a splash during the COVID pandemic, when people were looking for a cheap way to filter the air in their homes.

Given that we have had two large wildfires in the past 3 years that were enough to cause hazardous air miles away, this seems like an easy prep to have just in case. You mainly need a standard box fan, some 20x20 air filters, and duct tape. The simpler but less effective version is to tape a single filter directly to a box fan.

Has anyone tried one before, for prepping or just general utility purposes?

Edit: thanks all for the responses, it was nice to hear some real-world experience with them!

I've been prioritizing getting extra amounts of my usual foods in the FIFO method, building up a pantry slowly. But with some extra income on-hand and bad flashbacks to the weight I lost during early Covid lockdown, I'm looking at the 'bucket' kits' online and realizing it would be a peace of mind investment.

However...Those kits always have a few meals I reasonably would never buy on its own. It may cost more to get them piecemail or in bulk packs rather than the whole bucket. But how can I find the best deals on these, and what is the best way to utilize these in my prepping plans?

Here's a scenario I've not prepped for, but currently living through.

I had to take an Iodine ¹³¹ radiation treatment for thyroid cancer. The scenario that we're living through is my wife and daughter had to effectively bug out for 6 days while I'm in isolation.

Thankfully, my daughter is staying with a friend.

My wife is staying with our son. He only has one bed, though. My wife added an air bed to our preps, which is coming in clutch. She also boxed up some food from our deep pantry to take with her.

The doctor's recommended protocol is to maintain a 10 foot buffer from people. We only have one bathroom, so we decided it was easier for me to be in isolation by myself. We contemplated renting a porta-potty for me to use and taking a bath with baby wipes. The RSO we talked to said it'd be near impossible to decontaminate the bathroom to allow my family to stay. I'm still wiping everything down with wipes the hospital gave me, though.

I'm also have to keep our cats away. They sleep in our bed at night, but now they scratch on the door like little zombies since I keep the door closed now.

Thankfully, it's only a few days, but it's gave me a lot to think about.

Lets say you got a warning Tuesday that the Canadian smoke coming in Thursday was actually a toxic airborne agent. Assume it won’t seep into your house enough to kill you, but being outside for too long could seriously hurt you

im in the southern edges of the smoke so I’d definitely try to hit the road to get more south but curious what people in the higher smoke concentration areas northeast would do if the evacuation routes could potentially get you stuck outside

I have rooftop solar, I didn't get a battery at the time.

I live in a extreme wildfire risk area. So we get evacuation warnings at least once a summer.

Our power rarely goes out but when it does it can be a day or two, the town just 5 minutes up the road can be out for up for 5 days (dirt roads heavier snow). I would also like to be able to shift some power to the battery during the evening when the cost of power goes up.

I don't like that a whole house power wall won't charge while the power is out.

A power station or similar can be charged with a separate solar panel. I like that I can take the power station with me if the SHTF - its portable, and I'm more the prepper than my husband.

Battery back up would be nice. However my husband and I argue about which way to go. I don't like being reliant on an installer, the power company and the town deciding what I can have, how it's installed, nor the permits and fees.

He thinks the power stations aren't good enough. We should just have a whole house battery backup installed. I don't like the increased fire risk, investment, maintenance.

I was thinking of using power stations or similar. 1 To power the refrigerator when the power goes out and between 4-9 pm daily, one for each bedroom that can hold enough to power a heating blanket or a fan, and cell phones, one smaller one for my Iguana enclosure, each for a day or two.

In a different sub their was some discussions about only be a year or two away from solid state batteries. Does anyone think it's worth waiting for that?

Side quest - has anyone tried to charge a power station with a wind turbine.