Full disclaimer: I'm a believer in storing what you use and using what you store.
That said, my theory works well with food preps (I don't have much "25 year shelf-stable" stuff nor tons of MREs), batteries, gas and stuff. There are also some preps that you acquire that will last a lifetime and then some, such as good quality tools. But what do you do with those items that you don't use and have a life-expectancy?
My specific case is kerosene. I store some (~ 40L) to use in oil lamps or in a small back up heater. My cursory research tells me kerosene can store for about 2-5 years. Unlike the gas I store and then rotate through the vehicles every 6 months, I really don't care for burning oil lamps "for fun" nor do I feel like burning a stinky kerosene heater if the furnace still work. I nonetheless see kerosene as quite valuable since I don't have a wood stove (yet) and firewood is expensive / not easily available in central AB.
So...
1) Do you have "hard-to-rotate" preps? How do you deal with them?
2) Any tips on kerosene? How to stretch it's shelf-life and/or alternate use?
Happy prepping!
Well I have a very difference experience regarding kerosene and its shelf life, I must have started with a few hundred liters put into storage 2004-2005, I have been using it up slowly since then. I have found that it seems to store like new in sealed 15 or 20 liter cans (forgot what size they come in) I bought them from either Acklands or Century supply.
I bought the 10 liter jugs from CT at the same time in plastic containers, some of the fuel became yellowish over time, I at first thought it was from storage in plastic,and that may be contributory, but some did not yellow, so I believe the lids just don't seal as well on the plastic containers. The yellowish Kerosene I still used, just polished it like I would with old diesel, and it burnt fine. If I keep a oil lamp filled with Kerosene I often find that at about the 2 maybe 3 year mark if I haven't used the lamp the wick mechanism becomes stuck/gummed up and the kerosene goes yellowish
I don't know anyone else who does this, don't know if its right to do but It works great for me, and that is when I am breaking in diesel engines. I run them on Kerosene for a couple hours under heavy load...I do that because kerosene has less lubricity than diesel fuel so it helps seat the rings in on a new engine.
Give a man a gun, and he can rob a bank. Give a man a bank, and he can rob the world.
Good point peppercorn.
I don't really prep for SHTF, mostly it is for loss of wages, jobs and natural disasters. I always stick what I use, except for odd medicines and seeds(I make sure I have a bunch of different seed stashes).
I also stock some essentials like spare fuel and water.. But once again it is mostly stuff I always rotate.
I prep for my daughters, for they are our future.
I prep for the short and long term. Everyday I strive to learn something new.
I prep for community. For in the long run each of us need one another.
I started to store some food(flour,pasta,etc)I also bought for a start 10 tons of wood(oak) because i have fireplace and stove for cooking and heating.
I don't know if i have to store some water and first aid kits.
1) Do you have "hard-to-rotate" preps? How do you deal with them?
2) Any tips on kerosene? How to stretch it's shelf-life and/or alternate use?Happy prepping!
1)Kijiji.... Take a bit of a loss on the product and sell it. There is always someone wanting to buy something out there. So instead of having to eventually throw it out (Be it your kerosene, or my left over o2 aborbers, etc.) sell it for 40 or 50 cents on the dollar (or more if you can get it) and replenish stock.
2)Thats a tough one. We store propane which has (to my knowledge) an unlimited lifespan vs. kerosene. Perhaps look at the costs of moving your equipment to a fuel which will last longer vs. the continued cost of having to replenish kerosene? Sorry man...i'm not much help in the kerosene dept. I did hear that you can use liquid parrafin in lieu of Kerosene in lamps...but I'm not sure 100% and the alwise "google" seems to agree and disagree on whether this is practical or not.
https://www.internationalpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=7738
Well I was checking my stores and each of these jugs held 10 liters of kerosene put away back in 2004 roughly. I hadn't checked this batch in maybe 2 years, it was fine then but now every jug is breaking down and leaking, one leaked till it was empty. I pulled one jug out to check and the plastic is breaking down everywhere on it...So 100 liters (or whats left)is now going to be used to burn brush piles this fall. The kero in 20 liter metal drums is still ok. I have pretty much settled in on propane as my back up fuel source anyway (cooking and lighting).
Give a man a gun, and he can rob a bank. Give a man a bank, and he can rob the world.
1- even HAVING non-rotatables is a personal decision to make. Due to my inability to ignore the worst case, I went with propane. Even though it is bulkier, I liked it mostly due to shelf life and the fact that the BBQ and campstove allow for a slow rotation. As far as a money saving adventure, consider: if you can buy/find an old 20 lb propane tank, (I found 2 in a ditch, and some for free on kijiji. Some people sell them for a buck at garage sales) the local tank exchange allows you to get a brand new storage container whenever it needs a fill. They accept th nastiest looking old tanks and give you a new one for a couple bucks over the cost of a normal fill. So it would take years for the tank to rust, and the gas would be good until it leaked through the rust.
Even in the case of long term foods, make a point of trying a few while camping, or practicing a "power off" weekend in the house. Allows a slow rotation, determines your favorites, and whether the cost is justified.
2- You're doing the right thing by at least using it on something (to start fires), or worst case selling it as a large loss. I don't own a diesel, but is there any way to cut it maybe 10 to 1 and add it to a truck and use it as diesel fuel? Just a thought to deal with it. I'm pretty sure it would work in a turbine chopper engine, just sayin':). Maybe a trade with the local charter operator could be arranged?
Getting to the end of the rambling - Consider while you get kerosene marginally cheaper, the fact it expires and needs wholesale replacement will drive up the overall cost. Especially if you don't even like using it.
I personally think kerosene is cool, but has been usurped over time by better options. I've never heard a spouse complain about the smell of a collection of propane tanks, nor never seen a mess of propane on the floor. Maybe take the time while the S has not hit the F to realign your strategies. Worst case, you can always go back to kerosene.
Just my .02
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One is none, two is one.
Not sure if its the same out in BC, but here in Ontario a lot of places (at least my workplace) either won't or legally are not allowed to fill propane tanks that are over their 10 year expiry date. I don't think we exchange for expired tanks either, so be cautious when buying or picking up old tanks that you can actually use them.
While my food preps were targeted for things I would enjoy eating, there are some things that I'm learning to incorporate into my diet, such as beans. It doesn't help that as a kid I was a picky eater and our house had a pretty steady rotation of a few recipes, so expanding my palate is a big deal. The nice thing about beans is that they're cheap enough that I can keep trying different recipes out to find ones I like.
Out here they gladly take expired tanks at the exchange. So literally, I plucked an empty out of the ditch, brought it to the petro can, and got a new one for propane+2 bucks!
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One is none, two is one.
