Date:         Sat, 31 Oct 2009 10:02:21 -0500
Reply-To:     Max Wellhouse <dimwittedmoose@CFU.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Max Wellhouse <dimwittedmoose@CFU.NET>
Subject:      Re: Vanagon Winter Survival Kit Question
In-Reply-To:  <001001ca5a09$4aafa130$e00ee390$@com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

Robert has given me an idea that maybe if I store the water in an ice
chest, maybe it would at least postpone the water from freezing or
freeze less than if it were in an uninsulated box.  The flip side of
that would be that the water would take a lot longer to thaw when the
van was warm while driving.  I might experiment with that leaving
identical bottles of water in the van this winter and have one in the
cooler and one out and see what hapens.  Thanks for the idea.

DM&FS

At 04:05 AM 10/31/2009, Robert Fisher wrote:
>Since we camp in a tent we have to use large coolers for a 'freezer' and a
>'refrigerator'. I have many bottles of water that I bought wherever
>(hellmart or the grocery store) that I put in the deep freeze (after pouring
>out the 12% (+/-) for expansion). I look for a bottle that seems pretty
>sturdy on the shelf; the best of these seem to be the cheap store brand
>drinking water. The only time I can recall breaking any is when I hit them
>hard against something while moving them around; other than that they've
>held up well. I have some that are more than two years old (I do thaw,
>sterilize and refill the bottles before the camping season). The point is, I
>keep them for months at a time in the freezer without issue, so I would
>think they'd work just fine for what you want.
>
>On the other hand, during the warm weather here I have to open and refill
>the bottles that I keep in the van for emergency coolant water all the time
>as they will 'suck up' from evaporation and break. Go figger.
>
>Cya,
>Robert
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
>Max Wellhouse
>Sent: Friday, October 30, 2009 6:22 PM
>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>Subject: Re: Vanagon Winter Survival Kit Question
>
>Vaseline drenched cotton balls make a great fire starter, kept in old
>film canisters(soon to be hard to come by).
>
>I think this thread has fallen off the cliff, but if I understand the
>consensus of the list, I can store water in my Vanagon in a sturdy
>container with some airspace for expansion and not have it crack or
>deform after a couple of weeks of temps at or below zero degrees
>Fahrenheit.  That's sorta what I was loking for, as I don't have
>Westy parts to break or get damaged.
>
>Thanks
>
>DM&FS
>
>At 02:52 PM 10/30/2009, Mark Tuovinen wrote:
> >Dryer lint and wax using an egg carton for a form works well too.  Makes a
> >great waterproof firestarter for your survival gear.
> >
> >Mark in AK
> >
> >On Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 11:36 AM, Rob <becida@comcast.net> wrote:
> >
> > > Anyone carry a hardwood survival candle? I'd heard of them but never
> > > made one. Wax and hardwood saw dust mixed and packed into a can
> > > (coffee can?) to be used as a survival candle.
> > > The burning hardwood sawdust (& wax) gives off heat, something to
> > > keep you from freezing to death when you ran off the road in the
> > > winter. This could be a lifesaver on a really bad day in a Vanagon.
> > >
> > > A quick search brought me to this site;
> > > http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=009vSb
> > >
> > > I'm not even getting into the common sense stuff that goes along with
> > > fire in an enclosed space.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Rob
> > >
> > > becida@comcast.net
> > > Western Washington State, USA
> > >