Thanks...good resource.

No electrify? Dang.
I recall making a correction after a typo.
Wrong multiple choice.
Double dang!

I remember how warm and comfy my GI sleeping bag was one very cold 1970 winter night while being further trained by the Marines after boot camp.
We were only allowed to wear our skivvy's and socks.
Tents were not used. We were in the wide open.

that is why you need a good sleeping bag

Start with 72 hours. That will hold you through most temporary emergencies caused by weather conditions, earthquakes, etc. Then work your way out to two weeks, which will hold you through a major emergency.

Something is niggling me about that freeze dryer gig... There is a reason freeze dryers run on 220 (or 480) and are pretty expensive - you have to pull to -29.94"Hg or better ("hard" vacuum" and hold it there under extreme cold (-50 or better) for a length of time.

The way he popped open that door, and grabbed that tray... well... I'm sorry, but I'm a little skeptical. When you grab something that's at 50 below, expect cold burns. (Ever grab a chunk of dry ice??)

Also... if you want that to last any length of time you have to store it in a moisture and O2 free environment... canned with a 100% N2 (or similar) environment and 0% H2O.

Call me old fashioned, but... I'd need more than a LCD screen to prove to me that the conditions were met and held for effective freeze-moisture removal... I wonder if he ever tried making FD coffee?

You can look up the LDS Bishop's storehouse on line to see where the closest one is. If you are in Utah, Idaho, or Arizona there will probably be one close by. Every one that I have visited has had basic bulk product for sale. They used to have dry pack canners available for use at no charge. They would also sell cans individually. However, in some places they no longer offer the canner and cans, call first. It seems that our magnanimous big brother and the litigious nature of our society has made that more difficult. The problem with mylar bags is they are more easily damaged and have marginal utility once they are opened. The cans have some utility as containers and emergency cook pots. If you have the right tool you can reflange the cans and put a new top on. Buckets are reusable and resealable.

Yes, we Mormons are encouraged to have a one year supply of food for our family and a one year supply of food for another family if we are able.

I live in Idaho and you can get a lot of these things right at the grocery store.

Good point. I suggest one should come with the other.

Depends on what you have. Solar does not need gas for about 15 years and a well that flows without power is great too.

I look at the TV shows and movies concerned with the post apocalyptic zombie and infection invasions as a bellweather unknown disasters people think are awaiting us.

I say that the average citizen is not stupid when it comes to realizing that printing all this money cant just go on and on. I think they see that increasing the power of the NSA is really designed to help keep the government in power in a post apocalyptic scenario.

I have purchased many different items from the LDS website and never had any issues. I would love to go to a Bishops Store if I could find one anywhere near me. As far a buying a freeze dryer, It is just too expensive for me.

There may be no electrify to run anything. Just saying~
Oh, yeah old dino said, withdrawing the mouse arrow from the reply rectangle, there may be no gasoline to run home generators either.
And no running water.
Thinking Mad Max.

I have used the LDS ministry and it is well-worth the investigation. We actually packed our supplies right at the warehouse and they were more than helpful.

I am very happy to state that I am visited constantly by Utah residents buying my sleeping bags because they are very concerned about the misdirection of the country. One person told me that Glenn Beck even lists my sleeping bags on his survival products list. The number of people all over the country that are in the preparedness /survivalist mode is astounding.

The linked articles were the highlight for me.

Not sure that this unit would work for a business but maybe if more than one was owned.

It would make it more affordable if more than one family purchased together but from what I could gather it is a 15-30 hour per batch process so it would take some coordination for use time.

I have not looked at freeze drying. Based on your research, ed, it looks like it could be a small business if the local prep community was large enough, as long as the $%^&ing FDA wasn't interfering.

I looked into this as well. Seems the Harvest Right product is good but still expensive. I thought about it to buy fruits in season at reduced cost but it would take a number of years to pay the $4000 price tag of the machine. There would also be the cost to operate so it didn't make economic sense to me. If I had a large family, it would easily make sense.

I did buy some dried food to try and it was quite good but would recommend trying a few things to makes sure you or your family would eat what it produces before spending that kind of money. That's all I can share.

Some of his articles he links to from this one are really good as well.

Question: Have you ever used a home freeze dryer? I am considering getting one and would love to find someone that has used it, or another brand.

https://harvestright.com/why-its-bett...

Thanks for posting XRoy.
His points on stopping oxidation are good.
That would also be pertinent on the vitamin and mineral supplements that should be included in any prep storage. Vitamin C is a wonder drug (without the pharma and FDA inflated price.)
Ditto for Vits A and D which keep a lot of bodily functions on track, e.g., skin, the body's largest 'organ' and the front line against infections.