The future possibilities of being able to distill your own.
There are no hard times --if you are prepared for hard times.
Countertop Burners
City folk in the 1940's when they went into the country were surprised to find the farmers didn't know there was a depression because they made their own food and alcohol. Why is alcohol important like sugar, gold, salt, tobacco, and canned food?
There are many needs and uses for it. This article will hopefully educate you. Our goal here is wanting people to have open discussions about preparing for the future. We all benefit in sharing information.
1. Alcohol as cooking gas. There are alcohol stoves around you can buy or make yourself. They look like real stoves and can carry heavy large pots on top of them. They consist of a stand and burner. You can place any kind of alcohol inside. After prepping, the flame usually burns ½ hour at high. I myself have used an alcohol stove everyday for a month, to cook and reheat my food, safely in my kitchen, as an experiment. This can cost you anywhere from 5 to 10 cents to produce the alcohol.
2. Alcohol as fuel. Motorcycles made before electronic ignition, can still run on alcohol. The T Model Ford was run on alcohol.
These days you can get an E85 converter, so your car can run on ethanol fuel. Anybody can install this if you have some knowledge in mechanics. It will take no less than an hour to convert your car. Or you can go to your auto repair shop.
Ethanol fuel is the same thing as drinking alcohol. Its also called ethyl or grain. There are different proofs, kinds and qualities. It can be made in stills as small as coffee makers to fit on your countertop.
There is also "Methanol" alcohol, otherwise known as wood alcohol, but we are not talking about that kind here because those products give you headaches. The old story about the old moonshiners going blind was because of drinking this.
3. Alcohol as bartering. Its considered liquid currency. In Kosovo after the war, there the only thing that was used as money was homemade vodka distilled out of old fashioned pot stills, made out of potatoes. This paid for labor and the rebuilding of their city. Their paper money was worth nothing.
Alcohol, most importantly, can be used for bartering for food products. The great thing about ethanol is the shelf life lasts forever, as long as it is properly sealed. One can bury this as one would hide gold.
4. Alcohol for medical purposes. Medical alcohol or Isopropyl, for use in sterilizing wounds. This will be valuable as medical supplies may be hard to come by. This is used for surgical operations, sterilizing appliances and tools, as well for bacteria and germs. This is made from 40 lbs of sugar and 2 bags of yeast. After this is fermented after 3-4 days the ABV ( how much alcohol is in by volume ) will be around 16%. If you have 15 gallons of mash it will produce 2 gallons of medical alcohol of around 90% alcohol proof. This can take between 1- 6 hours of distilling depending on size of still
5. Medicinal Alcohol. Extracting the active compounds out of herbs that heal you, creating tinctures. The pharmaceutical companies don't want you to know that you can extract the ingredients of herbs. For example, Tea Tree oil is an anti bacterial, anti fungal antiseptic. Neem or Citronella oil kills fungal infections, it is also a natural insect repellant and medicine with hundred different uses.
You can extract the active compounds out of herbs with a still creating natural pain killers, such as Peppermint, and mild sedatives, such as Valerian Root. This will be particuarly valuable when people are in pain or under emergency dental surgery and there are no doctors available.
We all have headaches and aching bones. Smelling lavender oil works so well as a tension headache cure because it is a relaxant at night to fall asleep. Fennel, and Ginger oil extracted from your still, will work for nausea. Chamomile oil can be for depression. Lemon, Orange, Dill, Basil and Thyme make wonderful food flavourings, just dip a toothpick into oil and stir into food. The possiblilites are endless.
Distilling herbs is the same process as distilling moonshine, but you are using a raw material. Example, 10 lbs of Lavender, Oregano, Garlic etc, will produce one ounce of pure oil, estimated. This will take anywhere from 1 ½ to 4 hours depending on size of your still.
In the future when you might have to make your own soaps, toothpastes and antiseptics, you will rely on distilling certain herbs. Peppermint can be used in homemade toothpaste. Rose can be used in soaps you make, same with citrus fruits. To hide odors when baths are not available. Patchouli oil can be used in your laundry bucket when hand washing. Lavender oil drops in your bath water to perfume body.
6. Alcohol to sterilize the air and perfume. You fill alcohol in a glass candle burner with a cloth wick and add essential oils, like citrus oil you made, for example. This can be good in bathrooms. You light the wick, let burn a few minutes, blow out and let it perfume potently. These are called effusion lamps. This was invented in 1898 by French pharmacist to purify the air in hospitals. One smell of this blown out with essential oil, like Citronella, added to the alcohol, and you will know what I mean by pure air. Eliminates 85% of bacteria in room. 32 ounces will burn for 32 hours.
7. Distilling your own water. Distilled water will be very valuable, more than gold, in the event of economic collapse. Its important to have clean water. One cannot live long without it. Any distiller will purify the dirtiest of waters by removing all organic materials. You can distill 1 pint to 3 gallons of water, in an hour, in any cleaned out still, depending on size.
8. Consumable alcohol. In the event of a crisis the consumption of alcohol is classed as one of the necessary needs of man, besides food and water. Consumable alcohol includes Rum, Whiskey, Gin, Brandy, Vodka, Schnapps, Grappa, Tequila, etc. Based on the raw product and availability of sugar, barley, grapes, potato, corn or beets, this can take as short as a few hours after fermentation. Time is based on size of mash, and after fermentation it will take you anywhere from one hour-- per pint up to two gallons an hour depending on size of your still. But until that happens, making alcohol yourself in a still is illegal unless you have a permit.
Warning: This article is conjecture on what would happen if current society breaks down. As it is now, making of hard alcohols for drinking purposes, is illegal in the USA and many other countries. Beer and wine is legal and we will cover that in another article. For those that wish to make ethanol for fuel, we have a link on our website that you can apply for a permit, for free, to make up to 10,000 gallons a year. All you need is some land and locks for the shed.
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Professional Series PS77311 1500-Watt Tabletop Double Burner Feature
- 1500-watt tabletop appliance with 2 heavy-duty burners
- Adjustable temperature from low to high; "power" indicator lights
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Professional Series PS77311 1500-Watt Tabletop Double Burner Overview
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