Tag Archive: Refrigerator

5 Reasons Why to Carry a Leatherman MUT as your Multi-Tool

The Leatherman MUT is one of the best recommendedMulti-Tools I have come across.

Below are the TOP 5 reasons I believe the MUT should be the ONLY Multi-Tool you should consider:

REASON # 5: EASE OF USE

All of the tools are accessed from the OUTSIDE – there is no need to open the tool to get to the multi-tools inside.  Not only are they easy to get to on the fly, but they are easy to open as well.  Ever had trouble getting your thumb nail or finger nail into the groove to open a multi-tool blade?  Me too!  The MUT has a nice cut-out in the blade that makes it a breeze to open – even with one hand.  Two thumbs up!

REASON # 4: 25 YEAR WARRANTY

Enough said.  Try finding this with any other multi-tool.

REASON # 3: MOLLE SHEATH

I love the sheath.  Not only is it a MOLLE SHEATH, but the quality is awesome.  It can be so frustrating to spend $100+ dollars on a new multi-tool only to find out that the sheath sucks and is cheap.  The MUT Sheath will NOT disappoint you.

REASON # 2: MILITARY GRADE

The MUT (Military Utility Tool) was designed with Military Use in mind.  Thus, it is more rugged and durable than most multi-tools on the market.  It also has some pretty cool built in features for breaking down and cleaning firearms.  Other multi-tools can’t touch these options.

REASON # 1: REPLACEABLE PARTS

All the cutting blades and pieces on the MUT are replaceable.  The entire unit disassembles and individual pieces can be replaced.  With many other multi-tools, once you break a part or blade – the entire tool is useless.  With the MUT, replace the part and your back to square one – no need to buy a BRAND NEW MULTI-TOOL!

You can Download MUT® User’s Guide to get even more information.

There are also other MUT tools such as the EOD and OHT versions

If you want one of the best tools I have seen in a long time, you can’t go wrong here.


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The Best Fire Starter Money Can’t Buy: PET Balls

When it comes to fire tinder and fire starting materials, I could probably write a book on all of the different natural and store bought materials I have used – some working better than others.  However, for the purpose of this post I am going to focus on what I think is the most effective and economical home-made fire tinder/starter available.  Here at Willow Haven Outdoor, we call these very cheap & very effective fire starters PET Balls.  This stands for Petroleum Balls.

Put simply, a PET Ball is a wad of dryer lint saturated with petroleum jelly.  In my experience, a PET Ball will successfully take a spark from almost any ignition device (flint & steel, fire steel, match, lighter, friction coal, etc…) even in horrible conditions.

I keep a container of PET Balls in both my Bug Out Bag and also my excursion pack.  They are SIMPLE & CHEAP (REALLY CHEAP) to make.  Below is the process.

 

The Raw Materials

PET Balls Raw Ingredient: Dryer Lint

PET Balls Raw Ingredient: Dryer Lint

The first ingredient is completely FREE and abundantly available – Dryer Lint.  Dryer lint is the perfect consistency to use as a fire tinder material.  It’s fluffy, fibrous and highly flammable.  This, combined with run-of-the-mill Petroleum Jelly, makes for an incredible fire starter combination.

PET Balls: Dryer Lint + Petroleum Jelly

PET Balls: Dryer Lint + Petroleum Jelly

 

The Process

When mixed with dryer lint, petroleum jelly acts as what’s called a FUEL EXTENDER.  By this I mean that it allows the flame to burn longer than normal.  The fibrous dryer lint is what catches the flame and the petroleum jelly acts of a fuel source and allows the flame to burn longer and slower – giving you more time to feed the small flame with little twigs and wood shavings that you have already prepared.  Without the EXTENDED burn time, your window of opportunity goes up in a flash of smoke – literally! It’s possible, but more difficult. Petroleum jelly can be a fuel extender for many different materials including cotton balls, cattail down, milkweed down, dried grasses, etc… I always carry a tube of CARMEX Lip balm in my pack for this reason.  CARMEX is a petroleum based lip balm and can be mixed with a variety of tinder to make excellent fire starters.

Making PET Balls is a very simple process.  The first step is to slather a big scoop of petroleum jelly on a descent sized chunk of lint like you see below.

PET Balls: Step 1

PET Balls: Step 1

 Then, with your hands, vigorously mix the 2 ingredients until the dryer lint is completely saturated.

PET Balls: Step 2

PET Balls: Step 2

 Finally, simply roll the saturated chunks of dryer lint into small quarter sized balls.

PET Balls: Finished Balls - Ready for a spark.

PET Balls: Finished Balls – Ready for a spark.

When you are ready to use them, simply pull them apart to form a small nest – stretching out the fibers a bit.  Then, land a spark right in the middle and watch the magic.

 

Packing & Containers

Choosing a container for your PET Balls is pretty basic.  I prefer a waterproof container – even though PET Balls will successfully take a spark even when damp.  You can use any small container and jam in as many PET Balls that will fit.  There are several good small container options in the SMALL TRAVEL SIZE section at most pharmacy stores.  You can also get creative and use containers such as Altoid Tinsand old film canisters.

PET Balls: Container Ideas

PET Balls: Container Ideas

 Once you choose a container, the more PET Balls you can fit, the better.  Jam them is as tight as you can get.  If I were using the Altoid Tin below I would cram in at least double that many.  It helps to saturate the dryer lint even more.  Besides, these little fire-balls weigh virtually nothing and can be life savers in damp & rainy weather conditions.



Sure there is excellent fire starting tinder available at camping and outdoor stores.  But why spend $10 on something when you can spend virtually $0 and a few minutes to create a product equally as effective.  This is exactly what being a survivor is all about – using the resources at hand to meet your basic survival needs – in this case, FIRE.

Via: willowhavenoutdoor


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How To Make an Electricity-Free Refrigerator

Conventional refrigeration does an incredible job keeping food fresh. But that technology hasn’t helped desert dwellers without steady electricity. A more recent development in refrigeration—the Zeer pot-in-pot refrigerator—only requires water, sand, and a hot, dry climate to preserve produce through evaporative cooling. Here’s how to make the simple gadget.

Materials and Tools Required

  • two terra cotta pots with a 2-3 inch difference in diameter. The smaller pot should be glazed and preferably lacking a drainage hole. If the inner container is double glazed (on its inner and outer walls), non-potable water—say seawater—can be employed.
  • a bag of sterile sand
  • a square of burlap cloth large enough to cover the top of the inner pot
  • a trowel

Building It

  • 1. If your pots have drainage holes, plug them with a bit of cork, caulk, or other waterproof material. If you don’t, moisture from the sand will seep into the lower pot and immerse the stored goods or seep out the bottom of the larger one.
  • 2. Put down a one-inch deep, level layer of sand in the bottom of the large pot. Set the smaller pot on top of that layer and center it in the larger one. Make sure that the smaller pot’s lip is even with the larger one’s.
  • 3. Fill sand in around the sides of the of the two pots, leaving about an inch of space below the lip.
  • 4. Pour cold water over the sand until it is thoroughly saturated. Put your food into the smaller pot. Cover that with a burlap cloth, also soaked with water. That’s it! Just be sure to refill the water regularly, about once or twice a day.

How It Works

The Zeer was developed in 1995 by Mohammed Bah Abba, a Nigerian school teacher that hailed from a family of pot makers. The design is incredibly simple: a glazed earthen ware pot nestled inside a larger, porous one with a layer of wet sand separating them. As the water evaporates through the surface of the outer pot, it draws heat from the inner one, keeping up to 12kg food fresh for as long as three to four weeks without using a single watt of electricity.

For his efforts, Bah Abba was awarded the $75,000 Rolex Award for Enterprise in 2000 and the World Shell Award for Sustainable Development in 2001 to help spur its development. Presently, Bah Abba sells about 30,000 Zeer per year for 200 Nigerian naira ($1.30) a piece.

Why It Matters

For unprotected food in the North African heat, there is no such thing as a shelf life. Fresh fruit and vegetables last maybe a day or two, and meat spoils within hours. This means that most food must be either sold or consumed immediately. Taking produce to market, in Sudan at least, is a task that typically falls on the women. This tight freshness deadline leaves little free time for their education. But if they had to go to market only weekly, rather than daily, they might actually have time for school—that’s the promise of the Zeer.

The Zeer benefits not just individuals but the greater Sudanese society as well. Farmers are granted greater negotiating power when they don’t have to sell their wares right there and then. Parents see fewer cases of food-borne illness. And when disease does occur, water and temperature-sensitive medicines can also be preserved in the cool pots.

For the rest of the world, the Zeer represents a zero-electricity option for refrigeration. In extended power outages like the ones we’ve seen this summer, long after the local store sells its last bag of ice, the Zeer could be your best chance to keep critical perishable goods from spoiling in the heat.

Via: gizmodo


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