The cotton fiber strands run parallel while having compressed “ribs” that create a convenient square shape with a straight edge. Having a straight edge is desirable for a controlled flame.

I modified the can’s lid and bent the edges down to create a small “table” inside the can to press against the wick to hold it in place.

Something else that I found helpful is how to lite the wick. Once a wick is dipped in oil it can be difficult to lite. If the edge can be squeezed to shed excess oil, wood ash or charcoal carbon can be applied as a catalyst to recieve the ignition flame more quickly.

Once lit, I enjoyed the flame for a couple of hours before needing to adjust the wick.

Variable light brightness can be used to blend items with their background and disguise the otherwise obvious silhouette.

This effect of counter-illumination was experimented with as early as 1916 and later during wartime in 1943 for military purposes and became known as Yehudi lights. These lights were mounted on aircraft and also projected onto ship hulls that automatically adjusted light brightness to match the background behind it.

It is interesting to note that this phenomenon also exists in nature in some squids, fish, and shrimp that have bio-illuminecent features, thus diminishing their silhouette.

This causes one to ponder what similar applications could be employed that might help to conceal private property or location to avoid attention or detection. Unlike the use of images or patterns, Yehudi lights would require power for illumination but might be more adaptive in their particular environment.

I have found that natural fibers work best when choosing a wick, and that a ribbon or tape shape rather than a round shape provides a better light source.

In our medicine cabinet I found a 100% ribbed cotton pad so I cut off a rib to use for my wick. I poured a small amount of canola oil into a small Pyrex dish as my vessel. I tore off a small piece of aluminum foil and poked a hole in the middle. I dipped the wick into the canola oil then inserted it through the hole leaving about a quarter inch on top then placed the foil over the top of the oil. A soaked wick is slow to light but once lit displays a steady flame.

The foil provides a convenient barrier between the oil and flame while suspending the wick in the middle of the dish. An added bonus is that the crinkled foil texture reflects and enhances the light from the flame.

This simple design can provide hours of light when needed. Be sure to keep it away from combustibles and make sure that it is stable as the oil is a liquid and could spill.

In the past, when I would go to a restaurant with my wife I would look for a candle for a little atmosphere at the table. If there wasn’t one I would take one of the complimentary bread buns and poke a hole into it with my table knife. I would put in a pad of butter and then twist up a piece of paper napkin to use as a wick and poke that into the butter. I would light it with my EDC lighter and Voilà! I had a candle!

With this experience as my inspiration I took a butter stick out of the fridge, set it on end in a small bowl, and let it warm up to room temperature. I cut a piece of paper towel and lightly buttered it on one side and rolled it up, flattening it with each round to create a wide vs. round wick. I used a spoon handle to poke down the center of the butter stick then I turned up the wick at the bottom end a little so that I could poke it down into the hole.

Once it was lit, it burned brightly at first and the butter began to melt. I had to attend to it by trimming the wick occasionally with some scissors along with the surrounding wrapping paper as it would burn off around the edge from time to time. It burned that way for over an hour. The butter would continue to leak into the bowl and gather at the bottom. When the cube burned down to a quarter inch in height and the wick began to have trouble staying upright I changed my strategy from candle mode to slush lamp! (See “Slush Lamp Basics“)
 

I decided to use a different wick for this approach and added a small strip of cotton from some scrap jeans and placed it inside the remaining square paper wrapper. Then I cut out a piece of scrap aluminum from a pet food cup and placed it on top. This effectively supported the new wick in addition to isolating the cotton wick from the melted butter. The new flame burned for 4 more hours!

In the end, the candle provided a quick usable flame but required constant maintenance. It also provided clarified butter at it’s base that worked wonderfully as fuel for a slush lamp. The slush lamp was virtually maintenance free. Depending on the emergency a person would have to decide on whether to use the butter as a fuel for light and warmth, or for using butter as a food, but then again, this was just a proof-of-concept project that was fun to do!

LIGHT – Most folks keep flashlights for various needs but it’s important to make sure that the batteries are fresh. Most smart phones have a flashlight app that works quite well. I buy prayer candles at a dollar store that provide long term light and a feeling of hope in darkness. You can make slush lamps using small cans with vegetable oil and a wick.

HEAT – The first line of keeping warm is layered clothing and blankets. Conserving body heat is primary. You can make a room heater by placing a roll of toilet paper in a tin can and pouring isopropl alcohol (denatured is better) into the roll and place it on an open oven door to isolate it and light it. A personal heater is quite effective when using a lit tea candle at the bottom of a tin can that is placed between your feet where you are seated and wear a poncho or wrap a blanket around your neck and cover your knees like a tent to capture the heat.

WATER – In an urban setting city water will most likely be available vs. well pumps in rural areas that need electrical power to operate. It’s a good idea to keep bottled water on hand. A house’s plumbing system is actually a reservoir of water and can be accessed at the lowest valve and used sparingly. A water heater is also a reservoir that has a drain valve at it’s base. If you use this source, be sure to turn off your circuit breaker first to avoid burning out your heating elements for when the power is restored. If you have a creek or other natural water source it can be filtered or boiled. Snow can be melted.

FOOD – Food that is stored in a refrigerator or freezer in the short term should have limited access to keep the cold in and heat out. If you have snow you can simply fill a plastic bin or cooler with snow and pack the food items in it. Cold water can also serve the same function. It’s best to keep food stuffs on hand in a pantry that are either canned or dry like beans or noodles.

COOKING – A gas grill is an easy way to cook or boil water. Charcoal grills can be used in the same way. On a smaller scale a chimney charcoal starter can be used with a baking rack to cook on. There are various types of camp stoves from gas canisters to wood gasifiers. A rocket stove can be made from concrete blocks. Then there’s always a classic campfire using grills or pots. It is also possible to make and use an alcohol burner.

COMMUNICATION POWER – Some land-line phone services carry their own independent power but cable service phones do not work when the power goes out. It seems that the majority of phones in use today are cell phones that can access transmission towers that are independently powered or outside of an outage area. However, cell phones run on a battery that eventually will need recharging. They are usually charged using a USB cable that can use various power sources. I recently used my laptop computer to charge our cell phones. A vehicle usually has either built-in USB ports or 12V adapters. A 12V to AC converter can charge laptops or other electronic devices. I have a hand crank charger that works on my phone. A 9V battery can be used in conjunction with a 12V USB adapter by placing the adapter’s tip on the positive terminal and using a paper clip to touch the battery’s negative terminal to the side terminal on the adapter.

These are just some of the things that I have experienced during an occasional Winter power outage but for some folks this is an annual event. I would welcome comments on other tips that can be helpful during their Winter power outage.

I received a tactical flashlight from Survival Hax for the purpose of evaluation and review. This rather small flashlight (just over five inches long) has some big features. At first glance you might notice it’s aggressive appearance with a knurled handle for a positive grip. A focusable thousand lumen beam is located at the head while the button power-switch is located at the end. The flashlight case is constructed of aircraft grade aluminum and is crash, pressure, and water resistant.

The power is provided by interchangeable sources. The primary power source is a rechargeable 3.7 volt lithium battery and the secondary power option is an adapter that holds three AAA batteries. This adapter is a great provision as AAA batteries are generally accessible from any grocery or convenience store and enables you to stock up and carry extra batteries when operating in off-grid situations.

Then there’s the integrated electronics that provides five lighting modes: Low, Medium, High, Strobe, and SOS. Each mode is accessed by a full or half click of the switch. I discovered a slight inconvenience that once you click the flashlight off it advances to the next mode so that when relit you may have to cycle through to access your preferred mode. The rechargeable battery will last three hours on high and five and a half hours on low. I imagine that the strobe mode would use even less power but would be aggravating to use but could extend the battery life in a pinch.

The head of the flashlight uses a convex lens as part of it’s focusing capability. I took off the retaining ring, removed the lens, and held it curved side toward the sun and about an inch over some crushed dark dry leaves and created a coal that I coaxed into a flame. Next, I removed the battery and took some fine steel wool and stretched it out to touch each end. After a few attempts the steel wool sparked sufficiently to ignite a paper towel. Then by using one of the alternate power AAA batteries I was able to make a flame by connecting each end using a thin hourglass shaped foil gum wrapper.

These are just three benefits outside of the flashlight’s intended use. Because of it’s rugged construction I would imagine that it would also make a formidable self-defence weapon. Although the tactical flashlight comes with an attached wrist strap it unfortunately was too small for my hand to fit through it.

The Survival Hax Tactical Flashlight is a solid tool that is easily stored in a glove compartment, backpack or pocket and weighs only a third pound. It’s good to know that it has these multiple capabilities that can be used in various survival scenarios. For more information on Survival Hax’s Tactical Flashlight you can visit their website at https://survivalhax.com/products/tactical-led-flashlight .

The first thing that I examined was the LED light. It was surprisingly bright. It uses button batteries that are stored within the head portion. To turn the light on you twist the head clock-wise and tighten it down. The connection was quite loose so I got some Teflon tape and made a wrap around the threads that snugged it up so that it wouldn’t unscrew and accidentally come off as so many of my mini lights have done in the past. The Teflon tape also acted as a moisture barrier. If the light is lightly tightened it can be turned on by just pressing it downward and could be used to send Morse Code signals by tapping with your thumb.

Next I examined the glass breaker. At first glance you might mistake it for being the pen tip but it is much wider with a more robust tip. A few days later I went to an auto junk yard and got permission to test the glass breaker on a car window. The window was penetrated instantly and easily when struck. The glass breaker portion covers the pen portion and is unscrewed and removed to reveal the pen.

The pen’s ferrel portion located above the pen tip is ringed with concentric grooves so it stays in position between your fingers as you write and is quite comfortable. The cone shaped transition piece between the ferrel and point can be removed in order to replace the ink pen cartridge.

Just above the pen is the junction to the knife blade. Just screw off the lower glass breaker/pen assembly and withdraw the blade. It too was a little loose so I put some Teflon tape there too. It is one and a half inches long with a sharp straight edge on one side and a serrated edge on the opposite side. The point of the blade has a swedge or false edge that allows it to have good penetration when thrusted. The knife blade was quite sharp and the serrated edge worked well when cutting cordage and other items.

Another feature of the pen is a strong clip that keeps the pen secure whether clipped inside a pocket or on a lanyard.

The Tactical LED Pen when fully assembled doubles as a Kubotan and can be used as a self defense weapon. Self defense methods using this are best learned from professionals before engaging this way.

I was very impressed with this Tactical LED Pen and it has become my new Every Day Carry (EDC) buddy. Click HERE for more information.

Unsalted / Salted

On one such occasion there was a mystery death at a home spa where many candles had been lit all around and were still burning but nearly out. There were traces of salt around which seemed out of place and mysterious at the time. The “six hour” candles established a timeline that gave everyone an alibi but the Chief Detective put “two and two together” and realized that the salt had been added to the candles to make them burn longer, thus altering the timeline of the suspects testimonies.

So, what does this have to do with survival skills? I was intrigued by the concept that the duration of burning candles could be altered and extended. In a power outage scenario such as one our community experienced recently, a candle could provide light longer or be used as an ignition source for other purposes, similar to keeping a live coal on hand.

I decided to try this out for myself. I took two tea candles and poured some salt on one, covering the top surface. I quickly discovered that the salted candle wouldn’t lite. The wick burned down and extinguished. It occurred to me that there needed to be enough wax exposed to allow the lit wick to melt enough wax to sustain the flame so I cleared the area around the wick and relit it. Although the candle remained lit it was obvious that the flames of the two candles were different. The salted candle’s flame was suppressed and smaller, thus consuming the wax fuel at a slower rate.

The effective light comes from the unaltered candle but depending upon your circumstances longevity might be a priority so it’s nice to know about this little technique that gives you an option when needed.

It turns out that there ARE AAAA sized batteries (pronounced as “quad A”) with equivalent cells known as “LR61″s. They are 3.5MM shorter than AAAs and can have reverse polarity compared to conventional larger sized batteries. I took a voltage meter and discovered that was the case with these. So I began to think about applications for this new find and decided to test them as a replacement for a single AAA cell flashlight.

In order to make this new sized battery work I had to modify it a little. To lengthen it I added a small wad of aluminum foil to the flat end while wrapping the entire length of the cell with masking tape, making sure to surround the terminal at the other end for proper insulation. I wrapped enough tape around the circumference to match the diameter of a AAA battery so that it would not rattle and be centered properly for the flashlight connectors. As you can see by the photo, the battery works! The remaining five batteries lie beside the flashlight, along with the 9V casing and it’s parts.

This was a fun discovery and experiment but I also wondered about the significance of other applications. When you only have access to a 9V battery but have need for 1.5V cells, the dis-assembly and modification of the AAAA cells within can provide a variety of voltages when they are placed in series or strengthened when wired in parallel. If you find yourself in an emergency situation this could be valuable knowledge.

I packed up my supplies into several bins and headed to Winston Salem for the video taping. Once I arrived we spent about 3 hours with discussion, set-up, presentations and demonstration that ended up with about 2 minutes in the finished piece. Kudos to photojournalist Chris Petersen for his creative camera work and editing.

My focus was to show folks how to stay warm, have light, and how to cook using various methods without the electrical power in which most folks have become dependent. The segment also included a visit to a local store Great Outdoor Provision Co. showing various equipment and supplies available for a power outage situation.

In the end, we hope that the information provided will help viewers to be better prepared when power outages occur. You can view the teaser “Tonight at 5: When the power goes out” and the full segment “When the power goes out: Survival tips” on the wxii12.com website. Take a peek and perhaps there will be tips that you might want to implement for your own preparedness plan.