Polar pure long term storage issue

A few years ago a product called Polar Pure was available, it's a little glass bottle with iodine crystals in it. You would add water in to the bottle and  it would create a iodine solution used for purifying water. It has nice features like a trap for the crystals and temperature sensitive paint dots which indicated how much of iodine solution to add to your water. Unfortunately iodine crystals is also a raw materials for certain drugs and Polar Pure is therefor no longer available.

A great thing about this product is the fact it does not actually expires. If there is still iodine crystals in it, you can still use it. There are a few disadvantages; it wouldn't call the taste 'good' and the iodine evaporates and reacts to the environments. I stored my two bottles double packed in small Ziplocs, then together in a larger Ziploc, in a plastic box, placed in another Ziploc. Here are the result after a year without replacing the ziplocs:

Not only did the iodine effect the ziplocs and plastic box. The epoxy protecting the temperature sensitive dots has also turned dark brown, making the dots invisible. Unfortunately there isn't much I can do about this. If you also have Polar Pure stored somewhere, check them and make sure the iodine is not effecting your other equipment!

Jumpstarters

Jumpstarters (Battery boosters) are devices usually fitted with a lead 12V AGM battery, but new fancy models come with a lithium-polymer battery. Primarily used to jump start a car with a dead battery. They can be very useful in jump starting a car, since it does not require a second car to get a jump start it. However they are also useful as emergency power sources. Here are some things you need to know about them.

The battery
First of all, not all jumpstarters are created equal. The most important component is the battery. A large high capacity battery, obviously is able to provide more power than a smaller one. Make sure you buy one which is appropriate for the size of your engine and correct voltage.

12V AGM batteries versions
The smaller jumpstarters generally use a 12V 17ah AGM battery, the larger ones will have something like the 12V 22ah or two 12V 17ah for 24 Volt vehicles. Looking at jumpstarters most have the 12V 17ah written on the label. This however is not always true (and even if it's true it really isn't that much power). The battery inside might say it is, but just like many cheap (Chinese) batteries, a lot of them have inflated figures. One easy way to find out if the battery is good is by weighing them. When it comes down to lead battery, more lead is good and lead is heavy. If the battery is too light compared to similar capacity batteries, it doesn't have enough lead in it. This is usually the case with really cheap jumpstarters, which are cheaper than a cheap separate 12V 17ah battery. 

To get the most of your battery, you need a decent (build in) charger. Continues overcharging a battery is bad for the battery and dangerous. Many cheaper jump starters only have a fuse between the 12V input and nothing else. These can be recognized by charging instruction as 'Charge for X amount of time and then unplug the unit'. if you want a long life for the battery, get a jumpstarter with a smart charger and automatic shut off (sometimes it is possible to connect a cheap one to a proper seperate charger). A build in smart charger will allow you to keep the jumpstarter attached to a wall socket without any risks of overcharging and the battery will be continuously be topped off. If lead batteries are not topped off regularly there will sulfration and the battery will lose capacity and eventually become useless. A jumpstarter with a proper charge might cost more, but in the long term the battery will last longer, is more reliable and is probably cheaper then buying a cheap new one every one or two years.

A advantage of AGM battery based jumpstarters, is that you can generally just buy a AGM battery and replace the one in the pack. Some brands they recommend you to bring it to there service station for a replacement, while other allows you to do it your self. 

Lithium Polymer versions
If you do not want the heavy weight, bulkiness and maintenance of a lead battery, some new jumpstarters use a Lithium Polymer battery. These batteries are capable of delivering a lot of emergency for a short period of time. This means a relatively small capacity battery (compared to the lead alternatives) can provide the burst of power needed to jump start a car, making these versions light and small . They also have a lot less self-discharge, so you will not need to top them off every month. There are however some disadvantages of a Lithium Polymer; they are not as suitable as a 12V power source for other devices, so they generally do not have a 12V output or compressors. There are not many available, the ones I can find are:

- Startmonkey 400
- Asianbright JPR series (sold under various brand names)
- Mini jumpstarter (Not sure whom the manufacture is, but sold under various brandnames)
- Staneley LI1000 (Not listed on there website anymore)

LiFePO4 replacement for 12V AGM
There are LiFePO4 batteries (lithium based), which are suitable as a direct replacement for the 12V AGM batteries. Are these usable in a jumpstarter and does it combine the best of both worlds? Unfortunately I have not seen these placed in any jumpstarters yet and don't have answers for these questions.

Powersupply
Most lead battery based jumpstarters can also be used as an emergency power supply. You should make sure what fuse is used and not exceed the fuse rating. (usually 10 Amps) I would suggest to use as many 12V appliances as possible. Converting 12V to 110 or 220 Volt simply isn't that efficient. Make sure that you do not over discharge the 12V battery; it will damage the battery. This can be done by regularly checking the voltage gauge on the jumpstarter.

Inverter
If you want to use a device using 110 or 220 volts with a 12V jumpstarter, you will need a inverter. Build in inverters are generally really cheap. There are also many types of inverters: Block, modified sinus and pure sinus versions. The cheaper inverters are generally block or modified sinus version, which does not give a nice sinus wave for your electronics. A pure sinus wave is what comes out of you wall outlet and electronics are made to run on this type of sinus waves. Some electronics will not run (properly) if a block or modified sinus is used. However pure sinus inverters are generally a lot more expensive.

Regardless of the inverter type, there is some inefficiency. So a 100W draw from the battery does not translate in 100W output. You need to take this in to account when using this with your jumpstarter. Most 12V outlets are equipped with a 10 Amp fuse. So make the inverter and the device connected to it does not exceed the fuse rating. 

Compressors
The build in compressors in jumpstarters are generally not the quality ones. So don’t expect very high pump rates or accurate pressure gauges. Like any compressors, you need to let it cool down after 10 minutes (or whatever the manual states) to prevent overheating and damaging the compressor. A separate compressor can be more versatile, however if you want to connect a separate compressor to a jumpstarter, check if the compressors does not use more power than the fuse allows (usually 10 Amps).

First aid kit expiration date

In the past first aid kits did not had any expiration dates on them. Then with government regulations, liability issues and commercial reasons first aid items started to receive expiration dates. These dates have important functions, but can also be misunderstood. 

Medication

Some medication can be highly sensitive to age or storage conditions, but many are not. Interesting tests are done by the US military: http://www.defense.gov/news/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=44979

One important note, a quote from Army Maj. Marc Caouette, a pharmacy consultant assigned at the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency at Fort Detrick, Md. said. “The worst possible place you can keep any medications is in a wet, hot environment. It’s the worst area to maintain stability. A cool, dry place is best to store drugs.”

Bandages and other first aid items
Does gauze, dressings, tape, space blankets and other first aid items expire? if the packaging is still intact the items inside the package should be still sterile. However the items inside can degrade over time. The glue on tape can degrade and loose there stickiness or turn in to a goo. Elastic bandages can lose their elastic properties. Space blankets can start to stick and you will rip it in to piece when you try to fold the blanket out. These are also effected by the storage conditions. First aid equipment stored at a dry cool dark place at home or in a car exposed to extreme temperature swings have effects on your equipment.

Tools
While shears, tweezers and other tools generally stay useful for a long time. They are cheap and when they are dirty, especially when contaminated with blood or other body fluids are best considered to be disposable. I personally don't believe in really expensive shears, since they get dirty or get lost all the time.

Which stove for emergency preparedness.

'What is the best stove should I get for a emergency?' There is not a ultimate stove for emergency preparedness, simply because each type of stove has its advantage and disadvantages and the circumstance dictate which one is most suitable.  There are many types of stoves and what there (dis)advantages are:

-          Large propane stoves

-          Small (backpacking) butane/propane stoves

-          Liquid fuel stoves

-          Solid fuel (esbit, hexamine, etc) stoves

-          Woodstoves

Large propane stoves

Propane is commonly used (rural locations, BBQ, etc), relatively cheap, simple, effective in cold temperature and easy to use. However propane tanks are very heavy and bulky. The smallest tank is the 1lbs propane tank which is quite heavy to carry. These are ideal for emergency cooking and heating at home, but not when you need to carry them.

Small (backpacking) butane/propane stoves

These stove are simple, small, light and easy to use, ideal if you have to carry them. Due to their relative small burner head, you will need small (camping)  pots and pans. Butane/propane mixture do have limitations. The fuel canisters can be not store in hot temperature, so there are not suitable to be stored in a car in the heat. The butane in these fuel canisters turn liquid when the temperature is close to freezing point. When a canister is used, the temperature will drop even more. Part of the canister will not be used when you are using a stove in the cold. This cold temperature problem can be solved if you have a stove with remove canisters connector and a preheat coil. These stoves can be used with the canisters upside down, which allows to propane to push out liquid butane to the burner. Warning, check the manual if this is possible! Stoves without a pre-heat coil will flare up if the canister is turned upside down.  These are ideal for emergency kits which should be mobile, but not used/stored in very high or low temperature.

Liquid fuel stoves

These stoves are more complicated and more expensive than other stoves.  However then are small and usable in the cold. Some can be simmer, some can not. Some can only burn white gas or only petroleum. Others are multifuel and can burn almost all liquid fuels. Note: Rubber O-rings in these stove are either for petroleum based fuels or alcohol fuels, never for both. Aluminium fuel bottle are very strong, but the rubber o-rings can degrade and fail after a few years. Some fuels can be stored longer then others. These stoves are ideal when liquid fuels are widely available or when you have to use them in cold temperatures. Light and small versions are available for smaller emergency kits.

Solid Fuel
These stoves are very simple, usually made from bend sheet metal. The stove can easily be replaced with a makeshift potholder. They burn fuel tablets, which are relatively expensive, little output and give little control. A windscreen is essential to get it work properly. However the stoves are very cheap, so the initial costs are very low. One big advantage is the stability of the fuel, they will work in all temperatures and storing the fuel tabs in extreme temperatures posses little problems or dangers. These are great for small and/or budget survival kits. Due to there stability in storage very suitable for car kits. (Do NOT use in the car)

Wood stoves
Wood stoves comes in all sizes you can think of. There advantage; if there is dry wood nearby, you can use them as fuel. With wood stoves you need to make sure you also have dry wood. Just having a wood stove and no dry wood to burn can be a big problem. A lot of people only carry the stove, which is a big problem when there is no proper fuel available. If you carry these stoves, also carry some fuel for it.
   

Unsafe: Unsafe powerstrips

A very good example of very usafe powerstrips

The connection between the cable and sockets is fully exposed. High shock risk if you touch the bottom part.

On the other side of the cable...

Do you know what is worst? Found this at a firestation. 

Storing your backup safely

Fire, flooding, theft, hardware failure, viruses, there are many reasons why data can be lost. That’s why it’s important to back up your files. This does not only apply digital files, scanning or photographing important hard copy documents can be very useful if these documents are  somehow lost. But there are a few things to look out for.

Location

Do not store your backup in the same location as your main storage. Storing a backup in the same room can expose your backup to the same threats as your primary storage (Fire, flooding, theft, etc). Store your backup at a different location, such as your office, car, family, etc. This will generally increase the time between the backups, because they are harder to access.

Layers

Having just one backup can also cause problem. The backup drive can be compromised, especially when stored nearby your primairy storage.  I like a full back up on a hard drive, but having hard drives placed everywhere can be a bit expensive. So a backup of only the important documents is also made on a USB flash drive and stored at a separate location.

Physical protection

A backup can fail when exposed to heat, water, impact, etc. So to improve the chances of you data from these dangers, you can take several approaches to do this:
 - A sturdier hard drive; for example the ‘LaCie Rugged series ‘or ‘Freecom Though drive’ (impact resistant) or protected USB flash drive for example the ‘Corsair Flash survivor’ waterproof and impact resistant). If you have a little more to spend the IoSafe is a pretty nice solution.(Heat and waterproof.

- A proper waterproof and impact resistant hard case, with foam interior (waterproof and impact resistant)
- A data safe (waterproof, impact resistant and heat proof) Some expensive models even have a USB external port, so you won’t even need to take out the hard drive, for example the Sentry safe QE5541.

You can obviously also combine these options. Unfortunately, the better the protection, the pricier it gets.

Encryption

Having all your data stored in a single device can expose you to identity theft. So adding encryption to your data can be very useful. I would not only encrypt my backup, but also sensitive information on my computer. This also makes it easier to back up the file, by just copying over the encrypted files. Although I leave non/sensitive information open, so it won´t slow down my computer. (for example; I don’t mind if somebody knows my music playlist). There are corporate tools for this, but for most individuals I would suggest to use a program like TrueCrypt. I do recommend to look at the tutorials of TrueCrypt first, since it can be a little bit hard to understand if you just read the instructions. If you use encryption software, also add the CryptKey installers to the drive.  

Drive speed

Not essential, but having a high-speed connection on you backup drive can make backup your files a lot quicker. So if you are buying a new drive, I would suggest getting a drive with USB 3.0 (backwards compatible with 2.0) connection (or Thunderbolt, but isn't as common yet). If it’s fast, you will more likely to keep your backup up to date. 

Opinion: Spending money on a proper repairs/equipment

Money and willingness to spend money is always a hard topic. You can only spend your money once, so many people try to look for cheap alternatives. An example I want to discuss is car tire repairs.

If you drive, sooner or later you will get a tire puncture. Obviously you should have a solution for this problem; spare tire (and tools), sealant or plugs. These solution will get you to your destination or at least to a tire shop.

But what to do to fix a punctured tire? In the old days people would just plug it and continue driving on them. Plugs are dirt cheap and usually quite effective. However with modern tires you will have a special weave in the steel belts of the tire. The plug method might work well as a short term solution, but for longer term use it might weaken the steel belts depending how the tire was punctured and by corrosion effecting the steel belt. Since you are not removing the tire from the rim, you can't tell the actual damaged on the tire.

The proper method to fix a tire it to take the tire of the rim and inspect from the inside. Depending on the damaged it might be repaired or not. If it's deemed repairable, a patch will be placed from the inside. This doesn't even have to be expensive.

A puncture near the sidewall is deemed unsafe to repair. (The side wall flexes a lot and is thinner). However a lot of people will try to plug a puncture near the sidewall, after a tire shop have refused to fix there puncture. Often saying they had done it before without problems, they keep the wheel on the back and/or drive only short distances. Having been in a car which had a blow out on one of the rear tires, I experienced swerving cross 3 lanes followed by 2 and half 360 degree turns...  

My opinion on this:
First of all my opinion is, that if you can’t afford to maintain your vehicle properly, you shouldn't have bought it in the first place. A good thing about a cheaper car, is that maintaining them is generally cheaper too.

How much does having another flat will cost you? A tire with a plugged hole on/near the sidewall cannot be seen as a proper repair. If this repair starts to leak again you will need to change to a spare tire (maybe in a dangerous location) or get road side assistants. Both take time and roadside assistant can cost a lot. Reliability will save money in the long run.

If the tire fails and you get involved in an accident, it will probably damage your car, yourself and posibly others. If other cars get involved you will also be liable for their damages. There is a saying in the safety industry ‘If you think safety is expensive, try an accident’. Remember risk = Chance X damages. 

This not only applies to tire, but all other aspects in life. What repair or equipment do you buy? How reliable is it and what are the risks? Is it a proper decision or just your wallet talking?