I have some new questions regarding my personaly ignorance, along with others that were asked before but never answered. They're all more of less "fallback planning" but we're just trying to conserve on the number of threads.

1. Sta-bil says it is good for both gasoline and diesel. Is it to be understood that it also extends life for kerosene. Is there a more specific product for kero.

2. Once the extended life time period offered by fuel stabilizers has expired, will another dose give the same benefit for an additional amount of time.

3. We ordered a "flaker" attachment with the Country Kitchen mill. Now that we have it, what is it good for. (Please don't say "absolutely nothin".) :-)

4. We want to have a block party y2k new years party and thought breaking open one or two 55 gal. barrels of homemade wine would go a long way towards starting the year off right. It will make the lights going out easier to accept. (For awhile.) :-) Using white plastic barrels, is it feasible to do this? What's an estimate on the cost, per barrel, to make the wine? Will there be a problem with the quality of the wine because of the type of container? (We aren't looking for Pouli')

5. What amount of vaccuum is or can be produced using oxy absorbers? We have been working on a pump for sealing jars with upwards of 40 inches of vaccuum. How do the two methods compare?

6. How does one produce a sustained 1000 degree temp? (Needed to make activated charcoal.)

7. I read that one ton of coal = 1.3 (full) cord of wood. I know the measurements of the cord but what size container would it take for one ton of coal? Figure its hard coal but please specify the size if its a consideration.

8. How would one keep the smell of baking bread from leaving the premises and bringing in unwanted guests?

9. We have some always shaded areas in our yard such as the three foot section between the garage and a stockade fence. Is redirected sunlight just as good as direct sunlight for growing things? We thought that aluminum roof flashing attached along the side of our garage would direct sunlight into that area and extend our garden size.

10. I believe there are nine essential amino acids, which need to combine with each other, to produce necessary protein(s?). What is a good source for knowing what type of foods (focusing on grains & beans) to eat, each day, so that one may obtain all necessary amino acids, in the proper amounts and combinations.

TIA for all answers.

Me

-- Floyd Baker (fbaker@wzrd.com), January 23, 1999

Answers

In response to question 10, Frances Moore Lappe's "Diet for a Small Planet" is the classic authority on combining foods. It should be relatively easy to find in your local used bookstores.

-- Pam G. (Pam95818@aol.com), January 24, 1999.

Floyd,

In response to question 1. Just last week my oil heater died, had to resort to the kerosene heater. (Of course, one of the coldest nights so far this year) I burned some kero that I had bought back in the late 80's. It smelled ok, burned as clean as fresh kero. The only difference was the color, originally clear, which was very slightly green. In summary, I would say a stabilizer is unnecessary for kero.

-- Elbow Grease (Elbow_Grease@AutoShop.com), January 24, 1999.

Floyd, please visit the website of Pleasant Hill Grain. We sell corn and soybeans in quantity at very low prices with efficient truck transportation, plus mills ($117 + $10 s/h for the German-made Family Grain Mill). Our grains are available for shipment the day after we receive payment. Our Nebraska family farm's been in business three generations, so we're not "fly by nights".

In addition to what we sell, our website has some great links on nutrition and baking that I believe you will find helpful.

Thank you,

Gary Hansen

http://members.tripod.com/z2z/index.html

Oh, and some answers: First, I "grilled" a chemist at a competitor of Sta-bil about the fuel stabilizers, and his guidance was that they will indeed repeat their original performance in-series. He also said it's important to put the product in when the fuel is fresh, as opposed to waiting until toward the end of its normal tank-life.

Your flaker will allow you to prepare grain for breakfast, among other things.

The function of Oxygen absorbers isn't to create a vacuum, per se, merely to remove the oxygen. The concomitant lowering of pressure in your storage containers is just a by-product of that -- and an undesireable one at that, since it causes surrounding atmospheric gasses to "want" to get in. That doesn't mean they will get in... but it's something to consider. Some people flood with N or CO and then use less/smaller oxygen absorbers.

I'll be interested to see comments on the redirected sunlight; I've really never considered it. My *guess* is that it would work fairly well, with the understanding that reflectance isn't going to be 100%. If you said where you live I missed it, but whether it's good or bad in your location, I'd say your plants will receive less heat this way than by direct sunlight -- judging merely from the fact that some of it will be absorbed by the reflector (touch it to confirm this.) The performance of this method will, I imagine, depend on how well the foil reflects particular portions of the spectrum of sunlight.

-- Gary Hansen (zz@hamilton.net), January 24, 1999.

Re my answer to Floyd above, it should say "CO2", not "CO". That is, Carbon DIoxide, not Carbon MONoxide. Big difference. I don't know what the CO might do to food, but the application process might exempt you from all Y2K (and other) eventualities... permanently.

-- Gary Hansen (zz@hamilton.net), January 24, 1999.

Floyd, In answer to your question about the space requirements for the storage of coal: According to a little book I have, hard coal weighs 80 lbs. per cubic ft. Soft coal is a little lighter at 74 lbs.

You could mask the smell of baking bread by burning some rubber (old tires)or something equally noxious.

Stabil makes a product for gasoline and another for diesel fuel. I don't know if they are the same chemically or not. They come in a container with different labels. It is my understanding that Kerosene doesn't require such a product; that it is known for it's long-term stability.

-- Gerald R. Cox (grcox@internetwork.net), January 24, 1999.

Thanks for the good answers on most of the questions.

I'll look for that Small Planet book. I like hearing that kero lasts so long. Was under the impression it only lasted about a year or so before getting tacky. Maybe we can still add a little sta-bil for what its worth.

I understand oa's remove oxygen to reduce the ability for bugs and moulds, etc. to live. But, with our vaccuum pump, we were hopeing to accomplish the same thing in another manner. In a number 10 jar for instance, would a 30 inch vaccuum produce results similar to a normal number of oxygen absorbers? How much actual oxygen can be removed by each method?

Re the reflected sunlight, we're in Buffalo and our garage is east and west. The side we would put the foil on is in sun most of the day. We'll be trying when the snow gets gone and will post the results as we see some.

No problems with making wine in plastic coke barrels?

Thanks again.

Me.

-- Floyd Baker (fbaker@wzrd.com), January 24, 1999.

Floyd -- Re: #5 -- Are the jars rated safe for the vacuum you plan to apply?

-- No Spam Please (anon@ymous.com), January 25, 1999.