Potential new member

[Briggs]

Hello,

Hopefully I'm posting in the correct forum spot and not butting into an ongoing thread.

I'm new to the forum and I'm interested in increasing the level of my preparedness. I live in the South West of the UK, I'm married, I have access to an area of secluded woodland and I'm interested to share ideas on all things off-grid. I suppose my motivation is a reluctance to avoid the ever-increasing cost of utility bills but I also have in the back of my mind how fragile our society is and how easily and quickly it could collapse.

My current projects are water-harvesting and filtration and off-grid power. I've been testing ad measuring the effectiveness of solar v wind and come to the conclusion both is required! As for water harvesting, I have several plans on paper and I'm leaning towards a system of multiple containers of different grades of filtration using a 12v pumped system, which brings us full circle to the issue of power and how to generate it.

I've recently been using a rocket stove that can boil water in minutes using loose twigs as fuel and I'll gladly share my thoughts on this and any other bits of kit I use.

I have a firearms certificate so can offer advice on firearms if anyone needs advice. I'm more clued up on shotguns that full-bore though.

I'm fortunate to have a young working labrador that I'm pleased to say is rocket-powered and he can catch his own dinner and mine, more often than not without me having to shoot it first. His name is Briggs, so that's the forum name I chose. People often say that's an unusual name for a dog and ask 'Why Briggs?' If you're interested to know why, type 'Lance Briggs' into YouTube and keep your eye on 55.

Anyway, I hope that's enough about me, I hope to be a positive contributor an intend to share as much knowledge as I can with fellow minded people.

Briggs.

[pseudonym]

Meh, as a 49er fan since '82 I ignore you


Hello and welcome to the Forum.

Great intro by the way, just how we like them.

[PreppingPingu]

Hello and welcome.

[Patglazz]

Potential? I think once you get to post a welcome message you are a member
Welcome

[tigs]

welcome to the forum

[Arzosah]

Hi Briggs, welcome to the forum, love the intro. And the rocket-powered labrador I'm just collecting the kit together to make a rocket stove, and I just attended my first shooting club meet last night, so you can see already that you're way ahead of the curve compared to some of us. I *am* working hard on foraging tho

Hope you enjoy it here.

[Briggs]

Hello again and thanks for the welcomes.

Maybe I'll post up a more in-depth review on rocket-stoves when I've tried mine a few more times and I'm not such a noob on the forum. I will admit i didn't build my rocket stove, my wife bought it for me as a birthday present. She bought it from a local blacksmith who has come up with a good solid design at a decent price. (put the words Devon and Blacksmith into youtube and the stove should come up. I don't want to appear to be blatantly promoting something). I've only had the stove a few weeks and I'm really impressed but the trick is to get it going and then get a good airflow. I've found Oak twigs are too slow burning to get a good 'rocket' going. The best fuels I've found so far are twigs from Elderberry, then Larch, then Spruce. The drier the better.

How did your shooting club night go?

Foraging - I have to say I'm absolutely clueless on what's edible and what's not, that's something I've got to get into.

This coming autumn my wife and I are gearing up for some deer culling. I am a nature lover and I have always stalked deer with a camera before but the recent increase in their numbers has had a detrimental effect on the area we live in so some deer management is going to happen. Perhaps we'll be able to get some how-to tip up on here as well. I'm fortunate to be married to the daughter of a stockman so preparing wildlife is one of her many skills!