If you want to make things easier for yourself before SHTF, consider getting these 5 useful machines. (h/t to TheOrganicPrepper.com)
These machines range in size from small, like a grain mill, to very large, like a shredder. Having these five homestead machines will make it easier to accomplish various tasks on your property.
Note that even though these machines aren't high-tech devices, they will significantly reduce your physical workload in a post-SHTF world.
Grain mill
Having a grain mill means you can easily produce flour that you can use for various meals.
Consider getting two kinds of grinders:
- A standard kitchen tabletop grinder.
- A rotary ball mill where you can load the product into a cylinder that rotates on its horizontal axis. Hardened ceramic balls inside this type of grain mill generate friction with one another and grinds the softer material. While this type of mill is used in the metals industry to grind ores, it can last you a long time if you only use it for grinding organic materials like grains.
You can use a grain mill to make flour from different ingredients such as:
- Barley
- Buckwheat
- Corn
- Millet
- Nuts like almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans and walnuts
- Oats
- Quinoa
- Rye
- Seeds like amaranth, flax, hemp, pumpkin and sunflower
- Spelt
- Wheat
Flour from these ingredients can be used to make different foods, like bread, cornbread, corn tortillas, or hot rolls.
Shredder
You'll need a shredder to process recyclables like PET bottles or aluminum cans.
To make the shredder last a long time, don't use it to shred anything other than plastics, soft metals (e.g., aluminum cans), and animal bones. When shredding chopped dry cattle bones, reduce the bones to a proper size before processing.
You can also use a shredding machine to crush and cut wood or cardboard debris for briquettes. This will come in handy if you have a wood gasifier attached to your generator.
Waste oil burner
With a waste oil burner, you can process regular plastics with a small setup and a good flame to get diesel via a process called pyrolysis.
Note that pyrolysis requires following detailed instructions using proper equipment and knowledge of the pyrolysis process. (Related: 7 prepping projects that you can work on this spring.)
Windmill water pump
If you're good with tools, you can make a windmill water pump using some recycled materials. With a windmill water pump, you can irrigate pastures and gardens, water livestock and supply and aerate ponds on your homestead.
A windmill will prove very useful if you're located in a windy area and it can even pump water for you 80 percent of the time. If your pumping needs to move your water source from 50 to 250 feet underground up to the surface, you'll have an easier time with a windmill water pump.
Wood fuel generator
Did you know that you can build a wood fuel generator even if you're not an expert? Wood fuel generators work by using gas as a byproduct of wood pyrolysis.
In World War II, wood gas generators supplied fuel for agricultural production without affecting the fuel supply to the Army. But while these machines are simple, they must be handled carefully to keep them running for a long time.
Pyrolysis is the process that gets the combustible gas out of the wood with heat instead of burning it in a chimney. You need to filter the gas and once it’s cleaned, you can use it to fuel engines like gasoline.
You can build some of these homestead machines using instructions from how-to books or by searching online. If you need help, look for someone who can use a decent bead and an angle grinder.
Keep your homestead running smoothly when SHTF with useful machines like a grain mill or a shredder for recyclables.
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