Self Reliance is Freedom.

In this day and age, self reliance is nearly a forgotten art. It is my opinion that if more Americans became self reliant, we would have far fewer problems. It seems to me that far too many Americans believe it is the duty of the government to take care of them, nothing could be further from the truth. Here are a couple of my favorite quotes illustrating that point.

"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have." - Gerald Ford

"Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem." - Ronald Reagan

"The federal government has taken too much tax money from the people, too much authority from the states, and too much liberty with the Constitution." - Ronald Reagan

"Every time that we try to lift a problem from our own shoulders, and shift that problem to the hands of the government,to the same extent we are sacrificing the liberties of our people." - John F. Kennedy

"[W]hat more is necessary to make us a happy and prosperous people? . . . a wise and frugal government . . . which shall leave [men] free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned." - Thomas Jefferson

I could go on forever with the quotes, but I think you understand my point. My point is that EVERY American should be doing EVERYTHING within their power to ensure they are self sufficient or at least self reliant.

In that vein of thought, one day I was thinking about the scenario of an economic collapse such as what happened in the Wiemar Republic or the 2001 economic collapse of Argentina. What about the social collapses we are currently seeing in Greece, Spain, Ireland, England, Egypt? What would happen to you if you were not able to turn on a switch and have heat and light? Could you keep your family warm and fed? Now most of us "preppers" address that in some way shape or form, I have a few kerosene heaters, good ones too, but what if the kerosene pumps are dry? In that case, I have propane heaters, grill, and camp stoves, which are great, until the propane tanks run dry and you can't purchase more, what then?

Well I have a fireplace, but the problem with newer zero clearance prefabricated builders grade fireplaces is that they really aren't fireplaces, but more of a decoration. They are about 3% efficient and honestly don't heat worth a damn.

So, I was pondering all this and while doing so remembering the prepper axiom, "two is one, and one is none." Which means a person should have multiple redundant capabilities. It occurred to me that a wood burning stove would be the perfect solution for heating my house and for cooking. So, I went about researching wood burning stoves and found that most are 70-80% efficient (compared to the fireplace which is 3% efficient) and require 1/3 of the wood as a fireplace needs. I settled on the Regency F3100 large wood burning stove (http://www.regency-fire.com/Products/Wood/Wood-Stoves/F3100.aspx).

Here are a couple of its specs:

Maximum BTU 80,000
Log Size 21"
Burn Time up to 10 hrs
Optimum Efficiency 75.40%
Firebox Capacity 2.9 cu. ft.
Emissions (gms/hr) 4.19
View Area 183 sq. in.
Room Size 3500 sq. ft

Here are some photos of the progress so far:

  This is what we started with, it was nice to look at, but wasn't very functional.

  Demolition

"Class A" chimney pipe installed

Rock board installed.

The rock board was "mudded," the carpet removed, and fire board was laid.

Hearth stones laid and some of the chimney rocks put on wall.

 ***UPDATE*** WE'RE DONE!!!  All that's left is for the mortar to cure.  We will also be adding some wood trim to the perimeter of the hearth stones, to finish the look and to save our toes.

With the stove I've noticed that while I'm burning the HVAC units never turn on, ever.  Also, with the stove burning, the temps in my house are usually 72F upstairs and 70F downstairs at 1/2 to 2/3 capacity, I could open the air intake fully, but that would honestly put out too much heat and go through wood quicker than necessary, reducing its efficiency.  The only place this stove really doesn't heat well is the basement, which I expected.  When I rely solely on my HVAC units for heat, they run at 66-68F and they run constantly, as they run I can hear the cash register in my head; cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching.  Why not put that money into making yourself self reliant, instead of giving to your local power company?

Not only will this little beauty ensure I will always have a way of keeping my family warm, a method for cooking and baking, ensuring I can put hot food in my families bellies, but it also drastically cuts down the amount of electricity I use, therefore slashing my electric bill during the winter.  Not bad for one little investment.  Also, I've noticed the stove puts out a deep, bone warming heat, not like the barely tepid air slowly spewing from your HVAC registers, but a true warmth.

My point is that every American needs to take stock of their lives, what they have, and what they would need to ensure they could survive, at least for awhile, without the aid of government.  Are you capable?  Are you ready?  Take one facet of your daily living, then think how you can invest your money in making that facet completely autonomous, when we give ourselves the ability to be self reliant, we are giving ourselves freedom .