The Button Up Barrel
All survivalists know that you need a cache of food for times when you’re not going to have any. To survive the Zombiepocalypse, this is a definate must have. After reviewing government protocols, and other informational resources, we here at ZAC have come up with the “Button Up Barrel”.
The term “Button Up” refers to sealing yourself away from threats presented by the outside world, be they Nuclear, biological, ect. (Zombies). So, the barrel is a food, water, and medical cache designed to last one person 30+ days. The barrel provides a place to store emergency supplies where they will be safe from the elements and insects. Below is a list of things that you can include in a 55 gallon Button Up Barrel, should you decide to make one.
The barrel - You want an open top, sealable barrel. You can place a lock on it for added security.
Since there are 4 weeks in a month, you’ll want to make 4 layers that you can use so that you don’t have to pull everything out and sort it all before use. The best way to do this is with cardboard or corrugated plastic. Get some pieces of carboard/plastic and cut them into a circle that will snugly fit the internal diameter of the barrel. Make four. On the bottom of the barrel, place your first layer of provisions along with some dessicant.
Layers:
3-4 gallons of distilled water.
1 small box of powdered eggs
1 small box powdered milk
1 can Tactical Bacon
Or substitute cereal or oatmeal if you prefer.
7 lbs of rice (Minute rice is the fastest, but not the best as far as nutritional content.)
4 cans of your choice of canned soup (Tomato or chicken noodle go great with the rice.)
4 cans each of your choice of vegetables (Corn, greenbeans, pork and beans ect.)
7 blocks of Ramen Noodles
A few cans of potted meat, or spam.
1 Jar peanut butter or jar of peanuts for more protein
Powdered drink mixes that don’t require sugar. (Gatorade, kool-aid, ect.)
Other canned foods and snacks of your choice, just make sure they have a year shelf life.
Place your cardboard or plastic on top and repeat the process. the tension placed on the coardboard/plastic will keep it from sagging under all the weight. Make sure to add dessicant packs to each layer. Add in your medical supplies to the top layer.
Some additional items you may want to consider:
Mountain House Freeze-dried foods
Esbit Stove (Get extra fuel tabs)
This is based on what will reasonably fit into a 55 gallon drum, you don’t have to do it exactly the same way as described.
Comments (58)
McLuvin on 16 Dec 2010 at 1:37 am #
Good idea. Something along these lines could be useful in most emergency situations. Rotating the food would be a long term concern but not a big deal.
Angryvikingman on 16 Dec 2010 at 2:29 am #
Yeah, I’m going to order at least 2 barrels after I get my taxes back and start stockpiling things with ridiculous shelf lives. Those barrels are cheap when you consider that they can save your life. You can also use the barrels later for water filtration and storage.
Ronin666 on 16 Dec 2010 at 3:37 am #
A great idea. Try to store them somewhere cool too, under the house/basement or if at your bug out location you could even bury them.
The Outbreak: A realistic timeline on 16 Dec 2010 at 9:21 am #
[...] to have a supply of food and water to help you stay inside, and stay safe. For this you can make a Button Up Barrel. Good [...]
Semper Cogitant on 16 Dec 2010 at 4:46 pm #
Glad to see new topics, and especially glad to see my ugly mug moved farther down the page.
The barrel is a good idea. I have most of our home survival food loose in “pantry” (really part of the garage), and in the garage freezer. One advantage I see in storing it in a barrel like that is easier portability. Even though this is meant as “bug in” supplies you could also toss them in the back of the truck or in the RV if the need came up. I do have a 50 gallon drum full of water, but I may just get a barrel like that to store food and supplies in.
Canned Bacon!?! My world is complete now. I had no idea this stuff existed, but now that I do I will be investing heavily.
Angryvikingman on 16 Dec 2010 at 4:52 pm #
Yep, 10 year shelf life on it too! Can’t beat that with a stick!
Clifford "Ozzie" Nicolen on 17 Dec 2010 at 6:45 pm #
Hahaha! I saw that on Thinkgeek awhile ago and thought it was the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard of! Canned Bacon is nice, but for $15 it gets a little expensive when you want to stockpile.
I don’t like the picture of the gun on the front, it makes it look cheesy.
Morgan. on 17 Dec 2010 at 9:48 pm #
I recomend having honey in your barrel. It’s highly nutritious and literaly has a shelf life of forever. They pulled edible honey from the tombs of the pharohs in egypt after it was buried hundreds if not thousands of years.
Angryvikingman on 18 Dec 2010 at 12:04 am #
Good idea, I didn’t think about honey. Just don’t eat too much, it’ll make you puke. A lot. I learned that lesson the hard way.
Morgan. on 18 Dec 2010 at 11:48 am #
That it will lol but its perfect for on the go energy boost.
Ronin666 on 18 Dec 2010 at 10:02 pm #
Space Cases are a good bug in pantry too although more expensive, they are air and water tight and are designed to stack. They also have handles for when it’s time to go making it easier to load them onto vehicles.
Morgan. on 23 Dec 2010 at 6:48 pm #
Vacume bags would be pretty handy for storing stuff. Keeping oxygen/moisture out would seriously slow down spoiling/rusting down on alot of items.
big bear29 on 24 Dec 2010 at 8:29 pm #
It would be better to just can it or put it in a vaccum bag rather than store it all in one big barrel . If you had it in a barrel you would have to unload it every time you had to move to a new area because you are not gonna carry a fully loaded barrel very far at all . Its easier to transport when its in small cans or bags but it will take up more storage space than a single barrel sitting in the corner .
Angryvikingman on 25 Dec 2010 at 7:29 am #
Actually, they’re really easy to move even fully loaded. All you need is a Dolly and a tiedown strap, and then even stairs are your only big obstacle. Just make sure the layers are packed right so it doesn’t shift while moving. A set of straps cost $10 and a cheap Dolly can be bought for about $30-$40. Its easier to move and store in a barrel than any other way.
Morgan. on 25 Dec 2010 at 10:44 pm #
Do you really want to drag a drum around during an outbreak?? If you were vehicle mobile,cool. However if you’re on foot,a Alice pack with your stores in vaccum bags would be much more practical. The barrel would be a good idea for caching supplies to recover later.
Angryvikingman on 26 Dec 2010 at 12:35 am #
Its called a ”Button Up Barrel” for a reason did you even read the article… Sheesh, its for when you’re sealed inside your house/bunker and waiting for the active infection to die down. Its meant to keep you alive until you can scavenge other stuff to live off of, or long enough for your garden to start growing. Its not really meant to be transported, although it can be if you have half a brain. Maybe next time you’ll read the article. Its not like you can’t build a pole litter to move the barrel a few different ways, or use a dolly like I mentioned before.
Clifford "Ozzie" Nicolen on 27 Dec 2010 at 4:53 pm #
I think Morgan just skimmed over the article and read the comments.
But a barrel like that could be transported, if you really HAD to. also, mention that the barrels should be made of a decent grade plastic to ensure lightness and stability.
I wish I was older so I could buy stuff like this…
Clifford "Ozzie" Nicolen on 27 Dec 2010 at 4:55 pm #
Every time I read these comments I get hungry for honey…
Daggit, Morgan!
CompShooter on 30 Dec 2010 at 7:23 pm #
Well I like bacon as much as the next guy but bacon gumballs and gummy bacon?….yeah they jumped the shark with that one. On another note. Living here in Mich, everything gets more expensive quick since most is trucked in through the southern border and inflation is getting worse at the stores and gas stations. Currently its $3.21 for gas and groceries are getting nuts. $16 for a 9 oz can is high. I went to the readystore.com and got #10 mountain house freeze dried supplies that are good for 20 -30 yrs for $22 a can, pretty reasonable. Bought some MRE main entrees too. WORD OF CAUTION if you eat MRE entrees a lot or on a camping trip, whatever, MAKE SURE you bring some fruit or something high in fiber or you will forget the last time you took a dump and when you finally do it will feel like its leaving sideways!
CompShooter on 30 Dec 2010 at 8:02 pm #
Oh and as far as portable stoves for cooking / heating MRE and freeze dried rations goes I like the MSR dragon fly. it folds up into a compact pouch and will burn diesel, unleaded gasoline, kerosine,white gas and says jet fuel, but there are about six various jet fuels (kerosine/ gas mix) and would need to test or some clarification from the company.
Elder on 13 Jan 2011 at 11:48 pm #
That was a wonderful idea angryvikingman, be proud of it. Whenever i would tyink of stock pileing goods there necer reLly appeared to be an adequit way to do so, but the idea of using barrels and cardboard tabs sounds awesome. Also does anybody know an effective way of storing water besides bottled.
wheelgunner on 18 Jan 2011 at 11:18 am #
What does one do if one does not like these things?
Angryvikingman on 18 Jan 2011 at 1:34 pm #
@ Elder you can use 55 gallon drums, but you’ll have to filter and boil it. From a bottle its good almost indefinately. There are large storage tanks, but they are pretty pricey. The 55 gallon drums can be placed outside the home under a gutter down spout for refilling, so that you’ll always have at least some water, but you’ll have to becareful of mosquitos because they lay their eggs in standing water. A small screen or cheese cloth stretched tight over the barrel could keep them out while still letting the water in.
@ wheelgunner How do you mean?
wheelgunner on 18 Jan 2011 at 2:02 pm #
I mean that I am generally screwed by the fact that I cannot stand the taste of MRE’s and the like. Makes it hard to stock up for any length of time. Also hate vegetables.
Angryvikingman on 18 Jan 2011 at 5:18 pm #
Well, you could put other things in there. Canned ravioli, spaghetti ‘Os, chili, soups. Generally any canned food will last a long time, it doesnt have to be veggies. I was just going for semi nutritional. There are also survival tabs that are great nutritional supplements you could put in there. Doesnt have to be M.R.E.s either. Put in what you like, just as long as you know it’ll last a year.
wheelgunner on 19 Jan 2011 at 4:32 am #
How long will flour or hardtack last?
wheelgunner on 19 Jan 2011 at 4:32 am #
Honest question, not being stubborn.
wheelgunner on 22 Jan 2011 at 6:33 pm #
Any opinions on pemmican?
Angryvikingman on 22 Jan 2011 at 6:48 pm #
Its a good source of high energy meats and fats. Packaged correctly it can last a long time. Never tried it, but hear its pretty good. If you like Jerky, you’d probably like pemmican.
wheelgunner on 23 Jan 2011 at 3:35 am #
I have around a dozen recipes, just never tried it. Think I’m going to make a cache or two and try some things out. Hardtack and pemmican are pretty easy to make. You guys think that a mason jar would hold it well enough? I’m stupidly low tech.
Todd on 23 Jan 2011 at 9:17 am #
Great idea! ;-)
big bear29 on 23 Jan 2011 at 5:31 pm #
@wheelgunner
Mason jars , ziploc bags , vaccum pacs or even tightly sealed tuperware will work . It just has to keep the moisture and the insects out and your stash will last a long time . I think that there is somewhere that you can buy the packages that MREs come in and some way to seal them , you could use that as well .
Don’t worry about going low tech , if the outbreak or some other major catastrophe ever happens thats how everyone winds up . So knowing how to go low tech right now is a good thing .
Angryvikingman on 23 Jan 2011 at 6:32 pm #
Well, as far as some other major staples go, I was looking on some of my apocalypse rations and the instant potatoes that are a few months old won’t go bad for another 11 months. I’ll be adding some more of those to my button up supplies. Spaghetti sauce will also last a long time. I suggest that you get the stuff in cans, not jars, just because if you moved or dumped your supplies the glass may break. I’m going to go around and check some of the other stuff at local shops to see what readily available supplies have the best shelf life and I may do an article on that. Also, I work for a factory that makes biscuit cans for Pillsbury, and I have access to literally pallets of different food stuffs and the things to make them. (Its all under the same roof.) Also, there is a huge cold storage warehouse next door that takes most of what pillsbury makes and things from some other places. So for a few days at the very least there will be plenty of frozen stuff, and lots of powdered raw ingredients on pallets when I feel like pilfering them. The place requires key cards to get into, and I have one. :D
big bear29 on 23 Jan 2011 at 8:16 pm #
You can preserve your food in cans rather than jars . But the reason that people prefer jars over cans is because the jars are reusable and you can see the contents of the jar , they are also easier to use and cheaper . If you have to transport them just wrap them in newspaper or cloth and put them into a box and they should be able to survive a rough trip . I know because I have helped my mother and grandmother can vegtables before and transported them across several states in the back of a pickup and I have rarely had any break .
@Angryvikingman
Most of the cold storage warehouses have backup generators to run their freezers in the event of power loss so you will have at least an extra day or two before the freezer runs out of power after the power plants go down . I used to work in a walmart distribution center in the freezer section . I don’t know how big the cold storage warehouse you mentioned is , but the one where I worked could take up to two days before it would warm up to the point where the food would start to spoil .
wheelgunner on 23 Jan 2011 at 11:47 pm #
@ Vikiing-I have a special circle in my personal hell for tomatoes. Produce stand. Ach.
@bear-The only problem with being this low tech is that the rest of the world thinks there is something wrong with you until their pretty toys break and they need you.
Speaking low tech, how long would it take for lye to kill the virus, or just disolve the body for easy cleanup?
big bear29 on 24 Jan 2011 at 1:19 am #
@ wheelgunner
This story was taken from slate.com .
Soluble Dilemma
How long does it take to dissolve a human body?
By Brian Palmer
Posted Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009, at 7:04 PM ET
Assassins for Mexican-American drug cartels have been dissolving their victims’ bodies in chemicals, according to a piece published Tuesday in the New York Times. The process is known colloquially as making pozole, in reference to a traditional Mexican stew. It can take several hours to make a pot of pozole. How long does it take to dissolve a human body?
About the same, with the right chemicals and equipment. The assassins typically use sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide, strong bases commonly known as lye. (The Times story misidentified their reagent of choice as an acid.) Heated to 300 degrees, a lye solution can turn a body into tan liquid with the consistency of mineral oil in just three hours. If your kettle isn’t pressurized, you won’t be able to heat the solution much above the boiling point of water, 212 degrees, and it might take an additional hour or two to complete the process. Narco-hit men did not pioneer this technique. Adolph Luetgert, known in his day as the “Sausage King of Chicago,” dumped his wife into a boiling vat of lye in 1897, then burned what was left. Police eventually found bone fragments in the factory’s furnace.
wheelgunner on 24 Jan 2011 at 2:25 am #
What about hard licquor? I know from study that they used to use it to store up the grain and get a few calories off of it. And the bottle is infinitly reusable. My current canteen is an old tequila bottle.
Angryvikingman on 24 Jan 2011 at 5:43 am #
Lol! My booze will be in the cabinets where I can get to it without having to dig throught the barrel. I have to have my vodka! Of course learning how to brew beer or distill liqour will be a great asset. You can definately use that knowledge to barter. Since time imemorial the farmer, miller, and brewer have been the cornerstone of civilazation. If you can do all 3, then you will definately make off like a bandit after the fall.
big bear29 on 24 Jan 2011 at 11:11 am #
Well if my brother could make hooch in a couple trash cans while he was in jail I’m pretty sure that the average joe could pull it off to . I already have a book that shows how to make beer and wine , now I just need to get one that shows how to make different kinds of hard licquor .
wheelgunner on 24 Jan 2011 at 1:39 pm #
Watch the history channel. Their whiskey series in the Modern Marvels will tell you all you need to know.
GotUR12GetMY6 on 03 Feb 2011 at 11:15 am #
im bring deer jerky
Cleardiddion on 09 Mar 2011 at 11:25 pm #
A type of booze that you can make at home even without brewing or anything special is cider.
Essentially, all you need is fruit concentrate (apple), water, a valve of some sort (even a balloon) and yeast along with a container in which to store it. You make the juice, add yeast, and store in a container with a valve over the top to prevent the introduction of oxygen and let sit in a cool dark environment for about two weeks. And, voila, you have alocohol. Should you want something stronger you can distill it through classic means or in cold climates let the water freeze and remove the ice. The result of this is a sort of rough brandy.
big bear29 on 18 Mar 2011 at 6:51 pm #
Here’s something that some of you guys can make for your button up barrel . ETHANOL . Ethanol is made from various plants ( sugar beats , sugar cane , corn , potatoes , wheat , etc. ) all that it really is , is 180 proof grain alcohol . You can use this for fuel for your vehicle , getting drunk , disinfecting wounds or making molotov cocktails . If I remember correctly an acre of sugar cane or sugar beats can make like 500 gallons of ethanol , potatoes make 250 gallons , corn makes 150 gallons and wheat makes 75 gallons . It can be made at home and it is fairly easy .
Jordan on 19 Mar 2011 at 3:27 pm #
On most preserved food stuffs ,or anything really, the “sell by” date is just a guide line. The “use by” date is the one to look at. Some of thoes dried foods that show a shelf life of 6 months could really last twice as long.
big bear29 on 24 Mar 2011 at 6:45 pm #
Here’s something you can put in your button up barrel . Fruitcake . Apparently this stuff has a long shelf life because of a coating it is given after it has been made , it’s supposed to be made up of sugar , flour and alcohol , this keeps it from rotting . The oldest fruitcake is more than 130 years old and when it was tasted they claimed it was still edible .
Personally I will pass on it because I think they taste terrible . Also if they put to many nuts in it you better be ready for the screaming
$#!*$ , because it will feel like you are crapping out a louisville slugger that has had gravel glued to it .
That's Right on 03 May 2011 at 2:48 pm #
30 + days… Wow, this will last at max 30 days because no one in this world knows how to save their food. And then what happens when you run out? lets walk outside and look, no Zombies. what a waste of 30 days. you get fired from your job. if you have one, your mom will kick you out of her basement. and your girlfriend will find some normal sane guy to kick with and you will be a lonely depressed man.
Angryvikingman on 03 May 2011 at 5:34 pm #
Wow, you’re an idiot. Perhaps you should read some of this stuff before you comment. Its meant to be used in case of emergency. ANY EMERGENCY. Like oh say weeks of power outage due to tornadoes, hurricanes, or other natural disasters. The whole “Zombie” thing is a metaphor for preparedness.
wheelgunner on 08 May 2011 at 11:13 pm #
We really should get that on a shirt.
QAZZY on 20 May 2011 at 5:39 am #
I better idea: substitute rice for oatmeal. In case you have no heat, you can just soak oatmeal. Drawback: oatmeal is a laxative. Another thing, growing up in a half-Asian household, sometimes when people that aren’t experienced in rice cooking (*cough* *cough* Dad), they end up using too much of your precious water (rice tends to be steamed, so you lose water) and you end up eating slurry.
Also: tuna cans. Those things apparently last nearly forever, and they’re high in protein.
And it seems as if we all forgot about the longest lasting food: Twinkies.
wheelgunner on 30 May 2011 at 1:40 pm #
…that’s because they aren’t the longest lasting food, Qazzy.
pyroman16 on 18 Jul 2011 at 11:16 am #
Cool idea. I’m thinking seperated drums with different supplies in each (medical, food, water, etc.)
Angryvikingman on 18 Jul 2011 at 1:37 pm #
@pyroman you should portion things out into seperate barrels, that way if you lose one, you’re not screwed for one particular item.
Amazing Beef on 19 Jul 2011 at 11:30 am #
As a suggestion, before sealing put a large amount of nitrogen into the barrel. It is heavier than oxygen and a lot of other gasses, and is rather inert. This can stop your supplies from spoiling; It’s the same principal as putting nitrogen into crisp packets before sealing :)