INTRODUCTION TO PRODUCTS

Practical Preppers sells products that provide water, hot water, power and communications.

Also, soon to be posted in this section: we now offer the most economical high-quality wood cook stove.

Our latest research is on products that convert biomass to energy. If you can burn it, we have been researching how best to put it to work.

Applying Our Experience to Save You Money

Our deep experience across all these product types often saves money for our single-product purchasers.

Savings can come from making sure that money is not wasted on unneeded options.

More savings come from our consulting. The time we spend making sure your requirements and all important issues are addressed is a standard part of our sales process. You talk with the same people who deliver our Retreat Consulting. If a problem can be addressed more cheaply by considering additional options, you hear about it.

Each Installation is Different

All of the products discussed here, under PRODUCTS, are uniquely configured, to account for the specifics of each site.

For example, the lever-arm water pump that works alongside a AC submersible pump will be configured differently for each well. Factors that affect configuration include well depth, water depth, casing size, casing material, and more.

Considering Factors that Could Drive Up Costs Later

The most economical configuration today may depend on your future plans. Considering what you might do later on can reduce your costs over the life of the system. The lever arm water pump offers another good example.

When you buy the lever-arm pump, you must decide which of the two pump cylinders to buy. Normally, you would select the higher-capacity pump cylinder. But an unexpected cost could arise later, IF you later upgrade to a DC motor with solar. Depending on your well’s water level, you may have to buy the other pump cylinder. We make sure we and you are aware of such possibilities, and ask specific questions to make sure your purchase is the best option -- for now and for the future.

Tradeoffs Between Products

Tradeoffs between different types of products can reduce costs.

For example, most off-grid solar systems include batteries. They provide energy on dark days. But there are others ways energy can be stored.

You could configure a solar system to pump water out anytime it is sunny, into a storage tank that will gravity feed your house -- i.e. the height you pump to is now your energy storage. On dark days, the water pumped into the tank can be drawn from storage. For the price of an add-on that will keep the motor from running on too little power, the cost of batteries -- with their relatively short life -- is eliminated.

One way or another may be best for you. It depends. That’s part of what we consider.