An interesting topic/discussion came up the other day on one of the forums. Well, it wasn't so much a discussion as it was a suggestion. A great many of us were dumb struck by the simplicity of the suggestion and we're kicking ourselves for not having thought of it prior to the post.
Scenario: The shummer has happened and you are either trying to get home, get to you BOL, or just trying to make do within your AO. It hasn't rained in some time and water is scarce or you're running low on water in general. Now what?
Ever seen one of these on the side of a school or a commercial property?
That, my friends, is a tamper resistant spigot, or sillcock. If you happen across a building that's greater than a story or two, you might be able to activate the spigot and get water provided you have a sillcock key... and someone hasn't beat you to it!
You can find these handy little potential life savers at places like Wal-Mart and Amazon for anywhere between $3 and $7. I was so impressed with the suggestion on the forum I bought a two-pack!
That, of course, got me to thinking... what about fuel?
Well, first off, obtaining fuel in a grid down type of scenario presents you with a variety of issues. The first of which is morality. I guess taking water would be a moral dilemma as well, but 'requisitioning' fuel is more likely to get you shot for looting than tapping a water spigot and filling a canteen or two.
Let me be clear... DO NOT STEAL FUEL!
There, now that I addressed the legal aspects, here's what I found that could aid you in tapping your own underground tank if you lose power.
I've got two suggestions. One is a DC powered fuel pump that can be attached to a car battery and the other is a hand crank. Both can be purchased from places like Northern Tool and Tractor Supply for about $160.
I am still stupefied at how simple the suggestion of a sillcock key was... I'm friggin' surrounded by those tamper resistant spigots all the time especially when I volunteer to work on community gardens at the local schools. I guess I was so preoccupied with installing rain barrels that I never put two and two together.
Sometimes... Occum's razor is real equalizer...