Hotwheels,
Dave returned my call later in the day. Too late to go yesterday but I will go to his shop this afternoon, about 2.5 hr drive from here.
I wish I had your dilemma regarding the pump options. Right now we have no back-up water beyond a few filled garbage cans. Good luck figuring it out; seems like you are on a good path to work with expectations then back to the pump.
Good news on the longevity of the Barricade product. I have been in email correspondence with Barricade factory. They are very responsive. They won't commit to an indefinite shelf life (naturally) but have product as old as their company that they still use for demos. I don't know how long they have been around but I'm finding out. The gel is like paint and it will settle. "Proper" storage requires no freeze/thaw cycles, no exposure to extreme heat, and agitation or shaking every six months. They recommend doing a test shoot each year on product over three years old and thought it OK to then assume if the test is good, other product of the same age and storage would be good also. This makes a huge difference in my commitment to purchase this product. If it was dead and useless after 3-5 years I'd be less likely to assume the restocking cost.
This has been a good discussion for me. Led to a reassessment of our preparations. We looked at our outdated Evac lists and updated them. We made 10 minute, 30 minute, and 2 hour evacuation lists. Each list has person's initial with their responsibility. This will save overlap times and focus each person's efforts. There are two printed lists so each person can carry their own and refer to it as they proceed. The last page a list of 1st, 2nd, 3rd relay contacts, phone numbers, and meeting places
Except for the animals much of the stuff on the save in 10 minutes list are financial, insurance records, photos, and the like. We already had some evac stuff gathered but in updating the lists we discovered a lot more time could be saved if we did a better job. Since a lot is just stored anyway, but in various spots, we gathered it all together in a central location along with a packed travel bag of clothes and personal gear for each of us and other emergency grab-and-go stuff like the walkie-talkies. flashlights, batteries, etc.
We intend to do a dress rehearsal this weekend for the 10 minute scenario.