NBC Filtration

Everything shown above is included with this package: • One ASR-100-AV-NBC Safe Cell with Bypass Port and Battery Backup capability that has a pre-filter set, a nuclear grade HEPA, a war gas carbon adsorber, a wall mount bracket, air intake hose, and a hose wall flange • One emergency backup Hand Pump • Two 50-PSI automatic double acting Blast Valves • One Overpressure Relief Valve - either ceiling or wall mount • Free door-to-door UPS Ground shipping to any US address • Free technical support from the engineer who designed this system

ASR-100-AV-NBC Safe Cell features an internal automatic switching power supply that will trickle charge a user-supplied 12 volt battery and then automatically switch to drawing power from the battery if the power grid goes down. When the power comes back on, the power supply automatically switches back to AC power and recharges the battery.

The Safe Cell has been designed from the ground up to overpressure a protected space so that the only way for air to be introduced into your shelter is through the filter bank. It comes complete with an air intake hose, a wall mounting bracket, and a comprehensive installation and operation manual.

This NBC air filter is designed to be mounted inside a collective protection area such as a safe room or bomb shelter where it can be inspected and serviced without leaving the protected space.

You can have the optional bypass port installed at the factory. This bypass port allows you to connect the air intake hose to the top end bell - drawing in outside air, bypassing the filter bank, and blowing fresh, unfiltered air into your protected space.

This configuration is to only be used to ventilate your shelter while extending the life of your filters when there is no airborne toxin threat.

True NBC capability: the Safe Cell meets the critical requirements of the US Army Corp of Engineers Technical Letter ETL 1110-3-498 - "Design of collective protection shelters to resist chemical, biological, and radiological (CBR) agents"

3 ways to power the filter: the Safe Cell can be operated with 110 to 240 volt AC power, 12 volt DC power, or manual operation with the emergency backup hand pump. Proven design: This exact filtration system installed in command bunkers, bomb shelters, military vehicles, hospital isolation rooms, and safe rooms - around the world.

This easy-to-install kit allows you to route your intake hose through a wall. It comes complete with everything necessary to install it - except for a few simple hand tools. This kit allows you to convey air through a wall - without letting the air leak into the inside of wall.

It has a duct that goes through the wall with adapters on each end that allow you to quick-connect the safe cell on one side of the wall and have one of two adapters on the other side: either an outside water-shedding hood or an inside register grill. Whether you are going from your safe room to the outside or to an adjacent room, this kit has everything you need. Also included is a gate valve that will seal the duct so that humidity cannot migrate up through the duct, through the intake hose of the Safe Cell and moisten the carbon adsorber - lessening it's life. This gate valve can be instantly opened by hand when turning on the Safe Cell. Shown below, it's in its up (or open) position

This kit allows you to easily connect the intake hose of the Safe Cell to a household register duct used commonly in residences and buildings with central force-air heating and air conditioning.

It is very simple to install: • Place the register cover (the large plastic piece) over the register • Insert the J-hook through a central opening in the register • Turn it 90-degrees and pull up - seating it against on of the bars in the register • Place the centering bar on top of the register cover and position the end of the J-hook through the central hole in it • Thread the wing-nut onto the threaded end of the J-hook and hand tighten • Slip fit the intake hose of the Safe Cell over the register cover - a slight twisting motion will seat it down and create an air-tight seal

This overpressure relief valve is critical to creating an overpressure in the protected space by adding the proper, metered resistance to the outgoing airflow. The valve is normally closed and will not open unless the air pressure inside the shelter is slightly greater than the outside air pressure.

This gives you true ventilation - air in through the Safe Cell and out through this valve preventing the buildup of carbon dioxide exhaled by the occupants. Carbon dioxide poisoning will incapacitate and kill the occupants of an enclosed space without ventilation long before oxygen deprivation.

Please specify at time of ordering whether or not you are mounting this valve directly on the wall or ceiling - or if you are going mount it to the blast valve. We will configure your overpressure relief valve so it either has a mounting flange for the wall or ceiling or a slip-fit connection for the blast valve.

A good rule of thumb is that if you are underground, you need blast valves and if you are above ground, you do not - unless you have a hardened structure above ground. There is not much need for blast valves unless you have a hardened, blast resistant structure.Any protected space will benefit from this valve, especially if it is well sealed, then this overpressure relief valve is a necessity - if you want true ventilation.

The Adjustable Overpressure Valve is critical to creating an overpressure in the protected space by adding the proper resistance to the out flowing air. This valve is normally closed and will not open unless the air pressure inside the shelter reaches the opening pressure set by the adjustment cap. When used with an ASR-100-AV-NBC Safe Cell, the adjustment range is zero to 1.75 inches of water column.

The adjustment cap is located at the bottom of the valve assembly. Tightening this cap increases the pressure in the protected space. This allows you to compensate for a shelter that is not entirely sealed up - within reason. This valve should be used with the Differential Pressure Gauge.

The Differential Pressure Gauge displays the difference in air pressure between the inside and outside of a shelter. It has a sampling tube that goes through the wall or ceiling in order to read the outside air pressure. Another sampling tube is inside the housing and the difference in air pressure is displayed by a needle on a dial gauge. When you do not have the Safe Cell NBC overpressure air filter on, a properly installed differential pressure gauge will read zero because there is no difference in the air pressure inside, and outside of the shelter. When you start the Safe Cell, the gauge will read a higher pressure.

The unit of measure displayed is inches of water column (wc). There are 27.67 inches of water in one pound per square inch (PSI).

Air flow and air pressure are two properties of forced air that are linked together. As a general rule, the more air pressure, the less air flow. An airflow of 5 cubic feet per minute per person at 0.3-inch (7.62-mm) of water column is recommended by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in the technical letter ETL 1110-3-498.

There are three ranges of gauges available that display positive overpressure: • Zero to 0.5-inches of water column — part number ASR-05-DPG • Zero to 1-inch of water column — part number ASR-10-DPG (special order item) • Zero to 25-mm of water column — part number ASR-25-DPG (special order item)

Special order items usually ship within one week of the order being placed. The Differential Pressure Gauge is designed for easy installation into any protected space. The kit includes all of the required components for installation inside of the protected space.

This hand operated bellows slip-fits instantly into the top of the Safe Cell and is operated by pumping it up and down. It is used to draw filtered air into a protected space during a long term power outage.

A typical shelter occupant cannot physically maintain an overpressure with this device (truth in advertising), but you can draw in air through the filter bank and into your shelter, displacing the carbon dioxide that is exhaled by the occupants ~and~ you still have safe, breathable air being filtered for NBC toxins.

The constraint for maintaining an overpressure in any decent sized shelter (larger than a coat closet) is human endurance - there is simply too much air to move, either by a plunger system (which we have), or a rotary crank system, to maintain an overpressure for more than a few minutes. Either way, the oxygen that you consume and the carbon dioxide that you exhale while you bring in filtered air by hand power is beyond what humans can accomplish.

Our emergency backup bellows has an output of 50 cubic meters (1766 cubic feet) per hour at 50 strokes per minute using a 7 inch stroke and an output of 100 cubic meters (3200 cubic feet) per hour at 50 strokes per minute using a 14 inch stroke.

The ASR-50-AB Automatic Ventilation Blower is an optional component that you can install in your underground blast-resistant shelter that will automatically draw air into, and out of your shelter - providing true ventilation. The purpose of this device is to automatically remove moisture, stale air, and odors (and minimize mold and mildew) from your protected space while it is not in use. It does this by drawing air into your shelter - which pressurizes it - and then that air is expelled through the outlet vent.

It is easily installed with the included wall mount bracket and the quick-release hose that is included with the Safe Cell is simply pulled off the intake port of the Safe Cell and put on the blower with a slight twisting motion. The timer is set to run for a few minutes every day to automatically ventilate the shelter. In an NBC event, the occupants simply remove the hose from the ventilation blower and install it onto the Safe Cell and then turn on the Safe Cell - this can be done in a few seconds.

The marine grade (extremely corrosion resistant) blower is a rated for continuous duty and can be used as a backup blower for the Safe Cell. All it takes is to remove it from the mounting bracket with a slight twisting motion and then slip it into the top of the Safe Cell, turn on the switch, and you have a backup blower that will suck air through the internal blower of the Safe Cell and expel safe, breathable air into your protected space.

This kit allows you to easily connect the intake hose of the Safe Cell or the overpressure valve to a bulkhead fitting designed just for automotive or marine use. The bulkhead fitting sandwiches the wall of the vehicle with a gasket on both sides and ensures an air-tight seal as well as a weather resistant shroud on the outside of the vehicle.

The Safe Cell can be installed easily in any vehicle with the hardware included with it. All Safe Cells have marine-grade (corrosion resistant) blowers so they are ready for any type of vehicle installation. The only additional items necessary are in this automotive vent kit.

Integrated overpressure Unlike room air filters with an adapter kit added to draw air in from another room, the Safe Cell was designed from the start to draw air in from an adjacent space and overpressure your protected space. This is the same principal used in every military and government protected spaces - from armored vehicles up to massive bomb shelters. Because all air is flowing outward from your protected space, this overpressure denies access to airborne toxins, isolating you from the toxic environment.

Instant isolation room All Safe Cell models can be configured to create a CDC grade isolation room. All you have to do is to remove the air intake hose and place it on the air output port. The Safe Cell will then draw air from the protected space and expel it outside - creating a negative pressure in the room and filtering the air before it is discharged. If you have an person that develops a communicable disease in your home, you can bring them into your protected space and isolate their droplet nuclei (airborne body fluids) from the rest of your family.

Pusher mode The Safe Cell can be easily configured to be in an adjacent room - such as a closet - and "push" the filtered air into your protected space.

Mobile applications The Safe Cell has been installed in cars, trucks, heavy equipment, mobile command shelters, and decontamination tents. It can also be installed in recreational vehicles, boats, and aircraft. All models feature marine grade blowers and corrosion resistant construction.

Backup systems The Safe Cell features redundant backup systems - most models have an automatic switching power supply that trickle charges a user-supplied battery and then draws from it in the event of a power outage. All Safe Cells are ready to instantly receive the hand pump. You can literally hold you breath while you slip on the hand pump and start pumping.

Easy installation Due to its modular design, installing the Safe Cell in your protected space can be completed with simple hand tools in about an hour.

The wall mount bracket is designed to mount to studs in typical residential construction on 16 inch centers. When your NBC filter is mounted on the wall, it cannot be tipped over, moved, or misplaced. The Safe Cell attaches to the wall mount bracket with quick release fasteners - that require no tools to remove it. With the automotive vent kit and a second wall mount bracket installed in your vehicle, you can take your protection with you if you have to evacuate. All of the hose connections are slip-fit. That means you simply push them onto the connection with a slight twisting motion. Every Safe Cell comes with a comprehensive installation and operation manual showing exactly how to install it.

Easy operation Plug it in and turn it on: the Safe Cells with battery backup have separate switches for the power supply and the blower. The single voltage Safe Cells have only one power switch that turns the blower on and off.

Because you may be in a hurry and stressed when you need to operate it, the Safe Cell features easy-to-read placards at every point that you interact with it. Operation is easy and intuitive even without the manual.

Foolproof Every Safe Cell has a single speed blower. Once it is installed and tested in the protected space, you are either protected or not, and when the user can lower the blower output with a variable speed blower, it is possible to have the Safe Cell on, but putting out enough air to create an overpressure.

These blowers are all marine grade - which means that they are designed to resist corrosion in the harshest environment.

A safe room consists of an envelope (a room) that has a true NBC filtration/ventilation system installed that will maintain more air pressure inside the room than outside of it (overpressure) in order to constantly keep air bowing outward from the protected space. This will not allow airborne toxins from migrating back into the air you breath.

With the right equipment, standard residential construction - homes and apartments - can be a perfectly suitable envelope to keep out airborne toxins. Absolute sealing of the room is not necessary - as long as you have achieved and maintain overpressure.

Even if you are inside a hermetically sealed container, you need true ventilation - air in and air out. This ventilation continually removes heat, moisture, and carbon dioxide that is exhaled by the occupants while bringing in a fresh supply of oxygen-rich air.

This air must be filtered in order to make it safe and breathable. The best filter combination is a bank of pre-filters, an individually DOP scan tested nuclear grade HEPA for radioactive fallout and a nuclear grade carbon adsorber that will adsorb radioactive iodine.

Built like a hydraulic cylinder The top and bottom end bells on the Safe Cell capture the HEPA filter and the carbon adsorber in the same way that the end plates capture the tube in a hydraulic cylinder. This capture method ensures that the pressure applied to the seals on the filters is equalized around their perimeter. In other words, this construction method prevents the seals from being over tightened on one side and loose on the other - loose seals leak dirty air.

The best filters available In any filtration system, you want to go from progressively large to small particles being filtered. The Safe Cell features a bank of three filters: the pre-filters, the HEPA filter, and the war gas carbon adsorber. These filters are easily replaceable.

All of our filters are made to our specifications by three different companies in the United States. We chose the best specialized manufacturers for each of our three filter banks. The gaskets on the HEPA filter and the carbon adsorber are rabbited (puzzle cut) to prevent air leaks.

The pre-filters have both a gross and a fine media. They allow you to replace the relatively inexpensive pre-filters and it keep the HEPA filter from becoming clogged with large particles and adding resistance to the system.

The HEPA filter we have made for us is beyond what is commonly marketed as a "true HEPA"which can be nothing more than pleated paper media. HEPA is an acronym for High Efficiency Particulate Air filter. Its function is to trap the smallest particles possible. Our HEPA filters are individually tested with a DOP test to MIL STD 282-1995. This has been the industry standard test method for many years. It is conducted using a forward light scattering photometer. The HEPA is challenged with 0.3 micrometer particles of dioctylphthalate (DOP). By measuring the upstream and downstream concentration of these particles, the HEPA filter efficiency can be calculated. Our HEPA filters also have been awarded Underwriters Laboratories Classification - UL 586. This classification is to insure that each HEPA filter cell is individually tested at the factory. Additionally, representative HEPA filter cells are tested by UL to ensure that they provide their rated HEPA level filtration, after being subjected to the following conditions of a high moisture environment of (90% R.H.), a high temperature environment of (371 deg/C), low temperature environment of (-3 deg/C). UL also subjects the HEPA filter cell to a spot flame test of (954 deg/C).

Wall Mount Bracket There is a good reason that smoke alarms, fire extinguishers, and some first aid kits come with wall mounting kits - when you need life saving devices, you want to know where they are at.

The Safe Cell wall mount bracket is laser cut stainless steel with fabricated L-brackets that attach to the spacers between the end bells.

The L-brackets are attached to the wall bracket with star nuts that can be unscrewed by hand - you can immediately remove the Safe Cell from the wall if you need to move it to another room or a vehicle.

There are air filter manufacturers that have post the rated blower capacity and claim that it is the true system airflow. This is a disingenuous attempt at deceiving the customer. All blowers come with an airflow rating - for that blower alone. But that does not include the resistance to air movement before and after the blower. There are two types of resistance to airflow in a filtration system: internal resistance from the filter media and internal ducting, and external resistance: the size, and shape of the protected space plus the ducting to and from the protected space. The internal resistance is a factor of the engineering that is utilized in the design and construction of the air filtration unit. The external resistance is determined by a variety of variables - some of which are: protected space location, filter unit location, air exit location, and "baffles" that slow down the air exchange process like storage items and people inside the protected space, and the internal size and obstructions inside the hoses and pipes that deliver and exit air.

American Safe Room tests all of our filtration systems and all airflow measurements are for the system airflow - not the blower rating.

The most common way to measure the efficiency of the entire system of the protected space is air exchanges per hour. As an example, if you have a 10 by 10 foot protected space with an 8 foot ceiling, you have 800 cubic feet of volume to protect. The measurement of air exchanges per hour is how many times per hour that 800 cubic feet of safe, breathable air is blown into and out of the protected space.The most stringent protected areas are in hospital isolation rooms that have patients in them that are highly infectious. The CDC recommends between 6 and 12 air exchanges per hour for a hospital grade isolation room. This is partially because the patient and the support personnel are converting oxygen to carbon dioxide by breathing and it needs to be removed from the protected space. The other main reason is the droplet nuclei (airborne body fluids or bio aerosols) from the infectious patient must not be allowed to accumulate in the isolation room - accumulating in the filter media is a much better place than your lungs or on surfaces in the room. You can change the filters at certain, prescheduled intervals. The other factors are humidity and heat accumulation - body heat and moisture laden exhaled air can have a significant impact on the comfort and safety of people in the protected space.