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Additional Product Info
Anatomy of a Safe Cell The Anatomy of a Safe Cell:
Features, construction methods, and performance
of the most advanced NBC air filter available
Fabricated by: American Saferoom
The
Safe Cell and its accessories are all designed to fit and
function together. By viewing your entire protected space
as a single
system, we have eliminated the guesswork in constructing
a shelter air filtration system.
Features
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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 our 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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Construction
Methods
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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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). |
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nuclear grade war gas adsorber is a block
sieve adsorption filter cell consisting of two containment
media's and a center block of a granule nuclear grade
war gas carbon blend - NUK-TK TEDA and ASZM-TEDA. This
special blend of two kinds of activated carbon adsorbs
warfare gases and radioactive iodine in order to meet
the requirements of US Army Corps of Engineers ETL
1110-3-498 standard for war gas removal. |
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Power Supply
The Safe Cell models that feature the automatic
battery backup system have a custom designed and built
power supply in them. This power supply is a box that
mounts inside the top end bell and regulates when and
where the power comes from. There are two power cords
on these models - one for 110 volt to 220 volt AC and
one for 12 volt DC. The power supply automatically trickle
charges a user supplied battery connected to the 12 volt
DC power cord. This means that it continually checks the
battery's charge and when it drops, it will recharge it
automatically. When the AC power (from an electrical outlet)
is interrupted (a power outage), the power supply automatically
switches to drawing from the battery. A normal automotive
or marine battery will last from 16 to 24 hours - at full
charge. This gives you peace of mind when you go to sleep
knowing that if the power fails, your NBC filter will
continue to maintain overpressure. |
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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. |
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Performance
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.
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, pre-scheduled 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.Back to Articles |
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