Good concept. I'm sorry mate, but there are some concerns with your design. When gluing PVC pipe, you need tighter fits between the cut pieces. The glue does not seal gaps very well. The glue "melts" the PVC plastic together as it sets. You coat each mating surface FIRST, then twist back and forth into place to get the PVC to soften (melt) together, not glue after mating. A minute later you have an air/water tight seal. Your gaps are too wide, the glue will not hold well in the gaps and leaks will form. Your tennis balls are check valves. The Fuzz on the balls leak air a tiny bit. Smooth rubber balls would get a better seal. The towel around your activated charcoal (carbon) will have less resistance to air flow and microscopic fallout (smaller than smoke particles) will get through the towel fibers and only some will go through the filter. You need to make a canister of activated carbon. It should have screens and HEPA filters on each end to hold the activated carbon inside, and rubber seals around the canister to keep contaminated air getting past it.
@@lorimaravilla8379 I use a battery/bike pedal electric air pump in my doomsday shelter. I have no interest in making a PVC pump and I don't post details on my systems. I only giged him on things that he thought were OK but clearly has no real experience with PVC pipes or nuclear fallout. I said it was a good concept, my comment was to warn others that he has some fatal flaws and how to fix them.
This is a great idea for throwing something together in extremely short notice, if you have not done much preparing for a nuclear war. The only down side is: 1. Filter changing. Chance are you will contaminate the inside of the shelter if you exchange the charcoal bag from the inside the shelter. The remedy is to pull the old bag out from the outside. Then push the new bag into place when you are back in the shelter. 2. There will be some contaminate leakage around that towel holding the charcoal. This is due to the towel not making a perfect seal against the inside wall of the pipe. The remedy would be either using a cloth grain bag (if you can still find them) or a small disposable paper vacuum bag or redesign the filter to actually use a car/truck air filter with the charcoal in it. 3. Another filter should be used before the activated charcoal to catch the larger dust particles. This will help extend the replacement life of the charcoal filter a bit. Overall the video is a great idea for short notice.
I would add a water pre filter before your activated carbon filter to do most of the heavy filtering. (same concept as a potheads bong) You can also add a drain+valve to remove contaminated water and a water intake/valve to refill it.
....also use a screen on the bongs stem to create many small bubbles instead of large ones. That will increase the surface area in contact with the water increasing filtration.
Might help but I would caution the added water filter bong my cause mold growth as this would increase moisture levels to 100% within the filter system
If it’s pumping out smoke it could be allowing particulate radiation through. HEPA filters are nuclear particulate rated and used for that everyday. HEPA filters are widely available so let’s see if you can build something to mechanically pump through a HEPA filter, as electricity and fuel may not be available.
Thank you for sharing your insights. It's crucial to consider heat-resistant materials and proper ventilation systems in bunker design to address potential issues like extreme temperatures of nuclear temperatures of 100 million degrees Celcius and gas exposure from Radon the deeper you go into the Earth. Ensuring the safety of the structure and its occupants requires careful planning and consideration of various factors. Examples of failure are bunker designed in Germany during ww2 fire bombings where the occupants were cooked within the bunkers because they did not account for ventilation that cooled the air before reaching inside the bunker.
In the scenario mentioned, you only need to keep the dust [fallout] from coming inside, that is all. That's easily done with a couple of corners, no need for any air filter at all.
Looks like a nice low cost build for people who aren't in the richest 1%. With some tinkering and tweaking you may be able to extend the outlet pipe past the tennis ball so you can try attaching another filter. It might be worth playing around with seeing if you can turn the 90% bend into a full 180% bend as well.
it’s all well and good until the gutter bracket breaks off or the balls get soggy an stick in the hole… then it’ll be like having that plastic bag bungee’d around your neck 😳 1% will have intern outside cleaning the balls until they keel over.
A consideration (based on Cresson Kearny's NWSS book) is to have all your inlets (and outlets just in case) setup with a 90 degree or even 180 degree bend ending in an opening facing straight down. This prevents heavier particles that can't "float" in the air from even entering your filtration system to begin with.
Also another factor to notice is you need a few other aspects to look at. 1. Activated charcoal has a saturation point. So you need to change the filters every so often say years maybe decades depending on size. 2. You want to use something that can resist fires and high temperatures that is also corrosion resistant in case of forest fires or man made fires. 3. You want to find a perfect way to camouflage the air ducts as well as silence any noise from them on the outside since I'm a situation like this any looters/raid parties searching for supplies or safe haven can't find it (hopefully) because they can clog the vents suffocating you and forcing you to come outside...
And my only consideration for air exchange has been keeping mice, snakes and spiders out! Oh my! back to the drawing board...my concealment idea is putting the chicken coop over top, with sealed drainage away from “roof of bunker”...
If the charcoal filter were worth anything, it would absorb smoke being test-pumped through and we wouldn't see any smoke emerge. Your test simply proves that yes, the mechanism moves air, but tiny particles of radioactive fallout would not be absorbed. And nanoparticle fallout is too small to be seen but carries alpha radiation that is deadly to inhale.
Hey - that is an interesting cioncept. The only thing I would add to the basic set up, is to have the charcoal in a HEPA filter-bag. that way you have better containment of the charcoal and an extra lair of filtration. I like that you proved in two ways that this mechanism actually does what it is supposed to. What worried me, is that ion the smoke-test, we saw smoke coming out of the exhaustpipe as well, that looked basically the same as the smoke comping from the vessel below. So that would make me wonder how well the air is actually filtered... But, so far, a rather good system with very interesting content! Thanks for sharing!
I agree with you. I observed the same thing, and thought I didn't understand the setup, so I went back and rewatched the video. A short cylinder of cotton tightly fitted into the one containing the charcoal bag will do the trick. If not, his valving mechanism is perfect.
Prep-RS, I read the "Protect & Survive" pamphlet you posted on your website. It was very good, common sense starter information. You're performing a valuable public service, and thank you for all you do.
Thank you for your kind remarks John. We are in the next couple of weeks putting another pamphlet on the website called Domestic Nuclear Shelters which may also be of interest to you.
Sadly this is going to be completely use in case of nuclear war. Active carbon is meant to trap chemicals, so if anything this filter would be useful against chemical weapons. If you want to make a filter useful against nuclear fission products and fall out you would need a HEPA filter, which is also useful against biological weapons btw. Activated carbon is extremely porous, however it's pores are the size of small to moderate sized molecules, which get adsorbed into those pores which is how it filters them out. The fission and fall out products from a nuclear bomb are going to be particles which are thousands of times bigger than the pores of activated carbon are suited for.
Great video. The seals on the balls etc. are not prefect but it is better than nothing and cheap. For just a few Pounds (Dollars) more you can make or buy better check valves or smooth balls for better seals. Keep up the great work.
The radiation following nuclear attacks is fully survivable ,if you are protected underground for the first week or so and have adequate protection and decontamination facilities when venturing out after the radiation levels drop. Oh and so long as you're at least 20 miles from ground zero because you'll be toast. Get your self a shelter at least 1 MTR underground , an NBC suit and mask, lots of food and water etc etc etc. It's called prepping. Insurance if you will. Good video with useful tips.
I'm assuming that the 1m recommendation is based on the military's radiation shielding units tests? They say that about 1m of dirt is sufficient to shield from most common types of radiation. You'd be amazed at what can block various types of radiation. Your skin is enough to block some types, and the walls of your house are sufficient to block most others.
Hmmm, as a gold planner I have a surface air, dry suit, hmmm...I really think the bunker is for hiding my supplies...and forest fire...I lost every prepped item and farm tools of 40 yrs... last year...to a massive California wildfire...Earthen cabin is sounding better all the time...
90% of the radiation has dissipated within 24 to 48 hours. An air burst (used over cities) produces less fallout than a ground burst (airports and hardened military facilities)
I don't understand why you said 20 miles away is necessary. The over pressure of a 500 kt weapon would level houses probably up to 3 miles and the thermal pulse could cause burns to anyone out in the open up to 15 miles. But a well made underground bunker would survive most warheads from just a few miles away. Yes a direct hit even from a small nuke would destroy it but it does not take much distance for the overpressure to drop significantlly. And yes 4 feet of earth provides good protection from the radiation. I would have water bottles all around inside because water protects from neutron radiation. Most warheads today are in the 250 to 800 kt range and are much more accurate than in the 70's. But the destructive power of a nuke does not go up with yield a much a lot of people think. A 100 kt weapon is not ten times more destructive than a 10 kt weapon. It is is closer to 2 times more destructive. There is a formula for this but I can't remember it.
With only some modifications this can become an excellent Two Stroke valve with an interchangeable filter from INSIDE the shelter Add a second ball valve to force air into shelter on each pull & push. Add pipe with changeable filters on inside of shelter inside PVC pipe sections..
Brilliant video. Have made mini version using activated charcoal and hepa filter parts and 12v computer fan to remove greyhound flatulence. Will have a go with steel pipe for the radionucleide version. Great video to watch. Thanks.
If there is smoke coming from the exhaust. Maybe a different filtering system should be considered. If smoke is passing through the charcoal filter, what else might be pulled into your shelter?
I thought the same thing. Activated charcoal is mostly used for viruses or bacteria. So if the smoke was bacteria or viruses then your pulling contaminants into your room. The water idea is a great idea by the commenter above, the charcoal is a great idea, but if you dedicated a room that is sealed to a HEPA filtration system then use a normal air pump to disperse it throughout your room that should help with radioactive dust. Unless your a while away from ground zero it wont help much unless the wind blew tiny amounts of particulate matter into your region.
Air like smoke is thin. Military and the highest end gas mask use charcoal. The charcoal is course and catches particulates as it's forced through the porous coal. You just need about 3-4 times as much charcoal as he used to actually be effective for a decent amount of time. The whole idea is to trap radioactive particulates. My water filter let's water through but still filters out particulates. The smoke is just so you can see the "air" moving like it is suppose to in one direction.
I hope like hell that none of us need to use this but if we ever do I wanted to say thanks because you may have saved my families life keep up the good work
Thank you so much for this, great help full instructions and pure genius. From US, the way things are going I am in the middle of building my bunker now.. cheers back!
6 лет назад
It will have positive pressure, but the pressurized air at the inlet will be filtered against particulates and products of combustion. A further enhancement might find a way to arrest vaporized metallic isotopes, like Strontium 90.
This is great! It is good you went over positive pressure within a bunker space. Do you have any calculations on how long the activated charcoal is good for or how to replace it when it has reached its particulate absorption capacity (hard question, but estimates based on similar particulate size of fallout could be useful)? Believe it or not, but I am an engineer and I help build bunkers for the U.S. government. This is a great, low-cost Idea but I would recommend having two or 3 of these to use in case one fails, or it becomes saturated, and you need to use another one of these devices. At that time, it may be too late. I recommend using a Geiger counter at the inlet and as soon as it reaches an intolerable limit, to then switch to another filter. I would want to see research on the needed particulate size of the activated carbon to ensure the prevention of particulates passing through the system.
Then you need a low energy isolating wheel hooked up to a med size motor on the other end of it and it will pull air in all the time !!!! you can just about Mcgyver anything these days too !!!!
there has to be a way to automate this (perhaps a hamster on a wheel). I would also be concerned with leakage around or through the activated charcoal. This is not mentioning the unknown absorption rate of fallout with activated carbon. I would think taking iodide pills within 3 hours of detonation, going inside the innermost room of a building, closing all windows/doors, and turning off the HVAC would be some of the first steps to take - with at least a two-week supply of food. Good show none-the-less.
Quick Google search shows 4" pvc to have a failure pressure of around 130 psi, which is far less than the overpressure blast wave you would receive. I also seriously question it's resistance to atomic flash as well as just general fire
Maybe for the exhaust of the room, have a one way valve pipe that has a oscillator leading out of the vent that can be manually cranked every hour or so for about 5-10 minutes just to help flush. Of course you'd want to be running the intake system at the same time so as to keep positive pressure in the space.
👍 good info that may save lives. Active charcoal or carbon filters was what the Army issued me. In the NBC mask canister And our suit was covered in charcoal. Thank you sir, hope we never have to use it😉🇺🇸
So, theortically, if someone wanted to automate this system to be automatic, it would be quite possible I would think. Just need some electronics for timing and measuring when to activate and a DC motor to actuate the bung/plunger back and forth in the pipe a certain amount every so often. Because the last thing I want to be wasting my time with, is pumping that thing many times a day, lol. I like the design though, it's nice and simple and cheap and the only improvements I can see needed, are what lassit lassit mentioned. Fun fact: The HEPA filter standard was built from the need for effective radioactive fallout filtration.
@@lassitc True and I had thought of that. So if you did, you'd want an efficient system for sure, that's easy on your batteries. The most minimal horsepower needed, to move the ramrod/plunger. Certainly have an easily detachable ramrod too, so you can hand pump it when you are lean on power. But if you have it spare, it could give you a break from pumping by hand, hehehe.
If your shelter intake is sufficiently high enough from the ground the "large" particles everyone mentions shouldn't be taken in. Assuming; of course, that the shelter builder has enough sense to put a (nearly) 180° bend on the inlet. (Fallout doesn't fall UP) That being said, a prefilter is always a good idea as is making a filter "module" that can either be changed (not a great idea unless it can be changed remotely, outside the shelter) or as one commenter said simply have more than one unit to attach the air pump to. This of course means that the air filter units would need to be shielded from the shelter interior, we are after all filtering out radioactive fallout particles. Luckily this is just a matter of extending pipe lengths and trying for increased pump volume to make up for it. Overall, the video and filter idea is very good.
I would suggest a spare filter as in time the fallout dust will collect, also some sort of plastic clothing for protection when going outside for any reason and that clothing to be stored away from occupants safe zone. A typical simple cheap british invention has always stood well in a time of crisis well done!, these sort of practical sort of inventions has kept our enemies away from these isles for over a thousand years. A car air filter would be just as good and some kind of remote Tapping device to loosen dust from the said filter.
Thanks for comments yes a spare filter would be usefull but if pointing downwards should not block to quickly a protective suit would be usefull ,NBC and Hazmat suits can currently be purchased on line cheaply in the uk
@@prep-rscharity4866 I got a couple of full face respirators, suits and gloves off of amazon, fairly cheep too. Spent less than 2 hundred quid on the lot got full nbc protection as well. Mind you, I live in a ground floor flat but using the inverse squre law have found that living in my hall and the two internal walls should allow enough mass / distance to survive gamma radiation and the suits for alpha / beta.. Got half a dozen duct tape rolls and heavy plastic dust sheets to seal off the extremities. Just hope the windows don't blow in!!!
Brilliant. But I don't understand if smoke can come in can't radiation. ? How long does the charcoal last worst case scenario? What about carbon dioxide build up? Lastly how do you suggest protecting the outside fittings and pipe from a blast?
Radiation from the blast binds to dust particles, so you really only need to filter out dust. Roughly speaking. And bunkers are only made for people outside the blast zone but inside the radiated dust zone.
Dust particles are not to hard to filter and as others have said pipes should have a 160 turn facing down at the end. A few well positioned vent pipes would provide passive air circulation and thus remove CO2. You could make a simple hand crank to circulate the air better though. And C02 scrubbers can be made as well with one or two chemicals that you can buy on line. If close enough to a target than blast valves would be necessary. I would say within 5 miles from a target blast valves would be needed. You can make them with scrap materials. If you are within a couple of miles from the blast you would need a very well built underground blast shelter. I would probably suggest moving instead of attempting a blast shelter if you are that close to a target. But I have heard of people who have built a system of underground shelters. Basically they are connected by a small opening underground but can be sealed off from each other. This design allows one to temporarily isolate themselves in the deepest most fortified part and later move to other parts with the ventilation system. I can't really explain it but I have seen photos.
And to think I was taught to use hepa filters to remove particulates and activated carbon to absorb hazardous chemicals. I know of a few places using 12/24vdc extractor fans as air exhaust pumps. The average vehicle air filter removes more particulates per hour than a typical vacuum cleaner hepa filter.
dave smith Charcoal is carbon with some extra stuff in it (being it a derivative of wood, this stuff is probably wood related chemicals) Activated carbon would be a lot better. This is just a quick guide for easy to get materials.
Inathy Accabon, cooker hood filters, air inlet filters for gas water heaters/central heating boiler, can filter many nasty substances from air, as for particulate filtration vacuum cleaner filters and even the folded paper air intake filter from vehicles have been proven effective, including as scavenged materials. Personally I would probably have used a "paper" particulates prefilter located in the barrel between inlet and outlet (traps most of the nasties) and the chemical filter "cartridge" above the inlet valve using a wide area 12" diameter 1-2" deep tray of absorbent, for increased airflow with the activated carbon doing it's thing
Great video! I am having an environmental science class theoretically build a survival bunker as a class project. Could you possibly describe the math you used at the end to calculate how much air you would need for a certain number of individuals to survive? Thanks again!
I think your simple design is brilliant and has the potential to prevent irradiation. I am concerned about the amount of O2 that would be allowed in a confined space of a bunker though. It is possible to asphyxiate without proper ventilation. I am sure you and other have already factored this, but for those who haven’t please be careful.
I would adapt it to use the air box from a car. It already has a filter that fits tightly with no air leakage around it. And you're definitely gonna have to use a 12V dc fan to get the air flowing around the clock. Unless you plan on keeping at least one person awake at all times to pull a manual plunger to to keep the air flowing.
This is a "hasty filter", something you can throw together in an emergency. Commercial check valves, a blast overpressure valve, a commercial micron filter and a hand or motor cranked blower would, of course, be a much better solution. Over here in the States, atomic scientist Kresson Kearny designed a filter using similar principles, a couple of cardboard boxes, some plastic sheeting, a roll of duct tape, and a dozen rolls of toilet paper as the filter medium. See his book, "Nuclear War Survival Skills".
I'm not trying to be a bummer but smashed briquettes for grilling food is not activated carbon it is just charcoal there is a difference activated carbon goes through a process to fill it with microscopic holes to give it an enormous surface area per particle of carbon.You also should have at least 25 to 50 lb of activated carbon to be effective for filtration of things that you do not want to breathe.
I was thinking the same. What about a small DC powered fan (computer sized) with a flap on the outside to keep NBC out? You know, similar to dryer vents? You could run the fan on a small solar panel.
not really understand what's the idea behind the pumping concept (you pump polluted air from time to time limiting exposure on it instead of breathing it all the time?) and how it should be installed
Charcoal will eventually clog out but typical fall out should only last 2 week until radiation die down for safe levels. Unless you live near a nuclear power plant then there's whole another level of radiation that can only come out of power plant and sticks around much much longer.
Nuclear (alpha/beta) is carried by dust particulate. Filter out the dust, and youve filtered out the alpha/beta. Gamma is like light...thats the reason for 90 degree turns into a shelter.
Don't wanna be a doosh but any possible "cracks or leaks" would mean death from irradiated water and debris seaping in. On something for this scale you not only have to have an air/water tight seal on all incoming and outgoing ventilation systems but also a secondary ventilation system so if one needs repair the other can be used to not suffocate.
Good concept. I'm sorry mate, but there are some concerns with your design. When gluing PVC pipe, you need tighter fits between the cut pieces. The glue does not seal gaps very well. The glue "melts" the PVC plastic together as it sets. You coat each mating surface FIRST, then twist back and forth into place to get the PVC to soften (melt) together, not glue after mating. A minute later you have an air/water tight seal. Your gaps are too wide, the glue will not hold well in the gaps and leaks will form. Your tennis balls are check valves. The Fuzz on the balls leak air a tiny bit. Smooth rubber balls would get a better seal. The towel around your activated charcoal (carbon) will have less resistance to air flow and microscopic fallout (smaller than smoke particles) will get through the towel fibers and only some will go through the filter. You need to make a canister of activated carbon. It should have screens and HEPA filters on each end to hold the activated carbon inside, and rubber seals around the canister to keep contaminated air getting past it.
So you should do a video with the updates or some pic's
@@lorimaravilla8379 I use a battery/bike pedal electric air pump in my doomsday shelter. I have no interest in making a PVC pump and I don't post details on my systems. I only giged him on things that he thought were OK but clearly has no real experience with PVC pipes or nuclear fallout. I said it was a good concept, my comment was to warn others that he has some fatal flaws and how to fix them.
Plumber
@@lorimaravilla8379 tbh 2 socks taped over a vent are better than nothing. This is better than 2 socks.
@@lorimaravilla8379 The king of random has a home made pvc air/water pump. I'm sure that design can be easily adapted for use.
This is a great idea for throwing something together in extremely short notice, if you have not done much preparing for a nuclear war. The only down side is:
1. Filter changing. Chance are you will contaminate the inside of the shelter if you exchange the charcoal bag from the inside the shelter. The remedy is to pull the old bag out from the outside. Then push the new bag into place when you are back in the shelter.
2. There will be some contaminate leakage around that towel holding the charcoal. This is due to the towel not making a perfect seal against the inside wall of the pipe. The remedy would be either using a cloth grain bag (if you can still find them) or a small disposable paper vacuum bag or redesign the filter to actually use a car/truck air filter with the charcoal in it.
3. Another filter should be used before the activated charcoal to catch the larger dust particles. This will help extend the replacement life of the charcoal filter a bit.
Overall the video is a great idea for short notice.
Maybe some sort of netting ahead of the filter. Or a couple of netting sections.
I would add a water pre filter before your activated carbon filter to do most of the heavy filtering. (same concept as a potheads bong) You can also add a drain+valve to remove contaminated water and a water intake/valve to refill it.
....also use a screen on the bongs stem to create many small bubbles instead of large ones. That will increase the surface area in contact with the water increasing filtration.
Go to the doctor mate
@@artisankatstudios7902 cheese cloth would be great
Rewatching now as using this type of filtration is ever more relevant and the parts and principles of fabrication are simple. Thanks!
It's a good demonstration of that principal. That's it. The filter itself doesn't work lol
Rewatching too
Thanks winston churchill 😊
Ok
I liked that you were explaining different materials you could use to problem solve in case of chaotic scenarios. excellent job!
I would add a water pre filter before your activated carbon filter to do most of the heavy filtering. (same concept as a potheads bong)
DIY FOR DUMMIES....UM WHAT KIND SHOULD I GET?....SERIOUSLY. THANK U IN ADVANCE.
Can anyone make me a couple of these? I need 4. If so pls let me know
Might help but I would caution the added water filter bong my cause mold growth as this would increase moisture levels to 100% within the filter system
@@JK-ux5hq our dashed hopes :(
Stone wool anyone?
If it’s pumping out smoke it could be allowing particulate radiation through. HEPA filters are nuclear particulate rated and used for that everyday. HEPA filters are widely available so let’s see if you can build something to mechanically pump through a HEPA filter, as electricity and fuel may not be available.
Thank you for sharing your insights. It's crucial to consider heat-resistant materials and proper ventilation systems in bunker design to address potential issues like extreme temperatures of nuclear temperatures of 100 million degrees Celcius and gas exposure from Radon the deeper you go into the Earth. Ensuring the safety of the structure and its occupants requires careful planning and consideration of various factors. Examples of failure are bunker designed in Germany during ww2 fire bombings where the occupants were cooked within the bunkers because they did not account for ventilation that cooled the air before reaching inside the bunker.
In the scenario mentioned, you only need to keep the dust [fallout] from coming inside, that is all. That's easily done with a couple of corners, no need for any air filter at all.
blogobre Yes, I think a couple of corners might help but I would absolutely include the filtering aspect.
Brill thank you
Exactly, outside air itself isn't contaminated, except for particles
Looks like a nice low cost build for people who aren't in the richest 1%. With some tinkering and tweaking you may be able to extend the outlet pipe past the tennis ball so you can try attaching another filter. It might be worth playing around with seeing if you can turn the 90% bend into a full 180% bend as well.
it’s all well and good until the gutter bracket breaks off or the balls get soggy an stick in the hole… then it’ll be like having that plastic bag bungee’d around your neck 😳
1% will have intern outside cleaning the balls until they keel over.
A consideration (based on Cresson Kearny's NWSS book) is to have all your inlets (and outlets just in case) setup with a 90 degree or even 180 degree bend ending in an opening facing straight down. This prevents heavier particles that can't "float" in the air from even entering your filtration system to begin with.
Also another factor to notice is you need a few other aspects to look at.
1. Activated charcoal has a saturation point. So you need to change the filters every so often say years maybe decades depending on size.
2. You want to use something that can resist fires and high temperatures that is also corrosion resistant in case of forest fires or man made fires.
3. You want to find a perfect way to camouflage the air ducts as well as silence any noise from them on the outside since I'm a situation like this any looters/raid parties searching for supplies or safe haven can't find it (hopefully) because they can clog the vents suffocating you and forcing you to come outside...
And my only consideration for air exchange has been keeping mice, snakes and spiders out! Oh my! back to the drawing board...my concealment idea is putting the chicken coop over top, with sealed drainage away from “roof of bunker”...
@@thewindyone5228 Chicken manure breeds Histoplasma fungi. Histoplasmosis in the lungs can be incurable and a miserable way to die.
If the charcoal filter were worth anything, it would absorb smoke being test-pumped through and we wouldn't see any smoke emerge. Your test simply proves that yes, the mechanism moves air, but tiny particles of radioactive fallout would not be absorbed. And nanoparticle fallout is too small to be seen but carries alpha radiation that is deadly to inhale.
Genius! A practical, easy build solution for us bunker dwellers. I recommend addition of Zeolite to the filter to improve efficiency
I never heard of Zeolite being used. When you have a chance, can you post some information about it up here?
Hey - that is an interesting cioncept. The only thing I would add to the basic set up, is to have the charcoal in a HEPA filter-bag. that way you have better containment of the charcoal and an extra lair of filtration. I like that you proved in two ways that this mechanism actually does what it is supposed to. What worried me, is that ion the smoke-test, we saw smoke coming out of the exhaustpipe as well, that looked basically the same as the smoke comping from the vessel below. So that would make me wonder how well the air is actually filtered... But, so far, a rather good system with very interesting content! Thanks for sharing!
I agree with you. I observed the same thing, and thought I didn't understand the setup, so I went back and rewatched the video. A short cylinder of cotton tightly fitted into the one containing the charcoal bag will do the trick. If not, his valving mechanism is perfect.
Prep-RS, I read the "Protect & Survive" pamphlet you posted on your website. It was very good, common sense starter information. You're performing a valuable public service, and thank you for all you do.
Thank you for your kind remarks John. We are in the next couple of weeks putting another pamphlet on the website called Domestic Nuclear Shelters which may also be of interest to you.
Sadly this is going to be completely use in case of nuclear war. Active carbon is meant to trap chemicals, so if anything this filter would be useful against chemical weapons. If you want to make a filter useful against nuclear fission products and fall out you would need a HEPA filter, which is also useful against biological weapons btw.
Activated carbon is extremely porous, however it's pores are the size of small to moderate sized molecules, which get adsorbed into those pores which is how it filters them out. The fission and fall out products from a nuclear bomb are going to be particles which are thousands of times bigger than the pores of activated carbon are suited for.
Great video. The seals on the balls etc. are not prefect but it is better than nothing and cheap. For just a few Pounds (Dollars) more you can make or buy better check valves or smooth balls for better seals. Keep up the great work.
The radiation following nuclear attacks is fully survivable ,if you are protected underground for the first week or so and have adequate protection and decontamination facilities when venturing out after the radiation levels drop. Oh and so long as you're at least 20 miles from ground zero because you'll be toast. Get your self a shelter at least 1 MTR underground , an NBC suit and mask, lots of food and water etc etc etc. It's called prepping. Insurance if you will. Good video with useful tips.
I'm assuming that the 1m recommendation is based on the military's radiation shielding units tests? They say that about 1m of dirt is sufficient to shield from most common types of radiation. You'd be amazed at what can block various types of radiation. Your skin is enough to block some types, and the walls of your house are sufficient to block most others.
Hmmm, as a gold planner I have a surface air, dry suit, hmmm...I really think the bunker is for hiding my supplies...and forest fire...I lost every prepped item and farm tools of 40 yrs... last year...to a massive California wildfire...Earthen cabin is sounding better all the time...
90% of the radiation has dissipated within 24 to 48 hours. An air burst (used over cities) produces less fallout than a ground burst (airports and hardened military facilities)
I don't understand why you said 20 miles away is necessary. The over pressure of a 500 kt weapon would level houses probably up to 3 miles and the thermal pulse could cause burns to anyone out in the open up to 15 miles. But a well made underground bunker would survive most warheads from just a few miles away. Yes a direct hit even from a small nuke would destroy it but it does not take much distance for the overpressure to drop significantlly.
And yes 4 feet of earth provides good protection from the radiation. I would have water bottles all around inside because water protects from neutron radiation.
Most warheads today are in the 250 to 800 kt range and are much more accurate than in the 70's. But the destructive power of a nuke does not go up with yield a much a lot of people think. A 100 kt weapon is not ten times more destructive than a 10 kt weapon. It is is closer to 2 times more destructive. There is a formula for this but I can't remember it.
Me dad was kinda obsessed with bunkers and this is one of the videos he trusted.
With only some modifications this can become an excellent Two Stroke valve with an interchangeable filter from INSIDE the shelter Add a second ball valve to force air into shelter on each pull & push. Add pipe with changeable filters on inside of shelter inside PVC pipe sections..
Great design with simple materials
Brilliant video. Have made mini version using activated charcoal and hepa filter parts and 12v computer fan to remove greyhound flatulence. Will have a go with steel pipe for the radionucleide version. Great video to watch. Thanks.
If there is smoke coming from the exhaust. Maybe a different filtering system should be considered. If smoke is passing through the charcoal filter, what else might be pulled into your shelter?
I thought the same thing. Activated charcoal is mostly used for viruses or bacteria. So if the smoke was bacteria or viruses then your pulling contaminants into your room. The water idea is a great idea by the commenter above, the charcoal is a great idea, but if you dedicated a room that is sealed to a HEPA filtration system then use a normal air pump to disperse it throughout your room that should help with radioactive dust.
Unless your a while away from ground zero it wont help much unless the wind blew tiny amounts of particulate matter into your region.
Air like smoke is thin. Military and the highest end gas mask use charcoal. The charcoal is course and catches particulates as it's forced through the porous coal. You just need about 3-4 times as much charcoal as he used to actually be effective for a decent amount of time. The whole idea is to trap radioactive particulates. My water filter let's water through but still filters out particulates. The smoke is just so you can see the "air" moving like it is suppose to in one direction.
Finally someone is talking about this important device. Thank You!
Use some Vaseline on those joint ends it helps tremendously.
I hope like hell that none of us need to use this but if we ever do I wanted to say thanks because you may have saved my families life keep up the good work
Nice boat , id say the dive tank compressor. would be an excellent alternative for clean air aswell
Thank you so much for this, great help full instructions and pure genius. From US, the way things are going I am in the middle of building my bunker now.. cheers back!
It will have positive pressure, but the pressurized air at the inlet will be filtered against particulates and products of combustion. A further enhancement might find a way to arrest vaporized metallic isotopes, like Strontium 90.
This is great! It is good you went over positive pressure within a bunker space. Do you have any calculations on how long the activated charcoal is good for or how to replace it when it has reached its particulate absorption capacity (hard question, but estimates based on similar particulate size of fallout could be useful)? Believe it or not, but I am an engineer and I help build bunkers for the U.S. government. This is a great, low-cost Idea but I would recommend having two or 3 of these to use in case one fails, or it becomes saturated, and you need to use another one of these devices. At that time, it may be too late. I recommend using a Geiger counter at the inlet and as soon as it reaches an intolerable limit, to then switch to another filter. I would want to see research on the needed particulate size of the activated carbon to ensure the prevention of particulates passing through the system.
Then you need a low energy isolating wheel hooked up to a med size motor on the other end of it and it will pull air in all the time !!!! you can just about Mcgyver anything these days too !!!!
THANK YOU
I THOUGHT ABOUT HOOKING A BIKE UP TO IT AND YOUR IDEA IS SAFER WHILE SLEEPING LOL
there has to be a way to automate this (perhaps a hamster on a wheel). I would also be concerned with leakage around or through the activated charcoal. This is not mentioning the unknown absorption rate of fallout with activated carbon. I would think taking iodide pills within 3 hours of detonation, going inside the innermost room of a building, closing all windows/doors, and turning off the HVAC would be some of the first steps to take - with at least a two-week supply of food. Good show none-the-less.
Nice idea for a manual air intake but I’d definitely adjust things
Quick Google search shows 4" pvc to have a failure pressure of around 130 psi, which is far less than the overpressure blast wave you would receive. I also seriously question it's resistance to atomic flash as well as just general fire
Very nice idea. well explained and gave me some good ideas on my own to work out. Thank you!
Maybe for the exhaust of the room, have a one way valve pipe that has a oscillator leading out of the vent that can be manually cranked every hour or so for about 5-10 minutes just to help flush. Of course you'd want to be running the intake system at the same time so as to keep positive pressure in the space.
I'm so jealous of you guys across the pond with your defenders... I'd literally trade my 55 NAPCO for a tricked out defender.
👍 good info that may save lives. Active charcoal or carbon filters was what the Army issued me. In the NBC mask canister And our suit was covered in charcoal. Thank you sir, hope we never have to use it😉🇺🇸
regarding your never have to use it? well now with Putin playing silly buggers we might well have to
So, theortically, if someone wanted to automate this system to be automatic, it would be quite possible I would think. Just need some electronics for timing and measuring when to activate and a DC motor to actuate the bung/plunger back and forth in the pipe a certain amount every so often. Because the last thing I want to be wasting my time with, is pumping that thing many times a day, lol. I like the design though, it's nice and simple and cheap and the only improvements I can see needed, are what lassit lassit mentioned. Fun fact: The HEPA filter standard was built from the need for effective radioactive fallout filtration.
The downside to automating things, batteries drain down. Solar panels become useless after so much radiation exposure.
@@lassitc True and I had thought of that. So if you did, you'd want an efficient system for sure, that's easy on your batteries. The most minimal horsepower needed, to move the ramrod/plunger. Certainly have an easily detachable ramrod too, so you can hand pump it when you are lean on power. But if you have it spare, it could give you a break from pumping by hand, hehehe.
If your shelter intake is sufficiently high enough from the ground the "large" particles everyone mentions shouldn't be taken in. Assuming; of course, that the shelter builder has enough sense to put a (nearly) 180° bend on the inlet. (Fallout doesn't fall UP) That being said, a prefilter is always a good idea as is making a filter "module" that can either be changed (not a great idea unless it can be changed remotely, outside the shelter) or as one commenter said simply have more than one unit to attach the air pump to. This of course means that the air filter units would need to be shielded from the shelter interior, we are after all filtering out radioactive fallout particles. Luckily this is just a matter of extending pipe lengths and trying for increased pump volume to make up for it. Overall, the video and filter idea is very good.
Nice bellows pump and demonstration. It would be easy to make the exhaust vent with the same ball valve for positive air pressure.
LOVE THE VIDS, this helps everyday people prep, that might not have a lot of money.
Great video. The "bloopers" takes at the end made it even better 👍
I would suggest a spare filter as in time the fallout dust will collect, also some sort of plastic clothing for protection when going outside for any reason and that clothing to be stored away from occupants safe zone.
A typical simple cheap british invention has always stood well in a time of crisis well done!, these sort of practical sort of inventions has kept our enemies away from these isles for over a thousand years.
A car air filter would be just as good and some kind of remote Tapping device to loosen dust from the said filter.
Thanks for comments yes a spare filter would be usefull but if pointing downwards should not block to quickly
a protective suit would be usefull ,NBC and Hazmat suits can currently be purchased on line cheaply in the uk
@@prep-rscharity4866 I got a couple of full face respirators, suits and gloves off of amazon, fairly cheep too. Spent less than 2 hundred quid on the lot got full nbc protection as well.
Mind you, I live in a ground floor flat but using the inverse squre law have found that living in my hall and the two internal walls should allow enough mass / distance to survive gamma radiation and the suits for alpha / beta.. Got half a dozen duct tape rolls and heavy plastic dust sheets to seal off the extremities. Just hope the windows don't blow in!!!
This is brilliant and practical. Thank you.
using smooth balls will seal better and be more efficient ile use rubber flaps with a spring on the back
Brilliant. But I don't understand if smoke can come in can't radiation. ? How long does the charcoal last worst case scenario? What about carbon dioxide build up? Lastly how do you suggest protecting the outside fittings and pipe from a blast?
Radiation from the blast binds to dust particles, so you really only need to filter out dust. Roughly speaking.
And bunkers are only made for people outside the blast zone but inside the radiated dust zone.
Dust particles are not to hard to filter and as others have said pipes should have a 160 turn facing down at the end. A few well positioned vent pipes would provide passive air circulation and thus remove CO2. You could make a simple hand crank to circulate the air better though. And C02 scrubbers can be made as well with one or two chemicals that you can buy on line.
If close enough to a target than blast valves would be necessary. I would say within 5 miles from a target blast valves would be needed. You can make them with scrap materials.
If you are within a couple of miles from the blast you would need a very well built underground blast shelter. I would probably suggest moving instead of attempting a blast shelter if you are that close to a target. But I have heard of people who have built a system of underground shelters. Basically they are connected by a small opening underground but can be sealed off from each other. This design allows one to temporarily isolate themselves in the deepest most fortified part and later move to other parts with the ventilation system. I can't really explain it but I have seen photos.
Don't you just love the English eccentrics.. England still has them thank God...loved it 👍
this was super informative thank you for the details
Nice one, mate!
Thank you very positive idea. I’m so glad I come across your video. This is awesome.
And to think I was taught to use hepa filters to remove particulates and activated carbon to absorb hazardous chemicals. I know of a few places using 12/24vdc extractor fans as air exhaust pumps. The average vehicle air filter removes more particulates per hour than a typical vacuum cleaner hepa filter.
dave smith Charcoal is carbon with some extra stuff in it (being it a derivative of wood, this stuff is probably wood related chemicals) Activated carbon would be a lot better. This is just a quick guide for easy to get materials.
Inathy Accabon, cooker hood filters, air inlet filters for gas water heaters/central heating boiler, can filter many nasty substances from air, as for particulate filtration vacuum cleaner filters and even the folded paper air intake filter from vehicles have been proven effective, including as scavenged materials. Personally I would probably have used a "paper" particulates prefilter located in the barrel between inlet and outlet (traps most of the nasties) and the chemical filter "cartridge" above the inlet valve using a wide area 12" diameter 1-2" deep tray of absorbent, for increased airflow with the activated carbon doing it's thing
Well.....RUclips algorithm is spot on again! A very good idea given current situations.
Just what I’m looking for, great video thanks.
The “instant” charcoal must have lighter fluid in the coals. Maybe a bag of plain old charcoal. I’m sending this to a friend, love your idea.
activated charcoal for aquarium works fine agaisnt organic vapors. Deisgned and tried a gas mask DIY filter, and tested.
This is temporarily better than nothing but not a solution i would rely on!
Good work sir. Thank you for sharing.
I love it. The man is thinking. Good video. Thanks for posting.
Great video! I am having an environmental science class theoretically build a survival bunker as a class project. Could you possibly describe the math you used at the end to calculate how much air you would need for a certain number of individuals to survive? Thanks again!
Soooooehhh. How did your project go?? Seems relevant all of a sudden…
if it doesn't stop smoke how is it going to stop radiation?
Good show old boy! Jolly good show!
Could you include an exact list of components
Great video with simple and useful tips. Thanks for your know-how :)
Excellent video!
A nice, but more complicated addition, would be an over pressure valve. Any ideas regarding that?
I think your simple design is brilliant and has the potential to prevent irradiation.
I am concerned about the amount of O2 that would be allowed in a confined space of a bunker though. It is possible to asphyxiate without proper ventilation.
I am sure you and other have already factored this, but for those who haven’t please be careful.
The air pump would gradually cause possitive pressure in the room and so a small air vent would allow
air, including carbon dioxide to vent out.
Also looks like it needs a cam, connected to something like a bike wheel, much more efficient/less effort
A toilet flapper would make a decent seal for a one way vent. Sort of like a gas mask does. Just some constructive commenting. 😁👍🏻
NASA Level Genius-- Thanks- Sign Him Up!
Excellent base concept, can it be improved? Sure but this is a viable diy project.
Save yourself some time , run your drill in reverse before going forward , no cleaning up holes.
I would adapt it to use the air box from a car. It already has a filter that fits tightly with no air leakage around it. And you're definitely gonna have to use a 12V dc fan to get the air flowing around the clock. Unless you plan on keeping at least one person awake at all times to pull a manual plunger to to keep the air flowing.
It would bring in so much fall out lol
You want SLOW and steady. You'd need to power it down to slow slow speed.
Ingenious. But I wonder how well those tennis balls would actually seal in a radioactive atmosphere. Why not checkvalves?
This is a "hasty filter", something you can throw together in an emergency. Commercial check valves, a blast overpressure valve, a commercial micron filter and a hand or motor cranked blower would, of course, be a much better solution. Over here in the States, atomic scientist Kresson Kearny designed a filter using similar principles, a couple of cardboard boxes, some plastic sheeting, a roll of duct tape, and a dozen rolls of toilet paper as the filter medium. See his book, "Nuclear War Survival Skills".
I'm not trying to be a bummer but smashed briquettes for grilling food is not activated carbon it is just charcoal there is a difference activated carbon goes through a process to fill it with microscopic holes to give it an enormous surface area per particle of carbon.You also should have at least 25 to 50 lb of activated carbon to be effective for filtration of things that you do not want to breathe.
Do agree. At least you can DIY Big activated carbon filters with aquarium pellets, work fine against organic vapors.
Excellent!!
Thanks I had no idea this was possible
Okay?
But what if the wildlife is above the ground? Wouldn't it melt pipes, filters and everything? Do you have any suggestion for that scenario? Thx
how would I install this if I'm bunkered down in a room in my house
AHEAD OF TIME
Excellent work sir!
Something to think about looks good, some questions that come up, what about radioactive gaseous isotopes, there's bound to be many?
Better than standing in the rain I should think.
MR. PHILL...HOW SHOULD I DO THE OUT PUT? THANK YOU FOR YOUR VIDEO. YOUR SAVING MANY...
I was thinking the same. What about a small DC powered fan (computer sized) with a flap on the outside to keep NBC out? You know, similar to dryer vents? You could run the fan on a small solar panel.
I call B's on this I'm not trusting my life to two tennis balls no way this works
Interesting design but what happens to the earth dirt and plastic if cities are hit with nurclar bombs
Good job dude!
I just listened for 3minut and I'm ready feedup listened yours ok 20.000 times omg,
Do you think you could do a video on how to build an overpressure valve my wife and I love your ventilator pump video
cow milk filter are best they filter upto 6000 microns cut into flat sheets glue to filter pads
not really understand what's the idea behind the pumping concept (you pump polluted air from time to time limiting exposure on it instead of breathing it all the time?) and how it should be installed
Charcoal will eventually clog out but typical fall out should only last 2 week until radiation die down for safe levels. Unless you live near a nuclear power plant then there's whole another level of radiation that can only come out of power plant and sticks around much much longer.
How did you know that is nuclear resistant?
Nuclear (alpha/beta) is carried by dust particulate. Filter out the dust, and youve filtered out the alpha/beta. Gamma is like light...thats the reason for 90 degree turns into a shelter.
Genius! Oh by the way - sweet boat!
Don't wanna be a doosh but any possible "cracks or leaks" would mean death from irradiated water and debris seaping in. On something for this scale you not only have to have an air/water tight seal on all incoming and outgoing ventilation systems but also a secondary ventilation system so if one needs repair the other can be used to not suffocate.
Fantastic design for little money!
I’m in the US and can’t find the bung or associated threaded rod to be screwed into the bung
Mine is similar....Changing the Tennis Balls for Tin Cans.
simple and amazing
EXCELLENT!
Good approach, but change the media filter with an HEPA filter.
is there a way to download this video? WOudl be very helpfull!