I. THE NEED FOR SHELTER AIR PUMPS

In warm weather, large volumes of outside air MUST be pumped through most fallout or blast shelters if they are crowded and occupied for a day or more. Otherwise, the shelter occupants' body heat and water vapor will raise the temperature-humidity conditions to DANGEROUSLY high levels. If adequate volumes of outdoor air are pumped through typical belowground shelters in hot weather, many times the number of persons could survive the heat than otherwise could survive in these same shelters without adequate forced ventilation. Even in cold weather, about 3 cubic feet per minute (3 cfm) of outdoor air usually should be pumped through shelters, primarily to keep the carbon dioxide exhaled by shelter occupants from rising to harmful concentrations.

The KAP (Kearny Air Pump) is a practical, do- it-yourself device for pumping adequate volumes of cooling air through shelters with minimum work. The following instructions have been improved repeatedly after being used by dozens of small groups to build KAPs including families, pairs of housewives, and children. None of these inexpert builders had previously heard of this kind of pump, yet almost all groups succeeded in making one in less than 4 hours after assembling the materials. Their successes prove that almost anyone, if given these detailed and thoroughly tested instructions, can build a serviceable, large-volume air pump of this simple type, using only materials and tools found in most American homes.

If possible, build a KAP large enough to pump through your shelter at least 40 cubic feet per minute (40 cfm) of outdoor air for each shelter occupant. If 40 cfm of outdoor air is pumped through a shelter and distributed within it as specified below, even under heat-wave conditions the effective temperature of the shelter air will not be more than 20 F higher than the effective temperature outdoors. (The effective temperature is a measure of air's effects on people due to its heat, humidity, and velocity.) The 36-inch-high by 29-inch-wide KAP described in these instructions, if used as specified, will pump at least 1000 cfm of outside air through a shelter that has the airflow characteristics outlined in these instructions.

If more than 25 persons might be expected to occupy a shelter during hot weather, then it is advisable to build a larger KAP. The 72-inch-high by 29-inch-wide model described can pump between 4000 and 5000 cfm.

To maintain tolerable temperature-humidity conditions for people in your shelter during hot weather, you must:

Almost all of the danger from fallout is caused by radiation from visible fallout particles of heavy, sand- like or flaky material. The air does not become radioactive due to the radiation continuously given off by fallout particles.

The visible fallout particles rapidly "fall out" of slow moving air. The air that a KAP pumps through a shelter moves at a low speed and could carry into the shelter only a very small fraction of the fallout particles that cause the radiation hazard outside. This fraction, usually not dangerous, can be further reduced if occupants take the simple precautions described in these instructions.

Before anyone starts to build this unusual type of air pump, ALL WORKERS SHOULD READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS AT LEAST UP TO SECTION V, INSTALLATION. Otherwise mistakes may be made and work may be divided inefficiently.

When getting ready to build this pump, all workers should spend the first half-hour studying these instructions and getting organized. Then, after materials are assembled, two inexperienced persons working together should be able to complete the 3-foot model described in the following pages in less than 4 hours. To speed up completion, divide the work; for example, one person can start making the flaps while another begins work on the pump frame.

As can be seen in Figs. 1 and 2, a KAP operates by being swung like a pendulum. It is hinged at the top of its swinging frame. When this air pump is pulled by a cord as illustrated, its flaps are closed by air pressure and it pushes air in front of it and "sucks"air in back of it. Thus a KAP pumps air through the opening in which it swings. This is the power stroke. During its power stroke, the pump's flaps are closed against its flap-stop wires or strings, which are fastened across the face of the frame.

When a KAP swings freely back as a pendulum on its return stroke, all its flaps are opened by air pressure. The pumped air stream continues to flow in the direction in which it has been accelerated by the power stroke, while the pump itself swings in the opposite direction (see Fig. 2). Thus the flaps are one-way valves that operate to force air to flow in one direction, where desired.

The KAP can be used: (1) to supply outdoor air to a shelter, (2) to distribute air within a shelter, and/or to fan the occupants.

In this section, instructions are given for making a KAP 36 inches high and 29 inches wide, to operate efficiently when swinging in a typical home basement doorway 30 inches wide. If your doorway or other ventilation opening is narrower or wider than 30 inches, you should make your KAP 1 inch narrower than the narrowest opening in which you plan to install it. Regardless of the size of the KAP you plan to build, first study the instructions for making the 36 X 29-inch model.

In Section VII you will find brief instructions for making a narrower and even simpler KAP, one more suitable for the narrow openings of small trench shelters and other small expedient shelters. Section VIII covers large KAPs, for large shelters.

The preferred material is listed as first (1st) choice, and the less-preferred materials are listed as (2nd), (3rd), and (4th) choices. It is best to assemble, spread out, and check all your materials before beginning to build.

A hammer, saw, wirecutter pliers, screwdriver, scissors, knife, yardstick, and pencil are desirable. However, only a strong, sharp knife is essential for making some models.

A 36 X 29-in. KAP is most effective if operated in an air-intake or exhaust opening about 40 in. high and 30 in. wide. (If your shelter might have more than 25 occupants in hot weather, read all these instructions so you will understand how to build a larger pump, briefly described in Section VIII.)

NOTE THAT THE WIDTHS AND THICKNESSES OF ALL FRAME PIECES ARE EXAGGERATED IN ALL ILLUSTRATIONS.

Ordinary door butt-hinges are best. So that the pump can swing past the horizontal position, the hinges should be screwed onto the front of the frame, at its top, in the positions shown in Fig. 4. (Pick one of the 29-in. boards and call it the top.) If you do not have a drill for drilling a screw hole, you can make a hole by driving a nail and then pulling it out. Screw the screw' into the nail hole.

To form a hem along one of the 30-in. sides of a 5-1/2 X 30-in. rectangular strip, fold in a 1-in. hem. This makes the finished flap 4-1/2 in. wide.

To hold the folded hem while taping it, paper clips or another pair of hands are helpful. For each hem, use two pieces of pressure-sensitive tape, each about 1 in. wide and 16 in. long. Or make the hem by sewing it very close to the cut edge to form a hem-tunnel (see Fig. 5).

After the hem has been made, cut a notch with scissors in each hemmed corner of the flap (Figs. 6 and 8). Avoid cutting the tape holding the hem. Each notch should extend downward about 1/2 in. and should extend horizontally from the outer edge of the flap to 1/4 in. inside the inner side of the frame, when the flap is positioned on the frames as shown in Fig. 6.

So that the flaps may swing open on only one side of the frame (on its front, or face), you must attach horizontal flap-stops made of strings or wires across the face of the frame. (See Figs. 10 and 11.) Nail or tie four of these flap-stops between the marked points where each pair of the horizontal pivot-wires for the flaps will be placed. Be careful not to connect any flap-stops in such a way that they cross the horizontal open spaces in which you later will attach the flap pivot-wires.

If you have tacks (NOT thumbtacks) or very small nails, drive three in a horizontal line to attach each flap-stop-one in each of the two vertical 36-in. sides of the frame and one in the vertical center brace (see Fig. 11). First, drive all of these horizontal lines of tacks about three-quarters of the way into the boards. Then, to secure the flap-stop string or thin wire quickly to a tack, wind the string around the tack and immediately drive the tack tightly into the frame to grip the string (see Fig. 11).

If you have no tacks or nails, cut notches or slots where the flap-stops are to be attached. Cut these notches in the edges of the vertical sides of the frame and in an edge of the center brace. Next, secure the flap-stops (strings or wires) by tying each one in its notched position. This tying should include wrapping each horizontal flap-stop once around the vertical center brace. The stops should be in line with (in the same plane as) the front of the frame. Do not stretch flap-stops too tightly, or you may bend the frame.

(Skip this section if you cannot easily get chicken wire and 1/4 in.-thick boards.)

If chicken wire and boards about 1/4 in. thick are available, use the chicken wire for flap-stops. By using these materials, the time required to build a given KAP can be reduced by about 40%. One-inch woven mesh is best. (Hardware cloth has sharp points and is unsatisfactory.)

Figure 13 illustrates how the mesh wire should be stapled to the KAP frame. Next, unless the KAP is wider than 3 ft, the front of the whole frame (except for the center brace) should be covered with thin boards approximately 1/2 in. thick, such as laths. Then the pivot-wires, with their flaps on them, should be stapled onto the 1/4 in.-thick boards. This construction permits the flaps to turn freely in front of the chicken-wire flap-stops.

With this design, the center of each pivot-wire should NOT be connected to the center brace, nor should the center of the flap be notched. However, pivot-wires that are attached this way must be made and held straighter than pivot-wires used with flap-stops made of straight strings or wires.

Note in Fig. 13 that each pivot-wire is held firm and straight by 2 staples securing each end. The wire used should be at least as springy as coat hanger wire. If string is used instead of wire, nylon cord about the diameter of coat hanger wire is best for the pivot-strings.

If the KAP is wider than 3 ft, its center vertical brace should also be covered with a 1/4  in.-thick board, and each pivot-wire should be attached to it. Furthermore, the center of each flap should be notched.

To pump its maximum volume, an air-supply KAP with good metal hinges should be installed in its opening so that it swings only about 1/2 in. above the bottom of the opening and only 1/2 in. to 1 in. from the sides of the opening.

When using a KAP as an air-supply pump to force air through a shelter, it is essential to provide a low-resistance air passageway all the way through the shelter structure from an outdoor air-intake opening for outdoor air to a separate air-exhaust opening to the outdoors (see Fig. 14).

A low-resistance air passageway is one that is no smaller incross-sectional area than half the size of the KAP pumping the air. For example, a 36 X 29-in. KAP should have a passageway no smaller than about 3-1/2 sq. ft. An air-supply KAP of this size will force at least 1000 cubic feet per minute (1000 cfm) through a shelter having such openings, if itis installed as illustrated in Fig. 14.

If smaller air passageways or air-exhaust openings are provided, the volume of air pumped will be greatly reduced. For example, if the air-exhaust opening is only l-3/4 sq. ft (1/4 the size of this KAP), then this KAP will pump only about 500 cfm. And if the air-exhaust opening is only a 6 X 6-in. exhaust duct (1/4 sq. ft), then this same 36 X 29-in. KAP will pump only about 50 cubic feet per minute. This would not provide enough outdoor air for more than one shelter occupant in a well-insulated shelter under heat-wave conditions in the hottest humid parts of the United States. In contrast, when the weather is freezing cold and the shelter itself is still cold enough to absorb the heat produced by the shelter occupants, this same 6 X 6-in. exhaust duct and the air-intake doorway will cause about 50 cfm of outdoor air to flow by itself through the shelter without using any pump. The reason: body heat warms the shelter air, and the warm air rises if cold air can flow in to replace it. Under these cold conditions provided the air is distributed evenly throughout the shelter by KAP or otherwise -- 50 cfm is enough outdoor air for about 17 people.

To provide adequately large air passageways for air-supply KAPs used to ventilate shelters in buildings, in addition to opening and closing doors and windows, it may be necessary to build large ducts (as described below). Breaking holes in windows, ceilings, or walls is another way to make large, efficient air passageways.

Figure 15 illustrates how a 3-ft KAP can be used as a combined air-supply and air-distribution pump to adequately ventilate a small underground shelter that has an exhaust opening too small to provide enough ventilation in warm weather. (A similar installation can be used to ventilate a basement room having only one opening, its doorway.) Note how, by installing a divider in the doorway and entryway, the single entryway is converted into a large air-intake duct and a separate, large air-exhaust duct. To obtain the maximum increased volume of fresh outdoor air that can be pumped through the shelter a total of about 1000 cfm for a 36 X 29-in. KAP the divider should extend about 4 ft horizontally into the shelter room, as shown in Fig. 15. The 6 ft at the end of the divider (the almost-horizontal part under the KAP) can be made of plywood, provided it is installed so that it can be taken out of the way in a few seconds.

Note how the entry of fallout into a shelter can be minimized by covering the entryway with a "roof" and by forcing the slow-moving entering air to rise over an obstruction (the "wall") before it flows into the shelter. The sand-like fallout particles fall to the ground outside the "wall."

To make sure that each shelter occupant gets a fair share of the outdoor air pumped through the shelter, air distribution KAPs should be used inside most large shelters. These KAPs are used within the shelter, separate from and in addition to air-supply KAPs (see Fig. 16). Air-distribution KAPs can serve in place of both air-distribution ducts and cooling fans. For these purposes, one or more 3-ft-high KAPs hung overhead from the shelter ceiling are usually most practical. If KAPs cannot readily be hung from the ceiling, they can be supported on light frames made of boards or metal, somewhat like those used for a small child's swing.

You should make and use enough KAPs to cause air movement that can be felt in all parts of your shelter. Remember that if KAPs are installed near the floor and the shelter is fully occupied, the occupants' bodies will partially block the pumped airflow more than if the same KAPs were suspended overhead.

As a general rule, for shelters having more than about 20 occupants, provide one 3-ft air-distribution KAP for every 25 occupants. In relatively wide shelters, these interior KAPs should be positioned so that they produce an airflow that circulates around the shelter, preventing the air that is being pumped into the shelter from flowing directly to the exhaust opening. Figure 16 illustrates how four KAPs can be used in this way to distribute the air within a shelter and to fan the 100 occupants of a 1000-sq.-ft shelter room. Avoid positioning an air-distribution KAP so that it pumps air in a direction greater than a right angle turn from the direction of airflow to the location of the KAP.

A small KAP especially one with improvised hinges or one installed at head-height or higher can be pulled most efficiently by running its pull-cord over a pulley or over a greased homemade pulley" such as described in Figs. 17' and 18. A pulley should be hung at approximately the same height as the hinges of the KAP, as illustrated in Fig. 15. To make

Fig. 18. IMPROVISED "PULLEY" ORNL DWG 71-7243

a comfortable hand-hold on which to pull down- ward, tie two or three overhand knots in a strip of cloth on the end of the pull-cord.

(Such a "pulley" can also be used to operate a bail-bucket to remove water or wastes from some shelters, without anyone having to go outside.)

The air-supply KAP that pumps air through your shelter is best held in its pumping position by mounting it in homemade quick-removal brackets (see Fig. 19) for the following reasons:

° If the KAP is installed on quick-removal brackets, in an emergency a person standing beside the KAP could grasp its frame with both hands, lift it upward a few inches to detach it, and carry it out of the way all in 3 to 5 seconds. Being able to move the KAP quickly could prevent blast winds from wrecking the pump, which might also be blown into your shelter possibly injuring occupants. In extensive areas where fallout shelters and their occupants would survive the blast effects of typical large warheads, more than 4 seconds would elapse between the time shelter occupants would see the extremely bright light from the explosion and the arrival of a blast wave strong enough to wreck a KAP or other pumps left exposed in a ventilation opening.

Note in Fig. 19 that the KAP's "fixed" support- board (a 3-1/2 in.-wide board to which its hinges are attached) is held in a bracket only 2 inches deep. To prevent too tight a fit in the bracket, be sure to place a 1/32-in. shim or spacer (the cardboard back of a writing tablet will do) between two boards of the bracket, as illustrated. Also, make spaces about 1/16 inches wide between the lower inner corners of the stop-blocks and the sides of the outer board. To prevent your hands from being cut, you should put tape over the exposed ends of wires near the frame's outer edges of a KAP that you want to be able to remove rapidly.

In a small expedient shelter, a small KAP can be quickly jerked loose if its "fixed" support-board is attached to the roof with only a few small nails.

Operate your 3-foot KAP by pulling it with an easy, swinging motion of your arm. To pump the maximum volume of air, you should pull the KAP toward you until its frame swings out to an almost- horizontal position. Then quickly move your hand so that the pull-cord is kept slack during the entire, free-swinging return stroke. Figure 24 in Section VIII, LARGE KAPs, illustrates this necessary motion.

Be sure to provide a comfortable hand-hold on the pull-cord (see Fig. 14). Blisters can be serious under unsanitary conditions.

To pull a KAP via an overhead pulley with minimum effort, sit down and pull as if you were tolling a bell-except that you should raise your hand quickly with the return stroke and keep it raised long enough so that the pull-cord remains slack during the entire return stroke. Or, if the pulley is not overhead, operate the KAP by swinging your extended arm back and forth from the shoulder.-

A KAP can pump more air into a shelter if it is installed so that it pumps air through the shelter in the direction in which the air naturally flows. Since this direction can be reversed by a wind change outdoors, it is desirable to provide a way to quickly remove your pump and reposition it so that air can be pumped in the opposite direction. This can be done in several ways, including making one set of quick- removal brackets for one air opening and a second set for the other.

To operate your KAP efficiently, keep the flaps in good repair and make sure that there is the minimum practical area of open spaces in and around the KAP through which air can flow back around the pump frame, opposite to the pumped direction. So keep at least some extra flap material in your shelter, along with some extra tape and the few tools you may need to make repairs.

To swing efficiently in an entrance or emergency exit of an expedient trench shelter that is 22 in. wide, a KAP is best made 20 in. wide and 36 in. high. One of less height is not as efficient as a 36-in.-high model and has to be pulled uncomfortably fast. So, when ventilation openings can be selected or made at least 38 in. high, make your pump 36 in. high.

In a narrow trench shelter, it is best to have the pull-cord run the full length of the trench, along the trench wall that occupants will face when sitting. Then each occupant can take a turn pulling the pump without having to change seats.

Good metal hinges on a narrow KAP allow it to swing properly if pulled with the pull-cord attached to one side of the frame. (Pumps with improvised hinges and large pumps must be pulled from a connection point on their center vertical brace to make them swing properly.) Therefore, if you have small metal hinges and need a KAP no wider than 20 inches, build a rectangular frame without a vertical center brace. Make two pull-cord attachment points, one on each side of the frame and each 9 inches below the top of the frame. (For a small KAP, a sat-isfactory attachment point can readily be made by driving two nails so that their heads cross, and wiring them together.) Then if a change in wind direction outside causes the direction of natural air flow in the trench to become opposite to the direction in which air is being pumped, you can move your KAP to the opening at the other end of the trench. The pull-cord can easily be connected to the other side of the frame, and convenient pumping can be resumed quickly.

So that the horizontal support board can be nailed easily to the roofing poles or boards of an entry trench, it is best to use cabinet hinges. Screw them onto an edge of the support board, in the UNusual, OUT-OF-LINE POSITION shown in Fig. 20. This hinge connection allows the pump to swing a full 180 degrees. To facilitate moving the horizontal support board, connect it to the roof with a few small nails, so that it can be pulled loose easily and quickly.

If the only available opening in which a KAP can be installed is small, build a KAP to fit it. Use narrower boards to make the frame and make the flaps of thinner material, such as the polyethylene of large plastic trash bags. For pumps 24 inches or less in height, make the finished flaps only 3-1/2 inches wide and space their pivot-wires 3 inches apart. The flaps should overlap no more than inch. A KAP 24 inches high will pump enough outdoor air for only a few people, except in cold weather.

Small, yet efficient KAPs can be made even if the only materials available are straight sticks about 1-1/4 inches in diameter, strips of cloth to tie the frame together and to make the hinges and the pull cord, polyethylene film from large trash bags for the flaps, freezer or duct tape (or needle and thread) to make the flap hems, coat hanger wire or string for the pivot- wire, and string or ordinary thread for the flap-stops. A sharp knife is the only essential tool. Figure 21 shows a way to easily tie sticks securely together and to attach strings or threads for stop-flaps, when small nails and tacks are not available. The flap-stop strings or threads should be secured by wrapping them several times around each stick to which they are attached, so they will be gripped by the out-of-line knife cuts.

A 6-ft-high by 29-in.-wide model can be constructed in the same way as a 3-ft model except that it should have both horizontal and vertical center braces (1 X 2-in. boards are best). To increase the strength of a 6-ft KAP, all parts of its double- thickness frame and its vertical center brace should be made of two thicknesses of 1 X 2-in. softwood boards, securely held together with clinched nails. Also, to increase the distance that the pump will swing back by itself during its return stroke, it is worthwhile to attach a 6-ft piece of 1 X 2-in. board (not illustrated) to the back of each side of the frame. Do NOT attach weights to the bottom of the frame; this would slow down the pumping rate.

This 6-ft-high pump requires 18 flaps, each the same size as those of the 36-in.-high KAP. The flaps on the lower part of a large KAP must withstand hard use. If 1/2-in.-wide strips of tape are attached along the bottom and side edges of these lower flaps, then even flaps made of ordinary 4-mil polyethylene will remain serviceable for over 1000 hours of pumping. However, the lower flaps of large KAPs can advantageously be made of 6-mil polyethylene. The width and spacing of all flaps should be the same as those of the 36-in.-high model.

The pull-cord should be attached to the vertical center brace of a 6-ft KAP about 16-1/2  in. below the hinge line. A 3/16-in. nylon cord is ideal.

To adequately ventilate and cool very large and crowded shelters in buildings, mines, or caves, KAPs larger than 72 X 29 in. should be used. You can take better advantage of large doorways, elevator shaft openings, etc., by "tailor-making" each large air- supply KAP to the size of its opening that is, by making it as large as is practical. The frame and brace members should be appropriately strengthened, and one or more "Y" bridles should be provided, as described in the section below. A 7-ft-high X 5-1/2 ft- wide KAP, with a 1/4 in.-diameter pull-cord attached 18 in. below its hinge line, and with two "Y" bridles for its two operators, pumped air at the rate of over 11,000 cubic ft per minute through a large basement shelter during tests.

To make a durable connection of the pull-cord to the center vertical brace: (1) Attach a wire loop (Fig. 22) about l6-1/2 in. below the hinge line. This loop can be made of coat hanger wire and should go around the center vertical brace. This fixed loop should be kept from slipping on the center brace by bending four 6-penny nails over it in front as illustrated, and two smaller nails in back. (2) Make a free-turning, triple-wire loop connected to the fixed loop. (3) Cover part of the free-turning loop with tape and tie the pull-cord to this loop. Tie the pull-cord tightly over the taped part.

A larger KAP can be pulled most easily by providing it with a "Y" bridle (see Fig. 23) attached to the end of its pull-cord.

A man of average size and strength can operate a 6 ft X 29 in. KAP by himself, pumping over 4000 cubic feet per minute through a typical large shelter without working hard; tests have shown that he must deliver only about 1/20 of a horsepower. However, most people prefer to work in pairs when pulling a 6-ft KAP equipped with a "Y" bridle, when pumping over 3000 cfm.

To pump the maximum volume of air with minimum effort, study Fig. 24 and follow the instructions given below for operating a large KAP.

IX. SOLUTIONS TO SPECIAL PROBLEMS

If a shelter is fully occupied for days during hot weather and is cooled both day and night by pumping through it and distributing at least 40 cubic feet per minute of outdoor air for each occupant more than is required to maintain tolerable temperatures at night these advantages result:

If the shelter itself is cooler than the occupants, more of the body heat of occupants can flow into its cool walls, ceiling, and floor. Therefore, it would be advantageous to pre-cool a shelter that may soon be occupied, especially during hot weather. KAPs (or other air pumps or fans) can be used to pre-cool a shelter by forcing the maximum volume of cooling outdoor air through the shelter and by distributing it within the shelter. A shelter should be pre-cooled at all times when the air temperature outdoors is lower than the air temperature inside the shelter. Then, if the pre-cooled shelter is used, the occupants will be kept cooler at a given rate of ventilation than if the shelter had not been pre-cooled, because the air will not have to carry all of their body heat out of the shelter.

If you want to increase the volume of air that a KAP with good metal hinges can force through a shelter, install side baffles (see Fig. 25). Side baffles should be rigidly fixed to form two stationary "walls," one on each side of the swinging pump frame. They can be made of plywood, boards, doors, table tops, or even well-braced plastic. A space or clearance of 1/2 to 1 in. should be maintained between the inner side of each baffle and the outer side of the swinging frame.

By installing side baffles you may be able to increase the volume of air your KAP will pump by as much as 20%, if it is in good repair and the openings around it are small.

In some shelters, a KAP can be operated most effectively by using it as an exhaust pump. This can be done by pushing it with a push-pole attached to its center vertical brace. Push-pole operation is sometimes the best way to suck" outdoor air into a shelter by pumping air out of the shelter in the natural direction of air flow; for example, up an elevator shaft or up a stairwell. This method is especially useful in those basement shelters in which air-intake openings are impractical for installing KAPs. This would be the case if the air-intake openings are small, exposed windows or holes broken in the ceiling of a shelter in a building.

To pump a large KAP most effectively with a push-pole, stand with your back to the KAP and grasp the push-pole with both hands. Using mostly your leg muscles, push the KAP by pulling the free end of its push-pole toward you.

Figure 26 shows an improvised, flexible connection of a push-pole attached to the center brace of a large KAP 28 in. from the top of its frame.

Some basement rooms that may be used as shelters have only one opening, the doorway. A KAP can be used to ventilate such a shelter room if enough well-mixed and distributed air is moving just outside the doorway, or if air from outdoors can be pumped in by another KAP and made to flow in a hallway or room and pass just outside this doorway. Figure 27 indicates how to ventilate such a one-opening room by operating a 3-ft KAP as an air-intake pump in the upper part of the doorway.

Below such a doorway KAP, a "divider" 6 ft to 8 ft long can be installed. The divider permits exhaust air to flow out of the room without much of it being "sucked" back into the room by the KAP swinging above it. Plywood, reinforced heavy cardboard, or even well-braced plastic can be used to make a divider. It should be installed so that, in a possible emergency, it can be jerked out of the way in a few seconds.

When used with a divider, a 36 X 29 in. KAP can pump almost 1000 cubic feet of air per minute into and out of such a shelter room. Although 1000 cubic feet of well distributed air is sufficient for several times as many as 25 shelter occupants under most temperate climate conditions, it is enough for only about 25 people in a one-entry room under exceptionally severe heat-wave conditions. Furthermore, to make it habitable for even 25 people under such conditions, the air in this room must be kept from rising more than 20 F above the temperature outdoors. This can be done using a second air-supply KAP to pump enough outdoor air through the building and in some cases also using air-distribution KAPs in spaces outside the one-entry room. The KAP in the doorway of a one-entry room should supply 40 cfm per occupant of this room.

In order to prevent any of the used, warmed, exhaust air from the one-entry room from being "sucked" by the doorway KAP back into the room, a stiffened rectangular duct can be built so as to extend the exhaust-opening (in the lower part of the doorway) several feet outside the room. Such a duct can be built of plastic supported by a frame of small boards. It can be used to discharge the exhaust air far enough away from the KAP and downstream in the airflow outside the one-opening room so that no exhausted air can be "sucked" back into the room.

If you need to install a KAP in a steel-framed doorway and it is not feasible to screw or otherwise permanently connect it to the doorway, you can attach the KAP by using a few boards and some cord, as illustrated by Figs. 28 and 29. The two horizontal boards shown extending across the doorway are squeezed tightly against the two sides of the wall in which the doorway is located by tightening two loops of cord, one near each side of the doorway. One loop is illustrated. A cord is first tightened around the two horizontal boards. Then the looped cord is further tightened by binding it in the center with another cord, as illustrated.

Two large "C" clamps serve even better than two looped cords. However, secure support for a swinging KAP still requires the use of a vertical support board on each side of the doorway, as illustrated.

Figure 29 shows a quick-removal bracket supported by two horizontal boards tightened across the upper part of a doorway by looped cords, as described above. Also, study Fig. 19 and its accompanying instructions.

If you are building KAPs in normal times, you may want to use materials that will make your pumps last longer, even though these materials are more difficult to obtain and are more expensive.

Durability tests have shown that the KAP parts that wear out first are the flaps and the pulleys. In 6-ft KAPs. the lower flaps are subject to hard use. Lower flaps made of 6-oz (per sq. yd), clear, nylon- reinforced, plied vinyl have lasted undamaged for over 1000 hours of full-stroke pumping, without having their edges reinforced. Lower flaps made of 6- mil nylon-reinforced polyethylene, without edge reinforcements, have lasted for 1000 hours with only minor damage.

The best pulley tested was a marine pulley such as that used on small sailboats, with a Delrin (DuPont) 2-in.-diameter wheel and 3/16-in. stainless steel shaft. This pulley was undamaged after operating a 6-ft KAP for 324 hours. The pulley appeared to be good for hundreds of hours of further operation.

The best pulley-cords tested were of braided dacron or nylon.

To supply shelter occupants with filtered air usually would be of much less importance to their survival and health than to provide them with adequate volumes of outdoor air to maintain tolerable temperatures. However. filtering the entering air could prove worthwhile, provided:

To prevent a filter used with a KAP from causing too great a reduction in the volume of air that the KAP can pump through your shelter, you must use large areas of low-resistance filter material. An example: In one ventilation test, a large basement shelter was used which had two ordinary doorways at its opposite ends. These served as its air-intake and its air-exhaust openings. A 72 X 29 in. KAP operating in one doorway pumped almost 5000 cubic feet per minute through the shelter. But when a filter frame holding 26 square feet of l-in.-thick fiberglass dust filters was placed across the air-intake stairwell, the KAP could pump only about 3400 cfm through this filter and the shelter.

Copyright 1999 Nuclear War Survival Skills