Outdoor use with moisture and humidity

To start with: We do not sell ceramic strips! For several years it is strictly prohibited to use ceramic mineral fabrics for insulation or as technical damping materials. (Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk). It is known for a long time that these fabrics are a cancer causing material of category 2 (proofed on live animals). We recommend not to use these materials to avoid a painful death.
 

Ceramic tapes were in use because they have a high temperature resistance. Long ago there were other fabrics developped, that are a good replacement for all ceramic fibres.
 

For short term temperatures of 550°C, we recommend to use fibre glass fabrics, based on an e-glass fibre. This material is smooth and tight-fitting, has a high thermal storage capacity and insulates very well. It is commonly in use on manifolds or exhaust pipes of combustion engines.

 

If this range is not sufficient, you can choose a silica fibre, which is usable for a temperature of around 1000°C. The silica fibres are treated in a similar way as the fibre glass fabrics, so these fibres are usable in the same way as the glass fibre fabrics.

 

Now for the question regarding the use in humid circumstances or when the insulation is getting wet.
 

As previously mentioned, these materials are fibres or fabrics. If they are exposed to moisture, they will soak and stop to insulate. This leads to a reduced operationability in outdoor areas. After drying, the insulation effect will come back with nearly no reduction. But: This process will result in making the fibre fragile, which reduces the life span of the product. Water, steam and other materials can influence the fibre glass fabrics and even destroy them. When demounting the fibres, one will notice that it brittles.
 
The structure of glass and silicate is stiff, making it unflexible. To make it flexible, the fibres are between 6 and 9 µ small. Additionally, these fabrics are coated with a so called "finish", a special binder to keep the fibres in the fabric. The equipping with the binders also make the fabric more flexible, which makes it easy to mount.
 
When hot water or steam gets into the fibre tapes, the equipped binders will wash off. The fibre will stop being flexible as it was before. This results in a brittle fabric. Furthermore will 200°C hot steam change the glass' structure making it even less flexible. Also alkaline water is very aggresive.
 
The only possibility to avoid this is a fibre sealing: it is possible to coat the fibres both-sided. This coating protects the fibre from several influences and keeps it flexible. These protected fibres are in use from -40°C to +260°C. These fibres are not available in our online shop, please contact us via info@glasgewebeband.eu.