Choosing the Right Material for Your Insulation Blankets - Part 2: General Insulation Materials

We have already discussed the criteria that need to be analyzed when choosing the correct insulation blanket material. With that out of the way, now it is time to look at the actual insulation materials typically found in insulation blankets. 

• Fiberglass

This classic insulation material is used in most standard insulation blanket applications. It is odorless, does not contribute to metal corrosion, is excellent at sound absorption, and resists decay, mold, and vermin. Fiberglass has a temperature limit of 1200°F (649°C), so it is not right for higher temperature applications.

• CMS Wool

This material is slightly more expensive than fiberglass, but it has a much higher temperature limit of 2192°F (1200°C). It’s also odorless, does not contribute to metal corrosion, is excellent at sound absorption, and can withstand decay, mold, and vermin.

• Mineral Wool

The big plus of mineral wool is its low moisture absorption qualities and excellent thermal resistance. Its temperature limits are the same as fiberglass, and it is a decent sound and vibration absorber. It is also slightly more economical than fiberglass. 

• Aerogel

This is the top-of-the-line when it comes to insulation materials. It is superior to both fiberglass and CMS wool and is ideal for a limited clearance application or where blanket weight is a concern. In fact, ½” thick Aerogel has the same properties as 1.5” thick fiberglass. As you might expect, it also carries with it a top-of-the-line price tag. It also has a slightly lower temperature limit of 1100°F (600°C).

Stay tuned for Part 3, where we cover the different materials available for your insulation’s outer and inner covers.

Choosing the Right Material for Your Insulation Blankets - Part 1: The basics

When it comes to insulation covers, blankets, and jackets, one size does not fit all. In order to match your specific application with the correct insulation materials, quite a few factors need to be considered. An incorrect insulation blanket can cost you money, time, and even the safety of your workers and customers. Some of the factors that must be taken into consideration when selecting the correct insulation materials for your particular application include:

• Maximum temperature range of the application in question

If your insulation cannot handle the temperatures your application demands, then it is at best, ineffective, and at worst, dangerous.

• Desired outer surface “touch” temperature

What temperature do you need the outside of the insulation cover to be? Does it need to be ‘touch-safe’, or are you just trying to lower the ambient temperature in the surrounding area?

• Exposure to elements (i.e. water, chemicals, debris, etc.)

What will your insulation have to go through? Can it handle the water, chemicals, and debris thrown its way? 

• Safety and regulatory requirements

Are there certain standards (i.e. UL, fire safety, etc) that your insulation covers must meet? 

• Space limitations

How much room do you have to work with? Space constraints can influence both the insulation thickness and type of insulation material recommended. 

• Frequency of insulation removal

If you need to remove the insulation often for equipment maintenance or adjustments, it will play a role in what fastening materials are chosen. 

• Aesthetic requirements

Last but certainly not least, do you need your insulation covers to match their surroundings or conform to a certain corporate color?

It is imperative that your insulation blanket provider is aware of these basic factors. Your Firwin rep can walk you through these steps and ensure that you get the right blanket for your application. 

Did You Know Our Fiberglass Insulation Blankets Are UL-Certified?

Are you involved in any projects or processes with or requiring UL-certification? If so, then it is necessary that all components of that project or process need to be UL-certified, including insulation blankets. For instance, if you’re building a generator set – a process that is specified as requiring UL certification—you’ll need UL-certified insulation blankets. Here at Firwin, our fiberglass insulation jackets meet this requirement. 

Firwin’s fiberglass insulation blankets are used to insulate engine parts, exhaust piping and components, and industrial process piping and machinery. They’re used in just about every industry requiring insulation blankets to manage heat generated by various industrial processes, and if UL-certification is required, Firwin’s fiberglass insulation covers have got you covered. They’re fire-resistant, they can withstand extremely high temperatures, and they’re all UL-certified.

What does UL certification mean? According to the UL website, UL-certification is defined as “a process that determines that the source, substance, quality, manufacture, performance, described features, precision, ruggedness or other characteristics of a product or service meets the standard/s, code or criteria developed for that product or service.”

The UL website also says, “Dedicated to promoting safe living and working environments, UL helps safeguard people, products and places in important ways, facilitating trade and providing peace of mind.” At Firwin, we share this same dedication, and with our fiberglass insulation covers– all UL-certified – we help to promote fire safety practices in all industries.

The Latest Rap About Our Newest Product: Firwin T-Wrap

If you’re in the oil and gas industries or any industry where you need to insulate pipe, you’re going to appreciate our newest product: Firwin T-Wrap. T-Wrap is an insulation blanket and spiral wrap in one, and it easily wraps around pipe and doesn’t need to be fastened to the pipe. It’s a great insulation value, offering quick coverage for exposed piping, efficiently and effectively.

Firwin T-Wrap is available off the shelf and comes in various sizes. You’ll want to keep it in stock and on hand for your insulation needs. It’s ideal for facilities where pipes need to be covered quickly and where there are many variations in piping.

Firwin T-Wrap has an outer cover similar to that found on insulation covers. Unlike insulation blankets, there is no inner liner covering the insulation material. Fastening is via Velcro. Firwin T-Wrap offers many advantages over other insulation products, including:

• Flexibility – easily covers exposed piping of all sizes and variations.
• Reusability – it wraps like tape, but unlike insulation tape, Firwin T-Wrap is removable and you can use it over and over again.
• No delays – you can keep Firwin T-Wrap in stock and on hand and, since it doesn’t need to be customized, there are no delays or waiting periods.

We’d be happy to “rap” with you more about our newest product!

Firwin's Website is New and Improved

Firwin friends, come take a look at our website—do you notice anything different? If you haven’t been on our page recently, then you should see a newer version of Firwin. Not too long ago, we went ahead and tweaked our website, so that it reflects all of the updates our company has made in the past months. Let’s walk through all of the changes.

Homepage: In wanting to make the website more current, we decided to provide more definition to the site, beginning with the homepage. Here, we added a border and some color to the outside of the page. Now take a look at the scrolling photos at the top of the homepage. Here, we wanted to refresh the images to properly reflect our latest products and applications, as well as our further foray into the oil and gas industries, which led to the addition of a new ThermoWrap photo.

Catalogue: From here, let’s move to our product catalogue. As you delve deeper into the catalogue, you will notice that some of the photos on the content buckets have been updated as well. Not only that, but as you move to either the “Products by Industry” list or the “Products by Application” list, you will see that visually, the page has been changed as well. Since we know it’s important to highlight the prominent industries and applications of our products, we wanted to ensure our site reflected our audience. Therefore, we re-ordered the list of industries and applications so that the more pertinent ones are placed at the top of the list.

Videos:  We recently told you about our experience at Power-Gen last month. Are you looking for even further information about that show? We added the video we showcased at Power-Gen for all of our visitors to enjoy.

Testimonials: Our website has always been full of great testimonials we have received from our customers. The only problem was that we felt it was hidden on the site. Now, we have added a tab for “Testimonials” to the top navigation field of the site. This way, you can’t miss them! Looking for our forms and literature? They can now be found under the “About Us” tab. Even better—they are no longer password protected, so more people can receive our information.

How do you like the changes? Hopefully, the site is not only updated, but more user-friendly to all of our visitors. Let us know what you think!

Firwin Makes a Splash at Power-Gen

Everyone at Firwin had a wonderful and productive time at Power-Gen 2012.  Considering it was December, and being from Toronto, it is not a surprise that we really enjoyed the sun and warmth of Orlando! Despite having to spend most of the show inside and the disappointment of not winning the raffle for two new cars, we really did accomplish a great deal this year.

We were able to showcase our insulation blankets with our most innovative trade show display to date. This extra effort really caught the eye of some of the biggest names in the North American power generation industry and helped us emphasize our insulation blankets for SCR applications. It also helped start numerous conversations and build strong relationships with existing and potential customers from around the globe.

Firwin was also one of the video sponsors of the show, which entailed beaming our custom video presentation across the entire Power-Gen show for three days straight. Another big first of Firwin's was the use of QR codes on our blankets at the show. This gave potential customers the ability to use their smartphones to access our website for every technical detail they could possibly need.

Thanks to these outstanding efforts and the international scope of Power-Gen, we feel this was, without a doubt, our most productive trade show yet. If you attended Power-Gen 2012, we’d love to hear what you thought of the show; hopefully your experience was as positive as ours!

Hard Coat Insulation vs. Removable Insulation

They may sound like the same thing, but insulation coating and insulation blankets are actually quite different. When you face choosing between these two, equally high-quality products, you need to know some key facts to make the right decision.

Essentially, it comes down to some key factors including the need for removability, your space constraints, the importance of fireproofing, and finally, cost.

Type of Insulation:

An important factor is the type of insulation needed, including the desired strength. Considering that Firwin HC™ is in fact hard and more durable, it is more suited for extremely rugged conditions. Our blankets, although also tough, are not as impenetrable as our hard coatings. The hard coat is more applicable where there is a possibility of sharp objects coming into contact with the insulation and the possibility where insulation can be torn.

Removability:

Firwin HC™ Hard Coat is permanently applied and cannot be removed, while our insulation blankets can in fact be removed and even reused. This is important if you need to do periodic maintenance on whatever you are insulating. In that case, the blankets will better serve your needs. Additionally, since the hard coating is applied directly onto parts, you need to disassemble you components and send them to Firwin for coating. If the components are difficult to access and disassemble, then we recommend using our insulation blankets.

Space Constraints and Fireproofing:

Because Firwin HC™ is applied directly to the component, it conforms tightly to the part and is ideal for applications that offer limited space. The thinness and flexibility of the hard coating makes it more of a viable option when the blankets are too bulky to fit.

Firwin HC™ is non-flammable and proves to be a valuable safety and fireproof option. As for the insulation blankets, they are fire retardant. For those applications requiring a further measure of safety, Firwin offers our MineWrap™ blankets which completely enclose and prevent any oils or fluids from lodging in the insulation and igniting fire.

Cost:

While both insulations take about 2-3 weeks in lead time from order to delivery, hard coating will last longer but are also more than removable insulation.

Therefore, whether you need hard coat or removable insulation, there is one thing you can count on, and that’s the experts at Firwin. If you have any doubts about which is right for you, just contact a rep at Firwin today and we can help you make the perfect insulation decision.

Firwin insulation blankets

Firwin HC™ Hard Coat