An alternative to thermafleece?

[Penners]

a whole new round of Grimmers/Penners jokes

Sadly, 50% of that team is no longer with us. And the other 50% cracks jokes that are about as funny as frog in a blender.

 

[biffvernon]

I think Thermafleece has a small proportion of polyester fibre, presumably to help with lofting.

 

[Nemesis]

It does.

Second Nature worked for two years in conjunction with the University of Leeds and other professionals to develop the Thermafleece manufacturing process Once the coarse wool has been collected, it is scoured (washed), and put through a purpose-designed 'air laying' machine which forms a homogeneous web of wool fibres at predetermined height. Next, the web of wool (which forms 85% of the material) and polyester fibres (which form the remaining 15%) are passed through a bonding oven, where the polyester fibres bond the wool together, providing the insulation with the necessary structure and stability. The Thermafleece is then made moth and insect proof through a patented process which uses a naturally occurring mineral called Roxin. This kills insects through electrostatic rather than chemical action.

http://www.ashdenawards.org/winners/secondnature

 

[biffvernon]

The Thermafleece is then made moth and insect proof through a patented process which uses a naturally occurring mineral called Roxin. This kills insects through electrostatic rather than chemical action.

Hmmm. I'd like a second opinion on that. I don't believe there is a mineral called Roxin, but it is the product name of a synthetic antibiotic drug.

 

[Nemesis]

Give 'em a ring and ask.

 

[NT]

Sheep & Polyester would make for worse performance in a fire than glass fibre. And it already has worse energy payback & higher cost.

I guess the OP is still on the horns of this dilemma


NT

 

[biffvernon]

That's because glass doesn't burn at all. Mind you, wool doesn't burn particularly well. Try it. Oh, and I find the electrostatic effect on insects hard to swallow!

 

[NT]

> Try it.

Do we need to? I think we know what a retardant treated low flam product will do. It will burn in fire, but its low flam means the fire wont spread . As it burns it will produce a stream of drops of burning liquid plastic which rain down on anything beneath. Hopefully these drops will be self extinguishing, but we dont know. So it wont be effective as a fire barrier.

Glass OTOH acts as a fire barrier, and contributes zero fuel to the fire.


NT

 

[biffvernon]

> Try it.
Do we need to?

Well, before implying that burning Thermafleece "will produce a stream of drops of burning liquid plastic which rain down on anything beneath" I think you should try it, or at least check with someone who has. You wouldn't want to risk a libel action

A better desription might be that it complies with BS 5803-4 (Spread of Fire) achieving results of zero for ignitability, spread of flame and heat evolved.

The anti-insect borax treatment improves wool's natural fire resistance.
(Forget that Roxin and electrostatic nonsense. Where did the Ashden Awards get that from?)

 

[Nemesis]

Wool doesn't, as you say, burn easily. Far from it.

And the small percent polyester may not exactly be Vesuvious. If that's how you spell it.

http://www.secondnatureuk.com/files/bba.pdf

 

[biffvernon]

Vesuvius

(According to the Italians)

 

[Nemesis]

Ta.

I should have looked it up but sloth etc.

 

[Penners]

Thermafleece is then made moth and insect proof through a patented process which uses a naturally occurring mineral called Roxin. This kills insects through electrostatic rather than chemical action.

Roxin is extracted from treacle ore, as a by-product of the treacle-mining industry. It is then used in the manufacture of static electricity.

 

[Nemesis]

Penners - what would we do without your scientific bent?

That's cleared that up then.

 

[Penners]

I know all that stuff. It's a gift.

 

[NT]

> Try it.
Do we need to?

Well, before implying that burning Thermafleece "will produce a stream of drops of burning liquid plastic which rain down on anything beneath" I think you should try it, or at least check with someone who has. You wouldn't want to risk a libel action

Dear biff, when placed in a hot house fire, anything and everything that can burn will. What happens in these circumstances is quite different to what happens when you put a match to it. This aint rocket science, its basic fire testing stuff. If you look at the various categories for fire performance, you'll notice that molten rain is the normal performance for plastics in fires, and that includes plastics that wont ignite, support or spread fire under their own combustion power.


> A better desription might be that it complies with BS 5803-4 (Spread of Fire) achieving results of zero for ignitability, spread of flame and heat evolved.

true when not in the middle of a fire.


> The anti-insect borax treatment improves wool's natural fire resistance.

sure, but no plastic of any kind can avoid burning amid an 800C house fire.

Glass fibre OTOH is a fire barrier, and resists very high temperatures.


Seems like I always have to spell it out.


NT

 

[Nemesis]

By the time any fire has reached my loft, I think a small amount of polyester in amongst the fleece is about the last thing I will be worrying about.

So much else combustible, such as the ceiling joists, and the benefits of Thermafleece, in my opinion, are worth the tiny amount of risk.

Glass fibre, on the other hand, I find nasty stuff.

 

[NT]

What are the benefits? The lack of loose absestos-like fibres is the only one I can think of.


NT

 

[Nemesis]

Well it keeps sheep farmers in the Lakes going for a start. An outlet for wool.

The rest you can read up about.

You don't have to agree, but don't bother arguing, I have work to do!

 

[biffvernon]

Steady on NT, I did say that "...glass doesn't burn at all" and also tried to point out that words like "molten rain" might create the wrong impression for a product that complies with BS 5803-4, and that the manufacturers might feel aggrieved.

My own loft is insulated with glass fibre - Thermafleece hadn't been invented when I put it in and if it had been I would not have been able to afford it. I used glass fibre to insulate an outdoor pipe-run for my straw burner just a couple of weeks ago as I can't be sure it will always stay dry.

I noticed that it was much kinder to the skin than the stuff I have used before. Has my skin got tougher of has a more benign form of glass fibre been invented?