Thermilite

[Moo]

Someone calling themselves 'ahxnccj' has posted on the Top Topics site, extolling the virtues of something called Thermalite as a cure for damp problems.
The product website only refers to its use as an insulator, but I've only glanced at it (tea is ready upstairs).
Is it an ok product?
Is it an ok post?

 

[Feltwell]

??? Thermalite blocks are a brand of lightweight "aircrete" block. If you see a new house or extension being built and you see light grey blocks being used for the inside skin of walls - what you might call "breeze blocks" (which are actually something else)- these will be Thermalite's, or another similar brand. Strange things, they look very heavy but you can lift them with 1 hand and cut them very easily with a old handsaw.

A cure for damp problems? I don't see how. Perhaps as a means of adding internal insulation to a wall if condensation is a major issue, but not exactly the obvious or sensitive way to tackle the problem!

 

[Penners]

Like Feltwell, the only Thermalite I know is the air-entrained concrete block. Never heard of it as a damp solution.

But Mr Wikipedia seems to know of an alternative product under that name: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermalite

 

[Penners]

Having looked to the post in Top Topics, it seems that the product is actually called Thermilate. It appears to be an insulating paint additive:

http://www.thermilate.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=116&Itemid=114

I wonder how much insulation you can squeeze into a coat of paint. :?

 

[skier-hughes]

I wonder how much insulation you can squeeze into a coat of paint. :?

6 microns, 7 if you are lucky?

 

[Penners]

Mmmm - toasty!

 

[Feltwell]

Hmmm, I bet that has appeared on Biff's green building forum!

Sounds like a real "wonder product" - their website says, be prepared for a buzzword overload:- (Scepticism on!)

Research & Development.
Our R&D Team have the latest Nano technologies and energy-saving benefits at its core in product development.

Our highly-focused team have specialist knowledge enabling them to produce protective and decorative coatings for a myriad of internal and external surfaces, together with guaranteed energy-savings, whatever situations clients are faced with.

Through the medium of easy to use, high-quality paints, coatings and building supplies, we continue to respond to clients’ needs using our unique, 21st century NanoCNB technology, developed towards the end of 2009.

What are the odds on it not being breathable then?

 

[Penners]

What are the odds on it not being breathable then?

Oh, don't be so picky!

It's got NanoCNB technology - what more could you want?

:roll:

 

[Feltwell]

It's got NanoCNB technology

Weren't they at Greenham Common for a while?

 

[robgil]

Cant vouch for their paint but their winter wear is lovely and warm.

 

[LadyArowana]

Something that sounds similar but looks a lot more fun ( I'm thinking of Mr Wiggs patent rat cure in particular ) http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/mythbusters-thermite-ice/ if they say "don't try this at home" it has to be good.

 

[philpjuk100]

I had some thermilite blocks left over from a project and needed something to stand the lilly baskets on in my pond on but when I tried one of these it floated!

 

[AMc]

Hmmm, I bet that has appeared on Biff's green building forum!

Not sure what you mean by that? My experience of the GBF is that if a commercial poster starts spamming with a weak claim they'll be taken down on all fronts by some very knowledgeable (and argumentative) people. I've learnt a lot here and there and have a measure of both fora as being a sensible place to ask a good question and get an informed answer.

[edit] we are of course playing into a spammers hands by talking about their post - has anyone reported it?[/edit]

 

[Flyfisher]

Something that sounds similar but looks a lot more fun ( I'm thinking of Mr Wiggs patent rat cure in particular ) http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/mythbusters-thermite-ice/ if they say "don't try this at home" it has to be good.

A lady after my own heart :lol:

It brings to mind the informal, and now infamous, 'competition' during the early days of the world wide web of finding the fastest way to light a barbeque. This, of course, attracted some of the brightest scientific minds of the time, and it's generally regarded that George H. Gobel at Purdue University was the eventual winner

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_H._Goble[/b]"]In 1996, Goble was awarded the Ig Nobel Prize in Chemistry, for preparing a barbecue for cooking in less than 5 seconds by the use of a smoldering cigarette, charcoal and LOX (liquid oxygen). This act attracted the attention of the West Lafayette, Indiana fire department, which warned him to never let them catch him in the possession of LOX near a barbecue fire ever again.

The video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sab2Ltm1WcM


PS: Don't try this at home. :lol:

 

[robgil]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L97PLiNXqBg

only if you have drank a lot of bud light.

 

[AMc]

PS: Don't try this at home. :lol:

Or indeed anywhere else for that matter. Looks like a quality way to weed kill my gravel drive - how cold do I need to set the freezer before I put in a balloon?

 

[Flyfisher]

only if you have drank a lot of bud light.

:lol:
At least George H. Gobel was awarded an IgNobel rather than a Darwin Award.

 

[Penners]

the fastest way to light a barbeque

I think someone may have misunderstood that phrase. They obviously thought it was the barbecue that was supposed to be lit, rather than just the charcoal.

They look like candidates for the Darwin Awards to me: http://www.darwinawards.com/

 

[Feltwell]

Hmmm, I bet that has appeared on Biff's green building forum!

Not sure what you mean by that? My experience of the GBF is that if a commercial poster starts spamming with a weak claim they'll be taken down on all fronts by some very knowledgeable (and argumentative) people. I've learnt a lot here and there and have a measure of both fora as being a sensible place to ask a good question and get an informed answer.

[edit] we are of course playing into a spammers hands by talking about their post - has anyone reported it?[/edit]

That was pretty much what I meant - it has probably already appeared and been torn to shreds on the GBF.

 

[AMc]

Fair enough it wasn't obvious to me but my mind is rotting having spent days scraping floorboards.