Last week, we learned about the best way to warm frozen and cloudy drums of isocyanate that were shipped during cold winter conditions. The next step is properly storing and maintaining your chemicals throughout the wintertime to avoid operational problems and delays. With many businesses closing up shop for the holidays, we want to make sure that you can come back and resume operations effortlessly without any downtime caused by frozen chemicals.
Rhino Linings® elastomers are designed to be sprayed at a room temperature of (20-32°C). At lower temperatures the materials’ viscosity increases, making pumping through transfer pumps to the proportioner difficult. The heating system will have a hard time raising the materials to the proper application temperatures, 130-140°F (55-60°C) if the material in the container is too cool. At lower temperatures, the materials may “freeze” or form crystals which will clog filters and check valves. Proper heating and agitation will be necessary.
Last week, we learned about the best way to warm frozen and cloudy drums of isocyanate that were shipped during cold winter conditions. The next step is properly storing and maintaining your chemicals throughout the wintertime to avoid operational problems and delays. With many businesses closing up shop for the holidays, we want to make sure that you can come back and resume operations effortlessly without any downtime caused by frozen chemicals.
Rhino Linings® elastomers are designed to be sprayed at a room temperature of 70-90°F (20-32°C). At lower temperatures the materials’ viscosity increases, making pumping through transfer pumps to the proportioner difficult. The heating system will have a hard time raising the materials to the proper application temperatures, 130-140°F (55-60°C) if the material in the container is too cool. At lower temperatures, the materials may “freeze” or form crystals which will clog filters and check valves. Proper heating and agitation will be necessary.
Winter DOs and DON’Ts
- Do store your chemicals on wooden pallets or cardboard. Adding insulation (something as simple as securing a blanket around the drum) will help to maintain optimal storage temperatures.
- Don’t store your chemicals on cold concrete floors.
- Do store your chemicals in heated rooms. A heated room can be used to raise or maintain the material temperature between 55-100°F (13-38°C). Always measure the room’s ambient temperature at the floor. The use of a magnetic surface temperature thermometer attached to the drum will confirm that the drums have actually come into equilibrium with the ambient room temperature.
- Don’t store your chemicals in cold temperatures for extended periods of time, or they may be frozen by the time you need to use them.
- Do make sure to slowly agitate material while using band heaters in order to warm the material uniformly and avoid creating hot spots.
- Don’t leave band heaters on maximum temperature. Overheating material can damage the catalyst or additives.
- Do recirculate material through a proportioner and material heater to increase material temperature. Use transfer pumps (do not engage the proportioner) to recirculate, either through the system and heated hoses and back to the drum or through a recirculation hose teed off after the pre-heaters.
- Don’t assume that recirculation has thoroughly mixed the material. The material should be power-agitated prior to use. Most isocyanates (A side components) may not require premixing as they are already homogeneous and experience no phase separation. Take extra caution to not expose the material to moisture or humidity during this process or foaming will occur.
End of the Year Orders
Rhino Linings year-end inventory closures and holiday closures are coming up! Graco will also be increasing their prices on January 1st so now is the right time to make big equipment purchases. Make sure to place your Rhino Linings chemical and Graco equipment orders now by emailing orders@rhinolinings.com or calling 800-747-6966 to receive all of your shipments on time.
