If conveyor belts are unable to perform according to claims made by manufacturers and end up wearing out early, breaking down or ripping, there may not be as many safety risks involved.
Even though the damage done can be costly to fix, conveyor operators may still be able to make it out without any sort of injuries.
On the other hand, if a fire/flame resistant conveyor belt fails to resist fire like it should, the consequences could be dramatic.
Most factory owners may only find out that a belt is not fire resistant when it is too late. In fact, in reality, many conveyor belts that should be fire resistant according to their applications, are not.
Fire Resistant Conveyor Belts Are Not Fireproof
Here at Monster Belting, we have rubber conveyor belts that are heat resistant up to 250 degree C. However, the standards applied to conveyor belts are becoming growingly confusing. The most important thing to consider is that conveyor belts can never be completely fireproof. Fire resistant belts include special additives and chemicals that cover the rubber skim and can be engineered to resist fire.
Typically, belt fabrics include nylon and polyester fibers which have negligible resistance to fires. Simply put, all sorts of belts will burn when exposed to fires. Therefore, when exploring fire resistant belts, it can prove significantly important to evaluate the degree of resistance you need, according to the environment.
Conditions That Involve Flammable Gases
In environments where flammable gases are involved, the belt must not be allowed to create static electricity. The conveyor belt should be able to forward any static charge to the surrounding metal frame down to the earth, rather than letting it build up.
When it comes to anti-static properties, a good indication can be the quality of the rubber being used. Almost all black rubber conveyor belts include carbon black which also facilitates necessary mechanical properties. The higher the quality of carbon black used, the better the anti-static properties.
General Service Applications
As fire safety is a major concern, there are several different international classifications to evaluate the self-extinguishing properties of conveyor belts. The primary basis for most industrial tests is EN/ISO 340 which distinguishes between fire resistance with covers (K) and without covers (S).
This is so because when belt covers wear, the amount of fire resistance protecting the flammable parts is also reduced.
For mildly abrasive materials K grade is typically preferred. On the other hand, if the material is more abrasive, it could wear the top with it as well and the best option would be to go for S grade.
In both cases, the rubber skim bonding the fabrics should also be fire resistant. S grade rubber skim should be relatively thicker. This is possible by obtaining technical date sheets from the manufacturer for precise specifications.
Make sure that you implement the right flame/fire resistant conveyor belts and you could ward off millions of dollars of damage to your facility. Check out the collection of flame retardant conveyor belts in our collection as well as a range of collar type endless belt conveyors. Our product range also includes raw materials for conveyors and belting such as fly ashes and bucket belts. Feel free to get in touch with us for more information.