Additives To Resins – What You Need To Know!
“I had a supplier tell me that he was getting a “stronger” resin that the regular epoxy resin for lining you sell and that it would be a better choice as it’s stronger. Is that true or is this just a sales ploy to get me to buy their stuff?”
Let’s review the standards for CIPP resin as noted in the ASTM F-1216 and go from there. The standard says to use a resin/tube combination that meets a minimum standard of 250,000 psi Flexural Modulus Standard, a 4,000 psi Flexural Strength, and Tensile Strength of 3,000 psi. Those are the standards that you should be concerned with and strive to meet or exceed. When additives or fillers are combined with the base resins they may change the actual values of the material.
By adding talc, for example, to a weaker resin, you can increase the weaker resin’s values to meet the standards. Usually, the fillers are less expensive than neat resin and are used by some suppliers to provide a lower quality resin to you that meets the minimum standards outlined in the ASTM regarding this process. That in itself may not cause a problem to the finished product depending on chemicals and heat that run through the lined pipe.
Calcium carbonate isn’t a good additive for sewers as we find hydrogen sulfide gas that attacks and leaches out the materials over time weakening the liner. Other additives may reduce the HDT or heat deflection temperatures of the liner. We see many competitors that used a filler that will see the liner collapse at temperatures above 160F degrees. Some additives require special handling such as storage temperatures between certain levels or stirring materials before use to ensure the additives are fully mixed into the resin. Our 60-minute Quik-Pox 60 resin is a neat resin and doesn’t require special handling or storage and can be used to line pipe that carries steam discharge wastewater up to 250F degrees.
The bottom line is this. Additives are used to reduce production costs of resin. You should be paying less for a filled resin. You should know all of the effects and handling aspects of using the resin and where and when not to use it. Fillers in the resin are usually a detractor, not an enhancer.
For more information contact us at +1-888-354-6464 or email to info@pipeliningsupply.com.
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