Fibreglass = inferno?

[Chrisso]

Firstly, I have no welding skills but have played with fibreglass, hence the choice of materials. Now, the question is:

How suitable is fibreglass for use in underbonnet conditions? I intend to make a plenum comprised of an aluminium/steel base, with a fibreglass top.

I've seen carbon plenums and other components in wide use, an carbon and fibreglass bonnets obviously work. So this would lead me to assume that once it's cured the risk of fire is low. According to the MSDS' that I found the matting is not flammable, but resins/curatives are highly flammable. I'm guessing that the chemical reaction of hardening removes this risk.

Would anyone care to prove otherwise? I would like to know now, rather than finding out when the smoke starts pouring out of the engine bay!
Cheers,
Chris

[Screamn_Sleeka]

Is this for a car that will be on government roads? If so, don't ask people on a forum, as an engineer if he will pass it.

But no, fiberglass is not flammable, and has to issues with temps of 200oC. Although the resin decomposes if burnt with a (hot) flame.

[PULSE]

I don't really know too much about its flammable properties but sign up for this site and have a good search of the forums or post a thread there, theres quite a few really knowledgable/talented guys over there, so you'll probably get a nice answer straight off the bat like you would here from river if you were asking about specs of a first gen. Good luck!

http://www.fiberglassforums.com/

[ViPeR_NiPPleX]

I've seen fiberglass velocity stacks and carbon fiber plenum chambers, must be usable.. provided it's not part of your immediate exhaust system.

[oldcorollas]

check the resin you want to use for it's fire retardant rating?

http://www.fibreglass-resin-sales.com.au/resins.html

eg
http://home.iprimus.com.au/bhave/Ash...n%20Guide1.pdf

[Chrisso]

Is this for a car that will be on government roads? If so, don't ask people on a forum, as an engineer if he will pass it.

But no, fiberglass is not flammable, and has to issues with temps of 200oC. Although the resin decomposes if burnt with a (hot) flame.

I think that's exactly what I'll do, that is ring an engineer. Yes, this will be for a registered vehicle. - Okay, spoke to an engineer and his view was not a problem. It would possibly require a heatshield if directly facing a heat source such as the exhaust.

Pulse - thanks for the link. I should have searched for a glassing forum! I have plenty of projects in mind so this will come in very handy.

OC - Cheers for that. I'll have a look, can't be too safe! From you're link, I think this stuff is the go, probably costs an arm and leg, but cheaper than burnt car :

"Phenolic Resins – ‘Almost’ Fireproof - uses acid catalyst - has a short shelf life – needs to be stored in the fridge – (not usually stocked, available on request)."

Cheers,
Chris

[SeptemberSquall]

i presume the flamable part of the resin is the petroleum product which flashes off during curing - not an expert, probably wrong

also glenn booth did exactly what you're talking about doing in an ra40 + 3s-ge for supersprint duties and seemed to be working well.

[oldcorollas]

all depends on the resin.. some are not safe, some are safe, some are very safe..
just need to choose the right one.

[Chrisso]

all depends on the resin.. some are not safe, some are safe, some are very safe..
just need to choose the right one.

This seems to be what all the information points to. Some resins are noted for their flame retardant properties, but basically the flammable part of the process is while the resin is in liquid form and while the work cures. I need to ring a supplier and talk to them, but I'm expecting the more fire resistant resins will be considerably cheaper.

Thanks for the tip SS I'll look up Glenn.

And thanks again to Pulse - that fibreglass forum, while primarily seppo has some good ideas/guides/tips.

Regards,
Chris

[Slim]

You should probably look into whether the resin you choose is suitable for use in environments where it will be exposed to petrol and oil etc. Heat is not the only factor here.

[Chrisso]

I kept that in mind while looking at the spec sheets. It seems that those resins which are less likely to burn also have better chemical resistance, so buy one get one free?!

[-NiCkeL-]

i presume the flamable part of the resin is the petroleum product which flashes off during curing - not an expert, probably wrong

also glenn booth did exactly what you're talking about doing in an ra40 + 3s-ge for supersprint duties and seemed to be working well.

If kicking ass is working well, then you are infact right..

[MR22ZZ]

It's actually not a solvent as such but the styrene in the uncured resin which is flamable.
Styrene in the main crosslinking resin used and acts as a 'reactive diluent' within the resin mixture.