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In order to maintain your vehicles and other electrical appliances which tend to get overheated, heat reflective tapes are essential. Only with the help of them, your products last long. However, there are a lot of myths going around about them since very little is really known about products like these. Here in this article, we attempt to rectify some of them with the facts.

What is a heat reflective tape

Heat reflective tape or heat shield tape is designed to protect an object from overheating by dissipating excessive heat. The heat source could be a nearby exhaust pipe or flue, or a pipe carrying other hot gases.

The efficiency of the tape is influenced by conductivity, reflectivity, and emissivity of its material. Heat reflective tapes reflect the radiant heat and provide protection to the object and its nearby components. Conductivity and emissivity determine the amount of heat transferred through air gaps between the heat shield and the source of the heat and a further air gap between the protected component and the heat shield.

Applications of heat reflective tapes are vast. They are widely used in the aviation and automobile industries. They are also used in power plants, gaskets and ovens, generator sets, and many more.

What are the myths about them and what are the truths

Heatshield products are expensive and rightly so. However, if you know which one is adequate for your particular requirement, you might end up wasting the money you spend for them. Here we have busted a few myths about them that keep you from choosing the right one.

• Myth 1: All heat shield tapes work the same

Fact: Different hot objects require different types of heat shield tape.

The quality of the heat shield tape matters. If you use a low-quality tape for an object which tends to get really hot, for example, a high-performance race car, it is bound to get burnt soon. On the other hand, for objects that do not get that hot, like the exhaust of an AC, can do with low-quality tape.

• Myth 2: Heatshield tapes are not dependent on the type of heat emanating from the object in question

Fact: There are 3 different kinds of heat emanating from objects and their types should be taken into consideration while purchasing a heat shield tape.

Below we have explained the three different types of heat:

• Conductive heat: The type of heat that travels from one part of an object to another through direct contact.
• Convective heat: The type of heat that is transferred from one place to another via the movement of fluids like liquid or gas.
• Radiant heat: The type of heat that is passed from one object to another with no direct contact.

Only after you have determined the cause of the heat, you can select the right tape to manage it. A tape that blocks radiant heat won’t be as effective for handling convective heat.

• Myth 3: Heatshield tapes are not dependent on the temperature of the object in question

Fact: Heat shielding is highly dependent on the temperature of the object in question.

Measure the internal temperature of the object that needs the heat protection, and only then select the best heat shield tape that fits the bill.

• Myth 4: The material of heat reflective tapes do not matter

Fact: The material of a heat reflective tape is one of the most important factors to consider while buying it.

There are a lot of materials heat-reflective tapes are made out of. The most common ones are basalt, fibreglass, stainless steel, aluminium, silica, gold, silver, and copper. Depending on the heat type, temperature, and the intensity of the emitting heat, decide on which material will suit you the best. In fact, if you don’t find the most appropriate heat shield for your need, you can always get them custom-designed.

• Myth 5: It is enough to buy a tape considering only intermittent temperatures

Fact: You need to consider both intermittent and service temperatures while buying a heat reflective tape.

Intermittent temperatures refer to the maximum amount of heat the heat shield can withstand for 30 seconds or less before it’s compromised. Service temperatures mean the same for long, consistent periods of time.

A lot of times a heat shield tape is advertised to be resilient of a high temperature, but a lot of tricksters only mention the intermittent temperature at the label. So while buying a heat protector, confirm that it can withstand high heat conditions consistently for a long period of time.

Conclusion

Myths always surround a product that most people know very little about. That is why, before buying a heat shield tape, accept advice from experts in heat management who will guide you and help you choose the right product for your exact need.

Industrial heat resistant adhesive tape, or heat shield adhesive tape is deployed for the purpose of providing protection from excessive heat absorption by different components in industrial, automotive or other domestic settings.  The heat source could be a nearby exhaust pipe or flue, or a pipe carrying other hot gases. Heat resistant adhesive tapes are a great option to reflect the radiant heat and provide protection to nearby components. If we take automobiles, for instance, multiple components in the vehicle need thermal protection and these can include electrical cables and components, hydraulic lines, brake lines and fuel or coolant hoses. Engine intake ducting can also suffer from excess heat causing an unwanted over heating of the intake air flow. This causes a reduced oxygen density and eventually hurts engine performance etc. 

The efficiency of the heat shield products will be influenced by the following physical properties:-

• Conductivity
• Reflectivity
• Emissivity

Radiant type thermal/heat shield barrier reflects thermal energy from the surface that is temperature-sensitive. Conductivity and emissivity determine the amount of heat transferred through air gaps between the heat shield and the source of the heat and a further air gap between the protected component and the heat shield. Sometimes, it becomes essential to custom design the heat shield to factor in space and weight limitations in a wide range of applications. 

Heat resistant tapes are widely used in the aviation and automobile industries. These tapes perform a wide range of duties like controlling the emission of pollutants from vehicles running with an internal combustion engine, the optimised lifespan for batteries and enhancing the range of electric/hybrid vehicles apart from protecting the well being and health of passengers.

Heat resistant tapes improve mileage in automobiles

Heat resistant tapes employed in automobiles help in minimising the heat in the transmission tunnels as well as the allied components bringing down the internal temperature. In turn, this helps the passengers inside the vehicle to stay cool.  Another advantage of heat resistant tape is that it can be used to reflect radiant heat away from the engines air intake system. The resulting lower air intake temperatures provide a denser air flow and more oxygen molecules which when mixed with the cars fuel via fuel injection, will result in a more efficient and more powerful combustion process. This can lead to improved fuel economy and potential cash savings over a period of time. Similarly, all critical wiring in the engine can be protected with the help of heat resistant tapes; Other potential uses include preventing vapour lock in fuel lines by applying the reflective heat resistant tapes over fuel lines and preventing the fuel from heating up and vaporising. 

Extended life

Excess engine bay heat can shorten the life span of rubber and plastic hoses, pipes, and other plastic parts commonly found under the hood of late model cars. When you control engine bay heat with the help of heat resistant tapes, there is every chance that the engine components will last longer and not need early replacement. You will also have fewer visits to your garage since multiple components in the vehicle stay healthy for a longer time. Heat resistant tapes, heat protection sleeves, exhaust insulation products are designed to assist in performance of your vehicle and its maintain its life cycle. However, it is also important that you source the heat resistant tapes and other heat shield products from a reputed and reliable supplier/manufacturer who has significant expertise and experience with these products. You should also know that using inferior products can cause significant damages to various components in your vehicle apart from adding to the risk of accidents. 

Heat resistant products for industries

Heat resistant products are important for a wide array of industries. Here are some examples of popular applications:

Exhaust insulation

Power plants, gaskets and ovens, generator sets etc. generate a significant level of radiant heat and industries using these have the ability to contain heat to a large extent when they use appropriate heat resistant tapes and other products. When the heat is contained at different stages of a process it helps in minimising fatigue for the workforce while also reducing consumption of energy at the same time. 

Heat resistant barrier curtains

Heat resistant barrier curtains are particularly helpful in processes that need protection for a wide range of electronic components and the people working with such processes. Industries like oil refineries, fertiliser manufacturing, petrochemicals, drugs etc are 24×7 processes. These industries have large instrumentation control rooms to keep track of the working of the entire industry.  Heat resistant barrier curtains are employed at vantage points across the industry so that minimal heat percolates to other areas. Custom-designed heat resistant barrier curtains are employed in refineries, power generation, ovens etc to ward off heat and save thermal energy that may be lost in the manufacturing process. Containing heat will also help in saving energy costs for these industries. 

Industrial Sleeves 

Certain types of heat resistant tapes are also created for deployment in heavy industries like breweries, refineries, petrochemicals, fertilisers etc. Unlike the standard offerings, these products are generally tailor-made with a focus on preventing catastrophic accidents that can impact the entire operation in the industry. Industrial grade heat resistant tapes can keep fluids hot or cold and are therefore ideal for processes that are required to keep the temperature of gases and fluids under stable temperature. Appropriate heat resistant tapes and similar products help in saving energy while protecting critical components/equipment and the associated personnel from radiant heat. 

Wide range of heat resistant tapes are offered for varying applications in home workshops, industrial settings etc and are very helpful in protecting pipes, hoses, wiring and similar fixtures from energy loss/radiant heat. 

Conclusion

Choosing the most appropriate product is the key to get the desired results from heat resistant tapes and other heat shield products. Focus on manufacturers with significant experience and expertise in the field. Most manufacturers are always happy to work with you answering questions and helping you determine the right product to suit your individual circumstances. Finally, you should also ensure that everyone handling the heat resistant tapes or heat shield products have appropriate training and can comprehend the guidance offered by the manufacturer. Understanding the warranties/guarantees and the fine print are also areas you should focus on.

At Kool Wrap, we are dedicated to delivering only the best heat protection products and heat wraps for any vehicle. We want to help you understand which products are best suited to your needs and your vehicle and have you walking away feeling content with your decision.

The decision making process when it comes to selecting the best exhaust wrap for your vehicle can be made difficult when there are common myths and facts that are circling, that most people are not familiar with.

Here are the top myths and facts about exhaust wraps that you didn’t know before:

• MYTH: All exhaust wraps are the same for every vehicle.

This is not true. There are a variety of exhaust wraps for different types of vehicles as well as there being different quality exhaust wraps. There are both high and low quality exhaust wraps,and it is all a matter of selecting the right heat wrap through a trustworthy heat protection product company to assist you in making the right choice.

• FACT: Vehicles can produce different types of heat.

There are three different types of heat that a vehicle can produce. Therefore, you need to select the appropriate heat wrap that works within what type of heat your vehicle is producing.

These are the three types of heat that your vehicle can produce:

Convective: Where one part becomes overheated as it comes into contact with a hot liquid or gas.

Conductive: This is where heat travels from one part to another through direct contact.

Radiant: This is where a hot part in the vehicle radiates heat to another part without directly touching the other part

Seeking the advice from professionals about what type of heat your car produces will assist you with making the decision on what heat protection product will work best for you.

• MYTH: Intermittent temperatures are the only thing you need to worry about.

This isn’t true. You need to worry about both intermittent temperatures and service temperatures. It is important to consider investing in heat wraps that can withstand not only intermittent heat, but also service/consistent heat from a vehicle. Otherwise, you will have a very low performing exhaust wrap.

At Kool Wrap, we provide you with the best temperature ratings for both intermittent and service heat, and in turn will provide you with the best heat wraps to withstand either heat level.

• FACT: There are different materials for different types of heat wrap applications

This is fact! There are different types of heat wraps that are made to suit particular applications and uses. Each of these heat wraps are made with different materials to suit the particular need. These include: Basalt, Fibreglass, Stainless steel, Aluminum and Silica.

• MYTH: Exhaust wraps are only used to enhance the appearance of your car

False! Exhaust wraps main aim is to improve the performance of your car and assist with heat protection. Although they do look appealing, their main purpose is to protect your car from heat, overheating and potential damage that could occur from excessive heat radiation.

• FACT: You have to always measure the temperature of your car

This is true, measuring your temperatures is very important to ensure that it is at a safe level and to determine what heat wrap can provide the best care and protection for whatever temperature your vehicle is showing to be.

• MYTH: Heat wraps are bad for exhausts

This is untrue! Heat wraps are specifically designed to protect exhausts from any potential damage that can be caused as a result of overheating, and they also provide protection against any water damage caused by rain.

Kool Wrap are the heat protection professionals. We pride ourselves on providing trustworthy and informative service every single time.

If you would like to learn more about our heat protection products and heat wraps, or would like us to assist with a vehicle heat assessment so we can recommend you to some of our best heat wraps, give us a call on: 0412 548 609, to speak with a member of our friendly team today!

Since the 1960’s turbocharged engines have been moving people on the roads faster and faster. It is the engine that powers F1 cars as well as many of the ones that we see on the road from day-to-day. Turbocharged engines have a list of benefits that attract people to purchase them. Some of these include higher horsepower and lower emission for those concerned with the environment. 

Turbocharged engines are designed in a specific way to give the car an extra boost. Although the design is not perfect, it is based off facts proven in physics that allows the car to create more horsepower meaning more speed.

How a Turbocharger Works

For those who are unsure of how a turbocharger works, here is a basic overview:

Wasted exhaust gases enter the turbocharger at high pressure through an inlet port. From here, as the air passes through the turbine inside spinning it which also spins the compressor attached. This draws in large quantities of air which are compressed and pass out the of the outlet port. The more pressure created means the bigger the boost is.

The Turbo Blanket

Due to generating such a high heat, a turbocharger can cause drastic damage to a car above and below the hood.

A solution has been created to not only decrease damage but increase the performance of your car. This is called the Turbo Blanket. Depending on the type purchased, turbo blankets are created from a number of materials such as:

• Heat-resistant fabrics
• Flexible metal
• Volcanic rocks

Turbo Blankets come in different sizes to accommodate the wide variety of dimensions that turbochargers come in. The Turbo Blankets purpose is to keep the heat where it is supposed to be, but how do you know if it works? There have been multiple tests conducted on the efficiency of the product to understand if it is worth buying.

The Effect of a Turbo Blanket

Once you have placed the Turbo Blanket over your turbocharger, several positive effects take place. These were proven through a number of tests and university level research conducted by:

• Steffen Hans Bickle at the University of Texas at Austin
• Graduate Mechanical Engineer and YouTuber “Engineering Explained”
• Sports Car Connoisseur and Youtuber “Rob Dahm”

In all of the experiments, the core purpose of the Turbo Blanket is tested. If it is effective, the heat within the turbocharger should be higher with the Turbo Blanket on. This also means that the area around the turbocharger will be a cooler temperature due to the heat being insulated and not released.

Throughout all three tests, there were dramatic heat differences inside and throughout the car. They tested parts such as the top and side of the turbocharger, the intake air, the exhaust gas, exhaust pipe and more.

The Results

Below are the results of the tests conducted:

• The top of the turbocharger with the Turbo Blanket on was 149ºC hotter.
• The side of the turbocharger with the Turbo Blanket on was 225ºC hotter.
• The exhaust pipe with Turbo Blanket on was 113ºC hotter.
• The exhaust gas post-turbo with Turbo Blanket on was 4.7ºC hotter.
• The hood of the car dropped from 133ºC to 65ºC with the Turbo Blanket on.
• The oil exit with Turbo Blanket on was 0.2ºC cooler.

These results show the considerable difference between using a Turbo Blanket on a Turbocharger and not utilising one. The Blanket ensures the engine is running more efficiently as the temperature and pressure are increased leading to the higher horsepower. It also secures the paint on the hood of your car, as well as its structure.

For many, a question may be how does the Turbo Blanket affect the oil temperature? That question is answered within the research. With only a 0.2ºC difference, the Turbo Blanket does not have much effect on the oil at all. The only recommendation would be to let your car run for a little longer after a drive to let the oil move out.

If you have a Turbocharger, it may be time to consider buying a Turbo Blanket to increase performance and protect your car. For more information on related heat protection products, please visit Kool Wrap.

We are often asked for a solution to a heat problem and the first thing we think about is whether the problem is caused by conduction, convection or radiation.

We will try to keep this simple.

• Conduction is the transfer of heat energy by direct contact.

• Convection is caused by heat transfer within a fluid (includes liquids and gases etc.)

• Radiation is when heat is transferred without any physical contact (ie Sun rays)

The actual answer is usually a combination of all three, but one heat transfer method is usually the dominant factor.

Conduction

Conduction is the direct transfer of heat through matter caused by the temperature differential between the two objects. If we have a cast iron exhaust manifold and we attach an aluminium heat shield directly to that manifold, the heat energy will flow into the aluminium heat shield until they are approximately the same temperature.

In this example, the heat shield is ineffective.

To protect something from heat conduction, we need to put a barrier between the hot object and the object we are trying to keep cool.

For instance, we could mount our aluminium heat shield any distance away from the hot exhaust manifold with spacers. The heat shield now feels zero conducted heat, but will still feel radiated heat.

Another example of this would be placing your hand against a hot oven glass door. You would probably burn your hand. Move your hand away from the door by 20mm and although you would still feel radiated heat, there would be no more conduction.

Then place an aluminium panel half way between the hot glass oven door and your hand and you will feel very little heat. The aluminium panel has blocked radiated heat.

Convection

As mentioned above, convection is heat transfer by actual movement of matter through a fluid. In this definition fluids include liquids and gases.

An electric fan heater is a good example of convection. The fan forces air to flow over a hot electrical element. The air is heated by the element and then blown out into the room.

Another example is a car radiator. Water flows through an engine and is heated by the hot engine block. This heated water is pumped through the radiator. The radiator is cooled by the flow of cold air through the front of the car. The hot water flows through the cool radiator and heat transfers from the water to the radiator. The warming radiator then passes that transferred heat back to the air as it flows through the radiator.

In the heat protection industry, we may choose to divert the flow of hot fluids (air or water) away from the object that we are trying to keep cool.

Radiation

Radiation occurs where heat is transferred as electromagnetic waves. If you hold your hand up to the sun, or next to a hot exhaust manifold (ignoring air flow) you will feel the radiant energy coming from the sun or hot object.

We can protect items from radiant heat by placing a barrier between the radiant heat source and the item we want to protect.

The Art of Insulation

Our job at Kool Wrap is to project operators and heat sensitive components from heat transferred by Conduction, Convection and Radiation.

One of the most used insulators is actually air.

If we consider roof insulation, we use a variety of products such as fibreglass batts to create a layer of trapped air pockets.

The technical reason why air is a poor conductor of heat is that the air molecules are not in continuous contact with each other. The air pockets in fibreglass or bubble wrap insulation, cannot move around and transfer heat.

Remember that heat will only transfer to something that is cooler. If the heated air is prevented from touching cooler air, then the heat cannot be transferred. If we are using the ceiling insulation example, in summer, the heated air inside your roof, cannot transfer heat through the insulation.

In an industrial or automotive setting, we can use fibreglass tape or lagging to wrap around an exhaust pipe and that tape will contain thousands of tiny air pockets that can help prevent the heat transfer process.

If you have questions about your heat transfer problems, call Kool Wrap today and we will help you to find a solution.

We have had some phone calls recently from customers that have experienced heat damage to their kitchen cabinets caused by a hot oven.

One customer said “My under bench 90cm Whirlpool oven (2 yrs old) is burning the cabinet which is to the left of it. The vinyl wrap has warped and there is a permanent yellow stain”.

There are a combination of factors that can cause an oven’s excess heat to damage to your kitchen cupboards and cabinets.

Insufficient air gap between the oven and the cabinets:

• Insufficient air gap between the oven and the cabinets
• Insufficient air ventilation between the oven and the cabinets
• Insufficient heat insulation within the ovens casing or body
• Heat sensitive cabinet coatings such as vinyl wrapped cabinetry

Kool Wrap is a specialist heat protection products company and we have developed a heat insulation kit that can help protect your valuable kitchen.

The Kool Wrap Oven Cavity Heat Protection Kit consists of 2 sheets of heat insulating fibreglass with a self adhesive layer on the back. Simply peel off the back paper and stick to the left and right sides of the oven cavity.

The sheets also have an outer layer of heat reflective aluminium foil to reflect damaging heat radiation back away from your cabinetry. This foil can withstand temperatures up to 660°C, far higher than a typical oven.

The sheet material can be cut with scissors and should take no more than 5-10 minutes to install.

Click HERE to view the kit.