Whenever you are considering an application where you wish to use a High Temp Tape (i.e. a tape that will withstand high temperature), the first thing to consider is what is meant when you say “high temperature”? Then you can set about finding a tape that can survive your application temperature and do its job.
To an ice cube, 33° F is too high for it to remain solid. On the other hand, many refinery and petrochemical applications require temperatures around 1,500° F for the reaction to succeed (power plants and steel mills regularly operate at extreme temperatures).
Yet for domestic or commercial space heating, there might be extremes of temperature at the burners in the furnace but, people occupying the heated space are likely to consider anything above 85° F as being too hot. A High Temp Tape used to insulate pipes in a power plant could also be used on domestic heating ducts but it would be a case of overkill especially since tapes for really high temperatures usually carry a really high price and cheaper materials that can work well at less high temperature would be more than sufficient.
Some Applications
* Thermal insulation tapes. Now that we can no longer use asbestos, these are often made from fiber glass, mica or silica and such tapes are useful for wrapping around the outside of small sized pipes carrying hot fluids. NOTE – sometimes these tapes might be supplied with an outer coating of silicone rubber in order to give the tape some weathering protection but the outer coating cannot be exposed to much more than about 250° F so it may need extra thickness of insulation below it.
* Gasket tapes. High Temp Tape can be used to seal off the connecting flanges on metallic ductings carrying hot gases at low pressures. Sometimes, the tape will be produced with a series of square or rectangular holes along its length and is known as ladder tape. The holes make it easier to insert the bolts that will be used to hold the flanges together.
* Specialized High Temp Tape. Expanded ptfe tapes can be used on fluid carrying pipe flanges and other connections where temperature could rise to around 500° F and pressures approaching 3,000psi might be encountered. Expanded pure mineral graphite tapes can seal up to 7,250 psi and survive at 3,000° F. (NOTE – upper temperature and pressure capabilities should not occur simultaneously).
If you are looking for a high temp tape, you should place a toll free call to 800-910-4009 and discuss your specific needs with the experts at Engineered Materials Inc.
