EFFECTIVE FIRE BREAKS

FIRE-STOP SYSTEMS' Thermalastic 83C™ Fire Retardant Cable Coating is Factory Mutual Approved for preventing flame spread in grouped electrical cables. Thermalastic 83C™ functions by cutting off oxygen from the fuel source, inhibiting the combustion process in the immediate vincinity of the cable insulation and reducing heat transmission to the protected cables. In the simplest sense, the coating converts a group of cables into one large single cable, covered with a fire retardant jacket.

Cable Coating Fire Breaks have been proven to be an effective, dependable and economical way to prevent fire spread in cable trays.

Some practical locations for fire breaks are:

• Where vertical trays pass through grated floors or other floor penetrations where penetration fire seals are not practical;
  
• At vertical and horizontal cable tray tees and crosses;
  
• In cable trays running under grated floors where flam-mable materials and trash collect;
  
• In long horizontal tray runs, particularly where stacked tray conditions exist.

Total Electrical Cable Fire Protection

Thermalastic 83C™ Cable Coating is also one of the most economical and maintenance-free ways to protect cables from fire in electrical equipment, cable spreader and control rooms. It is totally reliable because there are no electrical or mechanical activating devices to fail, no human error to be concerned about, no tanks to refill and no periodic maintenance.

Thermalastic 83C™ provides reliable, maintenance free, low cost fire protection that few, if any other, systems can match.

Thermalastic 83C™ also protects cable insulation from exposure type fires such as those caused by burning trash, lube oil or other flammables that may accumulate around some cable trays.

The duration of time that Thermalastic 83C™ can protect electrical cables from a fire before the insulation begins to deteriorate will depend on the intensity of the flame, type and size of cables, type of insulation and other variables. In the event that a maximum time lapse protection from exposure fire is desired, a heavier coating can be applied to those areas.

How Does Thermalastic 83C™ Work? When exposed to fire:

• Thermalastic 83C™ produces cooling vapors from metal-lic hydrates in the coating. These vapors reduce the heat transmission to the protected cables.
  
• Inorganic components in the coating form a surface of high emissivity that results in the radiation of significant amounts of heat away from the cables.
  
• Fire retardants in the coating form products in the fire that inhibit the combustion process in the immediate vicinity of the cables.

Effect on Current Carrying Ampacity

While Thermalastic 83C™ is very effective in blocking the extreme heat of fire because of high temperature changes thai take place in the coating, it has no adverse effect on Iow temperature heat dissipation that might effect cable ampacity. The reasons for this are:

• The Iow temperature thermal conductivity of Ther-malastic 83C™ is almost identical to P.V.C.
  
• The increase in cable diameter and slightly rougher surface after the cable coating is applied provides more cooling surface area to the cable.

NO ELECTRICAL DE-RATING OF THE CABLES IS NECESSARY.