Posted by Firwin on | Comments Off on Tips on Caring for your Removable Insulation Blankets
At Firwin, we take pride in the performance and longevity of our removable insulation blankets. We manufacture all of our products to withstand the toughest and most challenging environments, be it hundreds of feet underground or on the roughest seas. In order to make sure our insulation jackets maintain peak performance, it helps to follow a few easy care tips.
Firwin’s fastening systems are extremely strong, but it is important to avoid excess force when installing your insulation blankets.
It isn’t always easy, but for the best service, keep your blankets as clean as possible.
Promptly remove or clean off all chemicals that cause deterioration of aluminum or silicone coatings.
Avoid oil saturation; this will render your blanket’s “non-combustible” characteristics ineffective. You will then need to replace the covers.
Treat blankets like all parts of the engine and inspect them regularly.
Last but not least, always take care not to cut or damage the outer protective cover fabrics. It helps to limit the usage of sharp instruments around all insulation blankets.
If you follow all of these steps, you can automatically increase the lifespan of your removable insulation blankets. If you have more blanket care questions, please contact one of our insulation blanket experts today!
Posted by Firwin on | Comments Off on Did You Know Our Fiberglass Insulation Blankets Are UL-Certified?
Are you involved in any projects or processes with or requiring UL-certification? If so, then it is necessary that all components of that project or process need to be UL-certified, including insulation blankets. For instance, if you’re building a generator set – a process that is specified as requiring UL certification—you’ll need UL-certified insulation blankets. Here at Firwin, our fiberglass insulation jackets meet this requirement.
Firwin’s fiberglass insulation blankets are used to insulate engine parts, exhaust piping and components, and industrial process piping and machinery. They’re used in just about every industry requiring insulation blankets to manage heat generated by various industrial processes, and if UL-certification is required, Firwin’s fiberglass insulation covers have got you covered. They’re fire-resistant, they can withstand extremely high temperatures, and they’re all UL-certified.
What does UL certification mean? According to the UL-certification is defined as a process that determines that the source, substance, quality, manufacture, performance, described features, precision, ruggedness or other characteristics of a product or service meets the standard/s, code or criteria developed for that product or service.
The UL website also says, “Dedicated to promoting safe living and working environments, UL helps safeguard people, products and places in important ways, facilitating trade and providing peace of mind.” At Firwin, we share this same dedication, and with our fiberglass insulation covers– all UL-certified – we help to promote fire safety practices in all industries.
Posted by Firwin on | Comments Off on The Latest Rap About Our Newest Product: Firwin T-Wrap
If you’re in the oil and gas industries or any industry where you need to insulate pipe, you’re going to appreciate our newest product: Firwin T-Wrap. T-Wrap is an insulation blanket and spiral wrap in one, and it easily wraps around pipe and doesn’t need to be fastened to the pipe. It’s a great insulation value, offering quick coverage for exposed piping, efficiently and effectively.
Firwin T-Wrap is available off the shelf and comes in various sizes. You’ll want to keep it in stock and on hand for your insulation needs. It’s ideal for facilities where pipes need to be covered quickly and where there are many variations in piping.
Firwin T-Wrap has an outer cover similar to that found on insulation covers. Unlike insulation blankets, there is no inner liner covering the insulation material. Fastening is via Velcro. Firwin T-Wrap offers many advantages over other insulation products, including:
Flexibility – easily covers exposed piping of all sizes and variations.
Reusability – it wraps like tape, but unlike insulation tape, Firwin T-Wrap is removable and you can use it over and over again.
No delays – you can keep Firwin T-Wrap in stock and on hand and, since it doesn’t need to be customized, there are no delays or waiting periods.
We’d be happy to “rap” with you more about our newest product!
Posted by Firwin on | Comments Off on Firwin’s Website is New and Improved
Firwin friends, come take a look at our website—do you notice anything different? If you haven’t been on our page recently, then you should see a newer version of Firwin. Not too long ago, we went ahead and tweaked our website, so that it reflects all of the updates our company has made in the past months. Let’s walk through all of the changes.
Homepage: In wanting to make the website more current, we decided to provide more definition to the site, beginning with the homepage. Here, we added a border and some color to the outside of the page. Now take a look at the scrolling photos at the top of the homepage. Here, we wanted to refresh the images to properly reflect our latest products and applications, as well as our further foray into the oil and gas industries, which led to the addition of a new ThermoWrap photo.
Catalogue: From here, let’s move to our product catalogue. As you delve deeper into the catalogue, you will notice that some of the photos on the content buckets have been updated as well. Not only that, but as you move to either the “Products by Industry” list or the “Products by Application” list, you will see that visually, the page has been changed as well. Since we know it’s important to highlight the prominent industries and applications of our products, we wanted to ensure our site reflected our audience. Therefore, we re-ordered the list of industries and applications so that the more pertinent ones are placed at the top of the list.
Videos: We recently told you about our experience at Power-Gen last month. Are you looking for even further information about that show? We added the video we showcased at Power-Gen for all of our visitors to enjoy.
Testimonials: Our website has always been full of great testimonials we have received from our customers. The only problem was that we felt it was hidden on the site. Now, we have added a tab for “Testimonials” to the top navigation field of the site. This way, you can’t miss them! Looking for our forms and literature? They can now be found under the “About Us” tab. Even better—they are no longer password protected, so more people can receive our information.
How do you like the changes? Hopefully, the site is not only updated, but more user-friendly to all of our visitors. Let us know what you think!
Posted by Firwin on | Comments Off on Firwin Makes a Splash at Power-Gen
Everyone at Firwin had a wonderful and productive time at Power-Gen 2012. Considering it was December, and being from Toronto, it is not a surprise that we really enjoyed the sun and warmth of Orlando! Despite having to spend most of the show inside and the disappointment of not winning the raffle for two new cars, we really did accomplish a great deal this year.
We were able to showcase our insulation blankets with our most innovative trade show display to date. This extra effort really caught the eye of some of the biggest names in the North American power generation industry and helped us emphasize our insulation blankets for SCR applications. It also helped start numerous conversations and build strong relationships with existing and potential customers from around the globe.
Firwin was also one of the video sponsors of the show, which entailed beaming our custom video presentation across the entire Power-Gen show for three days straight. Another big first of Firwin’s was the use of QR codes on our blankets at the show. This gave potential customers the ability to use their smartphones to access our website for every technical detail they could possibly need.
Thanks to these outstanding efforts and the international scope of Power-Gen, we feel this was, without a doubt, our most productive trade show yet. If you attended Power-Gen 2012, we’d love to hear what you thought of the show; hopefully your experience was as positive as ours!
Posted by Firwin on | Comments Off on Hard Coat Insulation vs. Removable Insulation
They may sound like the same thing, but insulation coating and insulation blankets are actually quite different. When you face choosing between these two, equally high-quality products, you need to know some key facts to make the right decision.
Essentially, it comes down to some key factors including the need for removability, your space constraints, the importance of fireproofing, and finally, cost.
Type of Insulation:
An important factor is the type of insulation needed, including the desired strength. Considering that Firwin HC™ is in fact hard and more durable, it is more suited for extremely rugged conditions. Our blankets, although also tough, are not as impenetrable as our hard coatings. The hard coat is more applicable where there is a possibility of sharp objects coming into contact with the insulation and the possibility where insulation can be torn.
Removability:
Firwin HC™ Hard Coat is permanently applied and cannot be removed, while our insulation blankets can in fact be removed and even reused. This is important if you need to do periodic maintenance on whatever you are insulating. In that case, the blankets will better serve your needs. Additionally, since the hard coating is applied directly onto parts, you need to disassemble you components and send them to Firwin for coating. If the components are difficult to access and disassemble, then we recommend using our insulation blankets.
Space Constraints and Fireproofing:
Because Firwin HC™ is applied directly to the component, it conforms tightly to the part and is ideal for applications that offer limited space. The thinness and flexibility of the hard coating makes it more of a viable option when the blankets are too bulky to fit.
Firwin HC™ is non-flammable and proves to be a valuable safety and fireproof option. As for the insulation blankets, they are fire retardant. For those applications requiring a further measure of safety, Firwin offers our MineWrap™ blankets which completely enclose and prevent any oils or fluids from lodging in the insulation and igniting fire.
Cost:
While both insulations take about 2-3 weeks in lead time from order to delivery, hard coating will last longer but are also more than removable insulation.
Therefore, whether you need hard coat or removable insulation, there is one thing you can count on, and that’s the experts at Firwin. If you have any doubts about which is right for you, just contact a rep at Firwin today and we can help you make the perfect insulation decision.
Posted by Firwin on | Comments Off on Firwin at Power-Gen International 2012
Everyone at Firwin is excited about attending and exhibiting at PowerGen International 2012, December 11-13, in beautiful Orlando, FL. The annual Power-Gen International Show is a can’t miss gathering for anyone who needs to keep up with the trends, technologies, and issues facing the power generation sector. The event has been around for 24 years, and it never fails to impress. This year they are expecting 20,000 attendees from 92 different countries and over 1,200 exhibitors.
Firwin will be front and center in the EGSA (Electrical Generating Systems Association) pavilion at Booth 1844. As always, we will be displaying our wide range of innovative insulation blankets, covers, and insulation jackets that are such a big part of the power generation industry. We are especially excited about highlighting our removable insulation blankets that are custom tailored for SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) applications. Our design team is proud of their work in this difficult and complex specialty and can’t wait to show off how our blankets work perfectly with larger SCR systems (we can show you how our blankets will fit around the complex geometries of your systems!). We will also be displaying our Hard Coat™ permanent insulation products.
Understanding how essential it is for the power generation industry to insulate engine and exhaust components, protect personnel, lower ambient heat, maintain exhaust heat, and protect nearby components, we are ready to showcase our long-term expertise and industry-appropriate products.
Some of the other highlights of PowerGen 2012 that you shouldn’t miss include:
A great line up of featured speakers including Randy Zwirn (Pres. & CEO of Siemens Energy) and Jon Wellinghoff (Chairman, FERC).
The Annual Awards Gala.
Tours of Polk Power Station, Cane Island Power Park, and the Orange Country Convention Center PV Solar Installation.
An incredible array of different panels and discussions including talks on transforming the U.S. Power Industry, and what the 2012 Election means to the future of the industry.
If you want to learn more about this exciting show, you can visit the Power-Gen International website or you can always drop us a line and we’ll be glad to tell you all we know. Hope to see you in Orlando!
Posted by Firwin on | Comments Off on Save Energy and Keep Workers Safe with Firwin
At Firwin, we are proud of our work with the plastics industry. As with all of our customers, the plastic extrusion and injection molding industry is extremely concerned with both energy savings and worker safety. Luckily, Firwin offers a wide array of removable insulation blankets that can help with these two pervasive problems.
Firwin custom manufactures insulation blankets that are perfect for some of the most important parts of the plastic forming process, including covers for injection-molder barrel heaters, and preheat and service throw insulation covers. If you have ever had any experience with a barrel heater, you know that they are just loaded with pipes, electrical connections, and thermocouples. This high level of complexity makes covering them difficult. If not done correctly the heater will take more energy to operate, and you risk exposing your workers to dangerously hot parts.
So how exactly do our removable insulation blankets save energy and keep your workers safe? Here are some examples:
Barrel heaters are switched on and off constantly. By covering them in the proper insulation, the units will retain heat when off, and take less energy to reach operating temperature when restarted. One of our clients reports that thanks to Firwin’s removable insulation blankets, they save 35% on energy input and a 25% reduction in start-up time!
Another customer was concerned because they had a preheat station located next to a passage door. They wanted the benefits of maintaining an optimal level of heat, all while protecting their workers from accidental contact in this heavily trafficked area. Once again, Firwin’s removable insulation was the perfect solution.
If you are looking to make your injection-molded barrel heaters both energy efficient and safe, please visit our website or contact Firwin today.
Posted by Firwin on | Comments Off on Underground Mining Safety and Firwin
There is no question that underground mining is a challenging and risky occupation. Over the past 12 years, the month of October has been the deadliest month for metal and nonmetal mining operations in the United States. It is with this unfortunate stat in mind that we wanted to talk about the role of insulation in underground mine safety of diesel-powered equipment.
Diesel accounts for 72% of the energy used by the mining sector. This dominate fuel source comes with some unique challenges. The exhaust given off by diesel engines can get extremely hot, and with workspace at a premium underground, this can get dangerous for miners. Additionally, the high ambient heat given off by these non-insulated engines can worsen an already uncomfortable environment.
By blanketing exposed engine and exhaust components, you immediately reduce ambient heat; plus, these same insulation blankets shield workers from burns. It’s a win-win and it doesn’t take a great deal of effort.
Of course, for all of this to work effectively, you need to choose the right insulation blanket partner. This is where Firwin can help. Thanks to their unique stainless steel inner liner and reinforced outer cover, our MineWrap™ insulation blankets are perfect for the rigors of underground mining.
If you want to raise the level of safety in your underground mining operation, the best place to start is insulating your diesel components, and the best place for insulation blankets is Firwin.
Posted by Firwin on | Comments Off on How to Beat Coal Pollution
Do you work in the coal industry? Coal pollution has been a rampant topic in the news recently, causing for much debate and conversation, especially when it comes to potential health risks associated with coal fired power plants.
What about the actual mining of the coal itself? In terms of mining, coal, like other other mined products, makes extensive use of diesel and gas powered equipment to extract the coal from the ground. The exhaust from this equipment can contain pollutants and carcinogens, which must be captured prior to release, so that only clean air or steam is let out.
Various after-treatment systems, such as catalysts, particulate filters, and SCRs (a type of catalyst) are used to treat the exhaust before it is released into the air. These after-treatment systems often require high exhaust temperatures to function optimally and burn off the pollutants. Our insulation blankets, insulation jackets, and insulation covers work in conjunction with these after-treatment systems. Specifically, the blankets are used to insulate the catalyst / SCR, as well as the exhaust piping leading into it. Asides from the blankets protecting the personnel who might be in close proximity to the exhaust, and lowering the ambient temperature in the area around the equipment, the insulation blankets and jackets maintain the exhaust temperatures at their highest level so that the after-treatment systems work optimally. The further the exhaust gas has to travel from the engine to the catalyst / SCR, the more heat it can lose on the way. Insulating the after-treatment system and the exhaust that leads into it maintains the exhaust temperature and can be crucial in helping the after-treatment system capture the pollutants before they can be released into the air. Let our insulation blankets, jackets, and covers help you beat pollution!
