Thread: Flame Retardant for wood

I believe Sodium Silicate aka Water Glass is a fair fire retardant coating - you'll probably have to try an industrial chemist. Mix with water, brush on & let dry. I have no idea of the water/silicate ratio, or how good it is in reality - so do some independant testing before you go big time.

Thanks for that info.
I looked it up and found this which should be of intertest to most woddies...and others too http://www.answers.com/topic/wood-preservation and http://www.answers.com/topic/sodium-silicate

I curious for the reason you need a flame retadant for wood

Even more curious where you got the idea to use flamex.
Flamex is primaraly designed for use on fabrics... primarily theatrical draperies.

I supose it would work and there is some vague illusion to treating hard scenery with it but...... curious yes curious.


from a simple basis flamex and most of the similar products are borax based.
borax is also used as a timber preservative to deter insects.
borax on its own isnt all that good a product to apply thats why there are commercial products that contain further chemicals to help with the application and binding the stuff to the material.


if you wanted a small amount material treated you may be better of approaching one of the theatrical supply companies that does flame retardent treatment.
Theatrical draperies need to be retreated after cleaning, so treating alone is a common service

I have a friend in bris that does theatrical drapery & he most cretainly dos'nt use flamex as it is far too expensive..... there are some far cheaper localy produced products.

anyway...

cheers

Soundman,
I am putting a false cupboard with filters in the bottom above a stove. (Hate S/S canopy look) hooked up to an inline fan in the ceiling space.
I want some extra protection against the obvious risk.
Flamex comes in various types, W40 being for wood.
I would really appreciate some more info on locally produced cheaper alternatives.
Failing that I will experiment with Sodium Silicate and Borax. There is a lot of info in GOOGLE on the use these chemicals as retardants. Proprietry mix would save me a lot of time though.

Phill.

ohhhh not keen on that one.
I have seen a number of similar " installations" and there are real problems long term.

the flamex wont help you a scrap once the fatt accumulation starts...... yeh I know you'll be cleaning the filters regular....... yeh right.

even so some fat WILL get past the filter and deposit on all the surfaces of the structure.

Ever seen gyproc or timber after 20 years of fat accumulation. dusgusting, and hughly flamable.

the whole thing needs to be metal lined as does the pipe to the outside world.

You need an impervious serface that can be given a good scrape and has no crevices.
remember you will need to clean it from one end to the other, think about how you will do that.

you may be better off getting some sort of "range hood product" and timber clading it.

If you havnt got a range hood, find someone who has and offer to clean it.... then you'll know what I mean.

sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

cheers

Dunno about fire resistance of sodium silicate, but it's not water resistant. It's a water solution, after all. Wouldn't withstand many cleanings.

Joe

Originally Posted by joe greiner

Dunno about fire resistance of sodium silicate, but it's not water resistant. It's a water solution, after all. Wouldn't withstand many cleanings.

Joe

Just building on Joes comments
So the sodium silicate would probably dissapear as steam from the stove rises.

Did I read somewhere that Borax is a flame retardant?

Looked it up...

2.5 ounces borax
2 cups boiling hot water
Combine the borax and boiling water in a bowl and stir until all the borax is dissolved. Pour into a spray bottle, shake, and spray onto the clothes. Don’t rinse. Let dry before dressing the person in the clothes. Reapply the spray after each wash.

So, could not you apply this solution to wood? Would it do the same deed? Might test it on some scrap wood and toss in the fire to see how well it does...

My 25 year old home has a setup exactly as you are describing. They are just your stock standard oak cabinets, painted with enamel by the previous home owner.

Somehow the home has managed to exist a quarter of a century without burning down.

Soundman,
I should have explained more clearly. The 'false cupboard' will be between other cupboards. The adjacent cupboard bottoms will be lower down and level with the edge of the stove. The height of the 'false cupboard' bottom will be such that there would have to be a stove top fire for it to ignite. I want to treat the sides and bottoms of the adjacent cupboards.
As the owner / operator of a busy fish & chip shop for 3 years (some time ago) I remember only too well the weekly cleaning of filters.
I intend to put a 'mini-canopy' of sheet metal inside the unit, and it will be flued to the o/s world via 150mm flue pipe and a 1000 plus cubic metre per hour inline fan in the ceiling.

Joe & Bob,
the sodium silicate & borax solution is going to be soaked well into the wood, then once dry, overcoated with a light coat of P/U varnish, just enough to give a washable surface. Hopefully that will work.

Hickory,
You are right on the money. I have done a fair bit of research on the internet and found that the two work well together.

Texaswoodrat,
I have no idea of the flamability of Oak, and I'm not sure what kind of stove you have....may be electric so no flame. I am using Pine = high flamability and easy ignition, and a Gas stove = naked flame.
If I was using Jarrah and electric stove wouldn'tbother as Jarrah is classed as a "self extinguishing" wood and obviously electric stoves have no flame, so it is just the circumstnaces that dictate my intention.
I would be interested in what kind of stove you have, what the distance is from the stovetop to the bottom of the 'false' cupboard and its adjacent cupboards, and roughly the flamability of Oak.

Phill.