Thermoseal Group has issued a 7-step guide to guide IG manufacturers in choosing the right molecular sieve desiccant to prevent premature failure of the units.
Sales director Mark Hickox, pictured, explained: “When constructing IG units using tube spacer systems, the spacer should be filled with a quality 3Å desiccant. Whilst there is a general assumption that if a desiccant is tested by a notified body (for Moisture capacity) and the factory where the desiccant is manufactured has a recognised quality system (i.e. – ISO 9000) that the desiccant is of a high quality. This is not necessarily the case.
“We’d urge our customers to ensure that they read through our ‘7 Steps to Selecting a Quality Desiccant’ document and consider these indicators of a quality desiccant, including: 3 Ångstrom Pore Size; Good Delta T Performance; Low Initial Moisture Content; Good Moisture Adsorption Capacity; Low Dust Content; Very Low Gas Desorption and High Bulk Density.”
He added: “If there are any sealed unit manufacturers who are concerned that the desiccant could be causing premature failure of units, then we’d be happy to test any products on request, and with anonymous samples if required.
“I’d also like to remind sealed unit manufacturers that many warm edge spacer tube systems have a smaller internal dimension than traditional Aluminium spacers, so rather than filling two sides of the spacer, warm edge spacers must be filled on 3-4 sides if a 10 year warranty is being given.”
Thermoseal Group’s ‘7 Steps to Selecting a Quality Desiccant’ can be downloaded here.
