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Bill Clark Posted: Jan 28, 2008 07:12 PM	Problems with ISO Hello- We had a new drum of ISO from Apex (1.2lb) clog up one of our reactors and 300 feet of heated hose. The foam was fine & everything looked OK until we had a pressure imbalance near the bottom of the drum. The guys switched over to a new drum (it was pretty much empty) and this is common if you run out of one side of chemical. It also happened at the end of the day, so the reactor was not restarted again that day. The next morning upon start up, the reactor blew a pressure plug, (this was the first indication of any issue) and the field crew noticed the ISO looked a little thicker than normal. They attempted to pump fresh iso through the system, but our transfer pump could not pump against the resistance in the system and the reactor's pump would not move any longer... We transferred the rig back to our yard for repair, where we noticed that the ISO in the entire system had turned into a thick semi-dry paste. Additional Information: There is not any foam in the lines & there was not a crossover situation - the ISO just appears to have turned from a "pumpable" liquid to a semi-dry paste like state very quickly. The drum in question had fresh factory seals, was not left in the rain by us and temperatures were well above freezing from the time the drum arrived approximately 2-months earlier. Apex indicated that the drum was from a November 2006 batch and was fresh. Any ideas on what may have contaminated the ISO? Has anyone ever had an issue like this?
Tim O'Keefe Posted: Jan 28, 2008 07:52 PM	November of '06 dates the drum at about 14 months. Kind of a long shelf life to not have some side effects. Condensation could have contaminated the drum? Is this a blended "A" or straight ISO? Tim Granite State Spray Foam Co.
Bill Clark Posted: Jan 28, 2008 08:19 PM	Sorry for the incorrect date - November 2007 is the correct one. Factory sealed drum of side "A" ISO sold as a set 1.2lb foam. Used within a 2-3 months of drum fill at factory. thanks for your reply.
mason Posted: Jan 28, 2008 09:06 PM	There could be many problems with the drum. You mention that the iso was stored above freezing, but the proper storage temperature would be much higher than that. Iso can body up quite a bit at 45-55 degrees F. At 40 degrees F, some Isos can be as thick as honey. Also, condensation can occur easily in the drum over a 2 month period. Sometimes foam drums can be left out on a dock during shipping causing problems from humidity or cold weather. Ask the manufacturer to check their quality control retained samples. That will tell them if there is problem with that batch of Iso. If not, it is probably the way it was shipped or stored.

Author

Comments

Bill Clark

Posted: Jan 28, 2008 07:12 PM

Problems with ISO

Hello-
We had a new drum of ISO from Apex (1.2lb) clog up one of our reactors and 300 feet of heated hose. The foam was fine & everything looked OK until we had a pressure imbalance near the bottom of the drum. The guys switched over to a new drum (it was pretty much empty) and this is common if you run out of one side of chemical. It also happened at the end of the day, so the reactor was not restarted again that day. The next morning upon start up, the reactor blew a pressure plug, (this was the first indication of any issue) and the field crew noticed the ISO looked a little thicker than normal. They attempted to pump fresh iso through the system, but our transfer pump could not pump against the resistance in the system and the reactor's pump would not move any longer...

We transferred the rig back to our yard for repair, where we noticed that the ISO in the entire system had turned into a thick semi-dry paste.

Additional Information:

There is not any foam in the lines & there was not a crossover situation - the ISO just appears to have turned from a "pumpable" liquid to a semi-dry paste like state very quickly.

The drum in question had fresh factory seals, was not left in the rain by us and temperatures were well above freezing from the time the drum arrived approximately 2-months earlier.

Apex indicated that the drum was from a November 2006 batch and was fresh.

Any ideas on what may have contaminated the ISO?
Has anyone ever had an issue like this?

Tim O'Keefe

Posted: Jan 28, 2008 07:52 PM

November of '06 dates the drum at about 14 months. Kind of a long shelf life to not have some side effects. Condensation could have contaminated the drum? Is this a blended "A" or straight ISO?

Tim
Granite State Spray Foam Co.

Bill Clark

Posted: Jan 28, 2008 08:19 PM

Sorry for the incorrect date - November 2007 is the correct one.

Factory sealed drum of side "A" ISO sold as a set 1.2lb foam.

Used within a 2-3 months of drum fill at factory.

thanks for your reply.

mason

Posted: Jan 28, 2008 09:06 PM

There could be many problems with the drum. You mention that the iso was stored above freezing, but the proper storage temperature would be much higher than that. Iso can body up quite a bit at 45-55 degrees F. At 40 degrees F, some Isos can be as thick as honey. Also, condensation can occur easily in the drum over a 2 month period.

Sometimes foam drums can be left out on a dock during shipping causing problems from humidity or cold weather.

Ask the manufacturer to check their quality control retained samples. That will tell them if there is problem with that batch of Iso. If not, it is probably the way it was shipped or stored.

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