Welding Blanket Recommendations

[bguffer]

Can anyone recommend a source of welding blankets which will stand up to high power rocket launches, specifically skidmark motors?

A while back, i started thinking of welding blankets when i saw this thread:
https://www.rocketryforumarchive.com/showthread.php?t=49322

A google search brought me to this:
https://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=95015
Price seems good. Curious if the skidmarks would burn through over time.

Bob

 

[Shade]

Welding blankets are made of fiberglass, years ago they were asbestos. They are
mainly used as they are none flamable but they do wear and melt. By the way "Shade"
is short for Shade Tree Welder (www.shopfloortalk.com) that is a welding, machining
and fabrication site I own and run.

My advise is to go to you local welding supply shop and check out pricing. They are all
pretty much the same. If you are in the Midwest I would look up SJ Smith. They are
who I deal with and are a good company to deal with.

As far as burn/melt thru, you can figure that out what is the exhaust temp of a skid mark?
What temperature does glass melt at? Wetting the blanket will help with longevity. Use a
small amount of laundry or dish soap so the water will wet out on the fiberglass.

 

[SwingWing]

Looks like Grainger has a pretty big selection.

https://www.grainger.com/Grainger/w...eyword&action=Go!&QueryString=welding+blanket

The fiberglass ones are good to 1000* and the carbon fibre up to 1800*

 

[bobkrech]

Stick with FG. It shouldn't have burn through problems. The Grainger prices see a bit high. Check around on the web, and at your local welding supply houses for better prices. 6'x8' is a convenient size to use.

Do not get a false sense of security if you use welding blankets with Skidmores. The welding blankets at our high power pads are designed to minimize the risk of a grass fire in a ignition cato, and does not relieve you from clearing the area around a launch pad of all combustible materials. For high power pads, the minimum ground clearing distance is 50' for motors thru J impulse and up to 125' for L3 motors.

https://www.nar.org/NARhpsc.html

Skidmores drop burning titanium particles from altitude and unless you cover a very large area, you probably will not prevent most Skidmore induced ground fires. That's why the ground clearing distance for Skidmores is 50% greater or 75' to 188'. Almost all of the Skidmore fires are cause by ignoring this requirement.

Bob