Fiberglass or asbestos?
 

I opened up a defective hotplate and found a bunch of cotton-like insulation
material inside. I put them into a plastic bag but a lot of short fibers
(less than 1cm long) fall out of the "cotton" which I vacuumed up.

Here's a photo of it:
http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/20384895_GsHfRJ

I'm guessing it's fiberglass or asbestos. How can I tell? And is any of
these two material harmful to be around? If I fix the hotplate, should I put
this "cotton" back, or should I use something else?

The heating wires is inside a sheet of mylar-like material and the "cotton"
insulation is used to press the sheet tight against the top of the hotplate.

Fiberglass or asbestos?
 

On Dec 2, 1:30*pm, "bob" wrote:
I opened up a defective hotplate and found a bunch of cotton-like insulation
material inside. I put them into a plastic bag but a lot of short fibers
(less than 1cm long) fall out of the "cotton" which I vacuumed up.

Here's a photo of it:http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/20384895_GsHfRJ

I'm guessing it's fiberglass or asbestos. How can I tell? And is any of
these two material harmful to be around? If I fix the hotplate, should I put
this "cotton" back, or should I use something else?

The heating wires is inside a sheet of mylar-like material and the "cotton"
insulation is used to press the sheet tight against the top of the hotplate.

The vintage/age of the hotplate in question is important in
determining
what type of insulation you are dealing with...

Small fibers of either material are harmful to inhale... It is the
small
fiber particles that embed themselves into the tiny passageways in
the lungs that causes severe health problems with prolonged exposure
over time...

~~ Evan

Fiberglass or asbestos?
 

The vintage/age of the hotplate in question is important in
determining
what type of insulation you are dealing with...

Bought it about 3 years old.

BTW, I found the defect. Apparently one of those loose fiber got between the
(mechanical) thermostat contacts. The solution is simple: I pull a piece of
paper between the contacts and now it conducts.

I'm inclined to not put the fibrous insulation back in this thing to avoid
more loose fibers. However, I need a 1-inch thick, heat resistant and
slightly elastic material to push the heating sheet tight against the top
surface.

I think several folded oven mittens may work but is there a better
alternative?

Fiberglass or asbestos?
 

On Dec 2, 1:29*pm, "bob" wrote:
The vintage/age of the hotplate in question is important in
determining
what type of insulation you are dealing with...

Bought it about 3 years old.

BTW, I found the defect. Apparently one of those loose fiber got between the
(mechanical) thermostat contacts. The solution is simple: I pull a piece of
paper between the contacts and now it conducts.

I'm inclined to not put the fibrous insulation back in this thing to avoid
more loose fibers. *However, I need a 1-inch thick, heat resistant and
slightly elastic material to push the heating sheet tight against the top
surface.

I think several folded oven mittens may work but is there a better
alternative?

That sure looks like fibreglass to me, why not replace it with some
new fibreglass?

Fiberglass or asbestos?
 

On Dec 2, 2:53*pm, "hr(bob) "
wrote:
On Dec 2, 1:29*pm, "bob" wrote:





The vintage/age of the hotplate in question is important in
determining
what type of insulation you are dealing with...

Bought it about 3 years old.

BTW, I found the defect. Apparently one of those loose fiber got between the
(mechanical) thermostat contacts. The solution is simple: I pull a piece of
paper between the contacts and now it conducts.

I'm inclined to not put the fibrous insulation back in this thing to avoid
more loose fibers. *However, I need a 1-inch thick, heat resistant and
slightly elastic material to push the heating sheet tight against the top
surface.

I think several folded oven mittens may work but is there a better
alternative?

That sure looks like fibreglass to me, why not replace it with some
new fibreglass?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

If it's 3 years old it's not asbestos. Nor does that look like
asbestos. My guess would be fiberglass too, or some kind
of rock wool.

Fiberglass or asbestos?
 

On 12/2/11 1:30 PM, bob wrote:
I opened up a defective hotplate and found a bunch of cotton-like
insulation material inside. I put them into a plastic bag but a lot of
short fibers (less than 1cm long) fall out of the "cotton" which I
vacuumed up.

Here's a photo of it:
http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/20384895_GsHfRJ

I'm guessing it's fiberglass or asbestos. How can I tell? And is any of
these two material harmful to be around? If I fix the hotplate, should I
put this "cotton" back, or should I use something else?

The heating wires is inside a sheet of mylar-like material and the
"cotton" insulation is used to press the sheet tight against the top of
the hotplate.

Here's what asbestos looks like.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/asbestos_pix/3563807102/

Fiberglass or asbestos?
 

On Fri, 2 Dec 2011 10:30:04 -0800, "bob" wrote:

I opened up a defective hotplate and found a bunch of cotton-like insulation
material inside. I put them into a plastic bag but a lot of short fibers
(less than 1cm long) fall out of the "cotton" which I vacuumed up.

Here's a photo of it:
http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/20384895_GsHfRJ

I'm guessing it's fiberglass or asbestos. How can I tell? And is any of
these two material harmful to be around? If I fix the hotplate, should I put
this "cotton" back, or should I use something else?

The heating wires is inside a sheet of mylar-like material and the "cotton"
insulation is used to press the sheet tight against the top of the hotplate.


It is NOT asbestos. It is a form of fiberglass or mineral wool and
can take high temperatures. It also serves a purpose so it should be
put back. The wrong material or no material can cause overheating and
damage.