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Welding blanket guide: How to choose the right welding blanket

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Perhaps, you’re obsessed with welding and want to showcase your welding skills for your next DIY project. Or it may be that you’re looking for some welding essentials for industrial applications. Whichever your objective is, you must know that getting the right welding blanket should be the first step towards achieving the completion of your welding project.

A welding blanket is the safety equipment that is used to protect the welder and their surroundings from flames. The main purpose of a welding blanket is to prevent damages and burns during welding. It also helps avoid occupational hazards while protecting your workers from work-related injuries. In other words, it’s a heat-resistant shield for a welder.

What matters is that you must make the right choice while selecting a welding blanket. That’s why knowing more about welding blankets plays a crucial role.

Things to consider before choosing a welding blanket

Welding blankets come in different sizes, materials, and even thickness levels. Therefore, it can be a challenging task to determine which welding blanket suits your welding technique the most. The following information will help you out.

The materials of the welding blanket

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The manufacturers of welding blankets previously used woven asbestos. But now, you’ll notice that great welding blanket options come with highly safe materials. These materials aren’t only durable, they ensure high heat-resistance in welding applications. Silica and fiberglass are the topmost base materials. These materials are then coated for enhanced functionality.

If you prefer a welding blanket with high-quality and reliable material, you should choose from these materials:

1.      Uncoated Heat Cleaned Fiberglass

Withstanding a temperature of 1000 F, this fiberglass is ideal for your welding application if its intensity ranges from light to medium. Its usage is for vertical plane.

2.      Uncoated Fiberglass Woven with a High-Texture Silica Yarn

If you’re worried about getting exposed to spatters or sparks, the uncoated fiberglass with silica yarn will relieve your stress. It works well with a temperature of 1000 F.

3.      Neoprene Coated Fiberglass

It’s a durable form of fiberglass that provides endurance against high temperatures. With its abrasion-resistant property, it acts as a heat shield for coating within a temperature of 300 F and for base fabric within 1000 F.

4.      Coated Heavy Acrylic Coated Fiberglass

Perfect for medium-level applications, acrylic coated fiberglass is a must-have material for a welding blanket if you prefer abrasion-resistance. It can withstand a temperature of 1000 F.

5.      Silicone Coated Fiberglass

If you’re looking for an oil-resistant welding blanket, silicone-coated fiberglass is the material to look for. Its abrasion-resistant properties enable the welding blanket to prevent accidents that might happen due to molten splash. The coating can withstand 500 F while the base fabric claims protection from the temperature that’s as high as 1000 F.

6.      Uncoated Woven Silica Cloth

If the cloth combines the Filament Amorphous Silica Yarn, the material can protect the welder from molten metal, spatter, sparks, and even extremely high heat. The temperature rating is 1800 F while the melting temperature is 3000 F. Plus, silica is a durable material.

7.      Carbonized Acrylic Felt (PANOx)

With a soft texture, carbonized acrylic felt protects the welder against soldering, sparks, as well as high heat applications. It provides heat resistance against 2000 F temperature. It can also withstand the melting temperature of 3000 F. The good thing about felt is that it feels comfortable to the skin.

The temperature

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What level of temperature do you want the welding blanket to withstand? First, you should know the temperature of your workplace. Also, it’s important to know the intensity of your welding project. You’ll be able to decide the material of the welding blanket accordingly. However, the higher the heat resistance it provides, the better it will be for your safety.

The size

The size of a welding blanket can affect the outcome of your welding project. Therefore, there’s no hard-and-fast rule for choosing the correct size. It depends on how comfortable you are with a specific size of the welding blanket. But in general, you’ll need a large-sized welding blanket for industrial applications. Large welding blankets are ideal for covering the entire surface while enabling safety and protection.

The thickness

The level of thickness is parallel to the level of protection you’re looking for. It also depends on the welding process. The thicker a welding blanket is, the more reliable it will be. Therefore, you should prefer a higher level of thickness so you can use it multiple times. If you opt for a larger welding blanket, you can achieve the desired thickness by folding it in multiple layers.

Durability

It’s not wise to settle for less. That’s why durability counts a lot. Make sure the welding blanket is durable enough so you don’t have to replace it after two to three uses. You can get an idea about the quality of a welding blanket by inquiring about the material used in it. Also, know about the level of temperature it can withstand.

Pricing

Though welding blankets come in different prices, you should select the one that seems to provide the best value for money. Again, materials play a crucial role here. Besides knowing about the material, it’s worth reading customer reviews about a specific welding blanket. Even if a welding blanket seems pricy but it has positive reviews, there are high chances that its performance will not disappoint you.

The takeaway

Now that you know how to choose the right welding blanket, you can easily make a sound buying decision. However, you should also know the importance of weighing pros and cons of every variant available on the market.

Instead of going for a low-priced welding blanket, it’s wise to choose the one that has high-quality finishing, the right material, and a specific level of heat resistance. Plus, make sure that the blanket comes with grommets so you can hang the blanket when the need arises.

Now what? It’s time to ensure a safe welding experience. Grab your welding blanket now and get going.