Cured-In-Place Ultraviolet Fiberglass (CIPP) pipe liner is far superior in many ways to felt pipe liner.

One of the primary reasons for using UV-cured fiberglass liner, instead of water- or steam-cured felt liner, is that the curing of the felt produces by-products that negatively impact the environment. In particular, cities using felt liners are concerned about discharging styrene-laced water into their sewer systems. However, UV cured fiberglass pipe liner is eco-friendly for pipe rehab.

According to a January/February 2005 article in Stormwater magazine, when a failed storm sewer pipe 18 miles east of Breckenridge, Colorado was causing a sinkhole under I-70, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT ) decided to use a place-cured felt liner. to repair the pipe instead of replacing it. They used a polyester felt pipe liner, saturated with resin and coated with a waterproof coating that was inserted into the pipe. Hot water or steam was circulated through the tube, which hardened the resin. Due to the styrene-bound byproduct of using water- or steam-cured felt, CDOT’s environmental division ordered the liner company to construct a temporary holding pond with an EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer) geomembrane liner to capture any cured bound with styrene. Water. The line company then had to pump and transport the water off site to avoid any environmental contamination. If they had used UV-cured fiberglass pipe on site, they would not have had this problem causing additional time and expense for the job.

Another advantage of cured-in-place fiberglass siding over felt is the cure time. Cure time for felt liners is 2.5 hours, but only 50 minutes for a 300 foot length of 8″ CIPP UV liner. There is also an hour or two of cool down time for the felt and zero for the fiber of glass.

If you look at just the speed of cure and the effect on the environment, you can already see how UV-cured fiberglass siding makes more sense than using felt. But add to that the fact that fiberglass pipe liner doesn’t shrink (felt shrinks up to 13%, requiring residual grout and side seals) and has a minimum 50-year lifespan, you really see how using fiberglass CIPP liner is the best option. Good choice.