Belzona on Explosion Proof Enclosures

[Shells]

Good Day,

I know that silicone should NOT be used to seal explosion proof enclosures which is sometimes done to prevent moisture ingress. But what about belzona - can this be used, albeit a temporary solution until the root cause of the moisture ingress can be determined? I have heard that applying a single layer of belzona is acceptable and will not prevent escape of hot gases should an explosion occur. Any thoughts?

 

[don_resqcapt19]

I would red tag the use of anything on the seal area of explosion proof enclosures, unless the product was specified in the manufacturer's instructions.
There is a fine line between letting the gasses escape with enough pressure drop to cool them below the autoignition temperatures of the vapors outside of the enclosure and containing hot gasses to the point that the enclosure is breached by the internal pressure.

In some cases, moisture in the enclousre is simply because the incorrect enclosure was installed. If the enclosure is in a wet area, in addition to the NEMA 7 rating for explosionproof, it must have an additional rating such as 4 for the wet location.

 

[rbalex]

I'll confess right off the bat that I had no idea what Belzona is. So, I looked at their website and couldn't find any claim that it would be suitable as you have described, and believe me, if the manufacturer thought it was suitable, it would be mentioned somewhere in their sales literature.

The fact is explosionproof enclosures "breath" and moisture enters them hence, the need for drains.