Selecting the right Sheet Gasket Material

Each customer often have their own preferred/specified brand. Manufacturers product numbers are always helpful. We can provide most brands as desired, or assit engineering/maintenance or purchasing by recommending the best known equal brand. Our focus is to provide the best available technology resulting in high quality seals. We also offer "Generic products", for those on a budget.

Flexible Graphite

Flexible graphite is an exceptional material that is effective in high temperature applications such as exhaust gaskets and steam. Graphite is compatible with most chemicals and has a 0-14 ph range. Every major refinery, power generation facility and chemical plant relies on this unique material to meet the sealability standards required by governments.Good for temperature 850 F +. The less oxygen present, the higher the temperature rating (up to 5,400 F) for flexible graphite.

Non-Asbestos

Deciding on compresed non-asbestos sheet is a good first step.Like cars, non-asbestos is made in both high end and low cost models. The first thing you want to be sure of is "Branded material is always better" Especially today, there is an increased amount of cheap knock off brands comming into the market.
Protect your equipment and stick to name brands or AS&P recommended styles.

Mica is a natural mineral that holds up to heat. Beacuse it will withstand up to 1,652 F (900 C), it's a great solution in oxydizing atmosphers where flexible graphite will carbonize to powder and loose it's sealing capability. Like Flexible Graphite it is available with reinforcing metal laminates of stainless steel foil or tang. The purpose is to imporve handleability. Most comonly you will find two basic forms: Phlogpite and Muscovite. Both are used in gasket materials, and in somecases blended. We offer both hard and soft versions to fit your application. In some cases a soft material will assist in conforming to irregular surfaces as a gasket should. In other applications a harder more pressure resistant material is desired.
We offer FMI, Durlon and Thermoseal as well as unbranded styles.

Paper Gaskets got their name because they are made on a paper machine that takes pulp and turns it into a sheet. The pulp process allows gasket manufacturers to convert many types of materials into a sheet without the cost of blending it with rubber. Non-asbestos gasket materials are generally made in a batch process that blends fibers with rubber and is compresed on a rubber calander process.. Today the pulp process used in "beater add" gasket materials reduces the cost of a batch process items. Gasket materials made a pulp or beater add process will not handle as much pressure as compressed non-asbestos sheets, but in applications like automotive gaskets they are often used due to their low cost.

Silicone is a soft and conformable material that will withstand temperatures to 450 F. It also has excellent resistance to ozone, which is why it is used to caulk window frames on houses. One consideration with silicone is that it does not like oils. It's not a high pressure material either.

But if your application is water, air, or exposed to ozone, it's hard to beat.