What is the working life of the QuelStop System? Firestopping FAQs
As stated in the best practice guide for Firestopping of Service Penetrations on page 39, section 3.1.29, whilst manufacturers may suggest a projected life expectancy, “there is not a standard to measure these claims against.”
As part of the extensive testing and certification process, products undergo a durability test in accordance with EOTA Technical Report TR024. This is where a final use condition is determined along with an assumed working life statement.
As an example, ETA 20/1201 for the QuelStop Fire Batt system states: “The provisions made in this European Technical Assessment are based on an assumed working life of the QuelStop Fire Batt of 10 years, provided that the conditions laid down in the product data sheet for the packaging/transport/storage/installation/use/repair are met.”
The European Assessment Document, EAD 350454-00-1104, states in section 1.2.2 on page 9 of 52: “When assessing the product the intended use as foreseen by the manufacturer shall be taken into account. The real working life may be, in normal use conditions, considerably longer without major degradation affecting the basic requirements for works.
The indications given as to the working life of the construction products cannot be interpreted as a guarantee neither given by the product manufacturer or his representative nor by EOTA when drafting this EAD nor by the Technical Assessment Body issuing an ETA based on this EAD, but are regarded only as a means for expressing the expected economically reasonable working life of the product.”
There are no moving parts or items requiring ongoing maintenance and despite having 45 years of experience in the industry, there are no known compatibility/ deterioration issues associated with time.
In the context of all the above points, it is our view that the working life of the QuelStop System could be safely assumed to be considerably longer than the minimum stated 10 years and could, therefore, match the intended design life of the building.
We trust this is clear but please don’t hesitate to contact us with any queries.
