Standards Australia is currently reviewing AS:4254, which specifies the standards of fire and mechanical resilience performance for flexible ductwork for air-handling systems
in buildings.
While researching a story regarding the possible changes, CCN has come across a possible infraction of the Standard.
There is only one ducting tape sold in Australia that claims to be compliant with AS4254 and prints the claim on the label.
Investigations by CCN have failed to find, despite several requests, an actual certificate from the company that follows the prescriptive testing regime laid out by the Standard.
Venture Tape, owned by multinational 3M, charges a premium for its insulation ducting tape 1599B and has done for over seven years. It claims it is the only tape on the market that has passed the tough tensile strength test prescribed by the Standard.
Phone message and email requests for copies of the testing results have, as yet, not been answered by either Venture Tape or 3M Australia.
Proponents of AS:4254, including other tape manufacturers, are concerned Venture Tape has been claiming a significant point of difference over every other competitor and has been charging a premium price for its tape with an unjustified claim.
The Venture Tape product has also been packaged and sold to at least one other company that sells it to the public through the Bunnings hardware chain with the words ‘compliant with AS 4254’ clearly printed on the label.
The tape was originally designed in the US to comply with Underwriter’s Laboratories UL:18 1B-FX standard for tapes to seal flexible duct jointing. Most of the Venture Tape brochures give details of the results of the UL testing showing 1599B’s ability to withstand the UL burn test for ducting. However, this test is not applicable to ducting tapes and nor is it required under AS:4254.
The Australian Standard method for testing pressure sensitive adhesive tape follows AS:1635. This calls for a 12mm x 12mm test piece to be adhered to a clean piece of stainless steel. A length of that tape is to be left hanging freely from the stainless steel panel upon which a one kilogram weight is applied.
Five pieces of tape are to be constructed in this way on a test rig. This test rig is then to
be placed in an oven preheated to 49°C.
An average of the time taken for the five pieces of tape to separate from the stainless steel panel is reported as a measure of the resistance to shear loading at elevated temperatures.
For AS:4254, the test specimen tapes must hold for longer than 25 minutes.
Promotional brochures from Venture Tape over the past several years claimed to
be AS:4254 compliant and those words are printed on the tape as requested by the Standard. However, none of the data listed on those brochures give the results of any AS1635 testing.
The claim may be allowing Venture Tape to market to specifiers as the only tape in Australia capable of withstanding the rigorous test and, therefore, present a point of difference to other duct tapes on the market.
Australian Standards has no authority to check or make judgement on companies claiming AS compliance and most ducting manufacturers are not bothered by how their product is joined on site.
CCN has left messages via e-mail and phone with Venture Tape and 3M but has not received a reply.