Fiberglass trench drain grates come in many different shapes, sizes, colors, and types. The term fiberglass refers to the composition of the material that makes up the trench drain grate. Fiberglass refers to a thermal set resin combined with glass fibers to create a strong and chemical resistant material.
Fiberglass trench drain grates can look exactly alike and still be different based on the resin used to manufacture the grate. These trench drain grates can be manufactured from isophthalic polyester resins, orthophthalic polyester resins, phenolic resins, or vinyl ester resins. By adjusting the resin system a fiberglass trench drain grate can achieve better chemical resistance or better fire and flame resistance.
Fiberglass trench drain grates are often prized for their use in chemical environments. To determine which resin system is best in a chemical application use our chemical resistance guide to review any chemical contact that is expected.
Any of the resin systems mentioned above can be pigmented to provide a specific color of fiberglass trench drain grate. We typically stock gray fiberglass trench drain grates. Fiberglass grates can be ordered in green, yellow, red, blue, white, black, or practically any other desired color.
There are three basic categories of fiberglass trench drain grates: molded fiberglass grates, pultruded fiberglass grates, and compression molded fiberglass grates.
Molded fiberglass grates are cast into a mold with long glass fibers filling the mold cavity before pouring a liquid resin into the mold. These grates are economical but not as strong as a pultruded grate due to lower density of glass fibers. Molded fiberglass grates come in many different thicknesses, patterns, and opening sizes. Molded fiberglass trench drain grates can have a smooth surface or an anti-slip grit can be added to the surface for slip resistance.
Pultruded fiberglass trench drain grates are manufactured in a pultrusion machine. This machine makes continuous bars by passing glass fibers and resin through a heated die cavity. The pultruded bars are very strong due to high glass content and a very controlled glass placement. Pultruded fiberglass trench drain grates are also offered in many different colors, resin types, and surface textures.
A recent innovation by Dura Trench is the compression molded fiberglass trench drain grate. These grates look very similar to a cast iron grate or plastic grate because they are molded in a double sided mold under extreme pressure. These trench drain grates are extremely strong and can be used in applications that required iron grating. They are a good replacement for loading docks or other applications where grates are being stolen as they have little scrap value. These are not as common because it takes special tooling to cast these fiberglass trench drain grates.
If all of this information just confused the situation, please contact our sales staff to assist you in choosing the right fiberglass trench drain grate for your application.
