MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT HIGH THREAD COUNT

There is a lot of false information out there surrounding what constitutes a quality set of bedding sheets. The biggest trickery is that the higher the thread count, the nicer the sheets. Wrong. Contrary to most advertisings, there are many contributors outside of thread count that affect the quality of your sheets.

In fact, Sferra, the world's leading linens company who first started the use of thread count as a measurement of the value of sheets is now doing away with it. Jennifer Mark's article in Home Textiles Today states, "As the thread count wars and dubious marketing claims rendered thread count distinctions largely meaningless, [Paul] Hooker (President of Sferra) became an outspoken advocate for dropping thread count labels. My phrase is: 'We birthed it, now we're killing it,' he said with a laugh."

So if thread count doesn't mean much anymore, what do you look for when shopping for sheets? The first thing to consider is the ply. Ply is the amount of individual yarns used in a thread while thread count is the number of threads contained in a square inch of material. A frequent practice of linen manufacturers has been to twist yarns together and use a multi ply yarn to up their thread count. For example, a sheet set advertised as 1000 thread count material using multiple ply threads can be more like a 250 thread count single ply sheet set even though it technically has more threads per square inch. This is because the yarns used to produce added ply are often shorter fibers sometimes referred to as discard-grade fibers.

In response to this misleading custom of linen producers, the Federal Trade Commission has ruled that plied yarn counts as only one thread when pertaining to thread count. While this has helped in creating a formal definition for thread count, the confusion does not end there. Now you might think that increased thread count means increased quality so long as the sheets are single ply. Wrong again.

Now that the market is concentrating more on singly ply sheets, manufacturers have come up with yet another deceptive strategy for cutting costs. By adding "picks" in the weft of a fabric (up to 8) producers are able to get a higher thread count per square inch even though it is actually diluting the quality. Sheets with multiple picks in the weft tend to have a courser texture. Linen manufacturers typically only have the capabilities to produce sheets with thread counts up to 400-600 that are singly ply and single pick. So, if a brand has single ply sheets with a very large thread count, that is a good sign that the sheets actually contain picks.

While there are many misleading brands and confusing advertisements surrounding bedding products, there are great sheets out there to be had if you know what to look for.

to see more : http://www.malouffinelinens.com/Blog/Misconceptions-about-high-thread-count/ 

FWI padding spring pic

bloom Box

Bloom Box: Electricity from thin air

By Dan Jones | 02/25/10 - 13:38

 

0digg

Bloom Box

OK so perhaps the title is slightly misleading, but an energy start-up has unveiled a new clean and affordable power generator the size of a parking space that can produce enough electricity to power 100 homes, by simply mixing natural or biogas with air.

The likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Colin Powell and the heads of Google and Walmart attended the launch of Bloom Energy's "Bloom Box", the eagerly anticipated 'energy server' that has created the sort of hype usually reserved for tech giants like Apple.

The newswires and blogospheres have been sizzling with talk of this "miracle" micro power plant, but in case you've missed all the hype Power & Energy Europe are here to give you the lowdown.

So, what's all the fuss about?

This is a potentially game-changing, nay, world-changing device that promises to house ample amounts of power in relatively tiny amounts of space for less than US$3,000 a unit (the one pictured in the thumb nail image is apparently enough to power a house).

A mini power station that runs round the clock producing 100 kilowatts of electricity by converting air and a fuel source such as natural gas or biogas into electricity via an electrochemical process instead of by burning the fuel. Even if it uses fossil fuel to generate power, it is still 67 percent cleaner than a typical coal-fired power plant, according to the company.

The e-Bay HQ, one of Bloom's first customers, was the setting for the Bloom Box's unveiling and company CEO KR Sridhar, a former NASA scientist, was visibly excited about showing his creation to the number of our world's technology leaders present as well as the eyes of the world.

"Compared to the US national grid, this is about twice as efficient," said Sridhar. "So your carbon footprint is about half. If you use a renewable fuel, you're carbon neutral." Sridhar has spent eight years developing the fuel cells and users include some of the world's biggest firms such as Google, Coca-Cola,FedEx, Staples and Wal-Mart.

Google was Bloom's very first customer and use four of its energy servers at Google HQ in Mountain View California.

"This is a product of the future"

The largest of the Bloom Boxes cost around $700,000 but will become far more cost-effective as more of the units are built at commercial scale. Sridhar said that customers with should expect to see a payback time of 3-5 years through electricity.

"In a few years, how we will use it is as a home energy server of the future - it simply has a solar panel and [Bloom Box], it will provide electricity day and night and also charge your automobile, you don't need a grid. This is a product of the future, a decade or so away."

It is still unclear whether the Bloom Box can live up to the hype, but if the likes of Google and the Governator are excited by it then things look promising.

Related Articles:

http://www.google.com/green/storyofsend/desktop/#/it-starts-with-send 

very informative.

LOAD LINEN TO FULL CAPACITY INTO WASHER EXTRACTOR 

1. to obtain higher productivity, 
2. to prevent unbalacing of drum, hence to prevent vibratiion of machine,
3. poly-cotton, synthetic could be underloaded to the extent it should not cramp into
machine, say 70-80% of capacity.
4. to specify linen, while loading used bed sheet, duvet covers, pillow cases, you may
load exact load capacity (100% load capacity utilisation), 
cotton towels may be loaded 110% of load capacity as it is already wet after use 
when it comes to laundry.
cotton F&B linen could be loaded 80-90% of load capacity as it is heavy soiled and 
need more space for beating
poly-cotton F&B linen could be loaded even lesser as they are lighter.
pure synthetic will load lesser as they are lighter than poly-cotton, @ 70% of load 
capacity or lesser.


Thankx: Kiran - linkedin discussion.

CENTRIFUGAL FORCE

Inhouse Laundry closes!!!

If a hotel starts out sourcing the Laundry service and closing down the entire laundry inhouse then hotel may face the following problems....

Emergency pressing (hourly),
Express Laundry service (within 3 - 4 hrs),
Repressing or Rewashing,
Guest Laundry damage and compensation,
Count missing,
Damage of linen,
Stain not removed (rewash),
Collection and delivery on time,
Linen Life,
Unnessacery stain and damage due to tranport and handling,
Increasing the par stock.
For first three, it is suggested that the hotel should have a minmum set up of small laundry having a washerextractor (heater inbuilt), dryer (heater inbuilt) and steam pressing table (boiler inbuilt).


For stain, linen damage, guest laundry damage and rewash the hotel and Laundry contrator has to arrive a metual aggrement and proceed further.

EN ISO Standards

• RAIN PROTECTION
  • EN 343
• COLD PROTECTION
  • EN 342
  • EN 14058
• HIGH-VISIBILITY
  • EN 471
• UV PROTECTION
  • EN13758-2
• ELECTROSTATIC ENVIRONMENTS
  • EN 1149
• CHEMICAL ENVIRONMENTS
  • Herbicides / pesticides
  • EN 13034
  • EN 14605
• ENTANGLEMENT WITH MOVING PARTS
  • EN 510
• HEAT & FLAME RETARDANCY
  • EN ISO 15025
  • EN ISO 14116
  • EN 367
  • EN ISO 6942
  • EN ISO 11612
  • Draft IEC 61482-2
  • EN ISO 11611
  • EN 13911
  • EN 469
  • EN 15614
  • SUCAM
• CHAINSAW PROTECTION
  • EN 381
  • EN 345
  • EN 388
• MARITIME ENVIRONMENTS
  • Solas regulation
  • EN ISO 12401
  • EN ISO 12402
• SURGICAL ENVIRONMENTS
  • EN 13795

ISO EN standards for Protective clothing.

EN 348 /ISO 9150

Small splashes of molten metal

To measure the ability of materials used for welders

clothing and gloves to shed the small splashes of

molten metal generated during welding.

EN 348 /ISO 9150 Video

EN 367 / ISO 9151

Convective heat transfer

A measure of the level of protection given

by fabrics when subjected to direct flame

impingement.

EN 366 /EN ISO 6942

Radiant heat transfer

A measure of the level of protection afforded

against radiant heat - a crucial test for firefighters

garments in particular.

EN 373 /ISO 9185

Molten metal splash

Fabrics used for clothing worn by

foundry workers can be evaluated

using this test in which various

molten metals are poured onto the

fabric.

EN 532 /EN ISO 15025

Flammability

As required for firefighters garments,

flame retardant coveralls and

welders boilersuits for example.

EN 702 /ISO 12127

Contact heat

Primarily used to measure the

maximum safe temperature of hot

objects that can be handled by

gloves.

Stainless Steel - Grade 304

Chemical Formula

Fe, <0.08% C, 17.5-20% Cr, 8-11% Ni, <2% Mn, <1% Si, <0.045% P, <0.03% S

Topics Covered

Background Key Properties Composition Mechanical Properties Physical Properties Grade Specification Comparison Possible Alternative Grades Corrosion Resistance Heat Resistance Heat Treatment Welding Machining Dual Certification Applications

Background

Grade 304 is the standard "18/8" stainless; it is the most versatile and most widely used stainless steel, available in a wider range of products, forms and finishes than any other. It has excellent forming and welding characteristics. The balanced austenitic structure of Grade 304 enables it to be severely deep drawn without intermediate annealing, which has made this grade dominant in the manufacture of drawn stainless parts such as sinks, hollow-ware and saucepans. For these applications it is common to use special "304DDQ" (Deep Drawing Quality) variants. Grade 304 is readily brake or roll formed into a variety of components for applications in the industrial, architectural, and transportation fields. Grade 304 also has outstanding welding characteristics. Post-weld annealing is not required when welding thin sections. Grade 304L, the low carbon version of 304, does not require post-weld annealing and so is extensively used in heavy gauge components (over about 6mm). Grade 304H with its higher carbon content finds application at elevated temperatures. The austenitic structure also gives these grades excellent toughness, even down to cryogenic temperatures.

Key Properties

These properties are specified for flat rolled product (plate, sheet and coil) in ASTM A240/A240M. Similar but not necessarily identical properties are specified for other products such as pipe and bar in their respective specifications. Composition Typical compositional ranges for grade 304 stainless steels are given in table 1. Table 1. Composition ranges for 304 grade stainless steel Grade C Mn Si P S Cr Mo Ni N 304 min. max. - 0.08 - 2.0 - 0.75 - 0.045 - 0.030 18.0 20.0 - 8.0 10.5 - 0.10 304L min. max. - 0.030 - 2.0 - 0.75 - 0.045 - 0.030 18.0 20.0 - 8.0 12.0 - 0.10 304H min. max. 0.04 0.10 - 2.0 - 0.75 -0.045 - 0.030 18.0 20.0 - 8.0 10.5 - Mechanical Properties Typical mechanical properties for grade 304 stainless steels are given in table 2. Table 2. Mechanical properties of 304 grade stainless steel Grade Tensile Strength (MPa) min Yield Strength 0.2% Proof (MPa) min Elongation (% in 50mm) min Hardness Rockwell B (HR B) max Brinell (HB) max 304 515 205 40 92 201 304L 485 170 40 92 201 304H 515 205 40 92 201 304H also has a requirement for a grain size of ASTM No 7 or coarser. Physical Properties Typical physical properties for annealed grade 304 stainless steels are given in table 3. Table 3. Physical properties of 304 grade stainless steel in the annealed condition Grade Density (kg/m3) Elastic Modulus (GPa) Mean Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (mm/m/°C) Thermal Conductivity (W/m.K) Specific Heat 0-100°C (J/kg.K) Electrical Resistivity (nW.m) 0-100°C 0-315°C 0-538°C at 100°C at 500°C 304/L/H 8000 193 17.2 17.8 18.4 16.2 21.5 500 720 Grade Specification Comparison Approximate grade comparisons for 304 stainless steels are given in table 4. Table 4. Grade specifications for 304 grade stainless steel Grade UNS No Old British Euronorm Swedish SS Japanese JIS BS En No Name 304 S30400 304S31 58E 1.4301 X5CrNi18-10 2332 SUS 304 304L S30403 304S11 - 1.4306 X2CrNi19-11 2352 SUS 304L 304H S30409 304S51 - 1.4948 X6CrNi18-11 - - These comparisons are approximate only. The list is intended as a comparison of functionally similar materials not as a schedule of contractual equivalents. If exact equivalents are needed original specifications must be consulted. Possible Alternative Grades Possible alternative grades to grade 304 stainless steels are given in table 5. Table 5. Possible alternative grades to 304 grade stainless steel Grade Why it might be chosen instead of 304 301L A higher work hardening rate grade is required for certain roll formed or stretch formed components. 302HQ Lower work hardening rate is needed for cold forging of screws, bolts and rivets. 303 Higher machinability needed, and the lower corrosion resistance, formability and weldability are acceptable. 316 Higher resistance to pitting and crevice corrosion is required, in chloride environments 321 Better resistance to temperatures of around 600-900°C is needed…321 has higher hot strength. 3CR12 A lower cost is required, and the reduced corrosion resistance and resulting discolouration are acceptable. 430 A lower cost is required, and the reduced corrosion resistance and fabrication characteristics are acceptable. Corrosion Resistance Excellent in a wide range of atmospheric environments and many corrosive media. Subject to pitting and crevice corrosion in warm chloride environments, and to stress corrosion cracking above about 60°C. Considered resistant to potable water with up to about 200mg/L chlorides at ambient temperatures, reducing to about 150mg/L at 60°C. Heat Resistance Good oxidation resistance in intermittent service to 870°C and in continuous service to 925°C. Continuous use of 304 in the 425-860°C range is not recommended if subsequent aqueous corrosion resistance is important. Grade 304L is more resistant to carbide precipitation and can be heated into the above temperature range. Grade 304H has higher strength at elevated temperatures so is often used for structural and pressure-containing applications at temperatures above about 500°C and up to about 800°C. 304H will become sensitised in the temperature range of 425-860°C; this is not a problem for high temperature applications, but will result in reduced aqueous corrosion resistance. Heat Treatment Solution Treatment (Annealing) - Heat to 1010-1120°C and cool rapidly. These grades cannot be hardened by thermal treatment. Welding Excellent weldability by all standard fusion methods, both with and without filler metals. AS 1554.6 pre-qualifies welding of 304 with Grade 308 and 304L with 308L rods or electrodes (and with their high silicon equivalents). Heavy welded sections in Grade 304 may require post-weld annealing for maximum corrosion resistance. This is not required for Grade 304L. Grade 321 may also be used as an alternative to 304 if heavy section welding is required and post-weld heat treatment is not possible. Machining A "Ugima" improved machinability version of grade 304 is available in bar products. "Ugima" machines significantly better than standard 304 or 304L, giving higher machining rates and lower tool wear in many operations. Dual Certification It is common for 304 and 304L to be stocked in "Dual Certified" form, particularly in plate and pipe. These items have chemical and mechanical properties complying with both 304 and 304L specifications. Such dual certified product does not meet 304H specifications and may be unacceptable for high temperature applications.

Applications Typical applications include: • Food processing equipment, particularly in beer brewing, milk processing & wine making. • Kitchen benches, sinks, troughs, equipment and appliances • Architectural panelling, railings & trim • Chemical containers, including for transport • Heat Exchangers • Woven or welded screens for mining, quarrying & water filtration • Threaded fasteners • Springs

Source: Atlas Steels Australia