Polystyrene and PVC wiring

I'd also like to know the answer to that ;-)

I was fixing the drooping roof lining to Mum / Dad's static caravan and apart from finding an empty mastic tube in the roof space I found a bit of T&E that had eaten it's way into the polystyrene?

I pulled them apart and the T&E 'seemed' ok but could it be contamninated?

All the best ..

T i m

Other way round -- the plasticiser will have left the PVC and gone into the polystyrene. It makes the PVC harder, and more likely to crack if bent. Having said that, I've never found a case where it's taken enough of the plasticiser out to make a noticable difference.

Sounds like the T&E had got rather warm and sunk into the now soft polystyrene. If there is any chance this could be the case I recommend that you check the circuit protection rating.

Matt

polystyrene bubbles. Stored in admitedly hot conditions (50C) the bubbles had melted to a horrible gunge before I openned them at 5 Years

The Q

No heat is required for PVC to appear to 'melt' into polystyrene.

That's scary; it suggests there is chemistry going on - although we know there is some where the plasticiser migrates into the polystyrene, but maybe even more is involved. Sounds like more reason to keep the two apart.

Matt

Polystyrene isn't very strong. In foam form, it's a thin net of bubbles held together by the strength of the walls. If you plasticise the walls then it just collapses.