EN511 – Protection against cold

The standard EN511:2006 is designed for gloves which are used to protect against cold, representing a glove’s insulative performance when working in cold temperatures or wet environments.

The standard is broken down into 3 areas (seen to the right), with the first two elements being scored from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 4, depending on the level of protection the glove carries. This is defined by each individual test result. The last test is either a pass (1) or fail (X).

Gloves which have undergone EN511 tests will bear the snowflake shield to the right on either the outer of the product or on the label inside. Not all parts of the test must be completed – only those relevant to the product – however, any areas not tested should bare an X as opposed to a number.

Convective Cold

To carry our the Convective Cold test, a glove is placed onto an electrically heated former. This former measures the amount of power required to maintain between 30 and 35^oC in a controlled environment ‘chamber’. The chamber is then cooled down to 20^oC lower than the temperature of the heated former, and a constant convective airflow is applied.

The outcome of the test is determined by the level of electrical power required to maintain a constant temperature gradient between the atmosphere in the chamber and the surface of the heated former and, the more power required, the lower the insulative properties.

See below the brackets for each score – from 1 to 4 – based on the Thermal Insulation (TR) in m2^oC/W:

1. Equal to or more than 0.10 ITR, but less than 0.15
2. Equal to or more than 0.15 ITR, but less than 0.22
3. Equal to or more than 0.22 ITR, but less than 0.30
4. Equal to or more than 0.30 ITR

Contact Cold

In this test, the glove is places between 2 metal plates with different temperatures. The performance level of ‘thermal resistance’ is calculated by the temperature drop across the test specimen (the glove) and the metric is Thermal Insulation (R) in m2^oC/W.

The temperature brackets for this test – from 1 to 4 – are:

1. Equal to or more than 0.025 R, but less than 0.050
2. Equal to or more than 0.050 R, but less than 0.100
3. Equal to or more than 0.100 R, but less than 0.150
4. Equal to or more than 0.150 R

Water Permeability

The Water Permeability test has only 2 outcomes, Pass or Fail.

During this test, the glove is submerged into water for 5 minutes. If the glove acts as a barrier and blocks water from entering the glove for a minimum of 30 minutes, the test is passed.

If you are interested more information on the above standard, or on any of our thermal or waterproof gloves, you can contact us via the below:

Call – 01653 617718
Email – sales@just1source.com