§1633.7. Mattress test procedure. — Inbound Citations

(1) Test results and details of each test performed by or for that manufacturer (including failures), whether for qualification, confirmation, or production, in accordance with § 1633.7. Details shall include: name and complete physical address of test facility, type of test room, test room conditions, time that sample spent out of conditioning area before starting test, prototype or production identification number, and test data including the peak rate of heat release, total heat release in first 10 minutes, a graphic depiction of the peak rate of heat release and total heat release over time. These records shall include the name and signature of person conducting the test, the date of the test, and a certification by the person overseeing the testing as to the test results and that the test was carried out in accordance with the Standard. For confirmation tests, the identification number must be that of the prototype tested.

(i) A mattress set manufactured in accordance with a physician's written prescription or manufactured in accordance with other comparable written medical therapeutic specification, to be used in connection with the treatment or management of a named individual's physical illness or injury, shall be considered a “one of a kind mattress” and shall be exempt from testing under the Standard pursuant to § 1633.7 thereof: Provided, that the mattress set bears a permanent, conspicuous and legible label which states:

(r) Confirmation test means a pre-market test conducted by a manufacturer who is relying on a qualified prototype produced by another manufacturer or prototype developer. A confirmation test must be conducted in accordance with the procedures set forth in § 1633.7 and meet the criteria in § 1633.3(b).

(a) The test method set forth in § 1633.7 measures the flammability (fire test response characteristics) of a mattress specimen by exposing the specimen to a specified flaming ignition source and allowing it to burn freely under well-ventilated, controlled environmental conditions. The flaming ignition source shall be a pair of propane burners. These burners impose differing fluxes for differing times on the top and sides of the specimen. During and after this exposure, measurements shall be made of the time-dependent heat release rate from the specimen, quantifying the energy generated by the fire. The rate of heat release must be measured by means of oxygen consumption calorimetry.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b) of this section, each manufacturer shall cause three specimens of each prototype to be tested according to § 1633.7 and obtain passing test results according to § 1633.3(b) before selling or introducing into commerce any mattress set based on that prototype, unless the manufacturer complies with the prototype pooling and confirmation testing requirements in § 1633.5.

(3) The manufacturer producing mattress sets in reliance on a qualified prototype has performed a confirmation test on at least one (1) Specimen of the mattress set it produces in accordance with § 1633.7. The tested specimen must meet the criteria under § 1633.3(b) before any mattress sets based on the qualified prototype may be sold or introduced into commerce.

(b) Manufacturers are encouraged to conduct, as part of the quality assurance program, random testing of mattress sets being produced for sale according to the requirements of §§ 1633.3 and 1633.7.

(e) Just prior to moving the burner adjacent to the test specimen, briefly ignite each burner at the same time, and check that the propane flow to that burner is set at the appropriate level on its flowmeter to provide the flows listed in § 1633.7(a)(6)(x). Check that the timers for the burner exposures are set to 70 seconds for the top burner and 50 seconds for the side burner. For a new burner assembly, check the accuracy of the gas flow timers against a stop watch at these standard time settings. Set pilot flows to a level that will not cause them to impinge on sample surfaces.