Rubberrubber

EPDM Rubber

The weather elastomer. Steam, hot water, ozone and UV leave it alone, so it takes the outdoor and water-side duties that destroy nitrile — at the cost of any tolerance for oil at all.

Stock forms — Sheet, moulded washer section and extruded cordtmoulded or calenderedsheetODCSwasher⌀ dcord
EPDM Rubber — stock formsSymbols only — no stock sizes are published

Properties

Family
Rubber
Category
rubber
Density
0.86 g/cm³ · 860 kg/m³

Densityhow epdm rubber compares

Density of EPDM Rubber — 0.86 g/cm³EPDM Rubber0.86Water1.00Aluminium2.700369g/cm³
0.86 g/cm³ — 860 kg/m³Water 1.00 · Aluminium 2.70

Rubber propertiesEthylene propylene diene monomer rubber · family range, not a compound guarantee

ASTM designation
EPDM · D2000 AA, BA
Shore A hardness
70 · the sealing default, selected for the gland rather than the polymer
Service temperature
-57 to 150 °C · -71 to 302 °F
Typical media
Water, steam, glycol, brake fluid, ozone; never petroleum oil

Family screening range from Parker O-Ring Handbook ORD 5700, §2.2 — the range for the polymer family, not for any one compound. Within a family the filler and cure system move the limit by tens of degrees, so the compound data sheet governs the finished part.

The grey figures are converted at °F = °C × 9/5 + 32; the Celsius numbers are the published ones.

Applicationswhere epdm rubber is normally specified

Weatherstrip and window sealsRoofing membranesWater and steam gasketsCoolant hoseOutdoor vibration mounts

Service & sealingtrade experience, not measured values

Oil & fuel
None — this is the constraint, not a trade-off. It swells badly in petroleum oils, diesel and grease, so it never seals a hydrocarbon.
Weather & ozone
The best of the common rubbers. Ozone, UV, ageing and hot water all leave it intact, which is why it owns outdoor weatherstrip and roofing.
Sealing
Static joints in water, steam and glycol: gaskets, weatherstrip, pipe seals, roofing laps. Not a dynamic seal, and always with a clamped joint rather than a staked one.

These lines are not measurements: no units, no single source. They describe how the family is generally found to behave — which media it survives and what it will seal — rather than what any one compound is guaranteed to do. The media a joint will meet decides the family before the temperature does.

Practical notes

  • Never put it in contact with petroleum oil, diesel or grease
  • The lightest of the common rubbers — and the one that takes the most filler
  • Standard material for weatherstrip, water seals and roofing membranes

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