Fosroc Lokfix E55S
A low-odour, styrene-free vinyl-ester cartridge system for medium-to-heavy-duty anchoring of rebar, threaded rod and fixings into cracked and un-cracked concrete and masonry.
What is it?
A two-component, styrene-free vinyl-ester resin supplied in a 300 ml coaxial cartridge with a static mixer nozzle. It cures rapidly to bond threaded rod, rebar and fixings into drilled holes.
Where is it used?
Post-installed rebar starter bars, structural steel base plates, handrails, facade and cladding brackets, MEP and equipment supports, in solid concrete, solid brick and masonry.
Why use it?
It carries ETA approval for cracked concrete, C1 seismic resistance and up to a 2-hour fire rating, while its styrene-free, low-VOC formulation keeps odour low enough for occupied and enclosed spaces.
How is it applied?
Drill and clean the hole (blow-brush-blow), load the cartridge into a standard skeleton gun, discard the first pull until the resin runs an even grey, inject from the base of the hole, then set and adjust the fixing within the gel time.
About Fosroc Lokfix E55S
Fosroc Lokfix E55S is the styrene-free vinyl-ester grade in Fosroc’s chemical anchoring range, aimed at the medium-to-heavy-duty fixings that turn up on almost every construction site: rebar dowels for slab and beam extensions, holding-down bolts for steel columns, brackets for facades and cladding, and supports for mechanical and plumbing services. It arrives as a single 300 ml coaxial cartridge that runs in an ordinary skeleton gun, so there is no proportioning pump, no mixing pot and no separate primer to manage on site. Because the resin is styrene-free and low-VOC, the sharp solvent smell associated with older polyester and vinyl-ester anchors is largely absent, which matters when you are drilling and injecting inside stairwells, plant rooms, basements or occupied buildings.
For a distributor audience in India, the appeal of the E55S grade is that it is genuinely code-relevant, not just a convenient adhesive. It holds a European Technical Assessment covering use in both cracked and un-cracked concrete, carries C1 seismic resistance, and is fire rated for up to two hours, so it stands up to the questions a structural consultant or third-party checker will ask on a serious project. It also performs across dry, damp and even water-filled holes, which is realistic for Indian sites where a freshly cored hole is rarely bone dry. Space Arc Engineering supplies genuine, batch-traceable Fosroc stock across Delhi NCR and pan-India, with the technical backup to help you pick embedment depths and loads for a specific fixing rather than guessing from the carton.
The technical insight
A chemical anchor works by bond, not by wedging. When the two components meet in the static mixer nozzle, the vinyl-ester resin and hardener react and cure inside the annular gap between the steel and the concrete, gripping the roughened hole wall and the threads or ribs of the fixing along their full embedded length. Load is transferred as shear across that bonded interface rather than as an outward splitting force, which is why a bonded anchor can be placed far closer to a slab edge or to a neighbouring bolt than an expansion anchor without cracking the concrete. Vinyl-ester chemistry is what lets E55S sit in the useful middle of the range: it cures faster and tolerates damp and water-filled holes better than a pure epoxy, giving a quicker return to service, while still reaching a cured compressive strength of the order of 100 MPa. The trade-off is that hole cleaning becomes the single biggest variable in the result. Drilling dust left on the wall acts as a bond-breaker, so the specified blow-brush-blow routine and the correct oversize drill bit are not optional refinements but the difference between the tabulated capacity and a fixing that pulls out under load.
Where it is used
- Post-installed rebar starter bars and dowels for extending slabs, beams and columns
- Holding-down and anchor bolts for structural steelwork base plates
- Threaded rod and internal sleeve anchors for suspended MEP services and equipment
- Handrail, balustrade and safety-barrier post fixings
- Facade, cladding and curtain-wall support brackets
- Fixings into cracked and un-cracked concrete where an ETA-approved anchor is required
- Anchoring into solid brick and masonry with the relevant method statement
- Horizontal, vertical and overhead fixings, including internal, external and submerged conditions
Key advantages
- Styrene-free and low-VOC, so odour stays low in enclosed and occupied spaces
- ETA-approved for use in cracked as well as un-cracked concrete
- C1 seismic resistance and fire performance rated up to 2 hours
- Cures in dry, damp and water-filled holes for a rapid return to service
- High bond strength that lets fixings sit close to edges and to each other
- Runs from a standard 300 ml skeleton gun with no extra mixing equipment
- Applies no expansive force, reducing the risk of splitting thin or edge concrete
- Nozzle is re-usable within pot life by swapping the static mixer
Limitations & considerations
- Rated capacities only hold if the hole is cleaned exactly per the blow-brush-blow routine; leftover dust is the usual cause of pull-out failures
- A partly used cartridge cures inside the old mixer, so a fresh nozzle is needed for each work session
- Gel and cure times shorten in hot weather and lengthen in the cold, so pot life must be judged against ambient and cartridge temperature
- For the highest sustained loads and the most demanding chemical or thermal exposure, a pure-epoxy grade such as Lokfix E77 is the stronger choice
- Manufacturer performance tables cover dry un-cracked concrete; cracked, seismic, masonry and submerged cases require the relevant method statement or design software
- Not a cosmetic or structural repair mortar and should not be used to fill large voids or reinstate cover concrete
Selection & best practice
Match the drill bit and cleaning brush to the fixing before you start: the hole diameter is the rod diameter plus 2 mm for threaded rod and plus 4 mm for rebar, and the wire brush should be rod diameter plus 4 mm. After drilling, clean rigorously; blow the hole clear four times, brush it out four times, then blow four more times, repeating until no dust is visible, because trapped dust is the single biggest cause of reduced capacity. Keep the cartridge between roughly +15 and +30 degrees C for smooth extrusion and predictable gel time, and discard the first few pulls until the resin extrudes an even, uniform grey. Inject from the back of the hole and withdraw the nozzle slowly to avoid trapping air, insert the fixing with a slow turning motion to coat the full embedment, then leave it undisturbed until fully cured before applying load. Confirm embedment depth, edge distance and torque against the Fosroc method statement or design software for the actual load case rather than working from generic figures, and allow longer cure times in cold or wet conditions.
Specifications
| Product type | Two-component styrene-free vinyl-ester resin chemical anchor |
| Cured compressive strength | Approx. 100 MPa |
| Cartridge size | 300 ml coaxial cartridge with static mixer nozzle |
| Anchor range | Threaded rod M8-M30; rebar Ø8-Ø32 mm (masonry M8-M12) |
| Substrates | Solid, porous and lightweight concrete, solid brick and masonry |
| Approvals | ETA to EAD 330499 (cracked & un-cracked concrete) and EAD 330076 (masonry) |
| Seismic / fire | C1 seismic resistance; fire rated up to 2 hours (120 min) |
| Hole conditions | Dry, damp and water-filled holes; internal, external and submerged |
| Application temperature | Cartridge best used between +15 and +30 degrees C |
Industry use cases
Structural steel & industrial plant
Anchoring base-plate holding-down bolts and equipment frames where seismic-rated, close-to-edge fixings are needed in existing concrete.
Building extension & retrofit
Drilling in post-installed rebar starter bars to tie new slabs, beams and columns into an existing structure without splitting the parent concrete.
Facade & cladding
Fixing curtain-wall, cladding and stone support brackets to concrete and masonry, including overhead and external exposed positions.
MEP & services fit-out
Setting threaded rod and sleeve anchors for suspended ducting, pipework and heavy equipment inside plant rooms and basements where low odour matters.
Infrastructure & water-retaining works
Anchoring railings, barriers and fittings in damp or submerged conditions on bridges, tanks and below-grade structures.
Frequently asked questions
Is Lokfix E55S an epoxy?
Can it be used in cracked concrete and seismic zones?
Will it work in a wet or water-filled hole?
How do I clean the hole and which drill bit do I use?
How many fixings does one 300 ml cartridge do?
What is the shelf life and how is it stored?
How we position Fosroc Lokfix E55S
Lokfix E55S is the low-odour, ETA-approved workhorse of Fosroc’s anchoring range, ideal for the bulk of rebar and bolt fixings on a project. Where a job calls for maximum load capacity or heavier chemical and thermal exposure, step up to the pure-epoxy Fosroc Lokfix E77; where a similar vinyl-ester grade is already specified, Lokfix E55 is the closely related option. Pair the anchoring package with Fosroc’s cementitious grouts such as Conbextra for base-plate bedding, and with the Renderoc and Nitobond repair range where the surrounding concrete needs reinstating first. Across our wider portfolio, Sika AnchorFix chemical anchors and Hilti-equivalent systems give consultants an alternative brand line, while for deeper crack and structural repair we can specify from the MC-Bauchemie and Dr. Fixit ranges alongside the Fosroc solution.
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