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Zinc coating (dumb newbie question)


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Hi all

I'm very new to this and am just finding my way around. I have a large steel pipe fence that I want to use and cut up. The problem is is that on the inside of the pipes (the outside is painted) are dark grey and show barely any corrosion, just little flecks of rust.

Anyway I have read about the fume fevers you can get when working with this stuff and I want to be as safe as possible when it comes to that. How can I tell if this is coated with zinc or not? I can't really get in there to look since it's a 2" wide pipe, nor can I file it off.

Sorry if this is comes off as a dumb question, but I really want to begin without getting sick from fumes. I can't wait to join your forum also, it looks like a great place :)

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If you're not sure how to determine if a piece of steel is galvanized, place a small sample in a bowl of vinegar. If the steel begins to give off bubbles after a little bit, the specimen has a zinc coating.

If it is galvy, you can strip the coating with vinegar or another weak acid. File/sand between acid baths to make sure you get all of it.

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  • 1 month later...

Zinc fumes aren't just dangerous, they're downright deadly. People have died from doing less than cooking zinc off of a few fence posts.
The most I do with galvanized is through 4 inch lag bolts (making wedges for hammer heads, i still prefer un-galvanized), 1 lag bolt in at a time to cook off the coating. Even this little bit kills my fire to the point where forge welding is hopeless.

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Jerome, you might want to do a little research before you start spreading erroneous information. Zinc fumes are not good for you but they are not deadly. You might check out some of the posts in the safety section of this forum, or do a google search on metal fume fever.

http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/8272-galvanized-zinc-fumes-and-milk/

http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/8289-zinc-cadmium-hydrogen-fluoride-and-other-toxic-compounds/

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Woody you might want to do a little research before you start spreading erroneous information.
I had a friend who died when his metal fume fever morphed into pneumonia. Paw Paw Wilson.

There were contributing factors; but Paw Paw most likely would still be around if he hadn't gotten Metal Fume Fever.

I prefer to err on the side of safety than to be asked to give the farewell toast for another smithing friend at Quad-State.

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Thomas Paw Paw had COPD, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease from Smoking, the same as my Wife Candy who died a short while before Paw Paw. In Paw Paw's case the zinc fumes aggrivated his condition but to say zinc fumes are deadly is erroneous information. Paw Paw most likely would still be around if he hadn't had COPD. And if you would care to read the two articles I posted, I have done more than a little research. This is the reason I contribute so little to this site anymore. People would rather know what they know than be confused by facts.

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Woody when my Dr says that the Flu can be deadly as it can lead to pneumonia I don't tell him no it's not. I accept that fact that it's the secondary infection that kills but it's set up for by the primary infection.
(and I get a shot for *both*---as an insulin dependent diabetic my immune system is considered dicey anyway; I was out for a month with pneumonia once and never want to repeat it no matter *what* was the original cause probably legionella)

I've had a student spend a week in the hospital from Metal Fume Fever, a young healthy 19 year old kid who didn't heed my warning. No it didn't kill him he was still a young healthy kid when he got out with a massive unpaid hospital bill as he had no insurance.

As stated I prefer to err on the side of caution and if no smith ends up with metal fume fever ever again I will not be upset. My grandfather smoked unfiltered camels for over 50 years and had no signs of cancer when he died. I don't suggest to others that *they* try the experiment.

If you care to read the threads you mentioned you will find out that I posted to one of them and so HAVE read it. The other I thought was adequately replied to by another at that time.

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If you health is already comprimised then zinc fumes can have a more sever effect because they lead to other complications as they can aggrivate existing conditions however one cannot use the exception to prove the rule. Nowhere did I advocate breathing zinc fumes I only said they aren't "deadly" which has already been proven otherwise there would be thousands of dead welders with milk on their breath. Seems like this site is supposed to pride itself on the accuracy of information and every time someone tries to get information accurate someone else takes the wildest exception, adds in all sorts of modifying factors and tries to pass that off as the norm. Perhaps we need to anneal it 3 times, normalize it 7462 times, quench it 556 times and temper it at 375 for 3 3 hour cycles. see the following link for metal fume fever http://www.aws.org/technical/facts/FACT-25.pdf

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We seem to be looking at this from different angles "They aren't deadly because most folks don't die from them" and "They can be deadly because some folks can end up dead from them"

Sort of like "You can't drown swimming because most folk don't" vs "You can drown swimming because some folk do"

I have never said that *All* exposures to ZnO result in death. Though if you read the Australian government site they do mention that ZnO seems to have a worsening affect on CO clearance another issue with smiths.

I have an old weldor friend who has gone through metal fume fever a bunch of times and his description of it is profane and graphic in the extreme. mentions one time he was cutting off a galvanized well head down in a large pipe and had to have his 14 year old nephew drive the work truck home as he was too busy tossing his cookies.

Shall we agree that, in general, breathing ZnO is a bad idea and should be avoided? Some folks may counsel avoiding it more strongly than others *AND* if effects some people more than others---probably the base of all human experience---your mileage may vary!

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Saying that exposure to zinc fumes will not kill you is like saying that smog or CO will not kill you. Some live with it daily with no apparent ill effects, some die sooner or later, some carry the weight of profound health effects around forever. YMMV

Depends on lots of factors. General age and health, exposure intensity, duration and amounts, individual resistance factors, care and treatment. Your lungs are one of the most sensitive organs, and a very efficient pathway to absorb toxins.

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Actually another way to look at this thread is that there are a few knowledgeable poeple on here in a well thought out discussion about something that is of great concern to anyone. This has surfaced this issue once again and likely more folks will learn from it. I hope that those new to this craft will certainly see thta there is simply no sense in trying to reinvent the wheel...If it is coated with galvanize and will be heated replace it with something uncoated.

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If it's galvanized, I move on. The way I look at it is, could I get away with it? Possibly. Is it worth the risk? No, because if I lose the bet I lose my life, either 6 feet under, or laid up and unable to work anymore. So the risk vs reward is too bad. If the only risk was "Would I have to replace a piece of equipment?" then I might take a chance depending on the circumstances. But I never gamble with my life or health, because even if the odds are decent, if I do something enough times, I'll come up on the short end eventually.
But I can only choose for me, you have to choose for yourself. Is your life and health worth the risk to save a buck or two or the inconvenience of finding another piece of steel to work? You are the only one who can answer that question, and you are the one who will live or die with the consequences. And that goes for more than just burning galvanized.

This is not a dumb question! It is far better to ask, and learn something. You are obviously making an effort to learn having read up on it a bit, and I encourage you to continue to do so. I never have a problem with someone asking a genuine question and trying to learn, my problem is with the guy who "knows it all" and never learns :)

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Hi all

I'm very new to this and am just finding my way around. I have a large steel pipe fence that I want to use and cut up. The problem is is that on the inside of the pipes (the outside is painted) are dark grey and show barely any corrosion, just little flecks of rust.

Anyway I have read about the fume fevers you can get when working with this stuff and I want to be as safe as possible when it comes to that. How can I tell if this is coated with zinc or not? I can't really get in there to look since it's a 2" wide pipe, nor can I file it off.

Sorry if this is comes off as a dumb question, but I really want to begin without getting sick from fumes. I can't wait to join your forum also, it looks like a great place :)


The ONLY dumb question is the one you DID'NT ask before you hurt yourself !!!!
My $.02
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