Justin Caradoc Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 I was going through the safty tips and decided to look for a respirator for when I start welding. I found alot of disposable respirators but none that were perminent with replaceable filters. Does anyone know if they make these for metal fumes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Why try to filter it so you can breathe bad air? Weld outside when possible, and get a BIG FAN and blow the air shoulder to shoulder and into the next zip code. Mig, Tig, and other gas shielded welding takes a different approach but the idea is the same, get rid of the bad air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCal Dave Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Most welding schools and welding suppliers use flexible exhaust tubing, next to the welding material, to suck away the fumes. Or, as suggested, use a fan to blow the fumes away from you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 If after considering the good advice already given, you still want a mask, check with a industrial safety house, industrial welding house or supply house. Granger, Fasinal, Napa etc. You can even get masks similar to a fire fighters SCBA, for welding inside tanks and presher vessels. Silicates from the flux is bad news Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptree Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 As an industrial safety guy I can offer the following; A. Respirators are the last choice for defense against weld fume. Remove the fume is the better choice. Most folks don't wear a respirator correctly, some have facial hair, and some folks don't have the healthy respiratory system to allow safe wear of a filtering respirator with overtaxing them. B. That said, there are cases where a respirator is the only choice, like in confined spaces. There are several designs of respirator, like Half face full faced supplied air ETC. All need to be properly sized and fit tested to actually provide the protection. c. The correct filter type is rated for Weld fume, NIOSH rated if in the US. I use a P-100, HEPA filter as that is the highest rated filter particulate which weld fume is. It is also rated for asbestos and radionuclie and is permissible for use around oil mist. D. There are NO paper masks, even those marked with a NIOSH stamp and 2 straps that are safe as a weld mask. They are a simple Nusiance dust mask, and should never ever be depended on to protect from any real threat in the air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Caradoc Posted December 28, 2012 Author Share Posted December 28, 2012 Thank you very much for the replies. I just figured out a new use for my squirrel cage blowers and will be welding outside with good cross breeze and my blowers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenbeast Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 i have a powered positive air pressure respirator, not only is the air taken from behind you (belt mounted filter/fan unit), it doesn't have to fit as well as the face masks because of the pressure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptree Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 The powered air purefying respirators are very good, reducing the load on the respiratory system to pull the air through the filters and since the inside to the mask is positive pressure in relation to atmosphere the protective realized is better than a standard mask. Drawbacks: Cost In the US $1000+ new Weight, the barttery pack is a little heavy. More effort to don, so not as quick for a quick little job, and so tempting to skip for a quick job. My goal, OSHA driven is to always first engineer out the hazard, IE exhaust the fume, PPE second. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 Since it has been a while, let me say, on behalf of the community and staff of I forge Iron Thank you ptree for taking the time to give your professional, and long studied replies offered to improve the safe working practices of our caft. Too often work like yours goes unthanked, and unappreciated, so Thank you very much for your assistance to us all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 I second that Steve! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptree Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 You are welcome. Always glad to help. There is someone on this site that has the real skinny on any subject asked, And all of us giving of our experience is what makes the site useful and a valuable resource. If I needed electrical advice on how to wire a shop, Steve as an electrician would be my goto for advice as an example. Happy New Year to all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Caradoc Posted December 30, 2012 Author Share Posted December 30, 2012 Thank you very much for all the information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Without trying to over simplify the issue, a fan placed nearby, but facing away from the welding point, will suck smoke away just like an exhaust hose. Where I worked, we had fans mounted on 3 legged, wheeled frames. the fans pointed at the floor and were short enough to roll right under where we welded. They worked so well, that in the summer time when drenched with sweat, you could feel the air being sucked past your face even behind your shield, pulling any smoke down and away with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry H Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 I've been using a Racal PAPR, cost $1,800, now they don't make batteries or chargers for my model, tomorrow I'm going to the welding supply to pick up a different brand, they range $1,089 to $ $1899....I'll let you know what I end up with Just left the welding supply, they have a Jackson airmax on sale for $ 500....a dozen extra filters...$231.00 three face seals , $ 52.00 Extra battery $ 131.00, throw in 4 pair 12 LC vise grips, total $ 977.00, at least it's less than I thought Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Menard Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 When I need to use a metal fume respirator I use one I get from my welding supply house. It is made by 3-M, model 6391/07003(AAD) and costs around $20.00 It comes with metal fume cartridges and can easy changed to organic vapor cartridges which are for painting, and other uses. The 1/2 face piece with cartridges attached easily fits under the welding helmet and it is comfortable for extended use. Bob Menard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crappiekiller Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 Strange to me that this will be my first post ever to this forum but this topic is interesting to me. I welded for about the first 10 years that I was in the working world. For the first few years I was doing mostly TIG work; Stellite hard facing, Inconel, some Titanium, all on aircraft parts, then in an oilfield equipment shop working purely on stainless. After that I rounded out my career working on stainless pipe and then big vessels that were carbon. I didn't go to welding school and nobody ever advised me to wear a respirator or mask when welding or grinding. Recently I've been bitten with this knife making bug. I've watched all these videos on YouTube, and dug through all these forums for all the info I could gather. One common thing I see is these guys grinding knives while wearing a respirator. So the point of my post is this, if there is some inherent danger to the respiratory system due to grinding steel, someone needs to get this information out to the welding community! I'm starting to wonder if this has anything to do with why I'm so easily winded and if I screwed myself up welding and running angle grinders for so long without protection.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Menard Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 I would think the "welding community" should have gotten the memo by now about the hazards associated with the processes. I suspect that even when presented with the facts most commerical welders would opt out on respriratory protection. Excuses like it is uncomfortable, it is a pain to maintain,(IE wash it once in a while), the cost. The business owner complaints would likely include the costs of fit testing. With these challanges it is easier to have people just filter their air through a cigerette filter and negelect to mention the effect of metal and fumes on respriatory health. Knifemakers on the other hand have gotten the memo and grinding a blade is only part of the work that goes into the finished product. Most knifemakers aren't wearing a mask all day. They also can expose themselves to other toxins not the least of which include some woods with toxic sawdust. I have always felt that if a previous employer was not giving me safety gear I felt I needed, I supplied my own. Ones health is ones own responsibility. The information is out there thanks to Califorina. It just needs to be a priority. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crappiekiller Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 I hear ya Bob, but honestly it isn't even discussed in most welding shops, or wasn't when I was welding and it hasn't been that long. One place I worked provided us with suction in our booths via a dust collection system, it did a pretty good job of sucking up smoke and fumes as well as dust. That was an aircraft shop though and everything was clean and shiny. No other shop I've ever worked in has provided any such protection nor any information. With the large number of older more experienced guys around me not wearing any sort of respiratory protection, it never dawned on me that there was anything to be concerned about. I was welding up some galvanized material building a gate or something for my boss once and one of the older guys came over and tapped me on the shoulder and told me to make sure I ground off as much of the galvanizing around the weld area as I could and to flip a fan on "so as not to have to breathe that stinky crap" as he so eloquently put it. Never dawned on me that I was working with something that could potentially kill me till much later. Maybe welding schools and tech schools teach these things but self taught welders are on their own for the most part. I agree that one's health is one's own responsibility, but without knowing, one could get themselves in a world of hurt at the request of one's employer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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