welding respirator

[hill.josh]

Does anyone know which type of welding respirator to use? I'm not a heavy welder obviously.. if that helps. Just figured breathing in the fumes isn't a great idea haha. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Woody]

Ask your local safety supply store or a place like Linweld they have reference material that will tell you what you need. Don't rely on the clerk at Lowes, or someplace like that to know what is needed.

Remember that a respirator does not make air, it only a limited amount of contaminants out of what is there. Most air purifying respirators have a protection factor of 10, that is they will protect you from a maximum concentration of contaminant up to 10 times the premissible exposure limit (PEL). That means if the PEL is 10 ppm, the respirator would protect you in an atmosphere up to 100 ppm.

When selecting a respirator, one size does not fit all. You have to be fitted for a respriator and go through a fit test procedure to ensure that the respirator seals to your face completely.

Additionally you need to know what contaminants you will be dealing with in order to select the proper filter cartridge. It is not a go to the hardware store, buy one and put it on type of deal. There are different canisters for different contaminants.

The little dust maks things they sell are great for protecting you from the dust of mowing your lawn, but as far as protecting you from any chemical contaminants, they are equally effective whether worn on the face or stuffed in your back pocket.

Know the material you are welding on and also read the MSDS for the welding rod you are using.

Edited October 6, 2008 by Woody
add info

[Ted T]

hill.josh
You hit my button with this post!
This is information you might consider, and then follow upon by your self to see if you think it is true or not.
The issue about getting enough clean air to breathe while welding has been talked about several times before.
It is my belief that most small welding shops (garages) air filtration / ventilation systems are not set up properly.
The person who is welding needs to have air that is clean enough “All the Time” so they are not slowly damaging their body over a longer period of time.
Just because they “feel good now” does not mean they are not causing damage that may show up later in life, and then they “feel bad” and not know why!

Question: Does the following look familiar to you?
CAUTION Welding may produce fumes and gases hazardous to health. Avoid breathing these fumes and gases. Use adequate ventilation. Use USA standard Z49.1. "Safety in Welding and Cutting" Published by the American Welding Society.
Remember: Words have meaning!
There are a lot of varying opinions about how to get enough acceptable clean air to breathe while welding.
It is such a serious problem for me, that I will not make this issue something that I am willing to argue about, I automatically choose to error on the side of safety.
I strongly recommend that you study about it yourself, do not trust just anybody with your life.
I am no longer willing to take someone’s untested opinion that they may express as though it is fact, and then do what “they” said to do, just because nothing has ever happened to them ….. YET!
It is also the long term health issues of your life that you must consider.
I know that if I choose to disregard what I have learned about safety, it is only my self and my family who may suffer from my decision.
The rest of the world will still go on without me as though I had never existed.

A person has to take personal responsibility for safety in their shop. I started welding back in about 1954, and have had to learn the hard way about not taking safety precautions.
As I type this response note, I am having very hard time breathing. In fact, I have only had about 3-hous sleep in the last 48 hours. When I lay down, I can hardly breathe at all.
So maybe you will understand why I am so passionate about warning you to be careful.
This is not a subject to be taken lightly!
So, here is a short article that you may want to contemplate about “Welding Fume Exposure”. There is so much more to study. This is just an example of what has been written about the subject.
“Welding has been linked to debilitating neurological injuries. In 2003 HSBC estimated around 800,000 US workers may have been injured by welding or welding related activities.
Manganism, Parkinson's disease, and Parkinsonism are permanent and progressive neurologic diseases that materialize after inhaling welding byproducts (i.e. manganese fumes or particulate matter). These neurological diseases may not develop until years after exposure and can become worse over time. Recent studies indicate welders or persons surrounded by welding fumes may be affected by Parkinson's disease up to 16 years younger than the general population. With regular exposure, manganese poisoning can occur within as little as 49 days, but most often these symptoms are not fully actualized until several years later”.
I believe a person needs to do a valid (educated) evaluation about what their needs are in order to provide safe breathing air in their shop welding space.
So here are some questions you may want to ask you’re self, but do not limit your questions to the following:
1. Have you taken the time and effort to study the necessary information to know if your air turn over is sufficient or not, or are you giving it a “Good Old Boy” guess?
2. Do you truly understand exactly how efficient your shop ventilates welding fumes?
3. Is it enough?
4. Do you read and understand the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) about the welding rod and materials that you use?
5. Is your welding area considered safe by OSHA standards, or is it considered a confined area?
6. Have you considered installing some type of Fume Extractor or well designed air evacuation system?
If you value your long term health and welfare, please be pro-active about installing your solution.

Well here is my confession: My doctor said that my lungs have become toast from years of welding and now I have COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). It is not fun. By all means avoid it.
I don't want to quit welding yet, so after a lot of study, this is one thing I did.
I bought a Lincoln Electric’s MINIFLEX (K2376-1) Portable Welding Fume Extractor.
If something like this it interests you, then you should consider reviewing what your needs are, vs. what solutions may be available to you.
Unless it is done properly, most people are not getting enough air turned over as they may think they are getting by just opening a door or window, or both.
This is something I feel everybody needs to study on their own and become fully informed about if they are really serious about getting clean air.
The more I study about it; I have come to a conclusion (my belief only) that it requires a combination of actions to make sure your getting good air.
I know this is a lengthy response, but it is a very serious issue, and you blacksmiths and welders are very important to me.
ABC ~ Always Be Careful
Ted Throckmorton

Edited October 6, 2008 by Ted T
Spelling, english, and ...... you know what I mean!

[hill.josh]

thanks ALOT for all the info Woody and Ted. This probably kept me from getting some lung disease or breathing disorder..
I was wondering if i were to set up something kinda like a scuba system just drawing air from the outside and pushing the contaminated air out the other direction. Any ideas about that? in case I were to need to weld in a closed space. And as well I live in the middle of suburbia so is there any risk of messing other people up? cause that would suck.

[Woody]

An adequate ventilaton system is a definate plus, they also make powered air purifying respirators that have a blower and hose that supplies air to the face piece but still this only filters the air that is available. Get the Material Safety Data Sheets for the welding rods you are using and read them carefully if there is anything that you don't understand please feel free to contact me via the message service on this site leave your email address and I will get back to you.

Edited October 7, 2008 by Woody

[Woody]

You might want to check Blueprint 170 Toxicology

[drone]

Wow great insight on this sobering topic. I have been welding most of my life and will continue to do so. i want to be proactive like ted-t suggest. i had never wore a respirator except when welding galvanized steel for an extended period of time but recently started. It is a respirator that is made for particulate matter in the smoke. I also use a dust mask when i grind. Dust from grinding wheels and the metal it chews up is hell on your lungs. I dont want to deal with these type of complications later on in life. Peter

[Glenn]

Why work in a closed area, generating pollutants when you can just take it outside? Just plug in a BIG FAN to move the nasty stuff into the neighbors yard. (grin)

[hill.josh]

Why work in a closed area, generating pollutants when you can just take it outside? Just plug in a BIG FAN to move the nasty stuff into the neighbors yard. (grin)

haha yea they'd have an issue with the BIG FAN though since it isn't up to neighborhood standards.. give me some fine.
I was saying if i need to weld inside a big tank or somethin like that, not a garage that was easy to ventilate

[moya034]

Does anyone know which type of welding respirator to use? I'm not a heavy welder obviously.. if that helps. Just figured breathing in the fumes isn't a great idea haha. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I'm currently a welding student and weld for about 30 hours a week at school. There is ventilation in my booth, but it's not enough in my opinion. I came to this conclusion the day I blew black stuff out of my nose after going home. I immediately did some research and purchased a welding respirator. Haven't had a problem since.

When I first started wearing the respirator, I had a conversation with a fellow student and he said "If you are so worried about fumes that you want to wear a mask every day, you are in the wrong business." I didn't feel like getting into an argument, but I wanted to tell him "If you are that cavalier about your health and saftey, perhaps YOU are in the wrong business."

Even if you have a respirator, you still want some sort of ventilation as filter type respirators are only good for up to 10 times the PEL (Permissible exposure limit).

I wear a 3M 6300 series half face piece respirator with NIOSH P100 filters (also made by 3M). Those filters are good for particulates, heavy metal fumes, etc. This setup fits perfectly under a welding hood with no obstruction.

When you get your respirator, you will have to shave to get a proper seal, and also read the instructions. You have to understand what it can and can't be used for, how to clean it, when to replace the filters, what the filters are good for, etc. 3M does provide technical support for their products in case you have any specific questions. Edited October 8, 2008 by moya034