Maarten88 Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 After spending two days in bed with 'zinc fever', caused by some quick welding of zinc treated steel, I'm wondering what everybody uses for protection during welding. I'm looking for a welding helmet, as I am currently using a hand-held mask-not good. I only weld once in a couple of months, but enjoy doing it very much. Does anyone use special breathing filters, ie Adflo? , other masks? For the amount of welding I do, I find it hard to justify the E500 plus for a Speedglas + Adflo system.. Zinc oxide is a tad worse for you than normal welding fumes, but they can´t be very good for you either, although I know one welder who swears by doing a bit of stick welding to cure his cold... So what do you use against welding fumes, filters or your nose. Maarten Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandyManLuke Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 I've heard of one guy who just holds his breath for welds... Apparently you can get disposable face masks, like the dust masks available for cutting MDF, or paint spraying etc, with denser filters to filter the gases out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 First thing to ask is why you are welding over Zinc? Zinc inclusion seriously affects the integrity of your welds, grind it off first! then clean everything to perfection and you will not only notice that the welding fumes are negligable but your welds will be about 100% better quality. Cheap fix. Lara. P.S. I am allergic to Zinc Oxide so make damn sure it is all clean before I go near it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 If I'm gas welding car bodywork there all sorts of dangerous fumes that come off. The type of underseal they use now is quite toxic if it burns, and there's always a small amount left after I've been at it with a wire brush. If I have to weld anything with zinc on I clean it off first - zinc flu can be a lot more serious than you think if you inhale enough of it. Some paints give off nasty fumes as well when they burn. I don't use any breathing gear except when I'm spraying - but I'm extremely careful of what I'm doing. Having said that, I recently badly UV burned the back of my hand while practising with my new MIG - so much in fact that clear liquid was coming through the burned skin. Then again the other day I was doing the same thing but remembered to wear gloves - with just a T-shirt on I also spent 3-hours this morning in hospital getting a bit of grit out of my right eye - some people never learn Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 If I'm gas welding car bodywork there all sorts of dangerous fumes that come off. The type of underseal they use now is quite toxic if it burns, and there's always a small amount left after I've been at it with a wire brush. If I have to weld anything with zinc on I clean it off first - zinc flu can be a lot more serious than you think if you inhale enough of it. Some paints give off nasty fumes as well when they burn. I don't use any breathing gear except when I'm spraying - but I'm extremely careful of what I'm doing.Having said that, I recently badly UV burned the back of my hand while practising with my new MIG - so much in fact that clear liquid was coming through the burned skin. Then again the other day I was doing the same thing but remembered to wear gloves - with just a T-shirt on I also spent 3-hours this morning in hospital getting a bit of grit out of my right eye - some people never learn Les. Makes me remember how bloody spoilt I am Good to be reminded some times. Lara. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollythelw Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 bear in mind zinc flu is phosgene poisoning...... mmmm nutritious Im with Lara - although sometimes we use 0.7 zintec for body panels and theres not enough material to grind the zinc all the way out, if thats the case then its airflow mask, localised extractor and the full monty of PPE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 With Jez here, smoghog and a vacpac. I'd rather have a cig than inhale zinc. I also have an allergy - cobalt chloride, which is found in most metals and oils Mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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