yes it may be common knowledge but some may not know.

this article is a good read

 

Weren't the MIG gases bad enough!?!?! jeez laweez
Good info/read

 

Thanks! we should really sticky this stuff

 

x2 sticky

 

damn thats crazy

 

damn I guess no more lighting brake cleaner on fire for ***** and giggles.

 

holy effin crap. I cant believe how lucky i have been in the past. I generally had no regaurd to welding/cleaning solutions.

Although generally i am a shotty welder, i just scrape a little, hose down with water, dry and weld haha.

 

Holy poop!!!! I had no idea at all. Thanks OP

 

i got that in an email yesterday, i felt sick after i read it

 

I don't think I have seen Chlorinated brake cleaner available in some time. You would have to almost have a can that has been sitting around in your shop for years which I am sure is what happened to this guy.

 

They do still sell it. I actually got a case by accident from one of my local parts suppliers, and I complained about it mostly because of the awful smell (and lack of flammability, for fun stuff). Something happened where that guy can't even get it any more, since he sells commercially, it's not legal in shops or something, idk. Anyway I personally would never use that to do the final cleaning on a weld, pretty much always use Acetone as I was taught. Sometimes I feel like 90% of the time I'm "welding" stuff I'm brushing or cleaning it, get kind of **** about how I do it.

 

perhaps we can turn this into a heath risks thread or something. does anyone else suffer from chronic or occassional bronchitis? my wife seems to think my lungs are constantly enflamed (if anyone should know she should since she sells drugs to prevent it). i'm pretty careful when i weld stuff and always make sure there is nothing wet on what i'm about to weld, but there is a lot of grinding dust and such in the air at the shop. anyone else dealing with any kind of health issues related to working in a shop?

post up!

 

I definitely think that the grinding/sanding is a health hazard... but as a smoker I can't complain too much about that I guess. When I'm not smoking for a while I do feel a lot better... but I have noticed (or my girlfriend has anyway) that I've started snoring a lot and my breathing sounds like **** when I'm sleeping/tired. You can definitely see the dust and crap in your spit and (to be blunt) snots when you're fabbing stuff all day long. I think the most common injuries though with welding/fab stuff is getting burned, whether it be on hot metal or from UV burn for those "quick" welds.

 

ive welded galvanized steel before and felt like total **** after....now i know.
i have also used brake clean to clean things, but it wasnt chlorinated.

anytime i weld for a long time, my lungs hurt and i feel like **** after.

 

great article...

just to let you know, though i dont see how it would happen unless you're trying, but freon decomposes into phosgene gas at 1000*F. I'm thinking that's why you can have fun with brake cleaner and not die (atleast from phosgene gas poisoning) but you will produce phosgene if you hit it while welding... saying that maybe normal fire does not produce the temperature needed to produce the gas...
reason i say this, is because when we use halide torch leak detectors, it burns freon, turning the flame green as it crosses over a copper screen showing a leak, but doesnt produce phosgene because it burns the freon at less than 1000*...

and now you know...

 

Thanks for the heads up! Scarey indeed!

Oddly I picked up 4 bottles of chlorinated and non-chlorinated brake cleaner from pepboys not to long ago. Didn't knew what worked better. Didn't knew it was that bad on your health if used improperly. OMG, time to toss it out.

So, yea, its still out there. Is there some laws out there in the USA that banned it? or is it still legal to have? Maybe I just happen to bought an old bottle?

 

A friend of mine who worked at a body shop told me about this, apparently if you're smoking near a discharging old AC system you can drop dead!

 

And to think I sometimes use brake cleaner to clean parts before welding. I usually don't do this because it stinks when you weld after, but I had no idea it was this harmful!

Thanks for posting!

 

wow. thats pretty intense... i thought the most dangerous think in a workshop could be chopping my finger off

what else coule be used to clean the metal prior to welding? lighter fluid or acetone?

+1 for sticky and health/hazard thread

 

Like I said above, use Acetone. I've always used it and its very effective, and evaporates fast. Just don't leave the cap off the can overnight

 

jeez thats crazy.

yup, all we use to clean before welding is acetone also. works great

 

Yep...I've recently become aware of just how hazardous all these metal shop chemicals are after taking a machine shop class at my university. The instructor is quite a knowledgeable fellow and abides by all the OSHA standards which means the shop is not allowed to use welding or grinding machines because it doesn't have the proper facilities or equipment to handle the hazards from fire, off-gases, or air borne particulates. In fact, the shop doesn't even use cutting fluids because of the potential they'll vaporize or evaporate since cutting fluids are commonly carcinogenic. I learned how to weld a little and liked it but knowing all the health dangers now I don't think I'll be doing it anytime soon.

 

hmm i wounder if this is related to me having chest pains for a short period of time when i was working at honda. we used to use brake cleaner alot to clean up the motor and undercarrage after an oil change. very often it hits the exhaust pipes.

having chest pains it wouldnt hurt to go and have a chest x ray done just to be safe....especially when you inahale alot of dust and other junk.

 

yeah, never put the two together (i dont smoke) but cigarettes tips burn at like 1200* so that's VERY possible.. i'd say it's probably even happened before...

 

You all realize that this DUMBASS used chlorinated brake cleaner. I mean who uses that **** for anything. It's too hazardous. Non-chlorinated all the way.


ALSO, BTW. The main ingredient in non-chlorinated brake cleaner is ACETONE! The rest is mostly propellant.


!!!