noxious fumes...

[dvice]

I am getting a ton of choking noxious fumes while trying to tig weld some 303 and 17-4 ss!!

this happens ONCE in a while..and it has never been this bad.... I cant seem to get a puddle going between the two 3/8th dia rods i am welding and i am gasping for air.

I am using Argon, Ultra High Purity sheilding gas...only about 7 psi..

I am using 3/32nds thoriated tungsten and a #7 cup.

I have welded thousands of SS parts and dont get these fumes...

I end up running from the area coughing my head off to the point, i am gonna puke.

i have a vented hood above the welding area with a blower even!!!!!!!!!!!!! the fumes just fill the mask i have...and try to kill me!


whats going on?

is it one of the metals?

i am not using any filler rod, just flowing metal from one rod to the next in a T joint to attach them...


hope to hear from someone

tanks

Dvice

[Daniel]

Did you ever thought about using a respirator or buying yourself a Supplied Air Welding helmet. If you welded thousands of parts without it you're setting yourself for health problems, it's not a very good habit to not weld with any breathing protection.
Take care

[dvice]

really? i have never seen anyone weld with a respirator!!

I have never even heard about anyone welding with a respirator

dvice

[Daniel]

You're trolling or what

[Broccoli1]

really? i have never seen anyone weld with a respirator!!

I have never even heard about anyone welding with a respirator

dvice

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3...beF3RH7CD92Ngl

[PTsideshow]

Respirators

Don't feel like typing it over. Or you can just use the search box above and type in welding respirators and get all 27 threads on the subject back to 06

[dvice]

You're trolling or what

for what?????

so hiow about the fumes?? is it the results of the material? it cant be the gas, because I can turn on the machine and hit the foot pedal and not get the fumes...

I had a support under what i was welding to help set up the four bars of 3/8 dia rods. teh suppoer was narrower than the part so the vice didnt squeeze it... i think the fumes were being kicked back off that surface.. i took the support away and it is way better.

Itook a welding class years ago, mainly for the other guys to learn to weld so i didnt have to do it all the time. and the teacher didnt mention anything about using a resperator.

sorry if i touched a nerve here....

honest question..

dvice

[dvice]

I wouldnt think a respirator lik those shown would stop noxious fumes...sure they look great fro stopping fine particles... and I have several styles i use depending on what i am doing...grinding... or painting. these masks, block particulates or react with certain airborn chemicals...


wouldnt have thought they would good for gases

plus i have never heard of it...
dvice

[PTsideshow]

The ones for fumes are listed as safe for welding fumes, your local welding shop should be able to help out as the welding one approved is in my post. The fume safe ones have a layer of charcoal to filter out the fumes listed.

[shovelon]

I am getting a ton of choking noxious fumes while trying to tig weld some 303 and 17-4 ss!!

this happens ONCE in a while..and it has never been this bad.... I cant seem to get a puddle going between the two 3/8th dia rods i am welding and i am gasping for air.

I am using Argon, Ultra High Purity sheilding gas...only about 7 psi..

I am using 3/32nds thoriated tungsten and a #7 cup.

I have welded thousands of SS parts and dont get these fumes...

I end up running from the area coughing my head off to the point, i am gonna puke.

i have a vented hood above the welding area with a blower even!!!!!!!!!!!!! the fumes just fill the mask i have...and try to kill me!


whats going on?

is it one of the metals?

i am not using any filler rod, just flowing metal from one rod to the next in a T joint to attach them...


hope to hear from someone

tanks

Dvice

7 CFH with a #7 cup?

303 to 17-4?

No filler rod?

You have done thousands before?

You have never heard of respirators?

Welcome to the board.

[aametalmaster]

really? i have never seen anyone weld with a respirator!!

I have never even heard about anyone welding with a respirator

dvice

I wear a half face 3M resp with chemical filters. When i wear the paper/particulate ones i can still taste the smoke because my teeth start to hurt. The chem ones do the trick for me...Bob

[bayweld]

Are you welding tubing with something inside? as in used tubing?? There shouldn't be any noxious fumes from new SS material....What is burning on this SS that causes nasty fumes?? Good luck and look at the weldor air options...Don't breathe that crap..

[PTsideshow]

Hexavalent chromium can also be formed when performing "hot work" such as welding on stainless steel or melting chromium metal. In these situations the chromium is not originally hexavalent, but the high temperatures involved in the process result in oxidation that converts the chromium to a hexavalent state.

Osha page on the subject
It is from Bobs link in his sig line

Could be the alloy may not be what they told you it is and has a higher chromium component

The down side of not using a welding fume rated respirator is. At some point in the near future you will end up joining the legions of either oxygen bottle toting or oxygen concentrator wandering around Wally World!

[hockeyguynick]

Can you get chrome-6 fumes from tig'n stainless? They dont require us to wear a resp. at work when doing tig, just with stick.

[dvice]

well i am pretty sure the material was 303, or 17-4 , or both...I cut parts from all the 3/8th dia SS rods i could find and some were marked 17-4 and the other was marked 303.

I found that when i had blocking under the part so I could hold it in the vice and I left the blocking under the part...the gas fumes would bounce back up and get under my mask...

when i took the blocking away and had air under the part i wa swelding...there was way less fumes that bothered me...but I could still taste it and smell it a little.

I was just wondering what the fumes were?? burnt gas?? cant be, right it is non flamable...figured the material..not sure

Ill try a chemical mask next time and see how that helps


dvice