I often hear (much to my dismay), the line "you never see old welders do you?". I'm also tired of blowing my nose and black stuff coming out; can't be healthy. Does anyone here wear respirators when welding in the field and if so what do you use?
The airforce give us fresh air resperators I think they call them Papers or something like that. I dont think I have worn mine more than onece or twice. I have worked with some old crusty welders. Most of the time I think people get tired of the hard work and when they get older they find a new easier trade. Hell I am 45 and still enjoy the hell out of it and can not imagine doing anything else.
MSA and 3M are what we use. You can get the MSA at Home Depot. They work very well. We use SCBA and supplied air for certain jobs and if I were to chose the most comfortable I would go with supplied air. The system that we have can supply 12 different welders so all the welder wears is the supplied air hood and a hose that you can lash off to your belt etc. I have looked at some of the other battery pack type units and they don't look all that bad either. Cheap and easy go with the respirator.
I never really liked wearing a face respirator especially the type that seals to your face, but only because of that slimy sweaty feeling you experience after wearing it awhile. After talking to another welder about this, he said to me," Just a little short term discomfort for long term comfort". So I make the effort now. Personally, the respirator I wear is the 3M brand with the flat pink filters, barely smell a morning fart. Bob.
I've heard a couple different views on this, but I use the nasal rinse available from Costco in a twin pack to rinse my nostrils out every morning and evening. Between the pollens here and the dust I breathe day in and day out it really makes a difference. Also, because of our low humidity it helps keep me from having nose bleeds from drying out, which all the dust contributes to as well.
As far as the filters, unless welding on materials that require good respirators for hazardous fumes we use either the cheap paper ones or the Mouldex 2800N95 series for typical dust control. As long as you keep most of it out and then use the rinse you will do your lungs a big favour.
You could also consider the positive flow air system. A hood with an air flow to keep the area around your head with moving clean air. That keeps the other particles pushed away from your breathing area so you don't need a filter. There are several different models. Some have batteries with a small air intake from the back side. Others use a larger air supply system that is piped to the different welding stations. It is the same principle used in 'clean rooms' in many industries. You don't try to remove the contaminants, you keep them away from critical areas. Once set up they work well for all welding applications. Then you usually don't need special filters when doing most hazardous fume work either.
Have a Great Day, Brent
By cabfab
Date 04-29-2011 16:03
3M 8214 not perfect but still cut down on the fumes. Amazed at how many welders looked at me as though I was an idiot.
Speedglass (and probably other brands as well) makes a positive pressure style hood. A bit pricey though.
May or may not apply to you...but here goes.....
Just remember if you start a respirator program for your guys, you need to make sure they are fit(healthy) enough to wear them or you can be in trouble if one of your guys has a problem. We run all of our respirator wearers through our program and have them checked out medically first then fit tested and make sure they understand how to use them properly....all of this is required per OSHA anyway, but I'm saying all of this just so that you are aware(in case it applies and you weren't aware).
The average age of a welder in the United States is 54 years old according to the department of labor. So there are plenty of old welders.
Nonetheless. Your notion of breathing protection is wise. There are several disposal particulate masks that are designed to fit under a welding hood that you might consider.
"resparators" require fit tests, osha compliance and employer quality programming to be "offically compliant"
But you can use the disposable filter masks at your own expense for long life and peace of mind. :)
A half face respirator with a P100 filter will save your ass when your welding/grinding galvy. I don't often wear it but I am glad I have it when I need it.
