Terrible headaches from welding

[CharlieTR]

Ok I am going to ask a real dumn question about welding.
I am building a small but heavy trailer for a larger sprayer. The last two weekends of welding had me with pretty harsh headaches, after last Saturday I did not recove until Monday night. Before I evan started welding I hooked up an old blower and bought a box of 20 high quality masks (N95 I think). I do get my head down close, but I can't smell any fumes while welding. I know the tear ducts can be affected by fumes, but I have never been able to wear a mask and dust googles at the same time.

I am almost done, but I really like welding and want to plan many other projects. But I gotta fix this problem!

[jimbrown]

Head ache from welding is almost always caused by light damage to the eyes. You need to make sure you are wearing your helmet and not looking at the arc just a few micro seconds looking at the ark will cause headaches and if continued permanent damage to your eyes. Hopfully you are not welding galvinized metal as the fumes from that is poisonious. A major mistake that most beginning welders make is to peek around the helmet to try and start an arc. Don't do it.

[Stimw]

Check your helmet for cracks or loose lens where arc light can get through. Also make sure the lens is dark enough. It should be at least a #10 usually printed on the lens at the side or bottom. You need to maintain some distance from the weld too. If you have trouble seeing get a cheap set of reading glasses or you can buy a cheater lens at a welding shop around $5. last time I bought one.

[Pat]

If you can see it, it can see you! NEVER look at an arc without adequate protection.

The auto darkening welding hoods are usually available for way under $100 and feature adjustable shade control so you can go from about 7 or 9 up to 12-13 to accommodate different situations such as lower amp mig and higher amp stick.

I need to get a 4 and a 5 shade to use with my plasma cutter so I can see what I am doing as my autodarkening hood only turns down to 7 and I can hardly see to use the cutter.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[jimbrown]

Well whata you think are we close to the problem?

[Pat]

All this talk about welding safety jinxed my auto-darkening hood. A change of batteries and it is working fine. This thing is a real battery hog, you betcha. This must be at least the second or third time I've had to change out the pair of tripple A cells in the last 7 years. Maybe if I could remember to turn it off when I'm not using it I could get decent batt life.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[jimbrown]

Yep boy that is terrible. maybe should have just bought a new hood. I just re read old Charlies post and it looks like he may have been welding without a hood and using dust goggles. Poor guy must have gone blind or died from the fumes.

[CharlieTR]

No I am still alive and can see good (well the same).
Sorry for the delay! I sorta forgot I posted this one.
Must have lost some brain cells from the fumes.

I welded a lot lately and had no headaches. I think the cause was fumes/smoke. Thanks for the replies. I'll check that lens I think its a #10.

[RJohnson]

You should also take care not to weld over galvanize or any other type of coating. The coating should be removed prior to welding. Also add a small fan to keep the fumes away from you. Do not direct the fan at the arc as you need a shielding gas to protect the molten weld puddle.

[Pat]

Treat metal that has ever been galvanized as galvanized even after you think you ground off all the zink (because you didn't.)

The fan is a two edged sword. If it is place behind you thinking that your nose is then upstream from the zink fumes and your lungs are safe then SURPRISE!!! Circulating eddies can waft significant quantities of BAD vapors up your helmet. A weak cross ventilation that doesn't unduly disturb the shielding or one 20-30 degrees behind straight to the side is a good compromise.

If you don't mind knowing the honest truth, you should get someone to fire up on some galvanized or heavily painted metal (while holding their breath) while you observe the way the fumes flow with and without a fan in various locations and distances and strengths. It might be a great awakening that will help you preserve your health. The results are likely NOT to be what you expect. I was surprised how much of the fumes seem to find a way to get to the operator.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]