recommend a respirator cough cough hack

redruns

redruns

Regular
Rating - 100%
7   0   0
Location
Lethbridge,AB
Processing 40 lbs of range scrap tonight which had some slivers of railroad tie in it. Toxic stuff fer sure. Even with the slight breeze and a fan I couldn't help but be exposed to what I didn't want to be exposed to. I shut it down and will resume processing the remaining 200+ lbs of range scrap after I've picked up a respirator.

I'm looking for suggestions for a respirator.
 
I do most of mine outside and no respirator. I do small batches 20-30 at a time and play the wind. I figure if all those years riding in the back rumbles seat of the station wagon with the window open and guzzling leaded fuel didn't affect me, a little bit of smelting won't.

Mind you I just did 40 pounds of pure and 20 pounds of pewter in my sheds wood stove. :)

To be honest I'm more worried about the sticky tape burning from the stickons than the lead itself
 
I usually just smelt outside, put a pile of scrap on heat, move well away and wait for the smoke to subside. I then scoop off the crap and pour into an ingot mold.

If the smoke gets really bad from exceptionally dirty wheel weights or something I use a respirator I originally bought from Canadian Tire for paint spraying. It's made by MSA/Safety Works and is rated for spraying paint, pesticide, and organic solvents. I've nearly used up my second set of filters and I've had this respirator for 10-ish years (they get clogged with dust before anything else).

It looks just like this:
4145DF23Y5L.jpg

Picture is from Amazon.com
 
Thanks for the quick suggestions. I'll be stopping in at my local safety supply store this morning too. Although the risk of lead vapour is there, the toxic green smoke from plastic, treated wood and specifically creosote is what I want a bit of a barrier from.
 
Just my 2 cents when processing raw into bricks yah just watch the wind and drink beer and wait. While I am casting though I do it in the winter in my garage, no respirator or mask. I do how ever have a vent set up right on top of the pot with a 100cfm fan that sucks out any fumes. I used the respirator for years and I love to cast and I just could not take it all day long. Lead has a bad name, its more or less bad for children who are developing as well as ladies because it can affect their reproduction organs. Just my 2 cents we live in a world where everything is bad.
 
I try and do all my smelting when the wind is blowing gently, and not swirling. It has to be a crosswind for me, too. Otherwise it swirls in my face.

Years ago, when I took a machinist course in Winnipeg, we took a field trip to one of the aerospace outfits in the city. At one of the workstations where the guys had to work with nasty fumes, the workers got tired of complaining to management about the fumes not being extracted from the area. So with a roll (or 2 or 3) of duct tape, and some scrounged cardboard these guys made up a vent hood to get rid of the fumes. There might have been some sort of fan sucking the fumes out, too.

About 1 week after these guys rigged up the hood, management replaced their "improvised" setup with an "approved" setup exactly the same configuration as the cardboard, only made out of sheetmetal and rivets and screws and stuff.

No reason why a similar setup couldn't be used in a garage in the winter to keep the toxic fumes away from your face, and vented out of a window...I wish I had a garage to try this in.
 
Learned a lot about respirators over the last few days.

Smelting dirty range scrap andwheel weights release unknown particulates and vapors.

Require a comfortable mask which is adjustable and can accommodate eye protection. Require readily available replaceable AP (organic vapour and particulate) filters.

Price is dictated by comfort and longevity.

I chose the Stanley P100 mask from CT because it was in stock and fit as well as recommended. My first choice, the MSA Safety Works # 420 Pro Advantage Respirator was unavailable in all stores and needed to be shipped. The MSA mask has a more comfortable fit and adjustment.
 
Last edited:
redruns said:
Thanks for the quick suggestions. I'll be stopping in at my local safety supply store this morning too. Although the risk of lead vapour is there, the toxic green smoke from plastic, treated wood and specifically creosote is what I want a bit of a barrier from.
Click to expand...

Don't play with creosote. Fought a train track/grass fire. Ended up with what is called lipid pneumonia. Had normal pneumonia b4 and it was a cold compared to the lipid variety.Glad to read that you are lookin for PPE...Never want to go thru that stunt again..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom