attn! please make sure you have propper ventilation!

[doug deeper]

so ive always put off building an fume extractor for my bench.
i do solder a lot, but not as much as you might expect.
a few days ago i started having chest pains, thinking it was just gas i let it go for a few days.
last night i went to the hospital, it looks as though i have pneumonia most likely from breathing solder fumes!
its not a very serous case, and i'll be just fine, but these fumes can/will hurt you!
so everyone that is lazy like i am, please check you selves!


sorry if i posted this in the wrong forum! its been a while!

[Mark Hammer]

Glad you stayed on this side of the great divide, Doug.

And good and safe assembly technique is ALWAYS relevant information in this forum.

[tiges_ tendres]

Doug!  I'm glad to hear you're not too seriously sick.  Please get well soon. 

Your input and designs are well thought of around here, and I think I speak for everyone when I say I hope we can keep you around longer!

Steve

[petemoore]

  If I used my "Band-Aid-Before" technique I might not be looking at this hole in my sore thumb, been that way for a while.
  Thumbpick, hot-water-tap, microwave and indirect soldering burns as well as stranded wire punctures/string punctures are all less frequent or intense with the 'band-aid-before' sure beats band aidS after.
  So not sure, but there's something on/in the wire and solder that can be irritating.

[R.G.]

NB:
The solder fumes are the gaseous form of the rosin flux. The irritating agent is the organic acids that are normally innocuous at room temperature. But chemical activity, as a rule of thumb doubles for every 10C in temp rise, so it's the rise to soldering temperature that makes it get really, really active. And inhaling acids, even if organic ones, hurts.

Get well!

[doug deeper]

i have been setting my iron hotter these days...

[PRR]

Interesting timing.

Yesterday I had a date with a contractor. He didn't show up. 2 hours later a woman called and said he was in the hospital, would re-schedule.

!!!

He did come over the next day and we got the story. He was in the garage, welding. He started to feel sick. He went in the house, came back, was VERY sick. Dizzy. Pain. Passing out.  Could barely dial 9-1-1. The medics came, he was blue. Put him in the ambulance, he started puking.

There may be another factor, but the big thing was Carbon Monoxide poisoning. It was a gas welder but you usually adjust these near-neutral. And he has welded before. There is a furnace in the garage, he will get it tested.

The upshot was 7 hours under Oxygen treatment to flush the CO from his blood and body. The alternative would be passed-out until the brain dies from lack of oxygen (CO binds all the O-receptors in your blood, but CO is useless to brain and body).

You won't get CO from electric soldering. But good to remember that heat increases many dangers.

Rosin flux (and its raw forms, pine-tar and turpentine) was widely used long before anybody wrote safety sheets. The general assumption is that it is irritating but not dangerous for "most" workers (even those who get far more exposure than hobbyists). It is well known that some people develop allergic reaction, sometimes quite severe.

[Paul Marossy]

Rosin flux (and its raw forms, pine-tar and turpentine) was widely used long before anybody wrote safety sheets. The general assumption is that it is irritating but not dangerous for "most" workers (even those who get far more exposure than hobbyists). It is well known that some people develop allergic reaction, sometimes quite severe.

Yikes! Fortunately, I don't think I am allergic to solder fumes. I do a lot of soldering, probably 3-4 hours a day on most days. Hasn't bothered me so far. But maybe I should take some precautions...

[Strategy]

I keep a fan on and the window open while I solder, but occasionally after an epic building session I'll have a terrible headache the next day- I never know if that's eyesight related (staring at tiny things for a long period while hunched over the work bench) or if it's solder fume related. Sadly I rent so installing full on defuming equipment may not be an option in the short term. A more powerful fan is likely the safest next move.

[glops]

I haven't been doing this long at all.   I usually have windows open.  When I make a solder connection, the fumes go right into my face - because I am hunched over, so I take a deep breath and hold till I finish the connection.

[kupervaser]

I know it is crazy, but I actually like how the fumes smell.
Can anyone post an easy defuming project, whick can be made with a few parts?

[differo]

Once, ages ago while I was in the high school, I got 'poisoned' as I believed back then when I was on the epic run on salvaging huge amount of the old tv sets and diverse electronics junk to stash up my poor electronic 'lab'. I was de-soldering three days straight. Was sick for a week.. never check it out but one can imagine the reason..

[Paul Marossy]

I don't get headaches, either. But sometimes a little cough once in a while. It can't be good for your lungs, though. I should rig up some kind of exhuast fan system in my work area.

[Hupla]

I know it is crazy, but I actually like how the fumes smell.
Can anyone post an easy defuming project, whick can be made with a few parts?

I found this a while ago and have been meaning to make it, but have been put off because I can't get altoid tins. haha

http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/04/diy_fume_extractor_1.html

[Paul Marossy]

I know it is crazy, but I actually like how the fumes smell.
Can anyone post an easy defuming project, whick can be made with a few parts?

I found this a while ago and have been meaning to make it, but have been put off because I can't get altoid tins. haha

http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/04/diy_fume_extractor_1.html

That's cool. But my problem is that when I solder, the fumes go straight up into my face. I wonder if these small fans are strong enough to do most of the job?

[frank_p]

Take care not to inhale the plastic fumes when soldering wires.  Those can be more nasty.  PVC + plasticizers + anti-fire agents fumes are way more hazardous.

[Top Top]

I started using a small fan just to blow the smoke away a little bit so that it doesn't go straight up into my face. It isn't one of those little fume extractors, but rather just a very small, very low power box fan (about 10"x10") set on low. It isn't enough wind to even give me a chill in a drafty room - just enough to move the air around a little bit.

I was noticing that the day after doing a lot of soldering that I would feel as though I was developing a cold (scratchy throat, increased snot). Since I started using this fan, it has not been a problem anymore.

[Paul Marossy]

Take care not to inhale the plastic fumes when soldering wires.  Those can be more nasty.  PVC + plasticizers + anti-fire agents fumes are way more hazardous.

Not to mention that they smell nasty, too.

[kungpow79]

Take care not to inhale the plastic fumes when soldering wires.  Those can be more nasty.  PVC + plasticizers + anti-fire agents fumes are way more hazardous.

Yeah, I seem to notice that creates more smoke than anything

[SpencerPedals]

I started using a small fan just to blow the smoke away a little bit so that it doesn't go straight up into my face. It isn't one of those little fume extractors, but rather just a very small, very low power box fan (about 10"x10") set on low. It isn't enough wind to even give me a chill in a drafty room - just enough to move the air around a little bit.

I was noticing that the day after doing a lot of soldering that I would feel as though I was developing a cold (scratchy throat, increased snot). Since I started using this fan, it has not been a problem anymore.

I do this as well.  I position it 5 or so feet behind me and keep it low enough to just move the fumes away from me when I solder.  In a well-ventilated room, it's a good hobby setup.  I did a lot of desoldering and salvaging last summer/fall and did that all outside, or actually in screened in gazeebo like thing.  It was ideal for large projects like that.  Get well, Doug.