Respirator under helmet

[outdoort]

Many od you have mentioned that u use the 3m respirators.
The miller lpr-100 respirator looks well built with it being more low profile: http://www.weldingsuppliesfromioc.co...ask-respirator

Anyone used it? I imaging the only possible negative compairing to the 3m is less compatability of the filters. Guesing home depot doesnt sell the cartridge for these .

[Shockwavecs]

outdoort:
Yes I just purchased the lpr-100. I am a weekend welder with limited experience. I think it is fantastic:
- For one you are getting a respirator from a company that produces welders. This is a huge deal for liability and safety concerns. I feel like all of the potential research of mask protection (that would still leave you wondering) is non-existent.
- It fits under my mask without a problem.
- It's very easy to breath through. I cannot stress that enough.
- The filters are cheap enough. the "3m 7502" costs the same price but doesnt come with filters. If you break that down on price... the LPR-100 is actually $15. The filters are $10. Yes, a bit excessive for the filters. My 3M R95 mask is about $5 a pair.

I would rather use the LPR-100 respirator for EVERYTHING. It's much more comfortable and convenient than my 3M R95 mask. It doesn't get in the way like larger masks. I just have to take it off and switch to my larger mask when not welding to ensure I get a good life out of the $10 filters. It's hard though. welding...grinding...welding...grinding...etc. It is a bit of a toss up if you are trying to save the filters and save your time of switching back and forth.

[almac]

I now wear a North Backpack Adapter, and haven't looked back since.
https://www.kmstools.com/index.php?m...ort=20a&page=2
its' great because it balances the weight better, taking the cartridge weight off your face, and the cartridges are on my back, so they last longer. it fits fine under my Lincoln 3350.

I have now solved my respirator problem, now I need to focus on finding comfortable goggles that won't fog up.

[el bob]

3M 7502 + 3M 2297 P100 + Nuisance Level Organic Vapor Relief

Previously used

3M 7502 + 3M 2291 P100

... Both worked/work well for me. Fits under Miller Digital Elite.

http://amzn.com/B004HXBCMG

http://amzn.com/B009POHH94

http://amzn.com/B009POHG2M

[showme]

This type of hood is GREAT! I used this type, only a 3M brand, when working in a lead smelter here in Missouri. When welding in that place, you could get "leaded out", or sent off the job, if your blood-lead count got up too high. This is a "positive air flow" helmet, which means it uses filtered, forced air by way of a battery powered blower/filter which you wear on a belt. And in the summer, (or in a smelting plant, or over a weld), just the constant movement of air is enough to keep you cool. http://www.northernsafety.com/Produc...-Helmet-System This whole system doesn't cost much more than a good hood would, and it beats the heck out of being suffocated by a sealed mask. And you don't have to shave to use it, either.

[Donald Branscom]

My favorite general dust mask is the NORTH 7190.
Easy breathing and fits under the welding hood.
You can pay $7.90 EA, or go to medical supply website and pay only $172.00!!!
Same mask.

[ObiShanKenobi]

Being a Farmer sometimes requires me to weld rusty or painted steel or cast that I cant get to in order to clean it, and have to occasionally have to weld galvanized steel. So my question is does anyone use a 3M 6000 respirator under a Miller Digital Performance Hood?

I use the 6500 Large 3m half mask respirator under my miller classic. My employer has a great fume extractor for me but there are times when I'm welding long pieces of mufflers or converters that have a segment that sits outside the effective range of the fume extractor and the respirator comes in extremely handy. Then again i feel that for the most part wearing the respirator suits my welding style most, i always have my head in a position to see the arc closely. I think you are thinking very proactive about your long term health. kudos' to you brother.

[seanda]

Glad to see this is a topic on the forum. Thirty yrs ago when my boss gave me some old galvanized tank seawater circulation screens to "modify" I was cutting and welding that stuff for about 2 week straight without any ventilation or respirator. Couldn't figure out why I was dead to the world at the end of the day, but felt better in the morning..... got worse and worse as the project went on. Finally my husband started looking through the shop's MSDSs and found info on Zinc Oxide Poisoning. .... he took me to ER and sure enough I was diagnosed with Metal Fume Fever. This was before OSHA was around in the commercial fishing industry.

Scary thing is that those heavy metals don't ever break down in our bodies. ... lesson learned - respirators and good ventilation are a must.

Curious on whether anyone has ever tried a setup with pressurized breathing air masks like they use in the shipyards for going into voids/tanks when they're gas-freeing or painting? Those air hoses are just a bit bigger than oxygen/acetylene hoses. No fogging issues either, but the hose might be a problem when welding, and probably not practical for out in the field work. Just a thought.

[psacustomcreations]

I wear the 3m with the pink P100 as well. It can be a pain at times but it well worth it. I wore it a week ago at the Lincoln Electric flux core welding class and was the only one wearing one in any of the booths

[Bls repair]

I have a lpr -100.I used the throw aways before but could always smell welding or grinding .Now I smell nothing,comfortable to wear,easy to breath,fits great under the hood.IMHO a great respirator .

[tinker001]

For those who said the their mask fogged up their glasses then your mask is not fitting properly.You have leaks would be the reason for the fogging. Too check this cover both filter ports with your hand or better yet some masking tape and try to breathe in. If you can still breathe in then you need to get a proper fitting mask.

[Bls repair]

You still have exhaust breath leaving mask.

[Jake59FF]

We wear N95s at work, haven't really run into an issue of them fogging, but given what comes out of your nose at the end of the shift if you don't wear one, it's worth wearing it.

[69sa200]

I only wear a dust mask when I stick weld indoors. This one only lasted 4 hours and it was clogged with particles. You don't want this crap in your lungs, so spend the money. I use 2-3 mask per day but I don't wear one with MIG welding unless I'm welding trough paint. They get wet from breathing and it becomes impossible to breathe. The disposable mask with a rubber valve are much easier to breathe. I had a 3M respirator with tapered cartridges but I lost it. It's hard to find replacement filters for them at my local welding supply store.

[zipzit]

I was at Fabtech last week, and I spent a lot of time with a 3M engineer talking about respirators. He had some interesting things, including filters and pressurized systems. Very impressive display, including one option that would cool air (handy if you are welding in Las Vegas in the summer). I did grab a card from the display.

"Get free samples. Comfortable, low-profile disposable and reusable respirators compatible with certain 3M speedglass welding helmets! The respiratory hazards of metalworking are real. Get a free sample of each of these, pick your 6500 size and learn more about respiratory protection for metalworking at:

3m.com/MWRespSample

"

Click on link, get free stuff (including followup marketing stuff from 3M, sigh...) Apparently they will give you a 6500 series half mask and filter, plus. Way cool. Click away! Note: they do require a business email address, no go on @yahoo, @hotmail, or @gmail.com addresses. Samples are intended for industrial workplace safety.

[MetalMan23]

Yeah I started using a respirator every day now, I use a 3M with the 2097 pink filters, I used to have a cough that would develop after a few days of MIG welding..... And I don't want to mess up my lungs,

[Grand dad]

Seeing as there's a sticky already I might as well reply here instead of making my own thread.

Got a question about the 3M 2097 pancake filters. I've been using them for about a month now on a 7502 respirator but only about 1 week into use I already start to smell the familiar welding fumes I work around. I also work around (not with) freshly painted parts and although initially the filters blocked out all paint odours, again after that one to one and a half week period of opening a filter package I can once again detect paint. Is it the filter? Is it the way I am wearing the respirator itself? I wear the respirator under a helmet almost all day (~6 hrs a day). Maybe that additional pressure of the helmet is somehow interfering with how it seals on my face? *shurg* confused:. A dead giveaway is that telltale hoarse throat by the end of the day which usually does not occur at all if everything is functioning as it should be.

So my question is, what exactly is the "life expectancy" of these filters anyway? I don't mind shelling out for new ones every week as they're relatively cheap at my local supplier but it seems odd that their effectiveness is so short. At least in my experience. I've heard anecdotal evidence of guys not changing their filters for months without issues.

Oh yes, welding plain old steel all day. No galvanized, no stainless. The respirator itself is a piece of art really, comfortable to wear for hours at a time, day after day

[MetalMan23]

I switch them out when I start to smell the fumes again.

[Grand dad]

I switch them out when I start to smell the fumes again.

After how long does that occur in your case usually and what kind of conditions are you welding under? Mind you I'm in a closed shop with mig fumes for my work day, no outside ventilation to speak of save for an exhaust at the ceiling of a tall building. I change mine too, after smelling/feeling fumes but like I mentioned they tend to wear out rather quickly (if that's what is indeed happening). I tend to feel the harshness of the smoke a lot quicker than I can smell it.

[MetalMan23]

After how long does that occur in your case usually and what kind of conditions are you welding under? Mind you I'm in a closed shop with mig fumes for my work day, no outside ventilation to speak of save for an exhaust at the ceiling of a tall building. I change mine too, after smelling/feeling fumes but like I mentioned they tend to wear out rather quickly (if that's what is indeed happening). I tend to feel the harshness of the smoke a lot quicker than I can smell it.

Usually takes maybe 2 weeks? I can't remember of the top of my head

[davec]

Grandad:

A filter like the 2097 has a little bit of activated carbon in it to kill off the smells from small amounts of chemicals you might encounter. This is referred to as "nuisance odor" in the respirator business. These are not approved for heavy chemical exposure as there is not enough carbon in them for that. They are only meant to take out smells and chemicals in very small amounts (below hazardous levels - thus the "nuisance" qualifier). One key characteristic of activated carbon is that it absorbs pretty much ANY vapor. One of the things you are always fighting against is water vapor. Yes, carbon loves water vapor, and of course it is everywhere. Once the carbon has absorbed as much of all vapors as it can, it no longer really absorbs anything. It doesn't matter if that vapor is paint solvents or H2O or any combination of anything/everything.

Now the other part of the equation is the particulate filter. That is what a filter like the one you list is NIOSH approved for. It removes particles from the air you are breathing - 99.97% of them or greater for this filter (P100 rated). As a particle filter fills up, it gets harder to breathe through. So you have 2 very different failure modes here. When the carbon is used up, you will smell those odors you talk about. When the particle filter is used up, it will be very hard to breathe through. You are apparently seeing the carbon get used up well before the filter plugs up, in your case. So you are still protected against the particles in the air, but you are not getting the benefit of the "nuisance odor" removal anymore at that point.

Options:
1. Replace as you are doing. You get the full benefit of all those features this way.
2. Keep the filters (or the whole mask + filters) in a sealed plastic bag to minimize water vapor exposure when not in use (may extend life, depending on how humid it is in your area). Dry off the mask first, if wet. Frankly this is always good practice, especially with any carbon-containing product. It should help the carbon last longer, especially if you are in a humid region.
3. Keep using it until the filter is hard to breathe through, even though you can smell the stuff getting past the used-up carbon. This could be quite a while, and you may not like that.
4. Switch to a full stacked set with separate full-sized carbon cartridges and particle filters. Much higher capacity so they will last a lot longer, but also a heavier and bulkier.

This all assumes that once you replace the filter, the problem goes away for the 1-1.5 weeks you noted. If that is not true, then you may have a different issue. Also, if you do have a real chemical hazard that is beyond nuisance, then you may not be using the right filter for your application.

Edit: I re-read your post and you mention throat irritation. That may very well be ozone generated from the arc. The carbon will help with that, until it is used up.

Hope this helps.

-Dave

[Grand dad]

to Option 1 and 2 - Yessir that's what I have been doing. After use I store my filters in a ziplock bag (and mask in a different bag) until the next work day.

You are apparently seeing the carbon get used up well before the filter plugs up, in your case.

Ahh, that might be the case. Although it doesn't explain why I develop the smoker's cough like symptoms at the end of the day. I'll keep trying out different things until I find what works for my situation. Thank you for the detailed analysis of how these filters operate.

MetalMan23 Thanks for giving me a point of reference to gauge effectiveness. If it's the filters themselves getting gunked up it sounds reasonable enough, dealing shoddy work conditions at the moment and it wouldn't surprise me if they're going quicker than intended.

[Grand dad]

I'll keep trying out different things until I find what works for my situation.

In regards to my reply above I'd like to add that the problem was me not watching my facial hair growth. I've done enough research before purchasing the respirator to understand that shaving was critical in getting a proper seal. Everyone recommending the respirator was adamant about it too, and I had no gripes about keeping a clean shaven face but lets say that when it came to genetics deciding how my facial hair growth fares, I am severely lacking in that respect. So I thought I could let it slide going bout 2 weeks without shaving. Given my almost non-existent hair growth that's all it took, even though if you'd look at me face to face you would hardly see anything there, sideburns in particular. The threshold for getting that seal is very unforgiving as I found out. So there's a tip to other guys like me that are doomed with wispy facial hair growth and look like this if laziness kicks in - http://www.planet3rry.com/images/2006/061025face04.jpg (not me but awfully similar growth... bleh) keep shaving even if it's something you'd normally ignore under regular circumstances, visually speaking.

Conclusion: Filters are fine, the error is completely on my part.

[powrguy]

outdoort:
Yes I just purchased the lpr-100. I am a weekend welder with limited experience. I think it is fantastic:
- For one you are getting a respirator from a company that produces welders. This is a huge deal for liability and safety concerns. I feel like all of the potential research of mask protection (that would still leave you wondering) is non-existent.
- It fits under my mask without a problem.
- It's very easy to breath through. I cannot stress that enough.
- The filters are cheap enough. the "3m 7502" costs the same price but doesnt come with filters. If you break that down on price... the LPR-100 is actually $15. The filters are $10. Yes, a bit excessive for the filters. My 3M R95 mask is about $5 a pair.

I would rather use the LPR-100 respirator for EVERYTHING. It's much more comfortable and convenient than my 3M R95 mask. It doesn't get in the way like larger masks. I just have to take it off and switch to my larger mask when not welding to ensure I get a good life out of the $10 filters. It's hard though. welding...grinding...welding...grinding...etc. It is a bit of a toss up if you are trying to save the filters and save your time of switching back and forth.

I use the LPR-100, also, under the Digital Elite hood. Just D-I-Y, but got tired of grinding dust up my nose continously without a respirator, and smoke/fumes/etc. when welding, too.