Respirator under helmet

[farmwelder]

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?

[camjeep3]

yup. I wear a 3m respirator under a miller hood everyday. Its not a auto dark, but I still think the actual hood is the same. I like it a lot. I was getting frustrated wearing dust masks because they would fog my glasses up. No more fogged glasses and it offers more protection.

[AKweldshop]

3m 7502 with the gray 2297 filters is the cats meow.

[Firemanmike69]

I can fit my 3m with the pink filters under my pipeliner helmet

[mikecwik]

It is a respirator for welding after all. This should be a sticky.

[Jax]

Hello,my first post here after lurking for a couple of months. I home fabercated a supplied air resperator for spraying urathane paint and am in the planning stage of adapting the hose to my helment. Very simple rig consisting of an induced draft furnace blower pulling air through a box covered with hepa furnace filter,air flows through 30 feet of cpap hose to a clip on my belt then to a tyvek painter's hood. The flow of fresh air not only makes breathing much easier than a mask,it cools my head,neck and sholders, keeps sweat out of my eyes and prevents eye glasses fogging. I believe it will work just as well while welding. I just havn't decided how to keep hose in place under the helmet. I'm leaning toward a hose barb epoxied in a hole through helmet.

[OPUS FERRO]

farmwelder

'To weld well - you have to be comfortable'.

A respirator - under a hood that will accommodate
a respirator - is not comfortable - BTDT.

It can be hot, wet, and out of position gets heavy,
which speeds fatigue, and exacerbates vision.

Instead of living in the cloud - manage the cloud.

Blowing [fan] the weld area enough to do anything
disturbs the weld envelope - and is a 'no-go'.

What does work is 'drawing' - place the fan/suck
unit behind/over - your weld area.

No respirator, regular hood, and no cloud to search
through.

I have a Farm Store of fans and ducting: 12v to
220v 3-ph.

My most used fan is: a $20.00 box fan from . . .

The key - to this simple/best solution is to take the
fixturing time and effort - to make it work.

Consider 'source capture/venting' the welding plume.


Opus


ps - Weld as naked as you can . . .

[JD1]

3M respirators fit under hoods fine, its the filter that makes the difference. The pancake filters like the pink ones are only for "nusance level" fumes as defined by OSHA. OK for everything you mentioned except galvanized. For that a cartridge filter would be better. Pancake filters fit under hoods, cartridge filters fit under some hoods. Won't fit under my harbor freight hood.

[mikecwik]

I might be wrong but it is a welding filter. The nuisance part pertains to the carbon element and is a must.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[JD1]

Their new version of the pink P100 filter is 2297 and it's for welding but for particulates and nuisance organic vapors below the PEL level. (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1) Pretty nice filter actually, brownish with pink dots. That's the one I'm using. However once the vapor gets past the level for "nuisance" you need cartridges. They have much more activated carbon than the pancake ones do.

Edit: after writing the above, I read further in the 3M literature and found they're stating it offers protection up to 10 times PEL (Permissible Exposure Limit) for particulates with a half faceplate mask and below PEL for vapors. I'm guessing welding galvanized produces both?

[user 9328330]

So I agree with mikecwik on this one and asked Pretty Please and Zap hath brought this thread to pass as a Sticky. When I get some more time (maybe this weekend) I'm going to start linking to other respirator threads, respirator manufacturers, etc. If some of you goof-offs have more immediate chances to do the same thing, feel free. It's about time we had a sticky on respiratory safety around here. And I don't mean Stick-Man either.

[Econdron]

I used to wear the 3M respirators. As Opus stated, they get hot and sweaty in the warmer months. Starts to hurt the back of your head from the straps. If it's not tightened enough, it's worthless. I believe the general rule of thumb is if you can smell anything through those respirators, it's not seated properly. That being said, I got so fed up with them, that I just purchased the 3M PAPR system. It's real nice having the fan constantly blowing air, almost acts as a fan during the warmer months! But the helmet is pretty heavy and gets cumbersome over long periods of time. But I also weld galvanized steel and I can't smell a thing now while welding it! It's an expensive setup, but well worth it to me.

[DSW]

It's an expensive setup, but well worth it to me.

Good PPE is a bargain when you think about what not using it, or using cheap substitutes would cost you in the long run. How much would you pay to have your health back? Your eye sight, the ability to hear or even the ability to breath properly are priceless, but most unfortunately only learn that AFTER they pay the price with their body.

[raf]

Yes, i would put the ability to breathe as number one, for if not able to breath, you can cancel everything else.
Raf

[JD1]

I used to wear the 3M respirators. As Opus stated, they get hot and sweaty in the warmer months. Starts to hurt the back of your head from the straps. If it's not tightened enough, it's worthless.

Agreed. Kind of unpleasant after a while but IMO the 3M 7500 series silicone based respirators are the best you're going to find without going to a PAPR. They're much more comfortable than the earlier versions. We have one of those early ones also and it's miserable.

Lung disease is also unpleasant so not wearing a respirator isn't much of an option. If I welded for a living, I'd save up and buy a PAPR but since I don't, I get along with a 7503 and the 2297 filter.

Can't smell a thing with that setup but since the vapor protection on that particular filter is below PEL, if I were going to weld galvanized I'd try to squeeze cartridges under my helmet.

[mikecwik]

For the guy who does not care to wear a respirator because it makes the back of his head hurt..............come on man. If you don't want to wear one just say I am a dumb bunny and don't want to wear one.

I always miss my filter change dates by a couple years but I happen to be sitting on a huge box of spares so this is what my filters look like in less than two months. I estimate that I was wearing it for about 40 hours minimum. The best part is is that had I been alone (which no matter how many people are around me I always am) I might have only needed to be wearing it two hours. All this crap is from idiots working around me.

[raf]

Good PPE is a bargain when you think about what not using it, or using cheap substitutes would cost you in the long run. How much would you pay to have your health back? Your eye sight, the ability to hear or even the ability to breath properly are priceless, but most unfortunately only learn that AFTER they pay the price with their body.

I am a complete newbie as far as welding and forging, and IMHO , I feel personal safety is the single most important aspect to consider and apply to each individual situation.
raf

[raf]

I have a question for you seasoned pros, if welding in my 10 by 13' shed with doors open and both windows open and a exhaust system with a ventilator and 8" flex alum 12 -16 " away from the work. Exhaust will go out the window. Should I still wear a half respirator with p100 or
P2297?
Not welding galvanized or painted metal. Just want to be safe.
Thank You for all the help you guys have been giving me.
This is a Great Forum with wonderfully gifted people.
We should have a huge get together for all the members somewhere.
That would be very cool.
Raf

[raf]

I can fit my 3m with the pink filters under my pipeliner helmet

Hi Mike,
What brand pipeliner ? Is it the North pipeliner ?
Is there a glass lense and is there need to upgrade to a better headgear.
On Amazon, the replacement headgear is from 18-36 and all three look the same.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Raf

[Firemanmike69]

Hi Mike,
What brand pipeliner ? Is it the North pipeliner ?
Is there a glass lense and is there need to upgrade to a better headgear.
On Amazon, the replacement headgear is from 18-36 and all three look the same.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Raf

Yup it's the north fiber-metal pipeliner. I run a glass cover lens and a glass silver lens. Mine has the rubber band headgear and I love it.

[carriecbunited]

Hello

[outdoort]

Anyone have any problems wearing any of these respirators with a optrel helmet? I have the newest model optrel. The specific model is in my sig line. Looking to get a respirator dedicated to welding.

[Asbestos]

Yes, I would put the ability to breathe as number one, for if not able to breath, you can cancel everything else.
Raf
or as the lung association says "when you can't breathe nothing else matters"
Being a newbie, but also having been a certified Haz Mat remediation worker, Asbestos worker, confined space rescue tech, blah blah blah.
Allow me to add this brief summary
There are 2 main respiratory hazards in welding: 1)metal fumes and particulates. 2) vapors/gases Each of these needs a certain type of respirator cartridge to be effective in general a p100 will stop most particulates up to the level the mask can accommodate.Think of it like a coffee filter, the filter keeps out the coffee grounds but you still get coffee. For other things in the air vapors from burning paint or plastics you will need a separate cartridge. This cartridge will be for filtering chemicals in the air, or the coffee part of the coffee
A excellent principal is that, as Opus brought up is the engineering controls are primary. Meaning if you can set up a fan, use a different material, or whatever to avoid making the problem that is better (and required by law) rather than trying to stop the junk from getting into your lungs with a piece of safety equipment.

[steelsurgeon]

I use one of these...

http://www.honeywellsafety.com/Produ...aspx?site=/usa

It fits under the welding hood well, and the canisters are behind you.

Rich

[TimmyTIG]

farmwelder

'To weld well - you have to be comfortable'.

A respirator - under a hood that will accommodate
a respirator - is not comfortable - BTDT.

It can be hot, wet, and out of position gets heavy,
which speeds fatigue, and exacerbates vision.

Instead of living in the cloud - manage the cloud.

Blowing [fan] the weld area enough to do anything
disturbs the weld envelope - and is a 'no-go'.

What does work is 'drawing' - place the fan/suck
unit behind/over - your weld area.

No respirator, regular hood, and no cloud to search
through.

I have a Farm Store of fans and ducting: 12v to
220v 3-ph.

My most used fan is: a $20.00 box fan from . . .

The key - to this simple/best solution is to take the
fixturing time and effort - to make it work.

Consider 'source capture/venting' the welding plume.


Opus


ps - Weld as naked as you can . . .

I agree with all this. I used to use a 3M with the pink pancakes under my little Huntsman hood. This new place I'm at requires you to have a fit test to use one, though. I didn't want to bother with all that, I started using an industrial fan to draw the fumes away. But, I was still getting a lot of dust from the grinding, plus sometimes you just can't get the fan in the right spot.
So, I bought the Speedglas 9100FX, best decision I ever made. I don't get any of that crap in my nose and lungs anymore.
They sure are proud of those inner clear lenses, though. That's the only gripe I have. I need to figger out a way to make my own.