Have good ventilation, good self darkening helmet, but still feel sick from fumes!

[WeldSan]

I'm about a month into welding. I caught on very very fast, am welding steel up to 1 inch thick. My main gripe is this, I am using a self darkening helmet, the proper gloves and I have an exhaust fan smack dab next to me, all garage doors open and still, I feel sick when I'm done.......and that's even after little 5 minute jobs. I read about the manganese exposure, how it can affect you. Before I even read this, I noticed three of the listed side effects. I noticed nausea, dizziness and difficulty breathing. I cough time to time, but it's more or less of clearing my throat.

Beginner's luck I guess Possible a small mask under the helmet would do.

[Jim-Tx]

What are you welding on? Is it plated (galvanized), painted or possibly contaminated with something (used steel)? What rods are you using? It sounds to me more like something burning off the metal rather than the welding rods. Galvanized metal will make you sick as will a lot of paints as they burn off.

[Pumpkinhead]

and I have an exhaust fan smack dab next to me, all garage doors open

the question is, are you actually exhausting the fumes, or just blowing them around the garage?
if the fume isn't going from the weld area directly outdoors, you are simply 'soaking in it', even if the fume isn't as dense as when produced, you are continually inhaling them till they clear the room.
you probably should look in to a weldor's respirator, it'll help, but of course not as much as proper fresh air.

[Blacksmith]

In the shipyard, all welding jobs include a sucker hose that is to be positioned to draw in the welding fumes (which are exhausted outside the ship) while causing the fresh air moving towards the weld and the hose to go past the welder themselves. I just try to always weld outdoors, but if there is any breeze blowing, I try to stand on the upwind side.

[Rocky D]

I'm about a month into welding. I caught on very very fast, am welding steel up to 1 inch thick. My main gripe is this, I am using a self darkening helmet, the proper gloves and I have an exhaust fan smack dab next to me, all garage doors open and still, I feel sick when I'm done.......and that's even after little 5 minute jobs. I read about the manganese exposure, how it can affect you. Before I even read this, I noticed three of the listed side effects. I noticed nausea, dizziness and difficulty breathing. I cough time to time, but it's more or less of clearing my throat.

Beginner's luck I guess Possible a small mask under the helmet would do.

Normal welding doesn't usually affect ya like that, unless:
you are allergic
you're welding galvanized metal (even then it takes about 3 hours for you to feel it)
you're a smoker (which means the body's filtration system has already been compromised)
you're immune system is down, because you are worrying too much about what you're breathing.
That's just some of the things that might do it.

[Bob S2]

I had some painted c-channel steel I was welding that made me pretty sick after a while. I think it was a combination of the paint dust from grinding the paint off where I wanted to weld, and actual paint fumes from welding too close to the painted metal, where it would burn. That paint, man it gave off nasty fumes. Gave me headache almost immediately, and a queasy feeling. Had the garage part way open, fan going, etc. Now I make a point to keep my head totally out of the fumes and step away as soon as I'm done with the weld. I wear a cheap mask whenever I'm grinding, too. That combination has helped a lot.
You know, you wonder about old steel with old paint, what with the probable lead in it and all, and we sometimes do the worst thing possible to do with it: grind it up into a powder that hangs in the air. But the new paints aren't any better from a nasty point of view, it's no doubt got other interesting compounds in it that would be quite harmful also.
--Bob

[tigamajig79]

after 9 days in confined space,creosote painted,busted up fertilizer tank.
a charcoal filter respirator(or is it aspirator)helped a lot. maybe my sack won't fall off (cancer of the scrotum) thanks rocky D.


Chris Mathieu

[Rocky D]

Wear a cup to be on the safe side.

[hankj]

WeldSan,

Something is amiss. I think like Rocky - it sounds like an alergy. If it persistes, you migh consider taking an air sample to a lab and find out what you're reacting to.

Hank