Practical MIG Welding: Welding Masks and Respirators
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Welding Masks and Respirators
06.48
| 00:00 | Now, that you have a better understanding of your MIG welder, it's time to look at the risks that welding can pose and the ways in which we can limit these risks. |
| 00:07 | The best safety measure is always going to be a careful operator, but accidents can happen and it's important that we equip ourselves with quality protection as we learn and develop our MIG welding techniques. |
| 00:18 | Personal protective equipment or PPE plays an extremely important role in keeping us safe. |
| 00:24 | As we begin getting familiar with MIG welding, you'll quickly notice how much time we spend going back and forth between different tools. |
| 00:31 | So, setting your workshop up efficiently with the correct PPE is a really easy way to cut down on the time it takes to get fabrication jobs done. |
| 00:39 | Creating zones in our garage or workshop and equipping these zones with the appropriate PPE at arm's reach means we'll decrease the urge to take a shortcut and perform the job without the correct safety equipment. |
| 00:50 | A good way to do this is to designate a bench or an area in your workshop specifically for welding. |
| 00:56 | Have a designated hook for your welding helmet and remember to leave it on this hook between other processes. |
| 01:02 | This can dramatically cut down on the time you spend looking for your PPE and again decreases the urge to go without it. |
| 01:09 | The danger in welding and its processes can be quickly diminished if we properly understand and prevent them with the right PPE. |
| 01:15 | There's no shortage of professional welders out there who have skipped on the simplest of PPE requirements at one point or another and had major injuries as a result. |
| 01:24 | Spend time shopping for the PPE that suits you. |
| 01:28 | If it's comfortable and you feel good wearing it, it'll motivate you to spend more time in the workshop and that will in turn prove more productive for you and your project. |
| 01:37 | So, let's start from the top. |
| 01:39 | The first thing we think about in the welding environment and the most important to our eyes is a welding mask. |
| 01:46 | When welding we need a clear view of our weld and to have a clear view we need to have a quality mask with a few key features to allow us to see and operate our welder clearly. |
| 01:56 | In the industry it's often said that the best weld is always one that you're comfortable doing and being comfortable requires a clear line of sight. |
| 02:03 | The welding helmet or mask as it's also known can make a huge difference to all aspects of our welding. |
| 02:09 | Welding emits light called an arc and it's the reason that we need to always wear a welding mask. |
| 02:15 | Weld arc gives off radiation over a broad range of wavelengths including ultraviolet, visible light and infrared. |
| 02:22 | Not filtering this UV or ultraviolet light and infrared light can cause a painful eye condition called arc flash or arc eye. |
| 02:30 | This is the result of exposure to the intense UV light that the arc gives off and symptoms can present in just a few seconds of exposure. |
| 02:38 | It can begin to cause inflammation of the membrane in the front of the eye and prolonged exposure to arc flash can cause extreme pain which feels similar to having sand in your eye. |
| 02:48 | To protect our eyes from this arc radiation we have a few choices of welding mask available, but we should really only be looking at one type for MIG welding and that's the auto darkening helmet. |
| 02:58 | This welding mask uses a battery powered sensor that senses the arc strike and immediately darkens our view to a preset shade. |
| 03:05 | The key to this type of helmet's popularity is its adjustable sensitivity and this may need to be turned down when using very low amps or up when working overhead or outside where the sunlight may trigger the auto darkening mode prematurely. |
| 03:19 | The delay setting can also be adjusted and this changes the length of time the auto darkening mode stays on after the weld arc has finished. |
| 03:26 | Typically the delay should be turned up on high amperage welds where the weld pull may stay bright for longer or down to save time and increase visibility while tacking. |
| 03:36 | It's common for our auto darkening helmet to have a grinding or cutting mode which allows the weld mask to be used as a face shield. |
| 03:43 | Although this can save time, it will decrease your visibility when grinding and will make it difficult to wear air protection at the same time. |
| 03:51 | We can't really recommend using a welding mask for anything other than welding because grinding in particular can damage the lens making it harder to see our welds clearly. |
| 04:01 | It might seem a little trivial, but the shape of a welding helmet is also important because it plays a part in protecting our skin. |
| 04:07 | The UV light from the arc flash can quickly cause burning of the skin just like sunburn. |
| 04:13 | The shape of the helmet protects our neck and ears and although this may prevent the wearer from getting his or her head into that tight spot inside the car, it will eliminate nasty UV burns that can do some real damage to the skin. |
| 04:27 | It's important that you spend some time shopping around for a helmet that's comfortable for you. |
| 04:31 | Having this helmet properly fit your head and be adjusted to the right height is an important part of the welding process. |
| 04:38 | A more expensive welding helmet is not necessarily better so try on a few before deciding on the one that you like best. |
| 04:45 | As we spend more time welding, we also need to think about the respiratory risks associated with MIG welding. |
| 04:51 | A lot of what we weld as motorsport enthusiasts will be coated, plated or painted and we should be aware of just how harmful some of these compounds can be when they're burned. |
| 05:01 | Amidst the visible smoke emitted from our welding process is a mix of dangerous gases that can cause nausea and dizziness as well as throat, eye and nose irritation. |
| 05:11 | While the best way to eliminate this is to be clean and prepare the workpiece thoroughly before welding, even if you do the most thorough prep job possible, it's still beneficial to use an extraction fan in any confined or tight areas. |
| 05:24 | Unfortunately it's impossible to eliminate every harmful gas from the welding process, but if we have an extraction fan or a regular fan pushing the air through, it'll improve the situation dramatically. |
| 05:36 | If you're particularly concerned about the respiratory risks of welding, then you can use a respirator. |
| 05:41 | The simplest form of respirator is one designed for general use which can be fitted prior to putting on your welding helmet and it's one that's good to have in the workshop should you need it. |
| 05:50 | But if you don't want to eliminate all respiratory risks or you have a confined welding environment, it's worth looking into a powered air purifying system that uses a battery operated fan and filter setup to supply filtered fresh air into your welding helmet. |
| 06:04 | Let's summarise what we've covered on this module before moving on. |
| 06:07 | A quality welding mask is essential for clear visibility and protection during welding. |
| 06:12 | Welding emits harmful light and if we're not properly shielded from it, we can find ourselves with a painful condition known as akai as well as sunburn to any exposed skin. |
| 06:22 | The auto darkening helmet popular for MIG welding is recommended. |
| 06:25 | It has adjustable sensitivity and delay settings to ensure that it can immediately darken upon the arc strike, protecting your eyes. |
| 06:33 | The helmet's shape also protects our skin from UV burns. |
| 06:36 | Respiratory risks from welding fumes can be reduced by thorough workpiece preparation, using an extraction fan or even wearing a respirator. |
