# Correct way to filter fumes from spot welding?



## ome (Nov 1, 2013)

Hi Everyone,
I am considering getting a used Joyal 2000 WD bench spot welder with coolant fixtures for cooling the holders. 
My basement workshop has 4 small windows with a couple of small window fans. 
I will wear a full face mask for filtering the air, same as i do when grinding carbide. 
My question is what is out there that will be portable and effective. 
Also, any comments on this model and make would be appreciated, this will be my first welding purchase. 
Thanks,
jon


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## DMS (Nov 2, 2013)

Some sort of forced ventilation would be good. Also, if your respirator does not have carbon filters, they are not going to do much for you. The main risk with spot welding is going to be zinc fumes from galvanized metal. If you are just doing mild steel sheet, then you shouldn't have much to worry about. 

Harbor Freight has a fume extractor setup for a reasonable price. Basically a long piece of air duct and a fan on one end. I have contemplated getting one several times. My welder is on a cart, so I mostly just roll it outside. Once it starts raining again that becomes less of an option though.


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## 12bolts (Nov 2, 2013)

Positive ventilation.
Many smoke/metal vapours and particulates are smaller than what can be effectively filtered. Activated charcoal, (carbon) filters are great at removing taste and smell, leading to misbelief that all the nasties are gone.

Cheers Phil


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## ome (Nov 2, 2013)

DMS said:


> Some sort of forced ventilation would be good. Also, if your respirator does not have carbon filters, they are not going to do much for you. The main risk with spot welding is going to be zinc fumes from galvanized metal. If you are just doing mild steel sheet, then you shouldn't have much to worry about.
> 
> Harbor Freight has a fume extractor setup for a reasonable price. Basically a long piece of air duct and a fan on one end. I have contemplated getting one several times. My welder is on a cart, so I mostly just roll it outside. Once it starts raining again that becomes less of an option though.


Thanks for the info,
I knew to stay away from welding galv sheet, but how about stainless steel, any risk with toxic fumes
Thanks,
Jon

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12bolts said:


> Positive ventilation.
> Many smoke/metal vapours and particulates are smaller than what can be effectively filtered. Activated charcoal, (carbon) filters are great at removing taste and smell, leading to misbelief that all the nasties are gone.
> 
> Cheers Phil


Hi Phil,
Thanks for the info, what exactly do you mean by positive ventilation?
Thanks,

Jon


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## Terrywerm (Nov 2, 2013)

Spot welders do not oxidize nearly as much metal as mig, stick, or tig welders do, so there are much fewer fumes from the metal itself. This is because spot welding is a resistance welding process, whereas the others all employ an electric arc. Additionally, there are no fumes from fluxes like you have with stick or flux core wire, so the risk is greatly reduced. Some ventilation will be necessary, but spot welding mild steel or even stainless will generally not require a large ventilation system, especially with the hobby projects we work on. If you were doing production work eight or ten hours per day, that would be different. Stainless does offer a little more risk than mild steel because of the chromium in it, but with spot welding the problem will be minimal.


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## Ray C (Nov 2, 2013)

I probably sound like a broken record here but...  Anytime you weld or machine anything, work on clean parts.  Remove any paint or coatings and rinse/wipe with rubbing alcohol.  Burning paint will give you a nasty headache.  Residual coatings like zinc can poison you.  Residual solvents like trichlorethelene (sp?) and carbontetrachloride can kill you...

Wire wheel it, rinse it with alcohol, weld it and keep your head out of the smoke plumes...  This is especially important with TIG welding as that must be done with no fans or wind blowing.


Ray


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## 12bolts (Nov 2, 2013)

ome said:


> .....what exactly do you mean by positive ventilation....









Jon,
The amount of welding you do will determine what level of ventilation you want. If your not jamming your head into a small smoke filled space then a small helmet fan might be all you need, pic 1. But for a more "industrial" application you may want to look at pic 2 & 3.

Cheers Phil


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## ome (Nov 2, 2013)

Ray C said:


> I probably sound like a broken record here but...  Anytime you weld or machine anything, work on clean parts.  Remove any paint or coatings and rinse/wipe with rubbing alcohol.  Burning paint will give you a nasty headache.  Residual coatings like zinc can poison you.  Residual solvents like trichlorethelene (sp?) and carbontetrachloride can kill you...
> 
> Wire wheel it, rinse it with alcohol, weld it and keep your head out of the smoke plumes...  This is especially important with TIG welding as that must be done with no fans or wind blowing.
> 
> ...


Hi Ray, 
Thank you for those important warnings, i really do appreciate the advice. 
Thanks,
Jon

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12bolts said:


> View attachment 63674
> 
> View attachment 63675
> View attachment 63676
> ...


Hi Phil,
thamks for the advice and pics. I will only do spot welding as a hobbyist once in a while, so the helmet with yhe dan sounds good. 
where can they be ordered online ?
Thanks,
jon


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## ome (Nov 11, 2013)

Ray C said:


> I probably sound like a broken record here but...  Anytime you weld or machine anything, work on clean parts.  Remove any paint or coatings and rinse/wipe with rubbing alcohol.  Burning paint will give you a nasty headache.  Residual coatings like zinc can poison you.  Residual solvents like trichlorethelene (sp?) and carbontetrachloride can kill you...
> 
> Wire wheel it, rinse it with alcohol, weld it and keep your head out of the smoke plumes...  This is especially important with TIG welding as that must be done with no fans or wind blowing.
> 
> ...


Thanks Ray,
will a cheap HF DUST Collector with a 4" hose work to keep fumes from traveling up to main house, basement shop. 
Thanks,
Jon


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## Ray C (Nov 11, 2013)

Sorry, just saw this question...  Honestly, I'm not familiar with spot welding, don't know how much smoke it produces and can't answer your question.  My guess is that it can't be worse than stick welding -which I would never do inside an occupied house due to all the smoke it produces.  I happen to have some birds as pets and they're sensitive to fumes but nonetheless, it would not be proper within the confines of a home.

The only welding I do in the shop with the doors closed is TIG which produces very little smoke if the parts are clean.  I do occasionally open the doors to air things out.  If it's just a 2 minute touch-up weld, even that's not necessary.

I suspect spot welding is relatively smokeless compared to stick welding.  Much of the smoke produced will probably depend on how oily the parts are.

Ray




ome said:


> Thanks Ray,
> will a cheap HF DUST Collector with a 4" hose work to keep fumes from traveling up to main house, basement shop.
> Thanks,
> Jon


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## xalky (Nov 11, 2013)

ome said:


> Thanks Ray,
> will a cheap HF DUST Collector with a 4" hose work to keep fumes from traveling up to main house, basement shop.
> Thanks,
> Jon


The simple answer is yes, but with some caveats. You want to create a negative pressure in your basement. That HF dust collection fan will work well but you should pull clean air from the upstairs or just create a vacuum in your basement. Make a tight sealing exit for the exhaust port. Let the fan pull air from every crack and crevice in your basement. The minute you open a window or a door other than the living space door you remove the vacuum in the room. 

Theres another issue with doing this in the basement, it is possible(I've done it) that you can actually pull furnace fumes into the basement area through the chimney and out the burner area. This is not good if your furnace is in the basement. The best way to insure that your fumes stay confined is to build an enclosed area with a fresh air intake and an exhaust. Make sure that your exhaust is far enough away from your intake so as not to be pulling in dirty air from your outside exhaust. You can do it on the cheap with 6 mill plastic. 

With the fan running and exhaust pipe well sealed, You can regulate air intake by opening a door starting with the living space door. Sounds counter intuitive. The airflow will take the path of least resistance which is from your living space. The fumes can not go upwind. This is how it's done when building confinemnt areas for mold, asbestos, lead paint etc. In those cases the exhaust air is filtered, usually with a hepa, but in your case, your just exhausting nuisance fumes.

Marcel


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