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Has anyone come up with a good solution to stop smelling em. I hooked up an old computer fan and vented it out the window with some tubing from a dryer kit, that worked but not totally. I was still smelling the stuff and it makes my lips go numb! That can't be good.  :(

Any suggestions would be helpful.

Bill

I love the smell of solder...and that can't be good either.  :)

Jim

solder fumes contain formaldehyde.  it's cancer-causing, among other things.  my assembler has an activated-charcoal filter that fits in an exhaust fan directly in front of his work.  after a while, the filter develops a white crust that makes the foam completely stiff.  he used to have a little pattern, after the first couple years of soldering without it, of sniffing a couple of times and coughing once during every sentence of every conversation.  i got really concerned and bought him the exhaust fan... the condition cleared right up and now he throws away all that poison that he was hoovering up with his respiratory system before.  you guys should read the warning stickers on your solder rolls.

em·phy·se·ma     ( P )  Pronunciation Key  (mf-sm, -z-)
 n.
A pathological condition of the lungs marked by an abnormal increase in the size of the air spaces, resulting in labored breathing and an increased susceptibility to infection. It can be caused by irreversible expansion of the alveoli or by the destruction of alveolar walls.


An abnormal distention of body tissues caused by retention of air.

It's also possible to develop an allergy from constant exposure to the stuff!  You can wear a respirator, but preferably one with filters not simple paper cup types.  

I have one from left over from my days of experimenting with resin, but I don't use it for soldering (I just hold my breath when making joints and solder near to an open window), as it's too cumbersome.

When I was a kid I used to chew solder now and again (It tastes as nice as it smells)...if only I'd have know about the lead content! :shock:

Like smoking cigarettes, it only shortens your life from the end part, so it is not so much nothing to worry about. My boss was a heavy smoker, and we always adviced him to eat more vitamins and calsium to get rid from his bad habit. How does it help? It makes your backbone more stiff (we say here that people who have some self dicipline have that). Sorry I could not resist. :mrgreen:

But talking about solder fumes good ventilation and filtering with active charcoal and some dust-filtering sounds best solution. Filters are somewhat expensive here.

I have the window WIDE open, when I solder. It's cold as hell, but I end up never making only solder fumes, I always burn something else stinky and poisonous too :D

silver solder would be a good replacement for lead solder.
ive never used it though because it's a little more expensive.
are there those crazy fumes with it too?

also, how do factories produce circuits that doesnt have that
nasty rosin on the board?  silly question i know.

Solder fumes contain a lot of nasty stuff including lead oxide (probably the main stuff crusting up Z's assembler's filter), aliphatic aldehydes (family of carcinogens, and formaldehyde is only one of them), hydrochloric acid, isocyanates (precursor to making polyurethane and they are carcinogens), and various alcohols.

Lead exposure will gradually drop your I.Q. without many other symptoms until you're hopelessly stupid.

Don't take this lightly.

If you solder commercially and you don't have vacuum filters, OSHA will shut you down in 1/2 of a heartbeat.

I used to use a solution like Bill's.... dryer tubing connected to fan . If that doesn't work, get a larger fan (like a good sized squirrel cage blower from Dayton) and use the largest size tubing you can find (or better yet, 4 inch HDPE plasic drain pipe... it's really cheap and light).


It all comes down to one question..... What's your brain worth?


Casey,
Not a silly question at all.... but the answer might surprise you... the boards all get a hot water washing and then a quick dry with hot air.

Be safe,
-Peter

Quote from: zachary vexmy assembler has an activated-charcoal filter that fits in an exhaust fan directly in front of his work.

Is that one of those little guys with a 120mm fan in it? I was looking at those and wondered how effective they were. Actually I was thinking of building something with two 120mm fans with the carbon filters. Two has to be better than one, right?

Thanks everyone for your replies.

Quote from: Peter Snowberg

I used to use a solution like Bill's....

-Peter

What do you use now?

Quote from: Bill_F

Quote from: zachary vexmy assembler has an activated-charcoal filter that fits in an exhaust fan directly in front of his work.

Is that one of those little guys with a 120mm fan in it? I was looking at those and wondered how effective they were. Actually I was thinking of building something with two 120mm fans with the carbon filters. Two has to be better than one, right?

Thanks everyone for your replies.

I built one with the filters from a commerical one, plus some long bolts which hold the filter in place and help it stand up, plus a (12cm?) fan. A hood/vent like you see in kitchens would probably be more effective, but it is better than nothing (plus much cheaper than a commerical unit), and it helps keep my cheap soldering iron from overheating. And like Z mentioned, parts of the filter go white as it catches the flux (so you can see that it's doing something). I also have fiber washers in between the filter and fan to keep them from touching, and it's powered off an AC adaptor.

Quote from: mattv

Quote from: Peter Snowberg

I used to use a solution like Bill's....

-Peter

What do you use now?

I went from the homebrew solution to big duct work and a big AC filter (it worked on 3 assembly stations). Then I got out of major soldeing for a few years, figuring I had too much occupational exposure already.

I lost EVERYTHING in the dot-com crash by working for two companies in a row where I got screwed and investing everything I had in my own startup where my P.R. twit tried a hostile takeover which blew a big deal with HP (I never bought a single share of dot-com stock), so these days I'm back to a fan and the window. On nice days (looking back longingly at summer), I would just set up a card table outside.

-Peter

Quote from: smoguzbenjaminI have the window WIDE open, when I solder. it's cold as hell , but I end up never making only solder fumes, I always burn something else stinky and poisonous too :D

     hell is cold, damn and i'd already bought my tickets  :twisted:
i will say i'm very sick w / a lower resp. infection . i'm mean a bad one
i have asthma on top of it all.......it hate all fumes and paint vapors  :evil:
         i never thought it was a 'real big deal' when i did a box or 3. but that shit kills, and not in a good way !
             peace,
                  - tom

If you're like me and you hate the health hazard paranoia...
A box with a 4'' tube sticking in it,, right over where you werk/
 At in between the end of that tube and the next 4'' tube is a little fan.
 Better than that
 I low volume high pressure induction fan with a 1/2 inch flexible tube, that connects to a 3/8'' metal tube you have fastened to the side of the iron, so the hole at the end stays right next to the tip of your iron suckking every last whisp in.  Cours ya gotta route the other end into your nose...lol
 I wear band aids cause I mount the iron and bring the solder and work to IT/the spatters get on my finger tips and eat through them...then of course I take the tips of my fingers and rub whatever's on em all over the fret board..naroughhh

Quote from: Peter Snowberg.

Lead exposure will gradually drop your I.Q. without many other symptoms until you're hopelessly stupid.

Don't take this lightly.

If you solder commercially and you don't have vacuum filters, OSHA will


It all comes down to one question..... What's your brain worth?

Be safe,
-Peter

well hot damn.. is it the same for silver solder. if it is i think i will have to quit this..    question what is a normal iq..??? i have heard lots of different things..  and was wondering.

the lips thing sounds like an allergy or high sensitivity...my dad gets the same thing.  He was forced to drop electrical engeneering becuase of it...

The only thing about silver solder is that is seems pretty lame compared to a 60/40 type lead bearing solder. It's hard to get it to flow right and it looks dull, so I always wonder if the solder joint is any good or not because it looks like a cold solder joint.

Quote from: Paul MarossyThe only thing about silver solder is that is seems pretty lame compared to a 60/40 type lead bearing solder. It's hard to get it to flow right and it looks dull, so I always wonder if the solder joint is any good or not because it looks like a cold solder joint.

i have never had that problem.. hmm i better check my rat shack solder

I use rat shack too, Silver bearing solder.  And I've never used any ventalation at all.  Shoot.  :(

-Colin

Quote from: Ansilwell hot damn.. is it the same for silver solder. if it is i think i will have to quit this..    question what is a normal iq..??? i have heard lots of different things..  and was wondering.

http://www.iqtest.dk/main.swf

well i think i will take that again when i am more awake..   didn't do so well on that one.

a coulpe of others though i have smoked so i wonder what is the standard.

of course i know where my strenghts lie.  
i aced the ASVAB... :)

There are 23 separate types of aptitude known in academic circles. The IQ test makes a mush of the ones the test makers excel in so don't take the number too seriously.

I've dealt with a couple Ph.D.s that were very intelligent, but I wouldn't describe them all as witty or smart. I've also been amazed at some of the things I've heard teenagers say. Intelligence comes in many forms and the IQ test doesn't recognize many of them as even existing.

Einstein made a quote about how there was no class he could have taken to understood what he did.

Crossing the street is dangerous…. Breathing city air can be very dangerous…. Mitigate the danger and follow your bliss. :)

Worst case, get a respirator with organic vapor cartridges and solder away. Just wash your hands before you eat/smoke/or whatever.

-Peter

PS: Don't try to pause the test, it will score you on the spot and quit.

For anyone who's interested, here's some links giving safety info on some of the chemicals Peter listed.

http://ptcl.chem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/LE/lead_II_oxide.html
http://www.concordebattery.com/products/technical_info/leadacid.pdf
http://www.afscme.org/health/faq-fah.htm
http://hillbrothers.com/msds/pdf/hydrochloric-acid.pdf
http://www.crouse-hinds.com/CrouseHinds/resources/msds/Msds_isocyanate.cfm

A simple google search will get you anything you want to know too - there's a shed load of data available on chemical saefty.

Quote from: zachary vex
http://www.iqtest.dk/main.swf

I can see the thread now (seeing as we've had age and place) - OT: What was your IQ score!

it sucked on this one. it was only like 115

try emodes  it is more rounded.  this one is just perception. to see how linear you think..

i got a 156 at emode.  theres another one also
http://www.highiqsociety.org/noflash/nonmembers/iqtests.htm?IQ

got like a 137 on it