I'm An Idiot

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Hey Everyone,I did something stupid on Sunday afternoon and I'm still feeling the effects of it right now (Monday evening). Anyway I went over to my grandfather's house to practice some stick welding, he has a machine in his garage. I got some scrap and things were going fairly well, I placed some good beads and I was really impressed with my auto-darkening helmet. I bought it on Saturday but didn't get a chance to give it a go until Sunday. It works really well and I like being able to see perfectly to get lined up, strike and arc and BINGO! it goes dark. It's a great device. Notice how I'm building up to the "idiot part"?   My grandfather was out there with me when I was welding and he gets cold rather easy. The garage isn't heated so he wore a winter coat and hat (as well as his helmet) and he kept the doors to the garage closed. The garage has a side door to it which was closed as well as the big door which the car enters. He doesn't have any sort of fan/ventilation system installed so all the smoke from my welding just sat there in the garage. After a three hours of welding I couldn't see the back wall of the garage anymore from all of the smoke. On top of that I didn't realize that the one piece of angle iron I welded still had some paint on it. The fumes from that were less then plesant.Anyway my eyes are fairly red and have been since, they are quite itchy and I've been putting drops in them.My question is...is this caused from the delay of an auto-darkening helmet and it'll take my eyes a bit to adjust to it or is it from the fumes and lack of ventilation. My helmet delay is .25 of a second.- Brian "The Idiot"
Reply:Yes you are!  ....just kidding of course!Actually thanks for sharing the story. I can't answer your question regarding the cause - helmet or not - but its does raise a concern for my shop situation. I have a roof vent (garage), but the inside ceiling is completely drywalled so I might be wise to add a fan/vent!Someone, much wiser than both of us, I'm sure will help you more!Mike
Reply:it could be from the smoke or the setting on your mask what shade is it?ChuckASME Pressure Vessel welder
Reply:Originally Posted by idontknow28.....My helmet delay is .25 of a second.....
Reply:The mask has a knob which varies the shade from 9-13 I had it on 12.Sober is right, the time delay thing I posted was for afterwards...like I said I'm an idiot.but I must say THANK YOU VERY MUCH! I'm looking into "Metal Fume Fever" and if this persists you can be sure I'm going to try to get into my family doctor's office.-Brian
Reply:Anyway my eyes are fairly red and have been since, they are quite itchy and I've been putting drops in them.
Reply:Originally Posted by zapsteri think you "flashed" yourself way too many times...that is a sure sign. ...zap!
Reply:Metal fume fever is not related to your eyes.  It feels like a quick onset of the flu.  Your eyes may be sensitive to the fumes...more than most people.  You also may have some allergy to the smoke, or like Zap says, you may have accidentally flashed yourself a few times.  Remember, the light doesn't have to hit you directly.  Shinny surfaces can provide the flash almost as well as directly looking at the arc.  The best description of flashed eyes is that it feels like sand in your eyes.  Does that sound like what you are experiencing?Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:I would be fairly confident your eyes were irritated by whatever was in that smoke. (Couldn't see the back of the GARAGE??). Give it a couple days with the drops, if it doesn't clear up or gets worse, see a doctor. How are your lungs and throat? The auto darkening helmet gives you full eye protection by dropping to shade in milliseconds, the .25 sec delay might be a little short for you, leave it a little longer, say 2/3 of it's max setting. If you are just learning on the machine, you could be flashing due to intermittant starts and stops and grounding arcs causing the helmet to lighten just as your arc picks back up. Good luck!If you don't have the time to do it right, then you definitely don't have the time to do it over.
Reply:Just as an additional FYI, the auto-dark helmets *always* protect your eyes from the harmful UV rays, even when in the pre-dark mode. Still sucks when you do get flashed, though. I'm betting it was the fumes. Speaking of being an idiot, the very first time I ever welded, with my brand new MIG, I placed a piece of sheetmetal over a garbage can, where I had just tossed (and forgotten about) a paper towel that I'd used with acetone. As soon as I pressed the mig trigger I had a fire in the plastic garbage can. No biggie but yeah I felt stupid !
Reply:I hope I didn't give the implication that the eye irritation is a symptom of metal fume fever.....it's not.I suspect the eye irritation is due to "something" in the smoke.....I wanted to bring attention to metal fume fever in "addition" to the topic at hand.....since there was that comment about the garage being full of smoke and not being able to see the door.Patrick
Reply:Not to be a wise-***, but did you turn the helmet on?  The auto-darkening helmets will give you some protection, even when off, but not enough.  I know there are times when I forgot to turn mine back on, you can see to weld but you'll pay for it later.
Reply:Originally Posted by Sober_PollockI hope I didn't give the implication that the eye irritation is a symptom of metal fume fever.....it's not.
Reply:I'm guessing metal fume fever is different from breathing galv fumes? I've heard of it but never learned about what it is.If you don't have the time to do it right, then you definitely don't have the time to do it over.
Reply:Originally Posted by ClanweldI'm guessing metal fume fever is different from breathing galv fumes? I've heard of it but never learned about what it is.
Reply:Wannabe, I might be dumb but I'm not stupid.  The helmet was on, I think the drops are starting to work as my eyes are less irritated today then they were yesterday.-Brian
Reply:Good to hear it!  Hey sober, did that google search. Zinc fumes from burning off galv is the primary cause of metal fume fever, some sites also list copper and magnesium as possible candidates. Now I know...and that anvilfire site is too much work, but thanks for the diversion.Last edited by Clanweld; 11-14-2006 at 04:39 PM.If you don't have the time to do it right, then you definitely don't have the time to do it over.
Reply:Zinc poisoning sucks!  That'll make ya sick.DewayneDixieland WeldingMM350PLincoln 100Some torchesOther misc. tools
Reply:The smoke may be irritating your eyes, but it is filling your lungs with junk.  All those smoke particles are really tiny and get way down in your lungs.  You'll be hooked up to an oxygen bottle by the time you're 60!  Then there are toxic issues with manganese, nickel and who knows what else.  Ventilate. Ventilate. Ventilate.  Being cold is temporary.  Chronic lung disease is forever.
Reply:welding in the  garage..im gonna  guess you got  flashed from  the  side  or  behind.....when in a  building  you should  where flash  glasses...you  could  be  flashed  from  a reflection in a window of off of bright  steel
Reply:The Zapster I believe is right on with his answer. The itchy eyes give it away.