medical welding question

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hi guys new to the site  need important info ive been welding on and off for a year now  wanted to buy a miller mig but heres the ?i found out i need a difiberlater for heart reasons are there any welders out there that still weld with the implant   doctors have no anws   i very much appreciate any info
Reply:Originally Posted by francohi guys new to the site  need important info ive been welding on and off for a year now  wanted to buy a miller mig but heres the ?i found out i need a difiberlater for heart reasons are there any welders out there that still weld with the implant   doctors have no anws   i very much appreciate any info
Reply:A guy that works for me has a pacemaker. I told him to stay away from me while I weld until he can get clearance from his doctor. He asked and the doctor told him to stay away from welders period. Another guy that owns a machine shop in Gloucester MA has a defibrillator on his pacemaker and his son started welding not knowing his dad was nearby. It did difibulate him falsely. OUCH!  I would look into this very seriously before considering any welding.Drivesector Hobart Handler 140Hobart Handler 180Ready Welder 2Hobart Air Force 400Airco Stinger 225Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most."OZZY"
Reply:I don't know, but this is my experience with high frequency.Our tig machines ruin one guys ipod every few weeks. I think we all know what an ipod is but for those who don't its a digital music player. He gets a new one on warranty every time it happens.I would be careful about defibrilators or pacemakers also.Bill
Reply:This one is easy, use an acetylene torch.  You can weld steel, stainless steel, and aluminum.  I don't know what else you could want to do.
Reply:i know not to wear a watch when i weld Tig it sure makes the cheap ones(digital) go nuts
Reply:I wouldn't wear a pacemaker anywhere near a welder putting out hf/rf any more than around a microwave oven, but check with the pacemaker manufacturer--I am sure you have an ID card with all the info to call them.By the way , my cell phone works fine next to the TA 185 tig cable--maybe even helps the reception.
Reply:I think Sail2U is right...it's the HF that causes problems.  Mig doesn't use HF, so you should be ok.  Check with your doctor and with miller just to be on the safe side, though.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:I'm with smithboy, I don't see how a mig could do anything but HF is another story.  Of course I would seek other doctors advise.DewayneDixieland WeldingMM350PLincoln 100Some torchesOther misc. tools
Reply:well, since i work in medicine, i am certain that any welder will cause you trouble.  but since i'm not your cardiologist, i'd speak with him/her directly.the trouble arises from the magnetic field generated by the high electrical currents, not the frequency they operate at.  the HF causes the defibrillator to discharge because it think it "sees" ventricular fibrillation.  problematic, but unless it actually causes you to go into VF, not too bad.  just funny for other people   the greater problem is that the devices are turned on and off via magnets and if you turned your defibrillator off, then you'd be much worse off than getting a small shock.  make sense?  follow up with your cardiologist but i'm fairly certain they're going to tell you to stay aware from high current devices.a
Reply:Originally Posted by sail2uI wouldn't wear a pacemaker anywhere near a welder putting out hf/rf any more than around a microwave oven,
Reply:Racerwad and JTMCc are absolutely right.  I guess I was just using cobbled together info and coming to the wrong conclusion.  See page 3 of this publication.  The heart experts say it could be a problem, but they offer some advice to those who weld and have pacemakers.http://www.medtronic.com/rhythms/downloads/Fall2000.pdfLast edited by smithboy; 10-01-2006 at 08:01 PM.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:good luck to ya, I personally would stay away. Also reading that 130 amps max, if you feel dizzy get away, Ground very close, stop if you cant make a arc in a couple of attempts. Sounds kind of risky to me. Oh the not getting shocked is a tough one, I get shocked on occasion.Good luck whatever you do.Drivesector Hobart Handler 140Hobart Handler 180Ready Welder 2Hobart Air Force 400Airco Stinger 225Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most."OZZY"
Reply:medtronic and phillips are two of the bigger companies that make implanted defibrillation devices.  i would find out what make and model you're getting (trust me, they know like you'd know the difference between a lincoln and a miller) and contact the manufacturer.  "never" never happens.  i'm sure that there are people who have implanted devices who do weld.  is welding your occupation or hobby?  clarifying that point to your physicians would help a lot.  it doesn't sound like welding is your job but i'd be sad if i couldn't do it anymore.  find out the specifications of the welder(s) that you want so that you can provide current output, operational frequencies, etc, and bring all this to your doc.  or, call the manufacturer.  a lot time their reps/sales people are more knowledgeable than the surgeon doing the implant.  good luck.a
Reply:Weather a welder uses "HF" like a tig machine is irrelevant in this discussion.The the "HF" term with regard to welding machines doesn't necessarily have any thing to do with high frequency as it applies to electronics.Technically speaking every electrical arc or spark of any kind has high frequency components in it's energy. This is why hair dryers and lightning affect your television sets.Both would appear to be low frequency devices (Lightning is just a single spark, one single event that doesn't repeat, the frequency of something that doesn't repeat? Zero)Yet both of these produce radio frequency energy in the hundreds of Megahertz.A welding arc obviously produces a great deal of this radio frequency energy, especially when the arc is started or stopped. (Imagine how many start-stops there are in short-circuit-transfer!)Patrick