Soldering fumes...

[Chadheckler1]

The Solder pot thread from Dave made me think about solder fumes and solder ventalation systems. Does anyone have any experience with a gooseneck type or smaller portable style fume hood? I know that the solder fumes are really bad to breathe in and I want to get something simple and flexible to get it pretty close to "Point of use"...and I hope that I can get something pretty quiet too.

...I can't afford to be losing any more brain cells...I'd rather save them for beer.

[defaced]

Being a welding guy I know the fume issue all too well. In my opinion, for solder fumes just simply using a small fan to deflect the fumes away from where you're breathing will work. I used to do this when I was TIG welding formed parts that had forming wax all over them. We had a 36" fan that I sat behind me so that the fumes would be blown away from my face. Basically you can try the same thing buy on a smaller scale, and because of the size of the fan, coming in from the side instead of the front.

Another option is a small fan with some dryer vent tubing to suck the fumes away. Basically tape the dryer vent tubing to the back of the fan so that you get a vacuum.

[Chadheckler1]

Good ideas.

I am surprized that you used a fan while TIG welding. Seems like that would effect or disrupt the flow of the shielding gas. I don't think that matters for soldering though...and I probably don't need much air flow to get it away from my face. I try not to hover over top of the piece when I am soldering but the fumes always seem to come my way. I think I will just try a small computer cooling fan that I can mount to a gooseneck or something similar and that will probably be enough air flow. Thanks.

[defaced]

The fumes I was dealing with were from burning the forming wax on the part. I had to be very careful with positioning of the fan otherwise I was back at the grinder grinding my tungsten.

Yea, try a small computer fan and report back. I may set something up similar because my work area gets pretty hot and moving the fumes would be a good thing anyway.

[David King]

Solder fumes are from the flux alone, Lead can't vaporize at melting point so that's not an issue until you get a lot hotter.
Rosin fumes aren't good for you. Lots of circumstantial evidence of carcinogens from violin guys who boil down their own varnishes from turpentine. I'd say a simple muffin fan from a dead computer power supply is all you'd need.

[stingray_65]

OK,
I'm a fabricator by trade, or at least I used to get paid well for it at one time.
i've been around all sorts of ventilation from welding vents, paint booths and automaed plastic welding and have even fabricated a few industrial systems.

The fumes produced from a solder pot are VERY dangeroous.

a simple fan is not the answer, it will only move the fumes to a different area of your work station, and I assume this is in your house or garage.

The lead will form lead oxide after it condenses elsewhere and this is the most dangerous form ( from a health prospective)( think paint chips with no binders that are microscopic that will cling to anything with the slightest static charge like plastic drinking cups, glass plates, jeans and t shirts)

it MUST be vented to the outside and by all rights should be filtered thru an activated charcoal trap

but then you have to weigh saftey vs frequency of use and costs. other factors may be the presence of young children (most suseptable to exposure) rambunctious pets ( fire/burn hazards) and your responsibility to the next owners of your domicile.

how many windings are you making that would justify the use?
could you make a number of windings and then turn the pot on for only a short amount of time to limit exposure?

I dont want to come off as some sort of tree hugging health nut because thats a bit polar to my lifestyle.

but you asked so heck I'll play devils advocate.

believe me when I tell you I LOVE a brand new tool no matter how dangerous or unlikely i'll use it


HMMMM>>> writing this reply I'm thinking an aluminum hood or maybe a largish heat sink, with a peltier cooling unit on it to condensate the fumes would be great for limited use, just to knock down the airborn PPM count

[stingray_65]

Solder fumes are from the flux alone, Lead can't vaporize at melting point so that's not an issue until you get a lot hotter.
Rosin fumes aren't good for you. Lots of circumstantial evidence of carcinogens from violin guys who boil down their own varnishes from turpentine. I'd say a simple muffin fan from a dead computer power supply is all you'd need.

I'll bet you're very correct, I simply googled lead fumes instead of solder fumes and there is indeed a difference.

[belwar]

If you really want overkill then you can use the weller fan...

http://www.mcmelectronics.com/produc...LAID=220630200

I bought it for wiring up electric guitars where you are in close quarters with rosin fumes for 20 minutes at a shot. I think its like 50 bucks. It has active carbon filters to absorb the smoke, but I don't bother with them. As long as the smoke pulls away from you then you're good.

I actually multitask with it, when I'm winding I use the outlet of the fan to cool my winders motor.

[defaced]

I missed the solder pot part, thanks Stingray. If you're working with a large volume of molten solder, you need something to vent it and really filter it too. If you're just talking about hand soldering a few ounces of solder a week, then I'm still an advocate of a fan because of how small the volume of fume will be.

[LtKojak]

The fumes produced from a solder pot are VERY dangerous.

Damn! And think that I kinda like the smell...

[dai h.]

the cheapest thing I know of is using a fan, any power supply that will work with that fan, plus a filter for a dedicated unit(i.e. the store bought ready made solder fume filter fan thing) attached to it somehow. I've clodged together such a unit and I simply bolted on (or put the bolt through) the filter to put on the fan(the bolts act as the "legs"). (I have some fiber washers on there as well to keep the fan sucking in and hitting the filter.) I've seen someone else use those plastic wire ties to make the attachment also. The filters were something like (a pack of) four for around $15? It does not get 100% of the smoke/flux but it works a lot better than nothing (you can see that it works as the flux accumulates on the filter).

[JGundry]

I use two of these units. I never solder or have any of my assembly guys solder without it. I have one on a rolling cart when I'm winding on the machines. Rosin fumes are bad for you. Lead is often used as a catalyst when making rosin. I know of two people who soldered as part of their job that got brain cancer. Lead is a suspected cause of brain cancer. These units are not cheap but the worst case scenario of not using one cannot have a price tag attached to it.

http://www.timemotion.com/Products/E...-06-15225.aspx

[David Schwab]

If you really want overkill then you can use the weller fan...

http://www.mcmelectronics.com/produc...LAID=220630200

I bought it for wiring up electric guitars where you are in close quarters with rosin fumes for 20 minutes at a shot. I think its like 50 bucks. It has active carbon filters to absorb the smoke, but I don't bother with them. As long as the smoke pulls away from you then you're good.

I actually multitask with it, when I'm winding I use the outlet of the fan to cool my winders motor.

I saw that in the photo with your wire stand. I thought it was a ceramic heater.