Yeah, the best way to weld a fuel tank is to drain it, fill with water and drain again, and then the most important part, put the welder away and buy another fuel tank.
I can imagine how tempting it is, if your tank is stuffed ... But after this vid and the tale from @Grantos1ea , like, er.. Nahhhh .. No tanks! 4 months ago
It can be done safely, fuel tanks get welded every day but need to know what your doing and do everything to the book, no room in that job for slap-dash Harry. They're either filled with water or inert gas (like nitrogen) after thorough cleaning. Gas monitors can tell you if a flammable atmosphere is inside a tank but not cheap.
I have been teaching my daughter to weld in my garage, we have a pre-weld check list that we go through before the welder is turned on. The first item on the list is to place ALL aerosol cans and any flammable materials in an outside fire resistant cabinet. The second is to turn on the extractor fan while the rest of the clean up continues. Occasionally the clean up takes longer than the welding. As a mechanic, I got into this habit (obsession) after watching a coworker/friend destroy half of the shop and both of his arms because "good enough" , was just not good enough. The only thing you should be in a hurry to do is making it safe, it is part of the process, not extra work. Thank you for the awesome content.
I knew heavy equipment mechanic who worked in a multi-bay garage. While he was sitting on an old wooden milk crate doing a stick-weld repair, he suddenly got lifted off the ground. He flipped off his helmet expecting to discover who had just kicked his make-shift seat, but there was nobody there. Confused, he lowered his welding mask and struck another arc. Within another second or two, he got lifted off his seat again. He threw off is helmet once again expecting to catch some practical joker kicking his seat, but there was no one near him. Then he noticed another mechanic at the other end of the garage emptying the remaining contents of a fuel tank into the floor drain which ran under the concrete floor, and connected with another drain directly under the milk crate that my friend was sitting on. Every time my friend's welding spark made its way into the floor drain it caused a little gasoline vapor explosion that lifted him into the air!
sir. i first want to thank you for making me aware of all these welding hazards. i'm a new stick welder, who only intends to do small jobs. but as you have pointed out even a small job and a small lack of caution can make you dead. i read the safety book that came with the stick welder and it mentions none of your cautionary notes. your videos have given me a new sense of awareness that i will stick to for life. i'll share your video with other welders that i know. a great big thanks. ‼
35 years of welding stuff, professionally trained and the son of a retired boily. Id often thought about welding stainless but i was always told it was a specialised process so never bothered. No one ever mentioned poisonous gases, so thanks for that👍
It's no more specialised than all the other processes imo gal welding is at the top of the class for special, stainless is enjoyable to weld just ventilate the area an keep breaths to a minimum 👍. Gal poisoning knocks you around a fair bit more but without the dull headache
@@rens1489 i just mentioned what i was told and the reasons I didn’t weld it. Dad used a TIG at work but I’ve never had one or a real need to buy one. As for gal, i have welded gal pipe but i ground it off first and did my best to avoid the fumes. I also do my best to avoid it altogether. I got a lung full of something at tech once and didn’t like it, so i never went back for seconds.
@@winzracingNZ dad was a boily for almost 40 years, says he never wore a glove on his right hand. He never said why but I’m betting it’s something to do with control. He now has lymphoma but it’s unknown if this is connected in anyway.
@@python27au You can never say that cancer is because of that. But risk definitely rises when exposed to uv radiation for example. I don't get why you wouldn't use gloves.
Another one that occasionally gets people on the news is doing a weld repair or modification on an air compressor tank. These welds are critical and it does not matter how good you are--you have every opportunity to screw it up. One day you'll be in the shop and the tank will explode. Even if it's contained in its own space, it can blow right through 4x2 stud walls and get ya.
The, Umm, glorious 200 liter shop compressor. They go off like a bomb. Happened to the local wrecking yard. The end basically popped off and sent the compressor and the concrete slab (Old footstep It looked like) right through the shop walls and knocked over 2 stacks of cars that were piled 3 cars high. It sure tickled the ears and browned the pants.
@@TheHungrySlug all 200 litre shop compressor. are bomb, it just they haven gone off yet, (same as the old steam engine boilers, when they go they they ready go, stud wall, it like to go brick wall, and scrannel, going all ways will not be good for your heath too. ? including bit wall, and anything in the way, etc,
The other thing with that is that if the compressor is an oiled one (like most of them), oil/oil residue may well be in that tank when someone applies a welder to it and once again we're back to high flammable liquids in a pressure vessel when the heat comes on.
@@dh2032 "all 200 litre shop compressor. are bomb, it just they haven gone off yet, (same as the old steam engine boilers," those to things really aren't the same.
My son was working for a trucking company. His supervisor told him to weld a crack on a fuel tank from one of the trucks. The diesel tank was "empty" with the cap off for a couple of days. My son told him that wasn't enough. The supervisor told him to get to it or find another job. My son packed up his equipment and left. The next day he was working someplace else. Three days later a news story broke about the supervisor had been severely injured while welding a diesel tank. He lingered in agony for two more days then died. It can happen when you don't take the right precautions.
Good you raised someone that can stand up for themself. That supervisor probably wouldn't have lost a wink of sleep had your kid gotten torched. Certainly the company execs didn't.
I answered and said, "If I have found favor in thy sight, O Lord, show this also to thy servant: whether after death, as soon as every one of us yields up his soul, we shall be kept in rest until those times come when thou wilt renew the creation, or whether we shall be tormented at once?" 76 He answered me and said, "I will show you that also, but do not be associated with those who have shown scorn, nor number yourself among those who are tormented. 77 For you have a treasure of works laid up with the Most High; but it will not be shown to you until the last times. 78 Now, concerning death, the teaching is: When the decisive decree has gone forth from the Most High that a man shall die, as the spirit leaves the body to return again to him who gave it, first of all it adores the glory of the Most High. 79 And if it is one of those who have shown scorn and have not kept the way of the Most High, and who have despised his law, and who have hated those who fear the Most High -- 80 such spirits shall not enter into habitations, but shall immediately wander about in torments, ever grieving and sad, in seven ways. 81 The first way, because they have scorned the law of the Most High. 82 The second way, because they cannot now make a good repentance that they may live. 83 The third way, they shall see the reward laid up for those who have trusted the covenants of the Most High. 84 The fourth way, they shall consider the torment laid up for themselves in the last days. 85 The fifth way, they shall see how the habitations of the others are guarded by angels in profound quiet. 86 The sixth way, they shall see how some of them will pass over into torments. 87 The seventh way, which is worse than all the ways that have been mentioned, because they shall utterly waste away in confusion and be consumed with shame, and shall wither with fear at seeing the glory of the Most High before whom they sinned while they were alive, and before whom they are to be judged in the last times. 88 "Now this is the order of those who have kept the ways of the Most High, when they shall be separated from their mortal body. 89 During the time that they lived in it, they laboriously served the Most High, and withstood danger every hour, that they might keep the law of the Lawgiver perfectly. 90 Therefore this is the teaching concerning them: 91 First of all, they shall see with great joy the glory of him who receives them, for they shall have rest in seven orders. 92 The first order, because they have striven with great effort to overcome the evil thought which was formed with them, that it might not lead them astray from life into death. 93 The second order, because they see the perplexity in which the souls of the unrighteous wander, and the punishment that awaits them. 94 The third order, they see the witness which he who formed them bears concerning them, that while they were alive they kept the law which was given them in trust. 95 The fourth order, they understand the rest which they now enjoy, being gathered into their chambers and guarded by angels in profound quiet, and the glory which awaits them in the last days. 96 The fifth order, they rejoice that they have now escaped what is corruptible, and shall inherit what is to come; and besides they see the straits and toil from which they have been delivered, and the spacious liberty which they are to receive and enjoy in immortality. 97 The sixth order, when it is shown to them how their face is to shine like the sun, and how they are to be made like the light of the stars, being incorruptible from then on. 98 The seventh order, which is greater than all that have been mentioned, because they shall rejoice with boldness, and shall be confident without confusion, and shall be glad without fear, for they hasten to behold the face of him whom they served in life and from whom they are to receive their reward when glorified. 99 This is the order of the souls of the righteous, as henceforth is announced; and the aforesaid are the ways of torment which those who would not give heed shall suffer hereafter." 100 I answered and said, "Will time therefore be given to the souls, after they have been separated from the bodies, to see what you have described to me?" 101 He said to me, "They shall have freedom for seven days, so that during these seven days they may see the things of which you have been told, and afterwards they shall be gathered in their habitations." 102 I answered and said, "If I have found favor in thy sight, show further to me, thy servant, whether on the day of judgment the righteous will be able to intercede for the unrighteous or to entreat the Most High for them, 103 fathers for sons or sons for parents, brothers for brothers, relatives for their kinsmen, or friends for those who are most dear." 104 He answered me and said, "Since you have found favor in my sight, I will show you this also. The day of judgment is decisive and displays to all the seal of truth. Just as now a father does not send his son, or a son his father, or a master his servant, or a friend his dearest friend, to be ill or sleep or eat or be healed in his stead, 105 so no one shall ever pray for another on that day, neither shall any one lay a burden on another; for then every one shall bear his own righteousness and unrighteousness." 2 Esdras 2:31 ,,,''''
As a novice welder my new favorite thing to be scared shitless off is steel wool. Great for cleaning and abrading surfaces and great for a stage in polishing work, but it WILL BURN - Steel wool, especially rusty old steel wool burns low and quiet and you might not notice it's even burning until a door opens and a puff of wind blows it into something more flammable. It's sneaky and quiet and will ignite from welding sparks and grinder sparks. I've done it twice and now as a basic start-of-the-day ritual I walk the work area interested only in random bits of steel wool, paper towel and or solvent rags and make sure they are all sent far far away from the center of my arc. Great series, I'm glad we're all that much more afraid. Safe sparks everyone.
Never weld whilst wearing trainers. I remember doing a funny little dance on my drive, after some balls of red-hot slag decided to go on a tour inside my footwear.
@@AutoExpertJC I once saw a young apprentice try to blow some dust from his overalls using the Oxygen from the Oxy/Accetaline torch... the Fireball he turned into ran quite quickly outside and rolled in the nearest puddle of water he could find (It rains a lot in Wales!).. He was ok after... but a little Singed.! lol!
John, RE fuel tank repairs, as someone who has been a vehicle technician for more than 50 years (now retired with all significant bits still attached) the companies I worked for had one golden rule about fuel tank repairs… DON’T, if they were damaged or leaking the only fix is to remove the tank and replace it with a new one. We were specifically told not to attempt to repair it. I have talked to people who do this for a living and the preparation needed to safely weld them is extensive and comprehensive, not something that your average home welder would even begin to understand.
The tank-welding and being on the news bit reminded me of a short, humorous story I need to covey... Here in Portland, Maine (US of A) the police chief gathered the local news for a demonstration of the dangers of fireworks in Y2K for our independence day celebrations. He intended to show us all what happens to a watermelon when subjected to the effects of what we call a block-buster (quarter-stick of dynamite). So, he used a BBQ tongs to place the block-buster on the watermelon after lighting the fuse. The quarter-stick of dynamite immediately rolled off the melon, and our "hero" tried to place it back on the melon with his HAND - NO GLOVES! If memory serves, he lost 2 or 3 fingers right in front of the news cameras for all to see on the evening news. Just goes to show, even a "trained professional" can get it very wrong, even when trying to portray what NOT TO DO. Just the same, thanks for teaching us DIYers the right way to AVOID being on the news unlike one of "Portland's finest!" Keep up the great work, John! If I see just one more of your wonderful videos, I'll HAVE to subscribe ;) (And....I did!)
I am in an LPG emergency response team. We decommission cylinders by flaring excess gas in a hot air balloon burner and then fill with water. I believe if someone manages to fill a cylinder with water, full full, all the way to the top, empty it out, then still manage to blow themselves up, then they have done something horrific in their past to deserve to be that unlucky because karma is really out for them at that point.
@@winzracingNZ If they have LPG in them they have pressure. If you open the valve and no gas comes out then there is little to no gas in there. Keep in mind LPG is heavier than air so if your going to let gas out be mindful of that, it can travel along the ground and find ignition sources. If you suspect there is gas in there but the valve is broken so you cannot get the gas out then that it outside my knowledge, they get shipped off, don't know what happens to them after that. We do not shoot them here, but I would imagine if its 45kg or smaller and your at least 500 meters away shooting from behind cover in the middle of nowhere you would be "reasonably" safe, regardless of whether the gas ignites or not, but take that last statement with a grain of salt, its basically a guess on my part, as I say, I have never shot one.
Most of my welding has been done in the field for tanks of any kind i fire the service truck get the appropriate hose hook to the exhaust place the other end in the tank wait at least 5 minutes then weld wait at least 5 minutes remove the hose and finish job no oxygen no fire in 60 years of doing it that way i have never had a problem i did when when i was young try to kill myself cutting galvanized material lucky for me an old timer caught what i was doing and saved my stupid ass
There are some great 2 pack expoxy products for fuel tanks, I used some compound and stuck it on a still full fuel tank which I thought had small hole looked like someone had put a Geologists pick through it, stuck that concotion on and it sealed it straight away and did so for the next 5 years until I sold the old bus, Fuck trying to blow yourself up.
I 💯 wgree about the fire! I worked in the shipyard industry for 20 years and the welders can manage to start things of fire all the time. Even when you think it's too far away or can't burn the very high temperature involved in welding can manage to start many things that normally would not burn.
Follow up! This is becoming like the final destination movie series- can't wait for the episode where we learn not to weld while in the wading pool, not to weld the propane tank onto the BBQ for greater mobility & not to weld while on a roller coaster... thanks a lot tho you are def saving lives with these vids & humorous as well!
My brother is a boilermaker/pipewelder. When he was still quite young, he was doing a repair inside of a tank. The tank was certified safe, evacuated, and ready to weld. He struck his arc and woke up 50 feet away on the other side of the shop. Turns out the tank was not quite as evacuated as someone thought. He walked away from it, but it ultimately, 35 years later, ended his career. As he aged, the damage to his inner ear got worse, as did the spinal injury. With balance issues, he could no longer work on a ladder or a scaffold. A pipe welder who can't do that, isn't much of a pipewelder.
A friend welded his fuel tank. Soon as the flame came near the hole the tank made a boomp noise and went from rectangular to oval 😮. He had filled it with water, almost full 😅
There is a saying, it’s applied to many vocations, but here it is for this one: There are OLD welders. There are BOLD welders. But there are no OLD, BOLD welders. Great advice in this part two video, thanks. Take care all.
Not sure what the score is in Australia, but the brake cleaner/phosgene thing is a non issue in Europe as chlorinated brake cleaner (the old non flammable type - why its used by welders) has been banned for decades. We only have to worry about the fire issue as all our brake cleaner is flammable.
learnt my lesson when i was a young Pup. I used to smoke to look cool for Chicks, and I sent off a packet of matches in my shirt pocket, scared to shit out of me. It burnt a hole in the shirt. luckily enough I was sort of bent over so it didn`t burn me. just burnt some chest fur. and got a face full of fumes form the matches. fun times.
Cadmium plating has been banned in general use for a lot of years now, but people still get caught out. People have been killed by gas cutting out old cadmium plated rivets in confined spaces for instance.
Welding in my garage earlier this morning...I am the one (of many) who welds surrounded by flammables. I will be rectifying that after I finish watching this episode...empty the bins would be a decent start I guess!!
A good family friend of mine was a welder for 40 years, stainless Steel was his main contract work in many industries here in sheepshsgastan and around the Pacific region, sadly he became very ill with his spine and other illness, sadly he was bed ridden on the last time I spoke to his wife, sadly most of my mate's have died recently from industrial illnesses, I myself are struggling with illness and injuries, 14:09
Dear Mr. Cadogan, Saturday the 9th of July 24 I joined the club! I bought be a stick weld for 48.95€, finally I shall not try all the possibilities of waking up dead (what a nice phrase). Mate, I´m having a blast/fun like a tornado on a camping ground. All the noises, all the amps- five things happen at once, I´m hooked. Right thru the hole arm. I don´t care if it looks shit- I made it, it´s my shitty weld and I love every milimeter. We all started out somewhere and at first I train ignition. Burn a few sticks, get to know my tool. Then I dig thru my shitpiles for some to cut and uncut, make all the mistakes upfront so I´m good later. What I miss tho: my dad had a welding transformer and the feel was unique. The stinger vibrated, letting me know who´s boss here. Now I have an inverter- that´s way smoother, not so scary, no vibration. And the stinger is light, feels nice- I wanted this for years. I promise I won´t unalive myself or wake up dead, my two cats still need their Daddy. I could build them something fancy... Have a good Day, kind regards from the middle of Europe. I like Australia because You are metric and (so far I´ve seen) are all very nice people. I´d like to come to AusArmor Fest sometime.
A few months ago, a young lad at work (near us, not our company) was killed when working on a drum - I don't know if he was welding or cutting, but the drum exploded. Brisbane.
This is fascinating stuff, considering that I work with a spot-welder. Some components I work with are indeed galvanized and if the coating is a bit thicker than normal (best Chinesium), the smoke can be quite stark. Of course we have extraction by each welder, but in practice things often keep smoking ever-so-slightly after they've been put down again, so... not much I can do about it except cut my throughput by about 25-50%. Stainless is a different matter - smoke isn't a problem, but hellish spark explosions can be a nuisance. Many work shirts and trousers shredded by aggregated spark damage. I've also never known anything with better invasive capability than a welding spark - I can be wearing clothes buttoned up to the neck and a spark might still get down inside and give me a little burn to the torso. On a different matter - angle grinders and your stern stipulation about holding the grinder with both hands. In practice - and I work with a grinder quite a lot (albeit only 60-grit discs) - I have no choice but to hold the product in one hand and the grinder in the other. Quite fiddly and fine work. It's a bit of a strange company - an external observer might think it's not really a business, but more like a cottage industry, a bunch of blokes tinkering in a shed and it just happens that the shed owners sell what we've put together - quite 19th Century. (This is in England, by the way, not Vietnam or Ghana).
I had a mishap, welding exhaust on my mother's car. The welding cables were not long enough! I used jumper cables and no gloves.. I was welding then stood up srait up and grounded my head to a muffler clamp! The zap threw my brain knocked me out for a couple of minutes! It hurt really bad! I had a really bad headache for while! lol
I'll add one more John. Strap your gas bottle to your MIG welder properly. Same goes with OXY-ACETYLENE, too. Should a full G size bottle hit the floor and break off the cylinder reg whilst the valve is already open then the cylinder becomes an extremely efficient torpedo. I've seen it happen twice. Once with a bottle of argon and once with a bottle of oxygen. I will never forget how fast that oxygen bottle travelled up the workshop. If it had hit someone the injuries would have been life threatening.
Story from a metro Chicago steel mill. Oxygen bottles were disappearing, and nobody could figure out why. Security measures were stepped up, counts re-counted, etc. Still the bottles were disappearing. Until the day somebody watched guys putting the bottles on a piece of scrap i-beam and knocking the valves off with a sledgehammer. They were shooting the bottles into the lake, and almost hit a ship with one.
not to mention that if anything had been burning or sparking at all nearby, it would have likely started a fire, oxygen makes everything more flammable.
I wonder if there has been research on the toxicity of angle grinding or flappy disk dust? Never seen a warning label on the disks apart from the recommended speed. In my little 8mx10m shed I have divided it into four areas, the welding/machining bay is at one end need the roller door and the flammable liquids are in the far end stored in a steel cupboard. I have 2 dry chemical extinguishers and a 20 lt water sprayer backpack extinguisher. Things learned in the trade with workshop safety should also be implemented at home.
Looking what those discs are made of and what we do with them... Fine glass fiber, metal and abrasive dust, it can't be good. You can see the stuff glittering in the sunlight. Wear at least mask, or better, respirator. Welders use ventilated masks while welding and grinding for a reason. Those angle grinders are dangerous on so many levels. Protect vision, hearing and breathing, don't burn yourself or something else, don't let it catch-snatch you, watch the sparks etc.
Yeah Mate fire is always a problem around here in Queensland. so I always weld in bare feet with denim shorts (with the Frayed hems) so if any fire starts I feel it before it gets away.
I want to thank you for these videos. I found the first one shortly after stupidly sparking a few things because I wasn't paying attention to what was touching the item that I had the welding ground clamp on. That near-miss, followed by your videos, has really rejuvenated by attention to safety.
Great vid JC!!! As a WHS Professional, I see countless incidents where people just turn off their 'Safety Brain' once they leave work and do similar (work) stuff in the garage or fat-cave at home!🤦
I'm not a car guy, or a welder at all, but you've got a lot of obvious charisma it was really easy to enjoy listening. Sure you don't need a stranger to tell you that but it's nice!
Hi John as a boilermaker/ welder fabricating from mild steel through stainless from low grades to one of the highest grades available , aluminium . When helmets with filtered air intake where available I got one , actually wire 2 out , always refused to weld fuel tanks . A bad habit was with old stick welders , this happened at Tarong power station as it was a stick welded operation they lost a welder using a bad habit of tucking the rod under there arm pit shove the rod holder onto it , sweat , being earthed and live power bad combination shock directly through your heart , no coming back .
Thanks for the info here, John! Always nice to know how to qualify for the Darwin Awards, although slow death by toxic fume ingestion won't count, will it?! Last century, I used to enjoy landing planes on dirt airstrips up the sides of mountains in New Guinea, so I had a certain mindset towards safety. In retirement, I'm enjoying reshaping steel in my man cave and learning about the differences between arc and MIG welders - blast the arc fumes away but use a helmet with air supply (PAPR) for MIG. When first I started using the oxytorch, I used to RTFM quite a few times before firing it up, shitting myself worrying about oxy/acetylene cylinders going kaboom. So I was quite relieved after cutting my first section of 10 mm plate steel, knowing there was nothing flammable in the workshop. With a hose, bucket of water and fire extinguisher just outside, I felt safe. Yeah, right! I looked down and saw the native Aussie grass plant near the entrance, burning furiously - a piece of molten metal had bounced off the concrete and torched it! (BTW, that plant grew back so well, I set fire to a coupla other grass plants. And now I always hose the floor before using the oxytorch.)
This reminds me of an incident I was involved with some years ago. We were installing a shingle roof on a new house. There was a steel I beam that supported part of the second story, which needed a triangle shaped section cut off to allow us to install the plywood substrate for the lower roof. Late summer, lots of dry, dead grass around the site. The steelwork contractor showed up and began to use a cutting torch to cut the I beam, while I was installing the shingles on another part of the roof. Soon, I smelled smoke, and looked down to see the grass on fire. I climbed down from the roof in a hurry, shouting 'Fire" while doing so, and had to use one of the asphalt roof shingles to beat down the flames, while the guy who had been using the torch grabbed buckets of water from a farm trough to put out the fire completely. It was a close call, the house could have gone up if the foil faced paper under the chipboard floor had caught alight.
Really good videos you make about staying alive!! I have shared the heck out of them, starting with my Son, who is also a FireFighter/Paramedic. Then with my friends, and my wife, which made her worry even more about me! ;) Thanks a bunch, have learned a lot!
I like that John has a sense of patriotism in backing Aussie all the way for the California vs Shitsville bushfire olympics. trouble is with their seasons being 6 months apart will the Land Downunder beat Murica's latest effort of will the North surpass the South's upcoming entry. Watch this space, or somewhere else.
Thanks for posting this. Ive not yet started welding but it's the next skill I want to learn. Doing it safely is at the top of my priority list so this was very helpful. I still have all my fingers too and much intend to keep it that way.
G’day John, been following you on RU-vid for around 12 months now and love your channel. I agree one hundred percent with your advice on welding only you should have presented the six ways to kill yourself when welding. In 1974 as an apprentice carpenter, we were welding up a steel post and rail fence for a client and my boss not wearing welding gloves went to change a rod in the stick welder we were using. Not noticing how wet the ground was, got an electric shock that stopped his heart. This happened because his boots were wet from walking around in the water and mud at the site, and was grounded well enough to allow enough of the 100amps the welder was adjusted to travel through him to the ground and stop his heart. Around fifteen years ago the same thing almost happened to a mate while leaning against his welding table while replacing a rod while not wearing gloves. I retired from carpentry in the early ninety’s and have worked for twenty years as registered nurse, mostly in ICU and emergency dept and have seen several cases of patients in hospital due to welding shock. Most of them already had heart conditions, but being shocked by welders or should I say carelessness is a real risk. Love your show, regards John Beattie.
Excellent video. I'd just add to be mindful or argon. It can and has filled a pit displacing the air leading to the death of a young man. I doubt anyone here can afford enough of it to do that but worth keeping in mind. Cadmium has been banned for metal protection for many decades, even themiliary stopped using it long ago. It can get into the body through the skin. It used to be used on jewelry.
I've heard the story of a guy who lost his whole lower body because he was welding an empty barrel used to store fuel or kerosene or something flammable. It is crazy how little attention is given to workplace health and safety in some parts of the world when it is a mans life and his entire family depending on him.
I used to work at a company that made assembly lines for medical products. They did almost purely stainless tig welding with noting more than a basic welding hood. Glad I left that place...
Just trying to get into welding and found your channel. You got a sub on the previous video on 5 ways to die simply by mentioning the Hilux. Just a heads up incase you were unaware a few years back Nord VPN had a data breach in their server center which I believe was in Germany. They then lied and tried to cover it up rather than admitting to the failure. Great info in the vids, thanks.
When I was a teen (1969) my friend and I watched D. Reynolds weld a FULL nitro fuel tank on a rail dragster. I asked "should we run"? The welder said "You wouldn't get far enough..." So we watched. He said he liked them full for fewer fumes.
So right, John. I cut up an LP gas cylinder [9kg] to repurpose. I filled it with water and waited several days. I then commenced to cut it using an angle grinder with a cut off wheel. There were multiple flare ups/ explosions- not catastrophic but so disconcerting that I donned welding gloves and helmet. Lucky this was done outdoors. The porosity of the metal obviously contained gas that the water did not shift. Beware, my friends
So I started tig welding in my aviation school and I never throught about the lighter thing, thank you for this video because I always have one in the pocket of my pants and today was the last time I had it during my class
I don’t have any respiratory problems, (yet) but I cannot guarantee that I have not smelled fresh cut grass while welding a couple of times. I didn’t think much of it at the time.. I’m going to have the guys prepare a PowerPoint for the next plant meeting over this topic!
For spatter danger, it can get to really hard locations, such as bouncing off my shoe, up overalls leg, between socks and skin, to the bottom of my heel and then giving me a burn...
and thats the thing, safety and youtube are not exactly great buddies. this is why its so important to really check the credentials of the people offering advice in youtube. as a retired furniture maker i see so many weekend warrior woodworkers espousing on how to do different things with machinery that takes absolutely no prisoners. i listen to john because he does in fact know what he is talking about. i have been thinking of getting a small welder just to do a few little things like dollies for my larger machines. but i will only watch welding videos from professional welders. by the way i still have all my fingers too.
Yeah, I tried welding up a mate's Honda 400/4 gas tank about 40 years ago. We filled it with soapy water overnight and drained it off, but it still blew up in my face. Luckily I was wearing heavy clothing and the welding helmet so no ill effects on me, but the pressure blew a dozen more holes in the bottom of the tank where it had been rusting through. It looked like it had been shotgunned. The vapour never goes away. An old guy told me he'd had blokes that had been off the road 40 years and the tanks still blew when he tried welding them.
When I was in school welding my instructor would collect all the lighters he was a welder in the navy and a guy had a lighter in his shirt pocket the sparks set it off and blew his chest off so as a young impressionable kid I never had one in the room after that lol
I'm a chef, so seeing just how much more hazardous another industry is has been a bit of a shock. I own a welder and have done a little bit with it, but I didn't realise that I was (or at least how much I was) actively reducing my life expectancy. I think I have a spool of stainless wire for the gasless MIG, but I reckon that can probably go in the bin given what you've said here. I'll stick to cooking on it, not trying to stick it together. It seems un-Australian to say it, but thanks to your war on ignorance you have metaphorically slapped a significant amount of "she'll be right" out of me. Thanks John. This video has saved at least one idiot.
working with any hot metals gas protection is always key and fire awareness is huge. so much stuff will ghost you if your not careful. welding outside on a cement pad clear of flammables is best. your always face down in the worst place for molten metals and that is the plume, your right in the gas cloud getting exposed to all kinds of chemicals sure the mask shield you but your still getting dosed. even face masks are not enough even if it stops paint fumes metal fumes can still get past some filters. the filter rig in the first episode is the best way to weld safely due to its intake being out of the plume, so it does not need to work so hard to keep clean air at your face.
There was a steel hulled pontoon boat in Minnesota which developed rust holes over time . Owners had attempted to alleviate the problem by filling the cavity with rapid expanding spray foam insulation . When that didn't work well , they hired a welder to patch the hull . It was a pipe bomb . It detonated and decapitated the welder . Forensic examination determined that when he struck an arc , a burn channel almost instantly went from the rear of the hull ,through the center of the tube towards the bow . An over-pressure situation immediately resulted , like a high speed explosive . The shock wave , contained in the 24 foot long cylinder , started in the bow and flashed rearward causing the massive explosion and blowing the rear end apart . Killed the guy instantly . Be wary of ANY potential fuel source inside of a contained vessel !!!
I like the idea of welding on firebrick instead of a metal table. I guess the weight and size of the bricks is what keeps them from being more common for welding tables.
@@aliendroneservices6621the chick I saw on the Gold Coast two weeks ago. She'd give any Ming Moll a run for her money. One piece gym type suit, joggers and a helmet. She was about 5% more protected than being naked.
Hello from Florida and thanks for your videos. I just bought my first mig + flux-cored welding machine. It'll stay in the box until I have all the safety equipment and gear needed to safely practice. I'm missing the welding jacket currently. I also need a metal bench. I don't know crap about welding other than what I'm learning on RU-vid. I want to weld as a hobby and do some at home repairs and light fabrication. I already have a career as a medical professional so I'm in no rush to get hurt welding. Any advice?
Keep in mind if you weld you will get hurt it may just be minor burnt ear and they're from Sparks or not minor if one goes down your boot or worse in your belly button or ear. Just be really smart and have things prepared for when something happens and tried to keep it to a bare minimum
I used to oxy/acetylene weld and needed lighters to light the torch. I lost count of how many I blew up. Certainly made me jump every time one one did "go off".Thankfully the cost of gas went up so much I can't afford to gas weld anymore. Big shame as I reckon pure gas makes better welds than mig, only drawback is everything gets much hotter and fires are far more likely. A bottle of spray water to hand is essential to put fires out early, which par for the course and goes with the gas welding territory I quickly discovered. If you can't stand the heat, you know what they say, try a different welding technique.
Gases can be uncooperative too John. Even your power tools try to kill you with their ozone gases. The guy next door blew himself up welding a diesel tank. That blanket idea is terrific. I'm gonna get one. I've got welding jobs coming up. I cut the end out of 44's with a cold chisel before I use them as a welding table. Flammable undergarments is another one to watch out for. Happened at my dads factory, guy had flammable wear under his overalls that caught on fire was it acrylic or nylon?. Wearing metal rings is a hazard too. Had motor mechanics wash out a petrol tank and weld it and a file left on top got one of em when it exploded. That was 45 years ago. Never forgot it though. Didn't know stainless was so bad. Weld mild steel like you say and keep away from cadmium and zinc and galvanized steel. Great job dude !
I recently replaced a burnt leather welding jacket (oxytorch flame strayed on to it) and had to do a bit of shopping to find one that DIDN'T have Velcro or nylon in it.
There's always playing the came of "wheel of death" that good old friend that spins at 15,000 rpm centimetres from one's pinkies aka using a grinder without a guard or PPE/RPE. My other bit of advice would be have a fire extinguisher handy. Don't do as I once did and try and beet the fire out with a fleece (that also caught fire)......the fire that happened because I hadn't cleared up before welding. Yes, sparks went straight in a jar of thinners that I then knocked over in my panic. People would of had a bloody good laugh watching that.
I was at a radiator shop when the guy told me that he was going to have a go at fixing a fuel tank for somebody before he took care of my needs. Not much time at all elapsed before that tank made a rude noise and abruptly changed shape, to something very different than what it had been...
Great series! Don't suppose you could reach out to your mates at vevor and review their fume extractors? Possibly even make it a dual review/safety vid on how to best practice set up?
Since you're mentioning solvents don't forget xylene I don't know if it's available in Australia but it's like acetone on steroids it does also evaporate completely but it has a bigger boom I don't know if toluene is available over there either it's also very flammable too we have these containers they're chemical safety containers basically a very fancy fire safe chemical storage place that you can put all of your aerosol cans gasoline anything that can burn in them they're very nice to have if you forget and you leave the door open they have a fuse link in them and if it melted slams the door shut it suffocates the fire inside those are nice addition to a household work shed or garage but even if they got something like that or like John has been saying fire blankets it's not a bad idea if you got open shelves to hang those over the front of them when you're welding and even before start welding take a look around your garage any cardboard Rags paper pick it up throw it away speaking of rags they make fire-safe cans for those two they usually painted red those are great to have too and you can look it up but cadmium plate has a small percentage of sodium cyanide salt in it that's what gives it that goldish looking color how do I know this there's a company here in Ohio called Parker trutec they have a whole big bad of it with a chain conveyor above it and they dragged Auto Parts down into it they turn a lovely bright red as they go into it there's all kinds of ventilation control over the top of it and lots of warning symbols signs fatality risks all around it and I learned all about it because I sat next to the chemical engineer at lunch time one time when I was there working they explained it all to me don't weld on it folks but if you got to weld on it give it to a professional sandblaster and have them strip the coating off of it and then dip it in a neutralizer otherwise leave it be
Cadmium plating under a coat of paint is truly hazardous to weld over. It made me very sick once. I'll be careful to clean off paint and zinc coatings now.
@@fastbusiness it's some nasty stuff I had to have surgery to my nose once the inner Linings of my nostrils because when I was younger I didn't really pay attention to people telling me to be careful the coating in my nostrils was burned from zinc oxide fumes not fun don't recommend where respirator I don't even touch the cadmium stuff had a great-uncle who was it welder that stuff messed up his lungs bad no thanks and the truth about zinc is it's on just about any car part you look at it does a really good job at keeping things from rusting and an even better job when you weld on it at making people sick if you got to weld on it grind it back about 19 mm or 3/4 of an inch get it out of your way with an 80 grit flap wheel
Good video , 1 had 36 liter bottle. Had some kind of air-conditioning gas, I can't remember. Was also galvanised, I scraped the idea and didn't risk it. Smae with the steel drums I got , had oils.not sure what kinds of oils.didn't risk it,went the if you are not 100 % sure. Scrap the idea. Did fix a steel fuel tank one, 34 years ago. Empty leave for a month, fill with water and solder it up.power iron and flux core solder.
