I thought this was serious enough to put up as it would be really easy to do without thinking about it. When Brake Clean is heated and mixed with Argon (if used to clean off grease etc, then TIG or MIG welded with Argon), really nasty fumes can be produced and very small amounts can kill. Read the link.
Also see 'cleaning off grease before welding' for how this came about.
bubbles244,
Oct 14, 7:36am
dioxogen.good at high altitude.not so good 3-400 mm away
chevcamaro,
Oct 14, 8:12am
the answer my friend is blowing in the wind
gmphil,
Oct 14, 10:42am
I use greese in wax remover as in re painting
strobo,
Oct 15, 4:29am
Like chevy said blow the brakeclean away dry with a decent airgun after the degrease before welding .Galv fumes are somewhat toxic too when weldingthis is one badmother snuff to avoid as well !
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 15, 5:28am
Glad you posted this again 40wav, well worth reading that article. strobo and chevcamaro, I don't even see why you would risk it at all for welding prep, plenty of other cleaners easily available that are not going to try and kill you.
You have to remember, even if you are blowing it off properly with a gun, someone else may see you using it for weld prep and not realise the need to blow it off dry. Then try it themselves with fatal consequences.
mm12345,
Oct 15, 5:37am
^^^ Problem is that other solvents are flammable.Chlorinated solvents are going to form phosgene - it's gas used in WWI.Killed my grandad 30 years later. Same for smokers - the heat in a cigarette will form phosgene from chlorinated hydrocarbon vapours. Zinc from galv fumes, you'll probably get over (not nice though), but as that article shows, gassing yourself with phosgene might easily kill you.
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 15, 5:40am
I would rather risk leaving behind a tiny bit of flammable solvent than a tiny bit of brake cleaner. Plus, everyone (should) know the risks of flammable solvents.
taipan4,
Oct 15, 5:43am
You mention cigarettes, are you saying smoking is dangerous, careful there, the tobacco companies will be knockin on your door
mm12345,
Oct 15, 5:53am
It is dangerous - they even admit it. Everything enjoyable can feckin' well kill you, healthy stuff tastes like cr@p, or bores you to death like driving a Holden.It's god's little joke on us.
mantagsi,
Oct 15, 6:32am
Same as some refrigerants, if you somehow get in a situation where you are burning them (ie; brazing torch on an R22 system that isn't fully evacuated / depressurised etc) that can form phosgene too, nasty stuff
cuda.340,
Oct 15, 6:51am
lol yes, one sniff & YOU KNOW!
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