Casting fumes

[Jamesconn]

I have casted twice inside with a window open and fan blowing the fumes outit was the summer and heat outside can hit 110+ and it gets even hotter in the garage I know this is not healthy and I am going to stop casting inside until I get a gas mask that takes care of the fumes is there a specific kind?

Besides that I am safe I wear safety glasses welding gloves long sleeve shirt and pants of natural fibers and I don't drink or eat while casting.

[btroj]

Unless our pot is going way too hot the "fumes" are not so much lead as they are contaminate in the lead. The fluxing process makes as much stink as anything.

I don't think you need a gas mask. Good flow inflow of fresh air with exhausting of fumes is adequate.

[Lefty SRH]

Whats "too hot"?

[Bad Water Bill]

You can alwsys get a stove hood. Take out a pain of glass and vent the hood out there. You are good to go winter or summer. Just do not overcook the lead. :bigsmyl2: Hoods have worked for me for many years.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

I built a box above my casting pot and put a cheap vent fan (like in a bathroom) in it and used some exhaust pipe to carry it outside. I was not worried about the lead fumes as much as the smoke from the sawdust I use to flux with. Smelting is the stuff you don't want to breathe. Paint and who knows what burns off and stinks pretty darn good.
3180 deg. fahrenheit is the temperature that lead boils and starts to emit vapors............... pretty hot.

[quilbilly]

Unless your lead is really red hot, it isn't hot enough to vaporize the lead so lead fumes really are never an issue. The issue of fumes comes up when there are impurities in the lead that might vaporize such as arsenic. I have been casting custom fishing jigheads for the market for over 30 years with no problems (I still have my health, my teeth, good blood tests, and am not entirely insane except for this cast boolit habit). I just keep the door open for airflow when the lead is clean and do any initial smelting of dirty lead outdoors.
Lead must be ingested to cause problems so always wash your hands after handling the lead.

[Echo]

I'm not as anal as some others, so I wear shorts and a short-sleeve shirt, and no mask, but glasses, and definitely shoes & socks - the idea of a glop of lead landing on my hoof fears me. Yes, I have occasionally had a spot of lead hit my knee, but just a tiny drop from dumping the sprues back into the pot is no drama. I cast indoors/outside - I have a store room that I have converted into a reloading/casting room. A space heater is sufficient in our winters (28 this AM), and an AC makes it livable during our warm summers. The sawdust I use for flux gives an ambiance to the place. The door remains closed, but there is no drama associated with the effort - any lead that gets into our system usually comes through our mouths, so I don't munch while casting. As I said, I'm not that anal, and my lead level is at the bottom of the chart.

Maybe in your case a little fan blowing the fumes away would be sufficient...

And 'Too Hot' is 900+ degrees.

[btroj]

Whats "too hot"?

We don't often need to get above 800 degrees and even that is too hot for some. I was mostly speaking of people who don't watch the temp t all and get into the 1100 plus degree range. Unless you are using an uncontrolled heat source is is pretty unlikely.

Face it, fumes are not a big issue. I worry ore about lead dust or dit from handling the lead. Burns are probably our biggest hazard.

[MtGun44]

Lead vapor is not an issue at anything remotely close to casting temps. Glen has pointed out
that there may be some other of the metals in the mix that make some unfriendly vapors,
in addition to the stink.

Ventilation is not a big deal, but the lady of the house is likely to be cross about the smell, at
least, so venting the stink is a good idea.

Bill

[Bret4207]

If I had to wear a gas mask I'd stop casting.

[Jamesconn]

I know it's not hot enough to vaporize but when I flux it gets real smokey

[jcwit]

What are you fluxing with?

[Johnk454]

I salvaged an old kitchen stove hood and vented it straight out the wall of my shop. Added plus is the light.

http://home.comcast.net/~johnk454/pics/castingbench1.jpg

[Bloodman14]

johnk454, that is a clean, well-organized bench; ARE YOU SICK?!:kidding:

[Bad Water Bill]

I had to rest for 1/2 hour to let my nerves settle down after that SHOCKING photo.

Gremlins on the wat to fix that bench:kidding:

[Bret4207]

I know it's not hot enough to vaporize but when I flux it gets real smokey

Then rig a range hood as was suggested and start fluxing with a wooden stick. Lots less smoke, NO FLAME and if you use th right stuff it smells good. I've often thought of fluxing with Captain Black or Borkum Riff pipe tobacco just to get the nice smell.

[Johnk454]

HAHAHAHA.... no, I just moved all the "stuff" to the other side of the shop before I took the pic.

[montana_charlie]

If I had to wear a gas mask I'd stop casting.
Ditto ...

[runfiverun]

the fumes are of no concern there ain't none at the temps we work at.
you need to wory more about ingestion.
i spent two 12 hour days casting [eating and smoking in the shop] right before i had my blood tested,
i was still in the low normal range, my big precaution?....... drum roll here, i washed my hands before eating and smoking using de-lead soap.