Very Scary news About Brake Cleaner and heat

[omgb]

http://www.brewracingframes.com/id75.htm The link I just posted contains some hairy news about brake cleaner and heat. I'm thinking I'm not going touse it to degrease moulds any more.

[ironcowboy]

All i can say to that is holy ****!!! Heck i nearly did the same thing last month welding a hole in my buddys rear diff cover having just cleaned it with brake cleaner!

[rwt101]

That's very interesting. I use it all the time. I also use it to clean my molds. It appears that is only a problem if the heat hits it in liquid form.
bob T

[geargnasher]

Indeed. I use brake cleaner on cool mould surfaces and blow-dry completely with compressed air before casting. I got into trouble spraying it on a hot engine to isolate an active external oil leak. One whiff and I knew I had screwed up. Went and looked it up right away, found warnings all over the internet about heat and brake cleaner. No long-term damage that I know of though, probably no Phosgene in that but I think the chlorine gas was what got me.

Thanks for sharing.

Gear

[geargnasher]

All i can say to that is holy ****!!! Heck i nearly did the same thing last month welding a hole in my buddys rear diff cover having just cleaned it with brake cleaner!

Try using denatured alcohol for your TIG degreasing.

Gear

[ETG]

That article has been around for quite a while (including several post on here). The big problem is with clorinated brake cleaners. Most I have seen lately are non-clorinated. Just an FYI - Freon will also make phosgene gas when exposed to open flame/heat.

[sst04]

There was a guy at a place I use to work that was going to weld up a hydraulic tank. He cleaned it out with brake cleaner and then put his air blower in it to dry it out.

When he struck the ark it made the rectangle tank mostly round.

[lwknight]

I hate when that happens.
I welded a vessel head back on that blew off and killed the first welder because he did not prge it properly. I had to cut the 8' dia head into several pieces and patch it back on because it had wrapped around a tree about 200' away.

[PatMarlin]

Holy cow.

What's the proper way to purge such a thing?

[lwknight]

I do not know how to purge such a large vessel.
The old welder thought that if he piped his trucks exaust into it that it would displace enough oxygen that the fumes would not ignite.
After the head blew off and it was open to the atmosphere in the hot sun for several weeks I felt safe.

Smaller tanks like the 250 gallon propane tanks can just be filled with water to be safe and the 20 lb tanks could be evacuated with a vaccum pump.

[rhead]

Holy cow.

What's the proper way to purge such a thing?


Nitrogen purge until it will pass an explosion meter. Our local welding supply vendors have them available for rent. You may have to reserve it.

[armyrat1970]

After returning from Nam I worked as a weldor and fitter in oilfield construction for over 20 yrs. On the beach and offshore. It would amaze you if I told you of all the times I was in a dangerous situation. You just do the job you are getting paid for. I have tried to weld on flow lines that were still under pressure because the company didn't want to shut the line down. It cost them money for every second the line is shut down. Have been out in a little flat boat cutting up old flow lines in the marsh that were full of condensate. When I cut through the line there developed a fire ring about 20 ft. in diameter around the boat. You can't move. Just have to wait for the fire to die down after the condensate burns out or for the wind to blow it away from your boat. It gets a little hairy at times and I am glad I am to old to do that now. I have a much safer job now and I don't miss the oilfield. I don't miss working as a steveador on the river. Did it for 8 yrs. for a bulk storage facility and during that time we had 6 to 8 men lose their lives. Not a fun place to work either.
With all I have gone through in my life I count myself as lucky as I am still here and don't have some of the physical disabilities that others I know have.

[Bret4207]

If I had died from every stupid or risky thing I've ever done I'd be dead 100x over. We all take risks, knwingly or not. Apply a little common sense and the risk becomes greatly lessened.

[Fixxah]

If the guy didn't wait so long to get medical attention he wouldn't be so effed up I bet.

[omgb]

Maybe. I went online to check this stuff out and really, once you've gotten a sniff it's all in the hands of the Almighty. Medicine has no cure or treatment.

[omgb]

Pat, my understanding is that large vessels are purged by injecting them with an inert gas such as nitrogen or carbon dioxide before welding or cutting. I could be wrong though....I'm no welder.

[lylejb]

"Brake cleaner" varies greatly in contents. SOME types can do that, others won't. Use reasonable care and READ THE LABEL.

[malpaismike]

Hello the camp! Brake cleaner is and will be my go-to bench degreaser. From Wally World, it is inexpensive and, used properly, leaves no residue. I don't use heat often; when I do, my air hose is closer than my degreaser can--I make sure the area in question is high and dry. Takes less time to do than talk about it. My .02. mm

[Hang Fire]

I hate when that happens.
I welded a vessel head back on that blew off and killed the first welder because he did not prge it properly. I had to cut the 8' dia head into several pieces and patch it back on because it had wrapped around a tree about 200' away.

I have seen welder's weld on a tank full of gasoline, but they would not even think of doing so if the tank was not filled to the top.

Scary as hell to me either way, so I always just left the shop.

[Hang Fire]

After returning from Nam I worked as a weldor and fitter in oilfield construction for over 20 yrs. On the beach and offshore. It would amaze you if I told you of all the times I was in a dangerous situation. You just do the job you are getting paid for. I have tried to weld on flow lines that were still under pressure because the company didn't want to shut the line down. It cost them money for every second the line is shut down. Have been out in a little flat boat cutting up old flow lines in the marsh that were full of condensate. When I cut through the line there developed a fire ring about 20 ft. in diameter around the boat. You can't move. Just have to wait for the fire to die down after the condensate burns out or for the wind to blow it away from your boat. It gets a little hairy at times and I am glad I am to old to do that now. I have a much safer job now and I don't miss the oilfield. I don't miss working as a steveador on the river. Did it for 8 yrs. for a bulk storage facility and during that time we had 6 to 8 men lose their lives. Not a fun place to work either.
With all I have gone through in my life I count myself as lucky as I am still here and don't have some of the physical disabilities that others I know have.


I am retired oil field trash and know of what you speak. Have seen welder's weld hot tap saddles on lines with over a 1,000 psi live pressure. Saw what happened when a guy decided to weld on a drain line from a half full 300 bbl condensate tank. The tank exploded, drenching everything around for for a a couple 100' with flaming condensate, needless to say, it killed him.

In Alaska, I saw the King Salmon platform (I worked on the Dolly Varden) in Cook Inlet blow up, they said welder struck an arc without getting the area sniffed out. Hell of it was, all the fixed gas detectors throughout the platfom had been giving false alarms, so they had them locked out.

[armyrat1970]

I am retired oil field trash and know of what you speak. Have seen welder's weld hot tap saddles on lines with over a 1,000 psi live pressure. Saw what happened when a guy decided to weld on a drain line from a half full 300 bbl condensate tank. The tank exploded, drenching everything around for for a a couple 100' with flaming condensate, needless to say, it killed him.

In Alaska, I saw the King Salmon platform (I worked on the Dolly Varden) in Cook Inlet blow up, they said welder struck an arc without getting the area sniffed out. Hell of it was, all the fixed gas detectors throughout the platfom had been giving false alarms, so they had them locked out.

The worst I have seen was a barge that was being worked on for repairs. A fitter left his torch in the hole and it had a little leak. Acytelene is heavier than oxygen and will displace the oxygen over time. During the break from the shifts the acytelene was only laying on the bottom and most of the hole was still filled with oxygen. When the next fitter went down there and fired up his torch the whole barge blew up. They had to dredge the canal for the bodies, or parts. Nothing nice.

[armyrat1970]

I have seen welder's weld on a tank full of gasoline, but they would not even think of doing so if the tank was not filled to the top.

Scary as hell to me either way, so I always just left the shop.

As an old weldor, I don't blame you. I would never weld on a tank of gasoline whether full, half full or empty with just fumes. Matter of fact the half empty or empty tank is the bigger problem. I've done some crazy things but I'm not that crazy.

[leadman]

I've gone to using a purple soap I buy at Pep Boys for most of my degreasing. Clean it with the soap then rinse with water and dry with air if necessary.
Sometimes one can't do this, but on a mould it does work.
Isopropyl alcohol is a pretty good degreaser also, though not as good a brake ckeaner.

Seems like if the guy welding the tanks had used more air, either a strong fan or shop air he might not have suffered the injuries.

Goes to show when one doesn't take the time to think and inspect one can get into trouble.

[jonk]

I don't often use it to degrease molds but do use it to blast firearms components free of crud from time to time. It stinks something awful. It can't be good to breathe in even unheated. So I do it outside and hold my breath while I'm doing it.

[looseprojectile]

on a semi trailer full of 40,000 pounds of explosives is exciting. My boss that ordered it done said if it explodes you will not feel a thing. I will not do that again.
What common sense?


Life is good

[DanM]

To me, brake cleaner is an unnecessary added hazard in the gun room. Just my opinion, but I consider it too strong for general cleaning and degreasing. I keep a spray bottle filled with denatured alcohol for general cleaning, and use a non-chlorinated cleanser like 'Zud' or 'Bar Keepers Friend' and hot water for degreasing molds. I used to use brake cleaner, but got tired of the stink, and tired of the skin damage. I don't miss it at all.

[rockrat]

I use Berrymans B-12 carb cleaner to degrease (Outside!!) and I don't use chlorinated brake cleaners when I am working on my brakes.