Hi All,
A friend asked me how to solder in a human safe way, now I know how / what to do / not do but I don't know all the details of the project but I think the parameters are copper, stainless steel, low temp and no lead. Can anyone provide a link that is a comprehensive primer on soldering with these parameters in mind? Thanks in advance. Kent
How much is he going to solder? Unless he is doing a lot almost anything he does is safe enough unless he burns himself.
Gordon
If he is soldering stainless then he will be using muriatic acid flux, the hazards of which are a good deal larger than the lead he might use. Lead tin solder is mainly a hand-to-mouth issue so if you simply wash up when done you have minimized the hazard to a huge degree.
A good substitute for lead/tin solder would be a silver/tin solder like Eutectic 151.
That works around 800 deg F, I don't know if that qualifies in his book as 'low temperature.'
Jim
It can't hurt you if it can't get at you.
Set up an air collection station. My first one was a bathroom exhaust fan and some flex duct. Move the fumes outside. Don't just set up a fan to blow the fumes around.
Keep your hands clean. You can transfer a lot of crap from your hands to your mouth if you smoke, eat, etc. with dirty hands.
We have a lot about brazing at
You guys have covered the safety issue about exposure to lead while soldering but I wonder if the OP question pertained to the fact that food might be in contact with the solder joint, which is a whole differnt story.
Why is hydrochloric acid a bigger hazard than lead ? I've got a stomach full of the stuff!
Even zinc chloride is less of a hazard than hot lead with oxides of it.
Try putting the acid flux on your skin, where it's not protected by the mucousal layer.....
Ouch.
Lead isn't a fume hazard so much as it's an ingestion hazard.
Jim
Hydrochloric acid just isn't a _big_ hazard, even on bare skin. Nor is phosphoric acid (a better flux for stainless anyway). Lead is cumulative, which is always bad news, and the most likely ingestion route at soldering or casting temperatures is by inhaling fine dust of lead oxides. Simple workshop hygiene rules can avoid any hand-to-mouth ingestion.
The real hazard for stainless would be silver soldering it (which is how I'd probably do the fabrication) with a silver solder that wuite probably contains cadmium and a flux that's based on heating fluorides.
Which is why I suggested the eutectic 151 soft solder.
Jim
Hydrochloric acid will dissolve your hand. If cold it takes time. If hot - no time at all. Lab partner almost lost a finger in a hot lab experiment - even with soda and water handy.
Martin Martin Eastburn @ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net NRA LOH, NRA Life NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder
Andy D> >
"Martin H. Eastburn" wrote
Nah... Andy was right. If you have the appropriate safety gear and materials handy, a simple splash of HCl on unprotected skin (NOT your eyes....) can be dealt with before any real damage occurs. If on clothing, you need to strip fast... a few seconds seems like an eternity then.
Now... organic acids... different story. Concentrated H2SO4 (battery acid strength and stronger)will attack any organic substance instantly, first by dessicating the material, then 'carbonizing' what's left.
LLoyd
You must be using baby or very thin low % HCL - not the smoking air level or hotter. Pool acid isn't full strength but hot enough to smoke air. It will eat you. My lab partner almost lost a finger. I don't think you are dealing with strong stuff.
Martin Martin Eastburn @ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net NRA LOH, NRA Life NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder
Lloyd E. Sp> "Martin H. Eastburn" wrote
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