PPE Welders Leather jacket + cotton

[Lejonpyro]

Hello

 

I'm looking for protective gear that's going to be used when emptying BP from a ballmill.

 

I'm considering getting a Leather welders jacket, leather welding gloves and a face shield (pdf product data sheet).

 

I'm wondering what I should wear underneath this and what kind of pants should be used? I might be able to buy an used 1 layer Nomex racing suit for a cheap price, what I'm worried about with that is the potential static. Would it be better to wear a thicker 100% cotton shirt underneath the jacket (to keep warm)?

 

Under it all I would wear regular 100% cotton socks, underwear, undershirt, long johns and regular safety glasses.

 

Parts of this gear, perhaps except for the gloves, would be used while making stars with a star plate from wolter. I never use chlorates by the way. My shop got concrete floor and has outdoors climate (cold).

 

Any tips?

Edited December 26, 2015 by Lejonpyro

[lloyd]

Lejon,

Even the Nomex would not protect you from the concussive forces of a true explosion, but most ball mill-emptying accidents are of the "flash fire" variety.

 

Leathers, gloves, and full-face shield with 100% cotton clothes beneath (long-sleeved, and long-legged) will protect you from a BP flash fire about as well as anything could. Also wear pants legs OUTSIDE of high-topped leather boots.

 

Since that rig is my standard welding outfit, as well, I can attest to its protective qualities.

 

Ned Gorski has detailed a semi-automatic "remote emptying" scheme for those who choose not to be too close to the game.

 

Lloyd

[mikeee]

100% cotton blue jeans would be fine, they also have treated fabric blue jeans

that are fire rated for hazardous use. A face shield works fine but a large BP ignition

will create a large flame envelope which will roll around the edges of the face shield. A

balaclava is a good piece of equipment to have for protecting your face/neck/ears

from the potential fire ball created during an accidental BP ignition.

 

 

 

[nater]

I wear a 2 piece Nomex racing suit with a hardhat, nomex hood for firefighting, leather gloves and leather boots when handlighting displays. Static has not been an issue.

 

When building, I am comfortable wearing all cotton clothing with additional eye and respiratory protection as needed. (My everday eyeglasses have safety lenses in them due to my occupation)

 

As Lloyd mentioned, this gives you protection from a flash fire, but not the explosive forces. Even turnout gear for structural firefighting does not protect one from explosive forces and shrapnel.

[mikeee]

A deep breathe and holding while you empty the mill jar is a wise practice. If an ignition takes

place you will exhale instead of inhale which prevents you from inhaling hot gases.

Edited December 26, 2015 by mikeee

[OldMarine]

I've been wearing my leather and denim welding gear with a face shield since it's cold enough outside to be comfortable. I think I'll get a good cotton jacket and use my sandblasting hood for warmer times. Since I have long hair and a beard my Nomex balaclava is a year round requirement. It's not really that uncomfortable since I'm used to wearing it almost daily.

 

Excellent point on holding in a deep breath. During a safety class at Bridgestone they gave that exact same advice in case of solvent flash fires.

[Lejonpyro]

Lejon,

Even the Nomex would not protect you from the concussive forces of a true explosion, but most ball mill-emptying accidents are of the "flash fire" variety.

 

Leathers, gloves, and full-face shield with 100% cotton clothes beneath (long-sleeved, and long-legged) will protect you from a BP flash fire about as well as anything could. Also wear pants legs OUTSIDE of high-topped leather boots.

 

Since that rig is my standard welding outfit, as well, I can attest to its protective qualities.

 

Ned Gorski has detailed a semi-automatic "remote emptying" scheme for those who choose not to be too close to the game.

 

Lloyd

 

Yes, this protective gear is used as protection against fire to minimalize burns if an accident occurs, not to protect me from an explosion (even if it protects a little bit in that regard as well). I have some leather boots, good tip to make the pants cover the boot shaft. I've seen the remote emptying video, but I feel that's a bit overkill for my ball mill. I can't help but feel uneasy when opening my milling jar after reading some of the stories.

 

100% cotton blue jeans would be fine, they also have treated fabric blue jeans

that are fire rated for hazardous use. A face shield works fine but a large BP ignition

will create a large flame envelope which will roll around the edges of the face shield. A

balaclava is a good piece of equipment to have for protecting your face/neck/ears

from the potential fire ball created during an accidental BP ignition.

 

balaclava.jpg

 

 

Yes, thank you for the post. Should this balaclava be the Nomex version or is a cotton one sufficient enough?

[lloyd]

Unlike a gasoline or other fuel fire, when the balaclava is to help against sustained flames, a BP flash fire is just that -- just a flash.

 

Cotton will suffice, although you might be compelled to strip it off before it smoldered enough to burn you afterwards.

 

Cotton is a lot cooler to wear!

 

LLoyd

[Lejonpyro]

Unlike a gasoline or other fuel fire, when the balaclava is to help against sustained flames, a BP flash fire is just that -- just a flash.

 

Cotton will suffice, although you might be compelled to strip it off before it smoldered enough to burn you afterwards.

 

Cotton is a lot cooler to wear!

 

LLoyd

 

Alright, I will get a 100% cotton one.

[dagabu]

Lloyd is correct, a good pair of cotton jeans, a cotton t-shirt with a good cotton jacket (duck cloth) with leather gloves will protect you but I know for a FACT that the fire will roll around the face mask and burn your whole head so get a 100% cotton balaclava and wear the face shield.

 

I survived #22 pounds of BP igniting in a cement mixer and have the scars to prove it.

[Arthur]

Rule number one is to wear some PPE, I see Youtube vids of folk in shorts and T shirt which clearly doesn't protect much.

 

100% body cover, no skin showing, is a good start.

 

Motor sport gives us (in the uK at least) Nomex coveralls and gloves and flash hoods, but it's motorsport so it's not cheap, but neither is the hospital treatment.

 

Surplus military kit is often suitable and cheap and easy to buy. Welders PPE is often a help. Heavy cotton in the form of a boiler suit is easy to find, cheap, and easy to wear. It's the day you don;t wear the PPE that you get burned.

[Lejonpyro]

Thank you for your posts. I'll get the welders leather jacket, face shield, gloves and adjustable cotton balaclava. Cotton jeans and everything else cotton. A cotton jacket would probably be more comfortable, but they go for the same price new so I'll go for the leather welder jacket. Getting too warm should not be a problem for me since I only work in autumn and winter when it is really damp outside, in outdoors temperatures, so often in the range of -5 to 10 C (23-50 F).

 

1 layer Nomex suits are apperently getting illegal to wear during races in 2016 so I could get Nomex coveralls for the equivalent of 40 dollar. But I'll skip the nomex.

Edited December 27, 2015 by Lejonpyro

[FlaMtnBkr]

Get what you will wear. You can have the best protection in the world but will do no good if it's too uncomfortable to wear.

 

Don't forget about a good respirator and not one of those flimsy paper hospital masks. Those are made to protect others by catching any 'spray' that may come out of your mouth and the germs it contains and just barely filters the air you breath in. I see way too many people working without them while handling chemicals. Small micron metals and powders that do not dissolve in water or that are inert are almost impossible for your lungs to expel and accumulate over time and are just as bad as the toxic chemicals we work with.

[Lejonpyro]

Do you guys wear anything more than nitrile gloves while mixing star compositions and adding them to star plates?

[lloyd]

Define "mixing". If you mean only "moistening", then no. If you mean screening... eh... that varies by one's acceptance of risk. A LOT of mixers screening comp do it with bare hands, because thin-enough gloves to "protect" the skin would do absolutely nothing in the case of a fire (MAYBE even worse than no protection at all, if they melted onto the skin). "Feel" is sometimes more important than 'perceived safety', because feel is a part of safety.

 

As far as dispensing moistened comp to molds... nah. That's a pretty safe operation. The pressing, itself, is more dangerous than the filling.

 

Lloyd

Edited December 29, 2015 by lloyd

[OldMarine]

Found a great set of denim coveralls (100% cotton) at Goodwill for $10. These and my sandblasting hood complete my summer PPE. They'll be much cooler than my pipe-fitting getup.

[vladou]

I personaly prefer to ball mill the components separately and then screen them together in a biscuits paper box with a screen glued in the middle. It gives me a realy fast powder. But some powder goes between the countainer and the lid. Could the friction between the two ignite the powder and cause an explosion?

[lloyd]

Friction is always a potential source of ignition. Consider gluing your screens securely to the bottom of a wooden box!

 

Lloyd