Workspace Ventilation

[Ed Anderson]

I didn't see a tip on this, so hopefully people will find this useful.

Whether you are flying a RTF plane, assembling an ARF or building a kit, there will be times when you are going to be
 using glues, epoxies, paints and other materials that give off fumes.  Let me make a suggestion for your building area

1) Ventilation - If your workshop is in a basement, or some other space that can become damp, it will effect the wood.
You need to make sure you keep the area fairly dry. Humidity will warp things and cause mold on the parts.

Yucky!

Good ventilation can be the key.

2) Ventilation - If you work with CA and/or epoxy, both give off harmful fumes. CA is especially bad.

When I first started working with CA, I spent several days in a row working in the basement doing a repair. I thought I was coming down with the flu. As it turns out CA causes some pretty bad side effects in many people and that is what was
 making me sick.  

Thank goodness I am in a club. One of the club members
told me about it when he noticed that I was looking a bit
ill at a club meeting. He nailed it! He is so allergic to it he
can't use it. Even if I only use a little for a few minutes,
 if I get a whiff, 30 minutes later I can feel those cold/flue feelings coming back.

I purchased a bathroom ceiling fan from a local hardware center.  I only use the motor/frame part of the ceiling fan.

I ran a flexible a vent tube, like the kind used for clothes
dryers. I directed this to a window.  

I took out a pane of glass and put a dryer vent set in Plexiglas in its place. You could use wood too, but I didn't want to
block the light.  Or you can attach the vent to a piece of
wood or plastic that you place in the window on close the
 window on it to hold it there.

Whenever I am working with CA, epoxy or anything else that gives off fumes, I turn on the fan and move the vent very
close to the work to try and carry out as much of the fumes
as possible.

An alternative way of mounting this, would be to put the
fan by the window and hang the tube from the ceiling on
some kind of a swing arm so you can swing it over the
work area.

Even with this set-up, I try to take a breath away from
the work area, use the CA or epoxy, then I turn away
before I breath again to minimize the amount of fumes I
breath in.

When I am working with a lot of CA or epoxy, like when
I glassed the fuselage of one of my planes, the vent alone
is not good enough. I picked up a filtering breathing mask. 
With this I completely avoid the problem. When I am done, I leave the work area and leave the vent fan running to carry
out the fumes. I open a window at the opposite end of the basement to let in fresh air.

Breathing Masks -  Respirator


The cheap white dust filter masks won't do much good. They filter dust, not filter fumes.

Epoxy does not have as quick or as dramatic effect on most people, but accumulates over time. It may not bother you
now, but 6 months or 6 years from now, depending on how much you use, you could become allergic to it. Avoid the
 build up in your system and take the precautions listed
above. Also, gloves are recommended with epoxy as it is
absorbed through the skin.

They won't eliminate your exposure, but they could reduce it dramatically for very little money. I have since added a second exhust fan to provide greater ventalation, especially
 when painting or prolonged CA or epoxy work.

We don't realize what effect these adhesives, paints, dopes, and other chemicals are having on us. You think you have a
 cold, a rash an allergy due to something else, but it is your hobby that is causing it. A few years down the road you could
 start to have serious health problems and never understand why.

Take a few low cost precautions now and you could enjoy
your hobby and your life a lot more and a lot longer.

I hope you find this useful.

[Richard Wood]

Ed,

Interesting advice here on CA glue.

The health problems associated with using CA never crossed my mind

until now. Right at this moment I have cold/flu like symptoms & coincidentally

every evening this week I've been using CA for building!

The same happened a few weeks ago after a lot of CA use.

So maybe the bad head is not due to my fondness for a bottle or two of

Marstons 'Double Drop' ale at the end of the day!.

 

Are the Odourless varieties of CA safe Ed?

CA glue speeds up building no end & I'm reluctant to go back to PVA

for all jobs.

 

Cheers

Richard

 

 

 

 

[Richard Wood]

Apparently odourless (odorless!) CA's are indeed safe :-

"Odorless Cyanoacrylates (SUPER-GOLD™ and SUPER-GOLD+™ are formulated for use by users who may be sensitive or allergic to standard CA.  Their use is recommended whenever sufficient ventilation is not possible. Odorless CAs have only a  less strength as standard CA and are more expensive.  However, they can also be used on materials such as white foam that are dissolved or frosted by standard CA".

 

This is worth knowing - I'll try it & see.

 

[Ernie]

Hi Guys, Cyano is a minor problem. The neighbours cat peed all over my new big electric glider. Right over the electronics.

 

ernie

[Tim Mackey]

Pity it wasnt connected to the national grid 26 kV line at the time

[Ed Anderson]

My advice is regardless of whether you are using odorless or regular CA, vent the fumes.  You are building up chemicals in the air and that can't be good.

 

Why wonder if you are damaging your health or the health of your family.  Those fumes seep into other rooms and linger in the house, especally in the winter.

 

Put in a proper vent system and protect everyone's health.