Danger Will Robinson! Danger! The importance of good air and PPE in your shop

Sean Jones said:
Update: I visited my pulmonologist again today and I'm tentatively cleared to work in my shop again. There are some provisions though. Any changes for the worse and I'm to stop immediately and call them. Plus I need to continue to monitor my Oxygen levels and my endurance. Not too onerous at all.

There is still a follow up high-res CT Scan and a Pulmonary Function Test. I suppose if those turn some thing up things may change. But I'm feeling almost normal. Or as normal as I ever am.

So on that note I ordered a new respirator for the shop. The 3M Full Face Mask. That will be here Thursday.

I've done a lot of thinking about my shop during this time off, and I'm going to be doing a lot of cleaning and re-arranging first. But it will be good to get out and get started.
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Good luck and I hope you stay healthy and are able to continue working in your shop!

Please post your thoughts on the new respirator. I've considered a full face option but worried about fogging.
 
CDHumiston said:
Good luck and I hope you stay healthy and are able to continue working in your shop!

Please post your thoughts on the new respirator. I've considered a full face option but worried about fogging.
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Good PAPR and SAR won't fog up. If it does, you can buy mask defogger. Or you can just spit in the mask and wipe it around on the lens... that's whatcha do with a diving mask.

RainX makes some "defogger" or "anti-fog" for windows that works great. I use it on bathroom mirrors, too. Find the safety data sheet (SDS) and see if there is anything hazardous in it before trying it on the inside of a PAPR. Probably just uses isopropyl alcohol as a solvent. Not sure what the actual film that's left behind is.

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Sean Jones said:
Update: I visited my pulmonologist again today and I'm tentatively cleared to work in my shop again. There are some provisions though. Any changes for the worse and I'm to stop immediately and call them. Plus I need to continue to monitor my Oxygen levels and my endurance. Not too onerous at all.

There is still a follow up high-res CT Scan and a Pulmonary Function Test. I suppose if those turn some thing up things may change. But I'm feeling almost normal. Or as normal as I ever am.

So on that note I ordered a new respirator for the shop. The 3M Full Face Mask. That will be here Thursday.

I've done a lot of thinking about my shop during this time off, and I'm going to be doing a lot of cleaning and re-arranging first. But it will be good to get out and get started.
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Be careful about stirring up dust when you're in the shop. I rearranged some stuff in my shop and ended up suckin up a bunch of pollen that had settled on the shelves out there.

One thing that I've taken to doing is cutting on my fans out there (which turns my shop into a wind tunnel) and using compressed air to blow all of the dust off everything and letting it get sucked out of the shop. Quicker than vacuuming and gets all the dust off of shelves and whatnot with having to clear them off first.

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Here's the one I got Sean, I've used this for years in the past. I just use a half mask in my shop now but this is a killer respirator mask.
3M quality, fits tight, good filter connections and easy breathing, you'll like the one your getting, it just takes some getting use to.
seems big but after a while you kind of forget your wearing it.
tWDu6h1.jpg
 
Those 3M fullfaces have sure had a whole lot of "human engineering" put into them to make them as comfortable as possible for the cats that wear them all day long every workday. I suppose there are more brands nowadays, but when I worked in that environment everything was either 3M or MSA. Nothing else got a chance until Racal PAPRs first showed up, before 3M bought 'em. Good stuff when used properly.

Hard to get a seal with much of a beard, though, and mine's about to my chest now, so I had to PAPR. :)
 
bladegrinder said:
Here's the one I got Sean, I've used this for years in the past. I just use a half mask in my shop now but this is a killer respirator mask.
3M quality, fits tight, good filter connections and easy breathing, you'll like the one your getting, it just takes some getting use to.
seems big but after a while you kind of forget your wearing it.
tWDu6h1.jpg
Click to expand...
Thanks for the information Steve. When I worked in different machine shops, in IT, 3M was the norm for all masks in the shop.
 
fitzo said:
Those 3M fullfaces have sure had a whole lot of "human engineering" put into them to make them as comfortable as possible for the cats that wear them all day long every workday. I suppose there are more brands nowadays, but when I worked in that environment everything was either 3M or MSA. Nothing else got a chance until Racal PAPRs first showed up, before 3M bought 'em. Good stuff when used properly.

Hard to get a seal with much of a beard, though, and mine's about to my chest now, so I had to PAPR. :)
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I looked long and hard before I decided on this one. It helped that it was on sale :)

I have a small goatee like you see in my Avatar. Hasn't interfered with a half-mask, and I don't believe it will with this one either. If it does, with deep regret I will shave.
 
Yea like I said before my glasses broke the seal so I'd stuff little rags where they poked thru by my ears. my company use to test us with some smokey stuff that smelled like spearmint, if you smelled it your mask failed...but there were guys with beards and honestly that company was kind of lax on rules in the field. we were always supposed to at least wear fire resistant overalls on gas leaks but were talking Florida, it's frigging hot.
usually I would just jump in a construction hole with a gas main blowing in a shirt and pants. I'd usually only wear the mask if their was a lot of sand-dirt blowing around. I also had a SCBA but only wore that in extreme leaks.
my full face respirator has a lot of hours on it. that was my second one and I got a new third one right before I retired.
every time I look at it, it brings back memories of some exciting times :D
 
bladegrinder said:
Yea like I said before my glasses broke the seal so I'd stuff little rags where they poked thru by my ears. my company use to test us with some smokey stuff that smelled like spearmint, if you smelled it your mask failed...but there were guys with beards and honestly that company was kind of lax on rules in the field. we were always supposed to at least wear fire resistant overalls on gas leaks but were talking Florida, it's frigging hot.
usually I would just jump in a construction hole with a gas main blowing in a shirt and pants. I'd usually only wear the mask if their was a lot of sand-dirt blowing around. I also had a SCBA but only wore that in extreme leaks.
my full face respirator has a lot of hours on it. that was my second one and I got a new third one right before I retired.
every time I look at it, it brings back memories of some exciting times :D
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You guys were pretty fortunate. Our safety peeps didn't trust us and used a volatile probe that would make you cough and cry if it got in. Heartless... Back in the day before political correctness, I guess. :D
 
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Report on the 3M Ultimate FX Full Facepiece Reusable Respirator FF-402

I finally was able to get out into my shop today and test this new respirator. And I can say I believe I made a good choice. The respirator is very comfortable and feels lighter than my half-mask respirator. Possibly because of the way the straps work. There are three sets of straps that pull it tightly onto your head without being uncomfortable. It took some adjustment to get a good seal. But once I had a good seal everything went well.

I haven't experienced any fogging so far. I wore it for about 90 minutes or so and all went well.

The mask came with a free sample of a Scotchgard lens cover. I had some trouble getting to lay flat when I put it on. And discovered after I was using it that the edges weren't entirely flat either. But that didn't interfere with it's use. And I actually see better out of this full face lens than a half face with safety glasses.

Overall I'm very happy with it. I also purchased additional P100 respirator cartridges and P100 particulate filters. It is expensive but worth it.
Also my head lamp fits on this mask. I was worried a bit about that. I use my head lamp all the time.

https://imgur.com/p4fVP4Y

​

 
Sean Jones said:
Report on the 3M Ultimate FX Full Facepiece Reusable Respirator FF-402

I finally was able to get out into my shop today and test this new respirator. And I can say I believe I made a good choice. The respirator is very comfortable and feels lighter than my half-mask respirator. Possibly because of the way the straps work. There are three sets of straps that pull it tightly onto your head without being uncomfortable. It took some adjustment to get a good seal. But once I had a good seal everything went well.

I haven't experienced any fogging so far. I wore it for about 90 minutes or so and all went well.

The mask came with a free sample of a Scotchgard lens cover. I had some trouble getting to lay flat when I put it on. And discovered after I was using it that the edges weren't entirely flat either. But that didn't interfere with it's use. And I actually see better out of this full face lens than a half face with safety glasses.

Overall I'm very happy with it. I also purchased additional P100 respirator cartridges and P100 particulate filters. It is expensive but worth it.
Also my head lamp fits on this mask. I was worried a bit about that. I use my head lamp all the time.

https://imgur.com/p4fVP4Y

​

Click to expand...
Sean, from a respiratory standpoint does the full face mask offer better air filtration than an equivalent 3m half face mask?
 
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