Welding Tips and Tricks

I've been doing a lot of plasma cutting lately and I've noticed that when I do, I have to go take a leak about every 10 or 15 minutes. No other type of shop work does that to me. I can usually go about 8 to 10 hours a day without taking a leak doing any other type of work even if I'm drinking water during the day. But as soon as I turn on the plasma cutter, it starts up again.

So my question is, has anyone else ever had this odd phenomonom happen to them? I'm curious as to why it would only happen with plasma cutting, at least to me. Perhaps it has something to do with the amount of ionized air?

Other Steve

Interesting, always is when its happening to someone else.
Have you tried cutting when using a suitable respirator?
Increased urination usually means a uninary infection or your body really wants to get rid of something. And as you didnt mention extreme burning pain when you urinate it might not be an infection.
Try the respirator and see what happens.
Let us know how you go.

Plasma makes a horrible brown yellow cloud, could be something like what ex f said.

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Does it make a difference what kind of metal your cutting?

I've only been cutting uncoated steel and deoxidized copper, but it doesn't seem to matter which one of those. I'll try wearing a respirator and see what happens. After a while of cutting, there is always a strong, lingering smell of ionized air, the type of smell that you get after a nearby lightning strike in a storm, so I'm thinking that the smell might trigger some kind of reaction. i do leave a door open and a fan on when cutting, but that ionized air just seems to hang around.


Also, still in scientific mode , does anyone here wear a FitBit tracking device? If you do, do you notice a significant drop in battery strength when you are wearing it while welding or plasma cutting?

Steve

Most fully configured plasma cutting benches have significant forced downdraft ventilation that filters and exhausts air and generated gases.

The intention is that the operator is not exposed to any of the residual fumes.

Are you using such a configuration?

That ionised air smell is ozone.