No more arc welding

   / No more arc welding #1  

BobRip

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Powhatan Va.
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I was feeling kinda of dizzy last Friday (5/4/07) and ended up in the hospital. After several days of testing, I was told I needed a pace maker. And then a friend mentioned than you probably cannot arc weld if you have a pace maker. I confirmed this with the doctor and the pace maker tech representative. There were no options (well, yeah maybe death), so now I have one.

I guess I need to switch to gas welding. What are the problems with this? Is it pretty equivalent in capacity to arc welding and as versatile and as easy to use? I have a small unit which I have not used except for heating metal to bend it. Do I need a larger unit to weld 1/4 inch plate? What are some good references?

Can I put on a shield of some kind to block the magnetic field and still use the MIG welder?
 
   / No more arc welding #2  
BobRip said:
I was feeling kinda of dizzy last Friday (5/4/07) and ended up in the hospital. After several days of testing, I was told I needed a pace maker.

Wow, sorry to hear that, Bob, but am glad to hear they're got you "regulated" now. My sister, 2 years older than I, has had a pacemaker for at least 10 years now. It cramps her style a bit, but it has certainly helped her overall health...

I can't address your specific questions, because I don't own nor can I operate a "smoke-wrench"...
 
   / No more arc welding #3  
Glad to hear you're doing well and that the pacemaker insert went well. I'm also glad you didn't ignore the symptoms and got it taken care of quickly. Too many of us try to tune out what should be telltale signs of our body "talking" to us for a variety of reasons.

As your doctor has probably already told you, there are several changes to where and what you can do now that you got that ticker helper. My Mom has had one for over 20 yrs (she's 90 and going strong still), and my Dad had the microwave oven tested for leaks as just one of the precautions. Eventhough the new models do a good job of containing the RF it's still possible for leaks, especially if the door has been jarred. Just saw that there's possibly a problem playing your IPOD and having a pacemaker.

I'll leave the welding Q/A to the experts here as my welding expertise is very limited.
 
   / No more arc welding
  • Thread Starter
#4  
KentT said:
Wow, sorry to hear that, Bob, but am glad to hear they're got you "regulated" now. My sister, 2 years older than I, has had a pacemaker for at least 10 years now. It cramps her style a bit, but it has certainly helped her overall health...

I can't address your specific questions, because I don't own nor can I operate a "smoke-wrench"...

I think overall this is a blessing and I am glad to be alive with no strokes. I just have to adapt, and I will. Just need a little help from my friends here. Life is good and I thank God for the excellent medical care that I have been given. Now I have three weeks of recovery while the cut heals. Also there is a lot of medicine to take.
 
   / No more arc welding #5  
Gas welding is a art (or it should be). It's been a few years since I gas welded anything. The most I have done recently is some brazing. If you plan on gas welding 1/4 inch plate then you are probably going to need a larger tourch set up with the correct tourch heads. All I can say is practice, practice, practice.

You bring up a good question with the shielding. I wounder if you could use one of those lead X-Ray vest and still arc weld. The doctor or pacemaker tech would probably be the best ones to ask.
 
   / No more arc welding #6  
DieselPower said:
Gas welding is a art (or it should be). It's been a few years since I gas welded anything. The most I have done recently is some brazing. If you plan on gas welding 1/4 inch plate then you are probably going to need a larger tourch set up with the correct tourch heads. All I can say is practice, practice, practice.

You bring up a good question with the shielding. I wounder if you could use one of those lead X-Ray vest and still arc weld. The doctor or pacemaker tech would probably be the best ones to ask.
Youve got the right idea with shielding, but ElectroMagnetic energy from an arc is nearly all in the conventional RF range. The tactic would be to reflect or shunt the energy-a Faraday cage and then some, rather than absorb as done with x ray. I think it would be a dangerously touchy setup to shield a body reliably EVERY time. I have some people I know with EMInterference/EMSusceptability experience. Ill tickle their brains a little. Im sure youd need to know the EMS spec of the pacemaker then compare it to the spectrum and intensity of energy from the arc, then characterize the sheilding. Ill get back on this next week.
larry
 
   / No more arc welding #7  
BobRip said:
I was feeling kinda of dizzy last Friday (5/4/07) and ended up in the hospital. After several days of testing, I was told I needed a pace maker. And then a friend mentioned than you probably cannot arc weld if you have a pace maker. I confirmed this with the doctor and the pace maker tech representative. There were no options (well, yeah maybe death), so now I have one.

I guess I need to switch to gas welding. What are the problems with this? Is it pretty equivalent in capacity to arc welding and as versatile and as easy to use? I have a small unit which I have not used except for heating metal to bend it. Do I need a larger unit to weld 1/4 inch plate? What are some good references?

Can I put on a shield of some kind to block the magnetic field and still use the MIG welder?
Glad you nipped it and your feeling better, I'm sure you will adapt. Where there’s a will there’s a way. Your health is more important than any welding. :) I would stay away from the Arc all together, and do your research on gas. You may find it has its advantages and you like it much better. Now stay off your feet and get some rest the welding will still be there when your feeling better.;)
 
   / No more arc welding #8  
Wow, BobRip, Sorry to hear about the health incident, but glad to hear about your progress. We all hope and pray for your speedy recovery and hopefully you'll soon be back in the seat. I always enjoy your contribution to this site and look forward to your posts on a daily basis. Get well soon,

JD-Beach
 
   / No more arc welding
  • Thread Starter
#9  
JD-Beach said:
Wow, BobRip, Sorry to hear about the health incident, but glad to hear about your progress. We all hope and pray for your speedy recovery and hopefully you'll soon be back in the seat. I always enjoy your contribution to this site and look forward to your posts on a daily basis. Get well soon,

JD-Beach

Thanks JD and everyone else for their replies. I suspect that I will completely drop arc welding, but there is an outside hope that someone has addressed this and has a good solution. Obviously it is not worth much or any risk to my health. I am feeling good and I suspect that my energy levels will be higher than ever. I have been having some symptons for a couple of years and got tired easily. Now I know what caused this. I am told that the first person to ever have a pace maker, installed in 1958, is still alive today. I therefore intend to live another 50 years. Hey, it could happen.

Take care,
 
   / No more arc welding #10  
BobRip said:
Thanks JD and everyone else for their replies. I suspect that I will completely drop arc welding, but there is an outside hope that someone has addressed this and has a good solution. Obviously it is not worth much or any risk to my health. I am feeling good and I suspect that my energy levels will be higher than ever. I have been having some symptons for a couple of years and got tired easily. Now I know what caused this. I am told that the first person to ever have a pace maker, installed in 1958, is still alive today. I therefore intend to live another 50 years. Hey, it could happen.

Take care,
Hey ... go for another 70 why not? :) I'll be very interested in your finds on gas welding myself, as I used to do a little of it in high school along with arc, and from what I remember I rather enjoyed it. I have a lot of things that need welding myself. Taking it to be welded will get very old very soon. I could be out there today working on my PT projects instead of waiting for the welder to get done. So keep us posted on your finds with the gas. I may just follow your lead sometime in the near future.:)
 
 
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