Health and safety weld

Health and Safety

 Gas Welding.

Welding is a lot more dangerous then most jobs in the marine engineering industry which means you need a better understanding of the health and safety requirements. When welding you can be around hazards like hot pieces of metal, Compressed gases in cylinders, Open flames and dangerous fumes. This is why you need to be aware of your surroundings and have a clear work area when welding. Your overalls should be cotton so they are flame resistant and you should always wear the correct eye protection and shade for the type of welding you are doing.

Acetylene cylinders should always be standing upright so there isn’t a risk of explosions or gas leaks. The acetylene cylinder and lines should be colour coded in maroon (dark red) this is a worldwide requirement. All threads on acetylene should be left hand threads with a cut in the fitting so you know. The maximum pressure the cylinder should take is 225psi and must not be over filled.

Oxygen is the other gas which is being used which is colour coded in black but the hose is blue. The cylinder can be laid down but must be secured. These cylinders use a right hand thread unlike the acetylene cylinders. The maximum pressure the oxygen cylinder can handle is about 2000psi.

Both of these cylinders and lines should be checked out for cracks, gas leaks if there is the components should be replaced. The maximum pressure the hoses can handle is about 15psi. Thee cylinders must not be knocked or hit in anyway because if the valve is broken it will cause an explosion or for the cylinder to shoot off like a rocket.

Most of the newer gas welder’s are fitted with flashback arrestors which are used to prevent the flame or burning mixture from going back up the lines and into the cylinder it prevents explosions and damage to components. They can be reset at any time by pulling the collar down.

Pressure regulators and gauges are put in place to control the flow of the two gases into the torch at the correct pressure and at a constant rate. When putting the pressure regulator and gauges on you should never use any type of oil or grease as it will cause a thing called spontaneous combustion.

The welding torch is one of the main components in this set up as it mixes the two gases together and is where the gases are ignited and controlled through two colour coded valves which are very important in maintaining good constant welds. This component must be set up correctly and must not have loose fittings as this will cause gas leaks and explosions which could harm you or the components. The welding tips are screwed into the torch at any set angle you need. The tips require a small amount of maintenance as the mixture causes build ups inside the tip so the tip must be cleaned to maintain a good flame. The tips come in all different sizes for different thicknesses of metal and different welding applications.