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Why do my welds smell like bananas sometimes??

3K views 34 replies 22 participants last post by  jasonmt 
#1 ·
Ok, this is a very strange thing that happens occasionally when I'm welding.

Setup is a Millermatic 180 w/ .030 wire running 75/25 gas.

Every once in a while the welder will start welding like shit, producing a ton of fumes from the weld and it smells like bananas. The fumes are so bad I have to leave the garage or I'll start coughing up a lung.

Any ideas?
 
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#7 ·
Brake cleaner.

Try using paint thinner like enamel reducer. I hate using brake claner to clean stuff I am going to weld. Try heating up a piece of steel and spraying it with what ever you are using to clean with. If that is the smell that is it.

I would guess you are letting it dry longer at times and not getting the smell then.

Toddy
 
#10 ·
I don't know about the banana smell much here's all I could think of to possibly explain the smoke:

-You welded over a spot that was heavily galvanized. Zinc smoke is very thick, sometimes greenish colored. Zinc fumes can kill you in high concentrations, so definitely don't breathe that shit if you can help it.
-You tried welding over something that was previously brazed at one point (brass = copper & zinc). Even if it looks like all the old braze has been ground out, welding over a piece of steel that's still has some brass in it will make a pourous ugly mess of a weld and it will smoke. Usually, the best way to fix a part that's been brazed is to just re-braze it otherwise you may have to grind away a a lot of metal to make it weldable. How much you'll need to grind off depends on how "hot" the original braze was done. Brazing isn't really supposed to penetrate into the base metal, but some people go overboard.
-You're welding a mystery alloy that just *looks* like regular steel.
-There's some kind of other contamination in/on the metal.
-A drop of something (oil,glue,paint,etc.) got on your reel of wire and it's contaminated the wire in that particular section.

Note- Some brake parts cleaners are chlorinated. Chlorine produces poisonous gas if it's heated or burned, so use plain acetone for cleaning weld metals instead. It cleans better too.

Doesn't sound like a shielding gas problem.
 
#16 ·
Note- Some brake parts cleaners are chlorinated. Chlorine produces poisonous gas if it's heated or burned, so use plain acetone for cleaning weld metals instead. It cleans better too.
This is your whole problem right here - brake clean and it'll kill you.

Stop using it and see if the fumes go away. Use wire wheels and sanding disc to clean your surfaces and you'll be fine.
 
#13 ·
I don't have a wire cleaner on my welder (what's a wire cleaner?). The material being welded is new 1x1 16ga square tubing to an existing chassis of the same material. I'm thinking it must be something on the wire or on the metal that didn't get cleaned off somehow :confused:
 
#15 ·
Your local welding supply shop will have packs of 5 or 10 of these, dirt cheap and worth it.


I run my wire through an ear plug before the drive roll.

Speaking of I probably should swap it out next wire roll :laughing:
Always a safe bet, found out the name of the Lincoln wire today when I got it that I referred to in your other thread. Its SURE-ARC S-6 ER70S-6, for $1/lb. I had the SuperArc 56 last time, so I'll see how this does.
 
#18 ·
I tried to find an MSDS for chlorinated brake cleaner just to be a smartass in return :flipoff2: but it's getting harder to find the old-fashioned stuff, so no dice on the chlorinated brake cleaner. Yep - I'm bored, but not bored enough to spend more than 5 minutes reading MSDS's :laughing:

It was actually an eye opening experience so I'm glad I took the time to look at a few ingredients lists.
The cheaper the brand, the more likely it's methanol based
Other ingredients various brands contain:
Acetone (LOL!)
Toluene
Trichlorobenzene
Naptha
+ a bunch of crap I've never heard of

On a side note ......
What really surprised me was something I just happened to glance at on the MSDS for Brakleen brand brake parts cleaner. I do aluminum TIG occasionally. I am not that great at it, but I can assure you that aluminum oxide is *not* your friend when you try to weld AL . Removing/preventing oxide formation is one of the major factors to getting a nice bead on AL. If you're a TIG weldor or ever plan on learning it, read on....
Anyone using Brakleen to "clean" their aluminum before they weld it should read The MSDS for Non-Chlorinated BRAKLEEN - go straight to SECTION 10 . They're actually putting an oxide film on the AL instead of taking it off! :eek:
 
#30 ·
For the record I'm using non-chlorinated brake cleaner.

With that said, what do you guys use besides Acetone to clean tubing?

Benny, I seem to recall Wilfong using WD40 and a scothbrite to remove the oil and scale from tubing, but then what do you use to get the WD40 off?
 
#33 ·
Did you look up the MSDS for the brand of brake cleaner you're using to see what's in it? That's a start.

If you want something a little less nasty than acetone that is still a decent no-residue cleaner, go to the local hardware store and get yourself a can of denatured alcohol.

It's mostly Ethyl alcohol, but it's spiked with a *little bit* of acetone (i.e. "denatured") so the hardcore alcoholics won't try drinking it to get a tax-free buzz.

I also use it for fuel in my alcohol-burning backpacker stove.
 
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