I don't have a Pacemaker, just a Mechanical Valve (St. Judes) in my heart, and DO Know one thing for sure, this is the LAST place I would come for Medical advice about my heart...just sayin....
If someone fitted with a pacemaker is sentenced to the electric chair, I wonder what frequency is recommended?
This issue is common with Tig and covered in most welder manuals. Tig will create electromagnetic energy that will follow air, water, and electrical lines. The recommendation is to run a separate earth ground wire and ground rods for the welder case (I do the welder through the workbench), work bench, and electrical circuit breaker box cabinet ( separate and different from the electrical ground connection).
Thanks to all who expressed helpful and intelligent comments, suggestions and information. Please keep them coming. To those who think this is a big joke please move on. Thanks again!
I have to admit I have play some pretty bad , dangerous pranks while working . We had a new kid start on the crew with me . We were meggaring 1750 HP electric motors with a crank meggar . The kid was “ hey what are you guys doin ? “ The with me says this machine tests how much voltage you vacant take . I noticed my Buddy was holding the insulators to the test leads , and winked at me . I cranked it a few times , and said “ you can take a little over 500 volts .” My Buddy speaks up and says “ kid let’s see what you can do !” He skinned the insulators back and lot the kid hole tight . He did , I got about 1/2 a turn the kid screamed and pissed his pants . I look back this was not a good thing to have done to someone , it could have knocked his heart out or rhythm and killed him . Always wear your gloves when TIG welding and for sure with a pacemaker .
I have a different sort of pacemaker [called impatience while pacing the floor] MIG and TIG welders are chickenshit compared to some of the HF pvc welders I worked on [giant microwaves] I once set up a 16kw HF welder that would make a fluorescent tube glow in your hands from 10'-12' away It was really fun watching somebody with piercings operate it
I have had an alpha pacemaker for about 14 years now. 110 mig is all i ever use and don't weld much. I twist the leads together and run them as far away from my body as possible. I get more concerned about bumping it with a hard object. -Like hood hinges when the hood is off to swap a motor. I have a couple tee-shirts that my wife sewed an inside pocket in with a piece of dense foam. If only i had thought to sell similar t-shirts at $200 each.
There are a few guys on the HAMB that would be fun to experiment on but I would strongly encourage you to do whatever your Cardiologist says to do. He is the one trying to keep your ass alive. Personally, I do everything mine says, right down to that silly COVID shot he recommended. He keeps me ticking and that's why I pay him the big bucks. Just my .10 cents worth (inflation you know).
Hi Ron, Sorry to hear about your health scare, we will pray for your good health! No advice available, but I wish we lived closer.....I would MIG what ever you needed for you. God Bless & Merry Christmas My Friend Bill https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/
Do not work on the engine while it is running. Do not touch the coil, distributor, or spark plug cables of a running engine. These are other cautions if you have a pacemaker.
Thanks again to all who contributed to my education. Big thank you to Bill at Bills Auto Works and Merry Christmas to you folks also. Ron
Very good advice here, Dr and pacemaker manufacturer guidance. Now I'm wondering if an X Ray vest with lead liner would offer any additional protection...hmm. My father has a pacemaker and asks if I'm doing any welding, put a work glove on the shop doorknob, so he doesn't come in.
Here's a pretty good writeup that addresses most questions. Re: plasma Vs Pacemaker Quote Post by Shane Warnick » Tue Dec 01, 2015 2:48 pm It will depend on what brand pacemaker you get. They all have different features to combat these issues. It will also depend on whether or not you get just a pacemaker, an ICD, or a BIV-ICD. All have pacing capabilities. That having been said, if you get a strictly low power device (only a pacemaker) then the risk of damaging the device is essentially zero, however you may cause it to pace when it doesn't necessarily need to, the only side effect you would notice would be the occasional palpitation, caused from an extra beat from the pacemaker every now and then. The issue has nothing to do with the actual wavelength of the noise, but rather the way the pacemaker (or ICD) itself works. They are designed to sense very small electrical currents (the ones in your heart) and use a wire placed in one or more of the chambers in your heart to accomplish this. However, you can overwhelm the device and basically blind it, by introducing noise at such a high amplitude that it prevents the pacemaker from seeing (sensing) the signals it needs to (the ones from your heart). When this happens, the pacemaker resorts to a noise reversion algorithm, and will pace at a set rate, until the noise subsides and it can tell what is going on again. Better to err on the side of caution, and pace when it's maybe not needed, than not to pace when you really do need it. If it did the latter, you could / would pass out, perhaps suffer injury, or even death. As far as damaging the device, they are all built with zener diodes in the output circuits, to prevent current from flowing backwards into the device and damaging the circuitry (such as what might happen if you are defibrillated externally or perhaps shock yourself changing a plug, welding etc). The risk of you damaging the device is small, however, if you did manage to take enough current to damage the device, probably you are going to die from the shock anyways so it would be a moot point. If you do take a shock (such as welding DCEP or using AC TIG with aluminum, no gloves and leaning on the work etc) there is a small (and I mean very small) chance that you could corrupt the memory in the device. They all have dual sets of memory, which is error correcting, but if it is corrupted past a certain point it can't correct itself anymore, and will basically reset itself. This is called POR or power on reset. Basically it goes off for a few seconds (2-5) the comes back on with out of the box factory settings, it will still work, but won't be customized for you. You can return to the doctor to have it checked / reprogrammed no problem, and carry on as normal. If you get a high power device (ICD or BIV-ICD) then you run the risk of getting an unnecessary therapy (cardioversion / defibrillation) which will hurt like hell, make you sore, scare the crap out of you, but won't really HARM you unless you do it over and over and over again. Some manufacturers have better discriminators than others to prevent unnecessary therapies, some work great (Medtronic) some dont (St Jude, Biotronik, ELA, Boston Scientific, listed in no particular order). These are the same discriminators that attempt to tell the difference between A-fib with rapid ventricular response, and V-tach, and SVT, AVNRT, V-Fib, etc. Some need a therapy, some don't. Some need one, but not the same as the others. I am not sure where you are, if there is socialized medicine, if you have a choice etc. I would, if it were me, request a Medtronic device. They have the best battery life, best discriminators, best remote monitoring, and in my opinion are miles ahead of their competition in all aspects of the business as far as CRDM and pacing are concerned. Now, all that being said, because of the litigious society we live in, they are going to give you a huge book of what not to do, and welding is in there, with about 9000 other things. Long story short, wear gloves, don't lean on the work, and don't work between the cathode and anode (the work lead and the ground), keep the anode (the work ground) as far from you as you can, and stay away from large magnets. Oh, and don't get inside the microwave and turn it on. If you follow those precautions you will be fine. Oh, and I would find an eletrophysiologist to insert my device if I had a choice, but that's just me. I would rather have the guy that does 100 a month do mine, than the guy that does 10 a year. Your mileage may vary, no warrant neither expressed nor implied, rinse and repeat as necessary, side effects may include itching, irritation, baldness, erectile dysfunction, anal leakage, and flu like symptoms. Yes, it is possible that I stayed at a holiday inn express last night....... If you read this far, and still have questions, you can PM me and I will be happy to discuss it with you on the phone.
A very big Thank You to all especially 1946caddy who really explained the situation. You are right, everyone is into CYA which makes it so difficult to get a straight answer from the "pros". Merry Christmas!
Having worked in industrial settings and fabrication shops for more than 40 years, improper use of oxy-acetylene can result in serious harm and even death. Here's an example; https://www.icheme.org/media/11834/...-an-acetylene-cylinder-explosion-incident.pdf
Since the Docs are in I have some questions. Ever time I hook a battery to the charger I’ll Involuntarily say...... “Butterbeans and Cornbread” “ Butterbeans and Cornbread” Other times it’s “ Yep Catfish” “ Yep Catfish” Is this normal? Another thing that happens is when I tune the carburetor on the 51 Ford, I laugh uncontrollably when I Rev it up.... like a vampire laugh, Is this normal?
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