there is an interesting article about brake clean and welding creating dangerous g***es on the Brew cycles website. I do not know how to do the link thing , sorry
don't worry about the linky thing, it's been posted here before. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=382835
Something else to avoid, is cleaning those foam air filters for your lawn mower with brake cleaner. Then reinstalling and starting it up. Talk about some nasty emissions! weww
Read the label! Don't take anybody's opinion of what can potentially kill you for gospel! Dan Stevens dba, Steelsmith
I am in no way saying that heating brake clean is good for you, but what alot of people seem to be missing in the original thread (yes i read all of it) is that simply heating or burning brake clean does not produce the phosgene gas. It is the combination of Heat, Brake cleaner, AND the Argon shielding gas that makes the really bad stuff. Now I'm sure burning it alone causes something that will kill you or melt your brain and nerves soon enough, not denying that at all. even the fumes alone without heat are no good for you, so as always use your head, ventilate the place and be safe.
I'm not arguing with you about refrigerants, there is no doubt that they produce phosgene gas when burned. That is a well known fact. Maybe brake clean does too. I'm not a chemist but argon being inert therefore not part of the equation does make sense. Maybe the extreme heat of the welding arc combined with the argon shielding the heat/cleaner reaction from oxygen is what causes it to form phosgene instead of some other toxin. I dunno, just a guess. I'm just going by what I read in the article attached to the original thread. You are right that it does state phosgene can be produced right off the bat, diddn't see that earlier. That it goes on about the argon thing. Either way, I will be picking another cleaner to while welding. Here is the section I'm referring to.
The Jalopy Journal
