Welding Tips and Tricks

I salvaged a big peice of sheet metal off of a refrigerator. It has paint on one side and some kind of insulation remnants stuck to the other side. Seems like a big job for a 4.5 inch angle grinder with a grind blade. Any ideas for cleaning this relatively easy?

Use care the insulation in a fridge is isocyanate. It creates Cyanide gas. Not good. I used to work at a plant that made fridges. I ran a bank of foam injection machines. To get rid of the cyanide you need to freeze it to something like -360F so that the liquid cyanide separates from the poly agent that makes the foam.

Thanks, I wondered if someone would say anything about the safety of handling the insulation

Josh is on the money. But you should know that the isocyanates are trapped in the insulation. As long as you scrape it all off before heating you will be able OK. It's released when they are burnt. Same as in two pack paints

Razor blade scraper should do the trick

Good idea on the razor blade

I wonder if I got somewhat of a sample of the cyanide when I cut the peice out with the grinder blade. I didn't wear a respirator and I started feeling like I have the flu about an hour after I finished....took a bunch of vitamin C and then asaprin a few minutes ago. Feeling a little better now...mostly just tired. Lungs hurting

WelderDan wrote:Good idea on the razor blade

I wonder if I got somewhat of a sample of the cyanide when I cut the peice out with the grinder blade. I didn't wear a respirator and I started feeling like I have the flu about an hour after I finished....took a bunch of vitamin C and then asaprin a few minutes ago. Feeling a little better now...mostly just tired. Lungs hurting

I wear a respirator during any grinding, cutting. I'm even wearing a respirator right now in the office as I type this!

Anatomy of a used 3M filter

All things said and done, the amount of gas that that would mak would be quite low I'd expect. Just avoid setting the entire thing on fire in your enclosed garage and then camping out in there.

If you are worried, go to the doctor. We may be the greatest welding forum on the planet, but doctors we ain't. Except for that one guy who was a surgeon, but he's gone now.

Why go to a Dr when I can consult a bunch of welders. I like where I'm at. Lol

Yep how much damage you may have done or not done would be a medical matter. I know some people are more sensitive to the smoke or fumes than others. It’s just something to be aware of. On a separate note the doors of dishwashers and fridges often have extra sheets of different colors hidden behind the front panel. Not exposed to the insulation.