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Re: Mercury - playing safely at home

Posted By: Romarrk
Date: Tuesday, 19 February 2013, at 5:31 p.m.

In Response To: Re: Mercury - playing safely at home (SVP Neon Equipment)


> Just so I'm sure I understand: You have a
> neon shop set up in your KITCHEN and you're
> worried about using a little mercury?

Yes, sure :) We are living here in 3-rd world realities - see my profile. Still property prices are comparable to, say, Manhattan. So only other viable option will be to rent a part of unheated garage in dangerous part of a town.

This is not a shop, strictly. A small operation I set at home with used equipment to learn bending and processing. To play with something really nice and colorful which I love for a very long time and as a way to hide from dull reality...

So do not worry, I am not going to flood market with inferior quality signs, I can do small souvenirs for my friends at best.

I even did not tell you yet I am using HVAC service pump now , sure you will like it ;) Anyway I am getting about 12-15 microns ultimate on TC gauge with all leaks present, but tubes come to proper Ne color in a few seconds to a few minutes and do not show major problems.

Shall upgrade in a future.

> Do you
> think nothing else you are doing is
> dangerous, especially in a kitchen
> environment? What about the carbon monoxide
> and hydrocarbons from the open flames?

Why shall I worry - I have a gas stove nearby. It is more powerful than all my fires except ribbon and likely runs on richer mix. It is very unlikely for any proper neon fire to leave anything unburnt in a flame - lead glass will feel it long before me :) May be except very brief periods when set to sooty annealing flame. I have CO meter, but it does not show anything even then.

> And
> the phosphor powders from the pink and
> orange tubes?

Can you be more exact? I remember long time ago a red arsenate phosphor was in use in fluorescent industry. Is it still used in neon? Anything other shall be gemanates, halophosphates and so on - not known to be very toxic.

May be I need to switch to rare earths. They are completely benign by definition - just a trace of RE in an untoxic matrix - alumosilicate if I remember right.

> Not to mention the (assumed)
> way you probably have the gas line connected
> to your burners.

Not! It is illegal (honestly not a real concern in our reality ;) and plain dangerous because of unlimited gas supply. I am using reasonable sized propane bottle, which burns hotter too.

> Btw, your fears about using the
> "deadly" lead glass are unfounded.
> It is reminiscent of the fear of drinking
> wine or other alcohol from leaded crystal
> glasses. The lead glass is the least of your
> problems.

I know it, but I don't like two things - first may be still some trace amounts evaporating, may be noticeable in small room (not sure), and some special operations like burning off glass whiskers may get small amounts of glass overheated and dispersed in the air. With 20% of toxic PbO in the glass it may be no good.

But if you say do not worry - really good, one less thing to worry ;)

Back to topic - still any ideas how to introduce mercury safely?


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