WELDING FUME – CHANGES TO HSE CONTROL EXPECTATIONS

The Workplace Heath Expert Committee has endorsed the reclassification of mild steel welding fumes as a human carcinogen. Consequently, the HSE has strengthened its enforcement expectation for all welding fume, including mild steel welding and welding outdoors.

What does this mean for businesses?

General ventilation is no longer sufficient and changes are required with immediate effect. Previously welding fume extraction was not needed for outdoor welding or for short tasks such as tacking or minor repairs, however this is now no longer the case.

All businesses should ensure effective engineering controls are provided and correctly used to control fume arising from welding activities of any duration, including mild steel welding.

All exposure to any welding fume must be adequately controlled. Risk assessments should reflect the change to the expected control measures, and welders need to be suitably instructed and trained in the use of the controls. Where engineering control alone cannot control exposure, respiratory protection must be provided, for example in the form of a powered air respiratory system or a mask.

XR940A PAPR Welding Fume Respiratory Protection

Parweld’s XR940A Powered Air Purifying Respiratory System is ideal for situations where exposure risk still remains after other controls have been put in place, or for short-term or infrequent exposure such as outdoor welding.

It’s portable, compact and slim design offers comfortable, reliable protection, complete with a large view true colour welding helmet. Clever automatic control systems combined with three types of warning alarms ensure a safe, constant airflow for the operator.

Designed with the user in mind, the system features a simple one button control and clear user interface. The long life battery and the filter can be changed quickly and easily by hand. A contoured outer surface help to prevent snagging on other objects. Additional shoulder straps reduce the leverage effect that can cause PAPRs to feel heavy and unwieldy. Importantly, the operator can sit or lie down without obstruction to airflow.
“Regardless of duration, HSE will no longer accept any welding undertaken without any suitable exposure control measures in place, as there is no known level of safe exposure”
Scion Supply Ltd are a Parweld main distributor and have the XR940A in stock right now. Visit our on line shop to order your now!

For more information visit http://www.hse.gov.uk/safetybulletins/mild-steel-welding-fume.htm

Welding Cast Iron

Welding Cast Iron has quite a few potential pitfalls, but if done correctly, it’s not difficult.

Why is Welding Cast Iron problematic

The key reason why welding cast iron can be problematic is the high carbon content. During the welding process, this carbon migrates into the weld metal and/or the heat affected zone adjacent to the weld metal, causing elevated hardness/brittleness. This is how Cast Iron gets its reputation for post weld cracking.

Process for Welding Cast Iron

Gas Welding heats the Cast Iron slower than Arc based processes and the flame is lower temperature than an arc. This means Carbon migration is not normally a problem. Use of a proprietary Cast iron Gas Welding rod is important. The only real downsides to Gas Welding Cast Iron is the amount of heat needed if components are large. Gas Welding is also a slow process.

Arc/Stick Welding is, arguably, the best all-round process for Welding Cast Iron, provided the correct welding rods are used. Cast iron Welding Rods have a special Graphite rich flux, this graphite chemically ties up the Carbon in the Cast Iron, limiting migration into the weld metal and heat affected zone. There are two common types of Cast iron Welding Rod, Ferro-Nickel and Pure Nickel. Ferro-Nickel are typically 53% Steel and 47% Nickel. Ferro-Nickel Rods are cheaper than pure Nickel and are ideal for welding Cast Iron to Steel. Pure Nickel will produce a softer, more malleable weld deposit. I would advocate using Ferro-Nickel, unless the job specifically requires Pure Nickel.

Mig Welding is, in my opinion, not a great way to weld Cast Iron. Whilst there are specialist Flux Cored Wires available, unless you have a repeating application that you can create a procedure for, I would not advocate Mig Welding Cast iron.

Tig Welding is not considered a suitable process for Welding Cast Iron. An open arc process such as Tig offers no opportunity to mitigate Carbon migration.

Welding Techniques

Gas Welding – There are no specific techniques that need to be deployed.

Arc/Stick Welding – All of the following are important:

Prep the job with a ‘U’ shaped groove, avoid sharp corners as this can lead to heat build up which will exacerbate carbon migration.

Use the correct type of welding rod.
Ensure the component is AT LEAST at room temperature, adding a small amount of pre-heat will help, but you only need the component to be warm to the touch.
Limit the amount of welding done in one run. As a rule of thumb, do not put down a continuous run that has a length greater than 10x the diameter of the welding rod being used. Having said that, it’s ok to put down multiple runs in different parts of the component (see graphic in next item). Eg, if repairing a 300mm crack with a 3.2mm rod, you can weld a run of 32mm, then do another 32mm run in another part of the crack. Avoid letting the weld area get too hot, this is the purpose of short runs.
If you’re repairing crack, run a bead across each end of the crack to avoid the crack spreading further.

Keep the welding rod vertical, not at an angle, like you would for most stick welding.
Don’t expect to weld cast iron quickly, the key is to take you time and do it properly.

I hope you found this blog article about Welding Cast Iron useful, if things work out well for you, please feel free to post some pictures of your achievements on our Facebook Page or tweet us @ScionSupply

Please let me know what you thought of this article by leaving a comment. Don’t worry, your email address won’t be added to a database or shared and you won’t receive any unsolicited email.

If you need cast iron electrodes, both main types are available on our website

Overcoming the Pain of Weeding in the Garden!

Weeding is a real pain, right? Often this is a literal fact as well as a metaphorical one! Well I currently have access to a product I had not previously been aware of that makes weeding much less of a pain. I have a good stock at the moment, but these weeders are so well priced I expect them to sell out fairly quickly so you'd better get your order in quick.


Sievert are well known for being a world leading manufacturer specialising in high-quality heating tools for professionals. Sievert has been in business for more than 130 years and today works together with customers in more than 50 countries all over the world. Sievert's offering contains top-quality products for any type of soldering, brazing or heating task. Sievert strive for continuous innovation in the development of their products with new technologies and designs.

After quite literally years of fighting my own Infinity War with the weeds on my patio, using every method I could find, from weed killing chemicals to patio scrubbers to pressure washers, the Sievert Gardener was a bit of a break-through for me!

In fact, weed fighting with heat is nothing new. It has been used by professional gardeners for a long time. With this method weeds on patios, terraces and paved paths, kerbs and so on, can be treated in a non-toxic and environmentally friendly way.

You simply sweep the burner slowly about 5cm above the weeds. The plant should be heated - not burnt. The heating causes the cell walls in the plant to burst and the plant dies of drying out. A simple procedure to check that this has taken place is to press a leaf between the fingertips. This should leave a dark green fingerprint. After two to three days the leaves will have completely wilted and all you need to do is to sweep up and compost. The treatment is most effective in the Spring when the plants are small and have a limited resistance. The treatment must be repeated a couple of weeks apart during the planting season. A final treatment late in Autumn is also useful to destroy the seeds which will become next years weeds.

Order yours now at Scion Supply's great new e-commerce web site, which accepts Paypal payments as well as all major credit and debit cards and get the Sievert Gardener delivered to you next day with reliable tracked home delivery from our delivery partners DPD.

The Sievert Gardener is not suitable for use on lawns however and if you enjoy gardening, but want to save your back and knees a bit of strain, you might also be interested in this Garden Kneeler which combines the functions of a garden kneeler, stool and storage box in one. The Garden Kneeler allows you to kneel in cushioned comfort or turn it over to sit at the correct height for many gardening chores. Manufactured from a heavy-duty, impact resistant plastic frame, with an inset rubber seat and integral foam kneeler. The stool's cleverly designed legs have integrated hand grips, that serve as supporting arms to assist you when kneeling down or standing up again. The under seat storage compartment is useful for storing secateurs, gloves or other small hand tools. This dual-purpose kneeler is especially useful if the ground is wet or muddy, but it also has multiple uses around the home when working while sitting or kneeling is required. Check out both products in our Gardening Tool section at Scion Supply.

Launching our on-line shop

Screen shot from the new Scion website with on-line shopping facility

I have finally managed to find the time to finalise the Scion Supply on-line shop and making it activating payment methods and setting it to "live".

I really hope this will provide an opportunity for us to broaden our customer reach. We have worked hard to develop a product range that works over the last few years and these products are obviously now available to purchase on our website as well as in our Ebay store.

I have tried to maintain visual continuity through the two sites in terms of images. Our carefully selected range of products reflects our experience dealing with face-to-face engineers and mechanics, learning their preferences, what works and what does not work.

The main challenge with on-line stuff is getting the product uploaded. It can feel like something you are doing continually and it is a challenge to keep up with the day-to-day business tasks and get time to catalogue and upload product details. I've found doing a few a day helps.

In particular, I have a couple of new products I am selling on-line which are quite interesting. In this post I want to introduce you to this simple tool: PipeStrip.

PipeStrip is a really clever idea thought up to deal with a specific task. If you've ever been on site and had to strip paint from copper pipes you will know what a tough job it is. It usually involves a sharp blade, like a Stanley knife blade, and a lot of elbow grease!

Stripping is time consuming and hard work, so someone has had the clever idea of PipeStrip - a light-weight, handy tool specifically designed to make the stripping of paint from 15 & 22mm copper pipes easy.

To use, you simply place the curved blade of PipeStrip over the pipe at the point where you plan to make the cut. With your free hand, press the blade firmly into the paint so that it 'bites'. Maintaining pressure on the blade, push & pull PipeStrip along the pipe to clean about 5cm on either side of the central point, so that you strip approximately 10cm of pipe.

Turn PipeStrip as you work to clean the sides and back of the pipe - PipeStrip is flat enough to help you reach the back. It really is essential for any tool box!

If you visit the page in our on-line store and scroll through the pictures you will see a video we have uploaded about the tool, how handy it is and how to use it.

Thanks for taking the time to read this blog. Please do visit the new shop and let us know what you think in the comments below.

GDPR Deadline

The GDPR ( European General Data Protection Regulation) deadline is 25th May 2018

GDPR regulation for small businesses is a hot topic, Most businesses hold data on individuals which falls under the scope of the new regulation.

If you do use or store personal information, and this information relates to someone that can be identified, you are referred to in the Act as a ‘data controller’.

The government has confirmed that Brexit will not affect the GDPR start date, or its immediate running. It’s also confirmed that post-Brexit, the UK’s own law (or a newly-proposed Data Protection Act) will directly mirror the GDPR.

If your organisation deals with personal data, you must ensure that you consistently act in accordance with the eight key principles set out in the Data Protection Act.
1. Personal data must be processed fairly and lawfully

This is among the most important requirements of the Act. In order to comply, you must provide individuals with the name of your business, and details of the purpose for which their information will be used. You should make it clear that the individual can access and correct the information that you hold about them.

Crucially, you must also tell them if the information will be used in any way that is not immediately obvious. For example, you must tell the individual if their details will be passed on to credit reference agencies.
2. Personal data must be processed for specified lawful purposes

You must have a specified, lawful reason for collecting data; you cannot simply collect it speculatively. Furthermore, you cannot use the data collected for another, “incompatible” or unlawful purpose.
3. Personal data must be adequate, relevant and not excessive

You should only collect the bare minimum; you may not collect information that is not immediately relevant to the specified purpose, and you may not collect more information than you need.
4. Personal data must be accurate and up to date

Any information you hold must be factually accurate, and updated where necessary. Depending on the nature of your business, you may need to develop mechanisms that allow individuals to update their details quickly.
5. Personal data must not be kept for any longer than is necessary

If the purpose for which you collected the data is time-limited, you must ensure that the data is not retained once it is no longer needed. Where applicable, you should tell individuals how long the data is likely to be retained for.
6. Personal data must be processed in accordance with the rights of individuals

The Act sets out the rights of individuals, as well as the responsibilities of data controllers. You should make sure that you understand these rights, and act in accordance with them.
7. Personal data must be kept secure

You must take adequate steps to ensure the security of the data. This means that it should be safe from tampering, loss, or unlawful processing. You may need to develop both technical and organisational processes to help you deal with this obligation.
8. Personal data must not be transferred outside the European Economic Area without adequate protection

Data may only be transferred out of the EEA if the country to which it is being transferred has adequate legal protection for individuals and their details.

As well as ensuring that you abide by the eight key principles, you may also be required to notify the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) of your activities. The Act works on the basis that all data controllers are required to notify, but some exemptions are available. If you are not exempt but you fail to notify the ICO, you risk prosecution.

You may be exempt from the notification requirement if:
you only process data for the purposes of: staff administration; payroll; advertising, marketing and PR that are directly related to your own business activities; or accounts and record-keeping
yours is a not-for-profit organisation
data is only being processed for personal, family, or household affairs
you only process data in order to maintain a public register
or if no automated system, like a computer, is used in the processing of data

You can use the ICO’s online checker tool to see if your business is exempt from registration.

If you do need to register, you can do this on the ICO website. Registration generally costs £35 per year.

If you don’t comply with the Data Protection Act, you could face serious penalties, including a fine of up to £500,000. If you are in doubt, seek advice from the Information Commissioner’s Office, or from an independent legal professional.

Please take a moment to check out our website for tools, welding plant and consumables, fasteners, and a wide range of industrial products.

Website Changes

Over the Christmas period I have been working on the Scion Supply website.

I haven't looked at it since I knocked up a quick template in October 2016 and hurriedly published it online. A lot of customers ask if you have a website, so I acknowledge it is important to have an online presence, although for my type of business, I'm not sure how much actual business you get from a site. At least let's say I am willing to be convinced!

I've really enjoyed what I have learned and have been slowly putting up some product linked to our Ebay store, so customers can purchase immediately online, as well as some informative videos and some details about the weld purging products we sell.

We have also started selling Diadora Safety Work Wear and this really clever first aid kit that you fit into your hard hat called E-FAB.

Please do check out the Scion Supply website and let me know if you have any comments or advice.

New LED Lighting Installation in Top London School

Working with organisations in order to reduce their carbon footprint is something we specialise in. The photos here show the staff break out area of a top London school before and after we installed 32 watt LED panels last week.

Photo one shows the existing lights which give’s at 700mm height from FFL 328 Lux’s using 1.1Kw of power (approx. 0.15p per hour).

Photo two shows the newly installed lights complete with 0.10V dimming and give’s at 700mm from FFL on full 98% dimming 845 Lux’s using 0.44Kw of power. (approx. 0.06p per hour).

I'm sure you'll agree the difference is quite marked, and obviously, as well as improved lighting & performance, customers also benefit from much cheaper running costs and longevity. The longevity is a result of less heat loss from the fitting, which is the main reason for failure of light fittings.

If you are interested in seeing how much you could save in this way, please call me on 01268 523 245 to arrange a survey. We will look at your current lighting and energy usage and provide a detailed report on what options are available to you in terms of cost savings and lower carbon footprint for changing your lighting to more energy efficient fittings.