How unsafe is soldering without vents?

[yankii]

I'm thinking of getting an iron and some lead free solder so I can get back into repairs that need soldering, but my new place has no ventilation. Like, at all. The only window is above the kitchen sink [not a great place to solder, imo] and the room where I'll soldering is basically sealed shut with HVAC handling any and all air exchange with the outside [so I don't die].

Is this risky, and is there a solution other than moving?

 

[emcintosh]

How good is your HVAC at the V part? I would imagine that forced ventilation would be *more* effective than just having a window open. Ideally you would do the soldering in one of the rooms that sucks air out (probably the wet smelly rooms like kitchen or bathroom) rather than rooms that get fresh air in (bedroom, living room), so you won't be filling the rest of the house with solder fumes.

Apologies for the triple-post - the 'reply' button sent me to a preview of my post, so it wasn't clear to me that the post had submitted!

 

[Skv0ra]

I'm thinking of getting an iron and some lead free solder so I can get back into repairs that need soldering, but my new place has no ventilation. Like, at all. The only window is above the kitchen sink [not a great place to solder, imo] and the room where I'll soldering is basically sealed shut with HVAC handling any and all air exchange with the outside [so I don't die].

Is this risky, and is there a solution other than moving?

You kinda answered your own question, no? Plus just how MUCH are you gonna solder anyway? If you'll be going non-stop, full-time aka 9 hours a day, then yea, vent would be a good idea, but a few wires here and there should be perfectly fine. Get a box fan, 3-4 hvac allergy-grade filters, and tape that together into a makeshift air purifier and you'll be absolutely fine.

 

[a_username_that_is_cool]

I assume you mean "if I switch to lead based solder". In that case, soldering without ventilation can and probably will kill you. California has this whole thing with lead, and inhaling it can mess up your lungs. From what I've heard it's like smoking but worse

 

[yankii]

How good is your HVAC at the V part?

I assume pretty good given I'm alive.

You kinda answered your own question, no? Plus just how MUCH are you gonna solder anyway? If you'll be going non-stop, full-time aka 9 hours a day, then yea, vent would be a good idea, but a few wires here and there should be perfectly fine. Get a box fan, 3-4 hvac allergy-grade filters, and tape that together into a makeshift air purifier and you'll be absolutely fine.

I will be using lead free solder but I can't be sure every console I'll be repairing also will.

I don't think I'll ever be at it for more than 2-3 hours continuously, though, and I already have an air purifier. I guess, it's fine, then?

I assume you mean "if I switch to lead based solder".

No.

 

[Skv0ra]

I assume pretty good given I'm alive.

I will be using lead free solder but I can't be sure every console I'll be repairing also will.

I don't think I'll ever be at it for more than 2-3 hours continuously, though, and I already have an air purifier. I guess, it's fine, then?

No.

Get a good filtered mask and you'll be fine.

 

[JuanMena]

It really depends on the quality of your solder.
I use unleaded solder for electronic's and it always leaves an awful after taste, and I'm ventilated. I tried using a mask like those from when Covid-19 (got left a huge stack of boxes) and it only made it worse because smoke can go through any indentation and accumulate in your mask, so that's not working for me. Might be my potato head though.

I also did me a fan that would spin counterclockwise and that actually helped, just get a broken laptop's or a broken laptop cooler fan (because they'll work with 5V) and use your phone charger to turn it on, and since it won't have any casing you could position it in any way you want, "front" to throw air, or "back" to kind of suck air, hence smoke. Or inverse polarity.

 

[SylverReZ]

I assume you mean "if I switch to lead based solder". In that case, soldering without ventilation can and probably will kill you.

I doubt that much can kill you if you're soldering. With enough ventilation and a mask, you'll be fine.

 

[Armadillo]

Doesn't really matter if it's lead free or not. The fumes you see are the flux. Flux is an irritant and lead free tends to have more aggressive flux because lead free is shit and also tends to smoke a bit more due to higher temp you work at.

https://ehs.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/EHS-0167.pdf

" Based on standard soldering iron temperatures of 620°F-700°F and the
melting point of lead (621°F), it is unlikely that lead fume will be generated
during electronic soldering, unless the solder is heated to lead’s vaporization
temperature of 3182°F"

Working in a mask sucks and flux also sucks, I wouldn't want to breath it in all day. Just get an extraction unit, you can get relatively cheap ones now like so https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008089230451.html

(I'm not vouching for that unit, dunno how good it is, it's just an example).

 

[TVL]

Get some led solder from China, that other "new" stuff sucks.

You can't get an extension cord and do it outside if you think it will make you live forever?