Milling and your health, what do you do?

Alaska Crab fishing and tree work are the most dangerous jobs switching between #1 and #2 positions between 101 to 121 deaths per 100,000 workers (police went from 14.# to 20.# recently) for years now. Breathing in fumes might be a relatively minor risk, all things considered. That being said, my Chinese log splitter dumps the exhaust right at the operator if the wind is right, so, I use a big box fan to blow it away and fresh air on me. If 120v is not available, Ryobi sells a box fan that runs on 120v or the 18+ battery system, if you need a mobile solution.

I have one of these, it has an ill designed motor that needs to be lubed every year or the fake bearings wear out and freeze the motor. Basically put machine oil on the foam packing. It does blow a bunch of air to keep you cool or breathing.

24 in. Heavy Duty 2-Speed Direct Drive Tilt Drum Fan
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Commercial-Electric-24-in-Heavy-Duty-2-Speed-Direct-Drive-Tilt-Drum-Fan-BF24TFCE/303061463

 

i have a F2+ logosol and i bought a 3M chem mask, because last week i milled aspen and my throat was killing me, like i had razor blades in my throat, not sur if it was a combo of the dust/ fumes as the wind was all over. I mill at 32:1.

 

I would love to find a tested exhaust mod/barkbox for an 880. The fumes are killing me. Never a problem with my old 056.

 

Sweet! Nice welding job on that metal.

 

Has that been tested while milling? Does it keep the exhaust out of your face? If so where can I get one???

 

For a dedicated milling saw there are other configurations that will work better.

Lots of guys here can modify the 880 muffler for you, you just really have to know what you want

 

I use 100ll. When i come home from milling all day the fumes of dominator and a little lead soaked into my clothes and pores really turn on the shady ladies of clinton county pa...lol

 

MSDS datasheets somewhat show what's in the fuel. Aspen appears to have the lowest benzene level, but I'm not sure what else it is composed of?

I'd like to build an exhaust that gets the fumes away from my breathing hole.

Trufuel 50:1

Aspen 2



Sunoco 87 octane pump gas

 

> I'd like to build an exhaust that gets the fumes away from my breathing hole.

When splitting wood I use a portable floor fan, sitting on a chair. I tried using my 40v HF cordless leaf blower, too awkward. I may try the Ryobi box fan that runs on 120v/18+ cordless on my sawmill trailer. It might have enough CFM to make a big difference.

 

The exhaust I pictured in my head:

 

Those 3m cartridge masks are as comfortable as an n-95 nowadays.

I wear one. Gone through 3 years of milling, using the same mask. Cartridges replaced once every 2 months or so.

All carb saws, running rich on the high speed jet:
Stihl 660 mag, stihl 881 mag, ported Echo CS 1201.

Mostly stihl hp ultra, echo red armor and amsoil saber. Could smell that hp ultra through mask! Nasty sht.....

 

Would not a long pipe as pictured cause a large amount of vibration and flex and break the muffler at the welds, even if thin wall aluminum? Maybe running a hose to the fitting and off to the end of the bar on a chainsaw mill?

 

Long cuts in one direction at full throttle? Yeah, the engine has some vibration, so let's test it out since no companies are building milling-specific mufflers. I don't know of any rubber that would last at temps the muffler sees?

 

How about a braided flex line? They would take the strain off the muffler.

 

I was thinking more along the lines of flexible vehicle exhaust system pipes, either braided or flexible corrugated. They sell small braided stuff about 1" diameter used to hook up the catalytic converters on some cars that inject air into it. My question would be on anything that long, either pipe or hose, how would it effect the horse power and pushing of the fumes out of the pipe. Would the pulses pile up and end up overheating the saw?

I guess you could time two passes through the same log, with and without the addition, and shoot a temperature gauge at both the saw and muffler after making three passes with the extension on the muffler.

 

Best to put the saw on the mill and aim one large thin wall pipe up, out, and away. I’ve milled a bunch of HUGE boards and I barely ever smell any exhaust

 

Nice welding job.

One other thought, if you have (exhaust) pipe expanders, you could insert one into the last 1.5" of exhaust pipe and flare it out a bit, generally about 1/*" wider. They say not to use impact wrenches, but, I have used mine before with no ills effects to fit mufflers and custom exhaust. Better then trying to grab a pipe and squishing it in a vise.

 

This is a cool thread.
It’s necessarily chainsaw related, but at work I operate a Frick sawmill powered by a Detroit 471 diesel. We used to run a little pipe out the back of the motor and if the wind blew right, I would be inhaling some of the exhaust while operating it. I noticed significant headaches and fatigue after running it for a while. We put an upturn on it and a big long muffler with a pipe and it was like night and day in how I felt after 5-6 hours of milling.
I guess the point is that it’s doesn’t pay to try and be a tough guy and ignore fumes.