Welder World Blog

Archive for December, 2010

The TIG welding process allows a welder exacts controls which result in a clean weld blob. TIG welding machines are frequently used to weld stainless steel, aluminum, magnesium, copper, brass, chrome and other alloys.

The acronym TIG stands for tungsten inert gas; though, the official name for the progression is GTAW. A type of arc welding, TIG uses a tungsten electrode held in a TIG torch. Shielding gases flow from around the tip of the torch to stop weld corrosion. The tungsten electrode is not consumed by the weld; it simply serves as a means of directing the arc. A separate filler rod adds metal to the weld. The welder uses one hand to hold the TIG torch, one hand to hold the filler rod and a foot control to operate the heat input to the weld.

Most stick welding machines can be converted into TIG machines through the addition of an air cooled TIG torch, TIG machines provide additional features that allow for wider welding applications. High frequency start features produce an arc without a physical strike. Preflow and post flow a characteristic start the stream of shielding gas before and extends it after the actual welding. Particular frequency settings manage the welding arc for welding different types of metal, including aluminum.

Operated By Only Whoever Is Skilled Welder

A TIG welder can weld any type of metal. Specialized welders are required for TIG purpose because skill required is high. TIG welds are of the highest quality when compared to stick welders. Stick welders can weld steel where medium skill is required. Stick welding is used for rugged outside conditions and repair shops. TIG welders are used in more refined conditions and applications.

TIG welders require less current and pleasing weld appearance. A tungsten electrode is used to carry the arc from the torch to the work piece. Filler metals require separate electrode that is fed manually. The gas is used for shielding.

Most of the packages have work cable, clamp, input power cord, TIG torch, gas regulator with hose and foot control. Shielding gas is also required but it is sold independently. For safety purpose, individual protective gear, especially gloves, shields and eyeglasses should be worn to shield the welder.

It Will Let You Get Extraordinary Benefits

TIG welding machines produce high quality welds through precise control of the heat input through a foot petal feature. Smaller amounts of filler metal is added to the weld puddle, creating vary little spattering or sparking. The welding process does not generate slag, saving the welder from having to remove slag among weld passes. TIG allows welders to produce welds in a variety of positions: flat, straight up and overhead.

More Tig Supplies Articles

Find out how to mig weld, quick, fast and easy? I’d like to show you how to get started using a mig welding machine and laying down some weld beads. Mig welding is really easy to do once you mig welder is set up right and feeding smoothly.

Practice, practice, practice

Yes, unfortunately like anything else you have to practice. But hopefully with a few of my pointers you won’t have to do as much practice to get up and running.

Which wire to use?

Now for the home user or DIY welder you are probably better off to use what is called gasless mig wire.

As the name suggests, you do not need to use any shielding gas with this wire. So if you are welding at home, it means you do not have to spend money on renting a gas bottle.

Gasless mig wire

Every welding wire has a classification. In this case the classification that you are looking for is E71T-GS. So when you go to buy your gasless mig welding wire make sure it has that code on the box. Be careful though, because there is another code which looks very similar to that.

Solid mig wire

You can if you wish use a solid mig wire, and the code for that would be ER70S-6. This is the welding industry standard wire for general fabrication welding processes. You will also need to use a shielding gas for this wire otherwise the weld just keeps crackling and popping and nothing happens.

Welding gas choice

There are a few choices of which welding gas you can use. You can use 100% CO2, you can use 25% CO2 +75% argon (which is a very common mix), or even 100% argon.

Basically the pros and cons are the more CO2 gas you have in the bottle the deeper the penetration of the weld will be. And CO2 is much cheaper than the mixed gases. The downside is that CO2 generates the most spatter.

25% CO2 +75% argon is a good all round gas. The higher argon percentage of gas really does make a difference to the weld bead appearance compared to straight CO2.

Basically the more argon you have, the cleaner and smoother the weld will be. Your welding gas supplier will have some kind of chart so that you can see which gas mixtures are available. They even have these fancy try mixed gases now which are one part carbon dioxide, one part argon and one part oxygen.

Earth Clamp

Your earth clamp and where you clamp it to must be clean and free of any rust, mud, oil, paint or grease. Try to keep it as close to where you are welding.

Feed rolls

If you are using a gasless mig wire you need to use knurled feed rollers. For solid wire you need to use vee grooved rollers, and for aluminum mig welding use u shaped feed rollers.

Contact tips

Contact tips come in a range of styles and sizes. Make sure you use the right size contact tip for the right size wire.

Welding shrouds and nozzles

Each manufacturer of welding equipment have their own variety of welding nozzles. Some nozzles are designed for high current applications and are much larger in size. Some nozzles are tapered so that you can get them into tight spaces. You can even get special welding nozzles for spot welding with your mig welding machine.

To find out more about how to mig weld you can visit this great website where there are pictures, videos and more detailed information about mig welding.

mine
Video Rating: 4 / 5

World War II

Sea Marlin served most of the war in the Pacific which included ports-of-call in Australia, Panama, New Guinea, New Zealand, Guam, Saipan, Eniwetok, Leyte Gulf, Tinian plus the Admiralty, Babelthaup, Caroline, Palau, Philippine, New Hebrides, and Mariana Islands. U.S. Pacific ports included Camp Stoneman, Honolulu, San Francisco, San Pedro, Seattle, Portland, and Port Hueneme.
While outbound from the states her passengers were destined for the Pacific war zones on return voyages Sea Marlin served as a hospital ship returning the wounded stateside.

At the Battle of Okinawa the Sea Marlin’s Naval Armed Guard crew received a Battle Star for the service during the invasion. This action included the Japanese Kamikaze attack on the invasion fleet.

Ship Complement

Typical of Army Transports Sea Marlin was crewed by merchant marines, administered by personnel of the US Army Transportation Corps (Water Division) and protected by a contingent of the US Naval Armed Guards.

In September 1944 the ship’s roster included:

Army: Lt Col Garrel D. Snyder (Executive Officer); Capt Richard C. Borella (Adjutant); Capt K. H. Gruberg (Transport Surgeon); 1st Lt Howard C. Day (Transport Chaplain); 1st Lt D. E. Wood (Commissary Sales Off.); T/Sgt Alex Kaplan (Sgt Major); Pfc Jackson Hospers (Asst. Sgt Major); S/Sgt H. H. Stoyke (Mess Sgt); T/Sgt Arthur J. Crandall (Actg. 1st Sgt.)

Merchant Marine: George Ekstrom (Ship’s Captain); Winifred L. Price (Chief Mate); James W. Price Jr. (Purser); Robert F. Spears (Chief Engineer); Jack O. Hayes (Chief Electrician)

Navy: Lt. Comdr Dale V. Walfron, USNR; Lt (jg) H. B. Kakterbeuser, USNR; Lt (jg) Herbert J. Edwards, USNR; GM1c Walter G. Jones USNR. Other Armed Guards known to have served aboard Sea Marlin: Richard rancs Maxon; Warren G. Riddings; Amorris D. Abel; Jack Martin.

Captain George Ekstrom went to sea at age 13 in 1898 as a cook. He later became an ordinary seaman, an able seaman, and he worked in various capacities going up the ladder in the hard school until he became master of his own ship. Until World War I Captain Ekstrom put to sea only in sailing ships. Captain Ekstrom was an amateur painter with an interest in nautical themes.

Ship Passengers

Units transported include:

17th Naval Construction Battalion & 31st Special Naval Construction Battalion (Seabees)

96th Infantry Division Headquarters personnel

Fuerza Area Expedicionaria Mexicana (Mexican Air Force) Escuadrn 201

193rd Tank Battalion

US Army Air Force Sixth Bombardment Group

Post War Service

On May 2, 1946 Sea Marlin was transferred to the U.S. Maritime Commission and laid up as part of the Reserve Fleet at Lee Hall, VA in the James River. In 1947 Isthmian Steamship Company purchased Sea Marlin and changed its name to SS Steel Director. The contract to convert Sea Marlin from a troopship to freighter was awarded to the J.K Welding Company, Yonkers, NY for a cost of 0,000. Isthmian Steamship Company was sold to States Marine Lines on March 6,1956. Steel Director remained in service until it was sold for scrap to Taiwan Shipbreakers, Kaohsiung, Republic of China in 1971.

The following is a history of damage, salvage, repair, and refitting to Steel Director During the period of October to December 1950 heavy weather damaged the rudder, boats and fitting. These repairs were made in Houston TX. 7/11/50: On voyage Galveston, TX to Haifa, Israel hit pier at Gulfport, MS with damage to propeller blades and shaft. 10-12/50: Heavy weather damage to rudder, boats and fittings; repaired at Houston, TX. 4/20 – 4/21/51: Heavy weather destroyed accommodation ladder on voyage Calcutta, India to Boston, MA. 8/2 – 8/3/51: Heavy weather damaged lifeboats. Repair #2 lifeboat davit arm, 7 hatch tarps and 4 lifeboat covers; repairs at Baltimore MD. 8/20/52: On voyage Houston, TX to Calcutta, India hit Congress Street Wharf, New Orleans, LA, damaging 6 pilings. 2/1/55: Hit submerged object damaging propeller. 7/12/55: Dry-docked in New York, NY for initial repairs with further work completed in Galveston, TX in October 1955. 8/9/57: While on voyage from Baltimore and Saigon, South Vietnam to Bangkok, Thailand struck a submerged obstruction. Again on 12/1/57 during voyage from Baltimore MD and Philippines to Surabaya, Indonesia and Singapore, propeller struck submerged object. All repairs done in Galveston, TX in March 1958. 5/18/58: Struck submerged object on passage from Mobile, AL to New Orleans, LA. Repairs completed in Baltimore, MD in April 1959. 12/24/59: At Chittagong, India collided with steamer Pyidawnyunt, with little or no damage and arrived in Calcutta, India on 12/27/59. 10/27/60: Grounded in the Houston Ship Channel while en route to Galveston, TX. Repairs deferred until August 1961. 1/25/61: Suffered rudder damage from grounding in Suez Canal on voyage from Calcutta, India to Houston, TX. Towed to Port Said, Egypt by tug where temporary repairs were done. Towed by salvage ship Svitzer to Palermo, Italy where permanent repairs were made. 7/14/61: Struck the lock wall of Cote Ste. Catherine Lock while transiting the St. Lawrence Seaway en route from Montreal, QB to Kenosha, WS in ballast. Struck lock wall of Lower and Upper Beauharnois Locks while transiting the St. Lawrence Seaway. Arrived Baltimore, MD 9/6/61 from New York, NY for deferred repairs to bottom plates damage sustained 10/27/60 plus damage sustained in St Lawrence Seaway. 9/10/63: generator turbine damaged in consequence of alleged engineer’s negligence while the vessel was on passage from Madras, India to Calcutta, India. Partial repairs made in New York in December 1963. 6/7/68: Struck submerged object in Mississippi River while en route from Baton Rouge, LA to Houston, TX and Calcutta, India. Repairs completed in New York, NY July 2, 1968. 3/5 – 8/69: Damaged in heavy weather while en route from Porto Grande, Cape Verde Islands. to New York, NY and New Orleans, LA. Partial repair completed August 5, 1069 in New York, NY. 1/7/70: Grounded with no reported damage. 6/23/70: Collided with barge in Yokohama, Japan on voyage from Saigon, South Vietnam for Seattle, WA. Damage to propeller repaired at Todd Shipyards in Seattle, WA in August.. 9/9/70: Arrived Sattahip, Thailand from Tacoma, WA with refrigeration failure following repairs proceeded to Qui Nhon, South Vietnam. 5/17/71 Final voyage of SS Sea Marlin/Steel Director from Saigon, South Vietnam arrived at Kaohsiung, Republic of China prior to 6/10/71 where she was scrapped.

Reference

^ Ingalls Shipbuilding, NGSB Pascagoula, Northrop Grumman Ship Systems

^ Ingalls News, September 24, 1943

^ a b c RootsWeb’s WorldConnect Project: Faubert-Laliberte Family Genealogy

^ a b c USS Spangler DE-696 – My Navy Days – T. J. Smithr

^ a b RootsWeb: WORLDWAR2-L Re: [WORLD WAR II] Kokoda Trail postings and more

^ a b
^ a b c Sixth Bombardment Group – A History:B-29 Super Fortress Then and Now

^ a b MILITARY HISTORY-1892-1988

^ a b Strike of the Aztec Eagles – the story

^ http://fultonhistory.com/newspaper 2/Utica NY Daily Observer/Utica NY Observer 1946 PDF/Utica NY Observer 1946 – 0871.PDF

^ Convoy Web http://www.convoyweb.org.uk/

^ U.S. Merchant Ships Participating in Pacific Theater Combat Operations and Engagements Earning Battle Stars

^ USAT Sea Marlin newsletter

^ AG and MM Board

^ R Member List

^ People – A

^ M Member List

^
^ [dead link]

^ Davidson, Orlando R., J. Carl Willems, and Joseph A. Kahl. Deadeyes (The). Washington: Infantry Journal, 1947.

^ Isthmian Line -Liberty Ships -Victory Ships -WWII

^ Isthmian Line -Liberty Ships -Victory Ships -WWII

^ States Marine Lines -History -US Merchant Marine Ships -WW2

^ Isthmian Line Liberty Ships Victory Ships – WWII http://www.isthmianlines.com/sm_steel_director.html

Categories: Ships of the United States Army | Victory ships | Ships built in Mississippi | Troop ships | Troop ships of the United States | Merchant ships of the United States | Merchant marine | 1943 ships | World War II auxiliary ships of the United States | Type C3 ships | World War II merchant ships of the United StatesHidden categories: All articles with dead external links | Articles with dead external links from November 2009

Chicken coops can be used for a lot of things including raising rabbits. When rabbits are raised in large numbers, they need to be kept in an enclosure so they don’t run away and don’t become prey to the animals around like dogs, wolves, birds of prey, foxes, etc. Chicken coops are the most inexpensive way of keeping your rabbits safe, healthy and in one place.

Divided chicken coops

Chicken coops that have been divided into two or more areas also are useful as they can be used at separate times. You can use the divider in your chicken coop to keep the rabbits locked while you clean out the rest of the chicken coop. It is important not to cram too many rabbits in a single coop as it can get uncomfortable warm during hot days.

A chicken coop idea for rabbits

You can build one yourself with plywood and lumber for flooring. Walls can be made of rafters. You can make the Chicken coops match with the rest of your house by painting it the same color so that it doesn’t spoil the aesthetics of the place. By placing something within the coop that holds food and water without messing the entire coop, you have taken care of pretty much everything.

Ventilation

It is very important to have a well ventilated area for the animals so one should be careful about how the windows are placed. The screening should be such that enough breeze and light enters the chicken coops. The temperature should not go too high or too low so that should be given consideration as well. To maintain temperature, you can still use the bulb used to warm the hens.

Maintaining hygiene

Like with all animals, maintaining clean surroundings is important with rabbits. By having sawdust handy, you can mix it with the manure and use it as a fertilizer as well. This will help you dispose off the manure effectively and it will not leave a mess or a lot of smell behind. Building your own Chicken coops for rabbits is possible and works out quite cheap. You should use strong metal mesh welded with strong rods. Leave space underneath for manure to fall out of the coop. With the right design you will get all the right conditions for your rabbits to grow healthy and be comfortable.

Learn tips and techniques for post weld cleaning in this free DIY video for beginners.

Expert: teacherjon
Bio: Jon holds a Bachelors of Science in Education and Human Sciences degree, with an endorsement in Industrial Technology Education from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.
Filmmaker: Jon Olson

History

Main article: timeline of underwater technology

Original Aqualung SCUBA set

The first commercially successful scuba sets were the Aqualung open-circuit units developed by Emile Gagnan and Jacques-Yves Cousteau, in which compressed gas (usually air) is inhaled from a tank and then exhaled into the water, and the descendants of these systems are still the most popular units today.

The open circuit systems were developed after Cousteau had a number of incidents of oxygen toxicity using a rebreather system, in which exhaled air is reprocessed to remove carbon dioxide. Modern versions of rebreather systems (both semi-closed circuit and closed circuit) are still available today, and form the second main type of scuba unit, most commonly used for technical diving, such as deep diving.

Etymology

The term SCUBA (an acronym for Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) arose during World War II, and originally referred to United States combat frogmen’s oxygen rebreathers, developed by Dr. Christian Lambertsen for underwater warfare.

The word SCUBA began as an acronym, but it is now usually thought of as a regular wordcuba. It has become acceptable to refer to “scuba equipment” or “scuba apparatus”xamples of the linguistic RAS syndrome.

Types of diving

Professional diver performing underwater welding

See also: Recreational diving and Professional diving

Scuba diving may be performed for a number of reasons, both personal and professional. Most people begin though recreational diving, which is performed purely for enjoyment and has a number of distinct technical disciplines to increase interest underwater, such as cave diving, wreck diving, ice diving and deep diving.

Divers may be employed professionally to perform tasks underwater. Most of these commercial divers are employed to perform tasks related to the running of a business involving deep water, including civil engineering tasks such as in oil exploration, underwater welding or offshore construction. Commercial divers may also be employed to perform tasks specifically related to marine activities, such as naval diving, including the repair and inspection of boats and ships, salvage of wrecks or underwater fishing, like spear fishing.

Other specialist areas of diving include military diving, with a long history of military frogmen in various roles. They can perform roles including direct combat, infiltration behind enemy lines, placing mines or using a manned torpedo, bomb disposal or engineering operations. In civilian operations, many police forces operate police diving teams to perform search and recovery or search and rescue operations and to assist with the detection of crime which may involve bodies of water. In some cases diver rescue teams may also be part of a fire department or lifeguard unit.

Lastly, there are professional divers involved with the water itself, such as underwater photography or underwater filming divers, who set out to document the underwater world, or scientific diving, including marine biology and underwater archaeology.

Reasons for diving may include:

Type of diving

Classification

aquarium maintenance in large public aquariums

commercial, scientific

boat and ship inspection, cleaning and maintenance

commercial, naval

cave diving

technical, recreational

civil engineering in harbors, water supply, and drainage systems

commercial

crude oil industry and other offshore construction and maintenance

commercial

demolition and salvage of ship wrecks

commercial, naval

diver training for reward

professional

fish farm maintenance

commercial

fishing, e.g. for abalones, crabs, lobsters, pearls, scallops, sea crayfish, sponges

commercial

frogman, manned torpedo

military

harbor clearance and maintenance

commercial, military

media diving: making television programs, etc.

professional

mine clearance and bomb disposal, disposing of unexploded ordnance

military, naval

pleasure, leisure, sport

recreational

underwater photography

professional, recreational

policing: diving to investigate or arrest unauthorized divers

police diving, military, naval

search and recovery diving

commercial

search and rescue diving

police

spear fishing

professional (occasionally), recreational

stealthy infiltration

military

marine biology

scientific, recreational

underwater tourism

recreational

underwater archaeology (shipwrecks; harbors, and buildings)

scientific, recreational

underwater welding

commercial

Breathing underwater

For more information, see Diving regulator.

Scuba diver on reef

Water normally contains dissolved oxygen from which fish and other aquatic animals extract all their required oxygen as the water flows past their gills. Humans lack gills and do not otherwise have the capacity to breathe underwater unaided by external devices. Although the feasibility of filling and artificially ventilating the lungs with a dedicated liquid (Liquid breathing) has been established for some time, the size and complexity of the equipment allows only for medical applications with current technology.

Early diving experimenters quickly discovered it is not enough simply to supply air in order to breathe comfortably underwater. As one descends, in addition to the normal atmospheric pressure, water exerts increasing pressure on the chest and lungspproximately 1 bar or 14.7 psi for every 33 feet or 10 meters of deptho the pressure of the inhaled breath must almost exactly counter the surrounding or ambient pressure to inflate the lungs. It generally becomes difficult to breathe through a tube past three feet under the water.

By always providing the breathing gas at ambient pressure, modern demand valve regulators ensure the diver can inhale and exhale naturally and virtually effortlessly, regardless of depth.

Because the diver’s nose and eyes are covered by a diving mask; the diver cannot breathe in through the nose, except when wearing a full face diving mask. However, inhaling from a regulator’s mouthpiece becomes second nature very quickly.

Open-circuit

The most commonly used scuba set today is the “single-hose” open circuit 2-stage diving regulator, coupled to a single pressurized gas cylinder, with the first stage on the cylinder and the second stage at the mouthpiece. This arrangement differs from Emile Gagnan’s and Jacques Cousteau’s original 1942 “twin-hose” design, known as the Aqua-lung, in which the cylinder’s pressure was reduced to ambient pressure in one or two or three stages which were all on the cylinder. The “single-hose” system has significant advantages over the original system.

In the “single-hose” two-stage design, the first stage regulator reduces the cylinder pressure of about 200 bar (3000 psi) to an intermediate level of about 10 bar (145 psi) The second stage demand valve regulator, connected via a low pressure hose to the first stage, delivers the breathing gas at the correct ambient pressure to the diver’s mouth and lungs. The diver’s exhaled gases are exhausted directly to the environment as waste. The first stage typically has at least one outlet delivering breathing gas at unreduced tank pressure. This is connected to the diver’s pressure gauge or computer, in order to show how much breathing gas remains.

Rebreather

An Inspiration electronic fully closed circuit rebreather

Main article: Rebreathers

Less common are closed and semi-closed rebreathers, which unlike open-circuit sets that vent off all exhaled gases, reprocess each exhaled breath for re-use by removing the carbon dioxide buildup and replacing the oxygen used by the diver.

Rebreathers release few or no gas bubbles into the water, and use much less oxygen per hour because exhaled oxygen is recovered; this has advantages for research, military, photography, and other applications. The first modern rebreather was the MK-19 that was developed at S-Tron by Ralph Osterhout that was the first electronic system.[citation needed] Rebreathers are more complex and more expensive than sport open-circuit scuba, and need special training and maintenance to be safely used.

Because the nitrogen in the system is kept to a minimum, decompressing is much less complicated than traditional open-circuit scuba systems and, as a result, divers can stay down longer. Because rebreathers produce very few bubbles, they do not disturb marine life or make a diver presence known; this is useful for underwater photography, and for covert work.

Gas mixtures

Nitrox cylinder marked up for use

Main article: Breathing gas

For some diving, gas mixtures other than normal atmospheric air (21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen, 1% trace gases) can be used, so long as the diver is properly trained in their use. The most commonly used mixture is Enriched Air Nitrox, which is air with extra oxygen, often with 32% or 36% oxygen, and thus less nitrogen, reducing the likelihood of decompression sickness. The reduced nitrogen may also allow for no or less decompression stop times and a shorter surface interval between dives. A common misconception is that nitrox can reduce narcosis, but research has shown that oxygen is also narcotic.

Several other common gas mixtures are in use, and all need specialized training. The increased oxygen levels in nitrox help fend off decompression sickness; however, below the maximum operating depth of the mixture, the increased partial pressure of oxygen can lead to oxygen toxicity. To displace nitrogen without the increased oxygen concentration, other diluents can be used, often helium, when the resultant mixture is called trimix.

For technical dives, some of the cylinders may contain different gas mixture for each phase of the dive, typically designated as Travel, Bottom, and Decompression. These different gas mixtures may be used to extend bottom time, reduce inert gas narcotic effects, and reduce decompression times.

Hazards and dangers

According to a 1970 North American study, diving was (on a man-hours based criteria) 96 times more dangerous than driving an automobile. According to a 2000 Japanese study, every hour of recreational diving is 36 to 62 times riskier than automobile driving.

Injuries due to changes in air pressure

For a full list, see Diving hazards and precautions.

Divers must avoid injuries caused by changes in air pressure. The weight of the water column above the diver causes an increase in air pressure in any compressible material (wetsuit, lungs, sinus) in proportion to depth, in the same way that atmospheric air causes a pressure of 101.3 kPa (14.7 pounds-force per square inch) at sea level. Pressure injuries are called barotrauma and can be quite painful, in severe cases causing a ruptured eardrum or damage to the sinuses. To avoid them, the diver equalizes the pressure in all air spaces with the surrounding water pressure when changing depth. The middle ear and sinus are equalized using one or more of several techniques, which is referred to as clearing the ears.

The mask is equalized by periodically exhaling through the nose.

If a drysuit is worn, it too must be equalized by inflation and deflation, similar to a buoyancy compensator.

If properly equalized, the sinus passages can stand the increased pressure of the water with no problems. However, congestion due to cold, flu or allergies may impair the ability to equalize the pressure. This may result in permanent damage to the eardrum. Although there are many dangers involved in scuba diving, divers can decrease the dangers through proper training and education. Open-water certification programs highlight diving physiology, safe diving practices, and diving hazards.

Effects of breathing high pressure gas

Decompression sickness

Main article: Decompression sickness

The diver must avoid the formation of gas bubbles in the body, called decompression sickness or ‘the bends’, by releasing the water pressure on the body slowly while ascending and allowing gases trapped in the bloodstream to gradually break solution and leave the body, called “off-gassing.” This is done by making safety stops or decompression stops and ascending slowly using dive computers or decompression tables for guidance. Decompression sickness must be treated promptly, typically in a recompression chamber. Administering enriched-oxygen breathing gas or pure oxygen to a decompression sickness stricken diver on the surface is a good form of first aid for decompression sickness, although fatality or permanent disability may still occur.

Nitrogen narcosis

Main article: Nitrogen narcosis

Nitrogen narcosis or inert gas narcosis is a reversible alteration in consciousness producing a state similar to alcohol intoxication in divers who breathe high pressure gas at depth. The mechanism is similar to that of nitrous oxide, or “laughing gas,” administered as anesthesia. Being “narced” can impair judgment and make diving very dangerous. Narcosis starts to affect some divers at 66 feet (20 meters). At 66 feet (20 m), Narcosis manifests itself as slight giddiness. The effects increase drastically with the increase in depth. Almost all divers are able to notice the effects by 132 feet (40 meters). At these depths divers may feel euphoria, anxiety, loss of coordination and lack of concentration. At extreme depths, hallucinogenic reaction and tunnel vision can occur. Jacques Cousteau famously described it as the “rapture of the deep”. Nitrogen narcosis occurs quickly and the symptoms typically disappear during the ascent, so that divers often fail to realize they were ever affected. It affects individual divers at varying depths and conditions, and can even vary from dive to dive under identical conditions. However, diving with trimix or heliox dramatically reduces the effects of inert gas narcosis.

Oxygen toxicity

Main article: Oxygen toxicity

Oxygen toxicity occurs when oxygen in the body exceeds a safe “partial pressure” (PPO2). In extreme cases it affects the central nervous system and causes a seizure, which can result in the diver spitting out his regulator and drowning. Oxygen toxicity is preventable provided one never exceeds the established maximum depth of a given breathing gas. For deep dives (generally past 180 feet / 55 meters), divers use “hypoxic blends” containing a lower percentage of oxygen than atmospheric air. For more information, see Oxygen toxicity.

Refraction and underwater vision

Main article: Underwater vision

A diver wearing an Ocean Reef full face mask

Water has a higher refractive index than air; it’s similar to that of the cornea of the eye. Light entering the cornea from water is hardly refracted at all, leaving only the eye’s crystalline lens to focus light. This leads to very severe hypermetropia. People with severe myopia, therefore, can see better underwater without a mask than normal-sighted people.

Diving masks and diving helmets and fullface masks solve this problem by creating an air space in front of the diver’s eyes. The refraction error created by the water is mostly corrected as the light travels from water to air through a flat lens, except that objects appear approximately 34% bigger and 25% closer in salt water than they actually are. Therefore total field-of-view is significantly reduced and eye-hand coordination must be adjusted.

(This affects underwater photography: a camera seeing through a flat window in its casing is affected the same as its user’s eye seeing through a flat mask window, and so its user must focus for the apparent distance to target, not for the real distance.)

Divers who need corrective lenses to see clearly outside the water would normally need the same prescription while wearing a mask. Generic and custom corrective lenses are available for some two-window masks. Custom lenses can be bonded onto masks that have a single front window.

A “double-dome mask” has curved windows in an attempt to cure these faults, but this causes a refraction problem of its own.

Commando frogmen concerned about revealing their position when light reflects from the glass surface of their diving masks may instead use special contact lenses to see underwater.

As a diver descends, he must periodically exhale through his nose to equalize the internal pressure of the mask with that of the surrounding water. Swimming goggles are not suitable for diving because they only cover the eyes and thus do not allow for equalization. Failure to equalise the pressure inside the mask may lead to a form of barotrauma known as mask squeeze.

Controlling buoyancy underwater

Diver under the Salt Pier in Bonaire.

To dive safely, divers must control their rate of descent and ascent in the water. Ignoring other forces such as water currents and swimming, the diver’s overall buoyancy determines whether he ascends or descends. Equipment such as the diving weighting systems, diving suits (Wet, Dry & Semi-dry suits are used depending on the water temperature) and buoyancy compensators can be used to adjust the overall buoyancy. When divers want to remain at constant depth, they try to achieve neutral buoyancy. This minimizes gas consumption caused by swimming to maintain depth.

The downward force on the diver is the weight of the diver and his equipment minus the weight of the same volume of the liquid that he is displacing; if the result is negative, that force is upwards. Diving weighting systems can be used to reduce the diver’s weight and cause an ascent in an emergency. Diving suits, mostly being made of compressible materials, shrink as the diver descends, and expand as the diver ascends, creating buoyancy changes. The diver can inject air into some diving suits to counteract the compression effect and squeeze. Buoyancy compensators allow easy and fine adjustments in the diver’s overall volume and therefore buoyancy. For open circuit divers, changes in the diver’s lung volume can be used to adjust buoyancy.

Avoiding losing body heat

Dry suit for reducing exposure

Main article: Diving suit

Water conducts heat from the diver 25 times better than air, which can lead to hypothermia even in mild water temperatures. Symptoms of hypothermia include impaired judgment and dexterity, which can quickly become deadly in an aquatic environment. In all but the warmest waters, divers need the thermal insulation provided by wetsuits or drysuits.

In the case of a wetsuit, the suit is designed to minimize heat loss. Wetsuits are generally made of neoprene that has small gas cells, generally nitrogen, trapped in it during the manufacturing process. The poor thermal conductivity of this expanded cell neoprene means that wetsuits reduce loss of body heat by conduction to the surrounding water. The neoprene in this case acts as an insulator.

The second way in which wetsuits reduce heat loss is to trap a thin layer of water between the diver’s skin and the insulating suit itself. Body heat then heats the trapped water. Provided the wetsuit is reasonably well-sealed at all openings (neck, wrists, legs), this reduces water flow over the surface of the skin, reducing loss of body heat by convection, and therefore keeps the diver warm (this is the principle employed in the use of a “Semi-Dry”)

Spring suit and steamer

In the case of a drysuit, it does exactly that: keeps a diver dry. The suit is sealed so that frigid water cannot penetrate the suit. Drysuit undergarments are often worn under a drysuit as well, and help to keep layers of air inside the suit for better thermal insulation. Some divers carry an extra gas bottle dedicated to filling the dry suit. Usually this bottle contains argon gas, because of its better insulation as compared with air.

Drysuits fall into two main categories neoprene and membrane; both systems have their good and bad points but generally their thermal properties can be reduced to:

Membrane: usually a trilaminate construction; owing to the thinness of the material (around 1 mm), these require an undersuit, usually of high insulation value if diving in cooler water.

Neoprene: a similar construction to wetsuits; these are often considerably thicker (78 mm) and have sufficient insulation to allow a lighter-weight undersuit (or none at all); however on deeper dives the neoprene can compress to as little as 2 mm thus losing a proportion of their insulation. Compressed or crushed neoprene may also be used (where the neoprene is pre-compressed to 23 mm) which avoids the variation of insulating properties with depth.

Avoiding skin cuts and grazes

Diving suits also help prevent the diver’s skin being damaged by rough or sharp underwater objects, marine animals or coral.

Diving longer and deeper safely

There are a number of techniques to increase the diver’s ability to dive deeper and longer:

Technical diving diving deeper than 40 metres (130 ft), using mixed gases, and/or entering overhead environments (caves or wrecks)

surface supplied diving use of umbilical gas supply and diving helmets.

saturation diving long-term use of underwater habitats under pressure and a gradual release of pressure over several days in a decompression chamber at the end of a dive.

Being mobile underwater

The diver needs to be mobile underwater. Streamlining dive gear will reduce drag and improve mobility. Personal mobility is enhanced by swimfins and Diver Propulsion Vehicles. Other equipment to improve mobility includes diving bells and diving shots.

Scuba dive training and certification agencies

Main article: List of diver training organizations

Diving lessons in Monterey Bay, California

Recreational scuba diving does not have a centralized certifying or regulatory agency, and is mostly self regulated. There are, however, several large diving organizations that train and certify divers and dive instructors, and many diving related sales and rental outlets require proof of diver certification from one of these organizations prior to selling or renting certain diving products or services.

The largest international certification agencies that are currently recognized by most diving outlets for diver certification include:

American Canadian Underwater Certifications (ACUC) (formerly Association of Canadian Underwater Councils) originated in Canada in 1969 and expanded internationally in 1984

British Sub Aqua Club (BSAC) based in the United Kingdom, founded in 1953 and is the largest dive club in the world

European Committee of Professional Diving Instructors (CEDIP) based in Europe since 1992 (see Cedip on French Wiki pages)

Confdration Mondiale des Activits Subaquatiques (CMAS), the World Underwater Federation

National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI) based in the United States

Professional Diving Instructors Corporation (PDIC) based in the United States

Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) based in the United States, largest recreational dive training and certification organization in the world

Scottish Sub Aqua Club (SSAC or ScotSAC) the National Governing Body for the sport of diving in Scotland.

International Training SDI, TDI & ERDi -based in the United States, TDI is the world’s largest technical diving agency, SDI is the recreational division focusing on new methods and online courses, and ERDi is the public safety component.

Scuba Schools International (SSI) based in the United States with 35 Regional Centers and Area Offices around the globe.

YMCA scuba based in the U.S., part of Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), a Christian related organization (open to all faiths, ages and genders despite the historic name)

See also

Altitude diving

Aqualung, a type of breathing set

Aquanaut

Barodontalgia

Barotrauma

British Sub-Aqua Club

Coral Cay Conservation

Decompression sickness

Diver training

Divers Alert Network (DAN)

Diving equipment

Diving hazards and precautions

Diving physics

Diving signal

Diving suit

Drift diving

Engineer Diver

Like-A-Fish, a breathing set that extracts oxygen from surrounding water

scuba diving quarry

Sea Hunt, a television fiction series about scuba diving

Sea Trek

Snorkeling

Snuba

Technical diving

Timeline of underwater technology

Underwater diving

Underwater photography

Underwater videography

Wreck diving

Reference list

Scuba diving, grouped

^ “Compact Oxford English Dictionary – scuba”. Oxford University Press. http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/scuba?view=uk. 

^ a b c d e f g h i j US Navy Diving Manual, 6th revision. United States: US Naval Sea Systems Command. 2006. http://www.supsalv.org/00c3_publications.asp?destPage=00c3&pageID=3.9. Retrieved 2008-04-24. 

^ a b c d e f g h i j k Brubakk, Alf O; Neuman, Tom S (2003). Bennett and Elliott’s physiology and medicine of diving, 5th Rev ed. United States: Saunders Ltd. p. 800. ISBN 0702025712. 

^ Vann RD (2004). “Lambertsen and O2: beginnings of operational physiology”. Undersea Hyperb Med 31 (1): 2131. PMID 15233157. http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/3987. Retrieved 2008-04-25. 

^ Butler FK (2004). “Closed-circuit oxygen diving in the U.S. Navy”. Undersea Hyperb Med 31 (1): 320. PMID 15233156. http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/3986. Retrieved 2008-04-25. 

^ Hirschl, RB; et al (1995). “Liquid ventilatory in adults, children, and full-term neonates”. Lancet 346: 12011202. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(95)92903-7. 

^ Sekins, KM; et al (1999). “Recent innovation in total liquid ventilation system and component design”. Biomedical instrumentation and technology 33: 277284. PMID 10360218. 

^ a b Richardson, D; Menduno, M; Shreeves, K. (eds). (1996). “Proceedings of Rebreather Forum 2.0.”. Diving Science and Technology Workshop.: 286. http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/7555. Retrieved 2008-08-20. 

^ Hesser, CM; Fagraeus, L; Adolfson, J (1978). “Roles of nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide in compressed-air narcosis.”. Undersea Biomed. Res. 5 (4): 391400. ISSN 0093-5387. OCLC 2068005. PMID 734806. http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/2810. Retrieved 2008-04-08. 

^ Brubakk, Alf O; Neuman, Tom S (2003). Bennett and Elliott’s physiology and medicine of diving, 5th Rev ed. United States: Saunders Ltd. p. 304. ISBN 0702025712. 

^ Deaths During Skin and Scuba Diving in California in 1970

^ Is recreational diving safe?, por Ikeda, T y Ashida, H

^ Longphre, J. M.; P. J. DeNoble; R. E. Moon; R. D. Vann; J. J. Freiberger (2007). “First aid normobaric oxygen for the treatment of recreational diving injuries”. Undersea Hyperb Med. 34 (1): 4349. ISSN 1066-2936. OCLC 26915585. PMID 17393938. http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/5514. Retrieved 2008-05-03. 

^ NOAA Diving Manual, 4th Edition, Best Publishing, 2001

^ “Thermal Conductivity”, Georgia State University, accessed 15 February 2008

^ Weinberg, R. P.; E. D. Thalmann. (1990). “Effects of Hand and Foot Heating on Diver Thermal Balance”. Naval Medical Research Institute Report 90-52. http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/4247. Retrieved 2008-05-03. 

^ Nuckols ML, Giblo J, Wood-Putnam JL. (September 1518, 2008). “Thermal Characteristics of Diving Garments When Using Argon as a Suit Inflation Gas.”. Proceedings of the Oceans 08 MTS/IEEE Quebec, Canada Meeting (MTS/IEEE). http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/7962. Retrieved 2009-04-17. 

Further reading

Books published by the British Sub-Aqua Club:

The Diving Manual, BSAC, ISBN 0-9538919-2-5

Dive Leading, BSAC, ISBN 0-9538919-4-1

The Club 1953-2003, BSAC, ISBN 0-9538919-5-X

Free Scuba textbook by George D. Campbell, III called Diving With Deep-Six

External links

Divers Alert Networkiving Emergencies/Hyperbaric Chamber Assistance

Scuba diving travel guide from Wikitravel

Divemaster.com large forum and news and information site

Skaphandrus.comnline Scuba Diving Information

v  d  e

Underwater diving

Types:

Scuba diving  Surface supplied diving  Free-diving  Snorkelling  Saturation diving

Specialities:

Technical diving  Deep diving  Decompression diving  Mixed gas diving  Wreck diving  Cave diving  Ice diving  Rebreather diving  Solo diving  Altitude diving

Equipment:

Diving suit  Scuba set  Rebreather  Dive computer  Diver propulsion vehicle  Mask  Fins  Snorkel  Buoyancy control device

Disciplines:

Professional diving  Police diving  Military diving  Underwater photography  Underwater videography

Hazards:

Decompression sickness  Nitrogen narcosis  Oxygen toxicity  Barotrauma  Hyperbaric medicine  Drowning  Shallow water blackout  Deep water blackout  High pressure nervous syndrome  Dysbaric osteonecrosis

Categories: Underwater diving | Mixed sports | B-Class Water sports articlesHidden categories: Wikipedia semi-protected pages | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from February 2009 | Articles lacking in-text citations from February 2008 | All articles lacking in-text citations

In this article, we are going to discuss the use of tig welder and before going into brief, let us see a small introduction about the tig welding and its advantages. When you give importance to the appearance of products, your choice has to be tig welding and it may not be suitable for some welding requirements, but it has many advantages than other welding products. In this welding method, the welding arc is created between the electrode and the metal that is going to be welded. Generally the non consumable electrode called tungsten electrode is used due to its high melting point and good electrical characteristics. To weld any metal some sort of heat is required and that heat is produced by the arc and after that the shielding gas is fed through torch.

Some tight form of bonding is required and that type of tight bonding is produced by tig welding and it meets the high quality and code requirements. The tig welding process affords a better and quality welding than its competitive welding process called mig welding. When you go to a shop for selecting TIG welders, you should be familiar with the power and sophistication of your job. You should calculate the volume of the job so that buy a tig welding machine based on your work requirement. Most of us will be in a confused state of mind while selecting the power source and will be thinking whether to use DC power source or AC power source. Metals like aluminium and magnesium can be welded by using AC output, whereas metals like steel and stainless steels need DC output. It is advisable to buy a tig welder that is combination of both so that you don’t need to run for any ac or dc source.

In market, you can find five tig welding machine series and each type are of inverter type that is Infineon IGBT. You need a 220/240v to run this machine and it typically used in all setting like steel fabrication, general repair, light fabrication, commercial repair and in many industrial uses. The best features of tig welding machines are its portability and user convenience and you can get smooth arc characteristics with good puddle wet. You can take these welders anywhere and can easily connect with torches and accessories. The users will be warned by alarm signal whenever it exceeds its applicable current limit by it’s over current warning facility. The consumables and other accessories get longer life time due to post flow timer.

You can see the settings digitally because it has digital readouts so that the users can readout the settings and controls accurately without any mistakes. You can use these welders in all types of industries where accuracy and appearance is needed and these machines are sold out in market with affordable price and warranty, but you need to select welder’s shop that sells this quality and efficient welding machine with good price and warranty.

Related Tig Welder Articles

Of all the manufacturing activities, it is welding that is fraught with lot of dangers and certain precautionary measures are essential for safe welding. Some of the   grave risks that a welder encounters are the obnoxious fumes and gases, the blinding arc rays, the inflammable sparks and electrical shocks.

•    A welder must wear the prescribed protective clothing before commencing the welding work. Equally important is to wear protective eye and ear gears when welding/cutting.

•    Make sure you are fully equipped with all the safe welding protection accessories such as – welding-helmet preferably with auto darkening feature, welding mask, welding apron, welding jacket, welding gloves, welding shoes, welding goggles, welding booths etc.

•    Avoid breathing the poisonous fumes and provide for ample ventilation before commencing welding.

•    Welders should deposit the butane lighters while welding as welding sparks can lead to a conflagration.  Butane lighters are terribly powerful and when it explodes, it is as good as 3 sticks of dynamite.

•    It is essential to handle all compressed gas cylinders extremely cautiously and ensure they are tightly closed with caps on when stored. When compressed gas cylinders become empty, tightly the valve and also mark them ‘empty’

•    When lighting or shutting off a torch, follow the right technique and observe all the steps sequentially.

•    Make it a point to wear rubber boots and work from a dry insulated platform

– particularly if you are required to do arc welding in a wet area.

•    If it becomes necessary to weld in a confined space, you will have to take suitable extra precautionary measures as the potential risks are high.

•    As a welder, it is your responsibility to protect your fellow workers from the pernicious light rays of welding arc.
•    You must exercise utmost caution if you are required to splice different lengths of welding cable. Please ensure all the electrical connections are tight, secure and well insulated. Stay away from cables that are frayed, cracked or split.

•    Check to make sure that your arc welding equipment is installed properly and grounded firmly and is in perfect working condition.

•    Make sure flame cut sparks do not to strike the hoses, regulators or cylinders as flame cutting sparks have a tendency to travel up to even 40 feet.

•    Never use oil, grease or any inflammable material – if they come in contact with oxygen, it can cause instant combustion. Likewise, never use acetylene at pressure in excess of 15 psi as higher pressures can mean a terrific explosion.

Please know that almost all gas welding and arc welding fluxes are toxic in nature and can easily cause allergies to welders and others around. All welders must know the elementary lesson that the heat energy used for welding can cause untold damage to the welders, persons around and property in the vicinity – if allowed to extend outside the welding area.

The welding shop owner and the welding supervisor must set safety standards and lead by example so that the welders observe all the necessary precautionary measures and the welders are also educated about the grave consequences that any negligence can result in.

The reviews based on Hobart are very positive and inform us that the company makes a real good variety of MIG welders and the products offered by the company are par excellence. With a motto of “The ability to change your world”, the company maintains a firm reputation among all the companies manufacturing MIG welders. The company has a huge fan following with a number of guys who recommend using the MIG welders manufactured by them. If we analyze the Hobart Welders reviews that are stated by the critics all around, we would come to know that machines offered at Hobart Welder are very up to the mark and match all the quality standards.

Reviews show that Handler 125 MIG operates at nearly 115 volt current it is recommended to use this product if you need versatility. It requires a MIG Exchange Kit for its proper functioning and gives endless results. It is a complete Hobart Workhouse as it has settings for four outputs with a property to track down the speed of the wire. The Hobart Welder reviews on Hobart MIG Welder 140 imply that it operates at 115 volts and can handle products like solid or mild stainless steel, aluminium wires and even flux cored. It is very efficient as it has easy and quick adjustments for a variety of materials. Similarly reviews on Hobart Handler 180 are also very positive and give an account of the efficiency of the welder.

The Hobart Welder reviews have evaluated the pros and cons of the products and imply that the products are well efficient to handle versatile materials, are portable and hence can be carried anywhere. The quality of the materials used in these welders make them durable and reliable at the same time. These welders are armed with every facility and themselves act as tanks when required. However, the negative aspect of the welders is that many of them are not recommended to be used with aluminium. It can be really tricky if you try to weld aluminium with these machines. In the end, we can conclude that these machines are really the best in the large pool of Welding machine market. They are proficient and work very well.

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If the idea of a typical 9 to 5 desk job is unappealing to you, a career in welding may be for you. When you work as a welder you can expect to work on a variety of fascinating and satisfying jobs. The job entails working on variety of different things such as ship building, high-rise structures, and all types of manufacturing jobs. In short, welding is a career that will bring you both creative as well as monetary satisfaction. Contrary to what many people many believe welding is a well-paying job. Starting salaries can range from – an hour, depending on the work involved and schedule.

Welding is a Skilled Profession

Welding is a broad term describing several different types of jobs such as underwater welding and x-ray welding, each with its unique characteristics and training. In order to become a successful welder, you’ll need to have several different skills. They are reading blueprints, good math skills, the ability to do mechanical drawings. You may even be required to have a basic knowledge of physics. This is why it is important to find the right school that can teach you all of these necessary skills in order to become a successful welder. Welding programs vary in their length and teaching methodology, so makes sure you find one that is right for you.

Welding Careers

After attending school to learn the welding trade, you are not only qualified to work for others, but you can also consider going into business for yourself, manufacturing such items as lawn furniture and wind chimes. Some of the highest paying welding jobs working for others are found in the automobile manufacturing and oil industry. One thing that is often overlooked about welding jobs is that welding is. The next 10 to 15 years the United States government will be spending trillions of dollars updating and maintaining the infrastructure. The amount of jobs available in the metal fabrication world is almost limitless.

If you’re willing to work abroad then there are countless jobs available for welders all over the world. These include metal fabrication, oil rig and construction jobs. In short there will always be a need for trained and experienced welders. There used to be a time when you could start as an apprentice to a welder and work your way up to being a full welder. It’s safe to say those days are gone forever. It is very important to enroll in welding training with an accredited school and get your license. For all of these reasons it is easy to see why a welding career is a popular choice among job seekers today.

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