Welding vs Electronic devises.

[larry_g]

Preparing to do a welding project today I got to wondering if anyone has experienced damage to an electronic devise, key fob or phone, that is carried in a pocket ? Just wondering if the arc or transformer puts out enough EMI to do damage.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Provincial]

I'm not a professional, but I have been around truck and equipment repairs a lot. I have yet to see an electronic device damaged as a result of welding on the frame of a truck or piece of equipment if the welder was properly grounded to the work.

 

[dogdog]

haven't destroy my phone yet... even the few times I forgot to ground the piece. I just got a zap but electronics are ok.... I have my phone in my pocket all the time... not that I weld for a living.

 

[AJ.]

MIG, TIG, Stick no issue.

Industrial level spot welders generate intense magnetic fields that can cause issues, they will definately ****** your credit cards

Cheers Andrew

 

[Advan]

Everywhere I've been, occasional and all-day weldors have had their phones in their pocket, and I've never seen anything wonky happen....

 

[lilredex]

Always disconnect the battery on my old Dodge just in case, to protect its "SMEC" It is a two year only thing and could be very difficult to find and could mean the end of the truck if it fails.

 

[EdT]

I guess it depends on the device. There are some cautions about welding if you have a pacemaker, but that may be a CYA rather than a reality. I don't know. I can tell you that I built a rotary welding fixture with a stepper drive and it worked fine until I tried welding with it. The drive went nuts. Stopped, changed speeds and direction and about every other kind of weirdness you can imagine. I put ferrite chokes on every wire I could find and now it works fine. Occasionally the digital display goes tilt, but the machine works as intended.

 

[welder4956]

The only issues I have ever had were with high frequency stabilizer when doing aluminum TIG with AC. It causes interference with radio and TV sometimes, if not grounded well, and has affected electronic instrumentation in power plant controls. I also always disconnect the battery if doing any TIG welding with HF start on a vehicle.

 

[pi_guy]

Different view.
Always remove all electronics and lighters from pockets- memory sticks flash drives and phones, hotel room keys.
I have popped diodes in an electric stove. Have rendered hotel keys useless
With car or system electronics I disconnect or remove ECU and data loggers. Wiring gets moved or shielded.
Yes it is extra work but better safe than sorry.

On professional welders I have watched "pro welders" smoke while leaning on a Oxy- acetylene setup and seen many other stupid things like welding next to a can of brake kleen.