Anyone else ever work with a vapor degreaser? We had one in one shop where I worked. It's a big tank with steam coils in the bottom. It used trichloroethylene. The coils vaporized the solvent, and a cold water jacket around the top edge kept the vapor inside the tank. We would hang parts from an overhead hoist in the tank and the vapors would condense on the cold parts, then run off along with the dirt and grease. There was also a pressure wand to spray solvent if needed. I used it a lot on engine blocks and heads.
Yup, been there. First time I used it the fumes almost literally knocked me onto my ***. The older guys thought that was pretty funny. I was very not amused that no one warned me.
Of course this was the same shop where I witnessed a guy neutralizing the sulfuric acid bath (200 gal tank) by balancing a 30 gal drum of concentrated sodium hydroxide on the lip and dumping some in a little at a time. Of course he was well protected by his mid forearm length gloves, safety glasses (not goggles), tee shirt and jeans!
Every time it would start to boil over he would yell “YEEEE HAAAAAW.” I swear to you, I am not making this up.
I was a recent college drop out that had been in a chemistry program for a time. “Always add acid!” I thought to myself as I walked to the other side of the shop knowing full well what would happen if that drum fell in the tank.
Then there was the Strippit press operator that told me he used to have my job but hated it because of the sores he’d get on his arms and hands. He was talking about the chromating baths we had. Most of the world had stopped using hexavalent chromium a long time ago. This place had government contracts that still required its use.
He was being poisoned and didn’t even know it. I knew what the stuff was and took ample precautions when using it.
It was an interesting place to work.
