Burns from the iron - EE's war wounds - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: david77
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 28, 2012, 10:57:03 pm
content: I'm sure we've all touched the wrong end of our firesticks at one time or another. Tell your stories.When I was about 10-11 I knocked my iron off the table and out of reflex caught it in flight with my right hand. Got it by the wrong end of course. I burnt my palm pretty badly, had to sleep with the hand in a bucket of water that night. Not something I'd recommend.Once I absentmindedly started to scratch my back because it itched. What I did not take into account was the hot soldering iron I still held in that hand. Burnt my neck and had a mark for weeks.A mate was using a big 150W iron to solder some big things together while I was deep in thought over some circuit. Suddenly I saw a big thing lying on the bench that was in the way. I picked it up, held it in two fingers for one or two seconds to look at it, then put it down slowly again. Then the pain hit me. My fingers were black and hurt like hell. It was then I realised what I had picked up: The hot big tip of that 150W iron. Bastard was laughing his arse off...we're still friends, though.

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2012, 03:04:51 am
content: That's a heck lot of mistakes ...The only times when i got burns was when my iron slipped the workpiece ... better change my techniques next timeNot so much of a horror story

author: David Aurora
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2012, 03:26:12 am
content: For me it's usually not accidental, just lazy. "Should I get some pliers to hold this? Hmm... Nah screw it, I'll just solder real fast and try to let go before I smell flesh burning"

author: HackedFridgeMagnet
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2012, 04:00:13 am
content: I used to burn myself a lot trying to copy my boss, with soldering iron in two fingers, object A in two fingers, solder in two fingers and object b in two fingers.Now I do it the slow way, with my panavise.

author: Hypernova
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 29, 2012, 04:24:04 am
content: During one high school class I had an iron down on the table, after a few moments I forgot about it and swung my hand in its general direction...Still got a dark spot on the back of my palm after 10+ years.

author: Mint.
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2012, 04:59:17 am
content: I was working with a cheapie and then all of a sudden the damn tip fell out! Just barely missed my my leg, I survived, however the carpet is still a bit burnt.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2012, 05:11:55 am
content: When I was a teenager I dropped a hand drill. it fell pointy end down, and my big toe was in the way between it and the floor. In the top, out the bottom, through the joint. Looked down, drill sticking up, lifted it up and undid the chuck and placed it on the bench. Walked over to the tap, washed the foot clean and then slowly twisted it out, bandaged it and then though " this will hurt later" so went and took a pain killer. Went back to working, though the next day at school was a little painful.Have picked up the iron by the wrong end a few times, but have been burnt more by hot piping after brazing them.i know an electrician that has a walking voltstick, called Clifford. Can tell the difference between on and off just by touch.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2012, 05:33:58 am
content: One think i've learned is to quickly and immediately rub the area that's burnt.Only around ~30% of the overall burn occurs from actual contact with the hot surface.Normally you pull away really quickly and only the top layer or so gets burned, however this burnt layer of skin is now at 300degC and immediately starts to burn the skin layers around it as the heat propagates. This make up the other ~70% of the total burnt skin.So if you quickly rub the area with your other hand the burnt area will quickly equalities temperature and prevent most of this 70% from occurring. You are effectively using your other hand as a heat sink for the burnObviously if the burn is serious you want to get it under cold water as soon as possible but it takes 10 or so seconds to get to the tap and those seconds are when the heat spreads out and burns other areas. So by all means run to the tap but also rub the area as you go. Obviously if you rub too slowly you might start to burn your other hand so you want to be quiet fast and spread the heat around as much as possible.I've found that using this technique eliminates the need to put it under water 60% of the time.As it stops the burning sensation within 10 or so seconds of rubbing and doesn't really hurt much after that.Where as if you don't rub it, or take too long getting to some water the damage is done and it will hurt for a few hours.This technique work even better with glue guns. If you get hot glue on your skin, rub it around, it will cool down almost instantly.If you just leave it there it will burn you!One word of warning, don't do this in the case of serious burns, like 3rd or 4th degree.As in those cases the skin is already dead all the way through and rubbing it will just break the skin open and allow bacteria in.However you would have to be being really stupid with the soldering iron to get 3rd or 4th degree, your general soldering iron burn is 1st or a light 2nd degree burn.

author: LEECH666
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2012, 07:40:14 am
content: Worst burn with a soldering iron was at work during my apprenticeship. I needed a wider tip and the only one available was mounted on the soldering iron of a fellow apprentice who wasn't at work that day (he was at vocational school). So I went to over to his desk to get the tip from that iron and tried to remove the metal shroud that holds the tip in place (sorry don't know how to say this any better) on older Weller stations. Yeah well I didn't really check if it was powered on, because I assumed it was turned off because my mate was at school that day. He left the iron on. It wasn't a pleasant feel but not too bad tho.Slighly OT:Another bad burn was from an IC (74LSxxx) that I placed upside down into it's socket --> VCC connected to GND, GND connected to VCC. Circuit wasn't behaving like it should, so I touched the IC to check if it was connected properly. I had a nice DIP/DIL burn mark in my thumb after that.Even more OT:The worst burn I ever suffered was not too long ago from a frickin fat splash. I was trying to turn some burger over in the pan and dropped it on a puddle of fat. Big fat splash on the back of my left hand. Wasn't so bad at first, but later and at night I had to wear an icepack on my hand. I used a sock to hold it in place xD.As a lad of 6 years or so, I managed to light myself on fire with my elder brothers birthday cake. I was sitting too close to it, facing the burning cake candles with my back. I was wearing a polyester shirt. It burned really fast but my father acted quickly putting the fire out with his hands by striking at my back. I only had a minor burn mark on my back, but my fathers hands got burned a lot more by the molten polyester. Nothing serious tho. It still was a rather shocking experience. Now that I think about it I am not sure anymore if it really was a cake or some round fictile candle holder.Cheers,Florian//EDIT:Quote from: Psi on June 29, 2012, 05:33:58 amI made the same experience.Blowing air from your mouth on the "not yet burned" skin helps too.

author: G7PSK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2012, 07:42:56 am
content: I have never burnt myself with a soldering iron pinched myself with pliers a few times over the years and had quite a few welding sparks land on me. The golden rule is everything is HOT unless proven otherwise.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2012, 07:45:20 am
content: You quickly learn not to try catching a falling soldering iron. I find my reaction time has got fast enough that I can almost always retract fingers fast enough on detection to not get a painful burn.Nowadays hot semiconductors tend to be more painful, as they are more unexpected.

author: david77
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2012, 08:09:38 am
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on June 29, 2012, 07:45:20 amI'd say most people do that only once.Quote from: LEECH666I did the spontaneous combustion thing once, too. I was outside with mates having a barbecue in mid December, so we all wore thick jackets. On the table we had some burning candles and I leant against the table, my back to one of the candles. Suddenly I felt my back getting warmer and warmer. It took me some time to realise what was happening, when I ripped my jacket off 40% of the back was already burning. Lucky for me the jacket was very thick, so no injuries.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2012, 08:16:49 am
content: I find the most likely time to get burnt is when changing the tip.So having two irons and therefor two tips available reduces this considerably.Quote from: SeanB on June 29, 2012, 05:11:55 amI had that happen 2 years ago. I had a bosch cordless screwdriver on charge with a 3mm drill bit in the chuck.I knocked it and it fell backwards off the charger. As it fell it rotated and finally hit my foot drill end firstLuckily it only went into my foot about 1cm.It got quite swollen the next day and was sore for a week or two.

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2012, 08:33:55 am
content: Rule 1Never chase after a falling ironRule 2All components are hot unless proven notRule 3Assume all Irons are ON

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2012, 08:59:08 am
content: Interestingly side fact. You can get burnt by superglue !Cyanoacrylate reacts very strongly with cotton and produces lots of heat. Don't spill the entire bottle on your jeans !It's only really an issue with good quality superglue. The cheap stuff isn't pure cyanoacrylate so doesn't react as intensely.But it can even catch on fire if you put enough of it on cotton wool or light cotton fabric.

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2012, 11:17:35 am
content: Never mind the pure version!Getting the unpure version can get VERY hot on cotton/leather hybridsWarm on your fingers

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2012, 11:21:36 am
content: i found the cheap china superglue from the $2 shop just got warm when exposed to cotton.Although i guess it's possible what was in the bottle was some other "cheaper" type of glue.

author: baljemmett
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 29, 2012, 12:06:09 pm
content: Quote from: Psi on June 29, 2012, 08:59:08 amI would be surprised if you could find the totally pure stuff outside of a lab or perhaps some really specialist products -- when my father was doing his Ph.D research into the stuff in the late 60s/early 70s he found the polymerization reaction of unadulterated samples was so vigorous and exothermic that it would frequently shatter lab glassware. The stuff you'll find on general sale will have been slowed down with an additive to control the initiation and rate of reaction, as I understand his thesis!Never heard about the reaction with cotton, that looks impressive. I shall have to enquire over coffee tomorrow...

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2012, 04:04:41 pm
content: Quote from: DaveXRQ on June 29, 2012, 03:04:51 amThis is all I've had happen with a soldering iron as well.OT, worst burn I ever had was from flipping frozen potatoes when I was ~ 10 or so (splattered on my face).

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2012, 05:12:42 pm
content: Quote from: nanofrog on June 29, 2012, 04:04:41 pmI forgot to mention while solderingI got burned by a motorcycle's exhaust when i was like 7-8? and a few years ago the mark was still there

author: FlyingBrickyard
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2012, 05:21:48 pm
content: The older CA glue gets the less reactive it becomes as well. The $2 "made in China" bottles may be very old stock that's just packaged cheaply and sent out the door before it is completely worthless. A nice fresh bottle will smoke balsa wood as well. That property was useful whenever I was building balsa kits - it made it clear the glue was "fresh" enough, and it also signaled when the joint was made.I haven't (yet) burned myself with my iron, but I got very close a couple months ago and ended up slightly injured anyway.I was trying to desolder a stubborn fuse clip, iron in one hand and the desoldering pump in the other. It was a confined space and I couldn't see all that well, so I was leaned directly over everything to try and see around my hands.My left hand (with the desoldering pump) ever so briefly came into contact with the shaft of the iron, and that triggered a reflex response that yanked my left hand away immediately. It happened so fast I didn't even get a slightly pink mark on my skin where it touched the iron. However, since the pump was still in my left hand and my head was directly over my workspace, and because of the reflex arc my brain wasn't in on the plan at that point - I failed to realize I needed to move my head out of the way.I ended up punching myself in the forehead with the back end of the desoldering pump. Arriving just on the heels of the pump was the message to my brain letting me know I'd nearly burned myself. So it appears I'm capable of punching myself in the face before I even know what has hit me.The impact hurt a bit and left a nice scratch and gouge that persisted for a week or so, but despite the discomfort I did get a bit of a laugh out of it as I instantly felt like all three Stooges rolled into one.

author: PA0PBZ
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2012, 06:35:46 pm
content: Quote from: david77 on June 28, 2012, 10:57:03 pmWhen I was a teenager I used to check if my $1.50 soldering iron was warmed up yet by holding it close to my lips, it looked like a good temperature sensing device at that time. Until one day I miscalculated the distance by 2 inches, burning my lips pretty badly.My mother kept wondering why I was not drinking the water but only holding the glass to my mouth...

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2012, 08:03:08 pm
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on June 29, 2012, 07:45:20 ami've never gotten burned on a soldering iron.. spatters of hot tin is another matter though...and don't talk me about voltage regulators in to220..... i thought something overheated. grabbed them between thumb and index finger to 'feel' which one was hot... left a neat, round area that was not burned... ( this on did not have a heatsink on it ... )i never use bodyparts to feel for hot components...

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2012, 11:53:02 pm
content: Quote from: PA0PBZ on June 29, 2012, 06:35:46 pmI had a similar incident when I used to hold the iron close to my face in the same way.One day,I touched my nose with the iron---it brought tears to my eyes!

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2012, 12:00:56 am
content: Quote from: baljemmett on June 29, 2012, 12:06:09 pmThe CA i buy is called "Hot Stuff" and sold at model stores. It really seems to be good CA, far better than the general stuff you buy at a hardware store.http://www.hobbylinc.com/hot-stuff_ca_super_glue

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2012, 01:18:06 am
content: I use ... The cheap onesThey do work when they work but not for long

author: 8086
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2012, 01:35:56 am
content: I've managed to not burn myself on my iron so far, but I've picked up boards that had lots of internal layers a few minutes after reflow, when I thought they would be cool enough, and had a few surprises

author: StubbornGreek
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2012, 03:11:07 pm
content: I've been pretty lucky/careful through the years. I only got myself a couple of times when I was learning to solder under a microscope and they were just grazes (lol, I couldn't get the hand-eye thing working at first, it was like I had new hands to work with).EDIT: I got it down after a day or so though...

author: Hypernova
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 30, 2012, 06:46:02 pm
content: Quote from: free_electron on June 29, 2012, 08:03:08 pmI find that doing quick strokes across the surface with the back of the finger works best, just like fire walking it's too fast to burn if it is hot and you can slow down the stroking to double check.

author: Fallingwater
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2012, 01:54:41 pm
content: Burning myself with the iron is something I don't do often - whenever I have the iron hot I'm always nervous around it and never handle it casually. I have, however, burnt plenty of wires, cables and other things that were sitting around and that don't have the decency to scream when they're being burnt.When I burn myself it's usually either with dripping melt glue, or by absent-mindedly grabbing metal things that I've been grinding...

author: david77
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2012, 10:45:31 pm
content: I've never been nervous around a hot soldering iron, if I was I wouldn't be in electronics, I suppose. A frying pan with sizzling oil in it is much more dangerous and I've never seen people nervous in the kitchen.You'd have to be very stupid to seriously harm yourself while soldering, so there's really nothing to be nervous about. The contact you make with hot parts in our line of work is usually very short, it hurts so you pull away fast. It may hurt for a bit, it may even leave a bit of burnt skin but it's nothing to be too afraid about.I've had my hand burned by an idiot apprentice with a blow torch at about 3000°C once, I can tell you that hurts like hell and even that has healed without leaving a mark. As far as I can see humans instictively put the burned body part under cold water and that really seems to be the crucial thing to do if you want to limit the damage. I immediatly stuck my hand into the bucket used to cool the work pieces after brazing and then ran to the toilet and the first aider.

author: Mint.
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2012, 01:39:56 am
content: Interestingly enough when I did a first aid course at school we were told that you have to hold your hand under cold running water or place the burnt hand into some kind of bucket/tub for at least 20 minutes, checking my manual confirms that.