Toxic Belts

J

Joseph J Halligan

Joined
Aug 29, 2019
Messages
10
Hello again to everyone,

About a week and a half ago I had a problem with a very horrible odor coming off a 60 and 80 grit ceramic belt when grinding a knife. Lets say this is not a nuisance odor but toxic. It made me sick and it was persistent. After leaving my shop door open for a week there was still a faint odor. I can vent my shop vac out of the shop so I pulled everything out (it is small 10 X 12) and vacuumed the walls, floor, ceiling and every object. After this cleaning I could not smell anything so today I was ready for a test run. I put on a new ceramic 80 grit belt closed the door and left the shop. After 10 minutes I walked back into the shop wearing a respirator with organic vapor cartridges and P100 filters stacked on top and I could slightly smell the odor again. I shut the grinder off touched the belt, not hot, back of the belt a little glazed. Walked out of the shop pulled the respirator off and smelled the back of the belt and it is definitely the source of the odor. Walked back into the shop and for just a moment pulled the respirator away from my face. Very strong odor, 2 hours later I still taste it.

I have no idea what is going on.

Thanks, Joe
 
What steel are you grinding? I understand the chromium in stainless can make you ill. Make sure you have good filters, and that you wear your respirator whenever grinding. It's a good idea to keep it on until you leave the shop building.

Not sure what ceramic belts are made of, exactly, but I've never had that reaction. You might be allergic to the binder or something like that.
 
N.W. Gean said:
What steel are you grinding? I understand the chromium in stainless can make you ill. Make sure you have good filters, and that you wear your respirator whenever grinding. It's a good idea to keep it on until you leave the shop building.

Not sure what ceramic belts are made of, exactly, but I've never had that reaction. You might be allergic to the binder or something like that.
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Hello NW Gean,
With the test run today there was no grinding of steel. I just let the grinder run with a 80 grit ceramic belt on it for 10 minutes. And before I did this I ran the grinder without any belt on it without any problem. A week and a half ago when I first experienced this problem my wife could smell it on me as my clothes were saturated with this odor. I always wear a respirator when grinding. Because my shop is small I have a dust collection system for all my tools other then the grinder. I also have an air filtration system that I use along with my dust collector. And if I have had a busy day I will turn on the air filtration system at the end of the day as I walk out of the shop.
Thanks for your input.
 
You definitely have all the bases covered on dust control.

You say the issue just started. Did you buy a new brand of belt?
 
Sorry to hear you got sick from this. Can you describe the smell? What brand are the belts and have you used them in the past without issue?

I thought maybe it could be ozone from the motor brushes, that smells pretty toxic. I had a blender go bad a few years ago and that smell lingered for quite a while. But since you ran it without a belt without issue, it seems like the belt must be the culprit, unless it's a rubber contact wheel disintegrating in a strange way. I hope you can figure out what's going on.
 
Same belts for the last year (Combat Abrasive Ceramic). A cross between a petroleum and some aromatic. Tomorrow I will try other belts with a different backing.
 
Once you smell an odor, it can get "stuck" in your nose and it will be hard to tell where the odor is actually coming from. Everything you sniff may smell like the odor.

I understand your thinking it s the belt, but more likely it is some other issue. If the same batch of belts was fine last week and now they are "toxic", I would try to find what has changed.
I would look at :
Ozone from something arcing in the motor - is it TEFC?
A bad bearing on the grinder?- It could be dragging and making the backing or glue joint get hot enough to let off vapors.
Something rubbing the belt?
Dog peed on the box of belts?
VFD arcing or overheating?
Wife left a dirty diaper in he shop to remind you that she is taking care of the kids while you are playing in the shop.
Kimchee pot has a crack in the lid?
Dead animal - have you seen the cat lately?
 
I had some 400 and 600 grit j flex belts a few years ago that smelled like death, especially when wet. It was like they used horse glue from a road kill. Beyond nasty. I used what I had and never ordered those again.

I wonder what "grinding aid" they put on your belts?
 
Try another belt
 
I had some j flex (still do) recently that I swear smell like cat pee. The shop reeked of it until about a month when it dissipated. Came out of the shipping package like that. Belts did fine, just smelled awful
 
Smelling belts ................. :eek: make them aromatic :D Several drop of essential oil will last long time . I use them sometimes on wood handle , really :thumbsup:
Choose your poison :)
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Walked in the shop about 9 am no noticeable odor. Got the belt I used yesterday that I had left in an unheated shed overnight and I could still smell that odor on the backing. I ran the grinder again for 15 minutes without a belt no odor, then a 120 grit AOX belt for 15 minutes and there was a slight odor, put on a medium scotchbrite belt for 20 minutes and there was no odor and then put on a 60 grit ceramic belt for 20 minutes and the odor was just terrible. This was the first time I had put these belts on the grinder. When the AOX was bad I thought it must be the grinder, then the scotchbrite belt came up clean. I'm just confused, tomorrow I will call Combat Abrasive and see if they have any input.

Thank you for all the responses.
 
Sometimes I've noticed when I set the platen too high, it will stink like the belt is getting hot, but with no noticeable heat being generated. Perhaps the scraping over the platen edge is liberating adhesives or backing material.

We used to use a specific emery cloth at work that smelled exactly like a rank mouse nest. I managed to clean the cage out real good a couple times looking for mice before I figured out what it was.
 
This is something I have thought about. I had made an adjustment to the platen prior to this this problem but since I have made 5-6 adjustments to the platen thinking that this was the problem. But these adjustment have not helped. I will try some more. Thanks
 
I have gotten an off smell when running a belt to long and started over heating it which transfers to the wheel and you start to smell rubber. But in the tons of belts I have ran I have never had a belt it’s self stink.
 
I am very sensitive to the odor of truck/train brakes - it immediately makes my stomach churn, and sometimes when my respirator is off, I detect the same odor from grinding. The local cast-iron foundry also puts out a similar odor that is noxious to me but tolerable to others. Perhaps you're experiencing something similar?
 
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