CAUTION ! Using mercury synchronizer

[xj11john]

Hey guys and girls, most of you know the dangers of mercury, but here is a caution just in case you dont know all the dangers.
This is from site: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hid6.html

Description of Hazard

[/QUOTE
COLOR=limegreen]In motorcycle and marine outboard engines with multiple carburetors, the vacuum pressure of each carburetor should be balanced. Mechanics commonly use mercury carburetor synchronizers for this procedure. Exposure to mercury may occur in two ways. Mercury carburetor synchronizers (gauges) contain about 40grams of mercury that can be spilled if these gauges are not handled or stored properly. Also, improper engine tuning can cause mercury to be sucked into the engine and released instantly in high concentrations from the exhaust system. Acute exposure to high concentrations of mercury vapor can affect lung function and possibly damage the lungs. Mercury can also enter the body through the skin. Prolonged exposure to mercury can damage the kidneys and the central nervous system.[/COLOR]


There are several other suggestions for example using gauges, or you may try the cheap carb synch tool thread.

http://www.powerchutes.com/manometer.asp

or this one...


http://www.airheads.org/content/view/183/49/[

[skids]

Here is what can go wrong, depending on the unit...

If you cause the mercury to be drawn up the tube(s) and the mercury level is reduced to below the tube bottom(s), the column of mercury and air will keep going up and over the top and into the combustion chamber and out through the exhaust. The smoke is no doubt extremely toxic! There is probably no excursion values for the multitudes of poisonous compounds that form (no volunteer rats).

It can be possible to rev the engine and shut the throttle down so quickly that the vacuum is enough to cause the same thing as above.

[Ken Talbot]

With mercury sticks, you need to have the dampener plugs in all of the plastic lines. There are no more complicated than a simple plastic plug with a very small hole bored through. This dampens out the vacuum fluctuations to give better readings, and will keep the mercury from getting sucked up the tubes.

[Pat Kelly]

I wonder how many people have died from mercury poisioning while syncing carbs. Anyone ever hear of this happening? In my 46 years and being around bikes and wrenchheads I've never heard of one. I don't even know anyone that's knows a cousin of a friend that heard of this happening.
I keep my carb sticks hung in a (locked) locker with my other hazardous or expensive tools.
Yes, they can be dangerous but so is a tablesaw.

[procamper]

Any info on how to clean up mercury spills?

[xj11john]

It's good to be aware

Pat,
That's true a table saw is dangerous, and I would hope that a person using one would be aware of the danger, the problem with mercury is alot of people dont know its dangerous.

Procamper,
As far as how to clean up a mercury spill, I'm not sure but the web site referenced above said something about calling the EPA.

Myself being aware of the danger, I would not be afraid of using a synchronizer after I read the instructions and the tips here, but I am glad that I found out the health risks.

[xs650mike]

I don't suppose anybody knows anyone who died from mercury poisoning from synching carbs for the simple reason that mercury poisoning is a cumulative thing and it would take years to die from it. This does not mean we want to expose ourselves to high doses of the stuff. Hundreds of years ago mercury poisoning was known as "alchemist's disease" since those guys were all about turning lead into gold and the years of exposure to heavy metals eventually caused them to turn into hunchbacked looneys.

[prometheus578]

Mad as a hatter

Mercury was used by hat makers years back... something about working the felt. Inevitably, the mercury fried their neurons... hence the term "mad as a hatter"
T'was a mercury spill at one of the highschools here a few years ago. Hazmat teams came and closed the school, and then had to go to all the homes of the kids that walked through it and tracked it around.
I still let my sons eat paint chips, but tell them to stay away from my mercury sticks. Go figure!

[Pat Kelly]

I was watching Mythbusters last night. They were looking into the "exploding tattoo" myth. Story goes that someone was getting an MRI done and during the proceedure their tattoo exploded. Turns out that there have been cases of the tattooed area being irritated and once a blister formed but no explosion. The Mythbuster team looked into the chemicals used in tattoo ink and one that is widely used is mercury.

[xs650mike]

I've had several MRIs (blown 5th lumbar/1st sacral disc) and my tats didn't do anything but I've still got sciatica. Guess the docs didn't believe it hurt until they could see the actual damage.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Prometheus,

That's not what I've heard. It was lead, cause they used it to line the brims and such to add stiffness to parts of the hats. And the handling of the lead is what gave them lead poisoning and "madness". That's why they removed lead from paints. It used to be the common element for the tint for WHITE PAINT! That's why it was bad for kids to chew on it, cause developmental damage in children!

Lead is soft and easy to work with. It was used for sinkers for fishing lines as well. It was also in our gas years ago to help reduce engine wear/providing a lubricating and filling component, but I guess they figured out all that LEAD VAPOR wasn't good for people...hence UNLEADED gas!

A few hundred years ago, plates in Europe/England were made of cheap metals including lead, and the ACIDS in tomatoes caused it to be leached out and poison people eating them, and so that's why tomatoes were banned for years there! They didn't know about the lead...they just thought it was the tomatoes!

A recent discovery/learning channel program....hot rocks IIRC proposed a new theory about why the Roman civilization broke down. They....the ruling aristocrisy was getting lead poisoning from many sources, the white makeup they used was lead based, the acidity in the wine sauces they used in cooking caused lead in the plates to be concentrated, etc. Aside from causing psychosis, it also causes STERILITY, and so with the ruling class unable to pass on their wealth and power to their heirs, and they were also making bad decisions, ruling poorly...ie. Caligula, the society just crumbled in chaos!! I'll shut up now!
T.C.

[TopCatGr58]

Originally posted by xs650mike
I've had several MRIs (blown 5th lumbar/1st sacral disc) and my tats didn't do anything but I've still got sciatica. Guess the docs didn't believe it hurt until they could see the actual damage.

Hey Mike,
Ditto, I had my L5-S1 joint worked on 7 years ago, and had my C6-C7 just last year, thankfully, both went well, and I'm at 95% functionality!! CT scans don't show the herniations very well, cause it's soft tissue, and CT/Xrays show bone structures and other more dense radiopaque tissues much better. The MRI is the state of the art for soft tissue damage visualization.

Exploding tats....bwah...ha...ha! Yeah, I saw that episode, too. I like how the dispelled the cell phone gas station myth....but instead it turned out to be people in cold weather getting back into their vehicles after starting the pumps....usually talking on their phones....then sliding back out without discharging their bodies of static electricity on the car body....grabbing the fuel handle...and "SPARK", and FOOM.....instant car cabob!!!

Winter's coming....be careful out there!
T.C.

[xs650mike]

Wasn't getting any help for my back from the orthopedists at the VA, they said it wasn't bad enough to operate on. Of course I was crippled with pain. Went to the neurology dept. They told me don't let those ortho guys operate, if it comes to surgery see a neurosurgeon or you'll most likely be in for a life of pain. They prescribed me some medication (for nerve pain) that has almost completely relieved my pain and when that doesn't do it I go to my chiropractor and he fixes it.

I used to work in a paint factory so I know about the lead thing. White lead isn't really a good pigment anyway since industrial smog causes it to turn black. Titanium dioxide stays white forever. When I was a kid I worked setting lead type in my dad's printshop. He always insisted that I wash my hands after handling type or even being in the shop and also made me change clothes after we got home. All heavy metals are to a degree poisonous, including zinc, chromium and even gold. Strangely the body needs trace amounts of metals such as zinc and chromium and fairly large amounts of iron which is also highly poisonous if you get too much (especially to children). We're all familiar with the effects of arsenic. The metal used for pots and plates was pewter which contains lead.

[prometheus578]

hatters.....

I stand by my earlier assertion of mercury poisoning for hatters. a quick check of word and phrase origins brought up...

..."The origin of the phrase, it's believed, is that hatters really did go mad. The chemicals used in hat-making included mercurious nitrate, used in curing felt. Prolonged exposure to the mercury vapors caused mercury poisoning. Victims developed severe and uncontrollable muscular tremors and twitching limbs, called "hatter's shakes"; other symptoms included distorted vision and confused speech. Advanced cases developed hallucinations and other psychotic symptoms"...
Romans also used lead for piping, and to solder the joints of same. Was added to the glaze of their pottery, and such.
Hhmmm... just recalled reading an article many years back.... some clown was taking old dental fillings and melting them down for the precious metals. Died from the mercury vapors eventually. Also, many moons ago, had to have my old fillings replaced for, at the time, mercury was used in the amalgam.
It's nice to know that we're still, to this day, able to get our minimum daily requirement of mercury by eating tuna, smashing fluorescent light tubes, and in our vaccines and flu shots.
Altzheimer's patients have more than trace amounts of aluminium in their brain cells, but whether aluminium causes altzhiemers or altzhiemers causes retention of aluminium can't be determined. (aluminium pots and pans, aluminium chlorhydrate in antiperspirants, etc)
I wear a breather when sanding and polishing aluminium as it used to give me headaches... or was that just my body's reaction to hard work?
(There's more to Heavy Metals than just good music)

[xs650mike]

SWMBO got rid of all of our aluminum pots many years ago, naught but stainless steel in our house. She also won't use any china or pottery from China since she doesn't trust them to "get the lead out" after reading an expose about the subject of pottery glazes. Take a look at the bottom of your coffee cup to see where it's made. BTW my father died from Alzheimers at quite a young age, it can hit anytime.