Hi All, I've just acquired a superb Tilley radiator with a fragile asbestos mantle. I won't light it because it WILL put fibres into the air. At my age it probably doesn't matter, but of course it would to the rest of the family. I have a couple of replacement asbestos ones, but does any one know of a non-asbestos mantle to fit it. ???
@Ben cutlet There are steel mesh mantles available from The Base Camp (UK). I’ve also seen them on eBay. Tony
Well done chaps, On reflection, I have seen these advertised, but being into lamps, with this my first radiator, I guess I just passed over them. Thanks.
I've recently become a bit worried about some of the early preheating wicks I have. Are they all likely to be made from asbestos be and how can you tell apart from the look of the thing? Should I be replacing all the old ones with new?
They are definitely asbestos. As a plumber in my youth we used the stuff on a daily basis and nobody batted an eyelid. I've got several early pre-heaters and I keep them all submerged in meths. In that state they are safe. Burning them possibly releases fibres which would, of course, rise with the heat. Safest is keep them but don't use them in confined space (or not at all) I have had to do all the asbestos courses which frighten the sh*t out of anyone who has been exposed. Sadly there's nothing you can do about it.
This is something I tend not to worry about over much. Yes I might have a problem with asbestosis in 30 or 40 years but I'm 75 now so I doubt it will be a major concern. I don't play with asbestos every day and when I do I try to be careful and keep it wet but I don't worry about the future and if someone will guarantee me some breathing difficulty in 30 years I should be delighted. ::Neil::
I guess replacing it and doing so cutting the fibers, will be more of a risk then using with know how. You also should not inhale mantle ash. New or old. Or smoke. or .....
When the decision is made to remove the Asbestos mantle, make sure it is wet (adding detergent / washing up liquid to the water reduced the surface tension and makes it 'wetter') enclose it in a poly bag and pull off similar to picking up dog doo. Tie the bag top and place in another bag with the disposable gloves and dust mast you may have been wearing and tie tightly. Your local Household Recycling Site should be able to advise on where to take it for correct disposal.
Thanks for the advice. That's more or less what I do. As Mackburner said,at our age it isn't going to matter, but for the family etc. very nasty stuff. When I look back to my apprenticeship, I cringe at the things we had to do with asbestos flake and rope for caulking flues in dark confined spaces. Working by torch light, dust flew everywhere when you broke off a fresh piece of rope and mixed the flake with white liquid stuff to make cement. I'm 68 now and always in the back of my mind the thought niggles, especially when I cough ( which is rare as I haven't smoked for 40 years}
I wonder of we don't take this issue too seriously. I don't say we shouldn't take precautions but historically the people with asbestosis problems tend to be the factory workers who worked an a contaminated environment for a working lifetime and maybe with some folk who worked with an asbestos product for a working lifetime. As far as I am aware it is not a problem in the general population and for people of my generation it was a common material to be found in very home. For instance just about every home had an ironing board with an asbestos pad and we had sheds made of the stuff. So sure take precautions, because we know it is dangerous stuff, but I don't think it is a major issue given the quantities we encounter when playing with lamps. ::Neil::
People act like asbestos is plutonium, or some kind of predator in the corner of the room waiting for you to turn your back so it can pounce. I often encounter asbestos in my profession and it's usually younger people who get bent out of shape having to deal with it, I still have a piece of asbestos cement board i used for a soldering pad lol. A few years back we told a young engineer that the pipe elbows had asbestos cement around them and she wanted to danger tape off the entire area...we laughed and proceed to tell her that all the exterior cladding of the building was asbestos cement board. These are the same people who gladly eat processed foods, use tanning beds, eat artificial sweeteners, smoke cigarettes and live next to a 5G cell tower and think nothing of it.
@Mackburner You are a multi-talented man. A researcher/historian of great note and a comedian of some note. That my friend, made me laugh. I'm a bit like you, I don't worry about the problem too much. Of course I don't pour asbestos over my cornflakes but I don't run screaming down the street after an encounter with asbestos either. Many of the pioneers in GPA lighting lived to a ripe old age - W C Coleman for instance. W C would have been blissfully unaware of the dangers of asbestos when handling it indoors for 50 odd years. Asbestos causes 0.02 % of cancers in the US. That is 0.02% too many. It is obvious that the statistics show that asbestos is dangerous. So too is operating pressure lighting dangerous. Very often, crossing a road is dangerous. Perhaps it is an age thing, as I'm like Neil, I know it is asbestos, so you take a few precautions but not let it concern you. If I got another 25 to 50 years I, like Neil, would be very delighted. From www.Asbestos.com Age-adjusted Death Rates Because the latency period between the first exposure to asbestos and the diagnosis of a related cancer is usually between 25 and 50 years, the death rates that follow include only people aged 25 years and older. Death rates are age-adjusted according to the 2000 U.S. standard population.
One last comment from me on this. In 1965, a local gunsmith and his dad, took down an old shed which had been insulated with blue asbestos wool between the inner and outer walls. They both died THE SAME WEEK in 1996 from asbestos related cancer. This is a fact. Tony Wheeler in Hedingham , Halstead. BUT, none of us are exposing ourselves to blue asbestos wool. Incidentally, asbestos cement is quite safe unless you saw or file it.
@Mackburner It is not true that mesothelioma does not occur in the general population. There are cases where the patient never worked in a factory and have no idea how they got the disease. My view is that no-one should take the risk. Homes are places where younger people live or visit, so you being ‘old’ isn’t relevant.
