Nickel Allergy?

[Papa Hoyt]

I may just be shooting in the dark here but I am wondering on the SS GGTS what are the parts that contain Nickel? I know that the axis and + contact pin are nickel plated but what else.

My main concern is the switch but I would like to know what parts are full SS and what is not. my Serial is #1200

I have been getting rough bumpy places on my fingers that I use to press the switch. i quit using it for a day or two and took some benedryl and the places started getting better fairly quickly.

Now I am using the SS GGTS again and I have some irritation and the bumps are returning. They are almost rash like.

I did a little research and it seems that Nickel can cause a rash to a few people out there. I searched here but the keyword Nickel turned up like 1000 results.

As a test I rubbed the switch on the back of my hand at the knuckle where my pinky and back of my hand meet and there is a bigger rash like bumps there, itch like crazy.

So I am assuming that the switch itself is Nickel plated brass??

If this is the case is there anyway I can get a switch that is not nickel coated??

Any help from the community would be greatly appreciated.

Also I have had the GG for some time and the problem has just started in the last couple of months. on my GGTS TMF aluminum with brass switch I did not have this problem. So I am guessing if the switch is nickel the metal has just built up in my system to become a problem and not just an immediate problem.

 

[Serpent67]

Entirely possible Papahoyt.

Many people are allergic to many things and many have allergic reactions to metal. Why some peoples can only wear higher quality carat gold.

My ex was like that. She wear no silver and 14 carat gold or over.

Sounds like nickel is getting to you. Maybe have doc test and see.

 

[fright88]

Pretty sure the ait controll rings are nickel plated also

 

[Poppa D]

Major said he accidentally soaked his nickel plated brass pin in lemon water over night and in the morning the nickel was gone. If nickel plating is the problem, maybe you could strip those particular problem parts with citric juice.

 

[Papa Hoyt]

Major said he accidentally soaked his nickel plated brass pin in lemon water over night and in the morning the nickel was gone. If nickel plating is the problem, maybe you could strip those particular problem parts with citric juice.

I will keep that in mind but I would like to hear from more on the situation and remedies before I go and ruin my GG by accident.

Not saying that wont work but I would like to hear more.

 

[Papa Hoyt]

Entirely possible Papahoyt.

Many people are allergic to many things and many have allergic reactions to metal. Why some peoples can only wear higher quality carat gold.

My ex was like that. She wear no silver and 14 carat gold or over.

Sounds like nickel is getting to you. Maybe have doc test and see.

Yeah i would but seeing I have a mom that was an RN and a friend that was an EMT/Paramedic they both have told me it appears to be an allergic rash. After that I told them what I had done and they both said exactly the same words "weel it would appear that you are allergic to that."

Here is the test area where I rubbed the switch on the back of my hand. It itches like crazy and I have been scratching at it.

tried to take the pictures of the smaller rash area on my ring finger, pinky and palm where the switch contacts but it just appears as a red spot as it is just returning. Itches bad but returning none the less.

 

[Major]

Hi Pappa Hoyt. Sorry to hear of your rash. I can tell you that the SS GGTS has been using the 2011 style button. In that assembly, the button head is stainless steel. The locking ring and the threaded assembly tube are nickle plated brass as is the contact post that extends through the bottom of the assembly to make contact with the axis.

The best solution would be to get to get the so called "Stealth" (2012) button which is replacing the 2011 style. You can see on the all stainless Stealth that the button cap is flatter but is also still stainless as is the locking ring. With the 2011 style, the locking ring is the only part you would be making contact with on a continual basis and the 2012 or Stealth style (same button) would alleviate that.

The remaining parts that are nickle plated on the SS GGTS is the inside collector tank pin assembly and the air Control Ring. Sorry no pictures included but I wanted to get a quick answer to you as soon as I saw this. There is a good clear picture of the "new style" button on an all SS Stealth by a Michaelis I think in the last page or two of the pictures thread.

Although the locking ring is not sold separately from the buton assembly, the new style buttons should be making their way across the pond in the not too distant future. Imeo might be able to advise a better approximate date. It wouldn't look pretty but just to verify it is the locking ring causing your rash, you might take a strip of any tape such a medical tape or even electric tape wrapped around the outside of the locking ring to see if this rectifies the problem.

If so, you would have a solid answer and an ugly but effective way to prevent your skin from coming in contact with the nickle plated lock ring until you can get a replacement. Please let us know how this goes for you.

 

[Major]

I failed to add in my reply above Poppa that as accidental as it was, the concentrated lemon juice did take the nickle plating right off the brass of my Ody connector pin as mentioned.

There are better ways I am sure and some of the guys like Para can tell you if there is an easier route to take to remove the nickle. If however, taping it up proves to stop the rash, a prettier solution than the tape would be removal of the nickle and give a nice 2 tones effect.

That way you wouldn't have that ugly tape on that pretty GG and would make the urgency for a replacement be a lot less. As a matter of fact, I like the 2 tone buttons I have seen enough I think I am going to try making one of my buttons brass and stainless combo.

 

[imeothanasis]

Papa, the nickel plated parts are:

pin on button
housing of button
axis attached to the venting cap
positive pole
polygonal nut that keeps the 2 o-rings in place inside the plastic on GGTS connector
CR

The most of the buttons have steel locking nut but maybe you have the nickel one. The steel locking nuts came to market before 3 months if I remember well

 

[RippleInStillWater]

Maybe the best solution is to find an old-style button -- but good luck on that, I love those things and they are such a hard get........

 

[imeothanasis]

The nickel plated parts that are visible and someone can touch on GG are the older locking nut and the CR. Papa, if you still have issues, please tell me if you want me to send a locking nut to bruce for you.

 

[Papa Hoyt]

Hmmm That is weird then, I used the outside button cap (the part you guys say it SS)in this experiment to trigger the rash.

I do not think that I touched the locking ring when I did that test.

Now I am baffled because it was only the cap and not the inside stem. with the Cap being SS it should not have caused anything.

I rarely touch the CR so i am not concerned with that and I do not have that rash on my fingers that I use to adjust the CR or locking nut.

Now I am really confused. What would cause the switch head to cause an allergic reaction on my skin????

 

[Poppa D]

Hmmm That is weird then, I used the outside button cap (the part you guys say it SS)in this experiment to trigger the rash.

I do not think that I touched the locking ring when I did that test.

Now I am baffled because it was only the cap and not the inside stem. with the Cap being SS it should not have caused anything.

I rarely touch the CR so i am not concerned with that and I do not have that rash on my fingers that I use to adjust the CR or locking nut.

Now I am really confused. What would cause the switch head to cause an allergic reaction on my skin????

A residual from your fingers possibly.

 

[Papa Hoyt]

A residual from your fingers possibly.

Yeah but enough residual from what?? and enough to cause that much allergic reaction???

I am worried now and i want to use my GG but kinda leery to do so.

 

[Poppa D]

Yeah but enough residual from what?? and enough to cause that much allergic reaction???

I am worried now and i want to use my GG but kinda leery to do so.

Polish
Juice
Lubricants
Cleaning solutions
Any thing you have handled could do it.

 

[gredie]

Sad news Papa Hoyt. I hope you can find the cause for this skin irritations asap.

I would go crazy if I would develop an allergy against my beloved GGs.

 

[Para]

Yeah but enough residual from what?? and enough to cause that much allergic reaction???

I am worried now and i want to use my GG but kinda leery to do so.

I'd wash my hands really well and then, with a Q-tip and denatured alcohol, do a once over on the outside of the GG. Even though alcohol evaporates, I'd take a slightly damp paper towel and give it a final wipe. Now any residue is gone.

Just like in food borne illness, cross contamination can be the culprit. We get stuff on our hands all the time and it gets transfered over to what we handle.....and vice versa.

By eliminating the possibles, it's easier to ID the cause.

 

[Spiralnebel]

i know that i have i get allergic reactions on nickel as well
so i ask myself if its good to vape that nichrome resistance wire.
i already ordered regular kanthal to try it out.
i also noticed that that the nichrome wire tastes like a can to me
especially if i vape it on high voltage, so lets see the difference

 

[imeothanasis]

Hmmm That is weird then, I used the outside button cap (the part you guys say it SS)in this experiment to trigger the rash.

I do not think that I touched the locking ring when I did that test.

Now I am baffled because it was only the cap and not the inside stem. with the Cap being SS it should not have caused anything.

I rarely touch the CR so i am not concerned with that and I do not have that rash on my fingers that I use to adjust the CR or locking nut.

Now I am really confused. What would cause the switch head to cause an allergic reaction on my skin????

Papa, you bought a new or a used GGTS? Did it had a gold lid and a silver venting cap?

 

[Papa Hoyt]

Hi Imeo, it was new from COV and has a brass top and bottom(vented) cap