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Tool Talk Discussion Forum

Auto Darkening Welding Hood

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1945 A

11-18-2005 09:03:55




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I was reading the thread regarding the person who had gotten "flash burned" by welding, and saw some of the follow-ups regarding auto darkening welding hoods, and thought I would throw in a note of caution here.
We have several of these around the plant,(name brand---Miller).
One of these uses sunlight, or any other light source, to charge the battery. That"s all real good in theory, but, I found out that storing the thing in a locker isn"t the best idea, because, if the battery gets low, the lens will lighten while you"re welding----definitely not good! I discovered that, and went back to the old standby regular welding hood. At least, when I put it on, I know the shade will be a 12----not a 5 all of a sudden!

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RickL

11-19-2005 06:19:52




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 Re: Auto Darkening Welding Hood in reply to 1945 A, 11-18-2005 09:03:55  
I used to have one but they didn't work very well in cold conditions. I went back to the old flips and would never go back again. I also run self contained air unit helemt thats the best thing that anyone can do period in my opinion



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720Deere

11-19-2005 05:07:19




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 Re: Auto Darkening Welding Hood in reply to 1945 A, 11-18-2005 09:03:55  
I don't weld all that much, but I have one of the Harbor Freight $50 auto dark helmets. It works great and I haven't had any flash problems with it. I don't know how long it will last, but for $50 I figure you can't go wrong. I can buy almost 6 of them before I will have spent as much as one of the expensive units.



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thejdman01

11-18-2005 17:38:31




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 Re: Auto Darkening Welding Hood in reply to 1945 A, 11-18-2005 09:03:55  
i was told by a fairly knowledgeable guy at htp that even if the helmet doesnt darken it will jsut be bright for you but you cannot and will not get flash burn even if the helmet doesnt darken there are filter etc built in that are "on" all the time



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Stan in Oly, WA

11-18-2005 13:26:52




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 Re: Auto Darkening Welding Hood in reply to 1945 A, 11-18-2005 09:03:55  
Jackson advertises being the only American company to manufacture their own optics. The Swedes invented the process, and their helmets may still be the best. But for about 1/6 the price of a Speedglas helmet, you can get a HF one which is almost always on sale for $50. They're flimsy, but I find no fault with the optics. My eyes aren't particularly sensitive, though, so YMMV.

Stan



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Weirsdale George

11-18-2005 10:58:53




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 Re: Auto Darkening Welding Hood in reply to 1945 A, 11-18-2005 09:03:55  
I have an Auto-Darkening Miller helmet which is "solar powered". The non-replacable battery died and wouldn't take a charge. Ended up opening up the cartridge and replacing the battery by wiring in a double AAA-battery holder bolted to the helmet above the cartridge. Did this probably 18-mounths ago and the original batteries are still going strong.



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kidbob

11-18-2005 10:49:56




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 Re: Auto Darkening Welding Hood in reply to 1945 A, 11-18-2005 09:03:55  
I have a solar cell hood with no battery. I use it with my wire feed with no flash. I tried it with a cutting torch but it went dark when I press the oxygen lever. It is one of the cheaper ones.



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fixerupper

11-19-2005 07:13:54




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 Re: Auto Darkening Welding Hood in reply to kidbob, 11-18-2005 10:49:56  
This helmet came with a couple of green inserts that can added to the lense when needed and they do aleviate the flash problem when wire welding. They made it harder to see when setting up for the weld. This bring up a question for you guys who know more about welding than I do - does wire welding give off more bad light rays than stick welding? Jim



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Stan in Oly, WA

11-19-2005 17:56:11




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 Re: Auto Darkening Welding Hood in reply to fixerupper, 11-19-2005 07:13:54  
I don't know how much of a role the chemistry of the filler metal plays in the intensity of the arc, but if you are comparing mild steel stick to mild steel wire, the arc should be the same for both at the same amperage. Anything that gets between the arc and your eyes will reduce the intensity of the arc for you. Stick welding usually creates a cloud of smoky shielding gas, and the flux itself sometimes hides some of the arc. The shielding gases for solid wire are invisible, and you usually attempt to keep the arc in view, not let the gas nozzle keep you from seeing your work. Those differences would account for the apparent difference in the intensity of the arcs.

Stan

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mace56

11-20-2005 06:13:25




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 Re: Auto Darkening Welding Hood in reply to Stan in Oly, WA, 11-19-2005 17:56:11  
Thanks for the explanation. Makes sense to me. I used my MIG a lot on tube welds on son's dune buggy project. A lot of joints out of position and in crazy corners. Of course the tube joint shape don't help either. I think you right, spent a lot of time trying to position my head where I could see exactly where the wire was at. I probably would not even have had to look with a stick. But, when it works, MIG is a joy.

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mace56

11-19-2005 15:43:06




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 Re: Auto Darkening Welding Hood in reply to fixerupper, 11-19-2005 07:13:54  
I have heard MIG is brighter. Seems strange cause I still have a tough time seeing that little wire in the middle of that big gas shield.
Seems like it would be better but not so I guess.

I have not had issue cause most of my welding projects are pretty short on actual welding time. Mostly prep work.



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fixerupper

11-18-2005 10:22:15




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 Re: Auto Darkening Welding Hood in reply to 1945 A, 11-18-2005 09:03:55  
I have a hood that uses solar cells only - meaning no batteries. It works great for stick welding where the flux shades the arc for a split second before the flash starts, but with a wire welder it will give me flash burns because the flash comes the instant the arc is started and the hood doesn't respond fast enough. I realy like this hood because I can just put it on and weld without turning it on first, but now it's restricted to the stick welder only. Jim

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