Another welding helmet post

I, too, have older eyes, but no cataracts. At the high school where I used to teach, we had 2 shops with welding equipment. The instructor in the other shop bought some cheap automatic hoods (HF), I tried them in my shop and sent them back. I was able to buy only one Pro grade Miller with my budget, but the difference was enormous. Students used large window (4.5 by 5.25&#8221 manual hoods and took turns with the Miller.

There are actually two response times: time it takes to go dark, and time it takes to go light. Time to go dark is much more rapid on the pro grade hoods, its not even mentioned in some of the cheapo ads. I actually had a student end up with a mild case of flash with the cheap hood on TIG process, as the time to darken was too slow. If you read Miller's or Lincoln's literature carefully, each company's more expensive hoods have faster darkening rates than their less expensive ones. Guys who have several hours a day of arc time need a fast rate.

Auto-darkening works by polarizing, there was also difference in the clarity of the cheap lenses over the Pro lens.

Personally, I wear reading glasses, and use gold glass lenses, which I find much clearer than the green, in a 4 x 5 manual hood. I replace the clear cover lens often as needed. If a gold lens ever gets scratched, ditch it immediately.

My variable shade system consists of several old manual helmets, each with a different shade brand new lens, changing helmets is easier than changing lenses, and less chance of scratching a gold lens that way.

If you are ever at a trade show or a larger car show and see the Lincoln or Miller trailers, they will let you test drive helmets. My welding distributor used to let me test drive welders at his big store, try your distributor for a demo, take your helmet along.

 

Without reading all the posts, and at the risk of possibly repeating what has already been said I will give you a bit of advice.

Garbage can the cheap helmet and get yourself a Miller Digital Elite helmet.

It's probably the best you can get for what you need. Great adjustability and a real nice big viewing window.

 

nice helmet, i had been thinking of converting a helmet with a small solinoid to do the same thing, that was back when i was doing production line welding, i have been taking the flip down window off my CIG helmet for years, i file down the friction button so i only have to nod enough for the window to drop, works great in tight areas, and as i said i use a gold #10 shade, gives you a larger spectrum of colors.

 

Best statement I've seen in quite a while, Thanks!

 

helmets are cheep i bought three auto dims for $40.00 each and cut the lens area out of two of them and took thek and mounted them in one helmet, one on each side of the middle one, very easy to do, set all three the same, and then you have pretty much a 360 degree view, works great! hope that helps!

 

i have a couple of the small cheap flood lights i use sometime when i weld, generally under a car is when i use those, i also have a pair on a stand i use also.. these help very much... i think the shadows is what get you alot when welding...
i know its harbor freight, but i've had them for 10yrs or better.. they put out decent heat also..

i have 2 of these


and one on the stand.



i use a speedglas 9000x helmet, the speedglas helmets are expensive but they are about the best you can get in my book.. when i mig i use shade 11 gold, when i tig i use shade12 specific for tig welding.. i have a 4ft florescent light diectly over my welding table also, that helps alot...

 

also adding this since we're on a personal safety issue..

i'm sure its been posted before but for people starting to weld they will not know...

do not use carb cleaner or brake cleaner to clean area's prior to welding, it can kill you..
to my understanding if you hit a spot that is still moist with the cleaner the addition of argon gas can create phosgene which is poisonous, a simple single inhalation can kill you..

 

I've also experienced the problem with seeing my weld. Along with the cheater lens in the helmet I've found that in some instances the led light helps me get the weld started in the correct place.



I just rolled a bead in a thin piece of stainless, bent it in an arc, couple of hose clamps, and one of the free harbor freight led lights.







The lousy spot welds in the photos are the reason for this little device.

Drew

 

I have the same problem with the addition of being blind in one eye which destroys your depth perception. The best solution I came up with was to go to the optomotrist and have a pair of magnifying glasses made with a focal distance I use under normal welding conditions. It made a world of difference, the only problem is you need your regular glasses close at hand so you can see to walk around the shop when you are done.

 

i like the light idea....i started with a cheapo standard hood,had to get a auto dark when started tigging. first one was a nexgen loved it had a huge window and was super clear...some dirtbag stole it and a rechargeable drill out of my truck..so got a miller auto dark and getting used to it..not as nice as the nexgen but it works pretty good...
dont go cheap when it comes to your eyes.....

 

Using various shades has been mentioned but nothing has been said about shades for various
welding amperages.
As the amps go up, it requires a darker shade to protect from ultra violet.
Most welding instructors that fully understand the problem being discussed here will not recommend going below a 9 for any type of arc welding.
If you are welding with 150 to 200 amps or above, An 11 or 12 is recommended.
If you get above that a 13 will be needed.

 

I also have had the problem with not being able to see once the arc has been struck. I've found my tranision perscription glasses are also darkening as I weld. Now I have a pair of nontransion glases to wear in the shop. I also use a small light in dark areas, and clean the lenses in the helmit on a regular basis. I'm currently using a speedglass helmit, I really dislike the head gear on that helmit. Gene

 

I am almost ashamed to admit it but I have been welding,"MIG" without a helmet for years. Mind you I don`t weld for a living but I have suffered no ill affects from it. My method is I use .023 wire and weld very close to the material and keep the gas cup between the arc and my line of sight. I know it`s crazy but I have my eyes ck`d every 6 months and have had no change in my vision. On top of that I`m a diabetic.

 

Don't want to be a wise ass, but that's pretty stupid.

 

Yes, stupid is being very very kind.

 

Cataracts down the road. I was a welding instructor in a high school, asked the eye doc once about the constant flashing, he said lookout for cataracts later. Students were taught to say “cover“, but didn’t always. I can’t count the number of times I looked into a welding booth to check on a student just as he struck an arc. A beginner with stick, it was usually a long arc, and really bright. Went home with sore eyes often.

Gets me how many TV "pros" close their eyes to tack. Maybe they’ll get away with it, hope they do. For me, I’ve seen too much to want to stop seeing. Want to see plenty more down the road.

This technique is plain crazy.

 

here are some 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 magnifying lenses..
personally i dont care for them, but thats just me.

http://www.welding.com.au/dm289-79/magnifying-lenses/


leonard

 

Invest in some reading glasses that will bring your focal length down to about 12 to 16 inches. Get close to youur work abd you will be able to see what you are trying to weld. A flood light to brighten up the shadows also helps. I ahave found that reading glasses are better for me tahn a cheater in my hood. If you can't see, stop and start over. A weld that you can't see is a bad weld, no matter what it looks like.

 

interesting reading... i've never heard of cheaters before... think i'll look into them

 

Started out stick in the USN in 1951 aboard ship, during Korean war. We never had anything other than the std. welding hood, so I learned the "nod" method at an early age of 18. Even later as a pipe welder, we still used the std. hood, retiring from the trade at 55, my eyes were still good, going into small business (welding shop), I had the eye doc. make me a pair of oversize PX glasses to wear under the std.hood, this worked good, then when you lifted hood to grind or use a tool, everything was in good focus, including walking around in the shop.
After about 10 yrs. I had eye surguries for both cataract & 1 lens replacement, & still used the same glasses, now at 78, I do small amounts of cutting & welding & still use those same PX glasses, AND the same style std. hood (Huntsman).
All this just to say, "one size don't fit all", I have never had a Auto-dark hood, so I can't have a dog in the "fight".

Now for the guy that don't wear a hood while welding----You better get busy & get that seeing eye dog trained---QUICK!!----------Don

 

i'm leaning towards the accustrike, but what are some other good suggestions in case my instructor does not approve of the accustrike (not likely though)?


i looked at the Miller Elite/digital elite and they look decent.
3M speedglas?

 

I've been using my Accu-Strike for a while now. Once you get used to it, it's hard to imagine why anyone would choose anything else.

 

Thanks to all of you for the comments. Am a beginning welder and have experienced all the mentioned problems. Will ditch my transition bifocals and buy the reading glasses, also will get some improved lighting------really good info.-------tom

 

What's the brand/model?

 

I haven't read this whole thread so if someone has mentioned this I'm sorry. But I don't like the auto darkening helmets at all. I bought one of these "Accustrike" http://http://www.accustrike.com/ helmets about 20 years ago and never looked back! Just bought a replacement about a year ago and use the old at home.

When you start you have a CLEAR lense not that no. 4 shade lense of the autodarks BEFORE they darken. Don't think it's a big deal opening this lense with your chin, it is not hard, you don't need to open your mouth, just simple move your chin going down with your lips still closed. Like I say, it's odd and some people freak out at the thought but I LOVE this thing.

Brian

And NO I have no connection what so ever with this company.

 

One of the things we have found here at the school is some of the cheaper auto-dark helmets have a reddish-tint lens which is supposed to make things brighter; but actually washes out the weld area and puddle. This is especially a problem when TIG welding steel, as the puddle and eye all but disappear.

Personally, I prefer a non-auto with a gold plated lens. I've found that this allows me to run one shade lighter lens with the same UV protection. Makes a world of difference in seeing the puddle. And, KEEP CHANGING those clear cover plates.

 

Thanks for another recommendation. i like the high-end 3M's and millers but just the thought of 1/25000th a sec of light, even though it's not perceivable, can add up if you do hours of welding which i'm about to do. i'm not entirely comfortable with that. So, that's why i'm probably going to go with the accustrike.

i understand that all auto-darks have built in UV protection regardless if in dark mode or not, but i'm thinking the bright light alone could cause problems long term?

 

If you are using an auto-darkening helmet, they have a protective cover infront of the lense that gets caked with the soot from welding, along with scratches, finger prints, nozzle dip splatter. That all creates a glare when you weld which will make it nearly impossible to see the weld when the helmet darkens. I change mine fairly frequently and it makes it so much easier to see.