Welding Helmet Advice
Moderator: Harold_V
Welding Helmet Advice
I currently have a Lincoln Ultrashade helmet w/ 10 & 11 shades. My brother has an older Speedglas XL that auto tints (not sure of the shades). Up to now we've been just stick welding & had no issues w/ the shades. However last week he bought 2 new units, a Lincoln Power MIG 256 & their Precision TIG 225. While trying out the TIG & MIG processes, both of us noticed that we were straining to see the puddle. Would we be correct in thinking that the "light" being produced by the TIG & MIG is less that the stick welder that we have been using?
Can any of you steer us in the correct direction to look for replacement helmets?
TIA
Can any of you steer us in the correct direction to look for replacement helmets?
TIA
- warmstrong1955
- Posts: 3568
- Joined: Thu Mar 18, 2010 2:05 pm
- Location: Northern Nevada
Re: Welding Helmet Advice
Get a hood that you can manually adjust the shade.
The lower the current/voltage, the lower the shade. Ambient light will effect your vision as well.
Smaller parts with my TIG, I do well with a 9 setting, or even a little less. Same with welding small parts with my MIG.
Bigger stuff, say with 045" bare wire on 1", I like about 12. Dual shield wire, a little closer to 11.
Stick welding, 3/32", 10 works for me. I've done a lot of field repairs using 1/4" 7018, and hard-facing with 3/16" & 1/4" electrodes, and I used a 13. Less than that after a day of welding, and lights had halos around them.
Bill
The lower the current/voltage, the lower the shade. Ambient light will effect your vision as well.
Smaller parts with my TIG, I do well with a 9 setting, or even a little less. Same with welding small parts with my MIG.
Bigger stuff, say with 045" bare wire on 1", I like about 12. Dual shield wire, a little closer to 11.
Stick welding, 3/32", 10 works for me. I've done a lot of field repairs using 1/4" 7018, and hard-facing with 3/16" & 1/4" electrodes, and I used a 13. Less than that after a day of welding, and lights had halos around them.
Bill
Today's solutions are tomorrow's problems.
- SteveHGraham
- Posts: 7788
- Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 7:55 pm
- Location: Florida
Re: Welding Helmet Advice
My brilliant (i.e. obvious and sadly very slow) discovery: if you lay a bead on a piece of scrap before getting to work, you can adjust the shade before you start welding your workpiece.
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
Re: Welding Helmet Advice
I'm a dinosaur. I use the conventional flip-down helmet with a number 10 lens. Being an electronics engineer and knowing how the auto-darkening helmet technology works, I would never use one. I place great value on what little eyesight I have left.
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Music isn’t at all difficult. All you gotta do is play the right notes at the right time!
Music isn’t at all difficult. All you gotta do is play the right notes at the right time!
Re: Welding Helmet Advice
I'm not sure what you are implying. Perhaps that a failure to darken the variable lens will damage your eyes?BigDumbDinosaur wrote:I'm a dinosaur. I use the conventional flip-down helmet with a number 10 lens. Being an electronics engineer and knowing how the auto-darkening helmet technology works, I would never use one. I place great value on what little eyesight I have left.
My electronic darkening helmet has a basic darkness with no power on, that protects my eyes.
Is that what you are worried about?
~RN
- SteveHGraham
- Posts: 7788
- Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 7:55 pm
- Location: Florida
Re: Welding Helmet Advice
A helmet will protect you whether or not it darkens. The shading isn't eye protection. It's just to help you see what you're doing.
I'm not an electrical engineer, but as a lawyer, I should have realized immediately that the shading isn't what protects you. No company in this litigious country is going to sell you a helmet that burns your corneas every time you let the battery run down!
I'm not an electrical engineer, but as a lawyer, I should have realized immediately that the shading isn't what protects you. No company in this litigious country is going to sell you a helmet that burns your corneas every time you let the battery run down!
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
Re: Welding Helmet Advice
The auto-darkening technology is reliable. What it is not is infallible.SteveHGraham wrote:A helmet will protect you whether or not it darkens. The shading isn't eye protection. It's just to help you see what you're doing.
I'm not an electrical engineer, but as a lawyer, I should have realized immediately that the shading isn't what protects you. No company in this litigious country is going to sell you a helmet that burns your corneas every time you let the battery run down!
The liquid crystal panel that shades your view can develop "stuck pixels," just like the LCD panel in a TV or computer monitor. A "stuck pixel" will admit light all the time. You are entrusting your eyes to an electronic device that can (and eventually will, in most cases) fail. A conventional helmet with an intact lens will always work.
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Music isn’t at all difficult. All you gotta do is play the right notes at the right time!
Music isn’t at all difficult. All you gotta do is play the right notes at the right time!
Re: Welding Helmet Advice
Please see my reply above to Steve.NP317 wrote:I'm not sure what you are implying. Perhaps that a failure to darken the variable lens will damage your eyes?BigDumbDinosaur wrote:I'm a dinosaur. I use the conventional flip-down helmet with a number 10 lens. Being an electronics engineer and knowing how the auto-darkening helmet technology works, I would never use one. I place great value on what little eyesight I have left.
My electronic darkening helmet has a basic darkness with no power on, that protects my eyes.
Is that what you are worried about?
~RN
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Music isn’t at all difficult. All you gotta do is play the right notes at the right time!
Music isn’t at all difficult. All you gotta do is play the right notes at the right time!
- SteveHGraham
- Posts: 7788
- Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 7:55 pm
- Location: Florida
Re: Welding Helmet Advice
If every pixel fails, your eyes are still protected.
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
- warmstrong1955
- Posts: 3568
- Joined: Thu Mar 18, 2010 2:05 pm
- Location: Northern Nevada
Re: Welding Helmet Advice
True, if it's a ANSI approved hood. I don't think that's a requirement at this point though.SteveHGraham wrote:If every pixel fails, your eyes are still protected.
Speedglas, Lincoln, Miller etc, all ANSI approved. Horror Freight....I doubt it.
Easy enough to look.
Today's solutions are tomorrow's problems.
- SteveHGraham
- Posts: 7788
- Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 7:55 pm
- Location: Florida
Re: Welding Helmet Advice
Here is my take on that: Harbor Freight helmet batteries are known to fail, but we haven't heard about a wave of HF helmet lawsuits, and we haven't seen people on the Internet, screaming, "HARBOR FREIGHT SCORCHED MY CORNEAS!" I wouldn't be too worried about whether they're approved. They're doing the job.
Now that I think about it, I replaced my HF hood because I tried to use it and it quit darkening. I saw the light from the arc, but I didn't get "flashed" with UV.
Some guy on the web cut out the embedded HF battery and installed one he could replace. I should do that with my old hood.
Now that I think about it, I replaced my HF hood because I tried to use it and it quit darkening. I saw the light from the arc, but I didn't get "flashed" with UV.
Some guy on the web cut out the embedded HF battery and installed one he could replace. I should do that with my old hood.
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
- SteveHGraham
- Posts: 7788
- Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 7:55 pm
- Location: Florida
Re: Welding Helmet Advice
It's kind of an interesting subject, now that you bring it up. The helmet manual does say it's approved. On the other hand, it says to wear ANSI-approved goggles under it! I never noticed that before.
Danged lawyers. Wear a helmet. Wear goggles. Wear a respirator, an airbag, diapers...
Danged lawyers. Wear a helmet. Wear goggles. Wear a respirator, an airbag, diapers...
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.