Arc Welding Eye Irritation

[dgoddard]

I am well aware that while arc welding there is a risk of eye irritation or even damage from viewing the arc.
During the last week I have been welding up some hand railings for our new porch steps.

Not a Large Project
1x1x1/8 Wall Tube
1/2 Rebar Cross Bucking

After I welded the hand rails and attached the stanchions, my wife noticed my neck was red, so apparently I got enough exposure from the arc for the UV to tan me a bit, so I wore a different shirt and buttoned the collar. For the last two days I have been welding in the "cross bucking" where the weld preps were a bit thicker and I laid down about 80 lineal inches of welds.
After that I noticed a gritty irritation in only my right eye. And just for the record I did not at any time "catch a flash", I only ever saw the arc through my auto darkening helmet

A little explanation will be necessary lest you jump to the wrong conclusion. My eyes are presumably normal, (except for maybe not), and I just had an eye exam a week or so ago, and the ophthalmologist was entirely satisfied with the normality of my eyes.

Hobart Handler 187 with Argon CO2 Bottle
And "welding lamp"

I took an adult education welding course once and discovered that I cannot do stick welding. By the time I have a dark enough lens that I can stand to use an arc welder, I simply cannot see where I am striking an arc. I need at least a #12 lens or the light hurts my eyes. Years later I got a chance to use a MIG welder and discovered that maybe I could weld and the advent of auto-darkening helmets solved the problem of where the arc would be struck. My only rational explanation for why I can MIG weld and not stick weld is that the nozzle is close enough to the arc to block much of the light, so even if it is as bright or brighter I get less of it.

The 4 headed goose neck lamp is something I came up with at a thrift store and modified for providing light solely for welding work (it took me a year to find one). The multiple lamps provide a lot of light, that can be focused from multiple angles to eliminate shadows and make it easier to see what I am doing. But if I look in the direction of the lamp it blanks my auto-darkening helmet and I can see nothing! So it has to shine from the side and slightly behind me. It is a great help! It has 3, clear, 40 watt appliance bulbs and one 60 watt equivalent CF bulb. (appliance bulbs stand up to shop usage). I still have some trouble seeing where I am laying the weld bead but most of the time I get it in the right place now.

Now about my eyes and other personal quirks. My eyes are glare sensitive. I am really uncomfortable if I even briefly catch a flash from 30 feet away through a "welding curtain" Additionally I have an unusual pain/irritation response. I have an ordinary threshold of pain, but once that threshold has been crossed my response is much greater (maybe 2x) than that of most people. The same goes for what one might call irritations. (It took a while for me and the doctors to figure that out, they were always looking something really bad when it was really a minor problem. Turns out that this is a family trait on my Mother's side)

AND NOW WHAT I NEED YOUR ADVICE ON
After laying down that 80 inches of bead for the cross bucking (about 65% of the weld on the railings) in two days. My eye is irritated enough to get my attention, it feels like sand in my eye, and I recognize that as weld related response It developed about 6 hours after welding. The adjustment on the welding helmet was set to 10, For just one or two small welds I usually set it to 9 (the lowest) A few of the welds I could see where I was going. Perhaps because the weld preps were ground nice an bright and the light from the lamp and arc were just right. The rest of the welds I had to partially depend on having practiced the motion that would be required. But this eye irritation is a real bummer. Knowing my own neurological response I am confident that this does not need a doctor's attention. But I am really desirous of hearing what ever you can offer about avoiding it in the future.

Oh, yes, one other thing, behind my welding helmet I was wearing trifocals with a UV tint added to the lenses.

All comments and advice will be appreciated.

[hammermill]

Well be glad you were wearing more than a spedo

It's easy to fry yourself

[dgoddard]

Well be glad you were wearing more than a spedo

It's easy to fry yourself

I have never heard of anyone welding while nude, I suppose it would be worse than frying bacon.

By the way, I accidently hit submit while I was composing the post and had to go do the edit to get the pictures and most of the story in, Did you see the whole post?

[hammermill]

Sorry but it made me smile. I would suggest the dark side shields many supply places sell, the clip on. The side rails of you glasses.

I see they now make a safety glass that look like welding Google's and take prescription lenses. I think Oakley. Was the company name

[dgoddard]

Sorry but it made me smile. I would suggest the dark side shields many supply places sell, the clip on. The side rails of you glasses.

I can see where those would be useful if there were others around doing welding, But in my own shop I am the only one who uses the welder, hence I do not see how those would ever be likely to help.

I see they now make a safety glass that look like welding Google's and take prescription lenses. I think Oakley. Was the company name

I suppose those might work for some people who watch from a distance, like an instructor of welding. But I would not want to weld depending on them as I have a full beard and that needs protection from sparks too.

[hammermill]

i think the point left with the bus

you sensetivity tells me reflecter light entering the back of the helmet is getting you .

as a experiment fashion a flameproof cover to go over the back of the helment so reflecter light can not get back in, also have some one look at the front, if you are not using a baby bib leather flap on the front light will reflect up under the helment.


for work inside tanks( lots of reflected light) most folks use a leather helment that covers the whole head and shoulders to keep light out . i belive lincolin sells them

[dgoddard]

you sensetivity tells me reflecter light entering the back of the helmet is getting you .

Now why didn't they tell me about that in welding class!

My basement is largely non reflective walls ceiling and floor so I would not have expected that, but there is at least one painted wall that was behind me for part of the work and also a door painted gloss white. If anything could reflect enough light I would think that door would. I was working close enough to those to keep me from rejecting the theory and this time was not like my usual situation where I am very much looking down toward my work and the bare joists and flooring over head is probably the least reflective of all.

Also, since I am right handed It is more likely that reflected light would come in on the right side of the helmet when the wall is right behind me as my head and body would be casting a shadow where reflected light would have to hit the wall to come into the helmet on the left side. That situation might explain why only the right eye had the problem

I suppose since I am already wearing a shirt that another shirt over the back of the helmet would not result in a higher fire hazard, maybe even a lesser one.

if you are not using a baby bib leather flap on the front light will reflect up under the helment.

That also seem to offer an explanation why I got "pinked up" along my throat as I though the helmet and my shirt were giving me too much coverage for the amount of pink I got.

a leather helmet that covers the whole head and shoulders to keep light out .

Well the fact that people make them suggests that reflected light is more of a problem than I thought. Of course inside a tank, I suspect that sparks are raining down everywhere for lack of any other place to go. It occurs to me that such a head cover may help with another part of the problem. Just ordinary light in the helmet may be keeping my eyes dilated too much for good visibility through the lens. I notice that when I first start the arc there is a moment of near blindness while my eyes try to adjust to the changing light conditions as the automatic lens goes dark. Only after my eyes have adjusted can I start to see the weld prep where I am trying to deposit metal. That hood might just give me one less change in lighting to have to adjust for. I think I will have to try to rig up something to see just how it works out. I have another rather different railing to make from 1.5 inch (1.9 OD) pipe that will perhaps be my next opportunity to test it out.

[steamin10]

At Union Tank Car, all the welders had Auto dark lenses xept for the air arc, which they were too slow for. Check and make sure you have a fast change rate, if you have sensative eyes. if your helm is a few years old, check the battery, and put in a new one. On self powered helms you can get a longer delay to dark with a bad battery that will delay the dark sequence. Work this thing out, as even high altitude skiers and climbers are in danger of blindness over UV exposure. UV is in any arc, flame, and are the tanning rays young people roast themselves with. Welded in shorts on a dump truck once, sittin on a stool. Two bottles of COOL ALOE didn't help.

I agree with Hammer, the reflective light is getting you.

Also, you may want to ditch the trifocs, and try a high number cheater lens. I use a 2.5 mag, so I dont use my regular glasses. Thsi is good for my arm distance. When everything is darked out, you have to see the weld puddle clearly. Otherwise you get some interesting results where you weld out there somewhere. ya gotta see it.

I use a similar stand for a regular helm, but use 150 watt floods x 2.

Beyond those things, I dont have anymore magic answers.

[hammermill]

i feel dave is ontrak about the bi focals i got the doc to take a old pair of frames and make a set of lenses for a fixed focal legenth the distance from eye ball to where i usually weld. now if a welding berry get stuck to the lense its just damage to my welding glases not a expensive perscription.

[dgoddard]

Check and make sure you have a fast change rate, .... if your helm is a few years old, check the battery, and put in a new one. On self powered helms you can get a longer delay to dark with a bad battery that will delay the dark sequence.

So how does one measure the change rate, it is way to fast for a stopwatch. I know if I turn toward my welding lamp it seems to go black instantly, we are talking way less than a second.

It is now about 24 hours since the onset of the symptoms and it seems the irritation is already abating.

[redneckalbertan]

I think hammer is right on with the reflected UV light. Another thing to consider is what color was your shirt? If it is a light color the UV rays may be bouncing off your shirt and up into your helmet. Darker colors are better.

As far as speed of auto darkening helmets they are not instantaneous. They take time to change tint. A better quality helmet usually changes quicker than a cheep one.

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/wel ... anel-vs813
http://www.millerwelds.com/products/wel ... tal-elite/

If you look at the spec. Page for these helmets the cheep miller darkens in 1/10,000 of a second the expensive on 1/20,000 of a second. I don't know how much difference that time makes but it does exist.

[STRR]

The previous advice about reflected light and adequate protection, are right on the mark.

A couple of other possibilities. First: How old is the battery in your helmet? I can tell when mine gets old, the lens doesn't seem as dark, on the same setting, as it was with a new battery. Even my "solar" lens kills the battery over time. You might change the battery and see how that changes things. The comments on darkening change rate are correct. But, if you haven't had problems in the past, there shouldn't be any now, unless something has changed the original darkening rate. AND that is a distinct possibility. All things wear out and I haven't heard anyone talking about auto dark lens life expectancy. We all would like to believe they would last forever but that may not be the case.

Second and more important. Have you inspected your lens and helmet for ANY damage? A coworker once cracked his lens but used it anyway, since he couldn't see any light coming through the crack. He got the old gravel eye pretty bad. Any crack, pin hole, or bad lens gasket could cause your problems.

While the leather shroud helmet is hotter than the dickens, it may be the best answer for your situation.

Good Luck, and please let us all know how things turn out.
Terry Miller