>>> AUTO-DARKENING WELDING HELMET ??<<<

[patrick_g]

I have had 4 AD helmets. I still have a couple. I have never had one that went clear. They are shade 3 or 4 at their lightest. There is a BIG difference between too light of a shade for good seeing/good welding and so light that your eyes are damaged.

If, say for instance, your auto darkening didn't... then what? Then unless you are dumber than a post (pun intentional) you will stop welding since you can't see the puddle clearly and you know there is a malfunction. Still... you haven't been flashed any more (or probably as much) as a brief sun reflection off a window putting glare in your eyes.

The argument regarding the "damage" to your eyes due to the finite delay before the molecules do the twist like they did last summer is of passing interest from a science and engineering curiosity standpoint but not a big health concern.

Speed of darkening is an issue and faster is better but remember shade 3 or 4 is the lightest the AD helmets go and although not for high current welding 3-4 shade is not too clear.

Regarding cumulative damage: I understand the concept but for damage to accumulate, the individual events have to cause damage. Anyone care to cite responsible sources who claim millisecond or two exposures to a starting arc viewed through a shade 3 or 4 glass is damaging? If so, I'd love to read them and if I'm wrong I'll shout the "gospel" from the roof tops.

Patrick

 

[notTrue]

Better safe than sore.

I'd prefer my hood darkening before the arc lights not while it is already lit. I'm sure others would feel the same way.

 

[Willl]

You sure in the heck wouldn't like my 'turn-head-n-tack' method. :laughing:

 

[mjncad]

You sure in the heck wouldn't like my 'turn-head-n-tack' method. :laughing:

Is that what a doctor turned welder says?

 

[Gary Fowler]

You guys are overthinking the issue here. The lens blocks damaging UV light even if it doesnt turn dark. So you see or think you see a flash in a camera with the autodark, did you see the bright light or just the image on your retina that was lighter than your surroundings. First of all, you are not going to get flash burn from one arc to the eye without any protection. You would do more damage to your eyes by looking directly at the sun for 10 seconds than you would get from a single arc flash. It takes enough UV to basically sunburn your eyeball to cause flash burn. Even if you got 1/1000 of a second arc to the eye with absolutely no UV or IR protection each time you struck an arc, how many arcs would you need in a day to damage your eye? Likely a lot more than what you would get in a day of welding if you were a professional welder. If you struck an arc and burned an entire rod before breaking an arc, that is 3 minutes average burn time per rod X 1000 times= 50 hours to get 1 second of arc to the eye. Since the eye will heal flash burn in 24 hours, I see no way that you could damage your eyes. GO back to work with your AD helmet and weld something and quit trying to be an amateur inventor. If you are still afraid of AD helmets, DONT use one, get yourself an old dark lens and stay in the 20th century.

 

[notTrue]

You like to compromise? Every time you start a new arc (which is more often for some processes than others) thats a new flash you didn't need to experience depending upon the behavior of your hood.

Since the eye will heal flash burn in 24 hours...

What would make you want to count on something like that? That's like purposely dropping an encyclopedia on your foot and saying "meh, it will stop hurting later."

Using a LED to trigger the hood is probably an easier proposal for some people than it is for others. It's so conveniently simple, it's hard to overlook.

get yourself an old dark lens and stay in the 20th century

LOL a shaded pane works and it keeps the ambient light level constant. If you are working with enough light an ordinary pane of darkened glass will be more comfortable since you won't have an annoying thing in front of your face flickering on and off . Are you still using a transformer-based welder? I hope not, that would mean you're still stuck in the 20th century :laughing:.

 

[yomax4]

My understanding after training (not independant research) was that the Top Brands switch to dark 3X faster than the speed of light. In the light state they protect to the equivelent to shade 16. No you would not want to weld with it that way but you are supposedly protected from IR and UV. There is a chance that these units are not really safe because the damage ( if any ) would not show up for 10-20 years. But since I know welders who have used AD for 25 years with no issues, I am not too worried about them. If you look at the various brands you will see major differences in switching speeds. The slower switching units seem to be the less expensive. There is also a variance in the shade of the lens when it is in it's light state. The better hoods are as low as shade 2.5 and the less expensive hoods are 4 or 5. Making a hood switch faster and turn a lighter shade is what seperates them in price. The technology is not new and has really not improved all that much. One of the oldest AD hoods used magnetics as an assit to darken but was expensive and the world wants cheap.
So after being trained on Hornell, Jackson, Arc-One, Optrel, Thermal Arc, Fibre Metal and Sellstrom AD products, I'm going to have to go with "Their Lab" findings on safety. I have no idea on the less cost brands.

 

[crazyal]

The last I new there were only a limited number of MFGs that make LCD panels. I wonder how many of these companies buy the same panels?

 

[Gary Fowler]

Well Not True, you can rig all you want and have wires hanging all over your hood till you look like a Christmas tree, that is your choice. Since your profile is kinda blank, we dont know what your experience level with welding is so you just do what you want, I passed my first certified pipe welding test in 1968 and have been in heavy construction for over 40 years. I have probably burned more rods than you have ever looked at and my eyesight is still good enough to bust out most would be welder since I also have a few certifications for visual weld inspector (even though I am Quality Manager)that allow me to do that and lots of other things too. I have used Super Green lens, American Optical Gold lens (my favorite of the dark lens) and AD since they came out and I have no damage to my retina, cornea or optic nerve according to my last eye exam.
By the way, yes I have a transformer type welding machine at home that will still be welding when your inverters are laying in the trash pile. Inverter type welders are good, I have used them, they are lightweight and do a ton of work on low voltages, but let a transistor crap out and they are down for the count. Transformer welders are still working after 60 or more years. You wont find an inverter around that long. The contractor I am supervising now bought all inverter machines a year ago and at least 5 of the 20 have already crapped out and that is just TIG welding at around 100 amps. You can keep your inverter(not offense Mark) but I will stay with my Miller transformer.

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

Not true,


While I am sure you are well meaning, I am not sure your angle on this thread. It seems that while you have some "creative" information, you haven't offered any useful, practical, real world information. Miller's Digital elite helmet senses electromagnetic flow as well. A real welder is NOT going to tie himself up with wires, switches and capacitors. Many helmets, even from China offer the electro magnetic sensors.

Arc flash is a real and serious concern. But autodarks, even the cheapest offer full protection from the initial harmful effects of the micro second of flash through protective coatings on the filters that strain out all the bad rays with intensities up to the maximum shade of the helmet without being darkened. The worst issue you'll have with the slowest switching helmets is mild discomfort at the end of the day with repeated starts and stops.

Additionally, you back flash from off your clothes and surrounding objects, walls etc, can cause more damage than the minor flash associated with even the poorest autodarks. This will happen with any helmet. I can tell you don't weld often with all these alarmist concerns. I have 5 autodarks, including 1 Jackson ECQ, 2 Everlast, a helmet that I am evaluating for future use in our line, and one old Harbor Freight. I can tell you there isn't much if any difference in eye protection standards. All of these helmets will darken well down to 30 amps...and most of them will darken fine down to 5 amps or less...which is really not much concern at all. Clarity of optics is one concern with many people as to being able to see clearly while welding. However, most of these have excellent clarity. The old HF is a little cloudy, but the last I used it, I had to tape up the crack in the helmet...the filter was still flipping just fine.

Edit: No offense taken gary, transformers still have their place, just as brush type generators. When you get tired of them, or when they quit, they can always be scrapped for the copper, or at least be used for a boat anchor.