Auto Darkening Lens Reaction Time

[Welshman]

I'm in the market for an auto darkening helmet. I've spent a lot of time researching and looking, but the one aspect I'm not clear about is how fast is fast enough with regard to lens reaction time. The consensus seems to be that lens reaction time is more a matter of eye comfort (preventing "itchy eye") rather than eye safety (UV is filtered by the lens in its "at rest" state), but to me, there is a great deal of conflicting information. I've looked at expensive helmets that have a slower reaction time than less expensive helmets, and I understand that price difference can be the result of other factors, so my question specifically still is - How fast is fast enough? What are your experiences and/or data? Is there a "baseline" or minimum?
Thanks.

 

[jmanatee2]

I am not a professional, although I have taken on big projects welding all day for several days (trailers, towers etc.)

I have two from Harbor freight (I think they have one on sale for $39.99)

Although I am sure the construction of the helmet (plastic, head band, etc) is cheaper then a hobart, miller, or speed glass. I would not hesitate to buy another.

get one for $40 and play with it. (I dont think you will ever go back)

 

[Welshman]

Do you happen to know what the lens reaction spec' is on either of them?

 

[jmanatee2]

I cant find the bigger lens one on Harbor freights web site anymore (bummer because I would buy another).

but from memory I think one is 1/16000 and the other is 1/20000 of a sec.

Both work great, flawless and I have had them for years.

 

[Welshman]

Thanks, that's a help.

 

[Scooby074]

Im one of the guys that gets itchy eyes from my friends cheaper helmets.

when i bought my AD helmet, i knew i couldnt use a Princess Auto (chinese) helmet so i bought a Miller Big Window Elite.

Ive been very happy with it. The reaction time is fast and sensitive enough for Tig, in the 1/20,000 second range. Its very easy on the eyes. Im not sure how much faith i'd put in the labeling of the chinese helmets, especially the claims of 1/60,000 sec.

Some guys have great luck with the cheapies, not me.

 

[Jay4200]

Evidently, the arc takes a fair amount of time to brighten up, so the non-filtered time is during a time of lesser brightness. I don't know what kind of time frame we are dealing with however.

I used a friend's HF $40 helmet for several welds and found I got a little 'sandy' eye irritation. It was very minor, however. The HF helmet is specified with a pretty good reaction times (1/25,000 sec, or 0.4mS), but I was still leery of the Chinese helmets, so I shopped for a "better" made in USA helmet with a faster reaction time.

I ended up buying a $175 Jackson Safety helmet - it had no reaction time spec in the marketing sheet, however, but I figured it was expensive so it HAD to be better. After I got it, I got a spec sheet from the company and to my amazement, the reaction time was specified at 1/2750 sec., or almost 4mS! I was afraid to use it, but did, and I didn't notice eye irritation.

I then bought a 1/30,000 specified Chinese special on Ebay for $35. I haven't used it much yet, so I don't know how it will work. The Jackson definitely has a more sensitive trigger, but is the $35 helmet REALLY 10 times as fast? I find that hard to believe.

The real question is, are the Chinese blatantly lying on their spec sheets, or are they really that good? Is reaction time not that important and is there something else at work here with the sandy eyeball complaints, or is it a case of placebo effect? I have an electronics lab at my disposal, someday I'm going to build up a test fixture and measure the actual reaction times of these things.

JayC

 

[grsthegreat]

I have the Jackson Halo series helmet. There kinda spendy, but i value my eyes. It has the large window and has settings for grinding, das torch and welding...i think 10 settings if i remember.
LARGE 13.2 square inch viewing area (3.41" x 3.87")
Versatile: 3N1 Weld, Grind, Cut mode
Sensitivity and delay adjustments
Variable shade 9-12
Two independent sensors
Amber view lens (in Grind Mode ONLY)
Intellisense technology for low amp tig
Mag lens adaptable
4x5 Cartridge fits Shadow and Halo X helmets
Operates on standard AAA batteries
Manufactured in the United States
Two year performance guarantee
At a full 13.2 square inches of viewing area, the Jackson BOSS has the largest viewing area of any auto-darkening welding lens in the world

or so they say hehe. but i do see alot of what im welding now.

 

[Little_Grizzly]

actually there is a good reason for slowing down the reaction time sometimes. The reaction time also applies to how fast the lens un-darkens. As many of you know, when you are doing those big welds the bead is still glowing white hot after the arc has gone away. Having the lens stay dark a bit longer is easier on the eyes. I've gotten in the habit of blinking my eyes just a moment before striking the arc. It's literally a blink of an eye..haha negates the time it takes to darken. YMMV

 

[deereman75]

I was looking in an old snap-on catalog from the mid 1990s, and their auto dark helmet had a darkening time of 1/2000 of a second! The new lincoln viking series helmets have a darkening time of 1/25000 of a second, almost 13 times as fast. (well snap-on also had a 40 amp plasma cutter that was the size of a lincoln idealarc, so things have improved quite a bit)