JMortensen Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 OK I stand corrected. When my first helmet flashed me I would see "The Dot" so I assumed it wasn't dark enough to really protect my eyes. Kinda like wearing sunglasses. I wouldn't stand around in a pair of shades watching someone mig weld all day even if it technically didn't injure my eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 well welding lenses are specially made to stop all UV light from coming through the lens...sunglasses offer minimal protection that is not good enough. The HF helmets are a shade 3 and darken within 1/25,000 of a second. After about a year my last HF helmet started flashing me in low amperage TIG so I got a new one and got the warranty. They last around a year of welding 15-20 hours a week. My current one is 4 months old and I have done stick horizontal, vertical, and overhead so the helmet is baked and has a few holes from serious globs of metal sitting on the plastic hood. It is a great price for what you get. you need at least a shade 8-9 if you are just watching MIG to be safe...better safe than sorry. Great $50 buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Speedyblue Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 OK then, does anyone have any input on auto darkening helmets that are available in Australia. I have seen them advertised, but haven't heard any feed back on them. I hate those cheap hand held things that come with mig welders. Ours didn't last very long before it was replaced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Look for Jackson or Optrel... I prefer Optrels for the most part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
260DET Posted April 13, 2006 Author Share Posted April 13, 2006 Just bought a Trade Tools own brand job for $79, its a full face helmet that also covers part of the top of your head, has adjustable bands etc. Seems OK, will give it a serious workout the next day or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeatrpi Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 So, the autodark screen you look through is actually an LCD. The solar cell on the front picks up high intensity photons from the welding arc, and triggers the helmet to apply a voltage bias to the LCD. The individual crystals in the LCD rotate, effectively blocking the arc from vision, in proportion to the amount of bias applied. The shade control is nothing more than a resistor- you can dial in the bias and set a maximum angle for the crystals- and change the shade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 what he said...that is why you don't want to drop your helmet too much...you could damage the LCD screen and then the darkening won't be even all the way across. It will be blotchy with spots of light and some spots dark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
260DET Posted April 17, 2006 Author Share Posted April 17, 2006 Have to say after using the AU Trade Tools auto darkening helmet that it does the job. Blocks reflections in most situations, the adjustable intensity works well and it enables you to position the handpiece tip right where you want it to get the weld started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Speedyblue Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 Cool. I've seen the ad's for them and have been wondering what they are like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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