Auto darkening helmet

[R W]

Why is that?

The cost for a start, Have also heard reports of some being a little slow to
darken, I don't consider them a necessity for the majority of welding that I do, no doubt they would be usefull on certain jobs, have made out OK
for over 40 years without one.

[torker]

Have never owned one and have no intention of owning one.

My favourite...laying under a piece of machinery...holding a part that needs welded on with one hand..stinger in the other hand...Now I gotta try and flip this ol helmet down so I can weld...ooops...rod stuck...now I get to do it all over again.
No thanks! I'll stick with auto dark.

[gnm109]

The cost for a start, Have also heard reports of some being a little slow to
darken, I don't consider them a necessity for the majority of welding that I do, no doubt they would be usefull on certain jobs, have made out OK
for over 40 years without one.

Certainly, a good auto-darkening hood can be a considerable expense. On the other hand, they will last a long, long time if properly cared for.

If there are some that are slow to darken, they must be very inexpensive. I've got two of them. One was an add-on unit for a typical standard welding hood. That one has used the same batteries for the past ten years. The only problem with that one is that the viewing glass is too small. It still works perfectly although it's been retired to a shelf in my welding equipment cabinet for use only as a backup.

My regular auto-darkening hood is an 8 year old Speedglas. Both helmets are instantaneous in operation, down in the millisecond range. The Speedglasss has lots of adjustments for density and sensitivity. Since I started using the auto-darkening versions, I've not flashed my eyes once. With the larger viewing screen of the Speedglas, my welding has improved as well.

Let me be the first to say, however, that after 40 years without one, you certainly do not need an auto-darkening hood at this point.


.

[jacampb2]

I use an Optrel satellite here. It is roughly 8 years old. I love it, I have a miller ellite and a speedglass 9000 (?) that I bought new less than two years ago, and I never use them. The speedglass has cheesy head gear and flops around on me, and the elite has a lot of trouble dealing with radiated HF from HF tig.

The optrel satellite is excellent, however, it's cartridge will not last as long as you are hoping. About 6 years in, my cartridge quit working , After speaking with Optrel, I was notified that their cartridge life for the satellite is ~5 years. I was pissed. I bought the other two helmets in an effort to find something with replaceable batteries that performed as well. I was happy with none of them. I took the Optrel cartridge apart (destroyed it, as it was potted in epoxy) but I did find that it has two lithium watch cells in it-- Although they claim it uses no batteries, they should revise their data to say that it uses no replaceable batteries. Once the lithium cells are dead, there is not enough solar power to flip the shade until long after the arc starts. I called them again, and they ended up giving me a replacement cartridge. Word is, that they are working on a cartridge for the satelite that takes replaceable batteries.

Advise on keeping a satellite working as long as possible. Put it in a dark place while not in use, otherwise ambient light could cause the shade to change and wear down the batteries. There is no on/off switch.

IMO it is still the best helmet out there for the money. As far as I can find, it is the only helmet that allows an autodark shade down to din4. Most other autodarks go down that low, but they are fixed shade for grinding, I like a din 7 or so for most of my mig and low current tig. No other autodark I found allows a shade that low.

As for shades, and flashing, if the cartridge conforms to the current ANSI standard, then they are required to provide the same protection on all shades, regardless setting.

Later,
Jason

[featherhead]

I'm thrilled with my ArcOne. It's got the largest lens on the market and with magnifiers I can see everything. The first lens deteriorated or cracked somehow and they replaced it no questions.

[R W]

[QUOTE=torker..holding a part that needs welded on with one hand..stinger in the other hand...[/QUOTE]

I did say they would they would be useful on certain jobs and what you just mentioned is one of them.

[Rustybolt]

I've used Optrels for over 10 years now and wouldn't switch if my life depepnded on it. I bought the gurl a fancy new Miller helmet...thing is nothing but trouble. I'd never buy another.
Glasses...The only time they are a real pain is if you have to reach beyond the focus range (happens more than you think..when working on machinery).

Started out with a #10 lens, then went to HF autdarkening. I should have bought the optel at the outset. Huge difference. I've had it a year now and wouldn't trade it for anything.

[radkins]

Back years ago when these things first came on the scene I bought one of Jackson's first models, they still had a long way to go then compared to what they have now. Like anything new we knew little about them and naturally there was some concern about safety. These fears were totally unfounded however but now even after over 20 years on the market there still seems to be some concern about the safety and the fear that slow or faulty electrics could lead to eye damage. These things are probably safer than a conventional helmet because the electrics have nothing to do with eye protection and the lens offers 100% of it's rated UV and IR protection even in the lightened stage so a person will suffer no harm even if the lens fails to go dark. It can be somewhat un -nerving when the lens fails due to a blocked sensor or other reason but it is nothing to worry about, likewise a slow darkening lens may be slightly uncomfortable but it will not lead to flash burn. When we questioned Jackson about this they sent a rep out to explain the inner workings and as he put it if there was any way one of these things could harm your eyes the workman's comp and product liability lawyers would put them out of business PDQ!


I am fairly new to this site and this is my first post in the welding section so I hope you don't mind my jumping in.

[Errol]

Wayne 02, if your eyesight is starting to go from aging, then get one with a large window so you can still use your "nose" glasses. I finally had to put my optrel (small window) into retirement, because of having to use reading glasses, and now have the top of the line Jackson with large window and am quite happy with it after about 6 years of use. I would stay away from those cheap ($100) units, because they don't have proper range of "delay" adjustment. I tried a couple cheap units, but they just were just a waste of time, and without proper "delay", you will scorch your retinas when the white hot puddle suddenly becomes visible when the arc extinguishes. The Jackson is hard on batteries though, about two sets per year.

[radkins]

without proper "delay", you will scorch your retinas when the white hot puddle suddenly becomes visible when the arc extinguishes.

Sorry but I have to respectfully disagree since the electrics have nothing to do with protection from damaging rays and you will still have 100% of rated protection even if the lens fails to darken. Due to awkward positions while working in cramped spaces on mining equipment I have had my lens fail on many occasions because of blocked sensors, sometimes many times in one day, and never had any problems at all. This was a concern when we first started using these things but we were assured by the Jackson reps that it posed no hazard, after learning about how they work it was easy to understand why. Likewise the glowing puddle is no danger not only because the damaging rays are absorbed by the lens material but also due to the fact that the lens does not go completely light when it changes.

Here is an informative article on the subject
http://www.asashop.org/autoinc/jan2002/collision.htm