Slow welding helmet response time

[orezok]

I was doing some welding in the cold this week and my HF auto dark helmet was experiencing slow response. I could see an initial flash before it darkened. Tried new batteries without any change. Switched to my old standard helmet to complete the job. Has anyone experienced slow response in cold temperatures or is it just time for a new one?

 

[vic4news]

Does yours have a adjustment for the delay? I set the delay to minimum on mine this week. I'm not sure why it was turned up a little.

Vic

 

[orezok]

No delay setting on mine.

 

[AlanB]

Vic, you sure yours has a time delay on it and not a shade setting?

I have not seen the one yet with an adjustable delay.

 

[ray66v]

Vic, you sure yours has a time delay on it and not a shade setting?

I have not seen the one yet with an adjustable delay.

Yeah, what would be the point of adjusting the delay anyway?

I think he means the sensitivity. Not exactly the same thing.

I'm not sure I would trust my eye sight to a H F welding helmet. There are some things worth paying more for.

 

[Dargo]

I was doing some welding in the cold this week and my HF auto dark helmet was experiencing slow response. I could see an initial flash before it darkened. Tried new batteries without any change. Switched to my old standard helmet to complete the job. Has anyone experienced slow response in cold temperatures or is it just time for a new one?

Yes, I've experienced that. I have a relatively high critical flicker frequency response (an old CRT monitor appeared to be flashing to me at anything less than 75mHz) and I could see the flash from the cheap HF welding helmets. Most people don't see the flash, but they are still getting flashed. I'm one of those people who put a very high price on my eyesight. After doing much research into the matter I found that there is absolutely no governing body that verifies the response times for HF welding hoods. To me, that mean that they can print any response time they want and 99% of the people will believe it as gospel. Since I could actually see the flash, I immediately pitched the $49 hood and bought me a much higher quality hood. So many guys here claim it's a waste of money to have a higher quality hood with considerably better electronics and response time since they haven't gone blind yet. Again, my vision is worth far more to me than saving a hundred bucks. I'll never use a HF auto darkening hood. You can get a far higher quality hood with positively faster response time for about $100 more. My only question is if $100 is enough money for you to risk your vision? Believe it or not, a lot of guys say that, yes, that's enough savings to gamble on their sight. Not me.

 

[vic4news]

Vic, you sure yours has a time delay on it and not a shade setting?

I have not seen the one yet with an adjustable delay.

My helmet has three controls. A shade setting, sensitivity, and delay. The sensitivity and delay knobs are on the inside of the helmet.

Vic

 

[Eagleview]

My ElCheapo auto helmet gives me sore eyes when i'm stitch welding with the mig . I can detect a flash before the lens darkens . It's going into the trash . I should have spent the extra dollars in the first instance , but i believed there would be a standard in place to ensure public safety .

 

[Scooby074]

Get rid of that HF helmet and get yourself a miller or any of the other major manufacturers models. I dont trust those cheap China helmets as far as i could throw them.

 

[2manyrocks]

In my opinion--get a known good helmet. Your eyes are too valuable to risk.

 

[mopacman]

I have a jackson helmet that has three settings. The time delay keeps it dark until the weld cools down so it wont be as bright. It has a sensitivity setting that makes it go dark with little light change. and a shade setting. It still gives protection when it goes light so I have a hard time seeing when it is dark around where I am welding.....Larry

 

[Lefty_Kubota]

In my opinion--get a known good helmet. Your eyes are too valuable to risk.

EXACTLY

 

[Taylortractornut]

There was a case study one time about this when the first name brand helmets came out that there was a 1/ 1000 th of a second the eyes were exposed to the flash. That caused minor irritation. They quickly corrected this. I just got my old wire welder out and tried a friends HF helmet and it gave me a good case of gravel eyes. I forgot what the coldness does to them but all the cheapies Ive seen get terribly slow when it gets cold.

 

[sandman2234]

I wonder if this might be a good place for everyone that has a good welding hood to actually name the manufacturer, so that the rest don't have to play trial and error games?
I have never purchased one of the automatic hoods, but own several, as my sister works for a major supplier of safety wear. I get welding stuff for birthdays and Christmas and whenever else I can talk her out of it,lol. Some of you guys might have some of their stuff, AO (American Optical)
We also have Jackson stuff listed by another poster, so who else makes the good stuff?
David from jax

 

[escavader]

Ive pretty well retired my hf auto darkening helmet.Have a heck of a time seeing my welding at night.I switched to a conventional helmet again[lincoln]with a large window.Inodd of the head it flips down in front of my face and im off to the races.Sometimes its nice just to go back to basics,and not deal with all the gismos
ALAN

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

I use a Speedglass 9000X. It is one of the higher priced helmets. But,you get what you pay for. I do a lot of tig welding and on thin material with low amps it still darkens instantly and doesn't flash on and off like the cheap helmets. I do have a older Jackson,non auto darkning, I keep in my service truck . It works fine for stick welding.
Bill

 

[Dargo]

I wonder if this might be a good place for everyone that has a good welding hood to actually name the manufacturer, so that the rest don't have to play trial and error games?

Uh, I got my post deleted and reprimanded the last time I suggested a brand name product. I was told that doing so was "advertising", and that is not allowed here. There are several very good quality brands available. I really like the one I bought, but I'm confident that I would have been just as happy with most any of the other reputable brands. I think the top end most expensive ones are around $250, but it doesn't take that much to get a really good quality AD hood. As I said earlier, I can't see (no pun intended) risking your eyesight just to save a hundred bucks. I figure that if you can't afford to protect your eyes properly, you can't afford to weld. I did just fine with the regular old hoods for years. They don't cost too much and you're not risking your eyesight with them. Still, I sure do like that fancy auto-darkening hood though.

 

[Scooby074]

I wonder if this might be a good place for everyone that has a good welding hood to actually name the manufacturer, so that the rest don't have to play trial and error games?

David from jax

Heres my helmet. Its a Miller Big Window Elite. I had it a couple years now.Its been very good. I like the large viewing area. You'll notice it lacks the Orange County Choppers Approved graphics

 

[sandman2234]

Hopefully my post won't be misconstrued as trying to advertise for the manufacturers of the different AutoDarkening lens. I was more concerned with the other members having to do a trial and error with the cheaper lens' and either not getting what they really need, or maybe not even realizing that their eyes were taking a beating when using the cheaper built ones. I don't mean the cheaper ones, just the cheaper built ones. I won't say somebody who sells one is putting out inferrior products, I just posted what works for me.
I have owned and used an AO Auto darkening lens since they first came out on the market, or shortly thereafter. The price on them was over $500 when I got my first one. That kind of money was an impossible mountain for a backyard beginning welder like me in the late 80's. One of them was worth more than all of my welding equipment total, so I treated it with loving care, and still cherish the memory of the trouble my sister went thru to get one for me.
My eyes are very sensitive to flash, and it doesn't take long for me to realize something is wrong with a lens. Hopefully each member posting good or bad results will have a good effect on the choice of hoods purchased in the future.
David from jax

 

[RichT]

Also use a Miller Big Window Elite. As noted, excellent viewing area and quality product. HIGHLY recommended. Batteries are easy to find (Radio Shack) and easy to replace. Very comfortable as well.