Northern tool Welding helmet puked.

k0ua · Sep 15, 2016

My Northern tool welding helmet has not been used in over a year and stored in the dark. So I take it out to use it and guess what? It doesnt darken any longer. No amount of leaving it in the sun is going to fix it as the solar assist is just that an assist to make the life of the two CR2335 lithium button cells last longer.. After I got the module out of the helmet and pried apart with my Spyderco knife (no easy task), Naturally they are solder in (not that I can't handle that, but really now much would it have cost to put in some simple holders and a couple of CR2032 which are available everywhere?.. Don't you just love engineers and bean counters?... " fix it so we can save 3 yen on every helmet Mr. Miyagi" jeez.. Now I have to hunt for the batteries and install them.. More to follow.

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dickfoster · Sep 15, 2016

k0ua said:
My Northern tool welding helmet has not been used in over a year and stored in the dark. So I take it out to use it and guess what? It doesnt darken any longer. No amount of leaving it in the sun is going to fix it as the solar assist is just that an assist to make the life of the two CR2335 lithium button cells last longer.. After I got the module out of the helmet and pried apart with my Spyderco knife (no easy task), Naturally they are solder in (not that I can't handle that, but really now much would it have cost to put in some simple holders and a couple of CR2032 which are available everywhere?.. Don't you just love engineers and bean counters?... " fix it so we can save 3 yen on every helmet Mr. Miyagi" jeez.. Now I have to hunt for the batteries and install them.. More to follow.

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Yeah I have a guitar amp like that. It's a 3Volt cell. I tell people to replace the stinking thing with a battery holder and common AAA lithium batteries. To keep the batteries from shaking loose just tape them in the holder. Solder the wires from the holder to where the battery soldered in. 3V is 3V.
Energizer Ultimate Lithium | Best Batteries
These are 1.5V so you'll need two and a battery holder for two AAA cells.

CADplans · Sep 15, 2016

I purchased my auto helmet ~2001,, and used it today,,, it STILL functions.

Probably, they expect the batteries to outlast the rest of the devise??
I might get a new one,, because I am tired of looking at the same flame design for so many years,,,

:laughing:

NA!!,, I will run it until it quits,,,, :thumbsup:

George2615 · Sep 15, 2016

I recently bought a new helmet from HF for the same reason. I'm going on 10 years on my other HF helmet and figure that it will fail when I'm in the middle of a job and I haven't used my flip down helmet in so long I forgot where I put it.

k0ua · Sep 15, 2016

George2615 said:
I recently bought a new helmet from HF for the same reason. I'm going on 10 years on my other HF helmet and figure that it will fail when I'm in the middle of a job and I haven't used my flip down helmet in so long I forgot where I put it.

Fortunately I still had my old Jackson autodarking one. And I still have some old "flipper" too. So I wasn't out of the welding business. Of course the batteries were dead in the Jackson too, but at least they were AAA's and easy to replace.

hutchman · Sep 15, 2016

k0ua said:
Fortunately I still had my old Jackson autodarking one. And I still have some old "flipper" too. So I wasn't out of the welding business. Of course the batteries were dead in the Jackson too, but at least they were AAA's and easy to replace.

In the HF stuff that doesn't suck thread ... aczlan recently posted a link where you can get replacement guts for cheap (like $14 if memory serves me right - but don't count on that .. been screwing up lately) and it takes replaceable batteries so it's fixed for good!

hutchman · Sep 15, 2016

Found it. Check this out:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...-tools-dont-suck-post4528137.html#post4528137

... on sale for $12.36!

k0ua · Sep 16, 2016

hutchman said:
Found it. Check this out:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...-tools-dont-suck-post4528137.html#post4528137

... on sale for $12.36!

Thanks for the link If I don't get this one going I will just order those guts.

hutchman · Sep 16, 2016

k0ua said:
Thanks for the link If I don't get this one going I will just order those guts.

A few posts prior to the one aczlan did, I posted some links to hack/fix these type of helments. Probably not worth it though if the replacement for $12+ works!