Welding Helmet PSA

Bart

Treehouser
Joined
Jan 6, 2020
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Hi guys,
I've got a decent helmet Miller Elite X mode and all that good stuff and its been a faithful cohort for a number of years but it let me down the other day. I was doing about 100A mig and thought something seemed off, couldn't put my finger on it. Then I noticed the weld pool seemed bright, chalked it up to oh well until it got real bright. That is measured in seconds when you're concentrating on the weld not other things that might occur incidentally. So I stop, helmet has indeed turned off. I jiggle it, take it out in the sun for a closer look and lo it reboots, probably solar charges. In the early days there was an issue that you had to use only Sanyo batteries to fit right, but then common lore became the other brands were ok too. So I think, ok, the batteries needed a jiggle its ok now. Wrong!!!! Even though the control display powered and stayed right before and after the weld, I definitely got flashed excessively. Then the helmet actually stayed shut down. Pull the batteries and they were less than 3V by a good margin.

So the impetus for the PSA is the flash effects took me out for a day, sand in the eyes feeling, light sensitivity and spasms in the eye. here effects peaked almost a day after the flashing. And it seemed like the helmet was ok, in question only for a time measured in seconds. Supposedly there should be no permanent effects.



And on a different note maybe mig guys could comment. I find a huge difference in deposition between CO2 and 75/25 ArgonCO2. I have to roll back the wire feed on mix gas. Yet, paradoxically, I can manage thin crap metal on the CO2 without the deposition advantage. ?

take care
 
Vicks vapor rub on the eyelids, followed by several shots, seriously :lol: sounds crazy but it works, also remove your contacts if you haven't already. I would recommend using the search function to look up several welding threads, including one where i talk about baby migs (not a fan). Not sure i understand your question, no one uses straight co2 for mig, dual shield yes (i think in limited applications) but actually welding mig no. You need to forget about deposition with mig that cold and worry much more about penetration.
 
The younger crowd laughs at me but I refuse to use an auto darkening hood. My ol school filter has never let me down. My eyes my choice.
I've wondered about a combination of both, so you can still see just good enough, with a thin safety layer, but still have extra auto darkening.
 
I get it. However, auto dark hoods only allow visible spectrum light through. They are always opaque to infrared and ultraviolet light.
 
So are you saying that welding produces invisible light spectrum wavelengths that can be injurious.... That simply dark filters don't control those invisible wavelengths. Total Noob here just asking what I think is being stated.
 
Any light energy near the visible spectrum, if powerful enough, can be damaging. Lasers are a good example because they have great energy density even at relatively low powers compared to no coherent unfocused light. They have high powered IR lasers that are invisible, but can still burn through metal AND cause blindness. IR also penetrates well through a lot of things before getting absorbed while UV doesn't penetrate as deeply, but can deliver more energy or something because of the short wavelength.
 
I'm with Bob. I don't weld, and haven't worn a hood of any kind, but for something like that, I like the reliability of old school analog. All it requires is basic sight to know if it'll work.
 
I go back and forth depending on what I'm doing. Mainly non auto tho. I got a singles in now on my pancake, it's ok, but for clarity a very good non auto is where it's at. I used to run the Lincoln super visibility lens, but now i run the aulektro blue ones. About 30 bucks, but worth every penny, it's like going from sd to 4kuhd tv. Since it's blue it allows you to see right through the smoke like it's not even there. A pancake will allow you to see while not welding in well lit work areas too, so it kinda negates the need a bit. If you can't tell, i really like pancake hoods, they aren't kidding when they say once you try one you never go back
 
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  • #12
Post analysis - it took about a week for all the scratchiness to completely go away, but all is good. Machine is a neat Hobart with onboard batteries so you can completely remote for a short burst, but also run plugged in to 115V - get this - low current crap plug 100 ft cord if required - as it recharges between trigger pulls. In the old days 80's90's just CO2 was pretty normal. Mixed gas is much sweeter.

Kyle, you ever get to dabble in spray mode? Seems almost voodoo. Oxygen in the mix. ? ok, if they say so.
 
Spray mode is the only mode to be in, anything else and penetration becomes an issue. Short circuit mig is actually banned in structural codes because of that. Stick welding is honestly better and faster until you are hitting over 200-250 amps, which is just starting to get into spray depending on your wire size. For that reason and others, i recommend stick welding for people doing it at home, unless you are doing sheet metal under .125 inch.

I'm a steamfitter by trade, so I've done a ton of welding in about every process out there, and welded production a few years before i got in. I've run literally tons of wire, in fact at cat we would go through a 1000 pound drum of both .052 hard wire and 3/32 (.094) dual shield a week (3 shifts, so each guy is burning roughly 130 pounds a shift). Triple pass with the hard wire was considered tacked, and then they were capped using dual shield to 1.5 inch fillet welds.

On carbon pipe i was usually about a 45 pound spool of .045 hard wire a day if we were really banging out a job, which is usually right around a semi truck of pipe spools. You don't get that much done unless you are putting roots in on globular transfer, and filling/ capping on spray. A 4 inch sch 40 pipe weld on a positioner used to take just over a minute to weld, 2 passes, and would be glowing orange for 3/4 of the weld.

The oxygen trimix is nice, that is what i prefer on pipe. Kinda smooths things out that much more, but the product has to be worth the extra cost, and pipe is. 90/10 is the standard for production stuff, you need 90 percent argon to truly hit spray, and 75/25 for dual shield. If all you have is the smaller mig, i would only run 75/25, and only do non critical flat position stuff with it. Get a cheap stick welder, learn to run cellulose rods, and then the world is your oyster because you will now be able to do welds in position, not have to have everything completely clean, and can repair stuff that can't be cleaned.
 
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You, sir, are a welder. Hats off to you. I started HF no pedal tig on aluminum, then tig on steel generally smaller finer work, borrowed a mini mig for some auto body work and later got my mig 180 A. As opposed to beefing big stuff together I tend to dance with not blowing through small stuff. I welded some auxiliary aluminum gas tanks for my dirt bike that were 0.062 wall if I recall correctly and maybe some 0.045 mixed in. These days I weld as required, non critical stuff only. I always find myself welding at random positions, even overhead and it's quite the luxury to have gravity as your friend. My style is certifiably uncertifiable. Get the word play :)

take care
 
I was welding on a boat dock for my sister in laws boy friends cabin. .035 flux core vert up 16ga and some over head. Boy that was no fun.
 
Dual shield or inner shield? I haven't run much inner shield, but dual shield you can actually run pretty hot uphill and it will weld just like it's flat. Slight weave to steady everything when running small beads (controlling movement is easier than controlling no movement), and live in the corners when weaving. Like sex, if you take care of the sides the middle takes care of itself lol. Overhead the same, i had an old boilermaker for a welding teacher who used to say don't be afraid of the steel. Took me awhile, but honestly he's right. On overhead turn it up, ideally don't stand directly in the fire, and let it eat. Just don't try to carry too much metal, that's the number one error people do (myself included). Also remember with any mig process the wire feed controls the heat, and the voltage controls the spread (inductance fine tunes it, but thats more than most need to mess with).

I used to do food grade sch 5 stainless work fairly often, i feel you on the difficulty of doing thin stuff too. No foot pedal usually, you just go faster to be colder lol. Not my favorite type of work for sure. I also used to do a bunch of alloy stuff, often in a mirror, but it's been a few years thankfully :lol:
 
I probably understand 20% of what y'all say...but I still keep reading it...and love it. I think my percentage osmotic absorption/exposure rate may be slowly getting better. Not good enough I can actually do any useful welding...but I know some of the lingo. I can certainly get in trouble now.
 
I probably understand 20% of what y'all say...but I still keep reading it...and love it. I think my percentage osmotic absorption/exposure rate may be slowly getting better. Not good enough I can actually do any useful welding...but I know some of the lingo. I can certainly get in trouble now.
I'd be willing to bet that you can weld if you tried. And with practice you'd be golden.
 
Welding is a thing that once you get it you never forget it .You might get a little rusty but it comes back quickly . I don't own either a TIG or MIG but I really have no need of one .In just general repair of steel or cast iron or fabrication I have enough stuff to handle it .I don't use an auto darkening but have switched to the larger window hoods in recent years .When I was younger I used number 12 lens but as I grew older I can see much better with a 10 lens these days.
I've got two gasoline portable machines SA 200 Lincoln and 250 Hobart mainliner special .Two buzz boxes,1940 vintage movable core 250 amp Lincoln and Marquette 200 from the same vintage .Also a 400 amp Westinghouse DC rectifier I rewired for single phase with a double Pi type filter to remove the ripple.smooth as silk .I think 4 sets of torches with tips from 00 to number 12 for welding and cutting I've burned up to 2" plate .I certainly don't need any more welding equipment .I have one welder here at the house and one set of torches.The rest are at my shop which is 22 miles away .
 
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