Visibility of the puddle Tig Al vs Tig SS

[MilGunsmith]

this light is brilliant. made specific for the helmet and powered by the adflo battery. frikin genious

Can you post info on the light? I have the same helmet with the PAPR.

 

[mikeylikesit]

you should of got a owners manual with the helmet which has a parts diagram and how to install the light. theres youtube videos how to install as well. can also dload manual from 3m site.

 

[mjk]

I'll sort of ask again
Is the additional light for prior/post arc strike?
I can't imagine a small light can add that much to the viewing area during welding

How does added hi intensity light affect auto darkening sensors?


I may have solved my initial question, as prior to the tig work I was doing a lot of mig running 045 attempting spray transfer on some structural steel. I had switched the setting from manual to auto which basically can give a potential #12 shade
This morning I switched it to manual mode and started with a 10 shade and the aluminum is now evan easier to see, hope to get back to the stainless next week

 

[Scottl]

Aluminum tig welding gives off a very bright arc. Stainless and steel have a much dimmer arc looking at it from under the hood perspective. It's basically the same as saying looking at the sun directly is alum welding and having sun glasses on is steel and stainless welding.


You may need to go down 1 shade for the steels compared to alum on your helmet.

Cheeter lenses work great from what everyone else says. I'm 40 so I need to start aging attention to this stuff.

I second the suggestion to add cheater lenses. They help older eyes see more detail. You might also want to add bright work light(s).

While I'm often annoyed by the limitations of older eyes I'm glad I live in an age where so many vision helpers are available at reasonable prices.

 

[mikeylikesit]

I'll sort of ask again
Is the additional light for prior/post arc strike?

helmet work lights are for prior to arc to see what your doing. maybe your working outside at night. morning before sun is up. back corner of a warehouse. poorly lighted garage. etc

 

[cyanidekid]

well... my supplemental lighting solution absolutely helps under all kinds of conditions and welding parameters... and it costs 30$ max...

 

[MilGunsmith]

you should of got a owners manual with the helmet which has a parts diagram and how to install the light. theres youtube videos how to install as well. can also dload manual from 3m site.

Thanks, I will talk to supply.

 

[guythatbrews]

if ya know how to weld ,ya know how to weld. if ya dont ,ya dont.
if your no good with brand x helmet ,you still wont be any good with brand z.
keep the front cover plate clean. use a fabric cover on the rear.
cheaters magnify like binoculars.
in low light you may need a drop light or some helmets have attached work light

Spoken like someone with no vision problems!

How about this statement instead: If you can't see the puddle clearly you can't weld.

I used to be that guy the old guys would ask to read the tiny print. Not no more.

I'm just getting back to welding after many years away. Now my old eyes wear trifocals. Before I could see exactly what I needed to see, and was frequently complimented on my welding.

Now it's very frustrating to see the puddle clearly in all positons. The reading part of the trifocal is not always in the right place. Cheaters will help I'm sure but I've not got one yet.

Surely there is a difference in quality between harbor freight and top line. I'm sure every little bit of additional optical clarity will help.

 

[mikeylikesit]

Spoken like someone with no vision problems!

How about this statement instead: If you can't see the puddle clearly you can't weld.

I used to be that guy the old guys would ask to read the tiny print. Not no more.

I'm just getting back to welding after many years away. Now my old eyes wear trifocals. Before I could see exactly what I needed to see, and was frequently complimented on my welding.

Now it's very frustrating to see the puddle clearly in all positons. The reading part of the trifocal is not always in the right place. Cheaters will help I'm sure but I've not got one yet.

Surely there is a difference in quality between harbor freight and top line. I'm sure every little bit of additional optical clarity will help.

if your eyes are bad then get proper prescription glasses. simple as that.
my point was this: if a person has to have brand x helmet in order to make a good weld ,they arent much of a welder. either you know how to weld or you dont.

 

[evil monkey]

I'll be the first to admit I am not a professional welder.
I do a few hours a week of mig w/steel with good results, in my past life I was involved in large vessel fabrication
I've had a Precision tig 225 for 18 years and up until 6 years ago was using it a few hours a week for aluminum and stainless (air cooled torch)
Any work I do is considered non critical or has any safety implications if failed.
Absence to tig was due to a variety of issues, but in the mean time I had picked up a Square wave tig 350 with water cooled system for a good price.
Within the last month have needed to weld some 304 SS similar to what I've welded in the past, decided to try the "new to me" machine with the water cooled torch
Along with my experience level I have 66 year old eyes. I seemed to have more of a problem seeing the puddle.
Not wanting to screw up the part, I decided to practice more.
I had bent up some aluminum trays 1/8" center sections with 1/2" end caps and decided instead of mechanically fastening I'd weld them to build up practice .
I see a huge difference with my seeing the puddle and surrounding area
using pure tungsten (green) with the aluminum
using 2% lanthanated tungsten (blue) with the SS

So should I see a difference in the puddle with the different metals, different tungsten and DC vs AC?

You may have glaucoma coupled with cataracts. I repaired boat props for years welding thin prop blades with a lincoln 300 air cooled torch with thumb .control . I have glaucoma and that killed my welding . I had lens replacement to fix the cataracts which helped but I still have a problem with the glare on the arc which hides the pudddle. You might try some poloraized sunglasses inside your hood , that will dampen the glare and make it easier to see the weld puddle . Gettn old is no fun ---at all

 

[mjk]

I'm actually on a "detached retina watch"
10 years ago after the eye doctor removed a small steel sliver in the surface of my eye she found a small issue that required bi yearly monitoring. Exam entails a light almost as bright as catching an arc strike as my eye lids are stretched wide open .
Fortunately cataracts are not an issue...yet, and ironically the spot being monitored which could lead to a detached retina has gotten better not worse.
And I have asked multiple times about welding affecting my eyesight as in my previous life as a welding inspector our shop had some guys that weren't considerate of others in the area. Only had maybe 3 bad sand storms at night, but no damage.
Whats it take to set a weld curtain up.....

I can see the puddle and surrounding 3-4"s around the puddle clearly welding aluminum
As I mentioned above, having my setting on auto (12 )when I should have been around 9 or maybe evan 8 with the SS is most likely the issue.
Hopefully next week I'll have time next week to confirm about the ss

 

[mikeylikesit]

Thanks, I will talk to supply.

theres other optional stuff for it in the manual. i got the hose cover and larger fabric head and neck cover. do you have the variable color filter or regular one ? i got the variable and like it alot.

 

[aribert]

.....2 - add a cloth light shield to the back side of your hood. I took some green welding cloth and attach it with Velcro to the top of my hood. It drapes down to my neck and stops all light from entering behind the hood.

3 - put a bright light on the area to be welded.

These three things were a great help to me as my eyes aged.

A while back I added a 150w exterior flood light over my welding table and a pair of swing arm lamps with LED floods on either side of the table. That created a bit of backlighting at times.

I'm a hack welder and a hack at sewing - so I combined both of my "skills". I extended my helmet over my head to reduce the amount of back light by sewing a piece of leather and snapping it to the helmet. To support the cover, I riveted a metal strip to my helmet so that the head gear easily clears the metal strip and prevents the leather cover from dragging on either the head gear or my helmet. First attempt was functional but butt ugly as seen in the Chicom auto dark helmet (with the cheater lens hot melted to the autodark lens - not popping loose again) Second attempt on the blue fixed shade helmet was a bit better looking. Only reason I chose leather was that I had plenty of leather available (I bought the left over hides, at auction, from the company that trimmed the Buick Bengal show car) and it has a bit of bulk/stiffness.

.

 

[just Dave]

I'm actually on a "detached retina watch"
10 years ago after the eye doctor removed a small steel sliver in the surface of my eye she found a small issue that required bi yearly monitoring. Exam entails a light almost as bright as catching an arc strike as my eye lids are stretched wide open .
Fortunately cataracts are not an issue...yet, and ironically the spot being monitored which could lead to a detached retina has gotten better not worse.
And I have asked multiple times about welding affecting my eyesight as in my previous life as a welding inspector our shop had some guys that weren't considerate of others in the area. Only had maybe 3 bad sand storms at night, but no damage.
Whats it take to set a weld curtain up.....

I can see the puddle and surrounding 3-4"s around the puddle clearly welding aluminum
As I mentioned above, having my setting on auto (12 )when I should have been around 9 or maybe evan 8 with the SS is most likely the issue.
Hopefully next week I'll have time next week to confirm about the ss

Make sure you aren’t seeing spot’s after welding. 10 is a minimum for arc welding,12 for silver metals.
Good luck

 

[mjk]

Make sure you aren’t seeing spot’s after welding. 10 is a minimum for arc welding,12 for silver metals.

what are you basing this on?

 

[just Dave]

I’m basing that on an old mans memory of text I read over the years. It has been a rule of thumb I have welded with for forty couple years without incident. Seeing spots is a common since sign of eye abuse.

 

[Halcyon]

The biggest factor in puddle size in AC is arc frequency and tungsten point.

I generally run 3/32 lanth tungsten sharpened to a 15° point, 120 to 400hz. I like 120 for anything 0.090-0.375" thick. Run higher freq for thinner stuff.

Square wave on aluminum is great. I don't bother with balled tungsten unless Im running very high amps and keeping a point isn't working.

 

[G-ManBart]

You've gotten a lot of good advice so far so I won't rehash everything. I would add to what others have said about Optrel. I've put an Optrel Crystal 2.0 next to quite a few other good hoods and it offers better clarity and light transmission. Put something like a Lincoln 3350 next to it and the difference isn't huge, but it's obvious. Put a Miller Digital Infinity next to it and it's a bigger difference. Compare any inexpensive shield and it can be a huge difference.

Second, pyrex cups make a really big difference in puddle visibility. People often talk about being able to see through the cup, and while that can be a benefit, it's not what I like the most. I've found that the arc reflects off the pyrex back onto the puddle and gives a much better view of the puddle. They aren't cheap, they can't handle high amperage for long periods of time and they break pretty easily (honestly, so do the pink cups) but they are really worth it from a visibility standpoint.

For SS where you want a lot of gas coverage I'd go straight to a gas lens setup with pyrex cups. I use a gas lens with pyrex cup as my go-to setup and only change when it's really necessary.

Lastly, I find adding light, especially from the side helps me see the puddle so it's not just pre-post arc where it helps. Heck, lay a flashlight on the table if you have to!

 

[mikeylikesit]

does nobody weld outside ? i bought the e684 and franky started to hate it more and more as time went on so i got rid of it. wasnt even usable outside as the sun trigger the sensors immediatly. adjustment knob orientation and location i didnt care much for either. rechargable battery ? ,no thanks i want no part of that.
the panoramax ive seen a few people say the thin center section of glass breaks.
not trying bash optrel but it seems theyre way over hyped if you ask me.
people convinced me to buy one before i knew any better. never again

 

[DrHook]

does nobody weld outside ? i bought the e684 and franky started to hate it more and more as time went on so i got rid of it. wasnt even usable outside as the sun trigger the sensors immediatly. adjustment knob orientation and location i didnt care much for either. rechargable battery ? ,no thanks i want no part of that.
the panoramax ive seen a few people say the thin center section of glass breaks.
not trying bash optrel but it seems theyre way over hyped if you ask me.
people convinced me to buy one before i knew any better. never again

When they first came out, all the "cool kids" had to have them- they were gonna save the welding world. I tested one and wasn't convinced it was worth 2-3 times most name brand hoods so I didn't buy one. When I got my current job, there was one here, and I tried to use it, as it was "free", but did not like the small size, heaviness (compared to my own) or electronics, especially if I had to step outside.
With this place, I could buy whatever I wanted, so I got something else. Test drive a bunch to find out what "fits" you- the brand alone won't make you a weldor, but if you cannot see or read the puddle, you won't be able to weld properly.