Proper Lens Shade for Flux Core?

I just bought a cheap 110V wirefeed welder. I had never used one before, but have a couple of old stick welders.

The problem I am having with the wirefeed unit is that I can't see the puddle as well as when using a stick welder. In fact, I pretty much can't see it at all, and end up running a bead a half inch away from the joint 50% of the time.

I have a #10 lens in my helmet. Could I use a #9 safely? This unit runs max current of 75A.

Any other tips on how to actually see what I'm doing would be helpful, too...

Its very low amperage and shouldn't be a problem at all.

The most important thing is that its a good quality lens that blocks all the harmful rays. When welding with a shade that is too low your eyes will hurt but if the lens is blocking all harmful rays. Your eyes will only hurt because of the brightness as they can't adjust to it. I don't think it does permanent damage although it would cause headaches and such, which is to be avoided.


Other things to help you see better. Keep the lens clean of course. Turn down the lights around you. Mostly lights behind you. Some people say the gold color lens help. I don't use a solid shade helmet so I don't know from experience. I use a Speedglas 9002x, amazing helmet. A problem I found with other helmets I tried is that all I could see was the arc and the puddle. With the speedglass you can usualy see everything in the viewing area of the lens so you know where you're going and you can see things before you get there.

All Glass & Dark plastic lens products sold for welding filter out UV rays. that is the stuff that burns up eyes. The UV filter is incorporated into the glass. The shade is reqired for comfort. If you are welding at 600 amps you of course want a Dark shield or you will see spots for days and be subjected to some discomfort as well! But while low amp Tig welding a 6 or 7 sheild is sometimes perfered to allow you to see what you are doing.

Most low amp Mig welding I do I use shade no 9. it allows me to see well enough to follow the seam to be welded & still be able to see normally afterwards.

I use a 5 shade for cutting torch work. No discomfort and I can see the work. On low amp mig I use a 9 shade because thats the low on my hood but I think I would prefer about 7 or 8. No problems with it. One idea is to get all the shades mentioned and see what suits you.

Thanks for the suggestions.

My lens is in need of replacement anyway, so I'll pick up an assortment. I did not realize that the shade selection is more of a comfort factor than a safety issue.

I've never been bothered using the 10 shade, so I will try something lighter.

One of these days I'll buy an auto-darkening helmet, and will definitely look at the Speedglas models.

Wilbilt,
Don't be mislead about the shade. Having the proper shade helps prevent damage too. Too much light in the eys can cause damage to your eyes as well. That is why they recommend certain shades for a specific amperage range.

Perhaps a Google Search would bring results or documentation on the effects of welding flash & UV Light damage. I am no expert by any stretch of the imagination on the subject. But I have read things about it in the past. It might do us all good to read up on welding saftey again. Maybe later tonight I will see if I can dig up some litrature on the subject. I have a bookcase shelf devoted to welding related material. (I have a full schedule lately I.E. SWMBO has a honey do list I have been ignoring. So I may not get a chance to get it done. But I will try)

Thanks, Warren.

I did find some tables online documenting recommended shades for various processes. In the low-amperage range, minimum required shade was listed as 8. The recommended shade was a 10 "for comfort".

I'll try a 9 first and see if it helps. Simply replacing my extremely pitted existing lens might do the trick...

edit: The only welding book I have was published in 1921, but I promise I'll read up on the safety chapter!

I went to a Gold 9 shade for the same reasons. The gold lens lets you see much better than with a regular lens and leans on the reflective quality of the gold film to keep the bad stuff out. A 9 gold side by side with a 9 regular lens is pretty dramatic for increased visability.

I use a gold #10 with 1.75 cheater lens. Over 40 eyes. Also try to keep as far away from weld as possible out of smoke. Problem with gold is if you scratch the plating throw them out.

Good lens

Shoot1000 said:

I use a gold #10 with 1.75 cheater lens. Over 40 eyes. Also try to keep as far away from weld as possible out of smoke. Problem with gold is if you scratch the plating throw them out.

Click to expand...

Very hard to scratch the gold lens as there is a protective lens in front of the lenses.

badbrad1961 said:

Very hard to scratch the gold lens as there is a protective lens in front of the lenses.

Click to expand...

Gold lens went out years ago, and the Op asked qty (13) years ago.

Since that time the market has been flooded with cheap instant darkening helmets
with a handy dandy leetle dial on the side to fine tune the shade.

So exactly why did you dredge up a 13 year old post ?