Welding Tips and Tricks

Hello all, recently purchased a auto darkening helmet on ebay. the batteries are chargeble by sunlight and also while welding. today was doing a little welding for a few secs. and I was seeing spots. the helmet was sitting in my garage for several days and it has been cold. would this be enough to drain the batteries? Thanks

What setting do you have your helmet set at? It sounds like your lens is not dark enough. I use a #10 setting on my Lincoln helmet. Also your delay maybe set to slow. I think your batteries are fine. You can check them with a volt meter.

May well be a case where the sensitivity is not set right, or the sensors are disrupted by background or ambient light. Are you sure your lens is darkening when the arc is struck?

Open garage doors with sunlight beaming in can wreak havoc with your sensors. Or your arm in the way of a sensor due to welding position. Lots of possibilities...

You don't say what the brand is, certainly cold weather can effect batteries, but if they were new, and a brand name they are probably ok. I have bought electronics that came with inexpensive chinese batteries that didn't last long, take a look.

burnttoast wrote:Hello all, recently purchased a auto darkening helmet on ebay. the batteries are chargeble by sunlight and also while welding. today was doing a little welding for a few secs. and I was seeing spots. the helmet was sitting in my garage for several days and it has been cold. would this be enough to drain the batteries? Thanks

Don't know your brand, but my Lincoln needs to see light every now now and again to work, also, don't remember offhand, but there is a minimum operating temperature

Thanks everyone for responding. It's not a brand name, but in the description it's suppose to be certified by CE and ANSIZ87 standards. I have it adjusted all the way to 13. all the other settings is set to the max for sensitivity and darkening response. sent a message to the ebay seller. hopefully he responds. in the meantime I'll just use my passive helmet. might have to invest in a brand name.

I bought a new helmet last year and got a flash every time. I checked the batteries and they were ok. Took it back and and the store swapped it for another and it works fine. Apparently just a factory defect.

If you end up getting another helmet, I'd act fast to save some $. There's probably all kinds of black friday, cyber monday deals on the web.

burnttoast wrote:Thanks everyone for responding. It's not a brand name, but in the description it's suppose to be certified by CE and ANSIZ87 standards. I have it adjusted all the way to 13. all the other settings is set to the max for sensitivity and darkening response. sent a message to the ebay seller. hopefully he responds. in the meantime I'll just use my passive helmet. might have to invest in a brand name.

Have you tried and welded with it at the lowest setting instead of the highest? I had the same problem with my cheap helmet when I got it despite having it on high I was seeing spots.

By chance I found that the lower I went on the shade setting, the more it darkened. Turns out the underpaid chinese worker putting it together must have crossed the wires to the potentiometer on the side of the helmet that sets the shade so the adjustment is reverse of normal.

it was a defective panel. the seller sent me a replacement lens and everything appears to be working ok. Thanks for everyone's advice.

I have a sale HF air chisel I bought 20 years ago for $10. Never worked worth spit. If you got it going it worked sort of as long as you didnt really try to do much. I got desperate one day and tore it open by screwing off the end cap. Sure enough must have been Monday at the gulag factory. They put the air vein in backwards. Works fine now and has for years .


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