Auto Darkening helmet is too dark

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I only have 2 cheap auto darkening helmets. Both work great except for the fact that even on the lightest setting they are to dark for me to see what I am welding. The arc is visible of course but I cant see in front of the arc enough to see the path I need to weld so I end up straying off course.The question I have is will a good welding helmet be any lighter to allow me to see what I am doing.
Reply:The cheap hoods (to me) just don't show much detail. Even with higher amperage, you can't see the puddle or the joint very well. It makes the arc dark enough but it makes everything around it too dark. No idea why they seem to do that. When I bought my Miller Digital Elite, it made a huge difference. Even though I can see fine with my Miller I still use a passive lens (glass) when I want to see even better, usually when I'm stick welding.Airco Ac/Dc 300 HeliwelderMillerMatic 200 (stolen)Miller Maxstar 150STLMiller AEAD200LE (welding and generating power) Hobart MIG
Reply:I am glad that you asked that question,  been tring to come up with a way to inquire about the same thing.  I have used several grades and manufactures with same result.  Most all of the work I do is inside and just can't seem to see the weld well enough to keep it going in a straight line either   thanks for asking for both of us   Clifton
Reply:Make shure all of your lenses are clean. Try a new cover plate.
Reply:Originally Posted by cnichI am glad that you asked that question,  been tring to come up with a way to inquire about the same thing.  I have used several grades and manufactures with same result.  Most all of the work I do is inside and just can't seem to see the weld well enough to keep it going in a straight line either   thanks for asking for both of us   Clifton
Reply:I have a not quite top of the line Miller. TIG welding I use it at 13, stick I might get down to 9. I'm older now so I find a cheater lens helps. With good light I rarely use cheater glasses, as it gets darker, I'll use 1.25. I find welding I need more power, I get pretty close, it's dark. A 1.00 cheater lens, together with 1.00 reading glasses works well. Vision correction is more important in the hood. I once ran a very respectable uphill weave cover pass with 7018 1/2" right of the joint. With two sons and a few others around I don't claim on my tax forms I won't soon live that one down!
Reply:I too have a problem seeing clearly with AD hoods. My solution is to just use a passive #10 gold plated lens and a #2 cheater. Passive hoods are cheap and may help you figure out what is going on.Weld like a "WELDOR", not a wel-"DERR" MillerDynasty700DX,Dynasty350DX4ea,Dynasty200DX,Li  ncolnSW200-2ea.,MillerMatic350P,MillerMatic200w/spoolgun,MKCobraMig260,Lincoln SP-170T,PlasmaCam/Hypertherm1250,HFProTig2ea,MigMax1ea.
Reply:Soapstone lines on your work can help you see where you are going. You can either put a line where the bead needs to go or put one along side of where you will be welding. If along side all you have to remember is how far to the right or left of the line that the bead needs to be. If welding on top of the soapstone line the heat of the weld will burn the line off just ahead of your puddle.If your hood is letting in any back light it can seriously affect what you see through the lens of the hood. Pull an oversize hoodie over your head or somehow put a jacket or towel over your head and the back of the hood to block the back light from getting in. It gets hot in there when you do this, but you should be able to see what you are welding much better. A very bright light shining on your work area but not from behind you will help too.I frequently use one or more of these when I can't see to weld, but use them less often since I bought a Miller Digital Elite hood.CharleyMiller MM252Miller Bobcat 225NTMiller DialArc HF / DIY Cooler2 Victor O/A TorchsetsMilwaukee 8" Metal SawMilwaukee Dry Cut "Chop" Saw 5 Ton Wallace Gantry Various Grinders, Benders, etc.
Reply:It makes the arc dark enough but it makes everything around it too dark.
Reply:Try cheater reading glasses and something to block light from entering the back of the helmet first.  The same problem is what told me the need for a cheater was at hand.  Couldn't figure it out.  When you get older, your lens can't adjust for near vision any longer, so your iris will try to constrict to make your pupil smaller.  This will compensate to some degree.  In low light conditions, this constriction causes less light to enter your eye and hence, less hits the retina.  Use a cheater and your pupil will dilate more and fix the issue. I'm betting you're over 40....
Reply:Yes I am 46  . I will try some of the things you guys suggested. Thanks for your feedback.
Reply:Get your eyes checked too.  You're the right age for starting to use cheaters in the hood.I had the same problem - hood too dark.  Got worse over a couple years - needed more light to see.Turned out I needed cheaters (age 43) - problem solved Here is the link to when I asked the same question: http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php...only-blind-oneBy the way, when I was younger I didn't notice, but now it's very apparent to me that a good fixed shade is clearer than an AD.My 16 year old son says there is not difference for him....but he also can't see to weld through my cheater lens.Last edited by MinnesotaDave; 04-21-2014 at 02:23 PM.Dave J.Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~ Syncro 350Invertec v250-sThermal Arc 161 and 300MM210DialarcTried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
Reply:I pop a +2.00 into the helmet only when I do small stainless, say under .065", but I have the opposite problem as the OP.My miller Elite is too bright even at 13 for shiny steels and aluminum at >120A GTAW.Also once every 200 arc strikes it goes to about shade 50 and I can barely see anything. I just stop and restrike, just wondering if anyone else has had that happen?SqWave 200Millermatic 190Airco 200 ACHypertherm PM45Boice-Crane Band SawVictor O/A
Reply:You guys are making me feel old.   I use cheater lenses or reading glasses when I weld and I'm not 40 yet...  I had to clamp a towel over the top of my speedglass the other day because I had alot of background light glare on the inside.   I also put the side covers in.  Just ordered the top clip on cover for it, should be in this week.  I should mention that I have pretty good lighting in my shop,  I have 6 HID flood lights over my welding table at different angles and it helps a ton.
Reply:I store a lot of trivia in my brain. I rarely remember where I heard, or read it. I think it was good authority, tempered with my less than accurate memory. The human eye needs 60% more light at age 65 as it did at 20. Couple that with the fact that close up vision is accomplished with muscles tensing to shape the eye. As we get older these muscles relax and are less able to bring the eye into focus. By 60 most of us need a seeing eye dog. I have found at Ocean State Job Lots a Chinese junk shop, reading glasses I like at 2.99 a pair. They come in an oval tube, have a narrow lens I can look over the top of for far vision. I get about ten pair at a time in a variety of diopters for varying distance. Digging a sliver out of my hand; 1.75, computer; 1.00, checking my wife's hair for lice; 2.00(she teaches first grade). For welding I like 1.00 glasses & 1.00 or 1.25 cheater in the hood. You need to be OCD about clean lenses. Keep spare covers on hand.Oh, and I don't even try to use fixed hoods cause the young people around here use them and they are invariably coated with so much smuts it's like seeing through peanut butter. Young people use these not seeming to notice you can't see through them.Last edited by Willie B; 04-21-2014 at 09:02 PM.
Reply:@ 737 - on Earth, are you welding all indoors and both indoors and outdoors? ADFs are substandard lids for exterior work, IMO.  You should test drive a FiberMetal Pipiner w/ ratcheted headgear.  Install a Phillips Safety Product's athermal Au-coated lense (glass), an external cover plate (glass or plastic), and an internal a cheater (plastic) and you'll be GTG.  Light, tight, and exacting.  For extra credit, mod the helmet with a Sellstrom FlipFront lense and you be set for grinding action.  $55 + $20.  Now using Pipeliners exclusively for all process.   Don't see the draw for a high-speed, low-drag, ADF.Last edited by ManoKai; 04-21-2014 at 09:37 PM."Discovery is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought" - Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
Reply:To be honest I always hated fixed dark helmets, but I now believe the fact I hadn't discovered a good head gear would have made a big difference.
Reply:My problem is that using a fixed or ADL #9 is just to dark for me to see the weld and yes I have made some great looking welds only the completely missed the joint.  Has anyone used lenses in the #8 range for welding or less for welding.  As stated above old eyes need more light and I can understand (67 years old)  but to me the helmets just keep getting darker.  also in my case due to corrective eye surgery my vision is good for my age just can't seem to see where to drive the  bus.  thank you all for taking the time to reply and if you invite me weld with you don't get too mad if I weld the work to the table just too dark to see.  Clifton
Reply:I too have this problem, (50 years old). Do any of the new helmets have an adjustment setting for the darkness of the lens?I don't know if I am putting this right. I know they "flash" at different levels. Forgive my noobness!
Reply:My speedglass has a #5 and #8 setting.Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
Reply:I hope some knowledgeable person will weigh in about UV protection at low settings. I don't know, but worry about doing long term damage at low settings. I figure many years of using a 10 shade fixed lens I don't have cataracts. Probably that's OK.
Reply:Make sure the scratch protector film has been removed. Don't ask why I mention this.
Reply:The lenses stop just as much uv on the lightest setting as the darkest.If the lens does not darken at all it is just hellish bright, but no flash damage.