Welding helmet protection

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My not very old Miller helmet flashed me tonight. I cleaned the batteries with acetone and polished. Now it's all good. It did plant a seed of thought. I've heard it both ways. If an auto darkening helmet is set lighter shade, does it provide less protection? The Radnor catalog says it does not.
Reply:An AD hood provides the same protection to your eyes no matter what shade is selected, even if in its light shade.Airco Ac/Dc 300 HeliwelderMillerMatic 200 (stolen)Miller Maxstar 150STLMiller AEAD200LE (welding and generating power) Hobart MIG
Reply:Originally Posted by SquirmyPugAn AD hood provides the same protection to your eyes no matter what shade is selected, even if in its light shade.
Reply:Well, here's the difference.  Get flashed without a hood, and your eyes are damaged to some extent or another.The UV and IR does not initiate the blink response.  Visible light does, but the light from welding is so bright, that you cannot blink fast enough to not get flashed.With an AD hood, the UV and IR are filtered out.  The visible may or may not be more or less (depending on the setting / battery condition).  Yes, if you force yourself to stare at a welding arc with an AD set to shade 5 it can still be bright enough to hurt you.  Visible light can still do damage.  But it won't be as long lasting, and anyway you've got seconds to look away and fix your shade before anything bad happens.You wouldn't stare up a the sun either?  The point is, with an AD, if the brightness is comfortable, you're safe.  If it appears uncomfortably bright, you've got enough time to realize that and rectify the situation before you get hurt.
Reply:Good to know, my eye doctor once told me clear window glass filters 90 something percent of UV,(I don't remember if he specified UVA) Good sunglasses are only a tiny bit more protection than cheap. Uncertain what I should interpret from that, I have been setting my hood darker than I would otherwise choose. I have been known to run a nice vertical weave about 1/2" away from the joint!
Reply:Originally Posted by MikeGyverSo running shade 5 won't hurt your eyes when high current mig welding in spray mode for example? ... you'll still be staring at a way to bright light and your eyes will hurt like hell afterwards. It might filter out UV and IR, but extremely bright visible light is still very dangerous.
Reply:Originally Posted by SquirmyPugIf you're dumb enough to stare at a really bright light long enough to damage your eyes, you deserve to be blind anyway
Reply:Originally Posted by Willie B I have been known to run a nice vertical weave about 1/2" away from the joint!