TIG arc flashes up too bright to look at.

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Let me first start off by saying this, I only have 200#'s of argon in my bottle. My torch will weld OK for a sec and then it flashis up so bright that I cant even see the weld pool. I tried bumping up the gas a little and it actually seemed to improve a little but eventually flashes up again. I also have reground a few peices of tungsten thinking that it may be a contaminated elctrode also. I have also went over the connections & ground checking for a loose connection but everything looks to be OK. Any suggestions?Really old (&faithful) Lincoln SA-250 Diesel, &Longevity 200P
Reply:What kind of helmet?  My Speedglass kick out every once in a while if I accidentally cover up one of the photo sensors giving the impression of a really bright welding flash.www.lindgrensupercars.comMiller Dynasty 350Miller Dynasty 200DX - retiredMiller Millermatic 210Miller Spectrum 3080Miller "Power of Blue" stool  Miller Syncrowave 180SD - retired
Reply:Originally Posted by kjlindgrWhat kind of helmet?  My Speedglass kick out every once in a while if I accidentally cover up one of the photo sensors giving the impression of a really bright welding flash.
Reply:Let me guess.  It was the full view battery version.  I have one I bought, had it for quite a while before I used it.  It was on sale so I stored it. One day I decided to pull it out and it did the same thing. I have tried it multiple time since.  It flares up and the LCD darkening wipes out of that area.  Around the light point, all remains dark.  Too late for  me the warranty ran out.I went back to my hf solar. It is half melted from too much spraying with my mig.  It still works perfectly, although it is severely warped. Take yours back if it still has a warranty.  It may be a loose connection or a problem elsewhere.Esab Migmaster 250Lincoln SA 200Lincoln Ranger 8Smith Oxy Fuel setupEverlast PowerPlasma 80Everlast Power iMIG 160Everlast Power iMIG 205 Everlast Power iMIG 140EEverlast PowerARC 300Everlast PowerARC 140STEverlast PowerTIG 255EXT
Reply:Originally Posted by lugweldLet me guess.  It was the full view battery version.  I have one I bought, had it for quite a while before I used it.  It was on sale so I stored it. One day I decided to pull it out and it did the same thing. I have tried it multiple time since.  It flares up and the LCD darkening wipes out of that area.  Around the light point, all remains dark.  Too late for  me the warranty ran out.I went back to my hf solar. It is half melted from too much spraying with my mig.  It still works perfectly, although it is severely warped. Take yours back if it still has a warranty.  It may be a loose connection or a problem elsewhere.
Reply:I have had the same problem.  It is always for one of two reasons.  Either I shaded the eye or the battery needs to be recharged.  I put mine in the sun for a little while and it works like a champ again.Rene
Reply:Originally Posted by zerepenerI have had the same problem.  It is always for one of two reasons.  Either I shaded the eye or the battery needs to be recharged.  I put mine in the sun for a little while and it works like a champ again.Rene
Reply:I have had 2 of the chicago electric hoods. One (plainest one they had) would flicker when tig welding. It had been dropped over 20 foot a coiuple of times. I gave it to a structural welder last year.The other has the blue flames. I have used it for about a year around the house. It works down to 20 amps or so. Anything above that and it always functions. Each was $49.99 so I am not to disappinted if it gets crushed on the job or the dog chews it up (happened to one I left laying out once)I had a hobart before that. Not only would it not tig weld, half of the lens was darker than the other half.Have a nice dayhttp://www.weldingdata.com/
Reply:Originally Posted by gaustinI have had 2 of the chicago electric hoods. One (plainest one they had) would flicker when tig welding. It had been dropped over 20 foot a coiuple of times. I gave it to a structural welder last year.The other has the blue flames. I have used it for about a year around the house. It works down to 20 amps or so. Anything above that and it always functions. Each was $49.99 so I am not to disappinted if it gets crushed on the job or the dog chews it up (happened to one I left laying out once)I had a hobart before that. Not only would it not tig weld, half of the lens was darker than the other half.
Reply:my cobra radnor does it when tigging. they replaced it. it still does it. i dont usde it for tiggin no more.i use my fixed goldshade #9 huntsman
Reply:I have only used 6 brands. Huntsman Auto Lens- We used them at the school where I teach. We had over 9 fail in a 2 month period. I will check the model tonight.Hobart $169.00 model 2 or 3 years ago. It would not tig weld. Gave it away. I can't say how the hobarts are today.Harbor freight brand. that was good value for the money but would not tig weld http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=46092 Harbor freight brand that I still have use 3 or 4 times a week. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=91214 . Arc One 2 different models but I do not know which one. I tried this as the replacement for t he 1st harbor freight I had t hat wouldn't tig weld. One was very hard to see through and was much darker in various areas. The other was also varied in darkness but not as bad. Both were distracting to look through.Hornell speedglass with built in air filter. This was by far the best hood I ever used however I only used it a few times as I was ebaying it for a friend. Well over 1000 new.Also we have Jacksons at the school to replace the hunstmans. I will look at one tonight to see what model. I don't like them because they have to be turned on. For real welding I do in the field I use a hunsman 490P with a slide from lens. Its light, the headgear comes down in exaqctly the same place and it works well for grinding in tight spots. Its the only "Work" hood I have used for 15 years or so . The auto lenses are used around the house or when I am inspecting/training.Have a nice dayhttp://www.weldingdata.com/
Reply:duplicate postLast edited by gaustin; 12-01-2008 at 03:23 PM.Reason: duplicate postHave a nice dayhttp://www.weldingdata.com/
Reply:I have the hf blue flame helmet for about 4 years and it has been ok. I would'nt tig with it but its not bad for the price. I manily use my jackson hsl fixed shade for all my welding now. It sounds werid but i actually perfer to use it over the autodark one. Sometime soon though i plan to put a jackson nexgen in my fixed shade. I hear the nexgen is really good!Shane
Reply:Thanks for the input!Really old (&faithful) Lincoln SA-250 Diesel, &Longevity 200P
Reply:Thats 1 reason desite owning several auto darkening helmets I alway keep a big window fixed shade helmet.Tough as nails and damn near as smart
Reply:i use a hornell speedglass 9000xf...the big lens...for TIG...i love the helmet, it has a feature to adjust the sensitivity so if im welding somewhere were my hand always covers the photocells,  i just turn the sensitivity up and it solves the problem...only downside is they are 350 or more depending on the model...but def the best welding lid you can get!
Reply:I have never used an auto darkening lense, and never will.  I prefer to protect my eyes with the proven fixed shade, gold plated lens.  If you folks have never used the gold plated lens (been around a long time), once you try one, you'll never use anything else.  Unbelievable arc clarity.I guess a fixed lens has it's place in production welding, but not in my shop where variables change from job to job.My eyes are too important to be adjusting this and that, AFTER being flashed.Just one man's opinion.
Reply:Originally Posted by punkfreerideri use a hornell speedglass 9000xf...the big lens...for TIG...i love the helmet, it has a feature to adjust the sensitivity so if im welding somewhere were my hand always covers the photocells,  i just turn the sensitivity up and it solves the problem...only downside is they are 350 or more depending on the model...but def the best welding lid you can get!
Reply:The hoods we have at school to replace the huntsmans are Jackson EQC helmets. They are battery operated. I would not pay $50,00 for one. THe auto off feature can cause you to fire up without the hood being turned on. After 25 is years of welding, picking up a hood and "turning it on" is not a habit I am about to develop. In addition the lens does show varying areas of shade. The shell itself I like and the ease in changing the clear lenses. I have no idea how much they cost but because of the on/off switch.I personally don't like them but other than that they are nice.Have a nice dayhttp://www.weldingdata.com/
Reply:Just my 2 cent.. for im a Tig welder, and i use a Auto darkener cheap quick changes... are bad....  First off its your eyes.. and weld flash ither big or small,  is hurting your vision,           i use  jacksons EQc's Ive had some problems, with a few.. but there service, is Top notch, the high frequency messes with the control board,  or something like that, I hear a lotta people say they dont want to have to turn them on and off.... the nexgen i have i turn it on in the morning, and maybe i turn it on again, later, but other then that it turns it self off after 45min not being used, take a look at the Jackson NexGen, not the executive
Reply:The ones I have at the training center are "EQC Master Variable HTLS". One thing I do like about it over my $49.99 blue flame china hood is the semsitivity can be turned bdown enough to grind with. My HF hood doesn't grind well.Have a nice dayhttp://www.weldingdata.com/
Reply:just get a regular lense,,the auto's have always seemed appealing,but really noone i know uses them,and we climb around thru heaters and pipe racks,welding in some tight places,mirror sometimes,i have a solar huntsman thats been in my box for a longtime now,used a couple times,,flashed out on me,and went back to a regular lense,,maybe the migging guys have better luck with themLast edited by elmo; 12-03-2008 at 02:16 PM.gulf coast legend
Reply:I had a cheaper off brand welding helmet and it would be terrible to TIG weld with. I purchased a Miller Elite helmet and never had a problem with it. The only thing I will say is I have to turn the sensitivity up a bit when TIG'ing versus MIG'ing or I'll get a flash on start. I change the settings because when I MIG I'm not always in the same environment where as TIG'ing is always at my table.Miller Syncrowave 180SDMillermatic 175
Reply:My LWS recomended a ~$120ish weldmark autodark lens - said it was good to 20a TIG but that wasn't true, I'd still get flashed. Weldmark offerd to replace it but I just had a bad feeling about the lens due to its price compared to other name brands. Wouldn't flash at higher current so I figured it just wasn't as sensitive as advertised.Got a Jackson Nexgen EQC for approx. double the price and never looked back. Won't even flash me at a 5a tig. At the highest sensitivity setting, it will darken from bench grinding sparks. I usually weld with my garage half way closed so no one passing by will glance at the arc. If I look at the indirect sunlight coming through, it will also darken at the highest setting. I use at at 2 or 3 marks below the highest setting to avoid indirect sun or flourescent light triggering it and I'm quite happy with it. Only time I ever did get flashed was when it turned off on its own after the auto-off timer expired. Since then if I take the hood off or haven't struck an arc in more then so many minutes I just make sure the display is still on before welding again. Also may be cheaper in the long run because it uses standard 4x5 lenses.