hood failing?

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i have a RAdnor cobra 40v hood. I usually leave it set on 9 the lowest  setting. Several times while tigging it seems that the hood fails for a while-it gets real bright, i can really see great-then it seems to get darker, thenn real bright again. It doesnt do this when i am stick welding. anyone have similar experience?last time was a half hour ago and am still having a hard time seeing...i have been tigging inside to prevent wind problems, and use a halogen lamp to brighten things up in my dark garage-could this be tricking my hood?outside no problem but plenty   natural light.
Reply:Beats Me...Old style is still the best.....zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Originally Posted by zapsterBeats Me...Old style is still the best.....zap!
Reply:Some auto-darkeners have difficulties with darkening on the start of the TIG process and can have intermittent darkening due to the low amperage arc. If you have a sensitivity adjustment on your hood make it a bit more sensitive. My first hood had the problems you have and did not have any adjustment but darkness, so I opted for one of Miller's elite series auto-darkeners. I have to turn the sensitivity up a notch when TIG'ing vs MIG'ing but otherwise there's no problems with it whatsoever. If you don't have a sensitivity adjustment you might want to look at some hood options out there. Personally I like my Miller and Speedglass hoods.Miller Syncrowave 180SDMillermatic 175
Reply:Originally Posted by zapsterBeats Me...Old style is still the best.....zap!
Reply:i know that hoods advertise being able to respond to a 5 amp tig arc...but  iwas in the processof contaminating tungsten  at  125-150 amps on 3/8 ms...it seems to start ok and then intermittently blink for 5 - 10 seconds ...
Reply:is it name brand?    wont they stand behind it?  ask the manufacturer,
Reply:I use a Miller Elite and do a bit of 30 amp Tigging and it has been working flawlessly. I wouldn't give it up for anything.
Reply:Turn off the halogen light, yes, it can be tricking your helmet.  The other issue is where the sensors are located on the helmet.  When I use my Jackson EQC, I never have a problem, it's dark all the time except that it "flickers" a lill bit when I'm doing a long taper off and I'm at really low current.  My Speedglas, on the other hand, is extremely sensitive to where I'm holding my head in relation to the torch.  If I get my hand in the way, or am leaning around a fixture, and partially block one of the sensors, my helmet will go light.  Luckily, the default setting is a shade 5, so even though I'm staring into a really bright light, there's no damage to the eyes.  Like you said, though, takes a while before you can see straight again.I r 2 a perfessional
Reply:Originally Posted by weldbeadi know that hoods advertise being able to respond to a 5 amp tig arc...but  iwas in the processof contaminating tungsten  at  125-150 amps on 3/8 ms...it seems to start ok and then intermittently blink for 5 - 10 seconds ...
Reply:I used to feel the same way Zap. I do a lot of work alone and have to hold everything in place to tack it as well as a lot of work underneath stuff with little room. It can be real nice. I put an arcone shade 10 in my pancake and I can see what I am doing when welding better than I think I ever have. I really liked my Jackson Boss but it is too heavy and gives me migraines. I got my Miller Performance in today. I didn't get much use on it today but I think the headaches will be fewer. Good protection for overhead work too.The difference between art and craft is the quality of the workmanship. I am an artist.
Reply:I have had this problem before, and like others said, your helmet may be a little too unsensitive, or you have have something blocking its UV eyes, or Solar panel.  I would suggest taking the whole thing apart, give it a good cleaning, and also maybe swap in a new battery, my Miller did this to me right before the batteries crapped out.
Reply:i chucked it. Dug out my plain old Huntsman hood...got new cover plate , new #9lens  and new #9 gold lens and tried it our this weekend. no problem. I didnt get too lost when sticking, and with tig i just hit the pedal, light it up and found my spot.. and it was fun flipping it down..only adjustment was i am used to waiting after i break the arc for the helmet to get light. a few times i forgot i had the manual hood on and waited like an idiot for it to get light...
Reply:When I was welding a great deal, My huntsman 490P WAS an auto hood. In boilers the auto hoods didn't work good, someone was always too close and setting the hood off or a tube would block one of the sensors and the hood would flicker off and on.I had a jackson and two harbor freight autohoods. The harbor freight with the blue flames is the only one that was stable enough to weld low amperage GTAW. It still will not work in a boiler but its handy around the house or if working outside.One thing is for sure, that smoothe effortless motion of dropping your hood with a twitch of your head the exact second the arc flashes will become difficult if you use an autohood. I like a #9 lens for just about everything I weld. Gouging I bump it up a number or two.Have a nice dayhttp://www.weldingdata.com/