having a hard time seeing through my hood

admin

I have a hobart auto dark hood that i got on sale for 60 bucks at tractor supply, it lasted me all through school with no problems. Now at work the other day i started having trouble seeing the base metal, and i couldnt figure out what it was but now i dont know if the lens is messed up or what but im pretty sure i cant see because the arc is reflecting to bright or something so all i can see is the puddle but not the base metal and its affecting my welds. Its mainly happening when im welding long multiple pass fillets. My question is do you think i would have an easier time seeing if i just bought an old school hood, or can someone suggest me an auto dark hood that has good visuals.
Reply:May be due to "back glare" - light coming in the back of the hood.  Many (including myself) have issues with back glare with our AD hoods.To see if it is, just throw a towel or leather over the back to block out the light and you'll know if that's it or not right away.Several have installed leather flaps on the back of their hoods - same as neck protection flaps on the front - to combat the problem.MM200 w/Spoolmatic 1Syncrowave 180SDBobcat 225G Plus - LP/NGMUTT Suitcase WirefeederWC-1S/Spoolmatic 1HF-251D-1PakMaster 100XL '68 Red Face Code #6633 projectStar Jet 21-110Save Second Base!
Reply:Hmmm, I'm seeing more and more threads like this regarding that hood in particular. I have one too and suffered from similar problems. Especially trying to learn horizontal plate cover passes (stringers). It was really bad and I got some relief by blocking the glare coming in from behind that duaneb55 previously mentioned. You don't really notice its there until you get rid of it. I made a leather cover for the back that snaps onto the hood. It did the trick long enough for me to grasp the procedure and practice it.But, the real breakthrough came for me when I tried an old school non auto-darkening hood that had a gold #10 lens in it. Huge difference. That's my main hood now for SMAW and GMAW. I still revert to my AD hood for GTAW and when I'm doing a lot of fit-up and tacking just because I find it much more convenient (and, because I'm still not very good at striking an arc "blind" right where I want it).Give a manual hood a try. I like the gold covered lenses (the glass ones in particular) because they seem to enhance the contrast for me. I can see things going on in the puddle and the slag solidification border very well. Not to mention the all-important puddle edges.Good luck with it.Eric
Reply:Always own at least one old-school hood you are comfortable using. Backup isn't just for computers!Agree on the gold lens. Good stuff.
Reply:Originally Posted by duaneb55May be due to "back glare" - light coming in the back of the hood.  Many (including myself) have issues with back glare with our AD hoods.To see if it is, just throw a towel or leather over the back to block out the light and you'll know if that's it or not right away.Several have installed leather flaps on the back of their hoods - same as neck protection flaps on the front - to combat the problem.