its almost as if the DC arc isnt enough to full darken the hood, but i've also done long beads on MIG with no issue...however maybe that has something to do with the sparks flying that get closer to the lens than the arc itself??? this is frustrating
MP&C, i also just now noticed that on your Mille Elite, your sensor is at the bottom of the screen where mine is at the top. i would see this being beneficial to allowing in more light being both closer to the work piece, and to be less blocked by your hands cutting out some of the light over the work piece...might need to invest in a new TIG helmet
That is a group of solar cells for charging I'm sure your seeing and talking about. There are four sensors on the Miller Elite two on top each corner two on the bottom above the solar cells.
Huh, Miller Elite has batteries and solar cells for charging that is strange wonder why?
Sparks from grinding trigger my hood to darken and the sensitivity is not cranked up. So I don't think that is your problem.
i'm using red tungsten right now on everything and am awaiting for my blue Lanthanated tungsten to arrive. maybe i'll get lucky and that will solve my problems
FYI what type of tungsten has nothing to do with your auto hood problem, but what do I know?
I'm just another stupid welder
that has been welding for over half my life that knows nothing about auto hoods and a little about welding :tard: Wait I'm not the only one that has mentioned dirty or battery guess there stupid too DOH
j/k
I'm willing to bet Tweco knows what the cause of the problem is, they just not saying, playing dumb, **** like that BS or just too smart to figure it out lol. Tid bit here Miller knows whats up they made it so you can change the darn LI-ion batteries. Why you may ask, the batteries can only be charged and discharged so many times before they start to fail. I have the Miller Elite as well, guess how I know when I have to change them
Just letting you know some more why I think its those darn batteries Tweco buried in your auto hood.
Onto the tungsten
Thoriated(red 2%) tungsten on aluminum hmm
Lanthanated tungsten (blue 2% or gold 1.5%) good choice
, can be used on steels and aluminum no worries no mix ups with other tungsten
Cost a bit more tho but worth it IMO. Also FYI with lanthanated(blue 2% or gold 1.5%) tungsten does not ball up like pure tungsten(green) does takes more heat if you want that balled end. If you contaminate the end it is hard to get a clean break, it tends to splinter the end of the remaining tungsten. I just take the time and grind the bad end off, no wasting tungsten that way.
Another one I like is Zirconiated (white) Tungsten same thing here it does not ball up like pure tungsten(green) does, takes more heat.
May want to open up the front and clean the sensors with some dry, soft Q-tips? I can see the AC/alum welding being brighter, and the DC/steel not so much, but given that you would think it would have the same issue with Mig .
Mentioned cleaning in a earlier post but guessing OP may be ignoring that suggestion like the battery one
But with GMAW (MIG) the position is different your not as close to the puddle with your hood as with GTAW, the solar cells are getting enough light to power the lens but they don't get occasionally blocked like when GTAW. The reason I think this is when I GTAW with some jobs I can accidentally block all the sensors from the arc so I must be blocking the solar cells as well. This is what I think is happening when the OP gets flashed now and again when GTAW DC mild steel and not with GTAW AC is the arc refection off the aluminum. If I'm right GTAW DC stainless shouldn't lead to flashing if its just as or more reflective as the aluminum the OP welded.
This is one reason Miller came up with X-Mode to sense the electromagnetic interference to trigger the hood to darken. Miller Elites don't have this feature but Miller digital Elites do.
.
