helmet issues

[R.Anderson]

I just checked out my two newest hoods and they seal the lens and electronics up pretty darn good and the blue flame one from HF has no battery spot ether WTF I have a feeling I'm going to be in the same boat on that one when the battery starts to go. Darn Glad I have a Miller Elite My oldest one has four screws take them out and you can get to every thing inside. So I'll have to eat my words on that one and say don't take it apart not worth it.

LOL Just just thought of this when playing around with the HF, one I had taped off the solar cells with black electrical tape and held it to the florescent lights. As it should it triggered and darkened proving it has to have a Li-ion battery (not saying this is proof that yours does) This is when it dawned on me, the solar cells don't just charge when its in use but also when its not in use. Leave it in the light for a couple of hours or more or store it in a window that gets sunlight. Then give it a try. I feel stupid for not thinking of this sooner. Has your hood has been sitting in the dark or somewhere barely lite not enough light to maintain the LI-ion battery (sorry for kinda I can not believe there is no battery ,just can't)
This may as well explain why I have had to change batteries a couple of times in my Miller Elite, its keep in the dark not allowed to charge.

 

[theknurl]

too funny......electronic happy ****

wait 'til you get old.....I have 5 Jackson helmets set up with gold lenses and different diopter lenses

I'm in there putting a 1/16 or 3/32 bead down with a #7 lens and a 3 diopter magnifier is a whole different deal than 175 Amps and a #11

the only times I've been flashed is by women

 

[bad12jr]

My grandfather has an older miller basic auto darkening helmet I used to use when learning. I'd take and set it on the truck hood out side for 20 or so minutes while I was setting my project and the welder up. Made a world of difference in not getting flashed.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 2

 

[that-guy]

i took some extra time this morning to get the helmet from the garage since it is just outside of work. cracked open the lens assembly which was a SOB, and there i found 2 batteries...don't start with the bashing as i was soley going off of what the manufacturer told me...here are the pictures i took. i am unsure on the connection they have on them. they aren't just simple spring strips like you would normally see, but its almost as if they are crimped on there from the look of the recess in the middle with the little dimples. i suppose i could try to pry it off, but don't want to damage anything to the point that i can't get it back together

 

[that-guy]

well, after a short bit of research, i found that these batteries actually come with these little connections on them, and would be a matter of soldering the old ones off and the new ones on. easy in theory, but i don't feel is neccessary unless the entire helmet stops working...now to talk with a few electrical engineers at work to see if maybe changing or adding something to this circuit board could solve the problem that the manufacturer never could figure out

 

[welder4956]

I just checked out my two newest hoods and they seal the lens and electronics up pretty darn good and the blue flame one from HF has no battery spot ether WTF I have a feeling I'm going to be in the same boat on that one when the battery starts to go. Darn Glad I have a Miller Elite My oldest one has four screws take them out and you can get to every thing inside. So I'll have to eat my words on that one and say don't take it apart not worth it.

LOL Just just thought of this when playing around with the HF, one I had taped off the solar cells with black electrical tape and held it to the florescent lights. As it should it triggered and darkened proving it has to have a Li-ion battery (not saying this is proof that yours does) This is when it dawned on me, the solar cells don't just charge when its in use but also when its not in use. Leave it in the light for a couple of hours or more or store it in a window that gets sunlight. Then give it a try. I feel stupid for not thinking of this sooner. Has your hood has been sitting in the dark or somewhere barely lite not enough light to maintain the LI-ion battery (sorry for kinda I can not believe there is no battery ,just can't)
This may as well explain why I have had to change batteries a couple of times in my Miller Elite, its keep in the dark not allowed to charge.

I have heard this also and need to do it to mine. One of the guys at work told me that he has to occasionally leave his hood sitting in the sunshine for a day to keep it working properly.

 

[that-guy]

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.

i've heard from many other forums that using green on an Inverter machine doesnt result in the best of welds for some reason, but mine always seemed good, so i made several beads using both red and green on aluminum using all of the same settings and i saw little to no difference, so i just stuck with red

 

[IndyGarage]

Any auto darkening helmet will do fine with MIG welding. For MIG I cannot tell a difference between my $49 Harbour Freight helmet or my $350 Speedglass.

For TIG the HF helmet and my previous Optrel always flashed me. I broke down and bought the Speedglass and no more flashing.

Before I bought the speedglas, I had to use a Jackson fixed lens on TIG, which always works fine.

 

[R.Anderson]

too funny......electronic happy ****

wait 'til you get old.....I have 5 Jackson helmets set up with gold lenses and different diopter lenses

I'm in there putting a 1/16 or 3/32 bead down with a #7 lens and a 3 diopter magnifier is a whole different deal than 175 Amps and a #11

the only times I've been flashed is by women

[/QUOTE


I still have two fixed hoods yet they are my failsafe backup now but used them before I got autos. I was leery of the autos but I was called out to do some repair work on a tractor and a few other things. The guy use to weld every thing himself but due to health reasons was no longer able. The guy asked if I like auto hoods and what I thought about em. I told him I didn't have one and was leery of em, then asked if I wanted to try his. So I did and after that I wanted one, and here I am

i took some extra time this morning to get the helmet from the garage since it is just outside of work. cracked open the lens assembly which was a SOB, and there i found 2 batteries...don't start with the bashing as i was soley going off of what the manufacturer told me...here are the pictures i took. i am unsure on the connection they have on them. they aren't just simple spring strips like you would normally see, but its almost as if they are crimped on there from the look of the recess in the middle with the little dimples. i suppose i could try to pry it off, but don't want to damage anything to the point that i can't get it back together

well, after a short bit of research, i found that these batteries actually come with these little connections on them, and would be a matter of soldering the old ones off and the new ones on. easy in theory, but i don't feel is neccessary unless the entire helmet stops working...now to talk with a few electrical engineers at work to see if maybe changing or adding something to this circuit board could solve the problem that the manufacturer never could figure out

How did you go about taking it apart was there screws or was it glued or ultrasonically sealed and you had to cut/crack your way in?


Connectors are pure nickel or nickel coated battery tabs, there not crimped on but they are spot welded on using a capacitor discharge welder.

Neat to see whats all inside is it not people say they won't trust there eyes with a HF hood little do they know all auto lens work the same and have a fixed low shade(guessing 3-5) lens that will protect you from arc flash just don't be stupid and keep using it if the lens does not darken. The flashing we are talking about here is the auto lens failing to stay dark for a moment due to failing battery or interference to the sensors like being blocked. Now the biggest difference is brands, triggering electronics (sensors and sensitivity), lens size and variable shade options.

I was wrong on the type of battery that it had that is just a lithium battery not a lithium-ion. Plain lithium batteries are not rechargeable they are long life batteries, they simply just ran out of juice. Same thing on my miller elite after thinking about it, so my idea of solar charging the batteries is out.

I would just solder in two new ones, its easy to solder if you have not before or maybe your one electrical engineer pals could for ya I sure most of em have the basic gear to do it.

 

[that-guy]

there were 4 screws securing the mounting plate, then i lightly pryed up on the face plate which i believe was glued on. never broke or cracked anything, and will probably use a simple contact sealant that will seal, but easily allow for removal in the future

 

[Faria]

Hi again!
So ,after all, was it a battery problem, like mine?

 

[that-guy]

so i used it for the first time this past Friday since i took it apart a week ago. i did no cleaning or anything like that. first thing i tried was on mild steel, and with my new blue lanthanted tungsten, had a slight flash in the beginning, then flawless for the rest of the bead (maybe 15 seconds) and tried it on aluminum too without issue. it sat in a dark bedroom at my parents house since i took it apart, so its not like it had been charging with light or anything...i don't get it

 

[pepi]

i took some extra time this morning to get the helmet from the garage since it is just outside of work. cracked open the lens assembly which was a SOB, and there i found 2 batteries...don't start with the bashing as i was soley going off of what the manufacturer told me...here are the pictures i took. i am unsure on the connection they have on them. they aren't just simple spring strips like you would normally see, but its almost as if they are crimped on there from the look of the recess in the middle with the little dimples. i suppose i could try to pry it off, but don't want to damage anything to the point that i can't get it back together

Those are standard coin type of batteries, can be purchased at wallmart FYI. Must be an old or dare I say cheap helmet.

That said the only option you may have, to buy the battery from the manif. with the tabs and solder them to the LCD. You could if you can solder put pink tails on a set of plain coin batteries and solder to the LCD. But that is a bit more complicated than it sounds, getting the wire pink tails and battery back in under the hood.

It is a poor design and appears to be a throw away lens assembly because of that.

 

[that-guy]

Those are standard coin type of batteries, can be purchased at wallmart FYI. Must be an old or dare I say cheap helmet.

That said the only option you may have, to buy the battery from the manif. with the tabs and solder them to the LCD. You could if you can solder put pink tails on a set of plain coin batteries and solder to the LCD. But that is a bit more complicated than it sounds, getting the wire pink tails and battery back in under the hood.

It is a poor design and appears to be a throw away lens assembly because of that.

back on post #45 i stated that i found them with the little tabs already attached for only like $2 a piece, but since the helmet cooperates normally right now i am not going to fuss with it. i suppose that if i do, i will opt for the Ion batteries so that the lens recharges the batteries and maybe that will imporove its performance