The level of UV protection has no relationship to the shade. It's simple. I first used an auto lens in 1985, these things have been around many years, and have a long and well documented track record. The facts are redilly available if you are really interested in understanding beyond the old wives tales.

JTMcC.

 

You're right, it IS simple... I'm not going to take any chances with the only set of eyes that I have, especially for the sake of simple convenience! As I get older, I'm getting slower too. But I still have enough coordination and can still nod my head enough to make the welding shield fall in front of my eyes before I strike the arc!



chaikwa.

 

I got 2 of them. One quit working and I needed another right away so I bought a new one. Being old school TIG welding it was a bit of a treat to do real fine stuff with out "flipping" and the thing worked ok for bench welding. But I do a lot of race car stuff and it was an eye opener treat to crawl around under a hotrod and get my pedal positioned then wiggle my head up so I could see what I was about to weld only to get "zinged" because the sensor was blocked. I finally turned the whole optic system upside down and it helped but I never know when I'm going to get hit. I finally went back to my old beat up Jackson for under the car stuff just like I used to. I just use a really bright light under the car and I can usually see the target. Otherwise they work ok no sandy eyes or burns.

bentwings

 

What makes you willing to trust a regular lens???

There are millions of hours of arc time on auto lenses and I've never heard of eye damage caused by one. The damaging rays are easily measured, why do you suppose the makers of auto lenses would lie about the 100% protection in the light shade? and how could they keep that a secret for all these years when independant labs check and recheck their claims? And where are they stashing all of those blind welders so we don't find out about them? on the grassy knoll maybe? How much are they paying the families to keep quiet? Rusty Shackleford wants to know!

JTMcC.

 

For some reason Ive noticed "floaters" in my eyes long before I started welding. And after watching welding unprotected for prolonged periods of time my eyes really bother me later but short term exsposure doesnt bother them, but I know it is terrible for my eyes and I should do more to protect them because you only got 1 pair. Also I weld with a shade 9 even when the amperage level calls for a 10 or 11.

 

Ok so how fast does the lense turn compared to the speed of light? I tried an Optrel at school once and loved it. Being I was just getting started in arc welding anything to make the starts easier helped!
But really does the lense actually flip quick enough?

 

Good lord man, are you a salesman for these things or what?

I'm not saying they're no good, just not good for ME. ME! It's all about ME!

All the studies, statistics and tests in the world didn't make me feel any better when the sensor got blocked, the shade didn't change and I saw a big ol' SPOT wherever I looked for the next 20 minutes. It kinda stinks when you're hanging upside-down underneath something you really don't fit under in the first place, you strike an arc, the shade doesn't change and then, everytime you try to see the weld joint, all you see is a big, blue SPOT! I don't usually have the time, nor the desire, to deal with that kinda nonsense. Especially when the customer is usually standing nearby, tapping his foot, waiting to get his piece of equipment back running again. Not to mention that it doesn't make ME look too professional either! (there's that 'ME' thing again!)

If all my welding involved flat position bench welding, out in the open, or frequent starting and stopping such as you'd do with expanded metal and such, then yeah, maybe an auto lens would work for me.

The independant lab checks you reference are probably correct in their findings about the level of protection offered even with the lens in the light mode, but I find for what I do, it isn't worth the BSS, (Blue Spot Syndrome!), no matter if it causes damage or not!

chaikwa.

 

... and nodding your head or using the hand to lower the shade doesn't require relying on a battery of any kind.

Everything has it's place I s'pose. There have been times that I was stuffed in between structure and pipes down in the bowels of a ship where both hands were required to either hold something or hang on and there was absolutely no room to wiggle or nod the head (Spelunking out at sea). I could have used a self darkening lense then. Instead, I got the stick close and closed my eyes long enough to get it tacked in place so I could free a hand to pull the shade down again. More times than not, I flashed myself and had to hang there for a few minutes til the blue spot went away. Real fun upside down and sandwiched between steam lines .

PISTOL

 

Thanks for the advice, mine is a Lincoln brand Ultrashade/Silver.
It shows "Made in Switzerland" and what looks like a 4/10/05 date...probably when the warranty goes out. I like the auto dark because I haven't burned enough rod to get the neck jerk down pat. I also get kinda claustrophobic with my regular helmets.
It's odd that waving my hand in front of the solar cells turns it on, manual AC maybe?
I'll leave it face up under some clear plastic and see if the battery charges back up.
again, thanks for the help.

 

And here all along I thought it was all about me!?

JTMcC.

 

I would have never thought the discussion of welding hoods could turn into a fist fight.

 

Well.... HE STARTED IT!



chaikwa.

 

Ive been using mine for 10 years now, and no problems here. but there are a few millwrights here that just dont like them.[ to each his own.]