mig welding issue

[amebb]

hi there

i need some advice please.

I have a clarke mig welder that i was practicing with last week welding on sheets of metal, running straight lines, butt welds etc.

I was wearing the apprioate safety equipment, leather gauntlets, auto darkening fask mask etc etc.

The problem that i am having isnt to do with the wedling etc but after welding the next day, my eyes were red and felt very dry. Stinging when i closed them, sensitive to bright light etc. It almost felt like i had hayfever with my eyes.

This remained for about 2 days and now they are better.

My question is, has anyone else experienced this through mig welding ??

MY auto darkening mask was an ebay purchase so i dont know if its a good quality product or crap!

I would appreciate any help please....


Thank you

 

[mfletch]

Your auto welding mask has it got a grinding mode or can you alter the settings

 

[rtbcomp]

Were you getting light round the edges of the helmet?

 

[amebb]

My mask has a dial on the outside. one position is at grinding then i can rotate the knob all the way to increse the darkness etc.

Inside i have two dials. one is for sensitivity and that is set at HI, and the other button is delay, and that is set at min.

I put on the helmet and it worked ok. i could see the ground etc and then i looked around and i could see the sun, the helmet darkened as i look at the sun.... this was no problem at all. i didnt feel any discomfort in my eyes or anything else. So, i was certain that the auto darkening was working.

Rtbcomp.... i didnt get any light coming in from the sides.... or i didnt notice anything.


Hope that helps....?

Thanks

 

[Tom Orrow L]

Definitely something to do with the helmet. What shade did you have it on?

 

[amebb]

by the way, this is what my helmet looks like ....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Red-Cover...771980?hash=item43e67d2ccc:g:LKwAAOSwnipWXqmm

 

[amebb]

Tom, the shade that i had it on wa at the highest.

The settings were .... on the outside dial they were set on the highest level or darkening and the inside dials were set to:- one is for sensitivity and that is set at HI, and the other button is delay, and that is set at min.

hope that helps?

 

[Tom Orrow L]

I see it goes down to shade 9 and highest is 13. By highest shade do you mean shade 13? If so I'd put it somewhere around 10-11, keep the sensitivity high and then delay at minimum.
Just another quick one, how long does it take for it to undarken after you've finished your weld?

 

[dazza]

Delay is the amount of time it stays dark after you stop welding, maybe change this to max.

 

[amebb]

The scale on my helmet starts from grinding - 13, 12......9

After welding, the undarkening process is almost instant.

 

[dazza]

You need to increase the delay although you have stopped welding things can still be very bright.

 

[PTvor]

Any autodark helmet should give passive protection for UV and IR. The materials in the cover lenses and that the autodark cell is made of absorb just about all UV, and are the equivalent of shade 16 or something, to UV, whether the cell is powered on or not. The autodark part refers to visible light. Loads ot people have bought those cheap autodark helmets from ebay for £20-25 and it isn't a common complaint that you get arc-eye using them.

You probably can damage your eyes with visible light, but mostly, if the shade of the filter is too low or the autodark helmet is set too low, it will be uncomfortably bright and you won't use it.

It sounds as if you had arc-eye, which is about the same thing as snow-blindness and is caused by UV. People vary in their susceptibility to UV like people vary in their susceptibility to alcohol etc. You might be quite sensitive. I suspect that you have picked up enough UV reflected from clothing and getting under the mask at the bottom, or reflected from something behind you such as sheets of steel. Some people put a leather flap on the bottom of their helmet to prevent UV getting to their eyes that way.

Have you checked the autodark helmet with a desk lamp in a darkened room to make sure there are no holes in it which could let UV through?

 

[amebb]

Thank you for your reply PTvor.

I was welding outside in the garden in the day. I thought i had set all the dials accordingly to what they should be.

I really didnt notice any light leaking in from the back of the helmet, there wasnt much that would have reflected the light from welding back into my helmet through the back.

The trees would have absorbed most of the light.

Ok, so lets assume i have a cheap and nasty ebay helmet that is ready for the landfill.... where can i buy a good quality helmet from that will do what its meant to do - protect my eyes...??


I did try the helmet in a dark room with a table lamp switched on.... no light was entering from the back.


Thanks

 

[Tom Orrow L]

Look for a branded one, something affordable from Parweld, Futuris, SIF etc..
They're all good helmets for around £40-50

 

[amebb]

Thank you Tom..... I am new to this and am not familiar with the brands yet. But, i think it is down to 'what you pay is what you get' and ebay can be full of crap !

Thanks

 

[PTvor]

Mine's a SIP about 6 years old and I think it was £60 and I've had no problems with it. The optical quality isn't the best. The batteries are two AAA, which is handy. In some of them the batteries can't be replaced without surgery.

If the SIP gave up the ghost I'd be tempted by one of these, with a bigger viewing area

http://www.weldequip.com/swp-eliminator-xv.htm

But as I say, loads of people have bought the ebay cheapies and they've been fine.

Sometimes people have complained about arc eye and it's turned out to be grit or particles from grinding!

The problem is that if you suspect that the helmet has caused arc-eye you are not going to be inclined to experiment to find out if it's really the helmet.

 

[cumbriasteve]

Thank you Tom..... I am new to this and am not familiar with the brands yet. But, i think it is down to 'what you pay is what you get' and ebay can be full of crap !

Thanks

My ebay crap £20 helmet is now 5 years old and still works perfectly and it's not had an easy life

 

[amebb]

So true PTvor..... lol you would be pretty stupid to experiment with a faulty helmet!

I will have a look at the link you have sent. Its best to be safe than sorry i think and its money worth spending on quality goods!

Thank you for your advice

 

[amebb]

Cumbriasteve, i didnt mean to cause offense at your ebay helmet. I think 5 years ago they were selling decent stuff, now, the cheap imports are questionable with their quality. but, i didnt mean to upset anyone with my remark. sorry if i did. thanks

 

[Swift&Bold]

Even the cheap ones comply with the same CE standards as the expensive ones.