Speed glass Helmet

[Jerry]

I'm a little old school here and changing my ways can be difficult, but a year ago a buddy gave me a used speed glass helmet.
I finally thought I'd try it and bought new batteries, when I struck arc with tig welder it works fine but when I put the juice down to form puddle on medal it goes off and blinds me.

What gives? J P Streets Welding

[Arc Burn]

you may have to adjust the sensitivity knob a little on the inside.

[Jerry]

I tired and went both ways with it, but I will try again on monday.

[Guest]

Jerry, I have one and there are situations you can get in that block the sensors by your hand gettin' in the way or some other obstruction. With the helmet on, tweak the sensitivity knob till it goes dark, then slowly turn it back until it just lightens up. What you are doing is setting it for ambient light. It's a little tricky at first, but you'll get used to it.

I just thought of something...is it a 9000v model? with a heliarc range? Mine goes 9 to 13 in heliarc and 9 to 13 in stick.

[Jerry]

Hey Rocky how you doing, We just hit the sixty's this weekend and its great. Looks like spring is coming.

I did notice a knob for 9-13 on top and 9-13 on bottom and when I placed it at the bottom, the helmet was dark then.

The sensitivity knob I tried going both ways with it and it just seemed to not change anything.

Anyhow I'll check this helmet out when I get to my shop tommorrow and find out exactly what brand and etc.. and play around a little but I'll tell you a couple of flashes and I throw it to the side. But I'll try to get his figured out.

[chub380]

Rocky is right,How I usually do it is point the lens toward a pretty bright light {not to close} Making sure its on the red settings pick your shade,then facing it toward the light turn the red knob clockwise till it turns black.It should be set. I have a 9000x Chub Ps. make sure you hold the on button on for a little turning the unit on.

[dseman]

Jerry,
I think Rocky may have your answer, but I'd just like to add that if you are using a newer inverter machine and welding tig at low amps, most auto-hoods will have a problem triggering. Some people say that is because the tig arc is so stable--I don't know. But speedglass has a 9000xi and jackson has the nexgen which are both designed to work down to 5amps.

just food for thought,
-dseman

[Scott V]

If I adjust mine just like chub380 said,it works fine at 5 amps.

[Jerry]

Thanks for all the input guys. The helmet is a speedglas 9000X and I just tried it and it actually worked. I now have it on the red settings and adjusted sensitivity while pointing toward light till it went dark and it works.

But what are the white numbers or settings for, and why should I use red ones, can a guy find some literature about this to read on ways to use helmet.

machine is a Pow Con 300ST Tig welder

[Scott V]

Jerry,The other setting is for mig welding,and it is set without any adjustment other than shade(9-13)

[Guest]

The red heliarc setting has a slight delay built in to the circuit to prevent the lens from going light as you back off the welding current. The upper white letters is the MiG and Stick settings and they don't have a delay...they are either on or off.

[Jerry]

Thanks guys, I have a couple jobs that are somewhat production welding and when the next one comes in (like next week)hopefully I'll get it done a little quicker with this helmet. The job I think may be a perfect fit for this helmet, I have to weld two tabs on in a relatively small area but always had to lift helmet, its a picky little job so you need to be right on area when welding thus the need to lift helmet.
Actual jobs are new seat inserts for the 100th edition harley-davidson bike which I weld. ( Those boys will put chrome anywhere and now you will be sitting on it.

[TURBO]

We have 2 of those auto helmets at work as they are more or less essential for TIG welding , especially on delicate jobs . The older mask is just a unit fitted into a standard hood , the newer one is a speediglass mask with a much larger viewing area , better designed & much lighter than the old one . The problem with the new mask is that the sensors are too far apart on the helmet & if they don't get a clear view of the weld pool the hood will flash on you & it is even worse if you are using a low welding current . It doesn't seem to matter how you adjust the settings on the mask .

My boss told me the reason that they got the first mask was because he was fed up getting electric shocks ! He would sometimes weld without wearing gloves & when he tried to strike an arc he would strike the arc on the filler rod by mistake because he couldn't see what he was doing . The current then of course passes down the rod & earths through you , giving you a nasty shock - I know cause it happened to me once when I was learning TIG welding !

Derek

[Jerry]

Well I used that hood today a bit and it works well , its me that isn't working to well, I find myself lifting helmet half the time, but I'll get use to it I think. Helmet is working good.

To think I left this sit for a year or more, thanks for info on these helmets boys.

[Hobart Expert Rock]

JERRY...............COOL JOB WELDING INSERTS INTO THE FRAME........... NOT TO LONG AGO WHEN HARLEY REINTRODUCED THE SPRINGER FRONT ENDS THEY SENT THEM HERE FOR WELD EVALUATION RECOMENDATIONS.............. MAN I WISH I COULD OF GOTTEN MY HANDS ON ONE OF THOSE........... WELL I DID ASK AND THEY ALL LAUGHTED...........AH THEY TOO WERE HARLEY RIDERS AND WANTED THEM................NATURALLY NO ONE GOT THEM BUT WE DID HAVE SOME FUN ARGUEING BACK AND FORTH AS TO WHO WAS GOING TO GET ONE.................I BROUGHT ONE OF MINE IN WITH A FREEZE CRACK IN A REAR LEG THAT TIM WELDED UP FOR ME .....................MINE IS PRIOR TO 1948...............TIM WAS ALSO A HARLEY RIDER AND WE BICKERED BACK AND FORTH.........IT WAS FUN.......................AND WE STILL LAUGH ABOUT IT TODAY.....
YOU KNOW THIS IS FUN ISN'T IT............................SEE YA........ROCK
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