If you are a welder, you have to wear the helmet for 8 to 9 hours approximately. Let suppose, you are not a full-time welder, but you are a hobbyist still; you need to wear a helmet to protect your eyes and face from harmful radiations of the weld and spatter. Now, the question is how to test an auto-darkening welding helmet? It is a ubiquitous question among the people. The reason for the question is that there are many brands and helmets with different features in the market. So, it is complicated to choose the best one for you that suits your job requirements and under your budget.
However, you do not need to worry about it. We bring some essential and helpful methods to check an auto-darkening welding helmet before purchase that would assist you. Here, we also have quoted some significant steps that you must examine.
Steps for Testing Auto-Darkening welding helmet
Let’s share the steps for testing an auto-darkening welding helmet:
Standard Product Check
The first and most important thing for a welding helmet is to meet the ANSI/ISEA standard specifications. ANSI (American National Standards Institute) and ISEA (International Safety Equipment Association) are well-known organizations that set the safety standard according to the job.
The aim is to keep things updated according to the upgraded technologies in the market. You must check in detail all the specifications of your helmet, and they must be according to the given standards. In case, if a helmet has no ANSI/ISEA code, it means it is not according to the standards and can be harmful to your eyesight, face, and health.
If a welding helmet has ANSI standard code, do check to make sure that it fits the standards and your working job or not. It would be perfect for vision and safety.
Perfectly fit on your face
It is the second most important thing to examine. The auto-darkening helmet should completely fit your face. It should not loosen on your face and also should not be tighter because it will directly affect your welding vision and safety.
If a helmet is loose, it will create vision issues and expose the neck and other body parts that can be affected by spattering and welding radiations. Besides this, if the helmet is tight enough, it will make you uncomfortable while working for hours and you and you would not be able to perform the tasks well.
Always biased towards a fit helmet on your neck snap. Also, check the manual tightening settings of the helmet and adjust it on your face before buying.
Choose the Lens according to Welding Job.
The lens is a critical element of welding helmets because all the radiation passes through the lens first before reaching your eyes. The auto-darkening lens range should be 9 to 13 at lower Amperage to high Amperage correspondingly.
Additionally, lens selection is maintained by the type of your welding job. You have to verify the lens range according to your job, also check the lens is at its correct position. Incorrect position of the lens also causes damage and working.
Sun Test
The auto-darkening feature of the helmet can be tested by facing the sun with a helmet. Look at the sun through the helmet to verify the passive and auto-darkening segment. It’s a better testing method because you cannot bring your welding equipment with you to the buying shop. Similarly, check the intensity by quick adjustment knob.
Eyes Tiredness
It’s the most significant factor that you have to check to test the auto-darkening of the helmet. If you are a welder or a hobbyist, you will not like to work if your helmet is not of good quality and gives you eye fatigue.
You can guess the eyes fatigue by some quick symbols like eyes pain, headache, blur vision etc. You must adjust your less to comfortable parameters if you feel any of these symptoms. If you are a sensitive person, you can wear another layer of protection by wearing under helmet glasses. It will protect you more from harmful radiation and UV light.
Clean and Clear Visibility
Nothing is more prime than the lens clarity and cleanliness of an auto-darkening helmet. It is simple that if the welding job is clear to see, you can do it well. Instead, if the job is unclear to see, you will not perform a better weld. You should check the optical clarity of an auto-darkening helmet.
Helmet Weight
Helmet weight is not considered sometimes while choosing an excellent auto-darkening helmet. In our opinion, it is vital to consider the weight of the helmet while testing it. First, let us discuss why helmet weight is significant? So, the answer is that everyone wants to work with convenience. If the helmet weight is more, you will not be able to work for hours. It will increase the strain on your neck and can cause fatigue.
A helmet with more weight is the only discomfort for you. That is why always try to select the helmet with less weight and according to your welding job.
Helmet’s Battery Life & Power Source
As you know that auto-darkening helmets are powered by many methods. Some standard and most used methods are in the following:
- Replaceable batteries (Manual)
- Non-replaceable batteries
- Solar Powered
All the latest helmets come with solar power technology. Both the replaceable and non-replaceable batteries come with solar power attributes. Before buying an auto-darkening helmet, you should check whether the battery timing and power source are suitable for your working type and environment or not.
Furthermore, we recommend you choose the helmet with replaceable batteries so that you can change them whenever you want without any problem. It will save your time, and maintenance can be done quickly.
Sensitivity
I know you think this point is useless. Why should we consider the sensitivity of an auto-darkening helmet? Well, you will be amazed that sensitivity is one of the major considerations while testing a helmet.
It is important because sometimes overhead light darkens the view of the welding job, and you cannot be able to detect the original view. That is why always buy a helmet with an auto-darkening feature and sensitivity control. You can control the lens filter and can weld with a proper and original view.
Check via Cigarette Lighter or IR Remote Control
This point is related to the checking of helmets with sunlight. Sometimes when you buy a helmet for welding, the shop or store is in the basement, or there can be night time. Then you would not be able to check the auto-darkening.
But you do not need to worry; here we will tell you some other alternative methods. Take some cigarette lighter or IR remote control with you. A cigarette lighter gives the glow like sunlight. Whether the remote control emits UV lights and you can easily check the UV auto-darkening feature with it.
Quick Check Lite to Test Auto-darkening Helmets:
- Standard Product Check
- Perfectly Fit on your face
- Choose the lens according to the welding job.
- Sun Test
- Eyes Tiredness
- Clean & Clear Visibility
- Helmet Weight
- Helmet’s battery life & power source
- Sensitivity
- Check via a cigarette lighter or IR remote control
Final Words
We have explained all the crucial methods that you can use to test an auto-darkening helmet above. These all ways are simple and easy. No time is required to implement and check.
So, enjoy welding!