Quote Originally Posted by Itoldyouso View Post
Steve, I actually bought two of those, one stronger than the other. I saw them at the Lincoln welding booth at the Tampa Street Rod Nats and bought them when I got back. My problem is the darkness, I am going to play with some sort of led light attached to the torch because as soon as the arc starts it all goes dark for me. The reason I haven't really tried to fix the problem is that it is so much easier to just let Dan do it right rather than my half way right welds.

Don
Don,
It may be your helmet. I was having the same problem with one of the auto-darkening Chinese specials from Northern Tool - a great helmet for the price, but I was having trouble seeing the puddle. When it started "flashing" me at arc strike (slow to darken) I visited my Praxaire guy and picked up a Miller ProHobby helmet. It is lighter when "off", allowing clear visibility to position the wire, darkens quick to a steady shade, and adjustment of the darkness is sooooo much better. You might see if your welding shop will demo the helmets for you. Here's the one I got in classic black - Miller - Welding Helmets & Welder Safety Equipment and Clothing - Pro-Hobby™ Series I need to pick up one of those diopter lenses for it to make it even better.