1 hour ago, Captain Obvious said:

Yeah, that's just an unacceptable situation. Sounds like it was intermittent, and without figuring out definitively what the problem was (is), then you'll never trust it. That's where I was with my previous helmet, although I believe I can identify the issue as shadowing the (one and only) arc sensor.

So is there a number on the internal battery? Can you tell if it's Ni-Cd, or Lithium? Reason I ask is that if it's Ni-Cd, then it might be rechargeable by the solar cell. But if its lithium, then it is not rechargeable.

I broke open the ADF on Cody's helmet that is a harbor freight model. The batteries are CR2430's. Supposed to be 3v but are measuring .96 and .04 volts. They are soldered to the board. I got one out already and have some more on the way in addition to some battery compartments that if I get it working, I will make them external and replaceable.

Also I cleaned my ADF really well and the arc sensors and replaced the lenses. For the moment, it appears to be working. I will find out tomorrow. If it's still bad, I will crack it open and take a stab at the batteries

Yeah, the CR2430 is a lithium and not rechargeable.

I wonder if you maybe just didn't have a couple years of built up grime and scratches on the arc sensors on your 1840 and that was obscuring the light into the ADF. I guess if I were in your position, I would give it one more try, and if there was even a peep of trouble I would toss it.

That's where I was with my HF helmet. Worked most of the time. Except when it didn't.

Forgot... So I assume the battery in Cody's HF helmet had welded tabs on the battery? They often produce two varieties of the small batteries, with or without welded tabs. The batteries themselves do not like heat, so if you are going to be soldering them into something, then you're supposed to use the ones with the tabs welded on. The tabs help isolate the soldering heat from and prevent it from getting into the batteries.

1 hour ago, Captain Obvious said:

Forgot... So I assume the battery in Cody's HF helmet had welded tabs on the battery? They often produce two varieties of the small batteries, with or without welded tabs. The batteries themselves do not like heat, so if you are going to be soldering them into something, then you're supposed to use the ones with the tabs welded on. The tabs help isolate the soldering heat from and prevent it from getting into the batteries.

Yeah, I was wondering about adding heat to the batteries. I ended up finding batteries available online with the tabs already soldered onto them. But I can't get the board out of the ADF to properly add that type of battery. So I ordered some CR2430 battery holders that I can tack some wires to and then solder the wires to the board. I would mount the battery case outside of the ADF so they could be tested or replaced. At least that is the plan for now

I just waited till one went on sale and bought a new helmet. Not taking chances on my eyes!

I soldered to batteries before.  Sand surface, use flux, be fast. You can cool in freezer overnight to help.

Well the hat worked for a little while and then kept dimming but not getting dark enough. So had to stop welding for the day ?

@Captain Obvious

Which hat did you just get for Xmas?

My helmet worked ok for a little while today. Then it started to dim dark enough. So I am shopping for a replacement, even if I can get the batteries working right.

Some of the new models offer a viewer that lets you see your work piece in natural light before you start welding instead of the dark green, as soon as my current helmet croaks I'm going to get one of those, nice feature.

Yeah, that natural color shade thing is one of the improvements in the one I just got. Lincoln calls it their "4C Technology", where I believe the "C" is Clarity.

I ended up with the Viking 2450 and it's got that 4C lens. Four sensors and a little bigger window than your 1840:

I haven't used it welding yet, but I did put it on and adjust the headgear. And verified that it switches to dark if I have the sensitivity set high and look at a bright light.

54 minutes ago, Captain Obvious said:

Yeah, that natural color shade thing is one of the improvements in the one I just got. Lincoln calls it their "4C Technology", where I believe the "C" is Clarity.

I ended up with the Viking 2450 and it's got that 4C lens. Four sensors and a little bigger window than your 1840:

I haven't used it welding yet, but I did put it on and adjust the headgear. And verified that it switches to dark if I have the sensitivity set high and look at a bright light.

Does the 2450 have a replaceable battery?

I am looking at the 3350 and the Miller 281000 Digital Elite, but it had some poor reviews on the Miller website. I don't really want to see poor reviews on a hat that costs this much. I take some of them with a grain of salt because it's the internet but there was a decent percentage of them.

The 2450 must be a step up from the 3350 based on the prices. I will go to the Lincoln site and look at that a little more

1 hour ago, grannyknot said:

Some of the new models offer a viewer that lets you see your work piece in natural light before you start welding instead of the dark green, as soon as my current helmet croaks I'm going to get one of those, nice feature.

The better viewing is nice but my biggest beef is battery access. I really believe if the batteries were changed out my existing hat would work fine. I am running really low current and evidently that can cause the batteries to drain more because the flash isn't as bright. I don't know if that is true or not

Did you get the 2450 Digital or the other continuous model?

From what I can tell from Lincolns website

The 1840 , 3350, 2450 & 2450D (listed by increasing price) all have replaceable batteries and they all darken in 1/25,000th of a second

The biggest differences between them seem to be how many batteries they use and the number of shades they can attain.

1840 1 CR2450 shades 9-13 internal. Although I believe it is actually external like my existing helmet

3350 1 CR2450 shades 5-13 internal

2450 2 CR2450's shades 5-13 internal

2450D 2 CR2450's shades 4-13 internal

The cheaper 1840 also only has 2 arc sensors. All the others have 4

 

Edited January 27, 20196 yr by Patcon