mgee,
WELCOME TO THE AWS WELDING FORUM!!Blaster makes some good points. As a beginner, don't start out spending a whole bunch of money on an auto hood until you can get a chance to try out several and find one you really like.
Also, as a beginner, get comfortable with a regular hood to find your viewing combo. For example, as I have gotten older, almost 59, I use a low power cheater to improve view clarity of the weld pool. I have also found this helped my children, when they were in their late teens and learning to weld in our family business. And, if you wear glasses, get a good pair of prescription safety glasses. I have mine in the same progressive lens prescription as my regular glasses.
Next, make sure you don't try to use too dark of a lens. Many people grab a 12 or so to cover themselves. 'If a 10 is good a 12 must be better right?' NO. There needs to be care. It is dependent upon the process and several variables. Even processes that 'recommend' a 12, can often be learned better with a 10 while you learn what you are watching and the weld arc itself can be shaded with the gun, nozzle, etc of the process in use. Having said that, I strongly caution against going too light. Make sure your lens is dark enough that your eyes are not strained or damaged.
Once you have figured out how to get a good view of the welding process then you can spend the money on an auto darkening hood and add the needed accessories to get your view along with the safety, comfort, and ease of this technology.
While I'm editing this for a couple of words that were spelled to the wrong application, Paladin makes an excellent point about keeping the lens clear. Change it much more often than many people think. You can only wipe that smoke off a couple of times and the lens is still clouded and now scratched up as well. Surprising how much a new clear lens will help. And remember, there are two main compositions for clear lenses. Use the plastic lens on the outside and poly-carbonate for the inside. You can use plastic on both but the poly-carbonate is less brittle and will not shatter like the plastic. But the plastic resists heat damage and smoke hazing better than the poly-carbonate so is a better lens for the outside.
Someone once told me OSHA required the poly's on the inside because of the shattering/safety issue. I have never been able to verify that but I could see where some companies have items like that in their safety manual.
He Is In Control, Have a Great Day, Brent
PS: back again, don't forget to remove the thin plastic protective cover on many lenses. I was testing a welder for qualification/certification once not long ago and the company had supplied him with a brand new hood and the company owner had installed the clear lenses. He left the clear plastic film on the outer one. The guy kept complaining and wishing he had brought his own hood. Finally I grabbed it and put it on and struck an arc. Sorry, I could not help but start laughing. He was furious, not with me, with his brother in law boss. We charged the company for extra time but let the guy start his weld test all over again. What an improvement from the minute he then struck an arc.
If you have blue eyes you might want to go a shade darker or wear tinted safety glasses under your hood. I'm blue eyed, and most blue eyed people are a touch more sensitive to bright light. Other than that very good info.
