Welding Tips and Tricks

So one of my other hobbies is fixing PCs and playing with electronics when I get the chance or that Million $$$ idea....

With that being said here is a little something I am thinking about whipping up in the next few days if I can get a chance.

Thinking if I can get one of these-
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... d=22874836

Wire it to one or two of these -
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cooling-Micro-S ... 4ad189b42c

Maybe mount inside the helmet above forehead with Velcro/zip-ties etc.... and waaalaaa with the flip of a switch you could have fresh air blowing across your face/safety glasses and all for about $10 plus batteries.

I get stuck welding in some tight quarters at work and as you guys know it gets super hot. The problem of my glasses fogging up under my helmet has been on that I have been determined to beat and this is my idea which I came across from a friend who goes paintballing all the time. He had one on his face mask and said it worked wonders, and the battery lasted surprisingly long. Although the model he used was powered by one 9v battery. Just thinking that 3 AA batteries may provide and even longer run time although not real sure. Figured I would try both setups since its only like $3 for either battery holder. Only thing differnet would be with the 9v you would need a seperate On/Off switch which is really cheap too.

Let me know what you guys think as to whether it would work or not, or if there is any details I might be over looking. They do sell some fan kits on ebay but they range from $20 to $80 and plus I like to make stuff myself.

The only pre-made one I seen that I thought was better was run from 1 AA battery with dual fans that pivoted to any position and said to have over 5 hrs of run time from the one battery, but was like $50-60 though....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-FANZ-FLEXR- ... 23395e0772

This is the one I liked most and actually has a 10+ hour runtime from one battery but is $70......

I have a Miller cool band. I love it.

Bill Beauregard wrote:I have a Miller cool band. I love it.

I actually just seen those the other day but wasnt sure it would be quite worth it at over $100. How long does that last per charge?

I don't know. I charge it when I put it away for the night.

BensJamming,
This will work fine. I have thought about this before but have not yet. If you do make it, let us know how you did it so others can benefit.
-Jonathan

A fan might suck in toxic fumes, but if you want to be the coolest kid on the block, try a peltier device like what is used in the KoolaTron electric coolers. These little devices get hot on one side and cold on the other. They are inexpensive on eBay. http://popular.ebay.com/business-indust ... ectric.htm

BTW - When water evaporates, it causes a temperature drop naturally. So, if you wear a wet cap under your hood, the evaporating water should effectively cool you down.

My cool band is a filtered air from the back of the head variety. they make one you wear the filter on the back of your belt.
Either way I figure filtered air from the back of my head is likely cleaner than what enters my helmet from below. I haven't had it through the summer yet. My reason for buying is fog. For this it helps. I do find I like safety glasses, as without them it dries out my eyeballs making them react by watering too much.

Why dont you rig up something like a solar cell that would charge the batteries from the arc? It works for the auto-darks. Don't see why it wouldn't be able to charge up a battery to run a small fan.

I have to wear a hardhat under my helmet so kinda kills the cool band idea. Also I have to wear a half face respirator so no worried about the fumes. Just mainly want air movement on my face for fogging. Witj the hardhat, helmet, 1/2 face respirator all on my head while in the hull of a ship it gets super hot. Not to mention the full leathers required when welding chest height or higher.

Have thought about thw solar cell but again I bang my helmet at least once an hour in there and would be worried about thw cell being exposed to damage on the outside of the helmet........

All great idea, thoughts, and concerns though.

Wonder if I could make the coolband mount on the hardhat headgear somehow?

Sent from a hidden menu within my AT Pro

Check out this page for stay-cool ideas. Had a guy demo the vests at work (I was impressed), and I'm planning to buy one with extra gel-packs when my next bonus shows up. There's also a hard-hat model, though it won't fix "fogging".

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1& ... ing%20vest

There are lots of companies and quality levels online, but this amazon page gives a good overview.

These are "phase transition" gel cooling, NOT to be confused with the crystal absorbent ones that are always wet and slimy feeling, like those stupid neckbands Wal-Mart has in the sporting good section. The packs are good for 4-5 hours of comfort, so I recommend getting two sets, and swapping at lunch. 20 minutes in a cooler of ice-water recharges them, or freeze them at night and keep the spares in your lunch bucket with ice packs.

Steve S

The only other option I could think of is getting a battery pack that clips onto your belt and running a little wire up to the fan in your welding hood. I'd think something made for wireless transmitter for a microphone or guitar would probably give you enough juice.

Try cutting up a raw potato and rubbing it on your glasses. In some cases, it works well.

BensJamming wrote:The problem of my glasses fogging up under my helmet

Sharpen the fan blades and you can save on hair cuts.

Is there a system that circulates water through a headband under welding helmets like what is used in the cool suits race car drivers, football players, etc wear to keep their core temperature down?

WerkSpace wrote:Try cutting up a raw potato and rubbing it on your glasses. In some cases, it works well.

BensJamming wrote:The problem of my glasses fogging up under my helmet

Good tip. I never heard of that before. May have to try it sometime. Like tonight while on my hands and knees trying to do a simple fillet weld without stopping that was about 4 feet long I couldnt see a thing by the time I got the end. Just mainly was going off how it sounded more then anything. That really annoys me so gonna have to try and figure something out soon. I dont think I would need much for air movement to keep em clear but figured this is worth a shot. I gutted an old PC I had in the garage which had a 40mm fan in it that I may try at first to see how it does. Just concerned about it sucking up the batteries too quickly.

I also though of using a larger battery and putting it on my belt but may be a pain when switching to my grinding shield.....

My other thought was to use a flow regulator like used for shielding gas, or they make some for blasting helmets but again would be tethered by an air line.

I have three words for you: Miller Cool Band. They are available in two varieties; belt filter, and back of the head filter. They aren't cheap, but you'll like them. I use a hair dryer to warm the helmet first if the weather is cold.

BensJamming wrote: ...My other thought was to use a flow regulator like used for shielding gas, or they make some for blasting helmets but again would be tethered by an air line.

Compressed air is not "breathing-rated" without a certified filter system. I'd frown on that one.

How about, just for an experiment, pick up one of those stupid-looking solar-powered ball-cap fans, fitting your 40mm blade to the shaft in place of the model-airplane-propellor-looking thing they come with, and letting your arc power the fan?

Steve S

Bill Beauregard wrote:I have three words for you: Miller Cool Band. They are available in two varieties; belt filter, and back of the head filter. They aren't cheap, but you'll like them. I use a hair dryer to warm the helmet first if the weather is cold.

I have seen these before but unfortunately like I mentioned I have to wear a hard hat at all times, even while wearing my welding helmet. So that fact that both the cool belt and band both use a special helmet "HEADGEAR" that will not work with a hard hat these options are not available to me....

Thanks for the suggestions, and would like to get one to be able to have the rechargable batteries all that already set up for me this is simply not an option unless you know how to make it work within a hardhat.

Otto Nobedder wrote: How about, just for an experiment, pick up one of those stupid-looking solar-powered ball-cap fans, fitting your 40mm blade to the shaft in place of the model-airplane-propellor-looking thing they come with, and letting your arc power the fan?

Steve S

Thats one thing I have never thought of. Wonder how well that would work? I may have to look into that some more. I have thought of the solar part but am scared with it being on the outside of the helmet it may get broken really fast since I tend to always banging my helmet into stuff while getting into tight quarters. In an 8 hr day I am lucky if I get to do any welds that I am not on my knees or bent over so my head is upside down. Crazy how many tight spots there are to get into and weld in the modules of a ship, especially when they are almost all built upside down in peices.

dynasty200sd wrote:Is there a system that circulates water through a headband under welding helmets like what is used in the cool suits race car drivers, football players, etc wear to keep their core temperature down?

The football players now actually put on a glove on the sidelines that circulates icewater through it. Apparently it's a very quick and efficient way to lower your core body temperature. You might be able to run something similar to a water cooling rig for a computer, with a little radiator attached to your belt or something. But it wouldn't be nearly as efficient as running icewater through the piping.

Like an ice cube down your back, it is so unpleasant, you stop complaining about heat. It doesn't solve your problem, just shuts you up about it.

When I have to weld under my project car, sweat and body heat conspire to fog up my glasses AND the helmet glass in about 2 seconds. I tried FOUR different anti-fog products and NONE of them even slowed up the fogging. So I've installed two small, 12 volt "muffin fans" onto my TIG helmet. They blow fresh air at my temple area and behind my glasses and shield glass. Problem solved!
And the fans even look kinda cool.
What I'm wondering is that this problem must be common enough that the industry should be making and selling these things long before now.

Try as I did, the links just took me to the home page for Radio Shack. So I don't know what part numbers you're talking about.

theMucker wrote:Try as I did, the links just took me to the home page for Radio Shack. So I don't know what part numbers you're talking about.

That post is over 18 months old... odds are the part #s are no longer current.

Steve S