Dan in North Houston
Member
Wife bought me a new welding hood for Christmas several years ago, auto-darkening lens from Northern Tool. The electronics are solar powered, but have two small batteries (round flat kind) I guess for backup power. It was to be a spare hood, and hadn't had a reason to use it until recently. Pulled it out and the electronic lens is cloudy, like it is all fogged up on the inside. It was stored without batteries in it, inside a plastic bin, so I know it has never been wet or drawn damp. Put new batteries in it, and there is an indicator light that shows it is getting power. But no change to the lens, it is still clouded up. Do these things go bad over time? It is so bad, we would have noticed it when we got it. Probably not feasible to try to find a replacement, just cheaper to toss it? They have replacement lens, but not the whole electronic assembly.
As a follow up question, what is the difference between the cheap models and the expensive? The other hood I have was not very expensive, but it works great. As a very occasional user, I don't need a fancy model, but don't want to sacrifice safety and vision either.
As a follow up question, what is the difference between the cheap models and the expensive? The other hood I have was not very expensive, but it works great. As a very occasional user, I don't need a fancy model, but don't want to sacrifice safety and vision either.