At home I have a Hobart, sunlight powered, helmet. At work we have a battery operated helmet. I've never had any problems with either.

However, sometimes, if I turn away from the arc, the shade goes away on the sunlight powered, so the arc must imitate sunlight.

One thing is certain: I almost need a flashlight shining on the weld to see anymore.

I've had a 3M #100 A/D hood for about 3 yrs now. It's batt powered and I haven't had to change batts yet. It works great. It has to be manually started and has auto shutoff, I don't know how long the auto shutoff period is. It's not built well enough for fulltime welding on a job but it has worked great for a hobby welder like me. The only way I could get outer cover lense was a pack of 10 for $25. At my age I think the supply will outlast me,LOL!! I changed the original one out about a month ago.
Mike

Currently have a Miller MP-10 about 8 yrs old paid $50.00 originally at our local Welding Supply Shop . The original battery lasted for over 5 yrs.

I have some of my original late 1960-70s Lincoln shade 10s and helmets. The 10s should be fine with the brighter looking 6011 Correct or should I go darker?

I have not had time to practice with the 6011 but I feel sure I will afford some 6013 on my next 5 lb box due to my wrought iron and repairs vs heavy structure. My average weld is on 1/8â mild steel but flexes 1/16â to üâ depending on projects or low end repair maybe in 2-3 mo vs planned.

Well heck. Egg on my face. (Or at least I hope) I charged it in the sun for 2 days and now it seems to work. Though I played with all the settings and will need to do so to get it back the way I like it. It has a little LED that should light when you push the button for grinding mode that doesn't seem to light now. Or at least i think as it was pretty bright out. I read that the battery isn't replaceable and you need a 360$ filter assy to fix it. I was prepared for the worst! I think I'll rest easier once I can get it dialed back in. It is an Optrel Satellite BTW. Here's a pic of the Country Living Grain Mill motorization project. You knmow, the one that looked like it was welded up by a blind man!

Here's a project I'm working on now. There were two heavy duty shelf units at work that were being scrapped. I got the idea to make them into a toolbox and wrap them with a frame and panel skin. I will post a separate thread (if it turns out well) later on.

Nice find baymee! Will it end up being cart / cabinet like or drawers?

The original was 2 sets of shelves. I determined the rough openings. The wood on top is for the frame and panel I will build around it. I has 9 drawers @21" deep. I will start a new thread when I get farther along.