In all my experience as a professional welder, I have rarely come across another hood that offers the same level of PERFORMANCE and RELIABILITY as the Lincoln 3350 auto-darkening helmet. However, for beginners, it can be somewhat overwhelming. Yet, once you master its settings and wear it properly, it will become your constant companion.
So, worry not; let me guide you on how to adjust it for an optimal welding experience every time.
Pre-requirements
Before I talk about the settings to tune on a Lincoln Viking 3350 welding helmet, I want you to take note of some essential things-
- Battery Power: If you have unboxed this hood just now, make sure to check its battery is powered up. Otherwise, charge the battery by placing it out in the sun since this hood is both battery and solar-powered. If it does not have enough power, maybe it’s time for a replacement.
- Lens Fitting: Inspect your helmet closely to ensure the auto-darkening filter (ADF) is securely attached to the hood and not loose or movable. If the lens is not properly fitted, there might be errors in the adjustment settings, which you want to avoid.
- Lens Darkening: Test that the lens automatically darkens (as it should) without striking a welding arc. You might want to expose it to a bright fluorescent lamp or sunlight to trigger its auto-tinting functionality. Here is a more detailed guide to do this.
Shade, Sensitivity, And Delay Settings In Lincoln Viking 3350 – How To Adjust Them?
The Lincoln Viking 3350 welding hood offers a range of features and user controls that you can customize to your specific needs. The intuitively designed digital user interface or control panel inside the hood allows you to adjust parameters such as shade, sensitivity, and delay timer based on your welding environment and process.
The Shade Settings (#5 to #13)
The lens shade is the most crucial adjustment in your Lincoln Viking 3350 auto-darkening helmet. If you check the user manual that comes in the box, you will find that, unlike most other models, the lens of this mask is equipped with the latest 4C technology.
When I put it to test, I discovered its major advantage is that it widens the range of hues you can see in both the dark and light states of the lens- improving VISIBILITY and CLARITY. So, the Viking hood is more efficient at preventing imperfections and eye strain by supporting the clearest view of your working object.
What I liked most about this hood is that it can fine-tune the lens shade to any level from DIN 5 to 8 and DIN 9 to 13 for welding, by using the TOGGLE button and dial. For instance, I use this hood as a full-face shield for gas-cutting tasks by setting the shade to level 5. A small external control dial on the left of the helmet, lets me adjust the lens according to the shade chart without taking off the hood.
Sensitivity Settings
The next control is sensitivity, which determines how rapidly your auto-tint welding hood lens darkens when exposed to bright ambient light. The Lincoln Viking 3350 comes with 4 built-in arc sensors for complete coverage and efficient sensitivity tuning using the inner control UI.
In other words, sensitivity gives me the power to ensure that this helmet darkens as and when I want it to, in response to different brightness levels of welding arcs. This setting is especially useful for professional welders like me or if you work close to other welders in a workshop. In such cases, adjusting the sensitivity helps.
Contrary to what you might think, a very high sensitivity level might not be a good idea; it’s best to tentatively set it somewhere midway and increase or decrease it as the situation demands.
If you know that you will be engaged in TIG or low-amperage welding tasks, a LOWER sensitivity should be sufficient. Although Lincoln Electric, the manufacturer says you can use this helmet at as little as 2 amperes, I have used mine and achieved seamless, flawless welding at 20 amperes.
The Delay Settings
In case you don’t know what delay time is, it is the setting with which you can control how long the lens of your welding helmet continues to be in the darkened state once the arc has stopped. You can adjust this delay time from 0.1 seconds up to a maximum of 1.0 seconds using the UI interface provided inside the Viking 3350 hood.
Just like sensitivity, the delay setting of the Lincoln auto-darkening hood also depends on the specifics of your task, so you need to set it accordingly. Again, the best is to set it to MEDIUM DELAY so that you can adjust it as per your requirement.
For instance, if you set it to too low a time for welding works that involve high amperage, the lens will turn lighter while the welding pool is still BRIGHT enough to hurt your eyes. For such cases, you should set it to a higher delay time, i.e., 1 second.
Read More: Shade, Sensitivity, and Delay Settings of Welding Hood
Other Important Settings To Tune On Viking 3350 Welding Hood
The Lincoln Viking 3350 welding helmet is loaded with several new and unique features that make it a class apart. Here are the important ones that I found most useful-
- Grind Button: Remember the small external shade control dial I mentioned a while back – well, this button can also be used to activate the grind mode on this hood while you are still wearing it. This low-profile button seamlessly blends with the helmet design and comes with a textured ring that you can control wearing your thick welding gloves. A new addition to the latest Viking 3350 model, you need to press and hold this button for 3 seconds to switch between welding and grinding modes.
- Lens Switch Speed: You might want to conceptualize the speed switch as the opposite functionality of the delay setting. My Lincoln auto-darkening welding helmet also came with a switching speed of 1/25000 seconds, which means it transitions from light to dark state at that fraction of a second. This is the fastest lens switch speed I have come across till today.
- Maintenance And Diagnostics Data: The digital UI panel inside your Viking welding helmet displays an advanced navigation menu that you can access once you turn on the hood. This new menu includes useful details for maintenance and diagnostics, such as arc information, mode history, productivity data, and more. It makes the cleaning and maintenance much easier.
- Memory Function: I can also save the three most-used welding settings in the internal memory of this helmet using its MEM feature available on the control panel. This is one of the most useful features that I have come across.
- Gearpoint App: The Gearpoint app allows me to control different settings through my smartphone. I can track productivity data, access predictive maintenance information, and control settings with this app.
I hope you find this concise guide helpful enough to get you started on your journey with the Lincoln Viking 3350 auto-darkening welding helmet. That said, I would still recommend you go through the instruction manual provided by the manufacturer while experimenting with different adjustments to see what works best for you.
Key Takeaways
The Lincoln 3350 helmet is known for its high performance and reliability, suitable for professionals but can be overwhelming for beginners.
Ensure the battery is charged, the lens is properly fitted, and the auto-darkening feature works before use.
Adjust the shade settings (DIN 5 to 13) using the toggle button and dial for optimal visibility and clarity.
Sensitivity settings control how quickly the lens darkens in response to light, with medium sensitivity recommended for general use.
Delay settings, adjustable from 0.1 to 1.0 seconds, determine how long the lens stays dark after the arc stops, with medium delay suggested for most tasks.
Additional features include a grind button, fast lens switch speed (1/25000 seconds), maintenance and diagnostics data, memory function for saving settings, and the Gearpoint app for remote control and data tracking.
