Welding Helmet advice

[ThePanzerFuhrer]

Big welds stick or mig I grab the old fixed shade helmet. Tig or 120v mig I grab the Miller auto dark. Dual shield smoke is hard on the auto darkening helmets.

Honestly the fixed shade lenses are orders of magnitude more clear than the auto dark helmet. They both have there place.

The headgear is probably more important than the shade. If you can’t get it to fit right or stay up they might as well get scrapped.

 

[arse_sidewards]

Except when they don’t and you get the fuck flashed out your eyes.

Which is a nuisance and nothing more.

Watch the fucking video. He tests the glass without the auto-dark feature. The UV block is the coating on the glass.

 

[chaplinfj60]

basic Jackson

no battery's, no flip up whiz bang shit

keep it basic, and it will work every time

no batteries

basic

edit:
big lens Jackson

i still have my red one from 1997, and just last year got a new one just like here with the auto lense. but yes keep it somple

 

[zxkevinxz]

I gave up on cheap auto darkening hoods a few years ago after some nasty flash burn from an Amazon hood. Bought an Esab Sentinel and never looked back. Absolutely love it. Great helmet with some really nice features.

I can vouch for this hood as well

 

[[486]]

Honestly the fixed shade lenses are orders of magnitude more clear than the auto dark helmet.

even from new? I figured it was just the amount of cleaning that mine have been subjected to that has made them a bit fuzzy
could easily see it though, two pieces of glass with the LCD goop between them is a lot more shit going on than a film of gold deposited on one side of a piece of glass

 

[ThePanzerFuhrer]

even from new? I figured it was just the amount of cleaning that mine have been subjected to that has made them a bit fuzzy
could easily see it though, two pieces of glass with the LCD goop between them is a lot more shit going on than a film of gold deposited on one side of a piece of glass

IMO yeah. The glass just makes everything nice and clear. The auto darks is just hazy when they darken. We got a speed glass a cheap harbor freight and a Miller auto and they are all about the same.

If you don’t have good lighting in your shop a simple flashlight shining on the weld makes a world a difference also.

 

[tracyb]

IMO yeah. The glass just makes everything nice and clear. The auto darks is just hazy when they darken. We got a speed glass a cheap harbor freight and a Miller auto and they are all about the same.

If you don’t have good lighting in your shop a simple flashlight shining on the weld makes a world a difference also.

the auto shades have gotten alot better. i think it was lincoln that first had what they call a 4c lens or smething like that. i know the newer lincoln and speedglass lens s are far better than any of the older ones that i've used.

 

[larboc]

They all block all the UV.

STFU, you are 100% wrong, they absolutely do not. The HF helmet i had blocked visible light great and seemed like it was working but wasn't blocking UV. Then after a long welding project I had a rectangle sunburn centered on my eyes that peeled badly. I also noticed a permanent reduction in night time vision.

 

[arse_sidewards]

STFU, you are 100% wrong, they absolutely do not. The HF helmet i had blocked visible light great and seemed like it was working but wasn't blocking UV. Then after a long welding project I had a rectangle sunburn centered on my eyes that peeled badly. I also noticed a permanent reduction in night time vision.

I haven't had any problems with my two and I've burned probably close to 150lb of consumables over the time I've had them including a couple 10-15lb projects, never any burn of any kind. They're definitly not nice helmets which is why I suggested one as a backup but they work.

You must have got one of the ones that got made while the UV film applier guy at the factory was on his smoke break.

 

[Deleted Member]

I have a hobart auto dark I picked up at a Cal-Ranch a few years ago... I use it for mig only. Has a grind mode, via a switch inside the hood and a weld mode. It works ok for my purposes. I also have an old Jackson for when I do arc welding, but it is seldom used now days.

 

[animator]

Which is a nuisance and nothing more.

Watch the fucking video. He tests the glass without the auto-dark feature. The UV block is the coating on the glass.

I prefer to not be nuisanced. If you enjoy being flashed, more power to you.

 

[larboc]

I haven't had any problems with my two and I've burned probably close to 150lb of consumables over the time I've had them including a couple 10-15lb projects, never any burn of any kind. They're definitly not nice helmets which is why I suggested one as a backup but they work.

You must have got one of the ones that got made while the UV film applier guy at the factory was on his smoke break.

Exactly, inconsistent quality control with bottom of the line products. Fine for HVLP sprayers, horrible for PPE. Spend a little more on a name brand helmet, buying a HF or no-name amazon helmet is the stupidest place to save money on welding equipment. The Lincoln I got wasn't THAT expensive and works well. I had loaned my HF helmet to a friend with contacts a few times before I realized what was wrong with it and it would dry his contacts really badly when welding for a fairly short amount of time.

 

[arse_sidewards]

I prefer to not be nuisanced. If you enjoy being flashed, more power to you.

If it happened with any regularity I wouldn't still own them.

 

[Purevil71]

I got my son a Save Phace Gen X auto darkening for his H.S. welding class in a WWII bomber theme. Apparently a few of the kids in his class have that brand and that's what he wanted.
I just use a Hobart Darkening from Rual King but I'm a hobbiest,, and from the looks of some of my welds, not even a good one...lol

 

[[486]]

and from the looks of some of my welds, not even a good one...lol

can't weld good if you can't see good

I'll blobberate exhaust shit together with just a bare piece of #10 glass that's scarred to hell when I gotta cram my head into uncomfortable places
it certainly shows in the quality of the weld, but when it's jammed against the floorboard it ain't like anyone'll ever see it. Just gotta not hear it

 

[billdacat]

Shit; maybe the kid wanst a fucking pancake hood for laying pipe! Hand him a couple of Benjamins and let him decide.

 

[arse_sidewards]

Shit; maybe the kid wanst a fucking pancake hood for laying pipe! Hand him a couple of Benjamins and let him decide.

And buy him a HF helmet he can throw in his trunk for when his nice shit gets trashed in the middle of a job.

 

[Filthy McChevy]

I like the Northern tool auto darkening one I got in new condition for 10 bucks at a Goodwill better than the Hobart one I bought at a ranch store. The Hobart is pretty old now though, 15 years old minimum. The Hobart rarely flashed me and not harmfully though. And 1 of these

with the lenses out worn under a regular hood makes an ok substitute for a pancake helmet in a pinch

 

[Purevil71]

can't weld good if you can't see good

I'll blobberate exhaust shit together with just a bare piece of #10 glass that's scarred to hell when I gotta cram my head into uncomfortable places
it certainly shows in the quality of the weld, but when it's jammed against the floorboard it ain't like anyone'll ever see it. Just gotta not hear it

Being completely self taught has a little to do with it as well I think...lol
I'll lay a bead that looks like a professional with 20 years experience, then turn around and throw duck crap all over it.
I'm just glad I have a good grinder...lol

 

[92 Green YJ]

Being completely self taught has a little to do with it as well I think...lol
I'll lay a bead that looks like a professional with 20 years experience, then turn around and throw duck crap all over it.
I'm just glad I have a good grinder...lol

I’ll tell ya, he’s not wrong. One thing I noticed immediately when I swapped to the Esab Sentinel over the cheap no name auto darkening hoods, was just how much better my welds came out. I’m a self taught welder myself and I can absolutely say with certainty that a quality helmet with good optics really helped improve the look of my welds.

 

[tracyb]

STFU, you are 100% wrong, they absolutely do not. The HF helmet i had blocked visible light great and seemed like it was working but wasn't blocking UV. Then after a long welding project I had a rectangle sunburn centered on my eyes that peeled badly. I also noticed a permanent reduction in night time vision.

i dont know enough to 100% say this is BS but...

its pretty hard to believe.... and i've never heard of anything like it. were you not using a front side or back side protective lens? if the auto dark was working, that alone provides a high level of uv protection.

and just a sunburn, no gravel in the eyes feeling? whats a long project?

you would win a huge legal settlement if you could prove your claim!



i would believe you got a sunburn from reflected light off the lens (thru the back of the hood) over getting burned through an auto dark lens and 2 layers of protective plastic.

every layer adds to the protection. its one of the reasons i recommend everyone wear safety glasses under their hood when welding.

the biggest reason to not use HF hoods is you may get flashed, from delayed darking or bad sensors.






-on another note-

to everyone saying to use a fixed shade, what shade are you using? i use shade 12 the most. i dont see many shades other than shade 10, out in the field. for me its a game changer to be able to adjust the shade of my lens when needed.

ever notice most that weld for a living have darker colored eyes?

my eyes are blue, the color of your eyes is related to how sensitive they are to light. i didn't know this for some time and about gave up on welding until i got a good auto dark helmet and started playing around with the shade.

also 486 mention using a towel to cover the back of your hood when welding. and i too highly recommend somethign of this sort. allot of guys in the ship yard wore shirts with big hoods or cut necks so that you could put the hood over the top of your helmet, bloacking all back light. 3M actually offers a cloth piece to attach that does the same thing. it looks a bit goofy but i rock one on the hood i use everyday.

like this;

 

[Brad]

Most expensive does not mean better in my opinion. There’s lots of gimmicky shit now and it’s not worth having that in a $500 hood when you don’t need it and a $300 hood will get you by just fine. Honestly if he wants an auto hood, get a huntsman and stick a super singles240(I think) or a weldbeast(heard good things about these) 2x4 lens in it. Field work will fuck up hoods and you’d hate to smash a $500 hood. I started with a fixed shade 10, non flip huntsman in school. Got a huntsman slider and put a shade 11 in it and used that for a while. Got a real job, saved up and bought a $300 Miller big window and it was nice, til the headgear got fucked up and the replacement headgear sucked. Started getting lighter in the corners and eventually didn’t lighten anymore. Went back to my fixed shade 11 and used that til I got a job doing precision low amp tig work when I got my Lincoln Viking.

 

[tracyb]

oh yeah and it was said that auto dark weld lens's are a consumable. and they are!!

i have had some older 3M auto dark lens's that very noticeably would start to loose shade over time. batteries good, but where no longer dark enough for my use.

 

[Brad]

To those saying they are getting flash burnt eyes, are you wearing safety glasses underneath your hood when welding AND around any welding light at all?? If you aren’t, that’s your problem. I worked in a big fab shop for 15 years. Safety glasses anytime I wasn’t on break. Never a problem with flash burned eyes even walking around the shop, passed guys welding, glancing over as someone was striking an arc, etc. Welded anywhere from let’s say 50 amps to 300 amps regularly and up to 600 when carbon arc’ing. Never flash burned. I’m not trying to brag, just my experience and what I was taught in school.
One of the guys I worked with used a HF hood and would get a new one every year(don't remember if he bought it or had some kind of warranty thing)He had no problems seeing, no problems with his eyes and had no interest in buying an expensive hood and he had been there a few years before I started and he’s still there today.

 

[IowaOffRoad]

Ignore the stupid old men and get an auto-dark. It's the 21st fucking century. No reason to weld like it's the 19th.

Just give him $100 to buy whatever one he wants and buy him a HF as a backup for when that one gets destroyed.

I am by no means an 'old guy' having not seen my 40th yet, but I agree that wide lens fixed shade Jackson is the shit. Set up your headgear right and learn how to bob your head. I don't TIG much, but use it when I TIG and can still see well and don't get flashed.
I do have an auto-dark for working in shit positions mainly under equipment, but if you can weld standing up the Jackson is all I use. I don't even use the gold lens, though after all the rec's I might try it.

IMO yeah. The glass just makes everything nice and clear. The auto darks is just hazy when they darken. We got a speed glass a cheap harbor freight and a Miller auto and they are all about the same.

If you don’t have good lighting in your shop a simple flashlight shining on the weld makes a world a difference also.

I do think that the newest, more expensive auto-darks vision quality is getting very good, but all things being equal (both being new with clear protection lenses) I still think the fixed shade Jackson wins compared to all other helmets I've used.
Again, if you're slid under your hoopty in the gravel on a jack welding your new cat in after meth addict steals it, you want an auto, but if you are burning welds on your new axle housing on a bench, get the fixed shade Jackson.

 

[tracyb]

To those saying they are getting flash burnt eyes, are you wearing safety glasses underneath your hood when welding AND around any welding light at all?? If you aren’t, that’s your problem. I worked in a big fab shop for 15 years. Safety glasses anytime I wasn’t on break. Never a problem with flash burned eyes even walking around the shop, passed guys welding, glancing over as someone was striking an arc, etc. Welded anywhere from let’s say 50 amps to 300 amps regularly and up to 600 when carbon arc’ing. Never flash burned. I’m not trying to brag, just my experience and what I was taught in school.
One of the guys I worked with used a HF hood and would get a new one every year(don't remember if he bought it or had some kind of warranty thing)He had no problems seeing, no problems with his eyes and had no interest in buying an expensive hood and he had been there a few years before I started and he’s still there today.

and the indoor/ outdoor safety glasses are 10x better to stop flash burn.

 

[Lincoln]

I am a marginal welder at best but got tired of trying to shove my fat head in little places and getting flashed or trying to work blind with a fixed shade I couldn’t lift. Got sold on the wide view and the light shade when off. It hasn’t disappointed. I find myself walking to the grinder for the 50th time to sharpen tungsten without lifting it or putting it in grind mode.

I did get flashed once cramming my head in a fender well. Apparently I hit the grind mode and I didn’t see the blinking blue light.

The auto darkness seems to work well. I adjust the base line depend on if I remember to wear my glasses or not,

When I don’t weld for months I do need to charge it for 10 minutes or so.

The view seems wider than my big lens Jackson Fixed shade.

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[SomeGuyFromOlympia]

-on another note-

to everyone saying to use a fixed shade, what shade are you using? i use shade 12 the most. i dont see many shades other than shade 10, out in the field. for me its a game changer to be able to adjust the shade of my lens when needed.

I think most are 10's

I like a gold 12, but I am sunglasses when its overcast guy

and of course it depends what kind of amperage you are running, more=higher shade

 

[[486]]

missed that one
I mostly use a 10
but I've got a bunch of 9s around here somewhere from my grandpa
also got an 8 for the plasma, plopped it on the counter and the old man at the counter was confused, said he couldn't recall ever seeing one leave the store
he also had a few 6s and 7s in the same card file drawer

 

[tracyb]

i do 6-7 for flame cutting.

9 10 for plasma

mostly 12 for welding, never lower then 10 for the super low amp tig stuff.


for reference i believe typical sunglasses are around shade 3