Need Help Selecting Safet helmets!!

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Faston

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Finally ready to fix the spotweld on the support channel. Took me a long time the proper 240V connectors for both connectors.

I need to grab a welding helmet. Some folks have told me to get the cheaper that not darken automatically.

Other folks have told me I should get an auto darken.

I have flexibility on how much I spend, I want a good one!

Thanks,
Randy.
 
I have an auto darken lens and I love it... I weld quite often though. For a couple repairs every now and again I wouldn't drop close to $200 just to leave it gather dust.
 
If you use the auto-darken helmet, be careful not to use it in such a way that something between the arc and the panels throws a shadow on the panel. The lens will not darken and that is Not Good™.
 
I wear a welding hood all day every day and its a passive, autos just aren't for me. Whatever one you choose just buy a Jackson, they have the most comfortable headgear on market.
 
The auto darkening helmet is the only way to go The Peabody that invented that is my hero. That one from HF is pretty decent I have one and I have a Lincoln too. I cant really see( pun intended) much difference.
 
I wound up with an auto-adjust from H.F. for $35. This one has a dial that you can increase the overall darkness. Hope it really works:) Some nice guy was in line behind me and gave me the coupon for it.

Thanks for the warnings on the auto-adjusts. If this one does not darken properly I will get a fixed passive unit.
 
I got one of those cheap auto darkening one, but I only used it for the welding classes.
I couldnt get used to the regular fixed shade one I had before that, when I tried nodding my head to flip down the shield, my hands moved so I was off the mark.
The only thing I didnt like with the auto dark one was when I was looking up into the lights at the school, it would trigger the darkening before I was ready.

Im not a expert in any way, shape or form...but if you arent going to be doing more than a little welding every once in a while, I wouldnt go spending several hundred bucks. But if its going to be a job...i wouldnt skimp
 
wnkt said:
I got one of those cheap auto darkening one, but I only used it for the welding classes.
I couldnt get used to the regular fixed shade one I had before that, when I tried nodding my head to flip down the shield, my hands moved so I was off the mark.
The only thing I didnt like with the auto dark one was when I was looking up into the lights at the school, it would trigger the darkening before I was ready.

Im not a expert in any way, shape or form...but if you arent going to be doing more than a little welding every once in a while, I wouldnt go spending several hundred bucks. But if its going to be a job...i wouldnt skimp
Click to expand...

Same thing here, with non larking, when I raised my helmet I would be way off the mark.
Dave
 
The auto-darken ones are good for hobbyist welders who only do a small amount now & then. There's a slight delay between the arc & when they darken, and after a whole day of welding, your eyes will feel like they're full of sand.

I've found for the odd jobs, auto-darken is great, but for a day of car repairs with a MIG, the old passive one is the only way to save your eyes.

It's kinda the opposite to what you're doing - the short job where a/darken will be fine, so the delay won't be an issue for you, but it's hard to justify the cost.

One thing I have learnt though, if you own a welder, and your skills are reasonable, your buddies will catch on, then you'll find yourself doing a lot more welding jobs once word gets out - which would justify the added expense.
 
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I've had one of the HF auto darkenings for five years. Still works great. I had to order new head gear for it this weekend as the straps finally broke. They are on sale for $39 right now. I just welded up a cart for my Backwoods this weekend - about three hours of welding and my eyes never felt like sand.
 
FYI, there is currently a 25% off coupon good for tomorrow at HF
 
colonel00 said:
FYI, there is currently a 25% off coupon good for tomorrow at HF
Click to expand...

Yep, got mine printed out. But the fine print says it can't be used with other discounts. Not sure if that is enforced. HF is usually pretty lax. I'm headed there in the morning.
 
Well,
Ground off the top of the weld, tried to cut a "V" by the seperation. This was my first shot at welding and it is now apparent being little slower or faster can quickly change results. My weld is not pretty but it is holding:)

I was the 1/8" weld sticks that came with the unit and I think 1/16 might have been a better choice. Thanks for the help!
 
The auto darkening lenses make it really easy to tack exactly where you want it, and the nice ones adjust for shade, delay, and sensitivity. The more you spend on the helmet itself,....the more features they have too.

I currently have a couple of fixed shade Jackson helmets with the big window, and an Optrel adjustable, which goes from 5 to 13. I do TIG on thin stainless, so I use a low shade for that work, and use a 10 at higher amp settings. When stick welding, either the fixed shade or the adjustable works fine, but I'm really hooked on the adjustable. I will make a small change in shade when changing from 1/8" to 3/32" electrodes.

FWIW, I've worked around welding for 38 years,.... you only have one set of eyes. Spend as much as you can afford.
 
thirdeye said:
The auto darkening lenses make it really easy to tack exactly where you want it, and the nice ones adjust for shade, delay, and sensitivity. The more you spend on the helmet itself,....the more features they have too.

I currently have a couple of fixed shade Jackson helmets with the big window, and an Optrel adjustable, which goes from 5 to 13. I do TIG on thin stainless, so I use a low shade for that work, and use a 10 at higher amp settings. When stick welding, either the fixed shade or the adjustable works fine, but I'm really hooked on the adjustable. I will make a small change in shade when changing from 1/8" to 3/32" electrodes.

FWIW, I've worked around welding for 38 years,.... you only have one set of eyes. Spend as much as you can afford.
Click to expand...

Couldn't have said it better myself Thirdeye. I will admit that HF is good for a lot of stuff but I do not buy anything safety related from there. I only have one set of eyes, ears, and hands and safety is one thing I will spend money on. I currently have a 4 sensor NexGen that I use for Tig and a Miller Elite platinum that I use for Mig. Both are auto darkening and I also have a few "old school" hoods.
 
Guess I'm odd man out in this case... I've had lots of problems with auto shades... flashing on and off as I weld, slow to shade ect... I will say I used to work in a fab shop that supported the oil fields so it wasn't a simple spot weld here and there. I'm old school give me pipeliner and I'm a happy man. Okay and some beer after work
 
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