Used Miller Elite Welding Helmet

[bob_the_builder]

I am just starting out learning to arc weld and in the market for a welding helmet. I have read many posts on different types of welding helments. It seems like Speedglas is very popular with some of the Miller helmets next. I found a used Miller Elite welding helmet and I was wondering what a fair price would be for it. The guy said its a fer years old but has been used on a few times. From the pictures it looks to be in good shape. Not sure if it would be better to buy a new cheaper helment of a better one used.

Thanks,

Bob

 

[Zeke]

To tell you the truth, most of the students in welding classes I took were using HF helmets. I did. I have a Speedglas. It does have a darkness control, so does the HF. It has a sensitivity control, so does the HF. It does not have a delay control which the HF has.

The Speedglas is fast but only a full time welder will notice the millionth seconds. What you DO want is 4 sensors if you can find a model with those.

If you weld in tight places, you will appreciate the extra 2 sensors.

Another thing to look for is the ability for a helmet to hold cheater lenses in the view port. If you TIG weld, you will appreciate the magnification. Cheaters are different than eyeglasses. They magnify, they don't "correct" your vision. So even if you don't wear glasses, you might like the cheaters.

I can't TIG weld w/o them.

 

[rlitman]

Cheaters are the same as reading glasses.
My two Speedglas helmets have 2 sensors. I'm not sure if they offer a model with 4, but I've never had it fail to go dark.
The delay setting is not how fast it goes dark, but how long it waits after the arc is extinguished for it to go back to light.

I too have read many good things about the Miller Digital Elite. I just would be hesitant to buy a used helmet. It's like buying a used hat, or used shoes. It would have to look really clean . . .
That, and be sure you can replace the batteries (even the solar ones have batteries inside).

 

[ford33]

I have a Lincoln Viking 3350 series and like it though I wish the head band were easier to adjust. I like the large lense.

I agree that buying a used welding helmet is not ideal. I sweat and swear in my helmet and the thought of using another person's helmet is not appealing to me from a health point of view. However, if you take it apart and clean it really well you could get by with a used helmet.

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

The Miller Elite uses 4 sensors, has delay control and is a nice helmet. Push the reset button while looking thru the glass at something. If you see the window "blink" and go dark twice, it should be good to go. If it starts blinking and doesn't stop, replace the batteries.

The go for around $300 and up new so a price in the $90 to $150 (depending on condition) wouldn't be out of line. I bought a used, camo model still in the box that looked like it had never been used, replaced the batteries and have used it since then as my primary helmet.

 

[koditten]

I have one. Used the HF version for years. If you can get it for less the 200, its a deal. The Elite is really much much better than HF auto shade helmet.

The only thing better is the actual SpeedGlass brand, but you would have to really do a lot more weldiong to appreciate it.

I can't remember the speed of the shade, but for some reason 20,000th of a sec is what the HF's are rated at and the Elite is rated at 45,000th of a sec for speed of shade. You can't tell the difference when wearing the helmets, but at the end of a long day you eyes will thank you for the faster lense. After all, the speed of light is 280,000 miles per hour. Some of the full weld light will actully make it to your eyes befor the lense changes. If you can afford the extra cost, get the Elite. I did and don't regret it a bit.

Later

KO

 

[Zeke]

Cheaters are the same as reading glasses.
My two Speedglas helmets have 2 sensors. I'm not sure if they offer a model with 4, but I've never had it fail to go dark.
The delay setting is not how fast it goes dark, but how long it waits after the arc is extinguished for it to go back to light.

I too have read many good things about the Miller Digital Elite. I just would be hesitant to buy a used helmet. It's like buying a used hat, or used shoes. It would have to look really clean . . .
That, and be sure you can replace the batteries (even the solar ones have batteries inside).

Thanks for the delay info. I had that incorrect. Your reading glasses must be different than mine. Mine center the 2 images, correct for astigmatism (not much, but everyone has some) and magnify at different factors depending on which eye. Now I know you can get prescription lenses for welding helmets.

But those aren't called cheaters, now are they? They are corrective lenses.

Good call on the battery replacement. I don't see any way to replace batteries on any of my 4 helmets except the Speedglas.

 

[rlitman]

. . . After all, the speed of light is 280,000 miles per hour.

Off the top of my head, it is 186,282 miles per SECOND in a vacuum (about .99 of that in air). There is a neat experiment involving some fascinating mathematics, a microwave oven, and a chocolate bar, if you want to verify that speed at home.

But I don't think it is the reaction time that affects your eye comfort. All auto-darkening helmets are fully dark in the UV and IR spectrum all the time. They just go dark in the visible spectrum. You will not be hurt if you forget to turn the helmet on and strike an arc for a second.
Eye strain is a funny thing. I suspect that the poor optical quality and distortion created by the cheap helmets is a large cause of it.
I know that with an HF helmet, I had a hard time distinguishing the puddle. The upgrade to a Speedglas was not only more comfortable, but greatly improved my welding, as I could now see what I was doing (I'm not praising Speedglas over Miller BTW. I've got two Speedglas helmets myself, and haven't even touched a Miller).

Thanks for the delay info. I had that incorrect. Your reading glasses must be different than mine. Mine center the 2 images, correct for astigmatism (not much, but everyone has some) and magnify at different factors depending on which eye. Now I know you can get prescription lenses for welding helmets.

But those aren't called cheaters, now are they? They are corrective lenses.

There are three kinds of lens corrections that you will typically see in a single lens:

Negative spherical correction. These will reduce the image size, and are the type of lens used to correct distance vision in a near-sighted person (like myself).

Positive spherical correction. These magnify the image, but also correct close up vision in a far-sighted person. This is the same correction used in reading glasses, and cheaters. It is also what a camera macro correction lens uses, and it not only magnifies, but also allows you to focus closer.

Cylindrical correction. This is used for astigmatism.

Cheaters are just like cheap drugstore reading glasses.
Prescription reading glasses made for your eyes will sometimes have different powers for each eye (if you need that), and will have the optical centers placed in front of your pupils (this greatly improves the image quality, since not all people have the same interpupillary distance).
Prescription reading glasses would also correct astigmatism (if you need it).

If you're TIG welding, you will often want to get closer to your work, then you would be to a book, so lots of people use a cheater lens to allow them to focus on what they're welding, even though they do not need reading glasses. Personally, I can still focus up to about 4" from my eyes, so a cheater really doesn't do me any good (so long as the torch is 2" from my helmet's lens, I can focus just fine, and closer than that, I'd be worried about melting plastic anyway).

 

[ImLow78]

Save your money and buy a ArcOne python. Cheap, well constructed hood with a big viewing area and lighter then the Miller. (That coming from a guy that uses a Miller Elite hood everyday).

Also I'd look at the Jackson Halo X (Truesight).

But that's just my two cents... Good luck on which ever hood you buy..

www.weldfabulous.com has some good prices on the ArcOne and I'd google shop the Jackson for prices.

Shannon

 

[Falcon67]

What kind of chocolate bar?

I used an HF auto helmet for a few years and it worked very well until it didn't work anymore. Keep a bright cheap LED light handy and test your helmet before use. I recently replaced the HF unit with this one:
http://store.cyberweld.com/hohowehebl3d.html

 

[crewchief888]

as long as it works properly,
isnt beat up,
and the price is reasonable

go for it

 

[bob_the_builder]

Thanks everyone for the input. The guys price is still a little high so I will see if he will come down at all.

Bob

 

[Gary S]

I've used a number of different ones and see little or no difference in use. The one thing I did find is that some of the cheaper ones don't have replaceable batteries. That might be one thing to keep in mind when buying.

 

[dragginbalz]

I work for a welding distributor.. While we sell a lot of Miller hoods, I would very leery of purchasing anything (any brand) out of warranty. The problem with all ADF hoods is once they go, they go. There is no fixing them. Just the lens is about 80% of the purchase price of a new helmet. I have a Miller hood that I rarely use that is probably 10 years old. It seems to be the norm to outlast the warranty, but some don't. Maybe for $100 I would purchase it. As mentioned above, I would suggest spending the $20.00 on a new head gear! Good luck!

 

[Zeke]

Well, Mr. Litman, you certainly ate my lunch.

 

[AndyA]

I have a Miller Elite and Miller Digital Elite. The digital one is a little nicer for outdoors work since it has "x-mode" that doesn't get triggered by sunlight as easily. You can get the non-digital one adjusted to give good performance in sunlight, so it's not really that big of a deal.

I haven't had much time with other auto hoods so I can't give you a comparison.
The only complaint I have with the Miller hoods is the crappy headgear. It's plastic and tends to strip out the teeth on the size adjustment. A harder plastic or a metal insert for the teeth would be nice.