Welding helmets

[Atlascycle]

The Best helmet I have used so far is a Speedglas 9100XX. I also have a Jackson Master EQC. It is about 5 years old, I have had the lens replaced once. The Jackson did not work well in the cold. the helmet would randomly just turn off. I do Production welding and the Speedglas was worth every penny.


Jason.

 

[dellwas]

Hey another Bluenoser! I'm down in Chester Grant, BTW.

I've got a P.A. solar auto darkening that I've been using for 3 years now. Mine is adjustable, (9-13) and came with 2 or 3 different lenses as well. Currently I've got mine set at 9. I've done a lot of welding with it, and had no problems. Maybe it wasn't dialed in properly?

used a princess auto cheapie that was my buddies (same as HF ad the others). Got flashed and headaches.Gravel eyes *****. Response is too slow.

Went and got a miller BWE. NO PROBLEMS. never a flash. been great and it has great headgear.

 

[WSMC633]

I used to have a CMAN AD helmet. It was ok. I got flashed more than a few times, and the sensor would go crazy if I was under fluorescent lights, but I just dealt with it for years. About 6 months ago I picked up a Miller Elite, I'm never going back. Haven't been flashed once, the variable shade is really cool, and having a much larger viewing window is awesome. I've been doing a lot of welding the past month, and I've really appreciated the nicer helmet.

They're not cheap by any means, but I think it's worth it. Regardless, I would stick with a top brand helmet, even if it is a bit more $$. I know Miller has less expensive helmets that are quite nice as well.

 

[scooby074]

Hey another Bluenoser! I'm down in Chester Grant, BTW.

Theres a few of us on here always good to add one more

I've got a P.A. solar auto darkening that I've been using for 3 years now. Mine is adjustable, (9-13) and came with 2 or 3 different lenses as well. Currently I've got mine set at 9. I've done a lot of welding with it, and had no problems. Maybe it wasn't dialed in properly?

Maybe. But i doubt it. I think im just a little more susceptible than average? I think the switch time was just a bit too slow?

 

[sporkedtospec]

I'll chime in as a fan of old fashioned passive lens helmets with a gold lens. No flash, no batteries, no worries.

I prefer the Jackson HSL 100, especially with the updated head gear.
I keep two around; one with a 9 lens, and one with a 10. That way I don't have to worry about smudges, scratches or breaking the lens when swapping them out.

 

[Groovy]

I bought the Kobalt auto darkening with funky graphics at Lowes it was 129 bucks not top of the line but has changed my whole welding world I can see what I'm welding now! I love it but I'm learning and its prolly just good for home light shop use. It is Solar powered works off my graage lights or sun and works very well for me

 

[madjack]

Hornell speedglas 9000x. Adjustable shade and has both vertical and horisontal sensors with a larger window than most.
The harbor freight helmets are not adjustable and only have a small strip sensor that can be blocked by arm movement. If you do lots of gymnastics while welding such as rollcages, you may want to think twice about the HF helmet. On a bench, it would probably be ok, but I weld for a living and my eyes are valuable to me.

 

[gsport]

i was using a HF for awhile, untill i got my miller 211 and bought a package deal and got an elite series helmet at the same time.. the biggest difference was the weight of the two, the miller is much lighter and more comfortable.

 

[crewchief888]

I'll chime in as a fan of old fashioned passive lens helmets with a gold lens. No flash, no batteries, no worries.

about the only time i use a passive lens is if i have a lot of flat/horizontal welding to do. and that dont happen much anymore. most of my welding at work is "quicky" jobs, usually (way) out of position, an AD hood fill the bill for me.
at home welding is almost always (way) out of position, welding cages, bumpers, and mounts.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Went by HF yesterday to look at their AD helmets. I weld VERY little so I thought I'd pick up the black with blue flames one and peel of the flames as per Jack's recommendation. Then I saw they had the candy red one with slightly less horrendous graphics on it on sale. Took it out of the box and its graphics do NOT peel off - DOH! Then of course they have the even more horrendous candy apple red skull helmet with big teeth sticking out. Who the hell WANTS those damn things? Fugly, and stupid looking, You gonna weld or go trick or treating?

 

[D KRAGER]

I do not like the HF red skull helmet. My neighbor brought his over while we were working on his trailer. I used it for one bead and then went back to the manual one. The arc looked orange, like fire instead of the greenish tint you normally get. Also could not get it to adjust any darker, it was too bright for the MIG.

I recently bought a Hobart Bonehead XVS Series. I could really care less about the graphics, but this was a step above the other plain model they had.
Shade 9-13, Fast slow delay, and adjustable sensitivity. Paid around $150. It's lightweight and the headgear is comfortable. I love it so far.....

 

[nevets]

I bought this one from Northern Tool. I just got a welder, but have no complaints with this helmet (except for the flames)

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200311850_200311850

i second this helmet. i have had it for about 3 1/2 years now and it is still going strong. i dont do a ton of welding now but for the first two years it saw at least 2 hours of welding a day 5 days a week.

 

[Valkyrie Rider]

I'll chime in as a fan of old fashioned passive lens helmets with a gold lens. No flash, no batteries, no worries.

I prefer the Jackson HSL 100, especially with the updated head gear.
I keep two around; one with a 9 lens, and one with a 10. That way I don't have to worry about smudges, scratches or breaking the lens when swapping them out.

I also have a Jackson hood (not sure of the model anymore) but it takes the large glass. I put in a 10 shade gold glass when I first bought it and have used it ever since. I'm tempted by the AD type hoods, but have never even tried one.

I also work in commercial construction and have only ever seen ONE auto-dark hood.... and that was a young punk who couldn't weld for ****. I'm not saying the hood dictates the welder by ANY means.... but it's strange to see so many young and old people welding and almost NONE use AD hoods. I personally do plumbing and heating work and have worked with plenty of pipe welders. I've never worked with one who used a AD hood and they are very often is strange/uncomfortable positions!

I do think that if I tried a AD helmet, I'd like it for the hobby work I do at home. It may have helped me in welding school too (all position stick, MIG, TIG, and pipe classes). When I went to school the cheapest AD hoods were over $300...... Now you can get one for less then $50 and a REALLY nice one for $300

 

[dellwas]

Was your's a solar? Mine is, wonder if that's the difference?

Theres a few of us on here always good to add one more


Maybe. But i doubt it. I think im just a little more susceptible than average? I think the switch time was just a bit too slow?

 

[scooby074]

Was your's a solar? Mine is, wonder if that's the difference?

It wasnt mine, just a friends i was using so im not really sure. Up till then i alwys used a Gold fixed lens (still do some times)

My Miller is Battery and solar.

 

[j6508]

I run Jackson nexgens at work. Never had an issue with them, we have 2. They are painful expensive but they do it all.

If you look around online you can find nextgen for a decent price, I have a nextgen myself and one of the great things about it is it takes normal plates for starters,(speedglass takes a special plate) they interchange with jackson non auto helmets so parts are avavable. My nextgen has droped 2 storys I picked up the pieces snaped it back together and it still workes to this day. You will never get flashed with a nextgen and you only get one set of eyes. It also has torch mode for cuting and a grind mode.

 

[v7guy]

I learned a few years back on a AD helmet. I got so I could do a consistent structural weld after 40 hrs or so.
Got a blue point ya555 and couldn't weld for ****. Had trouble starting in the right spot, couldn't see the puddle. It was a nightmare.
The misses picked up a kobalt AD helmet for me for and I'm back to making good welds. I'm still playing with the settings, but so far I'm VERY happy.
All that said, currently I'm a hobby welder. I probably won't ever weld for a living again.

 

[v7guy]

I learned a few years back on a AD helmet. I got so I could do a consistent structural weld after 40 hrs or so.
Got a blue point ya555 and couldn't weld for ****. Had trouble starting in the right spot, couldn't see the puddle. It was a nightmare.
The misses picked up a kobalt AD helmet for me for and I'm back to making good welds. I'm still playing with the settings, but so far I'm VERY happy.
All that said, currently I'm a hobby welder. I probably won't ever weld for a living again.

 

[E.Marquez]

Optrel Satellite(outdated, replaced with the E680) Helmet with Selectable Shade 10 Or 11 Auto-Darkening Lens... Absolutely love it. Bought in 2005, used a LOT....as in a whole LOT. Not real well taken care of always in the heat of a project... and it is still working great despite the drops and bumps.

 

[mgilde13]

This is my helmet. A Speedglas 9000SX. Hands down the best helmet I've ever used. Huge lens. Nice side lenses for a wider field of view and the main lens flips up for grinding.

 

[raildawg]

I have a nex gen.still about $ 200. worth every penny.

 

[bmwpower]

May be a stupid question, but how do you tell if you've been "flashed"?

 

[DYNA BILL]

May be a stupid question, but how do you tell if you've been "flashed"?

You'll know it when about 2:00 AM you wake up and it feels like your eyes have had sand poured in them and the eyelids glued shut.

 

[crewchief888]

You'll know it when about 2:00 AM you wake up and it feels like your eyes have had sand poured in them and the eyelids glued shut.

and it feels like you head is in a vice.

 

[IndyGarage]

I had an optrel made in switzerland for awhile - liked it, but the battery wasn't replaceable.

I replaced it with a Harbor Freight, but that didn't work for TIG - it wasn't fast enough to keep me from being flashed. It works fine for MIG.

So for TIG i just used an old fixed shade helmet.

Then a couple months ago I sprung for a Speedglass 9100X - it's great for everything I've thrown at it so far.

 

[Tarheelgarage]

I had a single shade auto darkening Jackson EQ that I bought in 1999 for about $150.
Went to use it last month and noticed the shade didn't darken anymore and some type of weird spots on the lense...

Went to Northern tool and bought their top of line NT helmet, on sale for about $99, regular $149. Has 4 sensors and shade adjustment and other controls.

Auto darkening technology has evolved a lot over the last 10 years and this NT helmet is great

 

[mattrogers]

I have a Miller Elite from a few years ago. It's done me very well in my welding classes and home projects. One of the benefits of having an adjustable shade is adapting to different welding processes--Going from MIG to TIG to FCAW requires different shades. The "reset" button will help with varying light conditions, like going from the garage to outdoors--the helmet will then know what's normal light levels and what's an arc.

The better helmets will have a larger vertical field of view--my Miller has a 2 3/8" vertical window, while the HF one is 1 5/8".

If you're planning on welding on anything crappy, or with flux-cored wire, I'd recommend trying one on and making sure it's at least somewhat comfortable with a respirator on underneath.

If I was doing production work and had one process and one setting for 8-hours a day, a manual helmet (with a gold filter) would be just fine, and I suspect it'd be less susceptible to "growing legs" around other people.