Featured Technical Welding helmet

I have an older expensive welding helmet that has gotten to the point that I just cannot see to weld anymore. Seems like it just would not darken enough. So last year I started looking for a replacement, I ended up buying a aftermarket replacement lens, one of those "true color" auto darkening lenses. Long story short, I'm not too happy with it and would like to replace it with just a simple auto darkening helmet. Any thoughts on what to get? Being retired, I can't go for anything expensive.

 

While I am partial to the Lincoln Viking helmet, they are pricey. HF has a few auto-darkening helmets that get decent reviews.

 

I've had an ESAB Savage for about 3 years and can't fault it. At about $100 (?) it's very expensive by HF and ebay standards but is cheap compared to the use daily for work variety. I've had no real success with the HF type, as they just don't seem to last ymmv. Replacement cheapo darkening units don't last or are dead on arrival. I had many years out of a Jackson but on reflection that was rather expensive at the time I got it. 25 years of hobby tig welding summarised in helmets!

Chris

 

I've had good success with HF helmets. My last one lasted 5 or 6 years. Current one is a year or so old and going strong. For the price compared to the big guys, I could buy one every couple months and still be ahead!!

 

Thanks, I have to say I'm worried about the H.F. ones, you know, is it false economy. They do have some that may be a little "up scale" I did some searching here on the HAMB and some like the Yes Welder helmets.

 

I bought my first auto-darkening hood from Eastwood. It was right at $100, but it works well. I don't grind with it because I don't want to have to buy another lens. After years welding in the Boilermaker trade, using heavy fiberglass hoods that will give you real strong neck muscles, this one weighs almost nothing in comparison. I still find myself raising the hood after each pass. It's not necessary, it's just ingrained habit.

 

I guess I'm behind the times. I still use a fiber metal flip lense. I have made a living with it for at least 20 years, after my old one got ran over.

 

I had cataract surgery on both eyes when i was still in my 30s, because of a shitty trigger that would misfire much too often on a cheap welder, usually when I was holding it close, with my hood up, trying to set up my next weld. Bought an expensive Jackson after my surgery and used it for 25+ years. Replaced it this year with a Korean made Miller that seems fine so far.
These are your only eyes. Sorry to be such a snob, but I personally wouldn't trust a damn thing on Amazon or HF when it comes to MY eyes. Had enough damage done, no, not because of a welding helmet, but I still don't want to go cheap with them. My eyes have never worked well since my 30s cause of this shit, and never will. Don't go cheap.

 

My original Lincoln Viking 3350 Helmet Auto-Tint just quit working one day. Maybe 8-10 years old. So I found an introductory deal on a Miller True Color helmet. It's not bad but the viewing area was not as large as my Lincoln.
So I tried to buy just the "cartage" for the Lincoln...no-dice. Had to buy another helmet just to get the "tinting cartage". Slipped the new "Auto-Tint cartage" in my old Lincoln helmet because the New Lincoln had a pretty flimsy head gear.
I do most of my MIG/MAG welding with my very old Jackson "Picture Window "
non -Auto tint anyway. Just TIG with my"Auto-Tint " helmets.

 

Now that I'm retired, I've found that the auto darkening helmet batteries don't last very long if your not using the helmets every day.
If its been a month or more since the last time you used your auto darkening helmet, I suggest you try to replace the batteries, might solve your problem for a lot less money then the cost of a new helmet.

I might also suggest you disassemble the cartage and clean both sides of all the lenses, the dust accumulation between the lenses can cloud the view through the lens also.

 

I think that’s the on @1971BB427 gave a good review on and was priced right.

 

Look at the Hobart Inventor series helmets. I have had one for four or five years and it's a great helmet for the money.

 

I haven't had any issue with mine, which is going on two or three years old now:

https://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/kt...s-auto-darkening-welding-helmet/0000000341123

It does have a test light to check the battery power, which is nice. I weld once a month on average, so not frequently, but I still am using the original battery without issue.

 

A friend of mine had a HF helmet, that thing was slow reacting and I would get flashed every time. My old helmet is a speedglass that is going on 30 years old and still works great but it was pricy.

 

My HF worked with MIG but would flash me with TIG. My Viking has been great for all forms of welding and has needed only one battery replacement.
Some of the cheap auto-dimming helmets have fewer sensors and may not dim as consistently.
D

 

I have a $40 auto dark helmet from hf I'm really happy with. Keep in mind I'm OCD about tools and I normally hate hf lol

 

I sit my helmet in a window when not in use, the auto charge feature needs sunlight or the light off of the weld to help charge it.

I've had my Eastwood true color about 6 yrs and just replaced batteries a yr ago. So it must work sitting in the window !

Oh BTW I'm in love with my true color. Wouldn't trade it for any other style. I like the big window in it to.

...

 

I use a Miller auto darkening helmet. Had it for over 5 years, still works fine.

 

Esab Sentinel. Definitely not cheap but I've been using it for five or six years with zero problems or complaints. I'd tried a couple cheaper helmets and it seemed like the reaction time was slow enough that over the course of several hours of use I'd catch enough flash that I could feel it .

 

I got my first auto-darkening hekmet as a gift about 25 years ago. It was a Harbor Freight and I liked it. About 10 years ago I decided to give myself a present when Amazon had a special on Hobart helmets. Overall, I like the Hobart a little bit better, but have to admit the HF works just about as well. I'm a real amatuer and don't weld for long periods of time, and only do MIG and Stick (no TIG).

 

Since we are now sharing AD welding helmet information, my dad bought me a helmet and a Hunstman insert. My little insert died 15/20 years ago, but his large size still works like an ever ready bunny. Change batteries and go

 

The helmet I have is one of these from Farm & Fleet with the true color (or what ever its called), but my helmet is probably over 8 years old. The original batteries have been gone for a long time, and it has no "test light". I owned my own welding shop, it saw a lot of use while I was working (30 - 40 actual welding hours a week). I've been retired for 6 years, but the 1st year after retirement I built a truck and worked mornings, and the 2nd year after retirement, I still did a lot of hit or miss welding. The last 4 years, there has been very little welding, and most of that was my son using my equipment. Even at that, I have replaced the batteries in the helmet 2 times since I retired. Its simply not used enough to keep them charged. There is no window in which I can put the helmet to recharge, and I'm not really in the shop to even turn on the lights very often. What little welding that gets done these days is done with the old school regular tinted non-auto darkening lens helmet.

The last couple years before I could retire, I started taking this retirement thing seriously. After years in the auto industry, years in factory maintenance heavy machine repair, and years in the welding industry (both before and after the 28 years of owning my own welding shop), my body provided me with two welding industry specific health related scares (a couple months apart) that gave me the impression they were warning signs that I should quit that game. I am happy to report that since I no longer do the welding stuff, those health issues have gone dormant. I have discovered that if I should do something welding related for even as short as a couple days in a row, one of those health issues reminds me why I quit.

 

I wouldn't risk my eyesight on a Hobo Freight helmet. Spend the money on a name brand helmet, there is a difference.
I've had Jackson, Speedglas and Lincoln helmets, been using the same Miller helmet for probably fifteen years, recently replaced the headgear, batteries last a few years. It has simple controls for shade and sensitivity, and clips to hold a magnifier lens. Some cheap helmets won't darken reliably when tig welding at very low current settings. I can tig weld stainless trim at 12-15 amps, no problem changing to dark quickly.

 

I bought a cheap one a few years ago (probably the same as a HF one), and after a few years it was slow to darken. I opened it up and cleaned the front of the light dependent resistors (these are behind a couple of small holes next to the solar panel , and they sense the arc flash, and turn on the "darkening " circuit. They were darkened by smoke and crap over the years. I also added external button cell holders up in the top inside corners of the helmet, as these were made as a " throw away when the batteries go flat" item. A couple of twin wire leads back to original battery positions on the circuit board, and it now works fine and I can change the batteries out every couple of years.

 

THIS may be the problem, Thanks. I'll try this first.

 

to all the have said something about not much use and the battery going dead. you may be on to something. I don't weld much anymore and there are no windows in the garage to help charge them up. So the first thing I'll do is replace the battery.
I don't think I was considering the cheapest Harbor Freight helmet, was looking at the one that is at least one step up from the $40 one. maybe it will be better. But speaking of batteries, don't all these helmets have replaceable batteries? I think I heard someone say that some are not replaceable. I don't know if I have noticed it says "replaceable" in the descriptions of the helmets on line.
Anyway, thanks for the advice.

 

After more looking I see where they say that the batteries are not replaceable now. So 36roadster, I guess your helmet was the non-replaceable battery type. What did you do pry the lens box open?

 

Everything is disposable now.

 

I have 2 Millers; one is about 13 years old with 6 sensers and very adjustable. The other is the newer " true color" style that I use for sheet metal mig and low current tig which is usually also body work. It's your eyes, spend as little as you like...... you can't weld what you can't see.

 

First of all the cheap auto darkening helmets work poorly and aren’t worth the price.
Waste of money.
If you want an effective helmet you’re going to have to pay the price.

The best helmet out there for an older welder to help him see and get good results is the Miller digital elite with the Clear view 2.0 technology and more recently the Digital Elite with 4.0 clear view technology.

The cheaper helmets can actually handicap your efforts and they don’t react properly to the arc especially for TIG welding.

I tell my welding students that they need a good helmet and that they should stay away from the cheap ones.
Several times I have told a student to return a new helmet and get a better one.