Auto Darkening Welding Helmet Difference

Well, my last HF helmet lasted a good 10 years, and it's probably still good except I can't find where to change the battery. So I took the wife down there shopping and what does she do, exchange the regular $49 helmet for the $59 dollar one 'with flames' when I wasn't paying attention. I was going to head down and exchange it back figuring flames ain't worth 10 bucks but I thought I'd see if there was any other difference. Sure enough, the $49 helmet says not for TIG, the flame job says TIG. Both go from 9-13 lens. What's the dif? Anyway, good to point out for other cheapie helmet users.

http://www.harborfreight.com/blue-flame-design-auto-darkening-welding-helmet-91214.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/adjustable-shade-auto-darkening-welding-helmet-46092.html

 

The difference is in the reaction time the lens needs to darken. Slower reaction= flash burns. If you get a chance try a hood from either Jackson Lincoln or Miller and you will be hooked. There are reasons they cost a lot and they are worth it if you spend a lot of time under a hood.

 

10 years! And your eyesight is still good, no headaches, etc?

Seriously.

I have one, but have been thinking about getting a more $$ one because I heard(haven't researched yet) that the cheapies say they respond fast yet it's not fast enough. As though the rating is fudged. I don't want to end up in a few years with my eyes going along with everything else.

 

Last HF cheapy I had ended up half way across the shop in pieces. Ill stick to 3m


Sent via my typewriter

 

I use a Miller and love it although it ran around 250. Bought a Weldmark as a spare for around 100, found out the Miller had spoiled me. Like Dyna above my Weldmark ended up in pieces, when I'm doing some tedious welding on stainless trim I found I didn't have the patience for a chepo helmet that would blink on and off since I had the amps so low.

 

Any helmet that meets ANSI specs is required to give full UV and IR protection even if the lens doesn't darken. The darkening is purely for comfort and has nothing to do with whether the helmet is protecting your eyes or not. Now if it doesn't meet the ANSI spec all bets are off.

 

^ this

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm only an occasional 'as necessary' welder but I do enjoy the aggravation it always seems to give me. Frequent welders on past threads here, some hate the cheapie helmets, others say they are fine with them. What is the advantage to a better Miller or such helmet, visibility, reaction time, both? If it would make me a better welder I'm all for the extra cost.

 

There is some debate on this. Although Photokeratitis is a condition caused by UV (and something I know way too much about first hand) there is now some belief that Macular Degeneration can be caused by the degree of light, in other words the brightness, along with the amount of UV and IR absorbed by the cornea.

As for the ANSI spec, HF claims these to be ANSI Z87.1-2003 certified, I can't help but wonder how much testing or quality control is done on this in China. just a thought ......

 

So go ahead and weld all day with the lens that doesn't darken and tell me your eyes are fine, just uncomfortable.

You will have been welding with a shade rating of about 3 and you WILL have done damage to your eyes.

No testing done in China, you can be sure of that. What they do in China is to basically copy someone elses tested and proven design and do it as cheaply as humanly possible.

And you are absolutely right about the eye damage.

 

You can say that again.... Poison dog treats, lead paint on toys, baby formula that kills, the list can go on. I would think that HF does check this at least some because of the liability issues, but still....

Many of the 'expensive' helmets have features not found on the cheapies; larger lenses (almost a necessity if you wear bifocals), better venting to prevent fogging, more adjustments for reaction time and lens shade, and just better overall quality. I use mine attached to a reversed hard hat as that keeps sparks off my not-so-well-protected-by-hair-anymore scalp, as well as protecting my head from bumps/cuts when trying to get into congested areas.

I've used both, and won't go back. I'm using a Speedglas helmet and have been very pleased.

 

Someone on here mentioned (a while ago) a helmet that was chin operated. Open mouth lens shield flips up. Close and it's spring loaded down. Try a helmet search.
RB

 

1 pair of uv rated safety glasses.

That's all it takes to protect your eyes from milli second #3 shade lazy self darkening lens.
Also accidental self flashes, cross shop flash. If your helmet doesn't darken and you actually weld with 3 protection you'll wind up with eye problems.

Really, if you are too stupid or too cheap wear safety glasses you'll get what you've earned eventually.

 

Miller elite is the go, carn't beat them for quality and price, especially if your gunna be under if for a long time, had mine for 6 years now at work, and another one at home, speedglass is probably the best but very expensive, for the equivalent model.

 

The 3M speedglass helmets are awesome. Several styles and features for all budgets.

 

I've used an Optrel Satellite for 7 years because it is fully adjustable for shade, speed, sensitivity and grinding. Miller Elite is a good helmet, we have them at work but you have to stock a good supply of batteries for it. When we run out of batteries, they want to use my Optrel which works on light and there is plenty of that when welding.

We tried Speedglass but it seemed slow and everyone's eyes got sore.

 

I had a Miller helmet, it was hard on batteries. I've had a couple of Speedglass helmets, you boys can have them too. The 1st one was a used helmet and I thought maybe that was the reason i didn't like it but then I bought a new one. They are just too dark when they are not darkened, I had to have a light close by to see the way I would like, before I would strike an arc.

Recently, I bought a Hobart Pro-Elite. I like it a lot, I believe its the best auto change helmet I've owned (there have been many over 20 years). Its much brighter before it darkens, it has a large viewing lens, 3 photo eyes, its fully adjustable, and has a very nice headgear. Regular price around here is $169, I bought mine before Christmas on sale for $119. Should have bought a 2nd one to put on the shelf.

I'm not going to trust my eyes to the cheapest auto change helmet available. Gene

 

speedglass hands down

 

I believe in "you get what you pay for". I have a newer Miller helmet and like it when it works... The on/off switch seems to have gone bad on mine and I am unable to find a replacement lens for it. The lens assembly is about 4"x5 1/4" and seems nobody has a replacement that will fit. The Miller has nice adjustments and a large viewing area. My only complaint is the replacement lens issue. Thinking about buying the small 2" replacement lens they sell and put it in my old helmet. Anyway I think the more you spend on quality it will pay off in the long run.

 

started out on a top of the line miller---now use hf ---works fine for hobby welding...

 

I have a speedglas and love it. I have used some of the cheep ones the think I didn't like was the time it took to go back to the lite setting.

 

We had a KT Industries, a Harbor Freight and another that the wife bought from a welding supply guy at a swap meet (and it was the most expensive at $100). Being a little older I always had trouble seeing what I was going to weld (added a light to the stinger that sort of worked) and was never happy with any of the helmets we had. When we upgraded welders we went ahead and bought a new Lincoln Helmet. I wish it had been purchased with the first wire welder. I can see without a flashlight and the lens is big enough that my bifocals work great.

 

I bought a cheap ($50) helmet from a swap meet welding vendor, used it a bit and thought I was going blind, just couldn't see the puddle well. I had a 2x lens so I put that in, everything was still kind of fuzzy and I noticed after welding for a bit that I had a green light in front of me even when not welding. (kinda like I had looked at the sun) Yeah right, that piece of shit went in the garbage! it didn't get dark enough (UV?) and the lens wasn't clear. When I went back to my old style helmet with the 4x5 gold plated lens, I didn't need the 2X cheater lens anymore.

BTW: K13, your post #6 in this thread is about the most ignorant thing I've seen written on the HAMB! They don't make braille welding rods, so you better not be arc welding with a #3 lens.

 

That's my daily, too. Rock-solid.

 

MAC Tools used to sell them, they might still, I tried one, didn't really like the action. I use a Miller, love it.

 

Anyone who thinks I am suggesting welding all day (not that you would even be able to see after about 30 sec because you eyes would be wash out) without a shade needs to pull their head out of their ass (Larry you should know better). What I am saying is if you are going to buy an economical helmet make sure it has ANSI spec so that if the shade does fail in the middle of a weld you are not being exposed to the known harmful rays.

The lawsuit against Harbour Freight would be enormous if their helmets didn't meet up to spec so I have to imagine they are pretty diligent about making sure they do.

 

I had a HF that worked very well, and I loved it. But I was given a Speedglass expensive helmet and with all the hype about better helmets vs. HF, I gave the HF to my son in law. I really don't like the Speedglass as well, and wish I had the HF back again! I can't see squat when using the Speedglass, and I guess I need to take it back where it was purchased and see if they can do something, or tell me what's wrong with it. It just seems way too dark when welding, and I need a really bright light to even barely get by while welding.

 

You got me, I do know better.

I'm not too sure about Harbor Freight, or even (Princess Auto for that matter) helmets meeting any kind of specs.

It is possible I suppose but I would not count on it.

Typically I have found that the better quality name brand helmets from Miller, Hobart, Lincoln or Speedglass are by far your best choice.

You get what you pay for and in this case it is true.

 

Don't know about you guys, but I wouldn't put the safety of my eyes in a $50 auto helmet, you get what you pay for.

 

Common sense would tell me not to insult my wife over a measly $10.