Auto Darkening Helmets. Is there a difference?

[TractorGuy]

The darkness adjustment on my HF helmet works fine. I wish it had a lighter setting that worked well with my plasma cutter but alas, it's a welding helmet.

I recently found some full lens +250 reading, tinted, safety glasses. I am wearing those to drive, run the tractor, or use my plasma cutter. +250 just happens to be my prescribed distant vision correction. I can get by with them for reading and performing tasks at arms length. I only bump to 275 for most reading.

 

[radios1]

I use high intensity lighting, which allows me to see the welding process perfectly using the HF adjustable helmet on a 10 setting. the problem with the helmet is just that the batteries are non replaceable, except by an engineer that can fix that problem.. BTDT.. there are overly expensive helmets that have replaceable batteries, with a battery holder and is easily accessible..

 

[duramaxsky]

My HF has replaceable batteries. Not home right now so I don't know what model it is. But I have replaced them once. It works fine if I wear my glasses under it. I do MIG and stick welding. I need to set it different for each and darker yet for aluminum.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I don't quite understand the battery thing. Like I said, My Speed Shade is at least wenty years old, has a non replaceable battery and a solar cell. I hardly weld at all and the helmet is put away in a closet, but it has never failed to work. Now it's got me to wondering. Is the Solar Cell for detection of the arc?

 

[yomax4]

Actual optics on the newer hoods are many times better than 5-6 years ago. Just like a rifle scope. Not all are created equal.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Are there optics? I thought basically it was just an LCD display. I could be totally wrong about that.

 

[yomax4]

Are there optics? I thought basically it was just an LCD display. I could be totally wrong about that.

Yep Optics. Even Window glass varies. Also the color of the dark shade is now much more clear and not at all Green.

 

[CS2210]

If you do any amount of welding you will find that the higher end auto darkening helmets are head and shoulders above the cheaper ones. I have a 15 year old speedglass that is still far beyond the cheap Lincoln that my work supplies. Of course they stopped supplying the lenses for mine so I use the crappy helmets that they do supply consumables for and have since retired the ol speedglass to garage work.

I also work with a couple guys who like having all the newest tech in welding helmets and have tried their expensive new helmets with much enjoyment. The new speedglass helmets and esab sentinel with their blue filters are very nice and when they light up after the arc is out they are very clear.

This is just my opinion of course, and that is you get what you pay for when it comes to auto darkening welding helmets.

 

[hosspuller]

I was having problems with the helmet not switching when the arc was struck using Tig. Some helmets had more optical sensors. The higher end Miller helmet has an electronic sensor that detects the arc's electric field.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I noticed that sometimes my helmet would switch just from the tiny spark of a tool hitting another. Impressive.

Had to weld some fairly small (delicate) expanded mesh onto a steel frame, tonight. Ended up not using any helmet at all. Couldn't see a thing. It was more a tack job and I never use a helmet for that. And the helmet would take so long to switch back, to see what I had done. Tried a pretty high intensity light for an experiment and it did absolutley no good at all. Not with helmet darkened or before.