Welder's Auto-Dark Helmets

[waynokakid]

I was pokin' back at ya too, Scotty. It is an interesting concept. I just happened to stumble across the website. I had been looking at auto darkening helmets, but this looked more appealing to me. The big plus for me was Made in USA. The learning curve for that type of helmet is rather short.

 

[allen in texas]

Bright sunlight at your back will "blind" you due to reflection from inside the helmet. Its best if the only light getting to your eyes is coming thru the lens.
larry

Ditto that.
I had trouble seeing my puddle for years as a hobby welder a welder friend of mine told me my lens was too light.

He said the arc blinds me with my light lens. I went to a darker lens and I see better now. Still not like I want to but better.

AS far as the quote above, I've thrown a shirt over my head to stop light from coming in my helmet from behind me. Helped a lot. Overhead florescent lights are especially bad.

 

[WilliamBos]

Speedglass,Lincon,Miller all have good helmets. Stay away from cheapos. In my experience the higher the amps the darker the shade I run.Any of the settings 9-13 are safe. Try to focus your vision on the puddle and not the arc. As I have gotten older I have to wear glasses when welding close . If you can't see good you can't weld good.They make magnifiers for the hoods if this is the case.
Bill

So whether it is Arc or Mig, anywhere between 9 and 13 is safe?? Will not harm the eyes??

 

[Ductape]

Bright sunlight at your back will "blind" you due to reflection from inside the helmet. Its best if the only light getting to your eyes is coming thru the lens.
larry

I'll be doing a little welding within the next couple days. I'll try blocking any light coming in from the back of the mask. I've even tried putting a 500 watt worklight on what I'm welding...... but its still too dark. It seems foolish, but I may end up replacing my $200 shield with a cheap one. BTW, I have great eyesight.......so a magnifying lens won't help me.

 

[Scotty370]

All good info, and thanks! Couple points. This SpeedGlas Helmet has an Auto-Range at the top of the small interior knob that you turn from the 10 o'clock position to the 2 o'clock position, that gives you auto activated response from 9-13 darkness. 9-Dark at 10o'c and 13-Dark at 2o'c. (Hope you can follow this!) On the bottom, from, say, from 4o'c to 8 o'c, it gives you the option of 'steady-dark'. (ie Manual) 9-Dark at 8 o'c & 13-Dark at 4 o'c. I replaced the batteries, and now I can see, that in the Manual Mode, (Just looking outside at a white window frame) it, does darken from 8 o'c to 4 o'c. So the Circuitry appears to be OK. Whether that was the batteries, or not ,I don't know. The "light from behind" comments are interesting. Seems like a red-rag, mechanics-type, duct taped to the back of the helmet, safari-style, might be in order! Thanks all, once again! ~Scotty

 

[Willl]

We use to pop-rivet pieces of leather (usually pieces of old welding chaps) to the back of our helmets to block external light.

 

[Dargo]

BTW, I have great eyesight.......so a magnifying lens won't help me.

Enjoy while you can! I used to be able to say that for almost 50 years. Now....well, my bifocals work fine. I haven't had to go to trifocals yet.

 

[gordyy]

bought me one of those harbor freight cheapie's last year
then had to have knee surgery a few time long story
the kids and their buddies were working on building race cars without me last year, they said it was a piece of crap they never could get it to work right always too dark.
I finally got to the point I can screw around in the shop a bit (dont tell the work comp people)
I was doing a little bit of fabricating for my model railroad build and decided the old man should try it out.
guess what you takes the plastic scratch coating plastic off both sides of the lenses it work pretty darned good.
not as comfortable as the hobart I have at work (hope that is still there) but it sure was a lot cheaper for fooling around at home

 

[J_J]

Those auto darkening helmets are on sale at HF for $39.99. Sale ends April 13

 

[Dargo]

Those auto darkening helmets are on sale at HF for $39.99. Sale ends April 13

Like I've said many times, I wouldn't take one of those junk hoods if they were free. Without any doubt I have been flashed by those hoods and my eyes felt like they had been sanded after I was stupid enough to use one a long time ago. I don't mean to be rude, but my vision is worth more than $40 to me. If you only want to spend $40 or $50 on a hood I highly recommend a regular hood. It's definitely worth risking the only eyesight you'll ever have by buying a cheap hood made in China for $5.