Autodarkening Welding Helmets

Date 06-04-2007 23:27 Edited 06-04-2007 23:32

thats a pretty good hood for indoor/shop welding, an all around welding hood thats cheap would be a fixed lens hood, but i personally like my 9002x, except for the sucky swedish hardhat.

my msa is better and im gonna order the $40 replacement hood so i can use universal slot adapters instead, dont get me wrong i like the protop rail system, but the hardhat blows, the teeth on the ratchet are small so it tends to release.

By Molten Metal (**)

Date 06-05-2007 02:24

you get what you pay for when it comes to auto darkening helmets.Nex Gen filters seem to be very highly thought of.Also the speedglas helmets are good.I like them,but sometimes wear my passive lens helmet.When you're just learning,I think they are very helpful actually.There is a B I G debated article on just this subject somwhere on this message board.

By Sourdough (****)

Date 06-05-2007 15:46

I run the nexgens, and swear by them.

By DaveBoyer (*****)

Date 06-05-2007 03:44

Nandy, Go to page 13 in this section and find the thread "Are Auto Darkening Helmets safe?". There are more opinions there than You could shake a stick at. Even the "fasion statments" were covered.

By MAX04 Date 06-05-2007 15:14

Nandy, I read all the material and decided that you do indeed get what you pay for.

I now use a Miller AD helmet. Great stuff! Have really enjoyed being able to see what goes on before I fire up.

By pipewelder_1999 (****)

Date 06-05-2007 16:19 Edited 06-05-2007 16:21

I purchased one of these about a year and a half ago. The helmet has been dropped 20' once. Used by about 6 different guys in the shop to see if they liked it, and this week, part of the headgear failed. The lense still works fine. I tried an Arc One and a Lincoln hood. I liked my Harbor freight one better.

The one I had was the plain one. I don't know about the others (Skulls, Flames, eagles etc.). ONE problem with this one is flickering when tig welding. The Arc One did the same thing as did the lincoln.

Here is the previous thread.

Gerald Austin

By emccorma Date 06-05-2007 22:07

I use a Sellstrom Phantom GTW, it has 9-12 shade , grind ,torch modes. I don't see many people using this helmet much I guess it's kind of pricey $300 +. When it comes to your eyes, protection is not the place to save money. I have used many helmets and as far as I am concerned this is the best. That is only my opinion guys .

By bamafn003 (*)

Date 06-07-2007 02:09

the problem with some of these are tig welding itself,had two solar panel ones that went bad started flickering an one just stopped working. they told me that the arc from tig welding eventually screws up the lens,i use a battery powered lens now have not had any problems (and i mostly downhill nowadays) i use a eqc journeyman had it for 2 years with no problems and is very clear.

By Tommyjoking (****)

Date 06-07-2007 08:02

I stayed away from these things for a long time... mainly until reaction time improved. If you make a buttload of tacks in a day .001 secs adds up.

I recently asked about one I am using currently...A jackson boss eqc....it has a very large viewing area and is super fast and consisitent. I recently posted I thought the nexgen (also a jackson) was the best after compairing the two. I have to say I feel much different now...The boss is not as likely to get the darker (inconsistent shading...all elec lenses have this issue) as the nexgen. I really like the fact that the clear state is a #3 instead of a 4-5....this makes it much easier to use for a grinding shield in a darker area. I also like the fact I do not have to scroll thru menus I can just turn a knob and I can vary the shade infinitely between 9-12. The downside is no solar cells and no charging...it uses two aaa cells. HOWEVER they are way cheaper then the batts for the nexgen and most others and I have not had to change them yet (2 months and counting).

Basically what everyone else has said is true you get what you pay for when it comes to auto lenses. They only really give you an advantage when you have lots of stops and starts (tacks and small stitch welds) or you have to work with your hands full and you cant flip the hood.

My current tig hood is a jackson halo (jeez its so damm light) and a Boss eqc.

By Sourdough (****)

Date 06-07-2007 17:29

Don't you tack like the boys at OCC?? lol!!

By DaveBoyer (*****)

Date 06-08-2007 02:52

I hope none of Us are as "cool" as those dudes.

By Tommyjoking (****)

Date 06-08-2007 18:02

YEa Sourdough thats it....If I just start striking random arcs with with my hands over it and throw tools around the shop and slam some doors and then sit and talk smack about my workmates maybe I can get my own $300+ model hood from miller too!!!!! YEA the tommyjoking model has goats all airbrushed on it with cowboys roping them! It has no lens just a chromed face plate ..seeing is for pansies anyway pros weld by feel and sound. Excellent.

Roflmao

By XPERTFAB (**)

Date 06-09-2007 19:50

The tommyjoking model has airbrushed goats and what was he doing to them? Fabulous!

XPERTFAB

By XPERTFAB (**)

Date 06-09-2007 20:23

Aren't the OCC helmets chromed on the inside so you see yourself like looking into a mirror. My aren't we beautiful!!
I have often wondered how well those $300.00 shades worked as safety glasses on "Jr". OSHA approved for sure. If his eyes weren't already fried and he were smart enough to be actually able to read, then the posts in this forum might actually teach him something about protecting the other balls. I want to see how they do when it comes to building the first underwater chopper while down below. That would be interesting for sure. The guys at Miller Electric must have a loose screw upstairs if they believe for one minute that the new guys will pay any attention to the myriad of safety decals on a new machine after watching that show and seeing first hand "how it's done".
Had a superintendent ask me for a little tack weld on wheelbarrow the other day when I was midway through rolling up. Tools and helmet put away just rolling up leads ( about 300 ft out). Told him to give me minute so I could grab my hood. He give me some major grief about all the times he has seen this done. Proceeded to get very indignant and says I shoulld just go ahead and tack it it quick and not waste the time (his money) to get my gear as the truck was ways down the hill. I said, "You know man, I've really gotta use the head, so grab that stinger and give it go ahead if you think you can!" I walk down to the truck and mull around a bit then walk back up to the hill to where he is now standing wildly waiving his left hand in the air as he says to me, "Man that light is really bright!" "Yeah!" I said "it sure is!" The burn on his left hand looking a lot like a second degree mabe more. I told him to go ahead and sign my ticket and I would see him the next time he called needing some welding done. I can imagine that night was a little rough for him to say the least. Another honor graduate of the OCC school of stupidity!

By TozziWelding (**)

Date 06-09-2007 21:21

Auto darks have no place in my world, I ruin atleast 1 helmet a year. I like my old school Huntsmans, I tried an auto dark and still do the head bob.

By DaveBoyer (*****)

Date 06-10-2007 04:04

Some can learn from others, but some have to pee on the electric fence themselves...

By Sourdough (****)

Date 06-10-2007 05:36

S&M' baby! Sometimes pain feels good.......

By makeithot (***)

Date 07-07-2007 04:22

That peeing on the fence thing sounds like fun is'nt that the poor mans viagra.

By DaveBoyer (*****)

Date 07-08-2007 04:49

I don't know what it feels like or does, I prefer to learn from other's mistakes. But feel free to try if You want to...

By Greg G. (**)

Date 07-06-2007 14:59

They are great, I to did not want to use them for fear of getting the flash before the lense changed to dark. I made myself use them and waited for the eyes to start burning but it did not happen. I did more research and found out that it changes to dark faster than you can blink your eyes. In the world of precision sheet metal you do your own fit up. That will require both your hands and then some most of the time. I would buy another at the drop of a hat. Also they have come a long way sense I first bought mine. In short they are wonderful for any type of welding as far as I am concerned.

By jp2welder (**)

Date 07-12-2007 16:22

Speaking of auto darkening welding hoods:

I've noticed some ads in the AWS Welding Journal lately that have been irritating me. In the July 2007 edition on page 7 is an advertisement from Miller. There's a serious looking Goober in the picture with a gay looking graphics helmet. The ad says, "I do not compromise. I want cool graphics *and* serious comfort."

I don't know. Personally, I've always thought of a welder as a tough man with some serious skills. When I look at that advertisement, I think of a union worker that bitches too much and works too little.

It is getting to where if you want a high-tech hood, it has to come with graphics. Why? I don't want a decal of The Joker, a bald eagle and an American flag, or a bunch of flames on my hood. For me, solid colors are preferred, but they are getting hard to find in the top of the line hoods.

Anyone else have any comments on this?

By Sourdough (****)

Date 07-12-2007 18:15

I don't write long posts very often, so read this one.........

STICKERS...... I've got a jackson hood w/nexgen lens that I use only on rigs because it offers more skull protection. It's got over a hundred logos on it. I DON"T ASK, they just give. As juevinile as it may be, It shows my reputation as being a good bastard, as they say sometimes - (not often) - in the oilfield.....

As for pipeline.... I made my own pancake hood with my waterjet, yes it has flames and such - But - they are all stainless and custom made - BY ME!

I agree with you jp2, welders should NOT be clean at the end of the day. It is work, period....

Maybe a common misconception about welders, (for young people, or complete -yuppie idiots-), is that as professionals we put our 8 hours in and go home. Sometimes certain companies actually portray the field as just that. How many of you, (self employed), go home at a certain time at the end of a long, hard day??

The fact is, (as Mike Rowe - 'Dirty Jobs'), will often say - "ITS A DIRTY JOB!!" - We are not sitting at a desk. We do not have air conditioning. We have umbrellas, and ice in the cooler. We do not have the luxury of a lunch break most times, nor do we ever know what time it is at 5pm.

How many of you have gone 2 or 3 hours past noon before you said to yourself, "man, I'm hungry!", or looked at the sun to guage what part of the day it was? How many of you often drink over two gallons of water and maybe urinate one time through the course of a routine summer day? How 'bout putting on spf50 sunblock, and still having a real warm neck at the end of the day?

My point is that of jp2welder's: It is function before fashion in this field. We are not winning any awards, or gaining any notariety by the way we look. We look rough because we are rough - rough and ready! We go out and do what many people in other trades can't do....... look at it, take measurements, and attack it! It takes more than running a pretty bead to be a welder. If you can't see something in three dimentions, and make a pertinant game plan in a matter of minutes - GO HOME!!!

This is what God chose for me, being a "steel artist"

No training, besides practical experience............who's with me? Better yet - who's against me?

By jp2welder (**)

Date 07-12-2007 18:35

You make me proud to be a welder, Sourdough!

Any welding hood that is home made has a right to display flames ...or even bare naked ladies!

By Sourdough (****)

Date 07-12-2007 18:36

My wife's mormon - naked girls were my first choice!

By Greg G. (**)

Date 07-12-2007 18:53

Very well said, I agree with that. But we all get old and need to find something that is not quit so taxing on the old body. So I say I am proud to get my hands dirty and look at my shirt at the end of the day and know that I earned my money. But I am getting older and my body can't take the heat and body shots it delivers to you. The recovery time is not as quick any longer. But I can say been there and done that.