L71

got to MIG weld some sheet metal in my 69 SS Camaro, I was thinking of buying one, what are your opinions?and if they are good which brand is best? thanks

PatsLs1vette

i use one and they are the cats nuts... :D your welding gets so much better by being able to see where your going to strike it without haveing to put the helmet down..get it youll love it.

lbell101

I'm not sure what brand mine is but I love it. Very little helmit hinge wear now :)
They work great but they are pricey. They come with a clear cover that goes over the real plate. When that breaks, replace it before you weld again. It's there so you don't get burn marks in the expensive part! I lent mine out and it came back all full of spatter marks because "the cover broke". :mad

Corz

i reccomend it 110% great helmet. I will say that after using one of those, my welds have held up 50% stronger and looks better too. I reccomend one by speedglas ... around 350 bucks but works wonders..

paso

You will Love it . I could not believe I waited so long to buy one after I got mine. It's one of those things you think are to good to be true. But it is darn good breaks the rule.

yogi78

You may want to get a solar one. The little solar panel powers the auto darkening feature from the light coming from the arc, otherwise it runs on batteries and when they start to go then it won't work. You can find decent new ones on ebay for under $100 and they work fine.

MIKER

Man! I wish that you would have posted this topic sooner. I think that my wish list to Santa has already been maxed out and delivered.
I've been wanting one of those for years. Plain forgot about it 'til you mentioned it. Seems like I have seen some advertised for <$150.

In regards to welding, I could use all the help I can get!!! :yesnod:

Tired74

I bought mine for doing body work on a 4 X 4 truck. I recommend getting the variable shade adjustment since when you vary the amperage on your machine for different jobs the intensity varies. Illuminate your work with a flood light and you will do well. Other comments on the protective lens and the solar are true. The Speedglas is the Cadillac of helmets but the smaller stores carries less expensive ones. Mine was 250 Canadian $

BBA

They are absolutely the most awesome lenses I have ever used.

It's worth it to buy if you do a lot of welding...better to borrow if you just do a few things one time.

Techno

Something that no one mentioned is your eyes are still getting flashed. Everytime the arc starts it takes a huge amount of time for the lens to darken. Huge in reference to the speed of light.

I have used one and did like the convenience. Thats all I rate it as, convenience.

You may think this is knit picking but if your are flashing alot this would make a difference compared to a continuas weld. I could see an advantage after tack welds to do the continuas welding, but you lose alot of the benefit.

Z51BOB

For us occasional welders, this is the way to go. I got one last year... big improvement in my welding.

L71

Thanks for the comments, I will be tacking the sheet metal compared to continuous welding, Techno , was the helmet not good for tacking? or did I misunderstand you

Techno

The helmet senses the flash and darkens the lens, this takes something like a thousandth of a second or longer. They all seem to say this as if its some short time. 186,000 miles/second means the light has traveled 186 miles for .001 sec. I Think its longer, around a 4 thou flash.
So if your sitting there turning the lens on and off from starting and stopping your getting flashed each time.
If your tack is hit and release the helmet is really doing very little. Well more than very little . It is protecting for the rest of the second but you see where I'm coming from.

If your setting something up where you need to set alot of anti-warp tacks then I wouldn't use it. The lousy thing is this is what is so nice about it.

I've asked at work about them and the welders won't use them. They of course don't need them and weld a good deal more than most of us.

My own personal view is a catch 22. If you weld so little that a little flash is no problem then why spend the extra cash on something you use so little?

Something that would be nice is a chin switch, or something you could use instead of flipping your head and losing the location.
I liked it when I used it but I don't like the concept, it really doesn't work as it should.
Another thing to think about is arc welding requires a full shield while Oxy-ace. only needs goggles. But the small flash event is accepted with the auto helmet?
The helmet does make it very convienent to weld with as everyone says. but I don't wear a helmet for convience but for protection. If I go to the trouble of wearing safety gear I like it to protect me. Just my personal views.

Steve439

I've got one and I love it. I do try to blink right as I pull the trigger.
You can still set up nicely, just blink at that instant.
I don't weld all that much so I don't get overly worried about it.

You can tell if you're getting flashed if your eyes start feeling
"scratchy" after a few hours of welding.

LT1driver

I would, you only get issued one set of eyes.

jsimpson

Cheap ones ahve a slower reaction time than more expensive ones. I NEVER see a flash with mine. Furthermore, I am FAR more likely to accidentally get flashed with my standard helmet which CANNOT happen with my auto helmet. WARNING; once you've switched to an auto, it's almost impossible to go back!!! :cool:

Dalannex

You get what you pay for in these helmets. Remember that. Speedglas makes a good one, as well as the latest thing on the market, that is labeled and marketed by Lincoln. Any Lincoln welder dealer would have them. The Lincoln helmet is probably the best deal out there now. It is really quick, has no sensitivity problems (i.e. dimming or undimming when it shouldn't) and is really rugged. They are selling around here for 175 bucks right now. They are made by a different company, and sold through Lincoln. Before Lincoln was a part of the deal, we bought a few at work, and they are really rugged. I also enjoy the fact that they are solar powered. No more battery changes. They are a good piece of equipment priced in the "christmas range".

MikeE.79

I weld for a living at Electrolux Corp. Tig, Mig, and Gas welding and I've used the auto dimming hood for a while but when I use it all day it kinda gets heavy after a while but it is convenient. We just take more breaks at work. LOL!
They do make some models that snap in a regular helmet too. Hope this helps! :seeya


[Modified by MikeE.79, 7:44 PM 12/13/2001]

Techno

For jsimpson or anyone else who thinks they aren't getting flashed. You are. How seriously would depend.
Whether the helmet responds in a timley manner, forget it. it is nearly impossible. Since the sensing element is near where your own eyes are and is sensing the increased light, how can it possibly not allow your eyes to be flashed. If you feel a 4 millisecond exposure is well within a safety margin. Then go with it. But remember that this is a repeated exposure. It isn't 4 but maybe 40 or 400 milliseconds.... What do you consider your unmeasured cutoff point to be?
The face shield used in arc welding is used for a reason. It protects your entire face from a burn. Its needed not because the light is bright but is a very powerful Ultraviolet radiation. It isn't light because it isn't visable.
Closing your eyes accomplishes nothing for protection. Your eye lids have no UV protection.

If your eyes are scratchy, itching or burning this means your eyes already are burnt and not flashed. They were flashed enough to get burnt.
If you ever feel this condition don't do what you did to cause it the first time.

I don't mean to sound like an idjit but when I hear people downplaying such a serious hazard this could lead someone else to conclude that there was none, or very little. Little exposure is a relative term. You don't have a way of measuring it.

jsimpson

Like I said before, I stand a far greater chance of eye damage from being flashed accidentally by grounding a rod with a standard helmet raised up than I do by the infinitessimally small flashing I'm getting with the automatic helmet. Lawyers aren't blind to opportunity; if eyes were being damaged by automatic helmets, they'd have class-action suits thick as flies on a one acre pasture with three horses by now! :cool: